Small Cool 2006: Judges On Jane & Darko

3rd Place Winner: Jane & Darko

• Sam said:

I went with my gut.

Although I can tell that the thicket was made on a much bigger budget than some of the other entries, I feel the place radiates personality, taste, good humor, and life.

• Jill said:

Jane & Darko showed a high end/low end sense of creativity that blended into an incredibly vibrant space.

• Craig said:

This place looks like a bit of a cave in regard to the amount of natural light it gets, and the owners have compensated brilliantly by adding a lot of color and texture. You have to have a certain eye for successfully combining furnishings and art in this manner--I like this approach because it is witty and doesn't come across as a one-liner. Theme decorating reminds me of children's bedrooms done up in astronaut, fairy tale, or western motifs but the subtle forest references here are used with a sure hand. There is actually a hell of a lot going on here but it doesn't seem junked up--quite an achievement in a space this size.

Comments (10)

Um, I think these are the comments for Hakarli and Jili....

posted by rachel (in denver) on 2006-04-21 15:02:13

The Thicket was inviting,clever, warm, original. I'm glad they got a winning spot.

posted by Pat on 2006-04-21 15:22:12

Hooray!

posted by Henrietta on 2006-04-21 16:03:40

I think Rachel is right, I see no glass door held together by tape??

posted by Louise on 2006-04-21 17:07:33

excellent, we're completely flattered Sam went with his gut for us! but yeah, we have no tape anywhere, or a yellow wall, or even one Arco lamp, so i think our answers and Hakarl & Jili's got a little mixed....

posted by Jane on 2006-04-21 17:30:44

Since I don't see any place to comment on Hakari and Jilli winning, pardon me while I do so here (it seems to be half and half). I see that the tape on their striped wall is not painter's tape (the right stuff) but plain old-fashioned masking tape (the wrong stuff). And I have to wonder just a little whether they left it up there because they found out that it doesn't come off the walls cleanly. Just a thought. I mean, they have the tape up there, they could just do the stripe paint in the same (tape) color...so why leave it as is? Kinda goofy looking.

While I liked H&J's bold use of color on the other walls, I disagree with the judges on this choice. That mirror thing...uh uh.

posted by Pat on 2006-04-22 02:32:12

Is anybody else getting a little tired of this contest and now its continued commentary? I'd love to see other news on the site. The judges made their selection, the contestants were notified, it's over. We're approaching the end of april and this contest was in March. Can we move on?

posted by bbjm on 2006-04-22 10:51:28

If the judges didn't post their justifications, people would complain that they hadn't.

I dunno -- I find it interesting to hear what design afficionados are impressed by. Doesn't mean I have to go out and do it myself... but it's cool to know if I want to. But hey, I love those "styling secrets of major designers" type books. (Why don't you use those tips yourself, Wende? Um... uh... 'cause we've been DECLUTTERING.)

posted by wende in san francisco on 2006-04-22 11:30:35

Wende, you are undoubtedly right that people would complain if the judges' rationales weren't posted but I have contest fatigue and would welcome a refreshing new direction. This dialogue with the judges is overkill. I'm just so much more impressed with the entries than I am by the judges, some of whom don't seem to be any more "design afficionados" than many of the people posting on this site, and in some case, less so. Oh well, I will just read something else until this all wraps up.

posted by bbjm on 2006-04-22 13:47:55

I agree - let's move on to more of the reason we come to this blog - the therapy - we've looked at small cool apartments for MONTHS!

posted by sassy on 2006-04-22 19:42:02