Out of idle curiosity, I did a search on “Olympic Village Accommodations” and was floored by what I found. The photos of London 2012 Olympic Village are beyond what I would have ever thought. I guess London decided to keep with an Olympic theme of sorts because the decor is, shall we say, Spartan-at best.
Here is a bedroom. Let’s take a look..
Wow, where do we begin? It feels like a nurse’s office at a Swedish grammar school. Honey, Ikea would’ve given you better stuff than this. Don’t you guys have Home Goods? You should. So, clearly Benjamin Moore’s PR peeps were NOT given a call. My son’s toddler bed from Pottery Barn blew this out of the box (no pun intended). The end tables look like something in a clearance aisle at Big Lots and that reading lamp..Really? Seriously? Those pillows are not conducive to an Olympian getting a restful night’s sleep. Taking these pillows into consideration, Ambien, Nyquil and Xanax should all be on the list of permissive meds for athletes.
Lastly, let us address the bedding. I’m thinking 200 thread count-tops. Would the Queen sleep on those sheets? The mattress looks like a cot from a Hampton Inn and we really need to find out who made that Bed In A Bag disguised as a quilt thing. I understand there are thousands of beds to dress, but they could’ve done a lot better. I’m not able to make out what it says, but I’m assuming some Olympic slogan or tag line. Dude, what are you smiling about?
Now, I love me some turquoise/orange and pink but this is not what I had in mind. Something a little cooler..It feels like child bedding and not the good kind.
Let’s look at another room now. This is a good time to go get a warm beer. Trust me.
“Athletes are at the heart of the London 2012 Games and our plans for the Olympic Village will provide them with a home-from-home as they prepare for one of the biggest sporting moments of their lives,” said London 2012 chairman Seb Coe.
Mr. Coe, MDF coffee tables and scratch and dent seconds are not a good look for that Home Away From Home feeling. More turquoise and pink. At least they’re consistent. The strategic placement of the pillows is freaking hilarious. it was like, “Wait! Let’s pretty up the pillows befahw they take the picshuh!”. Dying..Um, you guys really need to get a little wall decor. Also, that coffee table horror is not conducive to Olympic Village hookups. Now we all know it’s a big ol’ shag fest in every Olympic Village. That said, did you not take into consideration the cuts, bruises and possible concussions our gold medal hopefuls might incur while bouncing around the room? A tufted ottoman would’ve been a much wiser choice.
This is a photo of the Resident Centre, I believe-pretty sure that’s Brit speak for lounge. The most styled room I could find which is not saying much. That 5×8 rug is like $199 at Marshall’s. Maybe less. The faux Adirondack chairs are an odd choice but the seat covers really take this to whole other level of WTF??? More particle board furnishings and for the love of Jesus, what are those blue things? Really weird stuff, guys.
Here’s where things get really interesting..
Before the majority of the almost 17,000 athletes and officials have even slept in these beds, London 2012 organizers began selling them off, along with tens of thousands of other pieces of furniture, fixtures and “accessories” from the Olympic Village.
The not much talked about fire sale includes more than 11,000 beds from athletes’ quarters, thousands of chairs from the over 5.000-capacity main dining hall, as well as everything from clothes drying racks to cushions. Just so we’re clear, they’re not selling athletes dirty sheets, underwear or leftover soap on Ebay. Bummer.
The company behind the sale is Ramler Furniture, which has the contract for sourcing more than 1,poo,poo products for the Village and assembling the-surpise!-flat pack furniture, have created a dedicated website to handle the sale –remainsofthegames.co.uk
Now I love my friends across the pond, don’t get me wrong. It’s nothing personal, but London 2012 Olympic Village decor is well..bloody dreadful.
Hope my friends in Sochi add a little of that signature Russian bling in 2014. We’ll be watching..
XO
