AT Fail

If you were reading Marv Minnie a year ago, you probably heard about my desire to enter the Small Cool Contest sponsored by Apartment Therapy. I began thinking about entering my apartment last spring while the contest was going on in April, 2012, but I realized I didn't have any good photos. I got a new camera for my birthday that month and then spent some time during the summer actually taking photos. I thought of this project as the First Draft and I actually shared the best of those photos here on the blog. Check out the label "first draft" to see those posts.

As the last year has gone by, there have been moments where I've doubted whether I wanted to participate. I've been focused on lots of things other than home decor during the last year. There were times when I wondered if I might move out of this apartment, though I haven't. While I didn't think that last summer's pictures were going to be what I'd ultimately submit, I decided not to go through the process of taking additional photos. I've just been otherwise focused. That said, during this intervening year, Daisy also participated in an AT contest about bedroom decor. She submitted photos of her lovely bedroom which was featured on the site. While she didn't win, I know she thought of it as a positive experience. (And her room is awesome - go check it out!)

So, about 10 days ago, I decided to go for it. Since I had decided not to re-shoot the photos, all I had to do was identify the 5 I really wanted to submit and type up some answers to the questions they ask. I spent about an hour doing that and sent it away. I received an automated response confirming they had received my submission.

And then nothing happened. While I never had any hope of winning the contest, I worked so hard on developing my place that I was expecting to be selected to compete. But, alas, not this time. I realized as I was preparing my entry that there were two big weaknesses.

          1. Awkward Photos. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to get photos that really capture the essence of my space and what makes it cool. It's much easier to try to show it off here on the blog, which several photos of each room. For Small Cool, you're limited to 5 photos and one floor plan.
          2. Tiny-ness. My place just isn't that tiny. It's 950 square feet and I live here by myself. I'm happy with it and I do think there are some sacrifices I've made to have a nice home in this amount of space. I definitely dream of living in a larger place. But is this a place where renters of tiny shoeboxes are going to find lots of neat tricks? Um, no. It's not one of the most remarkable homes in the world. It's a happy, comfy place decorated with lots of love.

So, without further ado, I'll share with you the photos I submitted to AT. I've lost the word document where I wrote all of the answers to their questions. In the midst of doing the submission, I'm also transferring documents, photos and music from my old laptop to my new one. What you need to know is: this is my home, I love it because I think its cute, and it's not that small, but it's small enough!

Minnie's Tree House

If you want to see more interesting shots, check out the posts with the first draft label. Enjoy!