Klbklyn's Profile

This apartment pulsates! I live how it unfolds in the tour in a purring, seductive, coy series of winks.

I love that it's not little old lady-meets-hoarders, or mcm (not that I don't like elements of both) or 'country modern', whatever that means this week...it's totally, totally unique. And it just saturates you with covetousness. Even though it is as far as you could get from "my style" (though my style evolves a bit I think every time I see a tour like this).

My favorite things among many are the dark hallway cocoon, and the painting over the bed. Can you tell me any more about the artist? I am looking for a piece like this.

PS props to Patrick for the punchy defending of his photo editorial approach! I did the whole tour, then read the write up, then had to go back and redo the tour as it added so much to my seeing.

I don't get it.

I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to get it? It feels like 5 different people's competing vision of a dream living room entirely furnished from bed, bath & beyond and Raymour & Flanigan (sorry, Cindy Crawford: you're lovely but you know jack about design).

And, photo 28 (the empty stairwell)????

The ad hominem sniping is a shame. We don't know nearly enough about this family to moralize at them.

But, there is a valid critique to be made here: of the home itself, of the decorating choices, and of the way AT has approached it editorially.

- the home, sadly, is an object lesson in the fact that no amount of imagination, creativity or color can overcome the soullessness of the mega-builder status house. When people talk about good bones, this is the opposite. It is aching, disjointed, pieces of furniture desperately trying and failing to anchor yawning expanses of wall and carpet. Even the huge monolith of bookcase in the living room feels so lost on that vast wall surrounded by distractingly-shaped and placed windows and doors.

- I can see the owners' style and some touches of real heart --like the little narrow wood chair with the yellow cushion and sweet portrait over it. They are clearly swimming upstream hard against the pull of show-home decor. But these flashes are relentlessly beaten back by the uber generic kitchen, dining room and, again, just the empty, awkward volumes of air. I would love to see what Nessa and her family could do with a space that does not swallow every attempt at a creative touch and spit it out.

- apartment therapy, the tour is too long. I don't know what the answer is but if we are going to have McMansion tours, we need to find a way to do it in less than 70 images. Similarly, I was put off by all the posed family shots. It undercut the authenticity of the story about this carefree, natural family home that we're being asked to buy.

There's something dissonant between what I think the intent of this post is, and the fact that the picture chosen for the post is of a very formal sitting room with decidedly un-life-friendly upholstery, that looks very staged by a realtor.

I'm trying to dissociate the words and picture, but our brains don't work that way and as a result I'm reading words like 'linens' and 'maid' with a very particular taste in my mouth.

In truth, nearly every apartment featured on AT is a better representation of grown-up home than this pic. They are grown up because they are thoughtful, joyful, made for living in, and suited to the very particular lives that their owners have chosen. They invariably include a symbolic commitment to welcoming others- whether it's an ingenious sleeping lift suspended over a dropped ceiling, or simply two matching red cups side by side on two hooks above the 18 inches of counter space.

That's what makes a grown-up home, not 10 matching place settings or a full crystal bar set.

I really enjoyed this room. The little details and simplicity, the home-made but well-made touches, and the maturity to edit out some of the unnecessary baby paraphernalia that clunks up so many nurseries (like changing tables and layettes with canvas covered, bow-trimmed wicker baskets--save us!).

I love the rocking chair--can you tell me where you ordered the kit?

You know how a lot of writers who take jobs writing commercial copy lose their personal "voice", and can't start writing their own fiction and poetry again until they change their work to something that has nothing to do with writing....like TS Eliot being a bank clerk by day?

I wonder if the same is true of people who design other people's bedrooms for a living.

Big congratulations on creating a space that doesn't cleave slavishly to a particular craze or era, and still exudes livability and style! The bones are superb, and with the Adler touches the whole thing gives off a very "Single Man" feel :)

I have one suggestion for the closet/office, and one for the living room.

For the closet, In addition to slimline hangers here's a more radical idea: install a dry cleaning rail that rotates. Maybe you can inventory and photograph your clothes and use the photos as labels, to make them easier to find.

For the living room, it broke my heart to see the giant, out-of-proportion flat screen stealing the soul away from that absolutely knockout fireplace and the room it was born to anchor! I'm not normally a fan of TV cabinets ("guess what's behind the door?!?!"), but if the big hi-def movie experience is a key part of your lives, it might be worth investing in a great built-in for that wall, and mounting the tv on a pivoting arm behind sliding doors. Thoughtfully designed built-ins would echo the spirit of the architecture.

I know you're just getting started so maybe these are long-term projects to start noodling on in idle moments.

Good luck and enjoy your lovely home.