BrooklynRob's Profile

What if we changed the way we thought about possessions in general and furniture specifically? What if we made do with fewer items but bought extremely high-quality, well-designed pieces that we could keep for a lifetime?
Wouldn't that change what's considered "expensive?"
Of course you can buy a super-cheap table at Ikea that will begin falling apart almost as soon as you get it assembled. Or you could spend $4,000 on a Saarinen marble-topped pedestal table. Which sounds like a lot, except it is built like a tank, will last the rest of your life, and never go out of style. If you buy this in your 30s and use it for the next 35 years (not unusual for couples to keep the same dining table their whole lives), that works out to $114/year. Is that really excessive for something poetically beautiful that every member of your family will use every day?

Really cool and fun. I love those motorcycle towels in the bathroom. This place rocks!

I love this place and would love to live there! This is a great example of starting with a problematic space and making it into something super-elegant and stylish. From the floor plan it looks like the bedroom doesn't even have a window, but it still feels open and appealing. Not an easy task to pull off. I would love to see some more photos and also know a little about how one gets built-ins like this... as in, do you hire an architect? An interior designer?

For my money, this is the most sophisticated non-international entry so far. The muted palette and mix of textures creates visual interest without overwhelming such a small space. He's really done an impressive job at making an appealing, inviting home in a tiny space that looks not much bigger than a dorm room -- which is a pretty dificult task. This kind of place is what this contest is all about, in my opinion. I hope Ryan advances to the next round so we can see more photos. Also, I've said this before but I would love to know a little about these people and what they do for a living -- I'm guessing Ryan is some sort of designer.

This place is so cool and fun! The kitchen's combination of bright red and avocado green is really unexpected and jarring (in a good way). The vintage space-age white tv is super groovy.. that would make me happy every time I looked at it.
I love the mosaic-looking clock on the bathroom wall. What a great collection of stuff! So unique. I hope you have lots of parties there and crank up the disco!

I'm surprised no one mentioned the house from original Dick Van Dyke show, with their elegant Danish Modern living room and Eames(ish) dinette set. The perfect setting to invite Buddy and Sally over and put on a show in the living room.

Wow, this place is amazing. Really beautiful.

I guess I have a different concept of what's considered environmentally responsible, but it's hard for me to see why one family needs 4,000 square feet of space. And 4.5 bathrooms? Have we become a country where every child expects his own bathroom and can't share with one or two of his siblings?
Building a mansion and slapping on a few green features is not being a good steward of our planet.

So pretentious... "hey everyone, look at how much money we have!"
Uptight, stuffy, cluttered: yuck!

This place seems so much better than the other entries it's like he's in his own category. He has to be an artist or designer -- he definitely has vision. One of the fundamental space-organization problems of our era is what to do with the whole home-office situation in a small apt., and I think this guy's solution is really impressive.
These photos are almost magical, they have a Vermeer quality to them. Congrats and I look forward to seeing more of your space!