Tour a Designer NYC Apartment...Then Win it from HGTV!

Filed under: Design, etc, House Tours

HGTV is giving away a brand new NYC apartment, custom-designed by Vern Yip. Interested? Take a look inside.

In their latest mega-giveaway, HGTV has teamed up with The Residences at W New York -- Downtown to offer every city-lover's dream come true: A custom-designed downtown apartment with a view! Vern Yip, who we all love and know from the network, considered the contest's title -- "Urban Oasis" -- and theme of contrasts as his main inspiration. "New York is a city of contrasts, " says Yip. "There are 19th- and 20th-century buildings right next to contemporary skyscrapers, and it works. All of this contrast ultimately leads to harmony. This apartment represents that harmony, and is a place to relax and unwind after a busy day."

Want a sense of some of that contrast? Start in the foyer: Marble lions from the 1860s mimic the grand beasts that guard the New York Public Library and work wonderfully by a more obscure photograph of the library's famous reading room by German photographer Reinhard Gorner. The new lucite console table holds jars of candy and paperweights from NYC artist Laura Graham.


Straight ahead is the kitchen, where Yip strives to capture the diversity of New York City with pieces that vary in style and contrast, but work together in a functional way. Our favorite part of that: The multifunctional dining room table. "You can use it to prep items for cooking, you can use it as a desk (thanks to the hidden power strip built into the legs) and even for storage -- the legs have doors and act as mini cabinets." The glass table top top and Philippe Stark Louis Ghost chairs mimic the transparent, reflective surfaces of skyscrapers, and work well against a rug from ABC Carpet & Home and a geometric 1970s Italian crystal chandelier from Las Venus. The colorful Andrew Moore photograph of the Staten Island Ferry gives us a quiet moment of solitude, unique in a big city like New York.



The kitchen opens to the lovely, bright living room, which has fantastic views of New Jersey, the Hudson river and Lady Liberty herself. The space serves a multitude of purposes, but manages to look neat, chic and organized. The gray sofa from Dune opens up to a full size bed, so it can comfortably sleep guests. The Haus Interior lamps add a another grey texture to the room, along with the incredible black and white Matthew Pillsbury photograph of the Museum of Natural History's famous dioramas, taken with a long lens exposure. The unusual gryphon sculpture is actually an old iron flag base from the 20th century, found at Demolition Depot.


The bedroom brings in architectural elements from the urban jungle, especially in the wall behind the bed, which is meant to look like the ice block, limestone foundation of many New York buildings. The two 1910 keystone pediments that flank the bed are from a demolished Harlem brownstone and sit on pedestals that act as end tables and storage. "The great storage features really make the apartment seem serene and orderly," says Yip. "It really keeps with that oasis theme."

After looking through, what do you think? Would you want to live in this apartment...for free? We sure would! You can get an on-air tour from Vern Yip himself during the HGTV Urban Oasis 2010 special on Monday, September 6, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Get all the contest details at HGTV.com/urbanoasis or start voting now at HGTV.com as well as once per day on FrontDoor.com.

Speaking of contests...Come check out another top notch home from our design crush (and Martha Stewart's protogé) Kevin Sharkey! And scroll to the bottom for an amazing opportunity to win a personal color consultation with Kevin!

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