apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Is it wrong that I want your bookshelf to be color coded? :)

Love the credenza.

I love those photobooth pictures! Do you remember where you got them done? The process?

I second Gretchen's question. That is grand!

Love, love, LOVE the shelf/desk unit! Does your lovely and talented Daddy take commissions?

The his and hers Aerons are very sweet too ;-)

I feel like this is an entry where I wish AT had a category between "Cool" and "Not my Thang." This is lovely, but not stellar, in my opinion. I don't think it's worth being a finalist (or even a potential finalist) simply because it looks like something most average people with good taste could put together. However, my only other option is the last one, which isn't really fair- it is my thang, but my thang doesn't necessarily win a contest.
I do love your artwork and the tufted couch. And bravo to your dad...

I'm opposed to color coding bookshelves. I prefer to arrange my books by author, topic or country of origin (although that can get complicated) ... but then again I'm an English lit major and probably a little OCD.

I like this apartment.

I love it! Want to see more though...

This is beautiful. I love the credenza, art work and (Boontje?) chandelier. The idea of the his and her work desks just seems to romantic to me. Do you actually sit side by side and work together?

I think you need a large vase on your dining room table. Maybe a Hella Jongerius from Ikea. I'd also like to see the guitar come off the wall, seems too immature in an otherwise beautiful place.

Great work.

Very nice, but get rid of the track lighting.

the guitar's "immature"? talk about a killjoy.

Love the credenza; the desks are really nice.

Leslie, I totally agree with you (down to the English major). For example, I have all three volumes of Graham Greene's biography. One is orange, one brown and the third... I forget (another reason arranging books by color doesn't work for me), but it's a totally different color. It makes no sense to me to have those three volumes on different shelves.

I think of all the entries so far, this is the one I can most see myself living in.

I completely agree with Leslie in Adams Morgan about color coordinating your books. While I would never want to enter a room without lots of books (and would run outta anyone's home if no books were present), the color thing turns them into mere pieces of decoration and seems like the only reason they're there is to add color.

Anywho...this apartment is so metiiiiiiiiiiculously organized (nothing seems out of place and not fussed with) and I love that..as well as the Danish-modern furniture.

How is a guitar immature? Odd comment. I'm assuming one of you plays the guitar, in which this case this is a nice, space-efficient way to store it while display one of your beloved possessions.

The track lighting is unfortunate; I'm thinking Ryan and Natalie rent and unlike an ugly pendant lamp, there's not a lot you can do with tracks. That I know of.

This is a nice, pretty place. Not a finalist, but I would love to live there. Ooh, and I love your sofa!

Oh sign me up for Leslie, Ann and Jon's team in the great battle on the color-coding of books.

clutter, clutter, clutter...

This is so...romance in the Apple age.

Spill on where that sofa is from!

yes - where is the sofa from? i love it.

CLUTTER?! Where?

I love that sofa!

That's the petrie sofa from Crate and Barrel.
I have it in the same color and absolutely LOVE it!

This is human, serene, and romantic but not in an overt or treacly way--in a "we have the guts to put our photo booth kisses on the wall" way.

Ditto on the love for your sofa.

And double ditto on not color-coding books. I don't understand how anyone can *find* their books if they're arranged by color. People think, "Now I want to read something by Toni Morrison," not "Now I want to read something mauve."

I think the title of your entry suits it to a tee. I think it's lovely.

I wish that the third photograph was brighter, as I believe it could show the room off better. I was so excited by the first photo, and the desks in the second just grabbed me in a did-they-really-do-that, oh-my-God-how-cute kind of way. And the kissy photos just clinched the theme.

i like the designs functionality. something for him and her. it's both a little chic and modern at the same time. i wish the his/her desk was a different color...

"Now I want to read something mauve."

Hahahha! Cassis, that seriously cracked me up!

Hey Cat or Natalie/Ryan,

What color is that Petrie?? It does look great!

And I love the shelving/desk combo just like everyone else, And I think your books are great just the way they are.
And that is a Boontje chandelier, I think it's called "Midsummer." I have the same one and love it.

again, this is what i like seeing. people with good taste AND with potential for growth.

i think i'd like some more visually-pleasing organization to the storage unit (though it looks great right now), maybe color coded, maybe hang a large piece of art over the books? who knows...

also, i know this is SO picky, but maybe get a bedskirt? i've found most are too ruffly, but you could have one made to cover your under-the-bed storage.

i'm voting finalist!

I love the photos too! How did you make them?

Hi Jennifer,
Mine is "Lynx" - I am almost sure this one is the same!
It's such a lovely color :)

Jennifer - this is a photo of the sofa in my apartment (when I first moved in and before I decorated!)... http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-help-me-inject-some-color-014482

Anyone know where that credenza is from or is that a craig's list find?

Your art and Danish modern furniture is gorgeous. The Petrie sofa is perfect. Very nice job! I also agree with the others on the photobooth style pics, very sweet. I think it's great that you and your husband work so closely, and seem to really enjoy it based on how close your workstations are. Who plays guitar? Very nice that you opt to live in your home vs. creating a big boring showroom. Applause.

I love this entry. It looks very charming and comfortable but still stylish. The double desk/shelf combo is very functional. It may not reinvent the wheel but not every place can be redone by an architect or industrial designer.

i'm also totally wondering about the photobooth picture...how or where was it created? inquiring minds!

your space is lovely - the credenza, the sofa, the light fixture...they all whisper sweet nothings in my ear! i think they flow perfectly. and honestly, for having TWO offices in your living room, you did a superb job in making it all look visually interesting (i don't see clutter, i see symmetry!) - and really, it's functional, funky, and fun. there feels like an invisible wall between the living room and office, as each stand on their own and don't overwhelm the other. if'n that makes sense....

good job!

this apartment looks like a pleasant place to live or visit. i just wonder about the use of space; i would have tried to make the home office in the first part of the room before the doorway to the bedroom. now when you sit on the sofa the direct view is the office, not great when you're not working. i'd rather look at that nice credenza and painting.
if those are books for work i'd leave 'em, but i do prefer to colorize books, it makes a difference in a small space. i don't search my bookcase each day for a book. the books i'm currently reading are next to my bed.
i love the guitar on the wall, so unexpected, reads as sculpture.

The office space for two is sweet. I'd love to see what you'd do with the DWR prize.

I am opposed to arranging books by color, as it's impractical. I have many, many books, and arrange them by subject, so that I can find the one I want quickly. Can you imagine what it would be like if public libraries arranged the shelves by cover??????

What do you do with a smallish one-bedroom with a standard layout to make it worthy of being a contest finalist based on the contest criteria of efficiency, aesthetics, & special problems? I'm not sure I know (though I doubt it hinges on whether books are color-coded.)

The custom unit is an excellent start. I too wish I had a dad who was talented enough to bring my vision to life--what a great wall unit that is. However, I agree with a previous poster--I would not want to stare at it every time I woke up from a nap on the couch. Especially those matching office chairs. I'm sure they are very ergonomic etc, but I've had ergonomically wonderful chairs that don't look nearly so 1997 dot-com officey. Something fabulous that could be spun around to form an arrangement with the sofa.

I would probably also ask dad to whip up a few more of those sliding doors for the wall unit, leaving perhaps the top shelves and the side piece open for displaying cool stuff. And the beautiful teak table to the right of the desks seems a bit redundant and not serving any purpose. I might put the plant with the other one on the window sill and sell the table on cl and take dad out for brunch with the proceeds.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I think track lighting is pretty cool. Industrial, mid-century, and more control than recessed cans. Plus much easier to install when not dealing with new contruction or a total gut job.

And I might change the knobs on the wall unit to white or same color as the wood to calm it down a bit.

Feels too officey-work from homey to me - I'd hate to sit on that sofa of an evening with my view being of the shelves opposite

(Colour coding - didn't Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite only read red books based on the fact there were so many books in the world she needed a way to decide which ones to read...)

Ahhh, the joy! Is that a Mac cohabitating with a PC? Side by side in perfect harmony (trying. so. hard. not. to. go. totally. MJ. and. McCartney...)

Anyhoo...I am saddened by some of the negative critique that really is just about personal taste. I understand that this is a contest, hence the judgement - but being nice is the best tack, in my rarely-humble opinion.

As a book-loving geek, I am quite torn on the books-by-color debate. However...in the push toward diversity, who's to say my red covered (or spined, anyway) books by and/or about the Dalai Lama wouldn't be perfectly comfortable next to my dog-earred copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover? Of course, that also puts them both in the company of the one obligatory Chicken Soup for the Whatever book in my house.

I want that couch! Love the space.

Another question on the sofa: I found one at the crate and barrel outlet and came thisclose to buying it. It's sharp-looking and fluffy. After sitting for a while, though, I noticed that the seat cushions slid forward and flattened out. The back cushions flattened, too, which gave no back support. I couldn't tell if it was an inherent flaw or if it was because the couch was a floor model (and thus a bit more beat-up)
Have you had this happen to you? Does this couch stay comfortable for a long duration of sitting (say, if you watched a movie)?

I haven't color-coded my books, but I think it's an interesting idea. Doing it at home is not really the same as doing it at a library, because presumably you pretty much know what you have at home (you're not browsing to find something new), and you most likely don't have the public trooping through your living room to find specific books from your shelves.

I like this apartment a whole lot.

I agree with ESP. I neither love nor hate this apartment, but don't think it should be panned in the "not my thang" category. I think however there is too much dark brown, and it is a bit bland.

To the people who think it's not so great that the office unit is across from the sofa:
Note that they say that the office unit also serves as their entertainment center. They probably watch DVDs on one of those computers, and so it's eminently practical to have the sofa across from the office unit. I think that when I wasn't watching a movie, I'd rather look at bookshelves than at a TV shrine, in any case.

IS THAT A CY TWOMBLY HANGING ON THE WALL?!!!

The painting is by Alejandro Merizalde. His website is www.artmerizalde.com. We own three of his paintings

But I agree with other posters--I hate those chairs. They're too tech-y and office-y for a living space, especially when the sofa faces the workspace. They look out of place with the rest of the stylish, well-chosen pieces. I'd like to see chairs that would look nice with the sofa when turned around. And I'd probably keep them arranged that way, except when sitting at the desk, if it was my apartment. It'd keep more focus on the "home" than the "office."

But that's it. I wouldn't change anything else. I like the space a lot.

I meant to also write (at the top of the post) that the idea of using the computer stations as an entertainment center is genius! It's a waste of energy and space to run two appliances that do essentially the same thing.

I love this apartment. It's awesome how you've integrated the different functions into one room. The office area is so cool. I love the couch and the cradenza too.

Love the desk/entertainment unit; not really feeling anything else. Actually, there's something about this entry that looks a bit "Grandma"-ish to me.

PLEASE tell us where/how you made the über large photo booth strip!!--that is just so so so fun and retro/hip...If I had that I would make it a serious focal point in my apartment...I would put it up even if it was of strangers... :)

mirlrose, they also said they didn't have a tv in the living room, hence no tv shrine possibilities. right now it's an office shrine, if you look at it that way.

i love this. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. no tv, how fantastic!! i love your desk, its so sweet. and the photobooth print on the wall! and the bass guitar hanging! i love the low, wide cabinet most.

Hi commenters, Natalie and Ryan here. Thanks for all your critiques; they're much appreciated. To answer some questions, that is the Petrie sofa from Crate & Barrel, and we chose a custom fabric in a light gray velvet. We're really happy with it and find it to be very comfortable. As for the photobooth pic, we scanned a photobooth strip of ourselves and then uploaded it to Rasterbator (google it). It's really easy to use and a great way to make wall-size art. Also, the credenza was a great Craigslist find. Oh, and to reiterate what MiriRose said, we watch movies and tv on the computers, hence the setup.