Apartment Therapy's month-long Small Cool Aparment Contest had their finale when the four winners were announced online this morning. I am not a winner, and I knew it couldn't have happened when the competition is so fierce and the discrepancy between high and low end apartments are so huge. I was incredibly pleased just to look at the loads of generous comments from the AT community. Too bad I couldn't make the DWR party last night. It sounded like a lot of fun.


The winners are inspiring and would easily fit in to the pages of any glossy design magazine but I am ecstatic Laura from Santa Monica took second place. Her abode is free of pretensions. Someone actually lives in that apartment versus the sterile hotel feel of some of the finalists. Bravo to those who can take their architecture degrees and hire the best help, and have the best resources at their fingertips. But mad mad props to the people who fix up their living spaces in their image and don't walk around with formal design credentials. I always loved AT for their DIY attitude and empowering the little man with affordable and still attractive solutions but these days I find myself lingering less and less on their site. If I wanted Elle Decor and Architectural Monthly I would read them. Which I do. I just feel there are lesser known voices out in the home decorating/design world that often go unheard over the loud noise of overblogged (overpriced) topics.







Laura's studio stands out from the rest. It's a well though out use of small space and as practical as it is pleasing to the eye. Feminine and welcoming at once. Simple elegance and budget conscious. No wonder it was a favorite of so many readers. I am biased towards the single-woman and that she's an LA resident. She's also the only non East Coast finalist and the only renter out of the group. Maybe AT could tailor their contest next year for winners in separate categories. Renters v. Owners. Or take style or budget into consideration. Or even how small is small. There is quite a difference between an LA studio and a 2 bedroom custom made NY loft, for example.

AT for the first time this year also held contests on their specialty sites, The Kitchen, The Nursery and I was keeping tabs on Home Tech. Call me crazy, but when they first announced the rules for the Home Tech Small Cool Contest I was not picturing a bunch of entertainment centers and computer hutches, which is what I mainly saw posted.



The winners are all seamless integrated TV units. They're flat screens on the wall with hidden cables in stylish settings. They're lessons to those looking to streamline but not a whole lot more. Letting apartments enter multiple contests is not a bad thing, but it was outlawed this year. It could create some interest among entrants. Harder for the judges, I know, but they weren't lacking a flood of entries this year anyway. Step up the prizes to something else besides an iPod and I'll enter my flatscreen next year.

Labels: design, DIY, editorial