Fourth Annual Fall Color Contest

I have been checking out Apartment Therapy's Fourth Annual Fall Colors Contest. The only concession this year is that I'm not reading the comments. It's amazing how rude people can be about someone else's home and I want to avoid that type of negativity this time.

Here are three entries that I just love; not neccessarily because I think they are the best in their use of color but because I could easily see myslef happily living in any of these homes. I wish these contestants; Rachel, Janice, and Noodle, the best of luck, and I also warn them to take any negative (and rude!) comments with a grain of salt.


Rachel's Bungalow of Bright Ideas in the Midwest



Janice's Color My World Beautiful in the East



Noodle's Mood Matching Colors in the Northwest

Images: Apartment Therapy (duh!)

Let's take a look at the softer side...

of Sears.



I was searching retailers for examples of something to show another blogger when I ran into this picture of a dining set from the Ty Pennington collection at Sears. Not bad.

This Costa del Mar dining table is now on sale for $180 (from $340) and is very similar to other industrial looking tables talked about recently on Apartment Therapy.

I was also impressed in the lamp department. Though most of their lamps were not my personal style, they definitely had style. The look was in the vein of Restoration Hardware but without those high price tags. Classy, sophisticated, and looked far more expensive than they actually were.

By the way, when I was looking at the site I noticed an ad that would take you to the Martha Stewart Everyday collection at Kmart. Did Sears buy Kmart or are they in a partnership? Please don't tell me this is something that happened a long time ago and I just didn't know about it.

No comments about the Small Cool Contest?

Wow. I'm surprised.

I spent quite some time putting together my thoughts on this year's Apartment Therapy Small Cool 2008 contest entries this year. My goal was to pick out some details from spaces that that I liked and I ended up surprised with how many I ended up listing. I originally was thinking just one post for all but the shear numbers made that impossible. There were so many cute spaces.

After my comments about AT's earlier contests, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of interior designer and architect showrooms this time. Last year's contest seemed more like free advertising for company design portfolios. This year, most homes seemed to be inhabited by real people, were lived in, and possessed actual points of view.

So, come on...what did you think?

Small Cool Contest 2008: Part III

More from the Midwest and finally, the East Coast where AT started it all.

Midwest #8 - Abbe's Lil' Abode Loving the kitchen cabinets and walls!

Midwest #10 - Stephanie's Simple Sanctuary People were actually giving her grief for not having more stuff (or at least having more stuff from places other than IKEA!) I would love to live in her place, just like it is now. Did you see her phone niche?! Excellent.

Midwest #14: Annie's Logan Square Home I like the red, yellow, blue, with a tiny bit of lavender color story she has here.

Midwest #21: Carla's Grand Ave. Home Way to go adding a sense of permanence to a rental!

Midwest #22: Blythe's Tiny Treehouse I was already a fan from seeing her photos on Flickr.

East #2: Chris and Elayne's Greenpoint Hideaway Loving the true Boho vibe AND the guts to enter this particular contest.

East #8: Trilby's New York Minute Retreat This one is notable because the voting was so close on all three levels: Super Cool! (142), Cool (156), and Not my bag, baby (120). Interesting.

East #11: Eddie's West Village Studio LOVE the colors; blue, white, red, and grey.

East #34: Gaastra's Mini Residence Not my style but lovely just the same.

East #16: Heather's Leafy Oasis Love this shot of the bed.

East #14: Kristin's Cozy Village Studio Incredibly feminine studio.

That is that for this year, until the Color contest that is.

Small Cool Contest 2008: Part II

Here are some choice entries from the South and the Midwest states.

Southwest:

Southwest #9: Gretchen's "The Place I Call Home" Digging this “headboard.” (Even though those curtains have shown up three times in the contest I still think I need to go and buy them again. There must be some way I can use them. With my color scheme, they are just made for my apartment. Hmmm....)

Southwest #16: Courtney & Alex's Eccentric Pad Another creative headboard idea. These electric light-up branches are still available at World Market. I hope we can get a tutorial from them on how they worked that with all the plugs involved .

Southwest #17: Matthew's Cartoonist Corner I am in love with the floor plan for his apartment! Also check out the Kermit phone, his cool 1970s phonograph, and the infamous Italian “Fragile” lamp. Southwest Finalist

Southwest #30: Jordan's Ordo Ab Chao Another great drawn floor plan! This is similar to the ones I draw but I haven't mastered the second angled 3-D-like look yet. Southwest Finalist

Midwest:

Midwest #6 - Rachel's Grad School Getaway Midwest Finalist

Midwest #2 - Lizzie's Cozy Chicago Hideaway Love the toys and the rug.

Midwest #13: Kelly's Ghost Lounge This is probably my favorite entry this year. Just plain beautiful.

Small Cool Contest 2008: Part I

I really wanted to do a timely piece on Apartment Therapy’s Small Cool Contest, but they already have their finalists listed and I just finished looking at all the contestants. So, in the order of how I viewed them, here are my thoughts.

International:

International #12: Ise's London Pad

International #13: DHJ's Honey House This apartment really wasn't ready for this contest but they did have an incredible backsplash worth noting.

Northwest:

Northwest #3: Lana's Coffee Capital Digs Attractive, yes, warm, no.

Northwest #13: David's Designer Digs Nice, but sterile.

Northwest #12: Xing's Apartment for a Wanna Be Artist This guy used four of his five photos to show off: one room with two mid-century furniture pieces and his photography equipment. Besides the acquisition of the furniture, it doesn’t seem as if any design was imposed on this space. It looks more like a separate work studio than his home. According to the comments, I’m not the only one who thought that either.

Northwest #7: Shannon's Sumptuous Studio She has an adorable bed alcove.

Northwest #24: Emmy's Apartment S Nice use of color.


Northwest #1: Ana and Bob's Bay Area Nest I could totally see myself living here, love the very simple divider between the living room and the bedroom.

Northwest #10: Lydia's Leisure Suite Points for the DIY cork divider that I can SO see in a Wary Meyer-designed room, can’t you?

Northwest #14: Allison and Bo's Bantam Roost Cute, and she has a blog about living in a small house!

Northwest #25: Ginger's Spicy Downtown Loft This one is a bit too dark for me but I love how in a one-room space she used her color plan cohesively throughout the whole space.

Northwest #21: Courtney's "The Story of Me" (See top photo) Great objects in cute vignettes. This could have been my favorite; however, she only shows the living room!

I hope that next year they can feature a small photo with each entry on the submission page, making it easier to go back and view a particular favorite, instead of having to remember, first, which region, and then the name of the entry.

A hint of something great to come?

This is a new house tour from Apartment Therapy written by Jeanine, a blogger trying out for a spot on the new AT: Boston team. This is her home. I think AT will pick her because anyone with this sense of fun and whimsy will be a great addition to the staff.

This is a teaser photo, but go and check out the rest of the tour here.


(Hint: Check out the small details in her photos)

Slowly losing a friend...

My blogging life started at the same time as my discovery of Apartment Therapy. My first few posts were about either the first Small Cool Contest or the first AT Cure. So, it is very sad that AT and I are growing farther and farther apart. We are just going in different directions. It's not them...it's me.

1) I now dread reading the comments for House Tours or any of the contests. It is not that the negativity or snarkiness has gotten worse, it is just that as time goes by I can handle less and less of it. In the beginning, I would read every one of the comments only stopping when I reached the end. Now I read a few and if I hit a snarky or downright nasty comment that's it for me, off I go.

2) I check the site maybe once a week now, so even with the addition of AT: Boston and AT: DC, this probably will not change. I now use the main page to go through the four city sites.

3) Even though I signed up for this round, I haven't followed the Cure posts at all. I am still a fan of the idea and I will keep taking care of the Apartment Therapy Cure (Unofficial) Flickr group I started, however, I just can't keep up on a daily basis.

4) I have only seen five of this year Smallest Coolest contestants so I am not voting this time. In the past I used to keep refreshing the page all day long to keep up. Now, I'm only looking at the ones that catch my eye with their first picture. In the earlier years, regular readers mentioned the discrepancy in incomes and expertise among the contestants. This year, I noticed two more problems that need mentioning:

• They increased the size limit to 850 square feet. It's not naive to say that someone with a 850 square foot apartment does not have the same storage and clutter challenges as people in living spaces under 500 sq feet, let alone ones under 350 sq feet. There are family homes with yards that have the same square footage all over the country. That is not small. Here is one from the March issue of Cottage Living.

• People are not submitting pictures of their whole spaces but shots of fireplace mantels and candlesticks or lamps on end tables. The contest is about where they live, not just what looks cute through the camera lens. We want to see their storage solutions, which I think was the main reason for this contest on small spaces in the first place, right? If we're lucky, we might see a picture of the main couch or bed wall in the living room or bedroom. There are barely any kitchen pictures seen, unless the kitchen has just been remodeled and almost no bathroom photos. I first started not voting for an entry if it was mostly art photos, which then turned into me not voting for any.

AT, I will always support you; however, you have to become a much smaller part of my life now.
Take care.

SHELTER: Before and After Color

Front door AFTER

When Stephanie (aka Stefshep7 on Flickr) and Dave, her husband, decided to move to San Diego to take care of her ailing grandfather, I'm sure they didn't expect their living space to look like this.


This is the before front door
Does that say "Welcome!" to you?

Once there, they had to contend with what condition the former tenants had left the place in when they left. There was peeling paint and a stale smell in the air because few windows could be opened. To top it all off, they had left loads of stuff behind, bed frames, mattresses, bookcases, and books, lots of books. ALL of the items in the before pictures are the previous tenants.

However, Stephanie and Dave were able to not only bring this place to a point of cleanliness but they went above and beyond and made their apartment an incredibly cozy looking beach house, full of color and light. Please enjoy the pictures and what they have to say about their beautiful home.

Would you consider yourself an artistic person? Do you use it in your daily life?

No, not artistic in any way! I did used to work in a "design" related field. I was a Lighting Designer and Consultant in Nor Cal for 14 years. I couldn't design it, but I sure could light it!

Kitchen BEFORE

Kitchen AFTER

What motivated you to go with the "all out" decor?

I think it was the fact that moving here was a necessity...to care for my grandpa. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have left Nor Cal. I loved our home there. So, I felt I should make it as "fun" as possible to live in.

What specific difficulties did you have when decorating your space?

Oh boy! Well...my hubby Dave and I have very limited "hands-on construction" experience. So that was a big one. I think the biggest thing for us though...was dealing with the junk left behind (Over 3 tons of stuff had to be removed, and that was prior to any demo!) as well as the filth! I was not sure how anyone could have lived that way. The carpet was so bad; we would not walk on it without shoes!

Living room BEFORE

AFTER

How comfortable are you in your living space?

Very! We are still working on things, but have been able to make it a very nice place to be

What drew you to the vibrant colors?

It just came to me while still living in Northern Cal...months before the move. I wanted a festival of color! Being so close to the Mexican border (only 15 minutes); I was inspired by a color scheme you might find there. I actually wanted to go with a lot more busy patterns and colors...kind of like a colorful pinata, but since my artistic ability and capacity to create patterns and colors together, I figured it best quit with the color while I was ahead.

Do the colors of your home show up in your closet?

LOL...actually not really. I am a bit more understated with my wardrobe!

What was the inspiration for the blue on blue bathroom?

That was ALL my hubby Dave! He said the beach was the inspiration, we are only a couple of blocks from the beach here...so that was his biggest influence.

Do you think your decor style matches your personal style?

Well...our last home up north was quite rustic, we used a lot of golds, and even dark chocolate brown on the walls, I loved it. I am not sure if you noticed, but all of the furniture you see in the "redo" is exactly the same as what was in our "rustic" place. Which did present its adaptive challenges as well. I was so happy when I found the pillowcases you see on the couch, not only did it have the pinks and oranges I wanted, but it actually had the burnt red-maroon color of my sofa in it too! That is what pulled it all together! I saw the couch as a big hindrance when we started. Getting back to the question of my style...I really have no idea! I LOVE conservative funky I suppose. If there is such a thing! LOL

Does your decor match your personal style? I suppose it does!

Would someone who knows you say the style represents who you are?

I would have to say, not what they would expect necessarily, but after taking it all in... yes, I think they would say it does.

What was your biggest influence in choosing this decor? Mexico!

What has been the most expensive change you made?

It was the new windows, about 3.8k, then the cabinets in the kitchen about 1.6k

What has been the least expensive, yet most influential change? Definitely the paint!

Master bedroom

AFTER

Have you done any of the decor yourselves?

Absolutely all of it! Dave is the one who deserves most of the credit! All I did was choose color rugs and accessories, paint and scrub wood floors!

What changes are you most proud of?

That’s so hard; really, the cabinets and windows would have to be our proudest moments.

Guest room BEFORE

AFTER

What do you plan on doing next?

Hmmmm...repairing the bathroom floor, near the toilet and tub. Lots of rotten boards that we can only disguise for so long! LOL

What decorating style are you most attracted to?

Country rustic, and definitely Craftsman! My hubby loves contemporary design.

What kind of homes do you most admire or lust after?

My ideal [home] would be a classic Craftsman; my hubby Dave just loves the "pueblo Santa Fe" style best.

Have you seen any homes in movies that you would want to live in?

Only one comes to mind, that's the funky place Barbara and Dustin lived in "Meet the Fockers" I just loved everything about that place inside and out! I guess you could say that would be my dream home!

 

How different is your grown-up style from the places in which you grew up?

Not very, my mother loved Native American art, and her style was very rustic. Since she passed away in 1998, a lot of her things have ended up in our home. Rustic feels like home to me. As for Dave, his grown-up style is very different from the classic formal home he grew up in.

Thank you Dave and Stephanie!

The Sofa Show Down and Showroom

Whenever someone starts writing about buying a sofa on Apartment Therapy, a conversation starts about price, quality, and wanting a sofa that will last 20 or so years. Therefore, "they" say you should not buy a sofa for less than $1,000, as if that's the sign of quality. Hah!

Even though I'm older than a 20-something, I just can't see needing a couch that will last me 50 years. I see myself growing and changing much more than that. My style is not that staid that the same sofa would satisfy me for that long. No way. So I'd be pretty happy getting a beautiful couch that will last me the next 5 years.

They are out there, good sofas cheaper than $2,000, $1,000, even $900. How low you go is up to you, however, the one thing I hold to when buying anything is: always test it out yourself, if you can. Sit on it, lounge, lay on it the way you would at home, feel the construction underneath, test its legs by wiggling it, and run your hand over the fabric, with and against the grain. Then, if all that works out, buy it.

From Overstock.com:

 
Eldredge Sofa in Chestnut ($589) and Flint ($579). Size: 31.5 in. H x 72 in. W x 31 in. D

Spencer sofa in Bamboo and Biscotti for $419. (I think this is the discontinued CB2 Shelter sofa seen here.) Size: 31.5 in. H x 72 in. W x 31 in. D

Evan sofa in Toast, Asparagus, and Biscuit for $500. Size: 31 in. H x 72 in. W x 32 in. D

Jane Convertible sofa in Chocolate and Black for $959. Size: 34 in. H x 45 in. D x 79 in. L


Boudoir chair in Honey and Berry for $300. Size: 36 in. H x 37 in. W x 36 in. D

Apartment Recliner chair in Sage and Clove for $300. Size: 39 in. H x 30 in. W x 29.5 in. D


Salon chair in Eggnog for $300.
Size: 40 in. H x 33.5 in. W x 28 in. D

Not bad for variety, huh?

What time is it? COLOR TIME

Today is the first day of the Apartment Therapy I've Got Color contest!

This is the third running of this contest and as in the beginning AT is "looking for the boldest, most beautiful, most colorful home in the world". There was much controversy about last years' almost ice cream parlor-colored winner and I'm curious to see just exactly what boldest and most colorful will mean this year.

Here are the former winners and my choices for 1st place side by side for each contest:

November 2006
Marilyn and Peter's Home Studio Harmony - Winner
Brooke's Brave Blast of Brightness



November 2005
Kate's Oasis of Color and Light - Winner
Jon's 60s Retro Bedroom

Let see if this years winner is more bold than subtle, more colorful than monochromatic. This year AT is adding more to their plate by awarding winners in all four AT locations; San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

Let the battles (in the comments) begin!

The Kitchens of My Dreams

Over the last two years I have discovered that I REALLY don't like the stainless steel appliances and other attributes of the modern kitchen that is so popular these days. It seems I want the kitchen that everyone is getting rid of as soon as they buy a house. The ones I see on the Internet and in magazines that I like tend to be reminiscent of an older era. However, the colors scheme can be quite varied from either pale spring-like colors to a bold riot of bright colors. SUBTLE: day-lab's awesome redo Dooce's old one before the remodel Pink loves Brown BOLD: First, this great idea, in pink and then in yellow. April 2006 Domino spread Jordan's kitchen shelves Then, these multi-color examples. My House is Cuter than Yours' kitchen House Tour from AT-San Francisco firehouse kitchen from Google Supershoppertoo on Flickr My little temporary fix Last but not least, my dream kitchen floor to go with either color scheme is this one made of cut and assembled linoleum pieces, seen in the December 2005 issue of Domino. This picture from Decor8, however, is from another reader that was inspired by the same story as I. I love the mixing up of different colors intensities. I would work this out with whatever color scheme or mood I chose for the decor. Fewer colors and lighter shades for subtle; more varied and brighter for bold. Attention: day-lab is starting her own DIY-focused blog at day-lab-diy.blogspot.com. She is asking for submissions, go see more information here. Sources: Flickr, the blogs credited above, Apartment Therapy archives, and Google images.