1st Place Winner (tie): Jenny & Clove's LAish Pad
• Craig said:
Another space that looks remarkably spacious and restful in spite of its small size. The low slung furniture makes the ceiling seem higher, and the repeated palette of pale blues and greens ties the space together nicely without overdoing it. The metal window and door frames left in their raw state (with peeling paint) add a nice counterpoint to what is otherwise a pretty sleek approach. The storage wall unit looks suspiciously uncluttered though--my guess is that the center section with the fabric scrim over it is LOADED.[Craig realized later that the bed is back there and recanted his final remark]
• Seth said:
They have a great space and made it even better.
Although in the middle of the city, they' ve made it seem like a warm home in the country.
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Murphy beds do perfectly fine with action.
craig, the fabric covers a murphy bed... making it even more impressive!
wasn't that the bed?
I'm a little (okay, a lot) disappointed that one of the judges didn't know that was a bed behind the fabric. First of all, there is no bedroom, did he think the girls were just sleeping on the couch or the floor (although that gorgeous dog seems quite content on the floor :) Their fabric-hidden Murphy bed is an innovative storage solution and a design element.
Second, I just feel like the judges should be paying at least as much attention to the entries as the readers are.
I wholeheartedly support Jenny & Clove winning (absolutely awesome), but it's interesting/strange/slightly ridiculous that Craig doesn't/didn't even know the details regarding one of the apartments.
-kellen
correction- along w/ kate: not slightly, but absolutely ridiculous
-Kellen-
I think the judges made a good decision so thankyou to the judges and congrats to Jenny and Clove, I second everything that Alec said!
Well, I disagree with this pick, principally because there is no opportunity for either of the women to find privacy in the apartment. I do agree with the judges' take on the furniture, though.
The bathroom has a door, no?
...and even after the contest, some members of the peanut gallery still find reason to complain about aspects of the contest. Sheesh, give the guy (Craig) a break. Mistakes happen, nobody's perfect, we're only human, life is unfair, (insert assorted other cliches here).
Deal with it.
[End of mini-rant.]
On topic: Congrats, ladies! Yours and David & Im's places were my favorites. It's so cool that you tied for top honors.
Enrique- i've stated many times throughout the contest how much I love the entries, and even agree with the winners chosen. However, I think it does the contest (and Jenny & Clove) a disservice if the judges who are selecting the winners don't know the details of the winning places... especially when citing a perceived flaw (which actually turns out to be an advantage/solution to space-saving & tiny living) about an apartment.
Place me in the peanut gallery if you like on this one, but I'm going to remain unapologetic about taking issue w/ the fact that Craig didn't know where the bed was...
then again, Jenny & Clove still won & will definitely put the prize to good use outside!
-Kellen-
Like Kellen, I would like to state that I am not complaining about the contest or it's rules. I am very happy for Jenny & Clove, their place is gorgeous, their storage solutions are smart and attractive and I hope they enjoy their prize!
My complaint is not about rules, nor about judging, nor is it about the final picks. I was simply stating that the winners were ultimately picked by the judges, and therefore the judges should be aware of the details of the homes.
This choice floors me. It's a nice place, but not in the same league...
Oh, well, t'aint my site.
To explain...I thought J&C'splace was mostly about potential, and that the gals had done pretty well as far as they got. But I did not think it was winning material. They got low points on the livability issue.
In my opinion.
Do you mean to tell me that Craig voted this entry as FIRST PLACE without even knowing if it had a BED? Is Craig some sort of space cadet? I wonder what lack of other reading entries caused Craig to vote against them? Sheesh man, that's embarrassing. And he works for AT! I wonder where he thought they slept?
Just to clarify, I DO think this place is a winner. Maybe that's because I took the time to read about it and view the pics and comments. Silly me.
Unfairly, the logistics of the Murphy bed sunk this place for me. But what could they do? The apartment is so very small. Still, to have to move the furniture every night just to go to bed--no, thank you. And once the Murphy has landed (this is meant as a rhetorical question), how does it respond to, you know, a little action.
As an observer it's satisfying to know that the prize will be used to gussy up the yard. Congratulations and have fun, ladies!
Henrietta-
Just to clarify, we don't move any furniture at night to go to bed. My one problem with our entry is that we didn't have a picture to show the bed when down. We left town before the finalists were announced & hadn't thought we'd be chosen. On the thread for our entry I posted a bit of information on the murphy bed to help people since it isn't clear.
When the bed is down there is ample room between the living room chairs & the end of the bed. There is also tons of space on both sides of the bed where the bookcases are. I can't stand a layout that isn't livable & wouldn't be able to live moving furniture everyday just to go to bed.
On the rhetorical question of the bed's ability to handle "our action", all we can say is it has been performing beautifully. But we haven't gone all Barbarella on it...yet:)
Ha! Thank you for going beyond the call of duty and responding after you had already done gone and won the prize. What can I do but to withdraw my complaint and express my utmost admiration for a job well done?!
As for the part that was none of my damn business, well:
More power to you!
Whoa, bonus points for the Barbarella reference! Nice... But it leaves me wondering which one of you is Jane Fonda and which one is Anita Pallenberg, "Pretty-Pretty".
[Oh, and apologies to Kellen and kate. I was venting out loud above in response to the culmination of weeks of negative comments woven throughout the contest--kind of like when one yells at the TV screen during a presidential address. It was an initial, knee-jerk reaction; and not meant as a full-on attack on either of you. Truth be told, I was having a pretty suck-ass day at work yesterday. So, sorry from the guy sitting next to you in the peanut gallery.]
Huh? --
I agree. Shocking that Craig didn't even know where the bed is. Did he see the door?
Enrique - I understand completely, kind of like how upset I got with the judges during Season 2 of Project Runway ;)
Your fellow peanut,
kate