the greatest apartment....in all of new york city
eternally exaggerating and perpetually entertaining, the donald simply can't be ignored. prone to, ahem, slight exaggeration, the master of hyperbole (trump, to those of you wondering) accepts nothing but the best and for once, i'm here to agree with the man- at least on the issue of interior design. but before i begin, let me clarify that i'm talking about the apartment on the apprentice- not trump's apartment. he claims to have "the greatest apartment in all of new york city" but for my money, if it were to win any awards it would be for the amount of tacky crap fit into one apartment. the man really has NO taste whatsoever. thank god the people he hires do.
last season's apprentice apartment was marked by mid-century icons (the best mid-century icons in all of new york city...)- everything from vitra's eye clock to harry bertoia's wire chairs graced the apartment- not a bad deal for people who are working for quite possibly the tackiest man... in all of new york city. this season was no exception as we tuned in and found season two's apartment full of thomas paul and angela adams designs. not to mention the greatest living room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen...in all of new york city.
west elm is a prominent player in season two's apartment- most things in the bedrooms came from the chic dumbo retailer and give the apprentices' bedrooms an air of clean, crisp simplicity. now, admittedly i'm a sucker for cute, graphic patterns on anything, but the dwell sheets they used this year are really spectacular. the designers' ability to take small spaces and fill them with color, pattern and class, all the while meeting the demands of television lighting and filming, is proof positive that trump really does get the best when he wants it.
where the whole thing shows signs of falling apart is the designers' attempts to fill large, camera-friendly spaces with wall murals (eeeecch!) that depict avid young business people on cell phones and in the middle of important transactions. i guess i should be glad trump didn't commission a 10 foot tall painting of himself, but WHY did they have to go and ruin the charm of the apartment with those hideous murals? here- go look again. it's hideous. and what exactly is that gigantic planter all about? really. it is the ugliest planter...in all of new york city.
all in all the apartment is saved by the designers' ability to insert fantastic pieces like allan switzer's artwork and jonathan adler's french regency-style furniture into the mix. these touches show a keen eye for design and a level of taste at least a few notches above their boss'- which is a very good thing. after all, the donald would never settle for any less than the best interior designers in....well, you know the rest.
THE GREATEST BEDROOM IN ALL OF NYC [girls' bedroom*the apprentice season two] sheets and comforters by dwell, pillows by thomas paul and shelving from west elm
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING [wall mural in suite's rec room*apprentice season two] what is that planter about?? it's gigantic! and i feel like that mural is an ad from that lavalife dating service you see on the subway. too much. no murals of business people in homes- it's too much.
TRUMP GOES VICTORIAN [second girls' room*apprentice season two] more dwell bedding, thomas paul and victorian wall accessories.so much classier than trump's pad
ADLER KNOWS BEST [jonathan adler furniture*apprentice season two] adler does his thing in the apprentice sitting room
ART SCHMART [this is not my greatest work no. 2*allan switzer] switzer's work is fantastic. i'm surprised trump approved it despite the fact that it is neither composed of nor dipped in 24 carat gold.
Labels: interior design
posted by design*sponge @ 27.9.04
5 Comments:
darling, expensive don't equal classy. there no skill, no subtlety in the way the rooms were compossed. its no better than kids roaming a suburban mall wearing EVERY bandname they can gget their hands on.
the skill, the class, the magic, comes from being able to compose run of the mill, simple pieces with accents from people like adler.
darling, i severely disagree. i think the bedrooms (note: the only rooms i thought has real style) are in fact great designs. i do NOT see brand name labels everywhere. if you do, please let me know. just because there happen to be famous "designer" names used doesn't mean it equals bad taste. i agree the living quarters and office of the apt are horrid (also stated in my entry), but i happen to think the bedrooms are fun and rather hip.
thanks for the comment and always glad to hear what people have to say. that's why there are magazines like dwell and magazines like interior design. some of us have bolder tastes and a love of risk, while others find it gawdy and tend to stick to the traditional.
*i'd like to re-emphasize that there were no big name labels anywhere and i don't think that using famous designers is an act punishable by death. if designers are famous, it's usually for a reason. i think the rooms were fun, end of story. and we could all use a little fun in an industry that tends to take itself too seriously anyway.
a little off-topic here, but i recently visited atlantic city for the first time and saw the donald's bad taste carried out in his casinos, trump plaza and the taj mahal. the gold thing is way overdone, as well as the crystal chandeliers. i think he designed his NYC apartment to match his NJ casinos. tacky!! oh, and the casino employees' uniforms were pretty bad too.
I wanted to point out that the beds are from Ikea (Brekke) with altered headboards. A whole $129! So, you know they can bargain hunt, too. The best bargain hunters in all of New York, probably!
You can find some pretty good website links and articles about this at
interior design uk
Post a Comment
<< Home