apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

LOVE IT! The kitchen is wonderful - and, do tell where your bedding is from. Your place is deceptively simple and definitely modern. I dig it!

P.S. Did you intentionally color coordinate the cat to match the bedroom? Well done!

I'm very impressed, but I would love to see some signs of life other than the cat. How about a jade plant, a fiddle-leaf fig tree, or a sprouting coconut in the center of the table? There's so much beautiful wood grain, and everything has been thought out so carefully - bravo. If you make it to the finals, you might set out some cut flowers. You have my vote.

LOVE the upper cabinets in the kitchen. The way they're staggered and not perfectly lined up. Are they and the base cabs Ikea and if so what finish is the base cab? Looks great in the photo.

Lovely kitty, nice contrast on the bed and blanket. Jet black kitties are so stylish and match everything!!

(all animals elevate interior decor -- I'm just partial to the black kitty cause she looks just like mine)

I have one of those cats, too. She hates the new gray-and-white cat, whom she says is too "country."

I'm starting to see the similarities in entries more than the differences. Someone who's in the right mood could probably document West Coast Style based on the entries here -- and it'd be interesting.

Love it. Tasteful, simple, great subtle color, warm, lovely details, wonderful wood grains. Thanks. What is the stainless steel looking cabinet next to your oven?

Hands down the best. Simple, modern, elegant and looks like a joy to live in. I am ridiculously jealous of your apartment. As a UCSD alum I am very familiar with, and miss the Hillcrest area. I was just wishing I could go have breakfast at the Hash House. Well done, lovely apartment.

I love your chaise, but wow, I don't know if I can live without a couch.

Some nice furniture, but overall there's a feeling of something missing and of this being an empty house. It's kind of like the nice home of person who died years ago, but there's still a maid who comes around every week to dust.

Beautiful! I could totally live here.

I miss my beloved late black kitty! This is a very nice place. I don't remember who said it, but, "a house with a cat has no need of sculpture."

The more I look at the photos the more determined I am to come and steal all of your seating. I covet every chair in your place. (I do have a bit of a chair fetish) Gorgeous!

Indeed, a house with a cat will soon have no sculpture, regardless of the humans' preferences...

What is the curved wood piece in the kitchen under the phone?

The quote is from Wesley Bates http://www.quotegarden.com/cats.html

LOL, Wende, my sport-utility cat operates like that!

this is a really beautiful place! wonderful light, great pieces of furniture, and one very pretty/stylish cat. i would love to see more photos, maybe in the finals there can be ten photos. well done!

to quote Outkast, this is "so fresh and so clean!"
love it!!- really warm and shows a great refined taste- love the rack above the stove- always such an awkward space- great idea- and the floors are beautiful- is that stained concrete?

Wow, what a difference this year's size cap of 650 square feet makes!

I wonder if the DWR prize is luring the Eames lovers out of the (American Walnut) woodwork in such droves?!?

Lots to like here, regardless. Envious of such defined "rooms".

Would love to see a rug in the living room seating area.

Could TOTALLY see how a DWR prize could be put to overall excellent use here...

And I think this house needs an entirely different kind of art... MUCH larger blocks of color, either large scale color photos, face mounted to plexi, or large textured abstract paintings.

While I am a framed photo lover, I think the art here (tho I'm sure personally significant) adds the *tiniest* air of staleness (that sounds harsher than intended) to an otherwise fresh-faced take on mid-century modern.

Hi Justin!

Yowsa! Your flat is spine-tingling posh.

You mentioned that you're renting...that is some swank pad, mister! You have it laid out so nicely, too. The space alone is stunning, so you don't need to really do much to make it a winning entry, but your personal touch was noticed and I must say, your place is warm and inviting. I imagine it's a PERFECT place for gathering friends for cocktails on a Friday night...

You also mentioned that you move frequently, so I understand your need to keep it simple. If you owned it, you may have a little more around, is that safe to assume?

It's very uncluttered and well organized. I can picture being very productive in a space like this. I can also picture having a soiree every single weekend and the neighbors wanting to kill me.

Do you live in the Little Italy area? We were looking at property there last summer (more for fun than anything, touring all the new lofts) and this reminded me of a place we looked at. San Diego is such a beautiful city.

Off topic question: Have you been to the "W" there yet (duh, I imagine you have but I want to ask anyway)? What do you think of the design in that place? I love their entryway alone, but that bar is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Holly

I also think this is a really great floorplan to work with in the first place... to paraphrase someone in an earlier entry, "Not much to overcome here by way of space obstacles."

NOT that they should be penalized for that..

I searched in vain for a couch. wow - I could not live without one. Otherwise, I love your place.

Kitty is fabulous.

Wende - that was hilarious.

Oooo! I like. It's amazing to see all these great San Diego places. My place is so suburban...

Love the place, love the black cat. I have three of my own. Neighbors think we practice wiccah.

I'm really envious of this place. It seems to get great light; and I love the split-level floor plan. The chaise lounge is especially doing it for me! Love it.

Great decor, but shoot the cat.

I LOVE THIS SPACE. I think you have made such good use of every inch. The furniture is impeccable and your furnishings form such a cohesive look. Maybe you could help me with my interior, or just "loan" me a few of your pieces.
You should win HANDS DOWN--my exlcamation key is broken, or I would have used it several times to emphasize how fabulous your swanky place is.

Very nice bedding. Thank you for sharing.

I love it. Love the layout, the furniture and the kitty.

BUT, I just want to paint one or two of the walls-- maybe one behind the bed?

Fabulous furniture combinations, and incredible use of space. Definitely disregard cornflake's comment, as a dead person would not have such an amazing apartment. It is very striking and modern, but also warm. Do go for flowers on the table when you make it to the finals though. Something green or orange(?).

This place rocks!
The chaise is really beautiful.
My grandma used to say it's good luck if a black cat comes to live with you. I think it's true in this case...

Off-topic comment:
When I look at the entries into this contest I'm always wondering about the people who live there... their occupation, age, their interests, personality, etc. It seems like the places would be even more interesting if we knew a little about their owners -- not that everyone would want to reveal that kind of info about themselves, but some people wouldn't care.

THIS APARTMENT IS GORGEOUS! It is so clean and airy. It is calm and collected! I love it! What a great inspration for anyone wanting to pair down! Makes me want to begin my Spring cleaning right now!
I think this one should win!!! No doubt at all! Best of luck!

I agree with Rob K. I would like to know more about these people too. (I also want to know how much everyone pays in rent but I suspect that will never happen.)

love the artwork in the last picture (next to the bookshelves). where did you get it?

This house doesn't need the prize money - all the furniture awesome. I love the mix of IKEA and Eames - throw in a Noguchi table (and some more orange accents), and It'd be my dream design! I'll still vote for it.

I live in Hillcrest too and the design of this place makes me want to be friends with you. Great job! It's beautiful. I wonder how much this costs you to rent and where it is exactly. Hmmm. Currently trying to think of how to get invited to dinner without seeming creepy......can't be done. Oh well.

Nice layout, but looks like an Eames showroom.

am i the only person who doesn't recognize the chaise? who made it?
this place is gorgeous. i sent the link to my hubby with the subject line "an aesthetic to aspire to" and he wrote back "this is the perfect home." that says it all.
now tell me the origin of that chaise!

Beautiful place. The use of space is well planned. I do agree with the plant or flowers comments made, I am all about color!!! But those can be added at any time and whenever you are in the mood.
This place should win!!!! It is amazing.

I LOVE this place. And I'm with Brandy, info on the chaise please.

Hi Stacy & Dan,

We're interested in your space & would love to talk to you about our HGTV show, "Small Space, Big Style". Would you be able to email us at smallspaces@brainbox.tv so we can get in touch with you?

thanks,
Sage.

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for the comments; it has been fun reading them. I loved Conflake’s comment that described our place as being like the “home of person who died years ago;” that made me laugh out loud and I can see his point.

Answers:

The bedding is Matelasse Circles from Room and Board. It is on clearance right now.

The locker next to the oven is from IKEA.

The “curved wood piece” under the phone is actually an empty, rusted, metal planter. I used to produce and sell theses planters with a friend of mine; he is still producing them and you can find retailers on orecontainers.com.

The floor is stained concrete.

We found the black and white etching in Paris and I canÂ’t remember the name of the artist.

The chaise is called the Boomerang by Romani e Saccani Architects. I got it as a floor sample at Design Within Reach when they were discontinuing it.

We pay $1100 for rent, which I think is kind of a steal for San Diego.

Thanks,
Stacey Rae

The chaise is the Boomerang, designed by Romani e Saccani. I believe it was an exclusive to DWR, and they stopped carrying it last year (after putting it on sale). I have it in cream, and absolutely love it. It's comfortable and easy to take care of (thanks to slipcovers).

This is such a popular choice, and everything is certainly beautiful and intelligently laid out. But something is missing here. Not just plants, but a sense of warmth, or life (cat aside). I've noticed that most of these entries have very little art on the walls, if any, and few signs of personalities behind them. Very true here. Looks like a DWR showroom to me. Maybe that's why people are asking about the furniture. It's to bad, becasue you are almost there! I do agree about the upper kitchen cabinets, though. Very clever to stagger them.

LOVE the kitchen. It's fantastic. And I love any entry that can incorporate their cat into a photo. Well done.

$1100 for rent. sheesh. That would land you a 200 sq ft dump in boston, basement apartment, absolute hole. I would love to pay your rent and live in such an amazing apartment - you are envied by many of us here in the northeast!

:)

GREAT SPACE.

Holly

Very nice. I almost bought that chaise when it was on sale at DWR. Now I'm really regretting it.

Fantastic space! I love the layout and furniture placement. Every piece looks as if it were custom made for your apartment. I wish it were all mine. Purrrrrrrrrfect?

PreCongrats for taking 1st place,
Clair

It's really subtle. Very nice but where is all personal stuff? If you are hiding your all books, Cds, Dvds, and clothing, how do you do that? I want to know it, and if you give me your secret, you will be the winner!

Nice apartment, but the cat's got to go, and it needs a little more Slayer parifinalia

Love it! I dont know who this Casey tool is but the cat is just right. He is probably sitting in front of his computer with his boxers smelling like somebodys old hockey bag. Slayer rules!

Great space and I love what you've done with it! Looks like a peaceful place to unwind at the end of the day. It's the "coolest" small space I've ever seen. Congrats! Jen

Perhaps it is high quality furniture, but there is no life to the home. There is nothing there to welcome a person in.

Very nice---just returning from Amsterdam, I see where the influence, Dutch, comes from. Very very nice.

This place is amazing! Two thumbs up.
A question about furnishings... in the last photo I'm wondering where the built-in looking shelving came from. Did you find, stain and install on your own or were you able to find these somewhere and get them cut to size?

Great place. I'm guessing Dan is the cat, because no guy could keep a place that clean.

In love with this place!!! Man, I want to live here. If you need a housesitter...

I love this place:)

Awesome kitchen.

Great space. Love it.

great space- i love the upstairs/downstairs, the chaise, and the kitty the most!

One wall wants a different, perhaps earth-toned (terracata?) color. But your're renting so maybe that's an issue? On second thought look at those votes - don't change a thing

cute cat.

Stacey Rae and Dan- I just found this link to your apartment on another website! How random! I LOVE IT! It looks exactly like you two. Very stylish. I agree with Mrm that some flowers might be nice. Hope all is well and hope to see you both soon.
Gina

FAB FAB FAB, VERY TASTEFUL, GREAT TRAINING FROM YOUR PAST JOBS, HEE HEE
ILL BE IN S.D.LAST WEEK IN APRIL, HOPE TO SEE IT IN REAL........

What a fun little pad! How I envy it as I sit here in my little beige-on-beige apartment with too many traditional-style roommates to go full-out modern. The Eameses’ pieces look great in your place and I especially appreciate their designs after researching their work (I’ll send you a copy of my paper.) It looks fabulous – best of luck with the competition!

Tori Ann

WHERE did you look to find a loft like that in San Diego for that price??? That's not "kind of a steal" that's a mission impossible!!!!!! Was it on criagslist sd??? Did you have an agent???? Did you just drive around?