Thought voting was all we had up our sleeves? Think again, buddies. The Curbed Awards also involves totally made-up prizes given to neighborhoods, developments, architects, and people in whatever categories we deem fit. Without further ado, we present to you the, well, random stuff that made the news the most this year.
Store about which we were most stoked: West Elm! Back when we broke the news about Seattle finally getting a West Elm, it sounded too good to be true. But then we got some sneaky peeks, it opened, there was a party, and we fell in love with a (monogrammable!) porcelain pig. Whatever, stuff happens.
Bridge that takes second place in the "what needs replacing" competition: the 520! (The debate rages on regarding whether a bridge where bald eagles go to die is even worth replacing at all.) Good thing we're totally, well, replacing it! It's going to cost some serious bank, so tolling started yesterday. McGinn wants to put in some light rail and, nobody's going to listen to him. Carry on, commuters!
Coolest spot for an apartment with a view: the penthouse, duh. This may or may not be news, but we had a whole lot of penthouses on the market this year. And they were so pretty! That's definitely what you should trade the iPhone 4s your mom got you last weekend for -- a penthouse.
Style of house that stole our hearts this year: Tudors! We totally dig a good wood-and-plaster look, dudes! They're just so pretty. So pretty that they merited a royal wedding post! And so nice that they'll turn your kids into soccer stars! And so expensive that they make the list of priciest rentals! Twice! That's why we featured them what seems like a billion times this year, when it was really, like, less than twenty. Not that we're keeping count.