apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What an incredible space! I'm so jealous of your little stairs and gorgeous floors. Beautiful job on the new loft.

the first image shot is amazing!

love it.
lucky you with the ceiling height to make that loft/cozy space so well-proportioned.

I want to see the kitchen . . .

I'd love hand-me-downs like yours! Great space!

~M

Nice photography certainly makes a huge difference. Very Nice!

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but the chairs depress me. I don't understand why the tv is on a 90 degree angle from the couch & chairs making it awkward to ever watch tv. It feels microtel-ish to me. Yup, I know I'm going to catch hell for that comment.

Love that you have real stairs and not a ladder to the loft. What are the tread/riser dimensions on them? And what is the height underneath the loft. Really nicely done, with a great feel. (I'm not a fan of that black chair, however).

How high are your ceilings?

It's beautiful, but I wish I could get a better idea of what's in the loft - looks like a desk, maybe, and a mattress on the floor of the loft? The bed isn't the whole thing, right?

I love watching TV at just that angle... with my whole body spralled out on the sofa, and my head on the armrest.

The more I look at the apartment, the more I like it. Very nice.

This is a lovely space!

I Love Upstate -- I'm getting the strong feeling that there is huge, huge enthusiasm for rooms that feel like hotels. Something is going on in the American psyche (or at least the AT psyche) about wanting to be in places that create a blank slate and erase the demands of being settled in one place, for one life.

Wende, I think you're right. But hotel rooms are also adding more features of "home."

Yep. There does appear to be a big preference for the sterile and bland this year. Not that it is bad, but so life-ingless. I guess the key is to remove anything that applies to everyday living from view when taking show photos.

This one is another example of fabulously executed design in a purchased space by folks who have time and money to so invest. Unfortunately, many of 'us onlookers' are not so well heeled.

Funny (tee hee) how the photo so distorts the sizes of the chairs...

I might have shifted the TV room with what you are calling Living on the floor plan (based on where the entry is), but you've done a really nice job on the shell itself. The first shot is beautiful but way past what I could ever achieve, minimalism-speaking.

Just curious, was it not possible to not combine the two closets?
One door, or barn door sliders, may have yielded a cleaner result, but realize there may be practical/structural reasons for why not.

Also nice to see a pitch that adheres to the word-count limit (but not sure i Gte "impermanence of the space"). I remember that word count limit NOT being the easiest of tasks, either, so kudos on spare elegance there as well!

Sorry, but I agree with Upstate (and I'm not a big fan of homes that look like hotel rooms, Wende).

i live in a similar space with similar constraints and found that lofting the bed was the only solution as well - the only way to have "living" space.

understandably, for the SCC, people clean and tidy their space and make it photo-ready - perhaps that has more to do with the sterile spaces we've seen...

also, the smaller my home is, the tidier and more minimalist i prefer it to be - it is just too maddening to be in a small space and have all of my personal effects out...

it certainly is small, but it's just an unstyled space... I guess because items are kept to a minimum it can go into "has potential?" but I can say that for a lot of entries...

while the loft bed area is so beautifully done, and the living area underneath has such great potential, the image of that black leather chair sort of kills the whole idea a bit for me. get some of that ugly stuff out :) great apartment though.

Wow is this gorgeous. I love that first shot, reminds me of a zen monastery. I wish I could take a nap in that loft right now.

I love the notion that you are embracing impermanence rather than trying to deny it. There is a lot here that I find inspirational. I love the chairs in front of the coffee table, what a great idea. My beau and I tend to end up eating in the living room, so I love the idea of a multi-functional coffee table.

It's not just tidying up that leads to blank walls and bare surfaces, though, BK. If you have collections -- or beloved china -- or art -- those will still be visible when the morning's coffee cups and newspapers are tidied away.

What I'm seeing this year is a conscious decision by submitters not to have those elements of life. White background -- modern furniture in white -- television -- that's it. Neutral background for the reader to project themselves onto; no psychological demands of a specific life.

Can that be done well? Sure. Is it a valid take on "design"? Sure. But psychologically and aesthetically, it's a long way from p(too)'s dark walls and animal prints, or Shauna's pale green with plush chairs and 1950s kitsch. Even compare the entries to some of the featured Cure photos -- it's like a different world.

I'm not criticizing anything specifically, just interested in what phenomenon is at work here.

BTW: the TV on the perpendicular wall is the only way everybody (more than one) gets a chance to see it. Besides, not everybody wants or needs the TV as the focal point. In a small space, a TV usually is the 800# gorilla anyway. Here, there is so much more to take in.

I love this place -- it's so peaceful and calm-looking. The loft structure is like a DeStijl sculpture.
Why do people think this looks like a hotel room? Because it's clean and uncluttered? Most of the hotel rooms I stay in for my job have cheesy Donald Trump-esque "look how rich we are" decor -- they don't look anything like this, unfortunately. (Picture oil paintings of fox hunts bolted to the wall... *classy*!)

Is there more storage? I don't see how two people fit all their clothes and shoes and stuff into those two little closets.

i love upstate, you're on the right track; great space but awkward furniture placement. for example you enter the apartment right on top of the sofa and tv area. as patrick(the other one) mentioned just reverse the living and tv areas.

I agree with Doug--

Perhaps it is more that the state of hotel rooms is drastically improving? That the Ws and the Kimptons of the world have shown us that a calm environment can still have panache?

I mean, I don't think the "it looks like a hotel" comments are talking about Holiday Inns, right?

And I TOTALLY disagree that "sterile" and "bland" are interchangeable... while "sterile" is not high praise, a cleaned-to-the extreme home does not automatically mean "bland." Many all-white entries this year have REALLY proven that point.

And I'm soooo tired of the "they have money, so of course it works" argument. Ugh.

wende--

If I moved back South again, you'd be looking at a nearly all-white interior from me.

With some nearly white cowskin, just for continuity.

As a transplant from Southern light and heat, New York City just doesn't feel "all white" to me.

Unless, of course, I had the good fortune to move into the Richard Meier glass boxes...

Nice place, but that is one f-ugly black armchair. I can't believe you have it in there given that your taste seems otherwise wonderful. I also agree that the orientation of the tv relative to the "conversation area" is weird. And given that the TV looks pretty large and fancy, I'm thinking it actually gets watched - why strain your neck like that? And I will continue disparaging glass coffee tables - you cannot put your feet up on them! Glass is for side tables, in my view, not coffee tables.

This is meant to be constructive criticism. The place is very nice overall.

RE: "I guess the key is to remove anything that applies to everyday living from view when taking show photos."

My guess is that all the "things" that reflect "everyday living" have been put away in appropriate places. Clothes are in the closet, books are on the shelves, dishes are in the cabinets, mail is in a drawer... What "everyday things" exactly are you talking about? I see flowers, pictures and a hastily made bed. Seems lively enough to me!

Living in small space New York, this is the only way to go. I'm sure if Wende in Phoenix or whoever threw out everything she didn't actually use, she'd be left with just what she actually needs.

P.S. On a non-supportive note, I too am hatin' that black chair.

i hear you wende...my entry was interrupted by work so i didn't finish typing all that i wanted and thought the hell with it...but i'm back. some of this year's entries and this one in particular gave me no clue as to who lived there (here)...none...perfect spaces to rent out to others who can then make it their own.

as someone who has at times fantasized about and toyed with the idea of making my space blank-slate-ishly stylish so that no one would have a clue as to who i am (neutrally sylish for re-sale value, blah blah blah), i understand that it must (i hope) take great constraint and effort to make ones space appear that way. perhaps the phenomenon is to create a space that may appeal to as many people across the board as possible, thus requiring a space to be strangely generic? a space that all (or as many as possible) could envy?

funny that i, too, thought of P(2)'s space when thinking of what the perfect balance is for me. i have yet to see a space that is that inviting, rich, orderly, stylish and functional. i re-visit that post A LOT.

I like the space but, like a few others, I'm not so keen on the furniture placement. Lots of potential here though.

The place looks great. What kind of wood flooring did you use for the loft?

For the people who don't like the black chair, just think what they could get with one of the contest prizes! Good luck!

perhaps the phenomenon is to create a space that may appeal to as many people across the board as possible, thus requiring a space to be strangely generic? a space that all (or as many as possible) could envy?

Yeah, BK, we're thinking along the same lines here... I think there is something very powerful about feeling you (generic "you") could project yourself into that space...

Some possible answers for 'sterile' asthetic: 1. White walls can be nice because they reflect light and add a calming, orderly effect to what outside is complete chaos. 2. Renters usually can't paint with any color except white. 3. Maybe people have always lived simply in clean, bright, open spaces... there just wasn't an apartmenttherapy.com to expose us? 4. Maybe some people choose to let themselves and visitors be the art and the apartment is the gallery?

Love the loft and the clean looking stairs.

I gotta defend these folks. Just because they don't have all their personal trash piled up to the ceiling and haven't shown us gratuitous photos of their crooked dish towels, doesn't mean their place is sterile. To me it looks neat, clean and organized which is exactly how your home should look when you invite guests -- like everyone on AT.

All that being said, they really need to move that little chair away from the entry it looks blocked and unwelcoming to me.

I'm so in love with those dark wood floors in the loft that I want to marry them and have their little espresso-finish babies.

Judging from the line in the pitch about wanting to improve on their hand-me-downs, I'm going to guess that the furniture is less about competitive minimalism or sentimental attachment to the black chair, and more about not having had the time/resources yet to pick the right pieces.

And the TV area makes sense as it is; putting it under the loft makes for coziness. The chair/couch setup means that four people can face each other and actually TALK, but when the time comes for TV watching, you could sprawl on the couch or adjust the wood chairs for better viewing.

And the alternative would probably be putting the desk under the loft, which might be claustrophobic.

This apartment looks to me less like a hotel and more like a work in progress--but what great progress!

pj, there's a big middle ground between a bare apartment on one extreme and one piled floor to ceiling with trash on the other. This apartment does feel sterile to me. That doesn't mean I want to see dirty dishtowels, but some color, somewhere would help (even pink roses instead of white!), and more colorful artwork that is proportionate to the space (e.g., look at the small picture above the sofa). And there are definitely "everyday things" that don't lend themselves to being put away and taken out again every time you need them. Here there isn't even a bedside table for an alarm clock or glass of water.

The layout of the loft (along with the dark hardwood floors) is VERY interesting. The decor, not so much.

SO COOL! this place rocks, i would wanna live here...it is super cozy and has a very nice, relaxed feeling to it! This is a place to come home to... BIG YEH for p d! You made this place a little gem!

the first shot is really gorgeous.

Love the overall layout of the space and the fact that there are stairs leading to the loft area. I usually like color on the walls, but the dark floor in the loft against the white wall looks great. Could there have been something else done with the mattress? Looks messy compared to the neatness of the rest of the apartment. Other than that, love the space and especially the coffee table.

BrooklynRob - your job is making you stay in bad hotels! Kidding. Anyway, might I suggest that if you ever get out to LA that you give the Chateau Marmont a spin? The rooms are glorious (especially the first room on first floor just to the right of the check in desk!!). And just so you don't all think that I hate white/sterile, I'd happily live in the Mondrian. The rooms there are like living in a white cotton ball cloud. Totally dreamy.

I think the layout of this place is horrible. I am just talking about the layout folks. Also who wants to sleep on the floor every night? Lie there waiting for bugs to crawl into bed? Yuk, not for me. Then, if I had to get up at night? Half asleep, down the stairs I would tumble.

How much does a place like that cost?

I kind of want to see more colors on the walls, but even that is hard to notice because I can't stop staring at the rich brown of the floors in the loft and on the stairs. Nice!

What Wende says is interesting to me, because it's exactly how I feel about my cheap rental. I've done some work on it, replacing painted over fixtures, repainting, ordering blinds, and I did so because I thought it would be a bit dubious to pretend it's not an 'efficiency studio.' Why not work with this concept? It certainly goes along with a smaller footprint, using less resources, and maximizing space.

I tried to clean my palate by filling in holes with foam and tile grout, sanding, repainting w/decorator's white, replacing outlets, light fixtures, and doorknobs (all done on the cheap). I ditched hundreds of books, a dictionary stand, an Ikea TV stand, and took everything off the walls. I now have a desk, a bed, a bookshelf, one painting. It looks like I'm just starting out, rather than stuck here for good, or marooned. What I have is nice, too, which is essential. It makes taking a plate out of the cupboard or boiling water a transcendental experience. Or rolling out the TV on the aluminum cart. One problem is my keystrokes echo. I need a rug.

I like these 'bland' apartments because their owners have better things to do than fondle their clutter. Objects have a special power over us, and fewer objects means less subjugation. What is challenging is picking the few things you do need, like a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. I'm having a really hard time, myself. What bookshelf do you set in a room with a Legnoletto by Haberli?

M--

I think that the perfect "Good Question" to post to the site!

From seeing a bunch of these submissions, I think part of this may be too many people reading Dwell and other modern shelter mags, as far as the "staging" of their apartments for photographing. Its like half the contestants have sublimated the stereotypical image from these magazines of the clutter-free, blank white wall, minimalist, modernist loft space into their psyche.

I wouldn't be surprised if half these spaces are a lot more cluttered and homey looking in their everyday lives but have been cleaned up for their photos - all the way down to the art-y and design-y angled and assymetrically cropped shots.

"I wouldn't be surprised if half these spaces are a lot more cluttered and homey looking in their everyday lives but have been cleaned up for their photos"

Well, duh!

; )

you all must stay at far nicer hotels than I do.

It looks like I'm just starting out, rather than stuck here for good, or marooned.

Zing. One thing about many of the "cluttered" apartments is that their residents seem embedded in them -- you can't imagine prying the dweller out unless they were hit on the head with a beam and awakened with a different personality. It's like the room is a cocoon that they pull around them.

Having been down the "embedded" path in SF, I'm trying to find a middle ground, which may be why I'm so fascinated by the appeal of the white.

Looks like the ceilings are double height, and the loft seems like it could accomodate a normal bed rather than just a mattress.

Besides the well-executed loft, the rest of the space seems a little vanilla. It's not "minimalist" to me - there's an adequate amount of furniture, storage and art. It's just lacking in personality, IMO.

from the photos, it looks like you have 2 slightly different colors of paint on your walls -- what a clever way to divide up an open floor plan.

Neat, clean, calm, warm, inviting, pleasant and smart use of such a small space. Kind of the opposite of what most urban dwellers experience when they get out onto the sidewalk.

Again, not enough photos. I really think the lack of photos may lead to unfair conclusions about the spaces. Just like walking into the middle of a conversation we are walking into the middle of a living room or bedroom and not getting the whole story. Of course this place has been staged for a photo but it definately is a person's vision of their home and has personality.

The loft feel combined with more traditional finishes makes the space alone pretty interesting.

Stunning other than the black chair. Thanks for sharing with us.

I love the first shot of the bedroom, it's simplicity is soothing to me.

Love it! The loft is amazing and the floors are beautiful. I think I'll come visit.

I really like the whole apartment, and especially the stairs leading up to the loft. So much better than then thin, step-ladder deal.

Please let us know the type of floor for the upper room loft. It is beautiful!! This is an amazing layout.

I feel like this is the kind of entry that could really use the prizes! They've got a wonderful sense of style and placement but could use some zing here and there.

I completely agree with the comments about sterility. This certainly isnt the most unfriendly site i've seen. In fact, it looks comfy - but not homey - but I have no sense of who lives here. I'd love to see some artwork, some colorful pillows - something! I think its a great start!

I love reading the complaints regarding "lack of color". The apartment is actually packed with various warm wood tones in addition to the white walls and black and steel furniture elements. With only single aspect light in such a small space, I can see why the occupants would want to stick with white on the walls. Likewise, in such a small space it's vitally important to edit, edit, edit your possessions and combat the tendency to clutter. Clutter quickly grows oppressive and depressing in a space this size.

Apart from the hideous hand me down black chairs - both of 'em - the only problem I have with this space is the scale of the art on the walls. They need at least one or two large-scale pieces in the apartment, or perhaps a tight grouping of smaller pieces. The smaller pieces they've scattered about just aren't cutting it. I might also recommend a large mirror on the back wall, opposite the large window, as opposed to artwork.

They've really done a great job with the hand me downs, though. And I love the mattress on the floor up in the loft - very Japanese. Any bugs that can make their way up to the loft could climb up into most beds, anyhow.

Really like most of this. Some is quite impressive, but the black chair...could be the distortion, but it really throws a wrench into the overall aesthetic for me.

Boring, depressing and the mattress on the floor looks like a homeless persons crash place in an abandoned building

I agree with Shari.
It is nice, I would like to see something unexpected, though.

clearly violet...you know nothing about being homeless and your remarks are incredibly ignorant and pointless. you need to learn the value of clean lines, good light, and simplicity. try living as a homeless person and see if it compares.

Interesting comments. Ok, so the black chair isn't popular. Didn't they say they were dealing with their hand me downs?

TV: I sit on the floor with my back against the sofa and give my cat her treats as I watch TV. What the hell do I know? Would I photograph it for a contest? No. So everything is staged.

P(too) and Wende always have interesting, well thought out design comments. I count on their advice and suggestions in these matters. I continue to think P(too) has the best NYC apartment I've ever seen, although this year's show of white has been magnificent and Wende's brain and thought process is incredible (I've only seen one photo of the Phoenix place and it was really nice) and her home will be even lovlier if my pillows every arrive there! (On their way,I swear)

The overall look of this entry appeals to me and my need for a calm space and so I like it, however, I need personal things around me so I would live differently. These contests give me great ideas, things to think about and I'm always grateful for whatever I can cull from all the tips.

As to the mattress on the floor and the sense of homelessness, P042 kind of nailed it for me. And, I have a very, very low bed and I've never had any difficulty getting anyone in it. It's a matter of how you like your damned bed. I like mine low. And I'd like those sheets. And the photo evokes the sense that someone has been there. I like that as opposed to perfection. And I love the cleanliness here because its a big thing for me to have cleanliness. Ok, so maybe a few nice throw pillows. But are we suppose to pick apart each entry to the max, or are we looking for best solution and design of a small space?

As an overall comment on the bulk of entries: I do think people are leaning toward a more generic presentation. But I've also noticed that when an entrant exhibits some personal style, then we say there is too much of it. Oh well...good luck to all.

Hi, everyone. We will try and answer some of the questions put to us here. As far as the technical inquiries, we used birch plywood for the loft floor and stairs, then stained it a dark walnut color, and coated it with polyurethane. The treads of the stairs are 8 and 1/4" long and the risers are 10" tall. The overall ceiling height is 12'-5".

That cloth black chair IS f-ugly, but it's also comfortable! Both the black chairs need to go, we just have not gotten replacements yet. We have found that the chair arrangement works out well for watching tv, and I (D) had personally always wanted the tv perpendicular the couch because I like to lay down across the couch. The arrangement seems to work out well when we have guests too.

As far the sterile and bland comments go, we partly agree. We moved in very recently and have not settled on any large scale art for the walls. The place though IS in desperate need of color, so (P) tells me. I (D) personally prefer the color and ornament to come from the objects within a space while leaving a fairly neutral pallet for the enclosure. The place is actually kept pretty clean, not far too from what the images show. This is mostly due to my mild dose ocd! I hate clutter in my house and where I work.

I can't really put my finger on what is making people select bland color pallets and furniture. Perhaps it is just a product of a clean aesthetic from the media and magazines. This too needs a source. Maybe the design field is attracting or molding restrained and conservative individuals. I think it is a TREND that is indirectly sourcing a traditional Japanese sense sparseness. If you look at traditional Japanese houses, they were often of neutral tones and color came from the outside nature and interior objects. Also, it becomes harder to add color to a place the more it has been set into a motion towards a neutral pallet. (P) tried to buy some blue pillows and I freaked because it would have been the ONLY color in the place. I would rather get some color up on the walls first.

Anyway, thanks for your comments! We enjoyed reading all of them.

-P D

The space is very nice but imho the decor is uninspired. Admittedly I'm a clutterbug and a sucker for more color and personality infused into a room. I love the coffee table though.

me gusta este apartamento, me gusta agua fresca. CIAO BAMBINA

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Wow.

Great layout and lighting!

My Vote: Stellar! Insta-Finalist!

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