Room for Color 2010

Wow. I really, really like this...a lot.

Can you give details regarding your sofa/settee? Source? Fabric? Color? etc.

I really, really like this room; it just makes me feel really happy... :)

This is great, so cheerful. Please share sources! Love that pillow fabric!

Frankly, Wow.

So many colors and patterns, yet it doesn't look busy. I love it!

contender! high color and style.

WOW MY FAVE FOR SURE!!Bold and beautiful!Great job!Cheers

Thanks, everyone! : )

@JD2002-The sofa was a $30 Craiglist find and is vintage.

@Evelyn W-The floral pillows are from Pier One and the Greek Key pillow was from Homegoods!

Love the drapery! Where did you get them from?

Gaaah. I was so afraid you'd say your sofa was a CL find!! It's too PERFECT! Hehe!

@Jbouck-I painted the drapes! The panels are $9 a piece from JC Penney and my husband figured out the chevron pattern for me and I painted them with black acrylic fabric paint. : )

Fantastic! My favourite entry thus far.

I love this one. Even though the main colors are dark, the patterns and pops of color actually make it feel very cheery and bright.

love the blue lamps!

@sarahee-Thanks! Those were a salvation army thrift store find and I painted them that color. : )

Love it.

Love love love it........great room.

I loooove this. The yellow chair totally pops, and works so well with the fantastic curtains. Well done.

Very nice. UNIQUE! The colours work so well together - and wow on the sofa-Craigslist-find! :)

I looove the courtains!!

whoa.

It's a . . . little busy. I'm suprized with the muted colors it can look so . . . active.

This reminds me of that show Trading Spaces

Joi, you have my vote. I have loved this room for awhile, and it is looking good here on AT!

Got my vote. Love your tasteful use of mixed patterns, textures, and colours. Not many people can pull that off without looking like a bad flea-market or thrift shop.

yikes

Love the use of color. Some of my faves. I wish I had those curtains...they add a graphic punch to the space.

I love the cushion covers and the chair. Don't like the silver things in the center though. Also I feel the sofa looks awkward facing the chest of drawers! But overall i think it's quite nice and quite a bit better than a lot of other entries! :)

Such a cute room! I love the sofa, desk, chair, and lamps!! Where is that desk from??

@gildaumd-Thanks! The desk is vintage.

: )

My hand embroidered bargello would go so well with this. If you are interested please see:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/51468723/bargello-interlocks-hand-embroidered

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52500291/black-and-white-bargello-diamonds-hand

Niiiiiice, I could definitely live there! Like the combo of colors!

Blah. Are you kidding me? This looks horrible. I am sorry but I cannot believe this one is winning for the north. Those silver ottomans are an eyesore. And nothing in the room looks like it goes together. I am all for vintage and thrifty when it looks GOOD... but this just looks like a random colored mess. There are sooooo many other rooms that mix colors in a way that WORKS. Not this one. Please, please, please tell me this is a prank. Please.

crispyfry5: I've been wondering the same thing since this contest started. Not just about this room, but about a number of the leading rooms. I thought maybe it was just that some people have a ton of friends who vote for them, maybe post it on Facebook and are able to get hundreds of votes that way? I'm not really sure, but something is definitely wrong with this contest.

@crispyfry - your comment is not within the standards of the AT community. Saying this room is horrible or doesn't go together is rude, vague and not terribly constructive.

Joi - ignore the trolls, this room is great!

@crispyfry & @lemond-To each their own. My room = my decorating style. Don't favorite it if you don't like it. : )

@Roger F-Thanks for the kind words!

Rude? Sorry, it is my honest opinion.

I love that Joi loves her room... you should! You designed it! But I cannot believe that so many AT readers think this is a well designed room.

Vague? I explicitly said the ottomans are an eyesore but I can get more detailed if you would like.

Let me start by asking, what is the purpose of this room? I think this is a key question when designing a space... one that this room does not properly address. Is it an office or a family room? Is it formal or relaxed? And I agree with twigs who said the couch seems awkward facing the dresser. What is the purpose of that? A successful design has purpose.

But the main issue I have is that there is no flow to the room (aka: nothing "goes together"). When you look at a space you want your eyes to be taken on a journey through the room... led around by a natural movement created by any number of reasons. In this case the pops of color would normally create movement. They do not. There is yellow. Bam. Right in the middle. It instantly attracts your eyes... but they do not know where to go next. Why? Because yellow is no where else in the room. I do not mean that same exact shade of yellow... I mean ANY yellow. It does not need to be a lot (especially when dealing with yellow) to start the movement. A hint of yellow in the pillows, a yellow frame or vase of flowers on the dresser... it could be anything in any shade of yellow. As long as there is SOMETHING for your eyes to relate to and move them from that initial spot. The same issue occurs again with the red/orange pillows and blue lamps. They are each stagnate. Nothing relates to those colors to create any natural movement.

This problem with movement stems from the larger issue of balance. There is no balance to the room. If you look at the room as a whole it is cut in half. There is the bottom which contains all the warm tones while the top half is... gray... The corner with the plant stand just seems to scream, put something taller here! It is a wasted opportunity to draw color up to the top half of the room. And even the orientation of the furniture itself... all the white/light furniture is clustered into one corner of the room. Something simple like painting the plant stand a shade of blue would make a world of difference in the balance (not to mention the flow). And please... do not even get me started on the metallic soccer balls turned ottomans.

Constructive criticism? I did not think this was necessary in a competition such as this.

You have got some good pieces with potential (and some bad ones) but it is put together in a way that just does not work. If you want to see a similar style of room (eclectic, thrifty and pops of color) that works (and is in the same division) I personally think "Keep On The Sunny Side" pulls it off with impeccable balance and movement.

@CrispyFry5-Wow. Thanks for the dissertation on my room. I think you have way too much time on your hands to write this detailed of an essay about my room.

I entered this contest for fun--geez. I never claimed this was the best designed room. Wowza.

Joi,

I understand that you entered for fun but when you did so you also opened yourself up for honest opinions/critiques. Truthfully the only reason I felt the need to get so in-depth with your room is first because I was told by Roger F that vagueness "is not within the standards of the AT community" and second because your room is in the lead when I do not think it should be. I am genuinely shocked at how many people think this room deserves to win over the others in this division. I am sorry if that hurts your feelings but it is how I feel. I also think that you should not be hurt by what I said because you designed a room that you love and when it comes to actually living with a design... loving it yourself is really all that should matter. But that is not how it works in a competition. Thank you for putting your room out there to discuss though... if you could not tell... I love to critique.

I've been known to give some short/intense critiques during this contest. I am a registered and practicing Interior Designer. I like this space. It's a great blend of unique items that really create a fun/sophisticated space. Go Joi!

I'm not crazy about the ottomans, but I otherwise love this room. I'd kill for the drapes and the yellow chair makes me happy. Crispyfry--the third photo shows that there is yellow and blue in the pillows. This may have been a jumping off point.
May we see your room, please?

@Crispyfry5-All is good.

I have to agree with CrispyFry5. It just seems very cluttered and eclectic to the point of being a hodgepodge of too many competing focal points. Just my opinion. :)

mjs7640,

While I would love it if even one of our rooms were in any condition to share with you all... we just moved and are still not fully unpacked. I will gladly describe its state though: Our bedroom has... a bed... nothing else. The second bedroom has a TV... nothing else (not even a chair). Our bathroom is white from floor to ceiling (ick). We still have my husband's two Ikea chairs (double ick) in the family room... and our living room? Let me just say it is a hot mess. Do not even ask me about the basement. This is why I did not enter the contest.

Gray is non-chromatic light, achromatic color or neutral color. Neutrals have low colorfulness and chroma. So why is this grey, white and black room featured at a COLOR contest?

it's true, if you submit your room to a contest, you are asking for feedback and have to accept it, good or bad. and angiebang, some of the most hideous homes i've ever seen were designed by professionals, so i hope you're not expecting us to defer to your superior wisdom just because you're an interior designer. personally, i'm not a fan of this room though i will say this -- it isn't boring! someone said it's like a room on "Trading Spaces" and i'd have to agree.

Domino jumped to my mind when I saw your photo, so you did an excellent job of creating that Domino look. You have succeeded already, best of luck in the contest!

aaahhh gimme your curtains! <3 <3