apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i thought we were only supposed to enter ONE contest ...

Yeah, I thought I'd seen this before. And from the photos, it looks like this isn't a place where the person lives, just something he designed.

kimberlykc23 -
the editors checked with the "contest master" Jill regarding entries to more than one of the small cool contests and she gave it the thumbs up

That speaker cloth setup is clever and really cool looking.

The office on the other hand... well, it's just a computer in a corner. Ain't nothin' special 'bout that.

Wow, once again another sassy comment - can't we all get along?

That said, I think this is another incredible space - especially the juxtaposition of the diagonal floors with the center all in one room divider / media unit. I always think that combining as many functions as possible in to a unit is amazingly efficient and a great way to not have to string cords all around the apartment or spend gobs of money on wireless pieces.

I also love how everything is elevated as to give the illusion of incredible floor space. I'm assuming that those pieces were custom? A cheap way of getting the same illusion could easily be made using the ideas found in the Malmese Twins post.


Beautiful design Kelly and Gregory!

Wow, love the media wall. But are my eyes deceiving me, or is that a different wall in the two first pics? One seems to end with the hidden entertainment center, and the other pic, it continues.

Gosh, now I'm sitting here thinking, I should BUILD an A/V setup similar to this! Mine would be smaller due to space, and I'd have it on the ground and away from the wall a bit for airflow (video game systems need it), but DEFINITELY I'd have the speaker cloth!

lol my entry is so not going to win :D

etslee, the door is there, it's just VERY clever :)

(I did a double take at first too)

Great solution. Much better than using tiny ineffective speakers or sticking them in strange places. I use an almost identical solution in my theater.

i truly think it is a gorgeous design, i just can't help but feel slighted. if the rules said we should only enter one contest, then we should only enter one contest. i really don't think it's fair later on to say "well, we decided it's ok this time."
why have rules? i could've entered every one of the smallest coolest categories, but chose to follow the rules to give everyone a chance ...

Once again I think that the fact that this is an owned space (not to mention architect-firm designed as experiment/show space) allows them a level of flxibility that is simply unattainable by a renter.

How can one compete with a custom built media wall with all the bells and whistles that this has.

Again I call for AT to level the playing field! TWO contests, one for RENTERS and one for OWNERS. Boxing is divided by weight class...why not AT SCC?

kimberly, if you checked the rules before it said you could enter only one out of kitchen, nursery, or tech... it never said that you could not enter the main apartment contest as well as one of the topic contests.

thanks for the clarification, azar. i didn't remember the rules being written like that - wish i would've read more carefully so i could've flooded SCC with my stuff, too!

can you tell me what the floor material is?

Ingenious use of materials, I love watching movies in this space.

I always get a chuckle out of the comments to these entries. If a student enters her rented studio it'll be, "Not my thang, you really need to get some nicer furniture and paint and open up the kitchen..." A designer enters and it's "Well, sure, anyone with a degree in architecture and a boatload of money can do this, big deal."

For tech entries, you get tons of "Where's the tech?" comments, but when someone submits a room full of tech, it's, "Must be nice to have that much money."

Larry, I think the rules did state that the entries had to have been designed by the resident. Professional designers are allowed to submit their own dwellings.

Interesting that you attribute that to arrogance; I think a more likely explanation for his presence in the photo is that he's demonstrating how the media cabinet opens.

OUTSTANDING - Top Drawer Designers; excellent efficient use of limited space with materials & detailing. I look forward to seeing more work by this group > intelligent and inspiring.

Anne, I agree, though the comments do get entertaining. It's a "hater's" world. ;)

Very effective and aesthetic, best entry yet.

This is a great tech entry and for me embodies the pirpose of teh compioteion - cool and tech oriented!

I love the use of speaker fabric to cover the components while still allowing the remotes to work, resulting in functional elegance.

Another great thing about the speaker fabric solution is that it is a cheap on - it uses ingenuity instead of money (which admittedly was spent elsewhere in the apartment)

How dare the owner appear in a photo of his own space! Doesn't he know that according to AT rules that the only living things allowed in photos are plants, cats, and dogs of less than 20 pounds?

I for one am fed up with all these apartments that have movable furniture. "Oh, look at me with my fancy chairs and sofas!" How's a convict with a 10x10 concrete cell with a bolted down bunk supposed to compete with this?

Minimalism defined. Inspiring... I need to do a thorough spring cleaning!

Looks hot! Can you come fix my place up like this!

Oh whatever. That wall is ingenious and gorgeous. Am I jealous? Yes. Does that make it less of a fantastic idea? No.
Also if you read what the owners said in their apartment entry comments they aren't rich, and they did a lot of the work themselves.

I love this condo. Incredible space, well designed media, and incredible space solution. It is inspiring.

Hi All,

Thank you for commenting good and bad. Well, specially the good!!!

Don’t discount your local cabinet makers for custom designs. We found a great cabinet maker that specialized in traditional style cabinets and was excited to work on contemporary type details. Another reason for elevating the wall at the base was so, the hidden door, when shut would sit at the same level as the panels; this way you wouldn’t have a weird jog, making it obvious where the location of the door is.

Be sure to post some pictures if you make a similar style setup at home!!!! All you need is fans, the speaker cloth allows for ventilations, it’s like a mosquito net, so keep it up against the wall, and purchase some DC power because they are very quiet.

The floor is Graniti Fiandre, see our resource comment here:

http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/small-cool-2007-entries/9-kelly-gregorys-lil-italy-conversion-021186

Jennifer in SF, Thank you for the backup, we could have used you in the small cool apartment contest!!!

-Kelly & Gregory

The apartment more than beautiful is practical and the space are well distribute

Larry, what sort of spiny creature crawled up your ass and made you so crabby?

This is gorgeous. Architecturally i think it's beautiful. And it will scale nicely to a larger television. :)

Some of the comments are disturbing. Personal attacks should not be part of this contest. They go in detriment of this type of event and prevent others for be willing to freely participate in the future, especially if they believe they had achieved high quality design. This type of criticism may have a boomerang effect and lower the quality of the contest in the mid- and long-run. A more productive approach will be to indicate good and poor design quality elements and highlight contraints in achieveing such a great and well-designed condo. Comments should be framed or limted to assess the quality of the unit which is in my opinion is gorgeos and clever. Guys stop that attitute.

This is a lovely condo. I wish one day mine looks this great. It posseses well defined lines. It is has minimalist quality which are appreciated and embraced by many. Congratulations Greg and Kelly for a very well done job. I hope you be the winners. It will inspire others. We all could learn from this Kelly’s and Greg design experience. Mia

hi kelly & gregory,
i love your space-- though i had some doubts for a millisecond, i did vote "insta" in the s.c.07. I have a question though regarding the speaker cloth: are the made into doors? or does the whole panel swing up? how does it work?
thanks!

I don't think AT should distinguish between the renters and owners. Maxwell rents his place doesn't he? And his place is beautiful enough to be in the NYTimes, among other publications, so why should everyone else get some other category?

I kinda agree that contestants should just enter one contest.

But I also think there should be just one contest going at a time.

And I agree that neither ownership nor "rentership" gives anyone an advantage. A renter won the first Smallest Coolest! ;)

It's really just based on what people like and in my own, humble experience, people don't usually favor perfect polished places. People are quirky and they might like a small detail and that makes it for them. Whatever the people pick is what they pick and who wins. AT never said the contest was scientific, and to be so picky about being "fair" is sort of just dumb. It's an apartment decorating/architecture contest. Geez.

I voted "not my thang" for the apartment contest and insta finalist for the tech... too property developer as a whole but the tech setup is fabulous!

TI don't mind the haters so much as the whiners.... he size of my beautiful home has prevented me from entering it into ANY of the contests, and do I whine? no, i thank my lucky stars to have so much space and make bitchy comments about all of you!

saya* - the width of the entertainment center is 9'-0". your first instincts say that it should be 3 doors at ~36" each. but for us that was not as cool or as functional as one door, so that everything would be accessible with only one move. essentially we made a sort of frame/truss out of wood, very simple. it actually used less material than 3 doors. then, we wrapped frame with the fabric and stapled it, that simple. a touch latch releases the door at the center, with 2 magnetic latches at either end to keep it balanced. a stay-down bracket keeps it down and euro-style inset hinges keep it connected to the box structure.

let us know if u need anything else,

-Kelly & Gregory

love the couch/chaise lounge chairs/modular seating in the living room. would you post the source info please?