apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Where is Mahattan?

oh... my...god.. your place makes me want to toss 90% of everything i own and to pare it down to its pristine essentials. although i could never live so pared-down as you, i absolutely love your home's freedom from encumbrance (i.e., material objects). i know if my boyfriend saw your home he'd exclaim, "that's it! do that!" :-D

Love the organization of the study area!

Is all or part of the kitchen painted black??!

I'm voting "super-cool" because I want to see more pictures of this one!!

Wow, those are some sexy photos - what kind of camera did you use?

Me like. I want to see more detail, esp of that office and kitchen.

Gotta go with The Edge

Great pictures, but i've really had enough of the vignette shots! The picture of your organisation boxes really threw me - they give absolutely no indication of what that part of your room looks like.

I'm always curious about these super-pared-back apartments - Are you able to maintain the austere cleanliness on a day to day basis? Or is all your stuff (nightstand? dresser? alarm clock? books?) stashed in a closet for the photo session?

My favorite, so far.

I love the way your apartment is laid out. The rooms have a nice flow to them. How do you use that first room, the little junction space right after the entry way? We get a little glimpse of a chair in that space in one photo, but I want to see more. Bold move in painting a small kitchen black--it's impressive that you pulled it off. I also think the conversion of that powder room/closet/antechamber to the bathroom into an office was a smart decision. The only thing missing are some houseplants, since you have all that light in the main room.

i love it! i looked at the photos and plan long enough to understand what you did with the space, and i think it rocks. mucho awesome. the space feels big and the study/office seems very efficient.

Interesting apt... When I see lots of these floor plans I think of alternates that would make the apt more valuable, and ad privacy. If I owned this apt. I would move the kitchen to the study, and it should be simple and cheap, as the bathroom is right next door. and I would make the kitchen a private bedroom. You would gain more privacy, and living space. Just a thought.

Are you projecting right onto the wall or a screen?

Small. Cool. Can't wait to see more!

One more thing, I would then put the dining room outside the moved kitchen you would have a much bigger dining room and a much bigger living area, the wall outside the former kitchen could house your study items..

Sorry, but the only interesting picture I find of this lot is the work area. With so many drawers, I hope the scribbles on the top left corners of each drawer are labels indicating its contents.

This is more personal, but I find the layout of your furniture really odd. Having the living room right across from your bed when you have a completely empty area when you walk in from the entrance is strange. Do you intend to do something there?

Love the photography but I'm not seeing enough.

I am really stuck on your furniture layout though.. I don't see you working with the challenge of a small space since you have a large area with nothing in it.

It's a very cool place/space.

I'd love to see a rug though.

Please, photos of the entire space, not of objects! I'm sure your place is very cool (what little of it I saw was), but it is hard to tell with these pictures. Show us the space now and then do vignettes if you make the finals.

I too have a level of frustation with the shots of "objects". I have no idea what the space looks like as a whole- so I can't decide if it's cool or not.

I agree - no clue (other than floorplan) what your apartment actually looks like. Skill as a photographer, but that's not the point.

Love the projection. Great way to display art in a small space.

I'm willing to call this Super Cool, even though I'd rather see a rug or two. Projecting a TV onto a wall is wonderful. It's kind of old fashioned like a drive-in, and it's kind of modern like a wide screen TV.

Great place. Overall and for most of the entries, the photos are details and still life of the apartments. Everyone needs to back away and show the readers your apartments when photographing. Maybe AT needs to repost that blog on how to take a good pic of your apartment.

This is my favourite entry so far. Can't wait to see more shots of the space!

'The Edge' would give me nightmares but a great place.

Elegantly empty. It somehow lacks the bleakness of many minimalists interiors. Well done!

By the way--to those grousing about the vignettes, (usually one of my pet peeves, too) look at the very first establishing shot in the slideshow--it shows both the kitchen and study as spaces rather than vignettes.

I know that building! 55th st?

super cool! i have to say, i didn't actually want to like this one (it's very minimal, i don't think i could live there), but after seeing all the pictures, i think it's lovely. it's so peaceful, the black in the kitchen looks great. looks like it gets great light which warms it up a little. i do agree with the people above who are voting for a rug. wouldn't your feet get cold on all that wood during the winter?

i think the pictures are gorgeous and actually show the space pretty well. just look at the pictures and compare to the floorplan. bed is across the room from the couch...perpendicular is the shot of the two arches, through which you can see the kitchen and the desk area with all the little boxes...

I drool with envy - and wish you the best for reaching the finals. Your apartment has a super-cool vote from me.

parrishnut: In what world is moving a kitchen and redoing the entire structural layout of an apartment "simple and cheap"??

Also, regarding the vignette discussion: Have you people ever tried to photograph a small space? Typically the small dimensions make it hard to get a shot of the entire room.

If you project the Carpenters onto the wall I'll vote super-cool.

Doug in DC - I have photographed my old apartment which was 293 sq. feet. It's difficult but certainly possible.

Cool...! very very minimal and cool. thnx for this one.

You got my vote for best photographed entry. & No matter how sparse, you inspire small spaces with lovely shapes and colors throughout your home.

So no books then...?

When will people in this contest start showing their apartments and not their THINGS???


WHEN???

I love everything... except the layout. That wasted room! Use it as a nice dining area, or put your bed there and move your office out into the main living space.

On the whole though, this is great. It's minimal, but not lifeless. I like the colours, and the way the furniture pieces work together. I think this embodies the spirit of living small.

ugh, Jesus people. Get over the vignette thing. I think he did a great job of shooting the rooms as best he could working with 500 sq. ft. If you it really bugs you THAT MUCH just vote "Not my bag" and stop bitching.

I would have voted super-cool but it doesn't seem as though this place is small at all. The "dining room" looks like isn't even used and the living room is humongous. I think a different layout would give the place a better look.

I like this apartment very much. Maybe I just want a projector. I think the workspace looks very efficient in a tiny alcove, and you can make a mess and leave it there when guests are over, and it's just big enough to work without taking over the whole space. Same with the blessing of closets, I imagine. I wish I saw more how the living room looks or pull back a bit in the kitchen. This entry isn't as "vignette-y" with the still lifes (lives?) as many have been; I see enough to get the gist, I'm not looking at the same chair from 5 angles, and it makes me want to see more. Next time with more light please?

I don't think any of these shots are vignette shots at all. I do know what people are talking about with the vignette thing for many of the other entries--it annoys me too; the greater the attempt at artiness, the more annoying, and the less opportunity to truly see the space. It vies with overblown design magazine writer-wannabee answers to the questions for annoyingness. But I don't think any of these shots are wasted on vignettes.

amen, suzie.

half of you complain about the vignette thing, half of you complain "what no books, no stuff? who lives here?"

the people who are submitting their apartments are showing you the photos that they think best represents themselves, their sense of style and decoration, and their ability to live in a small apartment.

if i had an office space that organized, you can be damn sure I'd include a photo of it.

don't complain that you "want to see more", because, well, you CANT. the photos have been submitted, quit whining.

I think this entry gives us a little bit of everything: a couple of room shots, a couple of arty shots, a great photo of organization, and fantastic photography overall.

I love this apartment, but after seeing the floor plan, I am wondering what's in that huge space between the bed and the study.

Very, VERY nice. Hen piao liang!

Coolest to date.

Very cool. This has given me some decorating ideas for my own tiny space!

I think this apt. looks great, and I'm having no trouble figuring out what it looks like from the pictures. Not sure what all the controversy is about here.

And I agree with heather leaf, this is really making me think about how much stuff I have in my place (and usually the more minimalist places don't have that effect on me).

When I said I want to see more in this apartment, I meant it to be flattering in the anticipation of seeing more, not like in some of the other entries where they just aren't dangling enough evidence of more, but reiterating moods of their one or two favorite things. Yiming goes ahead and shows a little of everything, and I can't wait to see the rest (because I hope it gets to the next round). In case I wasn't clear before, but I hate to see whole phrases I used quoted as an example of whining when that wasn't even my intent.

I can't speak for everyone though.

Because of the limitation of the size of the photos, I did vertical shots for all the photos you see. Here are my answers to some of the comments:

• If you read the floor plan (I’m a novice on this and my husband downloaded “Paint” on my Mac last night to have it done), I have a wall to wall book shelf on the right side of the bed. It takes a horizontal shot and I wanted to keep the presentation consistent, hence the minimal look. But the space is definitely not as empty. I did go over my stuff from time to time to decide which one to trash, and I achieved a bit, but still far from “minimalist”.

• The shot for the whole room, again, works best in horizontal shot, I have many photos in my apartment blog, if anybody’s interested, I’ll include the link in my next comment.

• I try to leave minimal furniture in the entrance area, since that’s where the most traffic is, and I want to occasionally accommodate standing guests and sometimes, my bicycle and rollerblades. I do have a giant mirror, a tulip chair, a stool and a big chandelier there.

• I didn’t point my lens to the busiest area of my apartment….the whole space is definitely very functional and very livable, call me a maximalist!

• I did include most of the apartment in the photos, except for the bathroom and the wall to wall bookshelves.

• The study is a small dressing room that you could find in most prewar buildings. Both my husband and I study a lot, and I figure I need a small space that has some privacy to study. Plus, a enclosed space prevents my things spreading all over, and it worked out nicely.

• The movie is projected directly against the wall. This is how we watch movies

• I used Nikon D40x for these shots. I love photography. I shoot in film as well.


I’m an amateur in design field, and it’s my first time participate a competition. Your comments are fun to read. Thank you all.

This is my favorite. Warm and friendly with happy furnishings. Yay.

Yiming--do not link to more photos. I believe that will disqualify you.

You've whetted my appetitie to see the entrance way and your wall of shelves!

And that has to be the tiniest kitchen sink I've ever seen. Is it really useable, that small?

Favorite so far. The layout of the bed across from the sitting area is genius for the shape and size of the apartment. Plus the couch is unique and sized perfectly for the space. I like that the two chairs on the other side of the coffe table could easily be turned around to watch the projection TV. I wonder if light from the window ever washes out the TV and if there is a solution for blocking the light if you wish to watch something during the day. Also I love the nook used for a small office space. Very clean with a calm and comfortable feel.

Looks rather like an(other) office with a bed in it - no art, no plants, no textures, no personal touches. Not my style, but apparently it's popular and well-liked.

I'm intrigued by the black walls, stainless steel and white marble in the kitchen. It's a pity there aren't more pics of that.

Nice! We don't have a TV, but project DVDs exactly like this, on the wall over our bed (to watch, we move pillows to the foot of the bed). We never watch movies during the day, so light isn't an issue.

Great work

xoxoxo
from your neighbor on west 55th street

Sometimes all you get for dinner in Manhattan is edamame split three ways and three saketinis, but that's not a sustainable life style. You've got certain way hip design elements, particularly the bedroom projection, but I find myself craving rugs, pillows, color, some evidence that you're not crashing in a gallery and bogging your boss's sex life.

Doug in DC - sorry to answer here but when you get a one bedroom out of a studio, even 50 grand in moving a kitchen is cheap. If you looked at his floor plan the new kitchen would back up to the already existing bath, so it's maybe 1-2,000 to add plumbing for a sink max... new stoves are halogen and don't need special plugs, and advantium microwaves are ovens too. so it's simple..
p.s. I renovate wrecks for a living...

Awesome bedroom, that's what I am striving for, a very "zen" space with absolute minimum of clutter.

Super duper cool. It's quirky but spare. 500 square feet is small, but you still found room to accommodate voids. It's that empty breathing space in between the stuff that gives your home grace.

Love the yellow furnishings. Looking at the photo of your kitchen shelving makes me feel serene.

Empty space is also furniture. Nice place. I want to do yoga there, eat ice cream and then watch a movie.

I like a lot, but finally throwing my lot in with those who say, to judge a room, we need to see a room! I can't tell what the kitchen really looks like, and it's a little dizzying to only see the LR from the ceiling...

Can't tell you how much I love this apartment. But I'll echo Alana in Canada: DO NOT LINK TO MORE PICTURES!! It will disqualify you and I want to see you among the finalists!

love this! love the choice of photos and how much you show of the place. Love the use of space and the organization while still having a comfortable and relaxed feeling. having three closets probably helps but everything looks so just right.

same story...not enough to go by, but I do like the yellow sofa.

checked back to see additional comments, and on rereading my own, concluded I should apologize for being snarky. Cleaning up the nasty streak in this contest starts at home. Still find it too far in the minimalist direction, particularly the sleeping area (would feel agoraphobic there), but hey, that's what voting is for.

I'm coming out of hibernation just to vote Super Cool on this one.

So there!

I spoke with Hell's Kitchen Flea Market vendor "M Rock" this past [cold!] weekend at the market during a special photo shoot taking place there, and he remarked on how modern--that is, mid-20th-century and later...mainly the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, I assume--is very popular with his customers. About the once-typical antiques--mostly 19th-century stuff--he said that not only is such inventory just "not coming out of people's houses anymore [in order to be sold,]" but if it did, "nobody would want it anyway." Let's face it, as a general rule, young professionals and design-conscious renters (and owners) in New York City are not exactly pining to fill their pads with the Victoriana coveted by their grandmothers. Though this is just my subjective opinion, it seems to me that even Deco items (1920's and '30's mostly) aren't circulating as widely as they used to. Modernist is certainly the direction things are going.

Congratulations - really well done! I particularly love the mix of styles - futurist, mid-century modern, and a few period accents here and there. It takes a great eye to sucessfully marry those looks, but you did it. Fab.

Supercool! I am especially impressed by your tasteful selection of furniture pieces that link chic with warmth.

That is a wicked yellow sofa!

I don't like the minimalists, if "less is less"

I like, and don't mind to be a minimalist, if "less is more"

I'm the guy in this apartment, and I don't take any credit for any of the design choices made here, which are all made by my wife. The unique thing about this space is that we have an almost symbiotic relationship with it, if you view a home as a kind of a living thing. What I mean is that we adapt to what the room has to offer (e.g., small space), and the room adapt to our lifestyle (e.g., choice of decoration). Both benefit from the relationship. We streamlined our life somewhat to purge things that are not important to us (e.g., getting rid of our TV), and the room benefits from our sense of design (or my wife's sense of it, anyways). We are not minimalist in any way because we don't fit our lifestyle to a strict "minimalist code". I like the space because it's just right. I have just what I need (which is MORE than bed sheets and a book) instead of an ever sprawling collection of things, and I have enough airy and bright space to keep my spirit up but not a McMansion. The space is, in one word, healthy.

While this is certainly a well thought-out place, it felt a bit too austere to me.

Needs more pears.

I love it, I can't be that minimalist myself, but it really looks great. It's a little bit Wong Kar Wai to me, that sort of wistful urban romantic with gritty texture. Love the sofa, and that is an IKEA coffee table, or no? It looks like the really awesome one that I fell for in pictures only to learn that it has been discontinued.

(As well as a Liden credenza I KNOW I saw somewhere and wishwishwish I could buy. But that's an aside...)

That is an IKEA coffee table. I scored mine on sale for about $30 a few years ago. Sadly, I had to leave it behind with my roommates when I moved away from NY. I still miss it.

Yiming - you have an amazing place. Love the style, love the colors, love everything about it. This really makes me want to do some decluttering of my own.

designjunkle is right about the coffee table - it's from IKEA.

woodleyparkzoo, you made me smile. I like Wong Kar Wai a lot. I went to see him last week when he's in New York. I grew up under his influence and I can't help

I have a projector too! They rock - no big ugly TV to try and hide.

Wow, this place is really nice. I like the use of space, and the layout is pretty easy to understand. Where is your refrigerator?

I like that your workspaces in the office and kitchen are small, focused spaces; the main room is more restful without so much clutter. It makes me want to dance. Big empty space is so luxurious. You can DO something in it instead of putting something in it.

I used to keep a small flashlight and a paperback under my pillow. I like that your bed doesn't have a table of distractions on either side. Seems like a good solution when your bed is in the main space.

A bit too minimalist for me. I do love the choices in furniture for the living room and how everything in the office is organized with the boxes and labels.

Karen

Way cool, Yiming. I love your sense of style! Donald from the 'hood.
P.S. nice touch with The Edge.

The Edge just won me over. Can't help it.

So much vertical organization! Impressive.

I kinda wanted to zoom in to see the labels on your little drawer units. I fantasized they were all junk drawers. That would be funny "Junk" "Sh*t" "More Junk" "Don't remember what's in here" "This drawer's too small to be any good."

I'm sure you're more organized than that.