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.