Deadline Reminder: 10.5 hours remaining! Get your submission in by midnight eastern, tonight! We've got to find a good home for this TV...let us know in the comments below if yours is the one it should go to. We are giving away this 37" LCD HDTV by Insignia to one of the commenters on this thread, so don't hesitate, let us know why it should be yours by answering our question: "How would this TV improve your home?"
We'll be taking comments from Tuesday, September 4th through Monday, September 10th at midnight, Eastern. A winner will be chosen Tuesday morning and announced at noon, Eastern. In exchange, we'd like the winner to share photos of the final installation with all of us at AT: Home Tech.
Details below...
Those without "sleek, modern decors" need not worry. All styles are encouraged to enter and pictures of your current set up are optional, but recommended to improve your chances of winning. (See below for the [optional] html code to link to photos in your post--using it or not won't affect your entry.)
The Rules:
*One entry per person; even if you really really really want the TV, more than one entry will disqualify you. However, comments on other posts are allowed, as long as you play nice in the sandbox.
*We don't claim that the judging is 100% objective because we're human; this is meant to be fun, creative and affective (feel free to comment when there's another entry you love).
*There's only one winner because we only have one Insignia 37" LCD HDTV to give away.
*To create a link to photos in the post, copy and paste this HTML and then add your LINK to replace the LINK text, and your text to describe the link between the middle >< (carrots)make sure there are no spaces in the 'link' area except between the ' a' and the 'h' at the beginning:
<a href="LINK">description here</a>
*If you have questions about anything, feel free to email us: hometech at apartmenttherapy dot com.
*If you enter the giveaway, please check your email Tuesday afternoon (9/11). We will be sending a notification email to the winner. If you hear from us, please email us back ASAP. We need to get an email response from the winner by Noon eastern on Thursday (9/13) for the entry to be eligible. If we don't get a response from the first winner selected, we will choose a second winner at that time. If you snooze...
*FYI: The TV will take a bit of time to be shipped to you, but the details and exact timing will be worked out with the winner...and we're already looking forward to the photos of the final installation!
Well, seeing as how we have the biggest, oldest TV I've ever seen (it's in a cabinet, people), this would be a huge improvement. When the speaker died on the tv, my dad hooked up some outdoor speakers, now that's classy, eh? Let's just say this TV would actually let us live in the 21st century.
view hs's profile
HS sure does have a good argument, did the speaker come from a rumage sale? that would be even better!
We'd love to have this tv in our house because then I could re-arrange the furniture more often. Right now the entertainment center can only fit in one spot so I am forever stuck in the same arrangement. Hoping to have the option to switch it up a bit!
view shabooda's profile
We have this old TV upstairs that doesn't work at all because the remote was lost, so we can't connect it to the cable box. It was heavy and boxy, and we need a new TV to be able to tie that room together. It's so old we don't think there's anything we can do to make it useful. It's also a great TV, and would completely change how we play video games (Wii, fun for the whole family), watch dvd's, and enjoy TV.
view connerdowney's profile
I have to admit, our current tv isn't old and crusty. We purchased it 2 years and 2 moves ago for a house featuring niches for your entertainment pleasure. 6 weeks into our new house; a much smaller, less already featuring built-ins house, our tv remains where the movers first carried it in. Inside the fireplace. The cable box and dvd player sit on the hearth beside it! However, above the tv/firebox is a beautiful, sleek mantel that would nicely hold the Insignia 37" LCD HDTV. The big switch would bring joy to the whole family. My husband would get football in all its HD clarity, my kids won't be able to stand with their noses pressed directly against the screen (putting off the need for glasses a few more years) and I won't have a heart attack every time my 4 year old squeezes her body into the 4 inch crevice beside the tv, threatening to push its off it precarious position onto the floor below!
view jennemmy's profile
Long time reader, first time poster (or maybe second time poster). I think I embody the spirit of Apartment Therapy. For starters, I live in an actual apartment - not a house, not a condo, not even a tenancy in common. A real live "don't paint the walls or hang up anything with nails or you forfeit your deposit" apartment. It's less than 500 sq. ft. Oh, and I love it! My apartment is my home.
Through AP I've found inspiration on how to enjoy living with crazy parameters (I have no kitchen unless you count the 30 inches total unit of a sink over half fridge with no oven but two countertop burners that inhabits a corner of my space a kitchen), how to decorate on a budget (which is great because I live in San Francisco and work for a non-profit) and encouragement to staying true to myself by adding a Green portal on your site.
I've completely revamped my apartment with the exception of my TV which is the only one I own, is over 10 years old, has only one working speaker and is too heavy for me to lift alone. I could start the please, please, please's now but instead I'll just end with - I would love the TV to update my home but I would love it even more if it came form Apartment Therapy.
view JinSanFran's profile
Here's a shot of our newest and best TV--pretty sad, huh? We really want to have some movie parties this fall so Apartment Therapy would save us oodles of embarrassment if you awarded this TV to us! Bonus: lots of friends would get to see it--spread the joy!
">small set
view milbarge's profile
Great opportunity to replace my 15yr old "radiation king" tv set and finally buy a new media console. So not only will it improve my apartment by bringing it up to the current decade but improve my health :-) Oh and I guess I can now see what HD is all about.
view MxQ's profile
My roommate and I are fresh out of college and in our new apartment. As you can see, our current setup is not just incredibly lacking - it's darn right unbalanced. Now, a nice big tv would go a long way towards keeping that shelving unit on the right from visually overpowering the entertainment setup. I can't promise that the tv would 'pull together' the rest of the room since it needs a tiny bit (just a bit!) more work than that, but I bet I could get my roommate to Craigslist the shelving... and in all honesty, wouldn't that be a service to humanity?
view elchan's profile
Last month we had a big storm which created a very large power surge, due to this we lost power for 4 days. When it was restored a number of our electronics were no longer working, included was a cordless phone, a stereo receiver, a wireless router, and my TV. The phone and router had to replaced immediately due to my business but I have been unable financially to replace either my TV or receiver. This TV would be greatly appreciated and well cared for by a family that misses watching movies together. Good luck everyone.
Post Script: Love the site
view KeyserSoze's profile
Our current TV is old, and was free from a friend. Shortly after we moved in, our stereo system was irreparably damaged in a flood. We need a new TV and a new stereo system but can't decide which to get first because we don't want to go into debt to get both at once. So we're stuck in this paralysis. With a free TV, we'd be able to get the stereo system and have both sides of the equation solved at once.
view anninva's profile
If Insignia is placed with me - I would care for him and would provide a happy, comfortable home for him always. I have a brand new HD VCR, just dying for a playmate. I know they would get along really well! While I am at work, he would have plenty of rest in a cool spot out of the Florida sunshine. Plus, if he turns his head just right out the window - he can watch the boats in the bay! What more could a TV ask for? The best part is, when I get home from work - we would spend so much time together, it's almost wrong. Watching news, documentaries, comedies, movies...it will be non-stop entertainment. And I promise, if he doesn't want to watch a show - I can always watch it on the other TV in my bedroom. The one part I haven't figured out is what to do with my current TV. She has lived a long, interesting life, has traveled with me and has been a true friend. But heck! We're talking HDTV and this IS FLorida...great place to retire...maybe even for TVS!
view CelticMusclehead's profile
We have the tiniest screen in the world. Although my partner watches TV ALL THE TIME...we have to pretend we hate it. So we can't buy a new TV or get one that really works. When we play a DVD, I have to rearrange the plugs in the back to make sure the sound is on. The sound changes depending on the DVD for some reason. To make matters worse...the little vhs player in the TV doesn't work. We're people who embrace modern culture--we've got the yoga pad, the camelback, the ipod, the netflix...we even have smart wool socks! Now we need a flat screen HDTV!
myTV
view chris k's profile
Like most here I to have an older model which makes having a DVD player almost impossible. I have purchased 3 DVD players only to get home and find I have to buy additional equipment to use it. Finally a friend loaned me a RF converter. I was so excited ready to hunker down and watch some of my fav flicks only to have everybody and everything all red (color wise). I'm feed up and frustrated. I just want to watch movies without commercials and stupid stuff.
I don't care about High Def or bluetooth (whatever that means). As long as I can have a clear picture and sound I'm happy.
view Sara48's profile
id like the tv because the few hours of tv i watch a week helps bring my girlfriend and i closer together. we dont have cable and we only rent seasons of shows and movies through netflix. when we are done we talk about the shows for hours and have debates speculating what will happen in the next show. right now we dont own a tv, i just watch the shows on my computer screen. ive designed my 350 s.f. loft to be very minimalistic and this would be an excellent addition. k - good luck everyone!
view ergalvin's profile
How would this TV improve my home? Let me count the ways:
1. Our sound would no longer include the reverb of cheap speakers when the volume is turned above 8.
2. Flat screen? Image how much space el gato would have to climb around the media cart while traveling between the windows!
3. Insignia.? A brand name someone has heard of? Now that's an improvement over the no name TV that my brother got for free when he bought his cell phone 4 years ago, and then handed down to me when all I had was a 13" TV/VCR combo with rabbit ears!
4. We're downgrading from our beastly Aiwa 3-disc not-so-mini stereo to a sleek Sony 1-disc system...and how do you make your A/V set up look sleek when you've still got a huge old honkin' tube TV taking up space?!
view cowbark's profile
We are both in college in low paying jobs trying to make ends meet and our only tv is on its last leg. It's stopped playing dvds (yes, my sister bought a tv with a dvd player in it and then handed it down to me), it freezes, and sometimes won't turn on. The tv I had before that would randomly change back to channel 2 and had no remote, but was an old tv that you had to press the up button on the face only to reach channel 36 for it to flip back again. I don't want to buy another tube tv but can't afford a flat screen, tuition, and puppy shots. i need this one!!!
i'd post a picture but my camera was stolen, lost, and then found and not in my posession at the moment.
view elizabeth in AL's profile
I bought my 19" TV in 1996, after my marriage ended (my ex and I agreed that he would keep the 9" b/w TV we bought in 1989 and I would get the stereo he bought in 1984āI still think I got the better end of the deal). I'm really, really bad at shopping for electronic equipmentāthe only reason I have a DVD player is because some friends gave me one in 2005 for my birthday (oh, and did I mention that my birthday is Sept. 12?). I've been dreading the end of analog broadcasting.
In other words, this TV would be a godsend. It would greatly enhance my Netflix experience (I don't feel like I can afford cable, which means I don't watch a lot of regular TV). And, of course, it would look infinitely better than my bulky 1996 model on my DIY "media center" . . . (I might have to move the painting, but that would be a small price to pay):
mary'sTV
view marys's profile
With the only large screen television in my parent's room, this t.v would improve the Opal household in several ways.
1st, My parents would love the newfound privacy. With 5 children in the house from 15 to 23, they have no privacy. Their t.v is the only t.v. big enough in the house for all seven of us to watch anything together - put's a cramp in their loving. After 25 years of marriage, they need some alone time. The t.v. would bring the 7 of us together in a place other than my parent's bedroom.
2nd, you would help stop the multiple headaches us kids in the house get looking at the family room television. The damn t.v. is so blurry, Wii playin' and You Tubin' is practically impossible. It's also really annoying to watch a movie with a big old green spot that takes over a quarter of a screen.
3rd, A.T. would be the direct cause of a major and badly needed remodel in my house. My parents have spent so much money saving family members from financial ruin, that in order to save ourselves from bankruptcy, the 7 of us had to move into an house that's in shambles. 7 years later, nothing has been fixed yet. Instead of fixing our own home, my parents are constantly fixing other people's problems. In order for the T.V. to fit in the den, we'd need to get a new t.v. console, rearrange the furniture... If ONE room in the house could look great, then it'd be worth it. yay for A.T.!
view chusmabilly's profile
How would this improve my life? I was burglarized and my TV was stolen! Some loser now has my 12-year old 20" Sony and is enjoying it (I don't think pawnshops would want it). Really awful timing as the US Open is on and I am a near-obsessive tennis fan. Seeing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fight it out on a 37" high definition TV would bring smiles to my face and such joy to my life!
Please end my pain...give me the lovely television set!
view Sydney's profile
That TV would make my place look nicer. I like it.
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view 13dollarpopcorn's profile
This TV would improve my home and/or my life in at least two ways:
One - it would fill the void that is one blank wall in my living room that I have left open specifically for the purpose of getting a new TV (my current 19" TV is presently situated in my finished rec room basement - I picked it up at a hotel sale for about $75 13 years ago and it was probably a few years old at that time already. The remote probably stopped working at least 5 years ago too!)
Two - having this new TV would allow me to host Sunday football parties; Emmy and/or Oscar award parties; Olympic parties; LOST parties; etc, etc, etc thereby helping to increase my social standing amongst my current and future circle of peers.
view BrewCityBabe's profile
I share a 450 square-foot bungalow with my rapper boyfriend and my cat, Naima. Between his turntables, microphones and mixers and her litter box, kitty toys and copious shedding, well, let's just say I can claim about 200 square feet as my own. (I like to tell myself that this would be a veritable palace if I lived in Tokyo...) I confess, I used to be one of those holier-than-thou idiots who bragged about not owning a TV. My mom gave me a little one after college and I used it as a plant stand for a year before giving it away. I smugly brandished a "Kill Your Television" bumper sticker on my bike fender (that's right, I was proudly car-less too). This went on for years and years. But then, well, then at some point my brother got fed up with all the 'culture' I was missing (Law and Order That 70's Show) and he sent me a big honkin TV and his old VCR. And I caved. I got cable. Lordy, then I even got TIVO. I caught up on a decade of pop culture. Now I have weekly tv PARTIES at the bungalow where my friends cram in and gather round the set. My internet home page is set to TelevisionWithoutPity. My cat is named after an America's Next Top Model winner. My point is, now I FREAKING LOVE TV!! So I drooled when I saw your contest. The hulking monster from my bro takes up a lot of space in a small room and the color on the upper corners is now a weird pinkish shade (not that it keeps me from watching, mind you). A slim beauty like the Insignia Flat Panel (oooooh sexy ultraslim model) takes up only 5 inches (FIVE!). It could fit on my fireplace mantle. It can even be mounted on the wall! The space-saving possibilities are endless! Do I deserve this glorious, heroin-chic TV more than anyone else here? No. Do I need it more? Who knows? Do I WANT it more? I DO! If you pick me, I, my rapper boyfriend, and my reality-show-loving friends will be eternally appreciative! XOXO, Apartment Therapy.
view anita's profile
Hi. What a great contest. We just bought a TIC in San Francisco with another couple. Bottom unit of 2. Built in 1912, refurbished in the 40s and the 70s. The flat has pizazz. We instantly loved its mix of styles and saw lots of potential. First thing, we ripped out the stained flesh pink carpet and resurfaced gold toned hardwood. Next we removed lathe n plaster from the water closet. Right now we are using our bedroom as a holding area for tools and construction debris. Our bed is in the soon-to-be living room. We are process of painting this room a pretty green-blue white. It's looking really good. We decided to make the back room into the living room because it's closest to the kitchen (walk two steps versus 20 to serve drinks to guests) and it has beautiful box beam ceiling. Right now we have a tiny tv hooked up on the floor in the front room (which will be office/art space).
If we win this TV we will not only use it for social TV watching, will be able to buy a NEW TOILET and what improves a home more than a a fresh new loo ?!
view daniele's profile
(Repost from previous Insignia article)
If you look at the top of that picture you can see where the coax cable goes. This becomes a problem once you realize the plastic pieces this tv comes (which are meant to cover these inputs) don't have space to snake the cable up (the bottoms of the pieces are solid.
Here's a DIY for anybody with any Insignia TV:
-Grab a coping saw/jewelers saw, small file/sandpaper, and those plastic covers.
-Cut square pieces off the bottoms of the plastic covers and file/sand them smooth.
-Plug in your cables and then attach the plastic covers.
-Enjoy how it makes your setup look so much better!
Thhis allows you to keep the plastic covers on and looks 10,000 times more classy than having all of the cables sticking out.
(Did this with the 27inch LCD)
view Bill07's profile
I've been enjoying your site for about 6 months. Seeing all of the creative ideas and inspiring designs gave me the final push I needed to find a place of my own. I signed a lease for my first and my very own apartment. I move in this weekend and I have almost no furniture to speak of. No bed, no tables, no couch, no TV. Mostly art I've collected over the years and books. :) I decided it was time to create and design a space that reflects who I am. I would love this TV and would give it a great home. Regardless, I want to thank ApartmentTherapy and its contributors for inspiring me. I love your site!
view MuchosMangos's profile
a tv, any tv would be lovely!
view greenie's profile
What a great contest! Let's get it rolling....SO I share a 500sq foot apartment with my boyfriend who is a photographer and an avid music collector. What part of our apartment is not taken up by his photo equipment is scattered with his massive old vinyl collection. We are both lovers of the arts and like to keep as hip to new music, so yes, we do have quite the nice stereo, and a vintage turntable. Among our other electronic devices are two lap top computers- which it shames me to admit I have been using the watch TV on for almost a year now. Not all people know that you can watch TV shows online now, but you can on ABC.com and NBC.com!!
NO, we do not own a TV, in fact I have never owned a TV, and neither has my boyfriend- it is quite shocking we have all of this other technical gear but still no TV.
However, there is a space just above our turntable where a little TV would go quite nicely. I was not allowed to watch TV when I was a child, my mom had one of those nifty lockboxes with a secret code, and every 4 years when the Olympics were on she would unlock it for a family gathering around the glowing tube!
Although raised on no TV, I have found that I would love to have one when my boyfriend is away to keep me company- as a photographer he travels almost every week and often I am lonely, dreaming of curling up on the couch and watching movies, Trading spaces, or any other home improvement show while he is gone, shows I cannot get on my little laptop.
I would love to have this TV, it is the perfect addition to my home! Please help me end this desperate act of TV watching on my laptop and grant me an actual TV for my lonely nights!
view abbie's profile
Why would this TV improve my home ?
THIS TV WOULD AMAZIFY my home for 2 reasons.
1.) I currently have NO tv. believe it or not. I just bought a tic condo and am a first time home buyer. I gave away my old ugly tube tv, and have been tvless for several months . I am an artist and figured I could live without one for a while, but I have clearly proved myself wrong, and miss my tv.
2.) My living room, where the tv would go, is ALL black and white. The tv is black and would fit in perfect !!! Check out a picture here. All that would be left is for me to find a great tv stand/base. I would of course update you and send out the photos. (ps. if your wondering why one of my chairs is cushionless, its cause they are on order and got delayed. )
Thanks very much for considering me and I promise that your tv will look fantastic in my new place and ill send you lots of photos to show off how cool it is.
cheers
view rljones1000's profile
Improving my home means finishing my home. My husband and I took on a major remodel on our own. We are nearing the end, which means we must now furnish it. The hope, is that everything in the space with the exception of the electronics will be re-used, found, re-furbished etc. No furniture sets PLEASE. But the electronics obviously must be updated. (Kinda hard to mount a tube television to a wall.)
The plan is to keep everything on the small side - no 50' plasma for us. Simple. Small. Enough is enough. We like television, but I want it to fit in the space, not OWN it.
Here is a link of it's current state:
mynewshack here
Hope that works. If not, here the web address: http://mynewshack.blogspot.com/
view annaland's profile
Sonnet on the Insignia 37ā LCD HDTV
O! Apartment Therapy
You mean a lot to me,
And even more now I see,
Youāre giving away an HDTV.
My apartment in NYC
Is so small I shouldnāt have a TV
On which to watch Maxwell on HGTV
But I do, and itās old. And big. And ugly.
So this is my entry.
I love when things are free.
because I also donāt have a lot of money.
For such a beautiful LCD HDTV.
Poems are made by fools like me
But only you, dear readers, can award me this TV.
SDH
view SDH's profile
I want the TV because it is so sleek and clean looking and having overspent on the remodel of the 50"s ranch that my husband grew up in, this is the only way I am gonna get anything sleek and sassy looking!
view witchdoc's profile
I am legally blind, but an avid gamer. Because of my sight and my small TV, I often have trouble reading text, or even spotting the bad guy standing right in front of me!
I have to sit right next to the tv in order to really see what going on while I'm watching a show. (Patrick Stewart is CUTE! I don't want to miss seeing him because I'm sitting on the couch and can't see the tv from that far. :))
This tv would improve my life by enabling me to actually SEE what's going on in the video games and tv shows that I love :) (I might even be able to see it from the couch!)
view AnastasiaFalling's profile
ā¢ā¢ā¢ā¢ How would a 37" LCD HDTV improve my home? ā¢ā¢ā¢ā¢
⢠Three Rooms - One Television. In my 500 sq. ft. home (almost done remodeling), I have a living room/kitchen and a separate bedroom. Instead of having a TV in every room, I want to mount my LCD display on a swivel arm so I can watch media from every room of my house. This involves cutting an opening in one wall so the LCD display can swivel and peek into the bedroom, kitchen and living room. A simple solution that takes care of multiple needs, i think the pivot arm implementation is flash!
⢠Bountiful Media in Multiple Contexts. As the main media center display for my computer network, my LCD display shares my music, videos, computer, photographs, and other media. From the kitchen I can load up recipes. From my living room, pop a beer and watch a game. From my bedroom, snuggle up and watch a movie with my lady. Triple the location, sextuple the fun. Everything's possible when you swivel it just a little bit.
⢠Building Community. I've been remodeling for 2 years in a retrofit cohousing community. We bought six cottages in Oakland. My place has not been the hangout house because it's construction central. Now that I'm almost done with the DIY remodel, I want people to flock to my house for movie nights, dinner parties, and slideshow presentations. Casa Azul and the Mustard Shack won't have nothing on my Rubisco Room. Believe it or not, no-one in the community owns an LCD TV. I'd be the first! Oh, and the LCD display would be solar powered, cuz we're the only solar-powered cohousing community in California.
http://www.TriplePointCohousing.org
If I get gifted the prize, I'll build a nice photo essay of the LCD display in the different contexts of use with hip happy people enjoying it's glow.
It's *all* about the Swizzle Pivot.
view Geode's profile
We need this tv for rather simple reasons. We are currently rocking my 15" tv that I got for my high school graduation eight years ago. Our old one [which was a hand-me-down with bunny ears, I kid you not] went on to a better place about six months ago, and since I'm a student and he's an artist, neither of us have the money to drop on a television. Hence the move of my tiny tv from my bedroom to the living room. It is currently sitting in the corner of the space left by the previous tv. It is very sad.
view gretchenkjer's profile
It would save my relationship. I won't have to justify why I don't want to spend $1,000 on a television while he glares at my $400 handbag.
view Shannon in SF's profile
I just moved in with my boyfriend, Dave J. His apartment was entered in the Small is Cool 2007 contest and most of the comments suggested his living room was great, but the TV ruined the mood of the room. I agreed with all the commenters about the bulky television and keep asking for a flat screen, but he won't splurge until the old one dies.
Check iout the scene here:
http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/small-cool-2007-entries/17-dave-js-rulin-pad-021531
view moxiesinclair's profile
Seeing as how I was just given a beautiful new black TV stand/table, I personally think that this TV would work much better in my first apartment as opposed to the roughly $99 10" VHS TV I bought from Target before my freshman year of college. It's okay! I love being mocked for the fact that my new beautiful table makes my TV look even smaller than it actually is. You have to admit though that when people prefer to watch movies on you laptop over your TV, that is almost pitiful enough to earn something.
view ErieIndiana's profile
Three months ago I moved in to a Studio apartment in SF. I've lived in SF for 7 years and this is my first apartment on my own. I didn't realize how much I didn't have until I needed it. The amount of open space in this tiny studio is laughable. Hence my frequent surfing of apartmenttherapy.com for ideas at work. (hope no one at work sees this) This TV would be a much needed and welcomed addition to my apartment and hopefully a catalyst for me to find a style to decorate and furnish my apartment. Unfortunately I donāt have a sob story. I will probably not have movie parties at my house because my friends will just mess it up (love them thou) nor can I tell you that Iām the most deserving. I can tell you I will watch a tremendous amount of TV as well as movies on it!
view ashasf's profile
I am a SWM, DDF, NK, with a bit of a thing for abbreviations (TFA), ISO an appliance to make my life complete.
Sure, I have a TV, and a DVD, and I think I have a VCR under a pile of PJ's somewhere. Sure, my HVAC cranks out BTUs PDQ. I have a few AC/DC CDs and maybe an OU812 LP in the closet by the WC. But the old HHI has been DOA and probably will be 'till EOY. 10-4?
So I need this LCD HDTV. ASAP.
view stonelake's profile
Please pick me, because I truly love TV!
I currently have a very old 19 inch GE tv. I got it as a hand me down from my sister when I went away to college in 1996, she had probably 10 years before that. The buttons are missing. On the opening day of football season last year, the power cord came detached and since I have no tools I had to scrimp the cord with a steak knife to twist the copper wires back together and secure them with electrical tape. I have to use an adapter to watch dvd's which takes up a valuable outlet. My apt is only 260 sq feet, and my front door is only 23 inches wide so a bigger old tube tv mostly likely might not fit inside. And sadly a flat screen is waaay out of my budget.
My old tv currently sits on an old antique radio from the early part of last century, so the juxtaposition of the old and new would be lovely.
I would love this tv, because I'm a sportswriter and my NFL Sunday Ticket, College Gameday, and my Mets would look way better on 37inches. Maybe the tv might even make my Knicks look good this upcoming season. If I had 37 inches of screen, I might even give watching hockey a shot since there would be a chance I could actually see the puck.
When I go to work I leave the TV on for my little rescued Boxer Pit to watch, imagine his delight in seeing The Dog Whisperer in HD!
And also I promise not to use this TV for the watching of crappy TV and/or movies.
Thanks, have a great day!
view EastVillageAmy's profile
I can't say I really need a new TV (mine is only six years old), but what I can say is that I could really use an extra 18 inches!!! My garden apartment living room is only 9 feet wide, with a couch on one side and the TV on the other. My current TV is about 24 inches deep. This 5 inch deep flat screen TV would allow my eyes to be an extra 18 inches away from the screen! Now that Dutch scientists have proven that sitting too close to the television can make you go blind, I figure an extra 18 inches would give me two, maybe three more years of good eyesight! That's 24-36 more months of reading Apartment Therapy! Please don't take that away from me!!!
P.S. I entered the Small Cool contest so I can provide a picture:
http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/small-cool-2007-entries/13-andy-ks-unexpected-garden-apartment-021656
view Andy_K's profile
For the love of God, please pick me. I won't plead poverty. I will plead 'fiance's technology ruined my life'. That's right. The fiance has so much "stuff" attached to our crappy tv that I have a hard time turning it on. It requires numerous remotes and a few dance moves. God forbid he goes away and leaves the patchbay-thingee connected in some other configuration, then I get no tv. I have threatened numerous times to get my own tv -- and this would make my threats & dreams come true. I want to watch MY movies and MY "crappy" home improvement shows in peace. Plus, I'll make a big pot of risotto for you. :)
view I Love Upstate's profile
I think my tivo hates me, and I blame my current television set. The set I have is old. Like, I'm surprised it doesn't have wood paneling old. So, yeah, tivo doesn't seem to be fan of the old tv, and when it works, it records shows like "Girlfriends" and "Living Single" for me. Ok, maybe that has something to do with the fact that I tivo'd "The Facts of Life" once, and now tivo seems to think that those are the kinds of shows I like. Either way, I'm overdue for a new set. I can only imagine what Mindy Cohen looks like on a flat screen...
view aokay's profile
No picture, but our giant free tv just died on Tuesday and I can't get it out of our living room. The thing was a monstrosity, I think an old roommate left it here and I have no idea how to get it out of the house, I don't know if there's a recycling service in our town that will pick it up because it is too wide to go in my (admittedly tiny) car. My husband would love it because he watches the news like a fiend and I would love it because it would be an incentive to get the dead monstrosity out of our living room. Also it would be good for Curing because it would be fully functional without dominating the entire room like the old TV (it was really big - like deep, sticking out into the room kind of big. bleah).
view Anne (in Reno)'s profile
I would love this TV. My current TV has decided to go slanty on me (the picture is on an odd angle where the right side of the image is a couple of inches higher than the left). As obnoxious as this problem would be anyway, I always watch TV with the closed captioning on and that makes the slant incredibly noticeable since the words all go uphill.
I am a full time grad student and a public high school teacher, so I wonāt be able to afford to replace my television for a very long while.
I live in a pretty small apartment and my TV, which isnāt big; but, like all older TVs is really deep, only fits on an old Intermetro cart. I caught a rerun of Seinfeld last week and was embarrassed to see that Seinfeld had the same TV setup in the first season (Kramer looks monstrously tall on my slanty set, by the way). In addition to wanting a non-slanty TV, I would love a TV set that I could actually fit on a narrower piece of furnitureāI have an old hand-me-down hutch that would work perfectly.
Thank you.
view lcg's profile
If it were mine, that TV would make Blue's Clues bluer, Mad Men madder, and those incessant reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer I can't stop watching? Even Buffier!
view ratphooey's profile
This television would improve my home by permitting Jonathan Adler to contact me. I'm pretty sure Jonathan has been trying to reach me through the cathode ray tube to entice me to join him in his reality-TV addiction, but unfortunately the reception on my 12-year-old behemoth RCA set just keeps garbling his message.
Also, even though I can't be certain, Jonathan may have also said that he'd like for my Nelson-knockoff slat bench to be placed somewhere that people could actually see it. Right now that's the only platform in the house sturdy enough to support the stegosaurus that's living out its retirement years as my only television -- its prime working years having been spent as a floor demonstration model at Mega-Mart, where I purchased it for 70% off because its internal clock said it had already logged 6,000 hours of running time.
Yes, I'm quite confident than Jonath -- wait, my microwave is beeping oddly. Jonathan, is that you? Jonathan?
view magbot's profile
I am a big fan of using something until it is absolutely dead. And even then, I will attempt any and all resuscitative attempts before finally taking it off of life support. This even includes technology. Not only is this a way to save money, it is also inadvertently a decidedly green way to approach consumption.
With regard to my television, I have only owned one television set- a 20" Mitsubishi tabletop model that I scrimped and saved to buy in 1989 whilst attending university. It has been with me through all phases of my life- from living at home with the parents, to my first apartment, to my first house, to my move to the big city, and several subsequent moves within the city. Oh, the history I have witnessed via its flickering images! And through most of our journey together, it has been as reliable as the sun coming up every morning. However, in recent years, it has developed sporatic audio problems, which have become worse and worse. I had resorted to channeling the audio through my home stereo setup, but now the speakers on the unit are emitting an almost unbearable high-pitch siren type of a wail. It has gotten to the point where I cannot bear to watch television at home anymore.
While I have toyed with the thought of buying a new set, I never got around to looking seriously. The truth of the matter is that I have dreaded the thought of replacing my faithful old set. What if it can be salvaged? Maybe the problems will go away on their own. Or maybe not. It is one thing to actively pursue the purchase of a new set, but it's another thing to have one given to me. In essence, I can finally dispel any ongoing uncertainty over whether I should or should not move on to a new television; the decision is essentially made for me.
Insignia, you look like a worthy heir to my first-born.
view hejiranyc's profile
I would like to own this TV because I would like it to be the first nice thing in my apartment.
I'm at my first job out of college and my apartment (shared with two other people) is a hodge podge of furniture hand-me-downs and the very best Ikea has to offer on a newly post-student budget. I think having this TV would class up the place and would, without a doubt, but the nicest thing I own.
Please and thank you.
view 500's profile
I promise to love, honor and cherish this TV -- in Good Times and Showtime, for Rich Man, Poor Man, on sick days and in health, for all the Days of Our Lives.
view Maggie S.'s profile
I bought our current TV for my husband as a birthday gift when we were dating. So it's "his" TV and he claims since it's his TV, he gets to watch football over me watching Design Star and Clean Sweep.
If you give us this TV it will be "mine" and I can finally watch TV about design and healthy living!
view the aesthetic onion's profile
haiku for an Insignia 37ā LCD HDTV (in 5-7-5 form)
one can't ignore it
bulky, beached whale in the room
old technology
oh to recycle
our cathode ray tube TV
for an LCD!
please tell us AT
that our whale shall swim in the
sea of charity
view wig3000's profile
I can honestly say it probably wouldn't improve my home. But it would improve what has otherwise been a pretty lousy day.
view JamiesonM's profile
Well.....not to be dramatic..... but the truth is, this tv would improve my home because I don't own anything!! My building literally collapsed last year in the west village and I lost all of my possessions. Crazy New York story. I am finally moving to my own new place in October after a year and a half in a furnished rental. I have no tv, furniture, or anything for that matter and am starting fresh. How fun. It is so overwhelming to have to buy so much and this would be a huge help to make my new place beautiful. Thanks!!!
view Lorivida's profile
I bought my first house three years ago I picked the wall where my flat panel tv would go the day I moved in.
The problem was... that I didn't have a tv. Since people are putting their squarefootage in their entries (does the smallest one win?) mine is 489 square feet.
I planned on buying a 42" flat panel plazma tv so I got a second job, delivering pizzas! I was the pizza girl delivering pizzas in a polyester uniform for a tv. After a year of making deformed football shaped pizzas and getting lost looking for houses my car broke down. That was the end of the large plasma tv dream.
A generous friend gave me her 1985 19" zenith.
I set it up on my lockers that I got free from a police auction. They were free because no one wanted them (maybe BOB shouldn't have carved his love of 69 into them).
I set it up and strung my 20 foot antennae wire from the wall to my little set. Only fuzz came on the tv. I had to tape the wire to the wall and drape it over my kitties bed to get three fuzzy channels to watch.
Besides the angry cat and duct tape on the wall and 3 fuzzy channels the worst is renting movies.
"Does it have subtitles?"
"Yes?"
"You can't see the subtitles"
I haven't been able to watch a foreign movie in three years!
How this would improve my home?
1. Happy kitties.
2. Beautiful tape-free walls.
3. Visitors won't leave to watch movies elseware.
4. I would have a reason to buy a wii.
Due to lack of photographic proof of the duct taped walls and old tv I drew a picture of my entertainment setup.
my tv
view Heidi's profile
The TV that my husband and I inherited sounds like it has helicopters trapped inside it. A TV without helicopters would significantly improve our apartment.
view Olive's profile
Hi Apartment Therapy judges!
I'd love to win the tv because I moved to New York in July 2006 and have had 8 apartments... due to having to move out of corporate housing, my commute being too long, my roomate got a job overseas and wanted to terminate the lease, bed bugs, sublet ending, and other various reasons. I am a master mover, sadly because I have had to throw out or sell all my original furniture. A couple weeks ago I moved into a great one bedroom convert that I'm sharing, and I furnished it from scratch with ideas I found on AT like the room divider lamps from IKEA. My roomate and I currently don't have a TV, but she's a gamer girl who thrives on videogames so it would increase apartment morale a bunch. Also I'd love to have a tv coz I heart my new apartment and plan on staying here for a while :)
Here's a link to pix.
Thanks for your time and consideration!
view evenwhen's profile
Let me count the ways!
First and foremost, my little 13 inch tv (that's measured diagonally people!!!) is ... letās see... almost 20 years old. My parents got it for me when I went to college in 1988. From that moment on it is the only TV I have ever had. Her companion⦠the 1990 RCA VCR died four years ago. I was sure that the little TV would be the next to go but I've decided to hold out until that sad sad day before I buy a new one. That way the price of flat screens can come down by then. As you can see, she is still alive and kicking despite the fact that she's been on at least 4 hours a day every day of her life!
Here's the trooper now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/singleclickchick2/371079556/in/photostream/
2) My tv is the butt of jokes. My friends all find it terribly amusing that I am the only one they know who works in television yet I have the smallest not to mention oldest TV. People donāt seem to understand that working in television guarantees that you canāt afford to upgrade electronics! I have no iPod, no MP3, no TIVO, no cable. Even my internet access is piggybacked from my neighbor who works for the cable company! With her permission of course!
3) Last fall I bought a beautiful mid-century credenza to streamline my living room.
BEFORE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/singleclickchick2/306305605/in/photostream/
AFTER: http://www.flickr.com/photos/singleclickchick2/418049544/in/photostream/
I tucked my precious little tv into the center door. As you can see, the credenza is the ideal style, shape and size to hold a streamlined, flat screen tv on it's surface without detracting from the room. And let's face it⦠the wall above the furniture really needs a focal point.
4) Having a full sized, high quality, hi-def TV would be much more inviting for my boyfriend to come over and watch movies or sports. My tv just doesnāt provide the enormity he prefers⦠so I mostly spend time at his house and have neglected my sweet little apartment in favor of maintaining his! Oh. AND, BF has an Insignia⦠so we'll have a matched set if we ever get married and merge households!
Please pick me!
CC
Oh, and extra points if anyone can name the movie showing on my tv in the picture!
view clickchick's profile
How would this TV improve my home? Not sure, but it definitely would improve my home life.
I lost my job and in turn my apartment a year ago. (Wow, I just realized tomorrow will be exactly one year being unemployed, Sept.7th. I had completely blocked that out of my mind.) Losing my job wasn't so bad, I hated it there and I was going nowhere, but being unable to afford my apartment was not something I looked forward to.
After going through all of my options there was only one that was reasonable, I had to move back home. So now I'm back home, living in a town of 1000, freelancing and trying to figure out what's next. I set up a design studio in my bedroom but I rarely use it. I'm the type of person that needs a TV on while I work. I need the sound and the visual stimulation. The only decent TV that we have is in the living room where my retired mom spends her days doing sudoku, watching The View, and yelling at me for spending all day on my laptop.
She says she does, but she still doesn't "get" that I can make a(n ok) living working on my computer. Having a TV of my own would allow me to retreat to my man-cave, restore order in the house and allow me to continue growing my business.
view twoeightnine's profile
They make COLOR tv's now? When did this happen?
view sn_ravelli's profile
my two roommates and i live in an edwardian flat near golden gate park in SF. in our flat we love hosting Americaās Next Top Model parties where we eat pizza and make homemade cookies. currently we have an old tv that distorts lettering making it impossible to watch movies (or tv programs) with subtitles. the new tv would also open up the space in our living room so that all the great features (such as the chair rail and molding) are more prominent and the tv is less aesthetically overpowering. thanks a ton for the consideration!!! youāre invited for the next season of ANTM!
view alana's profile
Ooh, pretty please pick me! The timing couldn't be better--you might remember me from this post from yesterday:
http://hometech.apartmenttherapy.com/hometech/good-questions/good-question-best-room-layout-for-av-031178
I just moved into a place of my own after 7 years living with a boyfriend. When we broke up, I got custody of the mammoth TV--I thought I "deserved" it--but now I realize all I really got was one last clunky reminder of our relationship's demise. Every time I look at it, I think about how we fought over buying it in the first place--his decision, of course. I'm so happy to be free of all his baggage (literally and mentally, his mess took over our apartment and lives), but this giant TV keeps me from being entirely liberated.
Please help me simplify and streamline my life, as I move on from that cluttered, complicated phase and into a clearer one on my own! The comments in the previous thread about my current TV basically agree I should toss it--if you send me the Insignia, I will give the old TV to someone who really wants it and will cherish the new one! And even buy a gorgeous media stand designed specifically for it!
view janbrady's profile
Our tv is 13". It was my boyfriend's tv. Then he sold it to me in 1997, for $150. Then we moved in together. In 2005 we lent it to a friend who hasn't returned it to us yet.
view cheapo's profile
Because I'm the girl that you see staring longingly at the flat panels in Best Buy. Film geek to the core, I dream of a gorgeous set like some people dream of the perfect Eames lounger.
When we moved to our 600 square foot apartment, my brother gave us his boxy old Sharp to have and to hold. It is still our one and only TV, and we're aching for an upgrade.
My husband and I are celebrating our two-year anniversary on Monday. We met on the movie talk-radio show he hosted in college, With both spent our lean years working in a hip indie video store, and we spent our honeymoon at the Toronto Film Festival. We both know it's a crime to keep watching Lynch films in fuzzy letterbox format, but we can't help ourselves. Its our TVs fault.
I can guarantee that the first time I see Woody Allen's Manhattan on my very own big flat screen, I'll cry.
view ShowLola's profile
I just bought a great Edwardian flat in San Francisco, but due to a sky-high mortgage I needed to fill every spare room with a roommate! Most of them were found on Craig's List, so we don't know one another at all. Then came along Big Love! We all gathered in our front room every Monday, then Sunday, and huddled in front of my ancient Zenith that I got from my parents (which is so old that in its time it was the highest possible end of television simply by the fact that it's color!). BUT if we had one of these gorgeous new models, maybe we don't necessarily need Big Love as an excuse to gather us all together (which is a good thing, since the season is over!) I have the feeling that even watching golf on this thing would gather everyone up, heheh.
view ChloeSF's profile
You would be doing me a huge favor as I've been listening for years how much my husband would love an LCD TV. He has been pining for one and never seems to get anything for himself. He works two jobs so that I can stay home with our son and I wish we could afford something this lavish to give him a little happiness when he has time to relax. It is his birthday this month and the timing is perfect. Thank you!
view Miss Sassy's profile
How would this TV improve my home? It's football season, people. This girl would love to watch her design channels sometime between now and next year.
view bear's profile
we live in a small space...anything that will create more room for the soon-to-be-arriving third occupant is a good thing!
current horrible large tv that needs to go away
view bbt's profile
I will never get a TV like this unless AT Tech ( or someone else) decides to give it to me. You see I am what they call a technology laggard or a late adopter of technology. I have had 3 TVs in my entire life and I am 31 years old!
I actually think that its kind of green to resist the temptation to be always buying new tech like TVs. I inherited this ethic from my parents who stubbornly refused to get rid of the floor model black and white TV we had until 1992 when my brother had enough of watching MTV in shades of grey and bought an 27 inch color RCA for the family. I inherited that RCA from my parents but it broke in a move. Currently I have what my guys friends call a "chick TV". That is a 19 inch Phillips TV that was inherited from my sister who inherited it from my brother. So I know that I would care for and provide a good home for this Insignia TV.
I cant in conscience buy a new TV when the old Phillips works perfectly fine. But if you gave me this TV I would treasure it and not have to buy another TV for many many many years to come. Plus the old Phillips would be adopted by a family member. And I am sure the Insignia would be passed down in my family cause we love us some antique TVs or what we call "heirloom TVs".
view Trumystique's profile
Six days ago, my boyfriend and I moved into our dream apartment together, an unfurnished loft with a view of the Boston skyline we landed by some freak, lucky accident of Craigslist. Somehow we scraped together the money for the deposit. And together the aspiring chef (he) and the aspiring sommelier (I) embarked bravely on our own venture of cohabitation.
But since then, we've been living on restaurant leftovers, dining by the light of a hanging bulb, and using boxes for furniture. Aspiring chefs ... well, anyone who works in a restaurant, really ... have little money to spare. We have empty wine racks and a beautiful kitchen with no food because we're trying to afford a couch and a table. We have all the plans in the world for the nicest furnishings and arrangements, but no money. What we would do for a little help and a little escapism!
Yesterday one of my friends offered to give me his 50-some inch TV in exchange for, well, favors. And I swear in my boyfriend's eyes I saw the glimmer of temptation.
Dear AT, please, save us from prostitution and poverty. Give our beautiful apartment the beautiful TV we never can!
(The picture of the apartment above is from before we moved in, but this is my "tv".)
view lwray's profile
I've had the same TV since college and really need a new one since football season is starting and I plan to get married next June. My fiancee will probably want to kill me for choosing to watch football over her new series that are starting. You'll save our future marriage!
view writerboz's profile
I would love to have this Insignia flat-screen. I would most likely either use it in my office area as a computer monitor/TV or wall mount it to complete my faux B&B Italia bedroom (Made out of IKEA furnishings). Right now I'm using my old iMac as a "TV" in my bedroom, so it it'd be great to have an actual TV (and a flat-screen at that) instead.
Either way, if I won the TV I'd integrate it into a Vista Media Center setup, in addition to using it as a digital art gallery.
So there's my bid...
Now,
If I don't win I'd love to see this go to someone in a tiny cramped studio who will use it as a TV and a PC monitor, a digital picture frame, and maybe a "video fireplace" in those long winters. Someone with a "kitchenette", someone with no room who's managed to organize their clutter, "splurged" by shopping at (and hacking) IKEA, and needs the flat-screen as a final piece to have friends rally around to watch foreign movies, ANTM, and whatever else takes their mind off their current square footage....
view silvarga's profile
My tv just blew out tonight!!! This is after not even having a cable connection for 3 weeks!!!
I have a huge tv and due to its size (and the fact that I want to add some furniture to my living room) I was forced to move it and of course had to get a new cable hookup. After being without a tv of any kind for a couple of weeks, I finally resolved the issue last night only to have the tv blow out on me tonight!! (If I could lift it I would have thrown it out the window an hour ago!)
I really want and need the Insignia tv and promise to give it a good home
view mikayla02's profile
It would inspire me to donate my huge bulky wall unit to Housing Works! :)
view live2create's profile
Okay.... I don't have a tv. Haven't had one since I moved out of my parents' home many years ago. -- That's not a reason to get one now, even if it is a giveaway, right?
Plus, I actually think my apartment is too small for this. :) I'll be interested to see who wins.
view Sea's profile
This TV would take up less space in my small apartment.
view LaDonnaNichole's profile
Hihi!
I've actually been dying to buy a tv but student loans, bills, and rent have been keeping this beautiful wall empty from having a flatscreen. I have everything set up to make it media center heaven in my college apt, but I've just been struggling to make some bones to pay off everything else.
This tv would be nice!
view ekoshyun's profile
Building tolerance, one homophobe at a time.
The New Odd Couple . . .
Me: a fabulous chef; gay, messy.
He: a homophobic college kid; straight, tidy.
Me: need a new apartment.
He: needs a new apartment.
Co-workers: "why don't you guys get a place together so we can all share in the forthcoming hilarity!"
We: hmmmm, we could save a lot of money . . .
Us: two weeks from now, sharing a space and learning new outlooks and tolerance.
TV: common ground for bringing two vastly different people and their respective friends and families together.
PS: I get to decorate the apartment.
view porterhouse's profile
With this tv, we can get rid of our big old box and the JC Penney cabinet it lives in, and replace that with a sweet vintage credenza. I keep telling myself I cannot buy the credenza until our tv breaks and we have to buy a new one, but you have circumvented my budget. In other words, instant design gratification!
view greer's profile
We do not subscibe to cable or satellite TV. And we watch DVDs on our laptop. After all, we live in very compact 850-square foot, two bedroom, one bath house.
Watching DVDs on a laptop is no way to watch "Sex in the City."
And, try hosting movie night fundraiser events (with a laptop) for the AIDS/LifeCycle ride... Everyone is looking over each other's shoulder.
Trust me, we'd give the LCD TV a grand home. And, ATers are more than welcome to swing by for TV. Just bring the popcorn, and we'll be grand.
view dbtanner's profile
Wii needs more room! Our Bushwick living room is too narrow for golfing.
view gabeiv's profile
I recently moved from Chicago to Champaign, IL! Besides being stuck down here in the sticks, or corn, I've bought a condo. Since this is the first 'place of my own', I've been trying to decorate with a mix of nice pieces, knock-offs, and anything on the cheap (a la Craig's List).
Needless to say, it's interesting being a young professional in a new city. I work long hours, have little free time and miss my friends/family in the big city dearly.
Fortunately, I've made a few friends who enjoy helping me decorate, and the milk-cartons with my old college 27" TV on top have become more of a joke in my small circle.
When you need as much furniture to get started as I do, something like this would make a huge impact. I'd hate to say a TV can help make a home, because it's much more than that. However, it would help complete one of the steps (an expensive one!) on this long road of life. Plus it would be pretty cool!
Thanks AT!
view HockeyCSD's profile
I'm a minimalist (for instance, when I went to live in Ireland for four months, I brought one suitcase) and would, to be honest, probably use this for myriad uses: TV, computer monitor, DVD player, video game console. I'm all about functionality and getting the most use out of something if it's going to be a rather material object.
As a senior in college (you can well imagine), I have little to no money. As a point of comparison for all you ATers, I had to ask my mom to purchase new underwear for me -- I can't even afford the simplest of needs! (And I LOATHE asking my parents to pay for things.) This summer my money-making opportunities were rather limited; I worked part-time at a restaurant in Northwest D.C. and the rest of the time was an unpaid intern for the Smithsonian, not to mention I somehow had to pay for rent and utilities. Yes, I had a very stressful and busy summer.
Now I am back at school and - is it possible? - just as stressed. I'm in the thick of applying for a Fulbright scholarship, I have an independent study writing a 30-page article on a topic my parents aren't exactly thrilled about but that involves a lot of research, and I'm trying to be creative with the food I prepare given the very little money I am expending. Not to mention that I'm vegan and live in a house with 3 meat-eaters, a point of constant jesting and occasional fights with outside friends that come in the house and think they know better than me about what I'm doing with my life. Sigh, just accept me for who I am!
At the risk of sounding very whiny, I do love my life. I wouldn't live it any other way. I have great friends, family, and I'm on my way to getting my undergraduate degree in May. I'm VERY fortunate. Winning this TV would be a tangible, much-needed reward for the hard work I've been doing for the last three years and know I must continue to do. If anything, I know that I'm doing the things that I love, that I've never sacrificed my interests for those little green pieces of paper, and that if the past has shown me anything, it's that I need to continue down this wonderful road!
Good luck with your decision-making!
view gensa651's profile
I'm moving to a 500 sq. ft. studio, from a 3-bedroom, with my boyfriend--space is obviously a premium. On top of that, we decided we'd be ok with a studio only after we started reading AT and you guys did a post on a beautiful studio in Tudor City. Finally, I'll at last have a place to show some of my photographs (http://flickr.com/photos/cvalda/) without destroying my wall!
Keep up the good work AT, we love ya!
view cvaldaisnotbig's profile
83 entries and nary a mention of Hurricane Katrina. --have you people learned nothing?!
view greeps's profile
When my husband and I moved in together, we came to the relationship with 2 TVs, both acquired while we were each in high-school in the early 90s. His was bigger (measuring in at 25 inches!) and so that's the one we kept. I love that fact that he was and still is a skateboarder, but what's not so cute is that our sad little TV with blown speakers is still adorned with dozens of skateboarding stickers. We considered buying a new one, but decided to use the money towards a baby instead.
view ejb's profile
I had a very sweet TV in my living room. What made it so sweet? It was F-R-E-E, which was nice since I just moved into my house and was short on cash. About two weeks into owning the TV, it started to smoke. You read that right.
So how would this TV improve my life? Um, well, I would have a TV.
view katewestrich's profile
We just bought our first home AND had twins. We are completely broke and exhausted. The kids need their daily dose of Yo Gabba Gabba and we need the break that 30 minutes of high def kiddie TV will provide. Please?
view snot's profile
My husband and I just moved into our first home, a real fixer-upper (I type this during a break from my attempt to refinish our stairway). I have poured the last several months into attempting to restore it, including stripping, sanding, painting, sodding, hauling away bricks, etc. We are working with basically no budget, making the process more challenging, but a lot of fun. This site has been a real inspiration during the process.
The first room we tackled was our living room. We expanded and painted the built in bookshelves (see pics), and I spent months tracking down the right furniture on ebay and craigslist. As you can see, the one thing we haven't faced yet is the tv.
Our current tv is old and heavy. Although not visible in the picture, it features streaks of stubborn paint from our living room redo It leans precariously on an old mdf stand I found on the street, which itself finds balance by leaning against the fireplace. We have an electrical cord ready and waiting to receive a flat screen, but simply haven't had the budget yet to fill that particular void.
My husband and I both work long and extremely hard hours (meaning we are many months behind on the never-ending home improvement projects), and many nights we don't have the energy to do anything but flop in front of the couch together. We love being in the living room, but am I often distracted by the current setup.
The flat screen would not only complete the room, but would help free up a little money down the road, hopefully for a bathroom fix. Did I mention the built-in rusting turquoise bathtub? Oh yes. A new tv would definitely create some room to tackle that problem....
I hope this link works.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12914880@N06/sets/72157601906817797/
view jennydc's profile
I would gladly give away my current tv to anyone that could lift it. Its 36inches and made back when the tv had to be large enough to accomodate the bricks needed to make it work. Im starting the cure for the 1st time and this tv would really jumpstart my living room/dining room/kitchen/laundry area combo.
I havent posted pics because the current state of my apartment makes my mother cry, but I will if I get the tv!
view SleepyDweller's profile
Sometime last summer, my 10-year-old TV began turning on by itself, freaking me out the first few times because it woke me up at night.
Things got worse in the last six months, when it began turning OFF by itself. This past Sunday I couldn't get it to stay on for more than 10 seconds.
It started working again Monday (go figure) but clearly it won't last much longer. And money is tight right now. Your TV would be a godsend!
view sprite's profile
My partner and I are currently without a TV. He doesn't like them and uses the excuse of our current small space (less then 400 sq. ft.) to avoid getting one. So, when the Netflix movies arrive, we watch them on the computer monitor, which is located in an office nook in the hallway. Uncomfortable.
But there is light at the end of my desk chair movie-watching tunnel. It is our new co-op, which is more than twice as large as our old place. We don't close for another few weeks, so no pics yet. However, I can say that one bedroom/office space has been designated as a place where I might be able to put a TV. A small, unobtrusive TV. A flat panel TV would be the (way out of my price range because I just invested every dim I have into this co-op) ideal. I could watch those obtuse, slow Asian movies he loves so much from the comfort of a day bed or perhaps even a small couch. Yes, I dream the impossible dream.
view hindulovegod's profile
Here's my really sad story - truly (not tragic, but still tears at the heart strings possibly?).
My television stopped working August 8, if you all recall the storm that swept through New York causing a subway meltdown, and a tornado in Brooklyn, where I live. Something happened that day (a power surge?), but what exactly I can't be sure. All I know is that my television will now only turn on, no channel changing, and no volume changing, it's just frozen right there on the Food Network. Now, of all the networks for my television to be frozen on, the Food Network is probably my top choice. But, it's getting a little old, and I'm gaining weight from watching that solely and making whatever Paula Deen tells me to make.
Now, I have been saving for months to buy a 37" plasma. And I'm actually making the purchase this weekend. But, the reason I've been saving is not for myself. I've been saving to buy a plasma for my brother and his soon to be wonderful wife, as a wedding gift. So - truly I will be purchasing a new television...which I desperately need (fall season is upon us!!), but will be handing it off just as quickly as I make the purchase.
Tugs at the heartstrings a bit, no?
And - Maxwell, I have the most amazing, perfect spot for this television which shows of major ingenuity - we're talking Ikea hack here.
view melissaw's profile
This TV would improve my life because I don't actually have a television. I don't have a television because all of the TVs I can afford (and most non-wall-mountable-tvs, I think) are ugly and I swore after my last move (and reading the AT book!) that I'd rid my apartment of ugly, poorly designed things.
So I'm doing without television for the sake of beauty. The 37" Insignia is gorgeous and would look great on my wall. Since I won't be able to afford one for a *very* long time, this TV giveaway could greatly improve my life and living space.
view Dobbs's profile
I have a small apartment (650 sq ft) and one GIANT television. It's so big in fact, that I have to use an old dining table base to sit it on (the remaining part of my dining table is tucked under my bed because I moved to an apartment that doesn't have a dining room). Needless to say, it's cramped in there. I want to get rid of my dining table, but I don't feel like I can because right now this monster of a television is sitting on the table base and quite frankly, it's too heavy for me to lift.
I'd love to be able to get a new television so that I can donate my current television as well as the dining table to people who need it more than I do.
view ll's profile
I'm all over this.
I NEED a TV for our kitchen.
I've just started cooking, at the ripe age of 27, for my husband and myself.
If I had a TV in the kitchen, I could watch/listen to informative programming like The Hills, Color Splash with David Bromstead, and Ice Road Truckers while I am cooking nutritous meals for my family!
Not only would I improve as a person because of the heightened exposure to aforementioned broadcasts, but my husband would surely blossom as individual due to increased intake of homemade dinners.
So you see, its really a win-win situation.
view jamie*'s profile
My monitor at work(19 inches) is bigger than my 13 inch TV/DVD combo at home. It would be nice to see tennis scores from across the room without squinting on a 37 inch!! We will have to wait till 2010 to get a new one, after we both graduate!!
view mads78's profile
I think that Anita or SDL probably should win this TV (humor for former; humor and damn clever poem for latter). Many of the other tales here are as sad as the captions next to dogs at dog rescue websites. I am filled with empathy. You will note that my reasons for winning the TV are far more upbeat:
I am a poor (as in 1. wrecked by fate, and 2) impoverished) little old lady living in the exurbs all alone. Days in the woods and fields with my rescued old Cairn Terrier Wolsey are lovely (if lonely), but the nights--ah--I don't even have a fireplace to sit beside rocking, and old Wolsey sleeps and snores. I read or think of happier times. I have long believed a TV gives a sense of being in the world of people again, but my TV has long since died. However! I keep a stiff upper lip and a simulated aura of toujours gai! We must do our best!
But that's all right. This HGTV will make one of the young ones happy.
view Aulaire's profile
PS
I can certify my wretched condition with a notarized statement witnessed by 3 people, but oh, never mind. . . .
view Aulaire's profile
I would give this TV a great home -I promise! I think it would be great for my family for a few reasons-
1. Having a tv that isn't as big and hulking at the one that I have would be safer for my 3 yr old. I have the old one and it's vintage Philco radio cabinet that it rests on in a corner with straps drilled into the wall to prevent it from falling and crushing my child. With a new tv I would not have that safety issue.
2. My big hulking tv is my parents old tv. They were going to throw it out because it takes about 15 minutes to warm up and for the screen to stop "rolling" so you can see it. Then, if you change the channel it starts all over again. (don't ask me why this is- I gave up) so whatever you are watching when you turn it on is pretty much what you watch all night long- so it's all news, or all Spongebob, or all HGTV... you get the picture.
view lorijo's profile
I would love this TV. Please.
view brookedny's profile
It will make the new fall TV season so much happier for me!
view erm's profile
My current CRT is a monstrosity.
Even when my TV was brand new, I couldn't plug in more than two types of devices to it. If the cables are plugged in the front *and* back...well, the picture turns green and fuzzy. Even if Device #2 is off. So it's unplug the DVD player to play PS2. Or unplug the PS2 to watch a movie. Why bother with two sets of plugs at all?
Also, it's 42". Imagine, a 42" CRT. I can't get both my arms around it. I can't pick it up. It almost doesn't fit through the door. Two people could fall over trying to move it. It could crush my cat. (Or my kid, for that matter.)
The last time I moved, the guy who was helping me strained his back dragging it into my place. He is a personal trainer.
I would love to get rid of it.
view Nevanna's profile
10 approaches to winning a TV...
1 The Ty Pennington
My (Fictional) daughter is allergic to water and the only thing that makes her feel better is HDTV.
2 The College try
I (didn't actually) just graduate college, and having this TV would help me get that big job in the city!
3 The Duckie
When I gave Andie my lastest mix tape she said she would hang out with me on Friday night if I had this TV.
4 Appeal to the sponsors
I (actually have) bought products from CB2 and Room and Board, but most importantly, Insignia!
5 The Dr. Phil
"If yall want to win a prize, you need to get in the competition".
6 The addict
If I had this TV I could cut my AT visits down to 5 a day.
7 The Truth
I recently gave my HD CRT to my sister when I moved cross country. All we have now is a 19" This TV would really spice up my apartment.
8 The DIYer
I recently started making furniture. This is my first attempt, My Credenza wouldn't this TV look amazing on it!
9 A Bribe
If I win I'd gladly have the AT staff down to Manhattan Beach for a BBQ.
10 Comedy
Refer to Approaches 1-9
view petesid's profile
I have to admit that there are many more deserving of this than I, and the entries are heart-wrenching, as well as quite clever.
However, picture this - a sixty-one year old lady watching TV on a 13 '' TV, well over 20 years, with a wavy line through it because it is slowly dying.
And then, if in your hearts, you feel you can deprive her of this new TV, then you must. But the other entrants are young and at the beginning of the earning capabilities, while I am old and am at the end of mine.
August01
view August01's profile
Oh, I would so love to win this TV. I'm going on bedrest before I have my baby, and it would be nice to watch a movie from a decent screen.
view melonkelli's profile
I don't NEED this, but I'd like to have it. Please give it to me and I will hug it and love and kiss it.
view crunksally's profile
such a HUGE television would greatly boost my self-esteem by allowing me to see everyone's skin imperfections in hd which will in turn give me the perception that i am superior. or at least adequate. and really isn't that the gift that keeps on giving?
view bustado's profile
My husband and I have been planning to buy a flatscreen for a while to replace our 14 year-old TV (in its 5th city now!). We just bought our first home, though, and need to wait a long time before we're done reeling from the down/mortgage payments and can afford the new TV. Also, our current TV furniture takes up about 12 square feet, obviously a big percentage of our NYC home.
So, for the sake of budget, space and living in this decade, I'd really love the TV. Thanks!
view sk's profile
I have some good things and some bad things in my home theatre setup. This 37" flat screen would make it go from bad to great.
I have had my current television for at least 13 years, if not more. I have a Comcast HD DVR, but there is only one input on my TV: Cable. Needless to say, in order to hook up my cable box, my DVD player, my Dreamcast, and my iPod Video all up to my TV, I have to use a switcher box, and have that go to an RF adaptor for my television. I can watch HD feeds from Comcast at 480i-ish, which really isn't worth it.
I don't have my stereo hooked up because it just distorts the sound, since it's not an even level coming out of the different devices in my setup, and there's so much electrical interference, I'm lucky I get a decent picture and sound at all.
Here's what the mess currently looks like. And yes, my television was made by GE. I don't think they even still make TV's.
A free TV really would help me out. I've been down and out, financially for a while, and I've wanted to update my TV so that I could get out some of the equipment I have and maybe make it look a little more respectable. Y'all rock harder than Metallica, and I never walk away from reading your site disappointed. Even if I don't win, keep up the good work!
view cronosin's profile
So funny story. This was my living room about three months ago. I took some of the wonderful suggestions and decided to paint the mirror white and hang it over the bed. It looked really great.
Well, the boyfriend wasn't as keen on it. Both of us weren't keen on a lot of things, so he moved out this morning, after we decided to not continue the relationship Tuesday. He also took the bed (which was his) and the couch (I'll get my half back) and the TV (his). To be fair, he did buy me an air mattress to sleep on while I wait the two weeks for Macy's to deliver my new bed and couch*. Bordering on Kafka-esque, said air mattress, that arrived today, won't be able to be inflated until the pump charges for 24 hrs.
Anyways, this is now my living room. And this my bedroom (Note the mirror). While it might be lonely for that tv now, I plan on making this place what I've wanted it to be, even though it will take a little bit to get back on my feet. Either way, this site kept me inspired, informed, and even staved off some negative emotions from moving in and now breaking up. Thank you for that.
*I bought Macy's Corona sofa after seeing it mentioned here.
view erindc's profile
I would like to win this TV for my husband, so he could feel that all of his toil - often in the form of 16 hours days at his desk and excrutiating days of our vacations spent in Kinkos - incurred to buy an apartment in NYC was worthwhile. This would be his tv, mounted on the wall of the bedroom, on which he could fall asleep watching A & E and history channel and old movies when he needs to decompress after getting home at 3 am. He deserves a remote control of his own.
view Original A's profile
You see that living space? That is called a dorm room at a mediocre state college, paid for by my part-time library job and financial aid. That being said, I have a laptop I worked my butt off for this summer, and no TV. My parents are kind, wonderful people, but are fans of the sink-or-swim way of life. I'm making do through my degree, but being able to snuggle in (I have the PERFECT place for it!) and watch an episode or billion of Scrubs would pretty much make working 30 hours a week full time school that much more fun.
Don't let me kid you though... I have an amazing life, with amazing people, and a bright future. I'm pretty excited about tomorrow (figuratively, not literally, seeing as how I have to study for a French exam), and having a TV would make it that much better.
[/butter]
^___^
view randijeanw's profile
I'd love to win this TV, but not for me, for my boyfriend. See, he moved into my tiny little house six weeks ago. He was kind enough to put most of his stuff in storage in the attic, or in the basement, because things are just so cramped. Heās transforming the dungeon-like, partially-finished basement room into his office/movie room. It's not such a great space at the moment, but he's working on it. He tore off the horrid gray and pink paneling (who? why? thinking about the atrocities of gray and PINK paneling makes my head hurt) and will replace it with drywall. We're also going to put in a drop ceiling. He's a movie buff and I know he's DYING for an LCD TV, but it's just not in the budget right now (did I mention he's a college student?). I'd really love for him to have something really nice in his space, to make him feel a little more at home and special.
view Candice's profile
Erin, as someone who broke up with their live-in boyfriend a few months before you (see post above; I got the monstrous TV, he got the bed and pretty much everything else), just wanted to say: Hang in there! You will survive. It hasn't been easy, but a few months in I am so much better, and I know I'm better off in the end, and that you will be too.
view janbrady's profile
A couple of years ago I decided it was time to move from NJ to LV, in search of a better life. I rented space on a truck, packed it neatly and flew out to LV. I sold all my furniture except for an antique desk, chair, entertainment center and my precious TV. I made sure to pack the TV against the wall, inside the entertainment center to make sure it was protected - you see, I was attached to this small TV (19") because it was a collector's item from the Atlanta Olympics, with logo and all. Two days after arriving in LV I got a call from the moving company telling me that I had doubled my space and needed to pay an extra $2k. I was surprised because I knew I didn't have enough furniture to fill double the space, something was wrong, so I decided to fly over to their headquarters in Phoenix, AZ to see what the problem was. When I got here I found that somebody had broken into my stuff, stolen many things, the rest of the stuff was piled up very high (with antique chair on top). I spent the next two months fighting with the moving company, but eventually got them to release my stuff. By then I was broke and unable to move out of Arizona, and have been here since......in what I fondly refer to as "hell". While emptying the truck I discovered that my precious TV, which I had so carefully packed, had been broken beyond repair. When I finally got over it, a few months later, I wanted to buy another one but the flat screens are so expensive and the other ones are so bulky and heavy making it impossible for me to carry all the way up to my 3rd floor apartment. A friend took pitty on me and gave me an old dinosaur that's currently sitting atop two boxes in my living room - and that's probably where it will stay because the damned thing is so heavy nobody can move it.....will probably have to pay somebody to come and get it out, because nobody will take it without incentives. Maybe if I win this TV I'll be inspired to buy furniture and actually settle down here in "hell", Arizona. And since you're shipping it, I don't have to worry about carrying it all the way up to the 3rd floor because the UPS dude will take care of that. Please, please, please....make this a happy ending!
view Stardock7's profile
FYI, I am OLDER than August01 (whose entry and my original are both above). Considerable older. And while she has a a 13" TV, I have one that's dead.
I would never, ever consider descending to competitive infighting, so the above is for informational purposes only.
view Aulaire's profile
My TV is 12 yrs. old and has one input. I can hook up my VCR and that's it. It's a big black box in an otherwise nicely designed studio and I'm embarrassed by it. It has shadows moving across the screen and a slight buzz in the background. I've been looking at new TVs for the longest time and all my friends wonder when I'm going to make up my mind and JUST GET ONE but I don't have the money. I would LOVE to win this one. Pretty please!
view anne's profile
Oh my goodness. The colour on our 22" Sylvania has finally bit the dust. I blame this mostly on my cat who loves to climb on top of the TV. We do get better reception when she is up there, however a 37" flat screen would allow us a possible wall mount and the cat would have to find another nesting place. Perhaps the ridiculous cat bed we bought her.
(Plus the HDTV would allow us the ability to clearly see the UO Ducks whomp on Michigan as they're doing now...)
view janna.banana's profile
This TV would really improve my home since my current TV sits on my coffee table and I really need to refinish the table and use it for, well, coffee. >Feast your eyes on my current setup; I just hope you don't gag.
I recently gave away a large entertainment center (thanks craigslist) as part of my efforts to pare down. But what to do with the big ol' Sony TV I bought from a former coworker moving out of the country? I hate the TV, but I LOVE movies (I just watched Harsh Times; that Christian Bale is hypnotic).
I feel trapped by this heavy appliance and stalled in my efforts to refinish the coffee table and its matching end table. I long to visit the Berkeley Tool Lending Library and check out a belt sander. I imagine the pale pink paint I want as the undercoat and the creamy white top coat. I can almost feel the sandpaper I'll use to distress the top coat and let that pink shine through.
if I wind up with this 37" LCD HDTV by Insignia, I promise to give away my current behemoth (thanks again craigslist) and post the pictures of my coffee/end table project and whatever setup I end up with to hold the more manageable TV.
view swanroad's profile
Saturday I moved into my very own apartment. That means no more roommate, no more shower schedules and in my case, no more tv. Its only been one week, and while Iāve been enjoying my new-found freedom and walking around in my undies, I do, indeed, miss the telly*. I inherited a VCR, was given a DVD player as a gift and found a sweet stereo on craigslist - the only thing needed to round out my killer entertainment center is, you guessed it - the Insignia tv! Iād be forever grateful, and could save my precious pennies to spend on adorning that bare, white wall ā¦
Here's my "before"
view meggobd's profile
Oops, technical difficulties! Here is my "before"
view meggobd's profile
I've been married 15 years... and for 14 of those years my husband has always wanted a decent tv. Well, after 3 kids and 3 home moves we still have our tv that needed updating when we got it 2nd hand 14 years ago.
This would go super, super well with our living room which is our current home reno project, and help make us a happy, happy family.
sue
view suewanda's profile
This TV would be a vast improvement over the 19 inch set that is older than oldest grandson.
view corjon30's profile
Improve our TV, Improve our Home
Part One
We would not have to watch PBS kids with a sad little oh-so-old-tv-induced shadow lingering just behind Curious George, which makes him look like he has a beard. I know that he does not have a beard, but my son, who is two and worships George, does not. This would improve life on our house greatly, as I would not have to explain to Dex, every time we go to the zoo, that, no, monkeys donāt have beards, except on tv.
Part Two
We would be able to afford something else for the house if we had your tv, like, for example, drapes. Somehow, the money ran out before the drapes were found, and now here we sit, watching Curious George and his beard, and the neighbors, looking in through our nearly bare windows, can see the disappointment on our faces. With a new tv, and the drapes we could then afford, the pleasure weād take in your television could be, mercifully, private.
Part Three
A new tv would enable us to stop trying to tart up our old one with pretentious art books. This would improve our home in many ways, not the least of which would be that we could use this room like a family and stop pretending that we are people who still read pretentious art books. We are not fooling anybody, certainly not our neighbors, who can see, through our uncovered windows, that our disappointed faces are watching way too much tv to be able to spend any time reading our pretentious art books.
Part Four
If we won your tv we could spend time doing a little photo project to document the wonderful changes it produced in our home. Then, you could post the pictures to the site, and our neighbors, now denied access to the view into our house, could still see what we were up to the way everybody else spies on their neighbors nowadays: online.
view sirenicefall's profile
I believe in TV in the bedroom. I know many are against this principle. But I am a believer. Mostly because I feel watching movies in bed with my husband & small dog & large cat is the most relaxing thing in the world. The way other people feel about bubble baths, I feel about watching DVD's in bed. It makes me feel happy and safe and loved and is one of my most favorite ways to spend time before bed.
What's weird is that as much as I love LOVE! this ritual, my own TV is sadly behind the times. It is a v. cheap non-flat screen type. But it plays movies and, really, that's the point.
But a new TV would be liberating. For one it would liberate the decor of my bedroom so that I could hide the DVD, ditch the TV stand & have room for a small chair. That's how this TV would improve my home. By elevating my favorite evening ritual. By giving me state-of-the-art technology (do people even still say that?). And by allowing me freedom from TV stands so that my room can further its place in my life as an oasis. Wasn't that the point of these TV's - that they make viewing more like a cinematic experience & less like staring at your armoire? That would be nice.
view A.L.'s profile
Whenever we sit down in the living room, there it is...staring straight at us. There is nothing sadder in the world than newlyweds suffering from movie theater syndrome. This massive TV is like a guest that has overstayed it's welcome and we must reclaim our space! A new TV would free us to rearrange our furniture (perhaps cozily around the fireplace) and give us a home that we love.
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view linds's profile
Because my current TV is a very large, very heavy, very expensive paperweight. (In a "I was really into the game" fit of enthusiasm, my lovely husband threw a wii controller at the screen and broke it. And I won't buy him a new one.)
view stinkypants's profile
Last week I moved into a new place (excuse the bare walls, its a work in progress). Its a 3 story "Trinity" which are small historic townhouses that are prevalent in Philadelphia. Now when I say small, every floor is about 9' x 12'. So I've had to be pretty selective about what furniture could fit in here.
That being said, I have a big TV. It was free and I don't have money to buy a new one so it was a no brainer, but now this monster has taken over a relatively large wedge of my living room.
You are probably wondering why its on the floor. Basically I am already so frustrated with its footprint, that I don't want to deal with an even bigger piece of furniture for it to sit on. Of course, this just adds to the pleasure of owning the TV, because of the unique obstructed view I have due to my coffee table. Though, not being able to see the bottom 5" of the screen does make it feel more like wide-screen.
I have a nice white wall that is begging for an LCD. Please pick me so I can make better use of my already small place. Check out the picture below so you can feel my pain. Did I mention it's an incredibly ugly TV to boot?
view Mark S's profile
After our son started crawling we had to rearrange our living room which doubles as his playroom. In an effort to baby-proof and create a large enough central space, everything was pushed to the walls. This meant we had to move some furniture items out to make room for the essentials. That meant our big, old, boxy television had to go as we had nothing deep enough for it sit on and try as we might, it wouldn't hang on the wall.
No television is no fun.
We have since found an alternative, which at first seemed pretty sweet, but there are limitations. Popcorn and soda seem to be plentiful but we can only watch t.v. between the hours of 8am-10pm Mon-Friday, 9am-9pm Sunday (though we may be able to have more hours during the holiday season). Also, the programming is almost non-existent.
view vwsmith's profile
As my partner and I prepare to move into our 500 sq ft home, our life together has become one big giveaway as we shed houseplants and extra coats and the juicer we never use and weird books on self defense written by a guy named Col. Marvin Blitzkrieg in an effort to prepare ourselves for the modest lifestyle afforded to us by living simply in a small space. We are trying to put our money where our mouths are in terms of living sustainably...the house purchase in addition to driving an old mercedes fueled by biodiesel and adhering to the usual list of sustainable life practices.
Of course it feels good to live simply, and I admit that part of that philosophy should probably include a clause that states that television viewing should be skipped over in favor of long walks or vigorous discourse on post-modern feminism. I accept that, and whereas I feel small pangs of guilt and a tiny pinprick of hypocrisy in my belly when I think the following thoughts, I sometimes think to myself that all of the sustainable practices in the world can go suck an egg if they stand between me and the ability to pause a frame during a zombie movie so that I can zoom in on an undead minion getting their head blown off, or the ability to watch the diaper scene in Raising Arizona over and over again, or Nature documentaries, orthe chance to gather with freinds in our tiny house and stage a "Worst Films of John Travolta Film festival" (and we all know that would be a long festival).
I would like this TV because it will keep me from the wretches of watching "Small Wonder" clips on youtube in a bedful of cracker crumbs.
I would like this TV because it will fit in our new home, and it will allow me to continue my fetishistic consumption of Wes Anderson films, my somewhat compulsive need to watch infomercials Spanish-language dubbed versions of Steven Seagal movies when I can't sleep, my flippant viewing of DVD's of television series that I would never admit to watching in the presence of my liberal-minded friends who would rather pass the time discussing where to find the best samadhi yoga instructor and the likelihood of a viable campaign by Obama.
I can hide out at home and enjoy passive entertainment instead of collecting toilets to languish in my front yard on my slow descent into becoming the creepy guy in the neighborhood who hangs out in his underwear and swears at the neighborhood kids.
I would like the TV for these reasons, and because my partner would never kick a gift horse in the mouth.
Bless your hearts, AT.
view chimplantzee's profile
Apartment Therapy Community,
I would love to own this Insignia 37" LCD HDTV. In brief, the TV would tremendously improve my home because: a) I just moved and do not have a TV; (b) BUT, I really want a TV; (c) and, I am in graduate school with $160,000 of educational debt and one year to go; (d) and, I have worked really hard to create the apartment of my dreams, which this TV would truly complete.
In greater detail:
I am SO excited to have just moved in to my first real apartment. I have been in graduate school for the last three years, splitting my time between two programs and coasts, and living in a total of nine apartments with nineteen random roommates. I have one more year of school to go, and am thrilled to have a place of my own (and more than two suitcases of belongings).
I moved to this 450 square foot studio/shangri-la three days ago. Despite being strapped for cash (with $160,000 in debt from law & graduate school), I think I've created a stylish home out of hand-me-downs, homemade treasures, and Craigslist and eBay finds. A television would make my apartment complete, and a new Insignia LCD TV would make my year.
I love watching television. I really appreciate relaxing in front of the TV after a long day of work and studying, and television makes for great entertainment for me while I live in expensive (San Francisco and Washington, D.C.) cities.
My studio apartment is small, and I have the perfect space (photo 1) for a beautiful flat screen television. This picture (photo 2) shows the space where I envision the Insignia 37" HDTV, complete with an active, lonely cable cord. My sideboard is only 15" deep, which does not accommodate most traditionally sized televisions. I have admired LCD TVs from afar and would be overjoyed to have this Insignia 37" LCD HDTV.
Thank you for your time!
view slr's profile
Hi, this would really be awesome. We have a nice TV that we feel fortuante to have. A friend gave it to us, except that we have to hit it to get the picture to come on. I mean... seriously, you shouldn't have to hit your TV to get it to work. It's not nice to beat your technology. We saved to get a flat screen when we bought our house because the space of the house is not good for a CRT... also because we broke our 10 media stand when moved in and now the TV is on a styrafoam box. Poor TV, it's lived a good life, but it's ready for a sucessor. We can't buy a TV anymore because we have to remove a diseased tree in our backyard, it's going to cost $3000! So, no new TV for us... unless of course we win!
Getting the TV would mean 1) No more technology beating 2) No more TV floating in middle of room on insane styrafoam box.
Thanks for reading my entry! -Emily
view amelie's profile
****Desparate Seeking an Awesome T.V. to watch my FLICKS on!****
While my current 20" Maggotbox is ok, it just doesn't deliver when watching a rented DVD. Winning this T.V. would be so cool and I promise I would enjoy many many many hours enjoying all it has to offer!
view Jacquelyn's profile
I want this TV. I just got a beautiful TivoliAudio Radio Combo on clearance at Target for 100 bucks (I love it! It sounds and looks amazing). The sticker said 200, but I didn't believe it so I scanned it and I was right. New Markdown. I also just ordered a Macbook Pro. I'm now a 'college kid' (albeit part time) and have decided to take advantage of my student discount while I have it. So I'm getting a lot of gadgets and they are ganging up on my TV. It's old. Not terribly old or anything, but not great. And it's huge and makes my living room not-so-nice. I got new bookshelves to organize everything in my living room, but the big picked on TV doesn't look so hot in front of them. A sexy slim TV (who could defend himself from the taunts of sexy stereos and shiny new computers) however would look awesome.
And it would balance out all the thrift store/garage sale/dumpster finds.
Plus, my boyfriend would be jealous.
view geoffy's profile
I would be jealous, but...
It's true, I and my boyfriend just got matching Tivoli Audio stereos at TARGET. Not that we really needed them--I already had a nice system and so did he--but we couldn't pass by anything quite as...well, practically free, (seventy-five percent off!)
Two stereos in one apartment you might be asking? No no no. We live thousands of miles apart--me on the west coast, him in middle america.
My apartment was nice before--but not complete. There are two very important elements missing--one of those elements is my thrift-store shopping, dumpster diving freebie obsessed Geoffy and the other element could be just the thing to get him here--his FREE Insignia 37" LCD HDTV waiting for him in my hyper-modern retro-futurist minimalistic feng shui'd from the moldings to the cobwebs place.
How could one TV have such power you may ask? The power to unite boys thousands of miles apart? Pshaw! Peepaw! you might say. But I say it is true! One TV does have the power--and it's power comes in one simple word: freebie.
view fierlion's profile
Ah, how nice it would be to win a new TV! I only wish I was in need as many of the posters here. I'm quite happy with my 20" Craig's List acquired set. It has plenty of space on top for my rabbit ears and little toys I like to adorn it with. This TV would definitely require another way of decorating, perhaps stickers? Maybe some of those blik stickers in the another contest?
Good luck to all!
view Vinh's profile
This new TV would improve my home by:
a) providing an HDTV to use with my HDTV-ready antennae, further preparing myself for the inevitable analog-to-digital changeover; and
b) replacing my current setup whose screens bleeds red; although, don't we all; and
b) more importantly, adding a "button-less" system to the home, preventing my 9 year old from stimming on the buttons - (turn on, turn off, turn on, change channels, change modes, change volume, turn off, turn on, etc.) Yes, I hide the remote.
view JasonD's profile
This tv would make a huge difference in my apartment! Right now all that is in there is an air mattress, a chair, and a 7" black and white television. Awesome tv!!
view mzsmoot's profile
My husband and I have lived in our 2 bedroom, 400 sq ft, apartment just over two years. The room that never seems to feel "right" is our living room. We spend a lot of time on the couch in the evenings; I'm doing crafts, my husband is working on the laptop. And this is the sight we see.
With the long cold snowy winters of northern Maine about to settle in, it's time to turn our attention to our living room. Our current set-up only allows for 2 or 3 to comfortably watch a movie. Our friends with better arranged living rooms end up hosting all the television viewing events. This year, we want to be able to join in the hosting fun.
Because of the size of our room, the television always takes center stage. This means even when we have friends over and don't intend to watch TV, we feel like we should, since we are all staring at it anyway! I need a TV that is a little more discreet. I envision placing an LCD TV on top of a long, low book case. Or on a long shelf with a bench below for additional seating. Or an option only held in dreams, hung on the wall! The weight and depth of our current TV makes all of these options impossible.
And, my husband says, "A new TV from Apartment Therapy might justify all the time you spend at their site!"
view K8 in Maine's profile
As it stands now we own a 36" TV that is a mammoth. It weighs about 156 lbs and because of its size and weight it, not us, dictates where it can go in our living/family room. Right now it is the focal point and there is now way to hide or detract from it. I don't know about anyone else but I hate being dictated to, especially by a television.
view rayvon_avon's profile
It seems that almost all of the people commenting have good reasons for wanting a tv, any tv, and the tear-jerker, hard-core stories as to why....so just to add to the melee, here is mine...
Hard-up story in brief:
I won't give you all the details, but in the last two years my boyfriend and I had a son, his mother passed away, his building got sold and we moved together, back into my 385 square-foot apartment with our two cats and our son (I was 8.5 months pregnant at the time) Somewhere in all of this his tv was broken, and due to a lack of funds it has not really been replaced (our current tv was "rescued" from the street, by said boyfriend, when I was desperate the first 3 (very rough) weeks of our son's life)
Argument for us getting Insignia, or how it would make our apartment better:
Aside from the obvious space issue (note afore mentioned 380 square feet) I have to say that we don't really need a tv, in fact who does? We don't even allow it to be turned on until after the baby is asleep, which means it doesn't get that much use....however, my cinemaphile, avid video gamer of a boyfriend misses his movies and games....VERY MUCH!
Thursday is his birthday and it would be nice if he were to get the tv to go with the video camera I already got him. Then his surround sound system, 3 video-game systems, and DVD player could all come out of their boxes and join the Insignia; and when boyfriend gets home (to his girlfriend's tiny apartment that he never liked that much anyway) at the end of a long work-day, supporting his baby, girlfriend, and 2 cats, he would be able to take a little time, maybe even with a friend, and play a few games or watch a movie.
Bonus Reason:
The wall-mountable possibility of the Insignia would mean that boyfriend could have back his closet (most of his clothes are currently in boxes in my closet), which was co-opted for entertainment center purposes when baby started to pull the cords out, and tried to pull the tv over on himself.
Current setup:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13038147@N00/1355677003/
One last thing:
It goes without saying that I would record the re-design this tv would prompt for AT. I don't know if this helps, but I am an Interior Designer by trade, and am bursting with ideas for how to use this TV to make my space more livable (I'm thinking replace big furniture with sumo lounge bean bags, in a playroom by day, video game den by night kinda way)
view Shalom's profile
If I were to say that I need a TV... that makes me lame and consumerist-ly driven.
Asking for a new TV means that the thought of MCDreamy's head actually being in focus (without aluminum foil) makes my knees quiver. (see previous lame comment)
My husband and I are both artists and DIY almost everything, sadly a TV isn't one of those things we are able to tackle.
My husband and I have moved three times in the last 3 years, twice for work and once because of a death in the family.
The first time we moved, the movers dropped the small 19" tv we had in our living room. ... I didn't mind, it felt gluttonous anyway.
The second time we moved, for whatever reason, the family room tv slid from it's well secured position in the moving van and crushed a case of Frostop rootbeer (It's worth making the drive to Duluth MN for) and exploded it all over it's internal compartments. It was a sad day for my husband as it was his bachelor tv. (I tried to tell myself it would help me accomplish my chores faster, and all that really happened is that I became a larger internet addict)
When we moved the third time we caved and bought a TV off Craigslist which was "special in it's own way," and by that I mean had a 4 inch green stripe through it, but only when something important was on. It was like censoring everyones eyes... but with slime.
We had a family member take pitty on us and let us borrow a tv from them for awhile... I had no idea rabbit ears could be so big and invasive? I mean seriously. And don't even think about it in a storm or strong wind. Or even when the dogs run by at full speed (did I mention they miss watching animal planet in color?... do sad dog stories work?)
But... in the end... asking for a TV still makes me lame... I guess I'm gonna have to be ok with that.
This TV would help make my home more cohesive as design is sliming and unobtrusive an a world where bigger seems to be better.
Thanks for the chance, even if we aren't cool enough to win!
view sarahrae's profile
It all began with an off-the-cuff comment, and turned into a all-out, high-stakes bet. My roommate, Josh, is a furniture designer, which is to say that in our 500 square foot two bedroom apartment in Manhattan, we have more than our requisite number of pieces of furniture. The year-long dispute between us began when we moved yet another piece of beloved furniture into our cozy space. I said, "If we didn't have this humongous old television always in the way, the people sitting in our living room could actually all look at one another during conversation...!" SeePhotos Thus spawned a bet between us that stipulated that when I finally get a job, I must garnish our apartment with a brand new flat screen TV. I have been unemployed for the past year, and interview after interview, instead of asking me if I got the job, Josh simply says, with an earnest and expectant look in his eye, "Flat screen?!" We love TV. We love American popular culture. We love entertaining guests. Needless to say, dear folks of Apartment Therapy, we would love the flat screen TV, tend to it's every need, and shower it in our grand affection. The addition of the flat screen TV to our household would not only salvage our friendship by ending an ongoing dispute over whether I actually agreed to purchase the said flat screen TV, but also save a poor unemployed me from having to uphold my side of this pricey wager.
view dsomma's profile
I'd love a new television - but not for myself, for my parents! A few months ago, they bought my boyfriend and I a new TV, but still have a mammoth, old TV in their living room (my father has a plasma in his office, but that's another story!). It would be fabulous to give them this gift - especially for my mother, who could then watch Dirty Jobs in style ;-)
Best of luck to everyone!
view kari-anne's profile
Why would I like this TV?
Because we have worked hard to make our home (an actual apartment, not a home, the kind we can't remodel, repaint, etc.) a place of comfort. We want our home to be the place where anyone can stop by at anytime for anything. We want our home to be where conversation happens. We want our home to be a place where friends gather.
Because of this we want our home to be 'designed' in such a way that the television is not the main focal point. That the main point would be - conversation. That when one walks in our home they don't focus on a massive entertainment center with a large TV blaring the latest depressing news - we want our home to be a soothing, place of relaxation and a place where friends can meet to unwind after a pesky day.
With this TV we would be able to do just that. We'd be able to mount the TV above our wonderful fire place - where it wouldn't be the main focus on the room - but would be there when needed - when we did want to watch a classic movie with friends, or play a game.
This TV would be more than just an additional 'gadget' in our home - it'd help us create the kind of home we wish for - the kind of home that welcomes anyone in, at anytime.
view Thats Swell's profile
After reading the funny, tear-jerking, creative, sometimes desperate entries already submitted, I don't know if mine will come close, but here's my shot... I recently sold almost everything I owned and moved from Los Angeles to Charlotte, NC. My family has lived in all different parts of the country for the past 10 or so years, but now they were all in Charlotte and I was in L.A. I was the last hold-out. I'm one of those people who actually love living in L.A. But I finally made the long drive across the country to join them. I rented a 500 square-foot one bedroom apartment - the smallest place I've ever lived in. Apartment Therapy - all of the sites, from NY to Green - has been my authority on all things related to how I'll design my new space. I've looked at almost every entry ever submitted for the Smallest Coolest contest, trying to get ideas. I've spent the past month painting and updating the kitchen & bedroom. But the living room has wood paneling on the walls. Wood paneling that the land lady loves and specifically said could not be touched. Decorating around that is going to be difficult, but I think this TV would be a huge improvement. What I have now is a 20 inch TV my boss was going to donate to Goodwill, but offered to me instead. I think it might be 15 years old. I haven't even plugged it in yet. And, it's sitting on the floor because I don't have a stand for it (for that matter, I don't have a couch either, but I'm working on that). My goal with this apartment is that it looks simple, clean, fresh & new. I refuse to be overloaded with clutter and things. This Insignia TV would be the perfect answer to that goal. It will look fabulous. That's why I think that AT Tech should consider me. Thanks!
view Jenochka's profile
After suffering with a country-style cabinet for many years, I found its replacement- a sleek mid-century credenza on sale for $99. Our current tv obscures our beautiful credenza with its ginormousness. Thanks for considering me!
view Carisa's profile
Two adorable 90-year old ladies from the south side of Chicago totalled my car. Their names were Virginia and Regina. They were sisters with dyed blonde hair, coral lipstick, and rather inexplicable southern accents. (FYI: coral lipstick makes everyone look a little crazy.) They and their car were unharmed. My car was rendered completely unable to be driven, and, because I hit my head on the steering column, I had to spend a day at the hospital.
Back to Virginia and Regina, though: while we were in the ambulance getting our vital stats taken, it emerged that they were both almost 90% deaf and were going to visit their sister who'd recently had a stroke in a northern suburb. (If you're at all familiar with Chicago geography, you'll also wonder why they were using Elston to get from 8000 S. Harlem to Glenview.) One of them kept repeating to the ambulance tech that she has high blood pressure because she loves eating salty peanuts. The other kept patting me on the arm and saying, "I was in an accident when I was JUST your age, and I was RIGHT shaken up by it!"
When the ambulance techs decided that Virginia and Regina were okay to continue their sojourn to Glenview, they asked if I had anything of value in the car. I had CDs and books, but I was also transporting a new batch of composting worms to my boyfriend's and my new apartment. I asked the ambulance tech if it would be too much trouble to take my worms to the hospital. She not only got them out of the car for me, but she also turned out to be a composter herself. She went through my bin and gave me pointers during the whole ambulance ride, and then taped up the bin with surgical tape when we finally arrived.
It'll be a long time before I'm wholly ready to drive again, so maybe it's time to take up TV-watching at home!
view kschaff's profile
I would love to win this TV. The Insignia would improve my apartment because it would replace my 12 year old 27" that practically weighs a ton. Plus i just bought the Ikea Stockholm entertainment stand and the Insignia would look awesome with it.
view sohn's profile
I'd love to have this television. I'm rearranging some things right now to give two of our children the larger bedrooms as their oldest sister moved into her college dorm. One of the things I'm planning is to turn the tiniest bedroom into a small t.v. room for the teens. This television would be perfect in that room, and would save some disagreements over what we're watching on the main television. (I'd send pictures, but the whole house is in disarray as I attempt this reorganizing and rearranging!)
view jami's profile
Just this morning I sold the computer that I've been using to watch television ever since my 15-year old 27" died last year. My little 17" monitor may not have been big in size, but it was big in heart for it allowed me to watch American Idol in HD...until it betrayed me and Melinda was eliminated. So, now I've got a big desk in a purple room with strangely textured walls and a giant gaping hole where the monitor once stood. Sort of sad, really.
A TV would be nice there, for sure, but would actually do better in my parents' house. Right now they've got a similar 15-year old 27" TV attached to the wall, sort of like a hospital television, you know, with the arm holding it out? And it's really unsafe...many bruises and scrapes have resulted from this oddly mounted television and it's only through sheer luck that it hasn't fallen off the wall and onto someone's head by now.
My TV-computer is gone, but I've got a network of friends with extensive cable/satellite plans that I can foist myself upon...my poor parents live in constant fear of death by TV.
In any case, good luck to all and congrats to the eventual winner.
view aturallygupa's profile
A Dozen Reasons I Would Love to Give This TV a Happy Home:
1. My boyfirend and I live in a small (under 1200 square feet home) that is really long and narrow. The living room is oddly laid out and we have been long discussing how to remodel/redecorate it. All of our discussions have centered around having a LCD TV and losing our current mammoth hunk of technology. See our plans here: Studio Lane
2. This would free up a lot of space and allow us to move our heater and rearrange our furniture (actually, we need to buy/acquire some new furniture but not having to save up for a flat panel TV would free up a lot of funds).
3. With a new TV, we would be able to give our old set to a recently divorced friend who ended up with nothing. We would also be able to give him all our old furniture as we replace it with the new stuff.
4. As an online student and contributing blog writer, I really need a space in the living room for an office. The TV would free up space for me to have a desk.
5. This TV would be the kick in the pants we need to remodel/redecorate. The most I have been able to do is add a couple of throw pillows. But if I presented my BF with a LCD TV? Not only would he open the purse strings but I would get great "You're the BEST girlfriend" sex!
6. I would get awesome sex.
7. My boyfriend has been a big support to me this year- especially financially. I would love to give him this TV as a big "thank you"!
8. If I won, I would be happy give AT readers remodeling/redecorating updates.
9. I would be able to talk my BF into losing the AWFUL heater in our living room and build a fireplace.
10. I found my first wrinkle today.
11. Have I mentioned the sex?
12. Please, please, pretty please.
view akbuilt's profile
I would like this TV in order to make the world a safer place.
Rather than keeping it for myself, I would like to give it to my father, who, at 77, is becoming a danger to anyone out there driving. I figure, the more reasons I can give him to stay home and enjoy himself, the better for all of us! His current TV is 30 years old and he could really use a better viewing experience.
Thank you all! And be careful out there!
view jaybee's profile
I have a pretty good idea what great television is. Just not what it looks like.
I work in advertising, which basically means that from 9 to 5, I get told to sell baloney under the guise that it's cornish hen.
I'll be straight with all of you: I live in baloney. But (shameless nod to Joseph Levine) if I'm going to live in baloney, I'm not going to try to make it cornish hen. I just want it to be the best darn baloney there is.
So I don't need a 52" television that hooks up to every red and yellow wire in my apartment. I don't want a special contraption to rope all of those wires together. And I don't want something that necessitates a thousand wall anchors.
I just want a nice TV that plugs in and works. On a shelf. With bunny ears.
And with which I can see Ellen Pompeo's forehead vein with the utmost clarity.
But that's just a bonus.
view grittyluxe's profile
Slim Jim TV come to me! I need you to inspire the reordering of my slovenly ways and maketh my house sleek and ordered. Plus what a cool way for my family to watch vintage Starsky and Hutch and Hong Kong Phooey. Mmm, come on you know you want to move to beautiful Vermont!
view Catherine 8's profile
Well, you AT:Tech people sure set yourselves up for some heavy reading with this one.
Here's my plea. My livingroom is only 9 FEET WIDE. Because of the layout of the room and placement of the heat registers, the only possible arrangement is with the couch against one wall and the tv against the other. With my old school tube television, this leaves just 5 FEET between the edge of the couch and the tv screen. According to my mother, this is slowly burning out my retinas (Did anyone else's mother tell them they would go blind if they sat too close to the tv?) The flatscreen could actually save my endangered eyesight, as well as put my mother's mind at ease. She would personally thank you...
view pignolia's profile
I have had no television for the past three years, because I haven't found the right TV at the right price. This is very annoying to my friends who love coming over, but get tired of playing board games and making shadow puppets. But this Insignia is an awesome LCD at an excellent price (free!). So I decided to enter your contest and earn your sympathy by taking a picture of my TV-less living room with my camera. Sadly, in a poorly-timed turn of events, my camera died today. Now I have to buy a TV and a camera. So, I took pictures with my phone of my TV-less living room, and the blank wall the TV would live on. But, I guess if my camera-phone pictures don't do the trick, my friends will have to have to get better at Scrabble.
view roxi09's profile
Dear AT:Tech,
As a college sophomore I moved into my current studio in 2000. It is humble but cosy. (And not quite as humble as these laundry day photos make it out.) The saving grace is having coffee each morning while sitting taking in the view.
Since moving here I have completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin performance. While I love my career, my financial situation has not improved much since graduation - as my place can attest. But I did the best with what I had.
This past May I decided that it was time to go win a job and move to a new apartment. With that goal I have practiced 6-8 hours a day. Everyday.
When I started to loose motivation I turned to AT, knowing that if I worked hard enough I may one day have the kind of home you profiled. Each afternoon I combed Craigslist and the AT Classifieds window shopping for my future space. And then I returned to practicing.
In the past three weeks I have taken two orchestral auditions and won both. After all that work I now know that by Christmas I will have my first real apartment. A fancy television would be a great way to celebrate this new beginning. As would those ABC silk covered armchairsarmchairs featured in today's AT Scavenger...
view SandraDee's profile
13dollarpopcorn's link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55002671@N00/1332926024/
(specific technical difficulties allow for us to correct this mistake)
Original entry:
That TV would make my place look nicer. I like it.
view kate's profile
DEVOTION is the key word here. For as long as I can remember, I have been devoted to TV. And not just lots of PBS and BBC. Iāve loved and still love it all ā M*A*S*H, Beverly Hills 90210, House, One Tree Hill, Party of Five, Lost, Ace of Cakes, Seinfeld, Iron Chef, The Closer. I could go on and on and on. Iām also devoted to decorating, sewing, cooking, and supporting local/organic farmers. But if I were to die today, my time spent enjoying TV would wildly surpass my other devotions. My gravestone would be a little pathetic, but I can say that Iām happy.
Our first baby is on the way in three months. While I certainly do not plan for my infant to partake in my TV devotion, when the time is right, just think how awesome Fraggle Rock and Discovery Channelās Planet Earth series will look on this TV. And how happy my husband and I will be after the babe is asleep and we can take some time out for a little TV indulgence or a great Netflix movie ā late night Lord of the Rings marathon between feedings, maybe?
Weāre planning on purchasing our first home in the next year and dream about ditching our giant box of a TV for a sleek, wall-mounted flat screen. Our current TV sits on an entertainment center overflowing with equipment, DVDs, video games, and various cords. We can already imagine a flat screen mounted on a striking red wall or above the fireplace in our future home. All of our TV-related appliances, video game consoles, DVDs, and video games would be stored in a beautiful credenza or maybe an antique buffet; the possibilities are endless. This will free up floor space for lots of baby play-space and keep all sorts of terrible things like electrical cords from adventurous fingers and mouths.
If you award our family with this TV, you will know that it is coming to a home where it is truly enjoyed. It wonāt sit idly by waiting for the occasional viewing of The Daily Show ā it will be loved. And it will look beautiful in the room, I promise.
You may ask if we are such devotees, why do we not already own such a TV? Well, financially it just hasnāt been in the cards for us over the last few years. Now with a baby on the way, what kind of parents would we be if we didnāt spend our cash on making a great, cozy, fun nursery for our little guy? Besides, I blame you. Without all the ideas Iāve gotten from nursery.apartmenttherapy.com, Iād have a lot more expendable cash.
So, thatās it. You would be sending the TV to a happy new family who would really enjoy it and would look great in our space. What could be more right than that?
view peanutbutter's profile
Pop culture is contained in waves traveling into boxes
One apartment at a time is cured but mine remains obnoxious
Technology eludes me and I need assistance to overcome
What started off as a contest has illuminated my life as a rerun
"What's Happening" is that "Good Times" only occur in the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"
They tell you "Press Your Luck" but that's all I ever came with
I tried to save for "This Old House" but it just needs a "Facelift"
"Debbie Travis" never comes to my apartment and there's no "Trading Spaces"
I have "24" reasons to make this "Prison Break" but I am "Lost" in the universe's "Divine Design"
There's no "Law and Order" to who will win this time
I continue to spin the "Wheel of Fortune", but it seems I'm never "Moving Up"
It's like I was stuck in Hell with the "Brothersā and their āJunk"
I believe in a "Home Made Simple" but my happiness is in "Jeopardy"
Then I dreamed I was "Touched by an Angel" in the form of Apartment Therapy
They helped me forge and new "Identity" by putting my old TV "Six Feet Under"
Now nothing can come between and no man bring asunder
This lonely girlās āFelicityā is now captured on a Flickr page
Could you "Curb your Enthusiasm" if you had her "Happy Days"
She's got the Smallest Coolest - so what there's no "West Wing"
With the Insignia 37 inch LCD she feels like a "King of Queens"
Getting that Television would be a dream come true. It would improve my home in many ways.
1. As a single woman, the television is company for me a lot. I would feel like I was dating up which would enhance my self-esteem.
2. My sometimey boyfriend would probably propose if he came over and saw that sitting in my apartment. He is a home theatre kinda guy and when I entertain him here, he is just plain disappointed in any movie experience we embark on. I'm glad I can cook and have a decent enough personality or he might never visit me.
3. I would invite more people over and that would increase my overall happiness.
4. I would be able to donate the television I have to someone less fortunate, and that would make me proud.
5. I would be able to concentrate funds for future home improvements toward a new sofa and get rid of the uncomfortable eyesore in the photo.
I am currently curing a Junior 1 bedroom in LA which is approximately 450 square feet. I am a single woman working in government with limited resources. I have always believed that where I am today is home so I try to make the best of it. When I found Apartment Therapy, I found like minds whose goal is to do the same, make these often temporary spaces home, no matter the size or length of time we plan on being in them. My current home is a white box. But I've worked hard to bring interest and comfort to it and am curing again to pare down and make room for more social activity in my home. I have made several improvements, added fresh paint shelving, doorknobs and cabinet knobs and I recently purchased a dining table and started cooking meals at home again thanks to AT. My television is 20 inches and does not fit the console for a 38 inch that I bought for it a couple of years ago. I had the intention of buying an LCD but student loans an aging parent that needed assistance and other life happenings have put that on the back burner. I live in an apartment. I am worthy. I am an AT poster child. Please AT, make my dream come true.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90449776@N00/
view nikirene's profile
We recently finished our basement, adding a room, a bathroom and a TV/reading area (link). Unfortunately, the TV we have across from the Lay-Z boy chairs is not functioning really well (link). So this TV would really work with our new basement!
view FooBar's profile
The new ipods have a larger screen than my television. A co-worker who recently came to my apartment said that seeing my television made him "feel sad". That's nice, because I can't see it. Three years of grad school has destroyed my vision and only intense squinting allows me to make out shapes and colors on my lilliputian set. Please help me justify the cable package I can't afford.
view caiter27's profile
We just moved and a new television would be great since we are trying to make a new start (new home, new baby and new job). A new television would also fit the bill...plus, it would take up less space in our tiny apartment so our baby can actually play on the floor.
view Lula's profile
Wow, these are tragic tales.
I was going to skip offering mine...but then I turned on my fifteen-year-old, fifty pound behemoth and was reminded that for the last three months every time I've done that, it has erupted into a loud, high-pitched, keening whine that does not end until the TV is turned off. It's rather like a permanent test of the Emergency Broadcast System. I'm going to continue to live with the TV in its lingering death throes, though, since I'm in the process of buying a co-op and any money that I have remaining will have to go toward maintenance and food (in that order).
So my hearing (and that of the dog in the apartment next door) is in terrible jeopardy. Unless someone chooses to give me a new TV...(please).
view Cassis's profile
Most apartments have small living rooms, causing the TV--a big, bulky, eye sore--to become the focus of the room. I have always believed in hiding the television until it needed to be used, but hiding a traditional TV requires an equally bulky piece of furniture. With the invention of the flat screen, it is a lot easier to hide a TV in an unobtrusive, sleek piece of furniture. A lot of us have seen the cabinets with the TV appearing from the back, but I am horrified by their looks. Well, I just happen to be an artisan, and I have designed several gorgeous pieces to house a flat screen TV; now all I need is the TV! I am confident that these pieces could be the break Iāve been waiting for, and with an actual HDTV to put to use in one of my cabinets, I would be one step closer to my big break. As you see below, I think my cabinets are pretty attractive. With the use of a TV lift, as seen on instructables, the cabinet houses the TV while also providing ample storage for media and DVDs. The two cabinets are just suggestions; I can make most styles, using recycled and/or reforested wood, and can even use bamboo!
Spending money on such a TV is far too frivolous for an artisan, so winning one would not only be an unbelievable prize, but it would also help me further my career ambitions. If I were to win, I would send you weekly updates on the project, so that you could see the product in the process of being built and during the installation. So consider helping an artisan who is looking for his break, and a new tv!
Keep up the good work, I am a daily reader.
kurt....
For illustrations click here
view tulipwood's profile
OK, I'm cutting it down to the wire.
view kelli co.'s profile
After living with roommates for 12 years (all of which have addicted me to their own favorite tv shows), I finally have my own tiny 215 square foot studio to call home. But I haven't ever had my own tv... and a nice new flat one would inspire me to clean up the area around where I would install it! I need the motivation: my office space is a mess!
view LPhillips's profile
the 37inch tv will become the focal point of
a) our living room: i live in a four bedroom apartment with small bedrooms but a huge living room. i don't understand why anyone would design such a floorplan until i saw this article on the insignia tv. that tv belongs in our living room. it's meant to be.
b) our social lives: i room with three other single females. the keyword is "single". our respective parents think that we are not ugly and our friends think that we are interesting people. but we are still single. maybe we should invite people over in our house for "quality" movie nights. that requires a 37inch tv. the insignia lcd hdtv.
the 37inch insignia lcd hdtv is meant to bring life to our apartment, our "home" away from home, and to change our social lives. it can't be any other tv. it has to be this one. it's destiny.
view fronckie's profile
We just moved into a new apartment and I am really happy, but I am not so excited about our old tv. So sad, look at it!
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff117/levink5/?action=view¤t=tv-1.jpg
view Levin's profile
Why I'd like the TV:
I'm moving to Astoria next month and I'm going to be selling my 27" CRT to free up some space. I'm leaving my job as a probation officer and heading back to school to pursue my MSW and I'd love to use the money that I'd like to spend on a new TV towards either books or food. Possibly both! :)
view MJC's profile
We just moved into a 1950's Austin bungalow from our 1890's San Francisco victorian flat. The difference in scale is staggering to say the least - as are most things down here (Have you seen these bugs!?! Not to mention the sofas!). We were going to do a partial remodel on our new home in order to make our things fit, but since the cost was fairly prohibitive and time being of the essence (I am SO pregnant) we decided to remodel our funiture instead. We have craigslisted, donated and recycled what we can so far, but have come to the conclusion that the only way our odd little retro vintage living room with a pony wall will work is if we hang a flat screen off it. Our 10 year old 27 inch is like a Titanic steamer trunk in the middle of our modest floor plan, screaming 'Look at me! I've sunk you're plans be be modern and streamlined! You'll never get rid of me! I'll last forever!'. We don't want to make the tv the focal point - rather we want to encourage comforatble conversation, but our current tv has other ideas.
Maybe in 30 years when we see pictures of the baby propped in front of the tv - like I was in front of the console - we'll all get a good laugh at our crude attempts to be entertained at the turn of the century. But for now, I'd like to think that there's a little glimmer of hope that things could be different - that the baby's brain won't have to scrambled by both magnets and America's Next Top Model. I have hope and I see the future - both shine bright.
Thanks for the opportunity to win!!!
view PorkChop's profile
I think I've missed this deadline but, I'll try anyway. I'd love to have this television because I don't have one and never have had my own. With a television I'd hope to become more information about the world around me, be informed and a part of pop-culture and have people over for movies. It would be especially nice with winter coming.
view sissaphus's profile
Hello okay well , I'm 22 and I share a room with my little sister. I don't have a television. We have a small one in the living room but theres 5 people living in the same house therefore not many of us get to watch certain movies /shows like we want to. I work and go to school full time and it's hard to buy a television because its something I want and not what I NEED and i cant afford stuff I want very often because I need to get what I need. I don't get to have my friends over or my boyfriend because its very boring but if i had a tv at least i could hangout in my room without first it being loud and second accually watching what we want to. I'm not saying i deserve it more then anyone, but it would make my sister and i happy to get a tv in our room , make my social life a bit better. If you pick us oviously it would be very awsome and we'd be very happy..:) Thanks for this chance, Tanya L
view tanleb's profile
Due to the fact that I have two sons in early 20's, a nephew of same age and an immature brother who hangs out with them, our current television is always hooked up to the Playstaion 3, where they take turns killing zombies! Yes, they blow their heads off, thousands of them, over and over....so this is not my idea of an enjoyable evening, to say the least. But they have to have good graphics, and we go along just to keep them home where we know where they are....
If we happen to win this tv, life would tremendously improve, as we could once again watch American Idol, and such, instead of having to tolerate constant ruthless zombie killings! We could even relocate the zombie killing tv to another not-so-bothersome area of the house. Then life will be restored, restfull, and without gore.
No one could possibly need it more, or show a more significant improvement than this, I wouldn't think. Peace, and American Idol? Life would be grand! Please envision this scenario and vote for us!!!
Thank you!
view CindyAustin's profile