apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yay Pacific Northwest!

I think it would be most excellent, and ideal if we had as diverse a represenation as possible in AT. This is not to say that DC/Baltimore doesn't have its unique defining characteristics; however, I'm biased.

I live in Vancouver, and home is where the heart is, and I love my city.

I'm undecided about the prospect of opening up the AT franchise in a decidedly 'foreign' city. While it would be great to have input, I think the amount of subject matter and material is simply massive. It's like they have an entirely new and different internet in Japan.

MONTREAL

My vote is DC! ;) However, I am not for DC mixed with the surrounding areas. The surrounding areas are a totally different flavor. (TOTALLY) Born and raised in DC and I truly know that the surrounding areas are nothing like our city. DC alone! That's what I would love to see. Thanks & have a great weekend all.

Gooooo DC :) Hee. DC and Baltimore, as I said, are pretty much grown together, so we -could- share. We'd have some awesome contributors!

Not to convolute the voting, and not sure the logistics of managing it, but what about "AT: South". Could originally encompass Atlanta (or even DC) down to Key West.

Having said that, I still am not entirely on board with further segmenting the site. Just add city editors who contribute to a main site, and organize the archives geographically for searching/localized advertising opps.

Now, I want to hear more about your thick mainframe.

and ps: Thanks very much... I TOTALLY want a Big Mac.

I vote for DC. (Not DC with Baltimore).

I'm totally for DC as well. I agree that Baltimore/surrounding areas should not be included, but if it's the difference between DC getting an AT site and nothing, I'm for it.

DC's got a lot of character, massive housing issues, old tight/oddly arranged spaces, and a huge transient population, which would obviously make for some great AT reads.

Here we go again with the "drawing borders" business.... :)

I agree with Kane's comments. Vancouver is trailblazing on so many fronts and is completely different than the rest of Canada or any other City in North America for that matter. Such a crazy mixture of traditional british culture, mixed with a new influx of Indian, Chinese and other Asian populations due to relaxed immigration laws in the 1990s and the exit of many middle class chinese from Hong-Kong; blend this together with the rustic backdrop of mountains, thick rain forests, and surrounded by water and you have a lot of intense new design inspirations. Finally, we can't really talk about design in the NW withour mentioning the intense and still prevelant influence of the large native American population. Good stuff.

The whole Pacific Northwest in general is blooming design wise right now, and starting to get a lot of international attention, really creating a unique feel different than California or other places. There has also been a huge influx and growth in population, especially young people that are attracted to the "lifestyle" and access to nature more than the economy and in Portland especially, relatively cheap rents and commercial spaces have made it a creative incubator mecca for design.

The sense is that, becuase of these changes, and the relative young age of the cities as compared to other East Coast areas, that there are not a lot of strict "cultural institutions" to define identity and design...it's an exciting time here becuase people really feel like they are helping shape things and can get in on the ground level.

Plus, with so many people moving out here and land development constraints in place, there has been only way to really build and that is up...lots of new apartments to furnish and decorate.

Perhaps a "small space" space targeted at the South might be called "Shack Therapy"? Hmm....

Personally, I think Miami has a totally unique design sensibility and AT:Miami could provide really refreshing content. (I'm not even in Miami...) so I'd push for that. Or, an AT:South, which dilutes the pot, but gives us a voice.

I'm just sayin'... that small spaces in the South aren't really all that typically apartments.

Curtis, don't make me come up there.

Shack-therapy??

Fah a li' while, I lived in Soth Loozyanna so, me, I know what ahm talkin' boutchehhhh.

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist.

But seriously, folks, I like the idea of one big one with the little feeders from the various cities along the idea of the Craiglist model (only NOT really). Because there really are many things that are very regional.

Carl
I take it that you are not from DC. It's not about "drawing borders". It's about wanting to see your city properly represented. We have this wonderful opportunity to finally have AT as a resource to showcase the city's diversity and all the creative styles that derive from it. I never drive to Baltimore. So events, sales, parties etc. would not interest me and many others. Every flea market, unique shop etc. is all here. (For me) The thought of having AT/DC just excites me that's all.

YAY DC! Okay, people, let's be civil. Like most DC residents, I hate Virginia people who come into the city. They drive their SUVs with wild abandon and generally drive you nuts. (Okay, I'm saying this with a tinge of the absurd because I have also lived in Alexandria...in a townhouse, which split with 3 other women was very small space living) The thing about DC is that DC in and of itself ain't that big, even if we like to think so. DC as a metro area: huge, and it has apartments popping up everywhere because of its sprawlingness. I'm not saying it's all the same, but I think many would argue that neighborhoods within a city aren't all the same flavor either. I tend to think of my neighborhood (Capitol Hill) as very different from, say, Friendship Heights. And on the other side of snobbery, though Baltimore is WAY different from DC (and in some ways, better), it's just too damn close to ignore. And, there are some mad wonderful mid-c stores and funky shops there.

So, my fellow DC/VA/MD/WV/PA (because let's face it, that's how things are going) Let us all unite for the sake of an AT site!!!!!

Oh, and we are SO not unitable with the south...if that happened, I'd have to MOVE. Nothing against the south...I love me some grits...I'm just not convinced I live there!

Christine--face facts, my dear--you're in the south (reference the Mason-Dixon line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason-Dixon_line )

Now pour yourself a glass of sweet tea and throw on a Dolly Parton record--you'll be glad you did.

Oh, so Christine (the one in DC), you hate 'em until you need their vote??? How VERY Beltway of you!!! ;)

Vivi - In fact, I lived in the district until last year. Everyone was always so bitter about the traffic, taxes, and tourists, that I had enough and moved over to Annapolis where the vibe is much more relaxed and friendly. If you never leave DC, I suggest you give it a try. There's some great stuff to be had off the beaten path. I hope that's what AT:DC/Baltimore will do - broaden our scopes.

Carl "Stop hating on DC" ;) (Smile)
I hope that you are not implying that I do not travel. ;0 Yes, I too know and appreciate what the surrounding areas have to offer. However, AT asked "Where should they sprout next?" and I believe DC alone is viable enough to make AT happy to choose the city as it's next site.

The South, Texas in general....ANYTHING within 500 miles of Oklahoma? Sigh....

No shacks though, hahaha.

I agree with vivi.

What about San Diego???
The winners of the small apartment were from american's finest city!

I'd like to see DC as well, but am afraid I am with Christine on this. DC proper is a very small market, AT's definition needs to expand a bit. We owned a business in DC for almost 9 years and only moved it with great regret when our landlord emptied the building to sell and high commercial rents prevented us from renting elsewhere in Dupont Circle.

We ended up buying a home in MD (2 1/2 blocks from the District line and I still caught the bus in DC) due to high interest rates (obviously, this was a while ago). It was a great 1920s bungalow that we worked on a lot. Then school loomed for our daughter and we moved a mile into MD. My inner Beltway 'burb home is identical to many in NW & NE. We walk to work or use one of the 2 Metro stops in the area. We own one car for a family of 4. I don't see any substantive difference between this approach to life and one with a DC address. I do understand the desire to exclude the exurbs and the enormous, resource-sucking homes being built there.

I'm excited to see all the PacNW comments... and I wholeheartedly agree it would be a great choice. Another great reason is to explore all the innovative 'green' building/culture represented up here.

Oh, and because it's 104 deg in Portland most of us don't have AC and could use some good news right now!

Wow, check out DC/Baltimore!

I also think that the DC area might be a good choice, but that it is really only appropriate to include the metro area - there are only so many times that one can blog about stuff at Apartment Zero, and even the "Georgetown Flea Market" has been moved to Va.

However, I agree with the people who have suggested thinking about consolodation over more off-shoots. I like to read the NY and Chicago versions (and hate the "here's what was on the other site" posts, but maybe that's just me). I think it would be great to have one big site with lots of correspondants from all over, kind of like Cool Hunting, Whip Up, or a lot of the other big blogs. Obviously, posters would need to self-edit a lot not to overwhelm readers, but I think it could work.

Apartment Zero.. well that's new here. The Georgetown Flea Market moved because of renovations at Hardy Middle School. They will be returning back to their Georgetown DC location December 2007.

I live in a minute apartment 2 blocks from the Capitol, and I'd still rather read NY AT.

Hawaii anyone?

Yes, P(2), I, too, am a flip flopper. Me and Kerry. :) Truth be told, I'd rather live in a compact inner suburb than the District itself. Really, except for the crime, I sometimes feel like the District is kind of suburban. Sorry Carl, in my personal experience, I have to differ on the Annapolis point, though. Work there and lived there 2 years before the into DC move...I didn't find it laid back so much as "look at all the money I have, and I'm better than you are!" Not that you don't get that here, too, but it was a special breed of snobbery there that I couldn't handle. I've never seen so many people work so hard to be laid back. The people who have lived there a long time--from the time when it WAS laid back--say it's because everyone from DC is moving out there. And, I heard people bitching about traffic ALL the time....anyway, that's why it's wonderful that we can all choose where we live. Come on people now, love one another....

I read all the ATs and like each for their individual take. I start off at NY, though, of course while fantasizing about living in Manhattan with my rich husband Alastair (which I also don't have).

Yeah, ocgirl, well aware of the M-D line, which I cross back into civil-I-zation when i travel back up over it. (kidding, of course) Though I think Atlantans or Floridians, or people from Tennessee would say I wasn't from the south. Though, if you ask my Pennsylvanian relatives, they would very much agree: they always say "Well, it's much hotter 'down south' where you live." You'd think I live in Mississippi or something. Whether it's South of the Mason-Dixon or not, I do have to laugh at people born and raised in northern VA who act like they're Southern belles plucked from their plantation. It's laughable.

Boston's up there with the best...

Goooo Boston!

By the way, if anyone is in Boston this weekend, hit their annual design sidewalk sale - Lekker stuff is like 70% off!

:)

Holly

Uh Duh. It's not Boston wide (I should have indicated that, so sorry!) It's going on in the South End only, over near Lekker.

Holly

You know what they used to say about DC was that it had "southern efficiency combined with NY hospitality." But, I think at some point DC ceased being below the Mason Dixon line.

So much cultural importance placed on a line drawn by surveyors to end a border dispute between a couple of British colonies!

Sigh....

Boston, huh? Not much of a town if you ask me. More like an ass pit. Sounds like a good place to get a concrete block dropped on yer head. A ha! A ha ha ha!

I think Miami would be the best place because it has the most unique design qualities. When you see a Miami Beach art deco or a Miami Modern buliding you know that's the only place in the world where such colourfull architecture would be possible and the interiors are great too.

But then again, I live in South Beach so I'm biased;)
jj

Um, OK... what's with the bitterness, DC? All of this exclusivity makes me sick.
All of the AT sites include anyone from surrounding areas who cares enough to post. For example, New York has stores, house tours, etc. from New Jersey. Lighten up, DC (and yes, I live there, too).

I vote for DC as well. Having lived in DC and in Baltimore, I don't think it would be fair to lump the two cities together. That would be the same as saying "why not put LA and San Francisco together? They're both in California!" Just because two cities are "close" does not mean they are the same. I think AT should add both, but separately.

BTW, @ocgrl, the Mason-Dixon line has nothing to do with the North or the South. It was simply an survey commissioned by Lord Calvert to define the MD-PA border. It took on a cultural significance, but remember, Maryland fought for the North.

AT is so close to you its out of focus... i will BE ing where imm AT.

I would love to read/develop/write for an AT Canada site. I think a site with representation from major centres that are also border towns that draw alot of American shoppers would be great (ie Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal). Put a call out there for Canadian writers, my application would be at the top of a very large pile.

I definitely back the home base.. particularly since now I read all 4 city sites, and I'm not sure how many more I could keep up with!

If one more city gets a site, I'd have to vote for Miami. I grew up there and it definitely has very unique architectural and international influences. (And just so you don't think I'm too biased, I've actually lived in DC, Boston, New York, and Chicago too! .. and I've visited my sister enough in Seattle to see a lot of the shops over there as well).

Seems like Boston is the clear winner on this! Why are the results showing DC as having 20% of votes???

BOSTON!!!

I'm amused that folks are drawing distinct little lines in the DC v. DC+surrounding areas debate. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are all very distinct spaces, yet I bet most of us would be happy just to see our region represented! I would really, really like to see Portland represented, but I just don't get how sharing the space with Seattle and Vancouver would spoil Portland. If you get DC, why be upset if Baltimore gets part of the space, too?

I love the Pacific Northwest and would love to see AT at work here. We've definitely got the resources, style and unique personality!

Awww, it's sad to see the results like this, when it seemed like every third comment on the last thread was for DC! Even sadder, the fact that the two major AT Hubs seem to be collecting in the very northeast and the very west.

Ah, well. I suppose us DC/Baltimorians could always just... you know... do something ourselves. There's a bajillion of us, it seems!

Stop the hate please... (We know what you guys are trying to do). Persuade others that we are upset but that's not the case at all. We are just simply stating how we feel about our city. If we had to share no problem. We were given the choice and that's what we did. Just make your vote. We all have a right to express how we feel about our particular city. Ivy, I agree with you sista! Maybe, we need to look into it!

Erica, I too think the DC/Baltimore/Virgina and environs pissing match (or whatever it is) is both sophmoric and off topic. Could you imagine our Pacific NW Neighbors doing this? Naw, we'd just be trading resources and ideas over pinot noir and BBQd salmon and would most certainly be collaborating, encouraging, and sharing rather than bickering.

Which is another reason consider the Pacific NW.

Besides, Did you know Benjamin Moore Paints has even given us our own color collection?

Word.

way to go LizzyC. My point exactly.

Maxwell, Boston is calling your name! x Phoebe

Washington metro area, including Baltimore. We love AT!

I don't see what the fuss is about sharing - I'm a transplant here in DC, and I love both DC and Baltimore. Hell, I wrote to Maxwell about a week ago and begged for an AT DC/Balt site, mentioning even that I would put my head on a platter and be a contributor.

What I've seen here hasn't been a pissing match one bit, only people trying to describe the differences between two cities.

That said, there is absolutely nothing that says that they couldn't offer two completely different flavors to AT on one site. Variety is the spice of life, you know! Personally, I would adore seeing the DC Metro and the Baltimore Metro on one site with a fantastic array of contributors with different styles.

I'm sure that the other DC/Baltimorian(/Virginians?) would agree with me :P I hate to say it, but style isn't just one person stamping their foot and saying, "That looks good, dangit!" It's a bunch of people with different tastes getting together and trying new things.

-That- is what AT needs. DC and Baltimore have it. I just hope AT listens.

Oh Austin...we have much work to do...

NW Represent!
I *heart* Portland, Seattle & Vancouver!
(not that I wouldn't still check out AT EVERY DAY no matter what city they chose ;D)

Hey Maxwell, how much does our bickering play into this decision? Can a 3rd place PacNW still be the AT darling? What other things are you guys factoring into this new move? Is the AT team taking bribes in the form of crepes from LeHappy or cocktails at the Aalto Lounge?

The Pacific N.W. is in serious need of such a comprehensive design guide!! (yay Portland!)

Trawna, Trawna, Trawna. Seriously, any of our Canuck cities. Because 1) we get killed by cross border shipping costs when we order from US sources 2) There are is an amazing amount of cool young talent graduating out of our design schools (the Design Exchange is hopping for a _reason_) 3)I want to know where to shop locally! :)

i still think miami is important for at considering the growth of the design market there.

1) If you are Canadian, and want to see Canada represented on a design site, here's a thought: Start one of your own. Stop hopping up and down, tugging on Americans' metaphorical sleeves and begging them to validate you by telling you how cool you are. Just make something happen yourself. You don't need to get anybody's permission to start a blog. It's called "taking the initiative." How do you think AT started in the first place?

2) Trust me, there is not enough happening design-wise in Vancouver to warrant an entire AT outpost. I wish there were, but there is way more going on in Seattle, and especially Portland, than there is in Vancouver. A NW bureau would make much more sense.

Boston, please, Boston. We need some design help here.

minneapolis, please! ;-)

Oh course there's no reson someone else couldn't start up a Canuck AT site (as it were, w/permission, etc....we are polite aren't we?). I hope it happens soon , because so much of the stuff listed - stores, products , furniture- isn't avail. up here- yet...
Of course I voted for Montreal. It's sometime cheap(er) rents, and French influence make it a gateway for European design influences... and i don't mean just IKEA. Here's hoping you work something out for us north of the US border soon...

A biased Pacific Northwesterner here...

If the Pac Northwest is chosen, can Vancouver, BC, be included? Us west coast Canadians get very touchy about being ignored, in favour of Toronto and Montreal. We have a bit of a complex, I'd say. Plus, Seattle and Vancouver are so similar...aside from the whole USA and Canada "thing"...

Uh, yeah, so apparently I should read an entire post before I open my little yap. I see that Vancouver *is* include in the PacNW concept. Phew. I'll relax now.

Hey Niki,

Gotta disagree with you on one and only one thing: I think Seattle and Vancouver are vastly different in tons of ways. Every time I visit Vancouver I am amazed at how fast the city changes. I like Seattle too, don't get me wrong, but I notice both subtle and huge differences in design, style and consumer offerings.

Other than that my NW cousin, can you tell me where good vintage mid-centry furniture and accessories are to be had in Vancouver? I'm coming up from Portland next month and want to do some shopping. I'm also looking for a cheap source for Asian restaurant supplies that are open to the public (you know, dishes and things).

Any advice out there is appreciated.

Lizzy

I think there should be an AT:Miami because I live here and I want one!

Seriously, we have a huge Caribbean/Latin American influence on both built and interior landscapes, a range of really different and interesting ideas of home, a newly crazy housing market that is forcing lots of folks to figure out how to make a nice home with far less space and resources (this used to be a city where many working professionals could afford single family homes). And we have a high-end fancy shmancy design industry.

So can we have one, please?? (Just please don't focus on Miami Beach like it's Miami itself.)

how about Cleveland? she whispered quietly...

midwest, halfway between Chicago and New York, apartments for professionals, Cleveland Clinic employees, Case Western Reserve University students and faculty, enjoying a slow but steady renaissance... many apts/co-ops/condos being built

please don't make fun of us - we're sick of it

Miami would be my second choice

I've called DC home for the last ten years and I have to say I would rather get another AT site for Seattle/Pacific Northwest area. Many, I think the mindset is so different and unique there that I would love to see what it creates.

As for the whole DC/Baltimore thing.....join them together. Let's me remind everyone that DC may be a the nation's capital with a booming real estate and all sorts of people moving back into the urban areas, Baltimore gave us John Waters! That's more than enough reason to mix the two together.

DC! DC! And, yes, of course include Baltimore. I say this having lived in DC for 15 years, and originally from Baltimore. From Apartment Zero to Housewerks is not that far.


phred (who can hardly believe the sniping)

The reason the "home base" idea is better than further segmenting the site is that a new city only really adds stomething for people who live in that area (and in some ways, may take away from the "main" site since some of those people will only participate in their specific city sub-site).

By changing the structure of the site to only having separate sections for stuff that's really location-specific like events and shops, you can actually create something more useful for ALL ApartmentTherapy readers regardless of where (in the world) they live. And expanding into other cities could be even easier since they wouldn't require as much upkeep if it was such restricted material.

Bring it to the hub where architecture all started in the States!!! It's time to revive the old colonial spirit of Boston!!!

Yay DC! Or DC Metro Area! Or DC/MD/VA/etc. etc. etc.! :)

There's tons going on in DC beyond Apartment Zero (which is actually just around the corner from me). There's all that development up 14th Street, art galleries from Bethesda to Southwest, random shops without much English signage in Adams Morgan with cool knickknacks and decorating-y stuff, and all sorts of other random places to find decor and design inspiration....

(As a former Bostonian I think it would be fun to have a Boston site too. Wouldn't Boston have quasi-sort-of-similar issues with including NH/RI/western Mass? And the Bostonians on this site are not apparently concerned about that issue. I don't think it would be that big a deal to include Baltimore, even WV (which I understand has some interesting factory outlets) in a DC AT site b/c we all know DC would be the main focus anyway. It's just too unstoppably awesome. ;) )

Lizzy asked: "Other than that my NW cousin, can you tell me where good vintage mid-centry furniture and accessories are to be had in Vancouver? I'm coming up from Portland next month and want to do some shopping. I'm also looking for a cheap source for Asian restaurant supplies that are open to the public (you know, dishes and things)."

*SOUND FX: CRICKETS CHIRPING*

Good luck with that, Lizzy. The brainwashed Vancouverboosters are always happy to try to impress Americans with generalizations about the invigorating effects of the town's clash of cultures (when, in reality, the place might as well be segregated) and its natural beauty. When pressed, however, they won't be able to tell you where to buy good mid-century vintage. I've never seen a shop here selling it. On the other hand I've seen prostitutes giving toothless old men hand jobs in the street, used needles lying by the side of downtown streets, and junkies taking dumps in alleys.

Canadian social programs are the envy of the world!

i vote for Toronto - or at least a 'canadian' portal. it's true we envy all your online shopping capabilities because even though our currency is about equal now, customs tariffs, the shipping costs and other surcharges make cross-border online shopping impossibly expensive.
but, that is not the most important part, i guess it would just be nice to have some CanCon and showcase the design world from this side of the border. there are tons of apartments in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, each with their own issues and challenges.
there are many brilliant design minds, i.e. umbra, karim rashid (grew up and went to university here), Jane Jacobs made her home here... and tons more that I can't remember or list right now.
Toronto is a very integrated multicultural city (it's not perfect, I know) and i've heard visiting NYC'ers describe it as a smaller, cleaner NYC.
oh - and we'd love for our brethren south of the border to see that there is more than hockey, snow, and mounties north of the border. (and winter was worse in syracuse when I visited for a university conference, brrr!)
CANADA!
www.canadiandesignresource.ca
www.hgtv.ca

p.s. if we get a canadian portal... I'd also be one of the first volunteers to contribute.

I suspect a number of great entries to the Smallest, Coolest Apartment contest are just waiting for a Canadian AT sprout-let. I'm moving to Ottawa next month from Chicago and would feel sad if there wasn't a site for those persons living north of the Mississippi.

I vote for Boston even though they sem to already be in the lead. With some many kids in this town, everyone is interested in home decoration at every level...

The reason not to go overboard with the homebase site is manyfold:
1) tastes vary; what a Dallas resident might like *shiver* someone from Boston may think is bizzarely gaudy.
2) advice is far more helpful if it impacts local resources; "go to Vastu and get the bench they have downstairs" is far more useful than "so... get a different bench" or even "get a bench from boutique XYZ in city ABC"
3) a sense of community and shared experiences is easier to come by if the commenters are people you might even meet at a gallery opening of somesuch.

Anyway, that's just my view; I'd be happy for any suggestions that were relevant to living in DC, regardless of the site's organisation.

-RS