oh my god! how are you guys not winning??! the wallpaper alone has me drooling.

omg, i'm not even casting a vote, they are all bad... the AT shag rug is pretty revolting. pretty dissapointed.

I can't say I like any of them very much.

Sorry, AT, I think your room is really ugly. I voted for Bloomies, the best of the worst. I'm like yves, they are all bad.

None are worth voting for, which is pretty sad to say.

I missed the initial unveiling and commenting for all three windows, and it's been interesting catching up. To the extent that there are aspects of each room that feel contrived, forced, or cliche, I think it's worth remembering that these aren't real homes where we can rightly expect to see decor that has developed over time and reflects the experiences and personalities of actual occupants. These designers were tasked with creating rooms that told a story about a fictional archetype using primarily items from one source. Very few homes are decorated that way, and the ones that appear to be often fall flat for ATers ("Yuck, it looks like an [Ikea/West Elm/Pottery Barn/Whatever] catalogue!") The rooms are also supposed to capture the attention of passers by on the street so some degree of extravagance is to be expected. I'm not saying that the rooms should be above critique; they shouldn't. But some of the comments seem overly harsh.

You must be desperate. Just face the fact that your window is not going to win even with begging via this tacky post. I don't think you should even be competing since you are hosting the contest on your site. It seems like a conflict of interest. Just sayin'...xo xo

Great contest guys but I think I'm going to vote for Elle Decor...I'm totally feeling the whole Modern Woman thing.

I don't see how the Apartment Therapy window expresses anything I love about Apartment Therapy. It looks cluttered, dingy, and busy. Also, as a writer, I think the story about a "writer's romantic dinner in a library" is a cliche that doesn't express what writing is really about.

So sorry, not going to help AW win. Next time, why not use the wisdom of the crowd and let us help design the window... isn't that what Apartment Therapy is all about?

Visual Vamp--

It's possible to root for your favorite in any contest without slamming the competition, or crying foul.

Were it not for AT, your obvious favorite Eddie would not even have a a window at all.

And besides, Eddie's getting his own leg up on his own blog with this, and tapped into his considerable fan base in his own way. Seems way fair to me.

Plus, if you are reading the comments, the "home team advantage" you cite is really not really giving Maxwell any kind of advantage, unfair or otherwise.

yiyetov---
In last year's very first competition, Maxwell VERY graciously allowed readers to design all three vignettes. I think it's great that Maxwell gets the direct spotlight on this go 'round.

From Eddie's blog:

"Isn't it odd how I'm the one singled out? It's been a true honor to represent ELLE DECOR, but when I signed up for this gig, I thought it was going to be a fair contest of design talent, hosted and judged by an independent party. Far from it. This is about power. Numbers. Unique Visitors. Jaithan and I certainly don't have the readership that Apartment Therapy has to cast the net so widely.

But you know what? Collectively—between you and your readers—we do! If you liked my design for the window—if you believe in the future of magazines like ELLE DECOR to delight and inspire us always—help me take on the Bully by posting once, twice, three times this week to vote! It doesn't matter if you have 10 readers (we've all been there, haven't we?) or 10,000, spread the word to your readers, your friends, your family to vote...vote...VOTE! Everyday this week, log in here, cast your vote for ELLE DECOR, then text 1 to 89800 to vote again! Thank you so much, everyone! Together, let's stand up and make a point!"

Pardon me for saying so, but, um, you're not the underdog if you're in the lead. And with your media presence and blog, you never were.

Plus, you have gotten more mileage about this on your blog than Maxwell has here. Looking at both blogs, one would think *you* are hosting the contest....

And if you are encouraging your readers to stand up en masse to "prove a point," how does that make this any more "a fair contest about design"?

Dude, you have a SIZABLE lead. Relax. No need to call your host names.

Visual Vamp, your comment is over-the-top as usual. You consider this small post tacky? I actually adore Eddie, but he's the one going way too far with this by using his blog, posting Facebook updates ad nauseum, and recruiting numerous bloggers to post. Can't wait until this contest is over and I never have to hear about it again.

This really wasn't necessary, was it? I can't believe anyone is grubbing for votes. I assumed it was a friendly competition between professionals.

This is truly sad that one would resort his readership to this level in a competition. I guess you do not have much faith in your talent. Really? You resort to this?

I think your readers are going to the voting page and posting for another designer simply based on his window/room. It is clearly a better OVERALL, eye appealing, and functional room.

Grab your hanky!

Patrick, thanks for correcting me about how this was done last year. I have been reading AT for less than a year, so I didn't know, and I retract my comment.

Eh, if I designed a window it would be much worse than any of these, and it's fun to see such a distinct style represented in the AT window and in the Elle Decor window, so I retract my comment... I think I was just grumpy when I wrote it :)

Agreeing with yves and dkzody here ...all are bad; Bloomies the best of the bad. Was this a joke?

As the host site for the competition, it does seem like a conflict of interest to me to also be one of the participants.

They are all depressing, with the exception (a bit) of Elle. Maybe the designers are reflecting the general mood of the public.... :-)

Whatever happened to presenting your best work and letting the public decide? I've rarely seen a blogger just mention a contest without asking/begging for a vote, which becomes a real turn-off. If I want to participate in voting I will, based on the quality of what's competing.

What is the prize at stake in this contest? Just the prestige of winning or is there more? I keep reading the comments and looking at the rooms so maybe I will learn something about people's taste, maybe expand my understanding of what makes a room beautiful, how things look best in a photo, etc. I am the least competitive person in the world, I shrink from teams and cheering and sometimes I try to join in, but halfheartedly. I don't see how anyone in the contest is the underdog in any respect, winning or not. I think I might have learned more from studying Eddie's room, because it stretches my taste a bit more. Seeing his close ups and other photo angles made me appreciate the sheer prettiness of his colorful room. But I don't personally relate to it very much. I am confused as to how to vote: for personality and popularity? best story? best display? And I am confused as to why there is voting at all. To boost blog hits? to sell Bloomingdale goods? Why are we voting?

A contest in which one may vote "twice per day" seems not worth taking part in, and any "victory" gained would seem hollow.

This contest has been so annoying, and it's not because of the windows. I don't know who this Eddie guy is, but the excerpt from his site that p2 posted is appalling (you call your host a "bully"? Really?), and his extended narrative and much of the commentary on the Elle Decor thread is vapid. Plus there's this tacky shill named Visual Vamp who's spamming all over the place.

Serves me right for getting caught up in this thing. I liked the windows from last year. I think p2 was the winner and although I don't remember his window very well at the time I thought it was charming.

Oh well.

apartment therapy is my favorite thing to do after work every day..so u got my vote :)

BE A MAN, EDDIE. You aren't a victim, and you should be honored to have been asked to enter, especially when representing a publication as prestigious as Elle Decor. Not a bad gig for a failed reality TV bit player.

As for whatever the hell a Visual Vampire is, I saw Eddie's mess of a window pimped on every blog I read, so you may want to shut your pie hole regarding "tacky posts".

Jeez, the contest is all in fun. You people need to keep it in perspective.

PS- They are all bad, but AT is easily the best of the bunch.

ugh, regardless of the begging for votes, I can't vote for anything that fugly

Henrietta--

I was, indeed!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/big-window-challenge/the-bachelor-party-by-patrick-j-hamilton-bloomingdales-big-window-challenge-room-3-074402?image_id=14941

i feel like this is the dark underbelly of the design world...i'm not a competive person and i'm really turned off by the nasty comments (which is funny, because i love to talk some good sarcastic trash. with that said, i started my own blog with the standarts i saw on AP, Design Spong, and SFGirlbyBay (and major support from my friend http://www.jessicasutton.com/daucuscarota/). Its just a bit disheartening to see the design blog giants playin durtyyyy

AT, not AP*

well crap, im not much of a speller....competitive, standards, Sponge :) xo

Seems to be a bit of trash talk by some of the competitors? Hopefully all in a playful spirit and no hard feelings, but I didn't see any by Maxwell in the note above. Asking for votes is perfectly legitimate.

And to be clear I don't believe Maxwell should be held responsible for the some of the nastier commentators.

As for my own decision I picked the room that I would be more comfortable living in, if it were in a real home given the choice of the three even if not entirely my own style or the AT "less can be more" aesthetic. It still came down to Maxwell's for me.

Hey, there it is!

It still looks good, p2!

Nasty comments! I've been a magazine editor for 16 years and I thought they all had merit, HOWEVER, Max, I did think yours was definitely the best and the most current in what's going on in the design world. I voted from you last week. I like what you did with your apartment, too.

Keep it real people. There are people dying all over the world. People hurting.
You are talking up a window display like it's going to play an important part in solving all the worlds problems.
Honestly, I'm so sick of hearing about these windows.

...tsk-tsk,such negativity! I'm voting for Maxwell's window because it looks cozy and nurturing,the environment a writer might need to write the greatest novel of the century!

I just realized something. The Homies and this contest have produced the most spammy blog content of the year. For two solid weeks each year, design bloggers become competitive and generic (vote! vote! vote!).

Maybe we can stop with the competitive stuff and go back to being supportive and enthusiastic?

The "can't we all just get along" attitude is a nice thought but in reality the Design world is a race to the front of the class environment. I personally find all three windows to be extremely well done and think that each one clearly tells a story.

That said, I find the Bloomingdale's window to be uninspiring and uncreative. A beautiful room you might find in countless homes across America but not what you'd expect to come out of their big brown bags.

The Apartment Therapy window has a great story but that's where it ends. The library wall technique fell flat as well as the colors in the space. There is no romance in the space. Last years "Bloggers Office" was much more exciting and actually looked like it came from the AT team.

As for the Elle Decor window, I find it to be very reminiscent of the "Elle woman." The splatter paint wall technique is genius and the colors are fashion forward. The furnishings do border a thin line between grandma and chic but that may only be because the color.

I say well done to the individuals involved with the process and congrats to the upcoming winner.