apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We have the same projector. Nothing beats a 9 foot x 9 foot TV!

I like it..but what's up with pic #5??

I think your place has some great "bones" but I don't see that you've really done anything to make it your own. It's a really lovely start but needs some work to be a winner.

Cool little pad. Did you make the banquette?

Home theaters are great!

In theory I love the built in bench but its hard to understand why it exists if you've got a breakfast bar next to it. I agree with Laura that its hard to see what's going on exactly - but I like the direction this seems to be heading.

pic #5 shows that pull-down screen for privacy in bed, doesn't it? i love your paint colour.

I love the exposed brick walls! Can you clarify what pic #5 is?

"I like it..but what's up with pic #5??"
Pic # 5 is of his sailcloth drapes hanging down to cover the bed alcove.

I love the banquette & bookcase, the design on the hallway wall, the lighting over the bar - I just wish I could see the other ends of the Living and Bedrooms...

(Did you build out that bar with the thick butcherblock top, or was that pre-existing?)

The use of space and built-ins reminds me of the inside of a sailboat: Super Cool!

Great space! I love a lot of it, except for the banquette. I'd love to see proper seating there instead, though I understand it's kind of an awkward space.

your "place" is cool but you haven't done jack to it! this could be entered in best apartment bones possibly but there's nothing more to it in the photos. the little teensy weensy things you have added (plants etc.) i don't really dig that much.

I'm surprised at the comments that Kerry hasn't done anything with the place. The banquette and bookshelf look home made and he created the sleeping alcove. That's more than many of the other places I've seen in the Small Cool entries. Maybe what would have helped is to see what's on the other side of those rooms... What's the rest of the bedroom used for? But even without seeing the whole place it's definitely cool.

From the "DIY" in the name, I'd guess he's done more than jack with it.

Give this a year and it could be a winner. Right now you have no furniture but your space has promise.

ya i was thinking all the furniture was missing too. thats cool he's building things himself, but im pretty sure you need furniture and accessories to have design, unless of course you are Yiming!

right, there are good uses of space here but not much attention to detail. Why are those two doors in the breakfast bar different colors? And I love the banquette, but where's the table. Creative, but confused.

my bathroom is the same color as your kitchen but it looks so much cooler next to a brick wall then next to brown stone tiles.

I like the direction this is going. Would love to see how that banquette turns out.

I like your hide-away bed with the sail curtain, it's such a cool idea.

What a great kitchen. The brick wall with the paint color is fab!

I like the brickwalls but with all that white it would be nice to see some color (the blue in the kitchen works). Also, maybe its just me but the bench seems a little uncomfortable

I love the cmbination of brick with white woodwork, and I like the bed space. Not sure about the seating area newar the kitchen, is that used as a living room? It looks a bit uncomfortable. Definitely giving this a cool vote though.

I'm confused. What's going on in the rest of the bedroom that you need to isolate the bed from the dresser? And why build a big banquette and have no table - it looks clunky in that space with the bar right next to it. Pardon the negativity, maybe if we could see the rest of the space those areas wouldn't be so jarring.

Looks like a great place to start. Like someone else said.... "Great bones". Now you just have to add something to it.

Nice to know you can build things out of plain boards, but I don't see how this is cool when they look unfinished. Less finished than unfinished.

I think your place is great, a home you want to linger in with with a good bottle of wine. One question; can you please tell me who makes the pendant lamps in your kitchen, thanks.

i love the colors and brick, great patterns. some of the hanging lights i would switch out but thats just me. feels very open, love it.

I don't get it. This one is lacking.

Really like the kitchen.

finally, an entry in the SMALL and COOL contest that actually meets BOTH criteria!

Kerry here (I'm a she, but doesn't matter really.)

Pic # 5 is supposed to show the light refracting quality of the sail cloth walls. Any light coming through the back activates the whole wall so that it almost acts like a huge light box.

I did build the banquette, bench, shelving, bed niche etc. - I'm a furniture maker. Couldn't fit the picts of the other rooms: one is "walk in" dressing room opposite "the bedroom." The other, opposite the living area is another bedroom like the one in the photo. Thus the combined bi-level dining/ lounge area.

I do have a strange spare aesthetic, don't plan on getting any other furniture to keep remaining floor space as open and blank as possible.

The pendant lights were specially made by John Pomp. (Johnpomp.com)

Yeah, I was wondering why everyone assumed "Kerry" was male.... because women can't do woodworking? I like the spare aesthetic, although it is kind of hard to tell how everything hangs together through the pix.

I don't often like unfinished wood, but I think it works beautifully here with the exposed brick & paint color. I love what you've done with this space. (But I do wish I could see more of it.)

I like the bedroom which looks calming, but do not like the kitchen/ entertainment area. It reminded me of a reception/waiting area for a take away restaurant or coffee bar - not at all homey, cozy and does not want to make you linger.

Love those built-in benches.

i voted super cool because-- jeez, she built a lot of the cool points of the place! i assumed kerry was a girl... hmm. ANYWAY, do those benches have hidden storage in them? coz that would be totally awesome.

I love seeing DIY stuff - I mean, seriously, anyone can order crap from Ikea. I thought creativity with space was sort of the point of this contest? I like the benches a lot, but think they'd look better (and probably be comfier) with cushions. And I LOVE the cool green wall decorations in the hallway. Is that wallpaper or decals or what?

I voted Super Cool because I'm dying to see more.

I didn't get the sail cloth bed room screen thing until the second tiem through -- the photo is confusing -- but that is a cool idea. I like.

Sorry I didn't get to vote on this one -- I really liked it, especially the curtained bed nook. Somehow, that seemed really appealing. Does it get hot in summer, though?