apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I you win!!!

Sorry,

I meant to say: I hope you win!!!

This is my favorite PERIOD.

Definitely one of my favorites.

Whoo hoo!

If this doesn't win, I'll be shocked. Perfect combo of beauty and efficient use of space. The only thing I don't like is the brown bathroom, but that's just me (reminds me too much of poo to use in that space). Otherwise, this is brilliant.

So wonderful!

I love some of the details that were elaborated on in the slideshow - the card catalog repurposed, the AV equipment under the stairs.

However, I still cant shake the feeling that this is somehow cruel to cram 4 people (and a dog) into such a small space.

Far and away the winningest entry! From the card catalogue toy box to the clever high-flying storage in the "master" bedroom, this family home is a paragon of small and cool. I applaud the work you've put into making this space perfectly livable, and I wholeheartedly disagree with Modfan: cruelty has nothing to do with this home. It's definitely small by U.S. standards, but it is absolutely doable. Cozy.

Thank you for entering this contest. So nice to see a different take on the cultural conception of the need for gobs of "personal" space.

seriously, stop the contest right here! love the use of space and color, and i especially love the kids' area. it's so refreshing to see a home that openly and honestly has "kids stuff" and still looks great.

This apartment looks like it's in The Archives, and I always wondered how a couple could fit kids in there. Thanks for giving us a look, and good luck!

ModFan, I'm not trying to start an argument, but I've heard the same sentiment before, and I really can't figure it out. What, exactly, do you think we need more room for?

We can dance, do yoga, build, make a "fort," play store... just not all at the same time! I have a sewing machine and a bicycle, my husband has a guitar, the kids have a bouncy seat, a crawling tunnel and wagon and tricycle. We host play dates and dinner parties. I've cooked a month's worth of dinners and frozen them (so meals would be easy after the baby was born) easily in our kitchen. I work at home 3 days a week at the dining table while the sitter plays with the baby and my daughter's at preschool. We can, even including the baby, each be in a different room and be alone if we so chose, though I don't think it's ever happened.

We have 4 playable (meaning I don't count things like the scary McDonald's structure on West 3rd and 6th Avenue) playgrounds within a 5 minute walk; and 2 or 3 more if we walk 20 minutes. We spend a lot of time outside, at least some every day.

Sorry, that turned into a novel. But I really am curious about the sentiment that kids "need" more space. I might well agree when the kids are teenagers though... check back in a decade or so!

@selena, that is sort of funny. I really love this space, and mostly because it has defined areas for children and grown-ups. The "non-kid" areas are not un-kid-friendly, per se, they are warm and bright and casual, but I really dislike seeing homes where they've given it over to the kids' taste or presumed taste. Giving children a little space where they can chill at their own level is at the perfect degree in this home, without going to any extreme hostility toward children in the other areas of the apartment. I mean, it flows, but it looks like adults live there who have children, not like children live there and established the grounds as their territory for the duration, parents present.

Loverly! Funny, my daughter's playspace in the living room is set up almost exactly like yours..

Tip though--I think the bathroom needs some art!

@KTG -- very well-said. I completely agree. I think the key here is the concept of boundaries: be it kids, parents, dogs, whatever, each member of the family needs a space to call their own in the home, but the unified living space is beautiful when those boundaries are set in place.

To be honest, I keep coming back to look at those beautiful blue walls.

I hope you win! To me, this is what this contest is all about.

Lovely!

I love the colors in this place, so tranquil.

Good Luck!

This is my favorite by far. The storage is so clever and the combination of old and new is spot on. And 640 sqft, I live in the same amount with another person and 2 dogs - this is inspiration for us as we begin the journey into parenting!

I liked this entry the first time around, and now I don't. It seems like the furniture is just sort of shoved against the walls for the most part, and the whole place feels chilly, and rather impermanent. I also started thinking about kitchen smells wafting up into the childrens' bedrooms--How do they sleep when you've been cooking with garlic? Or fish? Or am I mistaken, and do those areas completely close?
And yes, when I see a photo of your daughter on her knees on the bare floor, I think to myself "give up a little of your minimalist esthetic and get the kid a rug to play on for goodness sake".

What is the color and brand of your wall color? Just gorgeous.

Well, we don't cook fish for one. And yeah, the windows to the loft bedroom close. There's also a kitchen window, a vent hood that does a pretty good job, and I guess if we needed it we'd turn on the filtered air AC/Heat upstairs (there's one upstairs, 1 downstairs) but it's never been a problem.

The floors are softer than you might think, even with a new crawling baby who bonks his head on the ground a lot. They're made of cushioned cork and are both quiet and springy. I'm sitting or laying on the floor with the kids more often than my daughter, honestly, playing with the baby, and even with a bad knee from a teenage injury, it's pretty comfortable. The rug we had before the renovation we kept until we moved back in and found out how comfy the new floors were.

I think this home defines the point of this contest better than almost any other entry. People have this obscene obsession with thinking they need tons of space, when in fact they don't. I have so very much admiration for this family of four showing that you don't need lots of square footage to raise a family.

Thanks allisonlindsay, selena, Devyn and everyone else for your kind words!

Melinda, for the record we're not actually in the Archive building - good guess though! We're in a smaller former horseshoe factory a few blocks east.

Goonie, we actually have some art up in the bathroom, on the opposite wall immediately behind the camera position. Couldn't show it all...

And Amybell, the blue is Benjamin Moore Tranquil Blue, eggshell finish.

this is a great space. although i'm single in 500 sq and spoiled and can't imagine sharing a slightly larger space with a family. There are worst things you can do to kids than make them live in a small space. i would rather see a happy family in a small space than a homeless family in foreclosure because they bought more space than they could afford.

This is amazing. Good luck.

Wow, I can't believe people are being judgmental about parenting on a design blog! (And fyi, I have a cork floor in my kitchen, and it's soft underfoot.)

I am pretty sure this entry is my favorite, although I usually prefer the super-spare and modern (in theory). It just looks like a comfortable home that is very attractive and well-thought-out.

As for the space issue, you can't win with that here. If people have, like, 1000 sq. feet for 4 people, many people invariably post "OMG, you call that SMALL? It's HUGE!" If it's smaller, someone always posts that it's stifling and cruel. It's kind of amusing and it's very predictable.

I don't like the color in the living room. It reminds me of a hospital.

For a family of four you get props! But when those kids start to grow..................uh-oh!

Otherwise I luv's it.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

I like the whole place, but one of my favorite little touches is something that I think I would have remembered if it had been in the first round of photos, but which IS in this batch -- the way those little personal photos are displayed on the wall at the end of the bar. I like how they all match in size and color, and how they make a nice pattern and still get to show off their family.

I think other people have already mentioned the other things I like, but I haven't seen much said about that one.

Something is off here. Congrats to those who can bite their tongues.

The architect who spent countless hours configuring the under-storage stairway, bedroom shelf and other details is probably nauseous. Just look at the board flopped on the stairway. There's just no way.

An inspirational home to all of us who don't wish to dash off to live in a townhouse in the surburbs to raise a family. Lovely.

We're in the New York Daily News today! Along with the uber cool Tony and Hilary and too few pics of the snazzy SS Waverly. (Guys, we walk by your building every day, we're right around the corner! We should get together sometime-email us!) http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/05/16/2008-05-16_call_the_apartments_cozy_but_these_folks.html

I just find it interesting that the average size of the American home has more than DOUBLED. I can't remember the exact square footage, something like 2200 sq feet is now the average size. But for what? Who really needs all that space? I mean really, who NEEDS all of it? WANTING it, sure. ;) I grew up in a home just under 1,000 sq. feet, along with my mom and sister. And we were perfectly fine.

Yeah, when they're teenagers you may need to rethink the living space, but until then, I think it's great that you're all comfortable with the space you have, and a huge kudos to you not just for making it work, but for being happy within your space in the process!

Great article today in the Daily News - it was great to see both you and the captains of the SS Waverly in your spaces.

Really wonderful, we should all get together soon!

Tony Hilary