apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, last year I entered and there were a lot of snarky insulting responses. And in general there are a lot of intimidating, high-budget MCM entries that I know will appeal a lot more to the average consumer than my small-town, small-budget style. So it's kind of a downer. Maybe if the contest didn't overlap with the Cure so I wasn't rearranging all of my favorite places right now...

Oh, and maybe if everyone on AT didn't seem to hate futons and oriental rugs.

My walls are ALL white. And while I have lots of art and rugs and books and collections, I don't think that really "counts" for contest purposes. Plus, adding some color is part of my "Cure." Perhaps, I'll enter next year. Oh, and I quit voting in most contests when I realized I was too invested in my faves. Snark can get too intense...

I think I'm gonna have to agree with Anne (in Reno) about this. There are lots of very cool AT readers/posters but enough mean spirited-raised-by-wolves-like-to-think-they-know-everything
posters that exposing oneself to ridicule is not a high priority. I don't even read the comments anymore.

My suggestion? During contest time it's poll-only: yes, maybe, no and that's it. The comments don't, or shouldn't affect the outcome if it's a simple numbers game to decide the finalist.

"finalistS" not "finalist".

That and I always hated the people who commented anything like "Insta-finalist just because you've got an Eames lounger" or other fill-in-the-blank MCM piece. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you have good taste in everything. There was one commenter who posted that on anything with one of the "iconic" MCM pieces and I just got so sick of that.

Well, last year I entered and there were a lot of snarky insulting responses.

I remember that episode every time I see photos of your apartment, Anne. I'm still amazed that you can stand any of us.

If I never again have to hear anyone justify being viciously rude with "I'm just telling it like I see it -- they shouldn't enter if they don't want to hear my opinion," it'll be too soon. It seems that quite a lot of people don't want to hear the opinions of the snarkers -- and they're showing it by not entering.

AT has done a lot to improve on its contest procedures and to better maintain civility since that debacle, but repairing violated trust is rarely easy or quick.

Unfortunately, taste (or the lack there of) is a subjective matter which means that there will always be a few that don't like whatever has been done to "the room".
That said, I agree with removing the comments area, at least until the final few rooms are picked. No need to tear down those that brave public scrutiny; it's easy to be an armchair quarterback, no? Quite a different story to be on the field.
It would be nice if there were also other choices in voting beside insta-finalista, neutral and not my thing... some people do take design "risks" and should be lauded (even if I personally wouldn't want a room like theirs).. dunno maybe a scale of 1-5?
Maybe there should be voting on a few things?
1) use of color-or not, if monochromatic.
2)composition, how the pieces relate to each other
3)overall effect

Just because someone has the obligatory MCM item on the room (YAWN) shouldn't make them a finalist if someone else took a bigger chance by going the route of Haute Bordello for example.
Would I want to live in the latter room? no. But, I should would luv to see a great example of one and reward that person for his/her effort.... specially here in AT:SF with all the victorians around you would think an apartment or two would surface full of swags, tassles and antiques...

Anne--I went through the archives and found your submission. I'm really sorry you were subjected to that. It looks like you were the first submission, which is probably the hardest. I give you a lot of credit. If you love your home, that's what counts.

I need to preface this by saying I submitted, so, while this might not sound objective, I'm trying to stay as neutral as possible.

My concern about some of the entries, regardless of the location, is that they don't really reflect interesting uses of COLOR. I've seen a few entries of simply gorgeous homes, but fairly bland use of color. Your home doesn't have to be too bold (*ahem* "Screaming Super-Grover"), but my interpretation is that using color requires an element of risk and experimentation, and AT wanted to not only see what you could come up with, but find the best examples of that risk and experimentation.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone!

I like the idea of the 1-5 scale, there are a lot of great homes on here that aren't exactly insta-finalists but still deserve a lot of credit.

That, and I went back and looked at my old entry too. I did get a lot of helpful feedback from the comments and I am glad I entered the contest. It's sure a trip to see the changes though, maybe next year I'll try entering again if I'm still in the same place. In retrospect it looks like the comments I got aren't really worse than a lot of the ones I'm seeing in the current contest. It just left a bad taste in my mouth as an AT newbie at the time (that and the post on "what to do with this ottoman?" where the first comment was "get rid of your rug"). I just need to accept the existence of trolls in one of my favorite places and get used to it.

I'll definitely agree with what people have said above that even if my home did showcase color in a bold way (which it doesn't, as I rent and have a limited budget), I'd seriously hesitate on putting it out there. The contests seem to attract the worst snark on the site, and to experience that on something you're proud of and call home?

It's why I even had to work up the courage in the first cure I participated in to post any pictures of my apartment.

I've been disappointed by the range of entries this year myself, but can completely understand why someone would have pause. The suggestions to limit commenting and come up with a broader range of ranking to compensate both sound promising.