I thought this was a cool space, but I can't believe it won over some of the other ones in the contest.

i have to agree. Congrats to the winner, but I am surprised.

shocked but pleased... congrats!

excellent use of a very small space.

I figured this would win it and it is a marvel of packaging. I wouldn't consider it particularly beautiful, but it is certainly small and it is certainly cool.

Congratulations! I liked this much better on the second viewing. Excellent use of a small space! Still don't like ladders to get in and out of bed.

i'm not surprised! i love it! i think it's a very savvy way of dealing with a studio.

video of the cat taking one step at a time? totally awesome.

Congrats!!

Surprised that this was the winner over so many other fantastic spaces, but I do agree its a nice place, just surprised that this surpassed everything else.

Congrats guys! It's great to see the top prize go to a place rooted in functionality.

Congratulations! This place definitely defines small and cool and was one of my favorites : )

where did you get that sweet print of london along the Themes?? I really want that!

excuse me, Thames.

Way to go, Ft. Greene. And I'm glad a renter won.

I think this was a winner and deserves first place. Congratulations.

This was my absolute favorite! I can't wait to steal all their ideas! Congratulations.

Congrats! I'm so happy you guys won!
The apartment is clean, simple, and very functional. I love it!
Was rooting for the apartment from day one!

Congratulations! Great functionality and use of space!

Well deserved winner! Their place is fab.

Sweeeeet! This was my favorite all along. Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Totally Gorgeous! Congrats!

I'm thrilled you guys won. My favorite all the way! Hazaa!

meh. I liked it a lot, but after looking at it more and more it lost its luster some, Nicolas loft was hands down superior to anything this year. He did not even get 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. What gives this year man...Hopefully I am wrong, but by the statement coolest in the world, sounds like its done.

michaelc:
Looking again at the contest page, it appears that the international finalists were not eligible for the actual prizes (it says that three international finalists will simply receive certficates of recognition from AT.) Sort of weird, I think, because some of those entries were fab. Anyways, I think Tony and Hillary's creative solutions for small space living and storage won the day. Congratulations to them!

I hope AT plans to list all the winners on the contest page. It's been sort of a drag to scroll though the multiple postings from all the regions on the main page and parse out who the regional and national winners are. To have everything in one place would be nice.

It's very cool, but the bed is not functional.
I prefer Luca, but Hillary & Tom deserve a premium too.

I absolutely LOVED this from the very first entry! So amazing! Congrats to TONY and Hillary!

Thank you for all the great support! We were really happy to be chosen for the semi-finalist pool so we could have the opportunity to show everyone more photos. For us, our loft is a very personal experiment in living small and within a tight budget. It was never really intended to be seen by so many people, so we're excited to have gotten such positive feedback.

There were soooo many other great entries this year and we found a lot of inspiration from them, so winning first is a great honor for us. Thanks again for the wonderful feedback & constructive criticism - we were really happy to share our little home with everyone!

Tony & Hilary

I'm not disappointed that this won, as it was easily one of my favorites. So congrats! Well done.

What does disappoint (and really surprise) me is that the Family of Four didn't even place in the top 5. While most of the entries accomodated one or two people, I was sure that the fact that these entrants were able to make a small space work for a family of four (and so stylishly) would guarantee them a spot.

Tony & Hilary,

I LOVED your apartment! Congratulations!

While there were other finalists who's apartments were more akin to my own personal style, I am thoroughly glad that this particular entry won. It really was a great use of space. I also liked the mix of high, low, as well as diy.

Congrats!

Congrats. As you know, I love it!

Ditto Jeremy In VA about the Family of Four entry not even placing. Inconceivable!

Ditto Mr.Dangerous. In fact, I think there are laws that are supposed to prevent this kind of cramming of humanity into a too-small space.
I understand the reception of the 3-in-one--Although I also don't see the bed as practically functional (who wants to climb up and down just for a glass of water, and not even be able to sit up in bed?) but what I really don't understand is the number 2 selection. There was just nothing there--NOTHING.
This contest was great a few years ago. It's been sliding ever since.

voodoo child - we can sit up in bed - we often read up there

MFlick - the London print is from a little map store I came across in Greenwich (just outside London) when I was living there in '95 - '96. Can't remember the exact location/name of the store for the life of me though - sorry. I like to collect prints of 17th Century maps when travelling - this was the first one I purchased (and the only one I've framed so far) - it's really cool - you can see the original St. Paul's before the Great Fire and a lot of detail in the other buildings including the Globe Theater.

MFlick - more info on the London print: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/188217/16210/Engraving-of-London-by-Claes-Jansz-Visscher-in-the-Guildhall

Your place is beyond words! I'll just have to say though, your cat is very much like mine!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30133980&l=3aae7&id=1495620177