EricMeeks's Profile

In regards to:

"I was hesitant to enter this contest because most of the entries feature a very modern, minimalist look. Hopefully people will like something different!"

I would like to point out that Ron's Hotel "Sweet" which took 4th place in last years contest was what some would call a "maximalist" style. I think this contest has a love of both the modern minimilist style and more traditional styles. In fact just read the comments of the modern minimalist apartments and you will find people commenting on both sides of the coin.

Check out Ron's Hotel "Sweet" for reference to "something different" done to perfection. Certainly it isn't my style at all, but you have to admit he did an amazing job with his place. [http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/east-semifinalist-1-rons-hotel-sweet-022909]

As for your place, I love seeing entries in this size range. This is where you really have to be creative, when you get under the 300sqft zone. This is where things become challenging. I like that you stick to a theme, although I wish there were more cohesiveness and purpose. Overall, good job for a style that I don't really like ;-)

Wow, I feel so bad about this entry and its comments. I think we all get that the photos could have been better revealing of the space. Its probably tough when you enter the contest and come to see your comments to get a feel of how you did on your DESIGN, and all you find out is that people feel that you took lousy pictures.

I don't like the decal on the large mirrors of a woman. Just a personal preference, and probably because I am a guy. The space is very girlie. I do however appreciate the myriad of colors and patterns, which to some may be overkill, but I feel like it is part of your personality showing through in your design. So I like that.

Another space with the TV on top of the fireplace, you should rethink the TV placement.

I am also guessing that you didn't show certain parts of your apartment because you hoped to get into the finals and maybe reveal other amazing parts of the space to "crush" the competition in the finals, (maybe that is just my optimism) but sadly it looks as though the crowd of commenters didn't see it that way.

Overall a great space to be proud of for sure.

nwlane: Not impressively miserable, just impressively critical.

Just for shits and giggles I went to dwr.com and typed in every piece of furniture that I could see in these photos and WOW to my amazement, they were all there. I could put together this entire apartment from the comfort of my laptop and internet connection (minus the cool art and artifacts, which I do like a lot, but in my opinion are not enough to make this a serious contender).

So here we go (from dwr.com):
Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair with Seat Pad: $877
LEM Piston Stools: $660 each
Swan Chair - Classic Leather: $5702 each
LC2 Petit Modele Three Seat Sofa: $7100
Nelson Platform Bench: $699
Eames Aluminum Management Chair: $1129

So someone show me what makes this space creative? When you say: "the most beautiful aspect of the apartment is the light." I am assuming you mean the light coming from the window which is great, but that isn't YOUR creativity. (Not saying that natural light CANT be creative, just that you didn't do anything particularly with the natural light other than what the architect intended it to do.)

Katrina58 said it best.

p.s. I love the classics too, but they are at this point sadly cliche'

Hello DWR Showroom. Man I am BORED! Being an architect I would think you would have more creativity than just the standard MCM Classics. Whoop-D-Do. There are sooo many beautiful and creative contemporary pieces you could have had in this space. I would think most architects would be up with all the latest furniture designs and not so stuck with all the icons of the past.

Not only that, the space is huge, and nothing jumps out and says to me, "hey thats a very creative use of a small space."

Did you do anything creative with the walls....Nope.
Did you do any creative window treatment....Nope.
Did you do anything creative with the kitchen...Nope.

I am sure the kitchen came that way and all you did was put a mask at the end of that wall. So what exactly is so special about this place?

I hate that my comments have to be so negative, but I see no creativity here. Maybe the bedroom/bathroom would change my opinion.

p.s. Props for the didgeridoo.
p.p.s. Just trying to be honest, not rude. This contest is for laying everything you have out on the table and getting honest anonymous feedback from the internet in return.

I just want to say thanks for everyone at the party making it worth it to drive all the way from Barstow. What and awesome community we have with ATLA. I can't wait to see more events from them. Congratulations to all the Los Angeles entries in the competition, I think we proved that NY isn't the only design mecca and that amateurs can hold their own with professionals. I truly was inspired by this competition and can't wait until next year when I can be merely a spectator.

Haha, thanks for the great comment. Luckily that beautiful girlfriend of mine shares the same vision and without the two of us this space wouldn't be anywhere close to where we want it to be. Ammo, you are the most amazing girl in the world, and this apartment reflects that. Your determination is unmatchable.

Everyone: thanks for all the great comments so far, it makes all the hard work worth it and I hope you get to meet Ammo tomorrow at the party. Sadly, I am out of town on work, so I will miss you all. Good luck and congratulations to all the other contestants, I am sure you all feel that your hard work has paid off as well.

Great job, the bedroom is fantastic!

Mar,

We usually eat where the laptops are, we just push the laptops back and eat sitting on the ottoman.

Oh, and sure, come on out to our next party. Although last time we got a noise complaint :(

Others,

So far the bed has not been an issue. Many people just sit on the edge of it like it is just another couch or something. I can't imagine sectioning it off, becase the space is SO small it would really hurt the size of the space. I guess that is just one of the downfalls of a studio.

Again, thanks for all the feedback. Keep it coming!

Mark,

Thanks for the clarification. You are right, I just tried again and was not able to increase the vote count. Thanks. I am glad to know the voting will be fair.

Also, with a three day voting system, if your entry gets posted on a Friday, does that mean you get Friday, Saturday Sunday, as the days people are allowed to vote? If so, then Friday people will be screwed compared to Monday people considering that the blogosphere pretty much shuts down on the weekends. Maybe Friday posted entries should get Monday for voting too.

Also, if people have to register in order to vote, instead of using a CAPTCHA system, by the end of the contest the pool of voters will be significantly larger than the pool of voters at the beginning. Thus making the people who turned their entries in on time at a disadvantage.

Lastly, the contest page still shows a deadline of April 6th. Maybe if you changed that to the new deadline, people would realize that they can still enter the contest.

Sorry, this really isn't bitching, and I know you guys are doing everything in your power to be fair, but these are just some of the things that are going to come up once this thing starts taking off.