This is a joke, right? The judge mistakenly believes these are nominees for the show "Clean House". Or it's similar to the other contest where the judge nominated Satan's den as a finalist -- keeps the website hoppin'.

Oh, I couldn't be more pleased. I agree with Jamie that the space is personal but polished. Congratulations, Magnaverde!

This one reminds me of the Longbourne drawing room in "Pride & Prejudice" from the other year. And I absolutely love that room!

i'm so glad this got an honorable mention. i love what a departure this place is from most of the entries.

I loved this place - small and interesting and very personal. A really quirky and lovely space!

i agree that it has too much stuff in it, but I also agree that this is a great space. I love that he says 'small and cool doesn't have to be modern' AMEN!

Not surprised World of Interiors was an inspiration for the look. For me, this one is a winner, not a runner up, but then, I'm not one of the judges and I never met a dust bunny I didn't like.

Jamie Gray has such good taste. I like this one too.

Tony G.

This could have been a finalist. It rewards close observation. My place looks the opposite, but this one just grows on me over time. (Unlike some which have and initial 'wow' factor and then fall apart as too shallow or flimsy or not-thought-through enough after some closer looking.) Notice how amazingly valuable pieces come off as unpretentiously displayed. I'm impressed by the contrast in the styles between rooms, and by the general cohesiveness. So incredibly creative.

Congratulations!

it's missing a cat

a more important point in its favor: it's missing a zebra skin rug

"Too much stuff" says the man with the tattoo, in the hat, with the shades, in the man scarf...!

And a zebra rug would have been absolutely perfect here, and totally in keeping with the Victorian (but perhaps not Vegan) vibe.

P(2)

I get a more Edwardian vibe off this one, but that wouldn't exactly preclude a dead zebra or two.

Yeah, I was talking more about the "cabinet of curiosities" collected layered look that (to me) is more Victorian than Edwardian. But thanks for the history lesson.

I'll be at the Chicago party on Thursday, but I don't expect to see many of you there, so I'll just say this here: thanks for your kind comments. Well, anyway, thanks for all but that one about Marilyn's dress, which I didn't really get, although I have to admit it was...um...interesting. Actually, it probably makes perfect sense if you're a regular around here rather than a recent arrival like I am. But not to worry: I'll get up to speed one of these days. I hope. Anyway, thanks.

Patrick the Other, I never thought about it in verbal terms before, but 'cabinet of curiosities' is exactly the feel I was after, although JonathanB nailed the time frame. This is basically an Edwardian hodgepodge, updated with early 2Os colors, although I seldom bother with anything as worked-out as an actual "color scheme", since everything but the red sofa--which I painted to hide its glazed chintz upholstery--still wears whatever color upholstery it had when I dragged it home. To me, that's the ultimate in green behavior: buy old stuff & use it as-is. That way, any environmental toll that resulted from the manufacture of my furniture was paid a long, long time ago. And that's not all. A lot of it didn't even require the burning of any fossil fuels for delivery, unless you consider Pepsi 'fuel', since I carried several of the chairs home on my back from the Goodwill Store around the corner. Here in the neighborhood, I'm known as the Chair Guy, or, if I'm out of earshot, the Crazy Chair Guy. And like I said on my original post, I have a few good pieces, but mostly, I have junk. Cool junk, but junk nonetheless: souvenirs of somebody's Grand Tour, some inherited English silver, bits of demolished buildings, a big hunk of termite-eaten wood. And I would have had a great wasps' nest the size of a football--still attached to its branch--which I found at a yard sale & was planning on installing behind the pastoral landscape behind the big urn-thing in the corner, except that I forgot & left it in the trunk of a car I had rented for the weekend. I was too embarrassed to call lost-&-found about it.

Anyway, my place--well, this particular place, at least--falls somewhere along the line that connects John Soane & Edward Knoblock. Who would have guessed that such a magpie assemblage would make it this far as a Small Cool Space? Certainly not I. Thanks, everybody.

As you were.

M.

magnaverde, if i rented a car and found a sizable wasps nest in the trunk, i would be absolutely terrified.

that said, i leave stuff everywhere all the time.

This is such a cool place. And honestly, I get a sense of peace from the old furnishings, the art, the curios, the touch of dust (maybe that last one is my imagination). I bet it smells like books - one of the best smells in the world, I think. As beautiful as modern or minimalist can be, I'd take this any day.

Magnaverde, your place rocks. It is not how I want to live; but the fact I can imagine being there and enjoying it makes it good.

magnaverde

Thanks for the kind nod. Actually, the Edwardians lightened color schemes considerably, so you may be closer than you think. Soane and cabinets of curiosities are inspirations to a number of use here -- check the recent cure posts, for example, but it comes up often enough everywhere.

Enough nattering. A great entrance, and welcome.

My eyes hurt!

I picked this as my favorite other entry- I can't believe it didn't make it to the finals!!
'brian and luke's post war paradise'
BB