I noticed the contest page says that final voting ends on May 2nd, but this post says there's just one day of voting? Just curious which is correct, thanks!

Hate to be a grump but there were many many better choices than these four. Its almost like these come from the back of the pack.

I agree as well. Wandering Star put it perfectly.

Lauren: Voting is as posted in the rules, through 15:00 EST on 5/2.

I was thinking the same, Wandering Star.

I think that the way the contest is set up is terribly flawed and has been for years.

1) Older entries almost always get the most votes because they have the longest time to accumulate them. AT should keep the way that entries are featured (a few a day) the same, but restrict voting to the week following the contest close, with links back to the entries. Entries can be organized by category. Example: put up post with links to all the "teeny" entries and enable voting/favorite, then do the same the next day for "small", and so on. Let voting run for about a week to give people plenty of chances to review all the entries.
2) 200 sq ft spaces shouldn't be competing against 1000 sq ft spaces. They will always look cramped and decorating options will always be more limited in smaller spaces. It's unfair.
3) 1000 sq ft is not small and doesn't belong in a contest called "Small/Cool!"

I also contend (as I did last year) that there should be a distinction between renters and owners. There is a world of difference between resources one might be willing (or should) commit as well as permission.

Forgot to add that the distinction between the "tiny" and "little" categories is miniscule and it seems really silly to differentiate them.

Could you make the voting link to the actual entries? It makes it much harder if you have to go back and search for them. I haven't seen all of the finalists to date, and I'm not going to vote off a thumbnail.

Okay, the photos on the voting page link, but there are no hotlinks or anything, which would be helpful. I only got to the entries through dumb link and pissed-off clicking.

semi finals? that way we can get another look at the top 5 or 10 from each category. it's different when you can favorite anything vs. having to pick just one from each category.

which isn't to say that the 4 finalists aren't well-deserved. great places! I just got really excited about some of the later comers.

@mon_truc_en_plumes, @Wandering star & @Heathah: 100% Agree!!
@Janal: Sure the rules are posted, but that doesn't mean that they make sense.....seriously, the rules are flawed. There should be a POSTING period, then a VOTING period. Otherwise, why bother posting your pad if you don't get it up in the first few days?

oh yes, completely agree with the above comments. Most, if not all, of these apartments were posted early in the contest and therefore had the huge advantage of time. And I do feel that the finalist for the teeny tiny entry has a well done place, but I'm incredibly surprised at the number of votes it received over some of the other entries (I guess maybe social networking at its best?).
Of course, a huge congrats to the finalists! However from a design perspective, there were much better entries for the contest.

One of the problems is the long period during which the entries are published. The earlier the entry, the better chance it has to get to the top 10. Even brilliant entries published during the past few days have no chance.

That seems intuitive, but truly brilliant entries usually rise to the top given how new entries are highlighted on the blog and how older entries fall out of view of most casual readers. If you take a look at the page of all entries here, you will actually see a pretty small correlation between when the entries were posted and how many votes they received.

For example ... the "Tiny" and "Little" finalists were both posted at about the middle of the voting period. In the "Tiny" section, the first entry posted got 551 votes and the last entry posted got 540 votes. "Joanns Truly Happy Home" (teeny tiny finalist) actually got more votes than the four preceding entries combined.

I agree with many of the above comments. It is a huge advantage to be showcased early and have more time to garner votes. Many people go after friends, blog readers, relatives and use all kinds of social networking to get votes. I have seen this many times in other venues. And I concur that there should be a semi-final stage to look over the top 5-8 in each category. Apartment Therapy should definitely review the rules and conditions of this contest. It is in your best interest to protect the integrity of the Small Cool contests.

I also thing that 1000 sq ft is not small and doesn't belong in a contest called "Small/Cool!". A T please change this next year . I am from Europe ( I live now in U S ). 1000 sq ft apartment is huge and usually in Europe at least 5 people live in this size apartment . . Most apartments in Europe are about 600 sq ft , and the whole family live there, sometimes even with grandparents and pets. 1000 sq ft APARTMENT IS HUGE !!!

I also agree with HEATHAH that there should be a distinction between renters and owners. At least it should clearly be noted .

I would second the vote for a semi-final stage, or something, because it does seem that the first posted entries have a huge advantage (this year, in particular, in the Teeny and International entries, the winners are practically the first posted...) And the Little and Small winners were posted later-ish, but both of them have extensive blogs about their homes (yes, I know this is not against the rules), so a lot of people have seen their places before and also, have seen many more details than the five pictures allow.

I think all the category winners are wonderful, and deserving of finalist status. But there were SO many wonderful entries, as always, and especially in the Teeny-Tiny category, that never seemed to have a chance.

I don't know how exactly to do the contest differently, but it just doesn't feel like every place has an equal chance.

I think you are right ISABELLAMN
I agree with your words "And I concur that there should be a semi-final stage to look over the top 5-8 in each category. Apartment Therapy should definitely review the rules and conditions of this contest. It is in your best interest to protect the integrity of the Small Cool contests"

These are beautiful. But I agree with Wandering Star.

I think it's interesting that for a site based around the premise of good home design, this is one of the most scattered, disorganised websites out there.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason how the apartments even get nominated, and how the finalists even make it there.

And I agree on the need for distinctions between owners and renters, and 'small' apartments in Dallas that are 1000 square feet. There should be a flat cutoff over 600-700 square feet.

Having been in the top 7 of the "little" category, I would selfishly agree that semi-finals would've been awesome! hehehe...

2 great finalists and 2 I didn't expect to see (and was surprised have got so far..) Go figure!

And yeah - what happened to all the semi-final vote-off pairings that we've had in recent years?

This contest is very skewed. What influences the votes:
1. When the entry is posted.
2. If the home is rented or owned. (For obvious reasons)
3. Size matters. Usually. Unless of course you live in a tiny that is basically bare with an Eames chair sitting in the room.
4. If you are crazy social. Be it a popular blog, twitter, or just a social butterfly.
5. Current trends.

Were all of the finalists the best of their divisions? I don't think so, but this is what we get when we have a public voting system and allow the entrants to shout from the rooftops about their entry. Oh well, it is what it is and AT doesn't seem to want to change it. So we just need to suck it up, enjoy the eye candy and not get irritated when the scales are unevenly tipped in ones favor.

There are a lot of reasons to enjoy Small Cool time that have nothing to do with who actually wins. But when it comes down to who wins, it does seem to me that it depends heavily on who has a blog. I agree that some of the other issues identified in the above comments are issues, but the blog one seems like the biggest deal to me, for two reasons: (1) it appears to be the most influential on the results, and (2) it allows blog-having contestants an end-run around the limitation on photos. I like Daniel's place a lot, and it appears to me that he didn't do anything to break any AT rule, so this isn't directed at him, but I think AT ought to address the issue somehow. There are a number of comments on his entry that say things like "seeing the before and after pics on your blog is what made me vote for you." Well, that's outside the contest, and it seems unfair to me.
But like I said, there's so much to enjoy about the Small Cool contest outside of the actual contest part.

i have to agree with a lot of the commenters on here regarding the voting system; it seems a little unfair and there is a disadvantage if your entry is posted in the last week or if you are contending against someone with a popular blog. both of the little and small 2nd placers were truly amazing spaces IMO but unfortunately, lost to people with popular home blogs. as for the length of time and when posted, i witnessed that myself this year -- i was lucky enough to be selected and posted in this years contest in the teenty-tiny category. but i was posted during the last week (and therefore had less than a week to collect votes) and the leader in that section had over 1100 votes already! luckily, i did manage to do incredibly well given these circumstances (and i am damn proud of myself) but i can't help but wonder what the outcome would have been if i had had those extra three weeks that the teeny-tiny winner had on me! it would be great if this contest was restructured in a way that made things more of an even playing field.

either way, there were so many amazing spaces, so many innovative designs and DIYs, and every year, i am truly inspired by all of the entries. congrats to all of the entries regardless of the voting results and i'm already looking forward to next years contest!