The 4 winners are…

Congratulations to all winners! If you’re one of the lucky winners, you should know that payment has been mailed out to you and you can look forward to receiving it in the mail.

How were Winners Chosen?

You may be wondering what the point system is (above) beside each contestants entry. Well… it’s the point system I used to judge the finalists in order to come up with the winners.

I judged each room under the 4 following categories…

• Education
  
• Effort
  
• Creativity
  
• Design
  

Each category was worth 10 points, allowing 40 points to be the total number of points that could be earned.

I felt this was a far better way to judge all entries than to simply say, “I like this one the best,” because that would’ve led to biased results in my opinion.

I wanted to be fair to everyone. So, once the finalists received their points in each category for how well they did, that determined who the winners were…

• Autumn got 36 points and that put her in the lead.
  
• Cathy got 35 points and that put her in first place.
  
• Gabriella got 34 points and that put her in second place.
  
• Tammy got 33 points and that won her honorable mention.
  

What was the Determining Factor?

Although all entries were judged by a 40 point system, the determining factor in many entries… was the “effort” category. Many contestants simply lost out on winning one of the prizes because when rated on a 1-10 scale concerning effort… they had a really low score.

What do I mean by effort?

Effort qualified as the amount of “effort” a contestant put into answering the question “Why do you think your small bedroom is the best?”

Many contestants veered off the subject or didn’t really answer the question and that made a substantial difference in the end.

Although this wasn’t the case with all entries, it was the case with many and “effort” ended up being the “make or break” category.

The second category that ended up making a large difference concerning who was chosen as a finalist and inevitably who were chosen as winners was the “education” category.

For instance, let’s think about Cathy’s room for a moment. Cathy used two file cabinets to create a TV stand. If you look at Cathy’s room you can really learn a lot from her. Same goes with Gabriella. Actually, all of the winners really teach you something significant if you take the time out to observe what they’ve done.

That is a good example of how the “education” category really brought some entries ahead of others and determined who made it to the final round and who eventually won.

Why Did You Add in Honorable Mention?

As you know, I only intended to give out 3 prizes, but there are times when you know someone’s done such a fabulous job that they deserve something… and you just can’t ignore that.

In this case, Tammy’s entry honestly deserved some recognition.

I had to be fair to everyone, but when the results were in… I just felt it would be completely unfair not to call attention to the wonderful job Tammy did.

If I could I would’ve given everyone something for just being so wonderful and supporting the site, but I had to choose and I just couldn’t leave Tammy out.

I think any visitor who’s seen what a wonderful job she’s done, would feel that it was completely unfair that she didn’t get something. She did an astounding job… and in the end she deserved to be honored for it.

Will You Be Judging the Next Contest Like This?

That depends. I really can’t say yes or no. It will be a fair system, so anyone who does their best when they enter will have a strong chance. But I can’t say I will use the same exact rules. I might feel it’s best to put more weight on certain categories in the next contest for very important reasons.

However, you can count on me being fair above all else.

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• Cathy’s Cheerfully Sunny Bedroom
• Jeff’s Furniture-Savvy Bedroom Getaway
• Cheylyne’s Enchanting Sanctuary
• Gabriella’s Beautiful Feng Shui Bagua
• Tucky’s Clever Closet Bedroom
• Tammy’s Romantic Retreat
• Antonia’s Intimate and Dreamy Bedchamber
• Autumn’s Breathtakingly Beautiful Bedroom Nook
• Tara’s Pink Parisian-Styled Bedroom
• Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast-Styled Suite

Congratulations to all of you!

Now that you’ve been chosen as one of the finalists, I’ll be selecting 3 winners out of the group. One winner will receive the grand prize of $250. First place will receive an award of $75 and second place will receive an award of $50.

Winners will be announced by May 30th and payment will be sent out to you (immediately) right after the announcement.

How were Finalists Chosen?

Finalists were selected based on the following…

• How much effort they put into their answer concerning why they thought their bedroom was “the best.”
• How much we (as students) could learn from how they decorated their small bedroom.
• How unique their bedroom was… how well they worked with the small space they were given.

Winners will also be chosen based on the same things…

Effort. Education. Creativity. Design.

Anyway, thanks to all contributors who supported the contest and the website! Your contribution made it possible for us to continue offering more contests on this site. It was not in vain! We hope that you will consider entering our upcoming contests.

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Ever wanted to get rewarded for simply having a great room? Well, now’s your chance. I’m launching a contest called the “Best Small Bedroom” contest.

The prizes are the following…

• Winner receives $250 prize money.
• 1st runner-up receives $75 prize money.
• 2nd runner-up receives $50 prize money.

I know. It’s not that much money. But consider supporting the site anyway. If I can get enough support from contributors like you, then I will return the favor as the site continues to grow and offer ongoing contests with much bigger prizes later.

The Vision Behind the Contest

So, why did I decide to launch the “Best Small Bedroom” Contest?

Simple. I can’t do it alone. I have frequently mentioned on my website that I’m no expert. I never claim to be because there’s always someone else out there to learn from.

And the way I see it is, the best way to help each other is share. You may have a lot of great ideas that I’ll never even think of. You may have done something fabulous with your small bedroom that a lot of people want to know about that could help solve their problems.

The “Best Small Bedroom” contest is just a way to bring all of those great ideas together so that you can return to the site time and time again and learn from the decorating success of others and even their mistakes. And so that you can share your decorating successes and trials.

How Do I Enter into the Contest?

Simple. I’ve made the contest really easy so that entering would be a piece of cake. This is what you need to do to enter…

• Have a small room. Although it doesn’t have to be perfect, it should be nicely decorated with some unique characteristics. Select studio apartments may enter. Studio apartments with a separate bedroom made out of a closet, created from an alcove or partitioned off from the rest of the apartment qualify.
• Provide your full name.
• Provide your mailing address or Paypal email (to receive prize money).
• Provide a minimum of 3 clear and easy-to-see photos of the room. It’s recommended that you take pictures from different sides of the room, if possible. It makes it easier to see as much of your room as possible.
• Answer: “Why do you think your small bedroom is the best?” (in 50 or more words). Please put a bit of effort into this and try not to stray from the topic since this often happens with many entries.

That’s it.

Oh, and one last thing… the contest is open to all (teens, adults, Canadian residents, British residents. Residents of any country. You don’t have to live in the U.S.). The deadline for the contest is April 28th, 2008.

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