apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hey I made the front page! I've been working on this room for a while now, it'll be good to move on. Also I have a bunch of paint to touch up that I want to get done this week.

However, don't look at my desk chair, it was free - abandoned in the greenhouse at work. I've been meaning to reupholster it but realize in retrospect that's a bit ambitious for my current state.

Also, it looks like I'm going to be doing a post-Cure Euro AT meetup - we're going to (suddenly) be visiting family in England before Thanksgiving so Zooza/Susie in England and I are going to attempt to meet up for lunch so I can see all her progress! This wholly depends on her feeling well and my deciphering the train schedules so I've got my fingers crossed!

Lovely, anh-minh! What a fabulous little lamp. Do tell where you found Hector. I'm heading over to City Lights today to peruse their lighting collection.

A tea and cupcakes party sounds fun!

I'm still working on the office and filing this week. So far, I've almost filled one large garbage can with paper to recycle. Luckily our bathrooms are in pretty good shape.

Anne, I wish I had a trip to London on the calendar (sigh). What fun.

I agree with wig - Anne, I wish I could celebrate the Cure's end by taking a trip to England! Hopefully, you'll have lots of good photos to share with the rest of us.

I found the Hector lamp at Anthropologie in Palo Alto. They had two powder blue ones marked down. I picked up one, so as of Saturday morning, there was still one left there.

I'm going to use this light week to get more done in the office, too.

I'm jealous of all of you who get to take the week easy - rehearsals are done (the performance went beautifully and it was easily one of the best nights I've had this year), and I'm two weeks behind. This week I need to tackle the living room closet and my files!

That is one sweet little lamp, anh-minh.

On my list: Replace buzzy ikea bulb in reading lamp with a nicer one; switch the incandescent bulbs in the lights my roommates leave on all night with the cfls in the lights which are almost never used; get a ladder to put cfls in the impossible-to-reach stairwell (there's not much to do in my room, so I'm branching out to the rest of the apartment).

A tea and cupcake party sounds great!

After a disappointing visit to City Lights and some subsequent additional searching online, I have determined that it takes a lot of sifting to find decent, dare I say lovely, lighting options. Given that this is one of the topics of the week, do any of you have favorite suppliers, online or brick and mortar? I'd like to find an alternate choice for our kitchen pendant, but we are also in need of reading lamps and exterior lighting. My lighting tastes run toward the modern, but there will always be a bit of the eclectic thrown in for good measure.

Oh yes, and has anyone rewired some of the overseas alternatives? Is that expensive?

wig3000 - I think I remember the photo of your kitchen, but do you have a link handy?

In my house, we've got lights from all sorts of places: Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware, Jonathan Adler, Target, Garnet Hill, Anthropologie.

Oh, and although I've never bought anything from the store, I like browsing The Lighting Studio -- the lamp shop over on Fourth Street in Berkeley.

I really wish I needed a pendant light or wall sconce because I am infatuated with the "Drink" collection at ylighting.com. By any chance, would that one work over your kitchen sink?

Yay! A tea party!
Although I was out of the loop for a few weeks, I think I did a good amount of catching up this weekend. Tore out the ugly old bookcase by the fireplace, installed some new ones in my office/reading room, and repainted the hallway. I have a few more painting/picture hanging touch-ups i need to make and then I'll be posting some new photos...

Ooh, thanks for reminding me of ylighting, anh-minh! I thought folks might be tired of seeing this kitchen shot (aka in search of a pendant). Here it is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98704941@N00/1479043499/in/set-72157601955717111

In honor of bathroom week, I bought some beautifully aromatic tuberose and some super groovy liatris at the SF Flowermart. Our home smells like Hawaii now!

It sounds like you're making some big progress, recordcat.

Sorry that it's been so long since I posted. I was out of town, and then I was working on one project for a few weeks - recovering/reupholstering a vintage sofa bed purchased on craigslist with a different fabric. I finally finished that project, and I have posted a couple of pictures on flickr.

There have been some major changes in my nursery cure plans -the nursery is going to go in a different room than last time I posted. It looks like my husband may start working at home, so he decided that he would rather have his exercise equipment moved to the garage and to keep the full home office, rather than downsize the office. This was actually the original plan, and I'd already done room layouts, etc. for the other room, so I was fine with the change. There is not as much natural light, but I'll just have to get more lamps! I posted a couple of before pics of the current guest room/ exercise room that will now be the future nursery.

So I haven't really been able to keep on the cure schedule. Being seven months pregnant, I pretty much only have the energy to work on home projects on the weekends, because I'm too tired after work to get anything done. But I will try to get as much done in the next few weeks as possible and post pictures. Thanks everyone for inspiring me with your progress!

wig - So did the Rejuvenation lamps not work out? If not, any reasons you want to share? (And maybe that will help us in researching other possibilities.)

recordcat - I can't wait to see photos of your accomplishments!

heps - Wow. I can't believe your re-upholstered the sofabed yourself! It looks great. I'm so impressed, especially considering that you're seven months pregnant.

alana - If you happen to check in and read this, I want to see photos of your new Expedit! Please.

I agree, what's up with nobody posting photos anymore? I want to see that Expedit! And those new bookshelves, recordcat! Share the inspiration here, people! (can you tell I'm a little short on inspiration myself today?)

re: the rejuvenation pendant, it is still on order. i had been hoping to embrace maxwell's suggestion to try out a few lighting fixtures at the same time and return one or two. alas, i can't find anything else that is appropriate, desirable, and affordable. i love the drink line, anh-minh! i'd love something from that collection for our living room. for the kitchen window, i'd like something that is translucent so that light can get through.

the filing progress doesn't translate to much in photo form, but i'll post some lovely flower photos later today.

Just a little note in passing -- like me, Alana doesn't have a digital camera, so pics depend on finishing a film, getting it developed, and then uploading the pics into the computer.

That being said, I'm eager to see the Expedit too! And the whole room -- I'm trying to imagine it another color than red, and I'm failing miserably.

Oh people...the preassure, the preassure!

Argh.

OK, photos coming soon. part of the problem is my computer had to go in the shop this weekend, so I'm borrowing from my roommate. However, as it turns out, I'm having a housewarming party early - this weekend to be exact, so I'll try to post something by then.
Have I mentioned the new couch/chair combo?

recordcat - I don't recall anything about the chair/couch combo. Do tell!

wig - One more question (at least for now): What's your ideal length for the kitchen pendant?

smallcitybeth - Thanks for the reminder about alana's camera situation. I am even more amazed that she's been able to accomplish as much as she has -- and share it with the rest of us!

alana - We just love following your Cure! You're my hero. Seriously. Every time I check in on your blog, you're doing something new and cool. (I should probably paint my Billy bookcases, too.)

Thank you anh-minh. I'm quite behind in my projects actually, and I'm beginning to think the cure will be over too soon.

Painting the Billy's isn't difficult...just time consuming and a bit painstaking. I actually have four more short bookcases in the living room I've been wanting to paint for ages, but it's really not going to get done this year.

I used melamine paint in "cloud white." It just takes the glare out of the Ikea white. Melamine paint can be tinted any colour--except a medium to dark one. Apparently, if you try, you just get a "pale" version of your deep colour. (That's what happened when I painted the one in the dining room green.)

1) Scuff every surface to be painted with 100 grit sandpaper. (I use an angled sanding sponge--works quickly and well).

2) Cut in the corners with a foam brush and use a light hand. Apply the paint with a small (6") sponge roller. This is key. The paint must go on smoothly and evenly.

3) Be careful of drips on the sides of the shelves. I wasn't this time and I had to spend some time sanding it off so the shelves would fit. Even then, I had to use our Army Engineer mallett to get some in.

Melamine is an oil based product, so wrap up your materials tightly in a plastic bag between coats. 1/2 dried bits of melamine causes no end of headaches.

I'll do my best to have pics for your viewing pleasure tomorrow.

Everyone is doing really well. I wish I had more time to check on everyone--this computer next to the washing machine in the basement set-up really sucks as I'm too far away from the kids to keep a proper eye on them. I also can't pop on for just a few minutes every hour or so like I did when it was handy in the dining room.

anh-minh, my ideal length is 21.5" from backplate to lower edge of shade. I'm also imagining the diameter to be anything less than 8" with 5 to 7" being the ideal range.

alana, i'm not familiar with melamine paint. thanks for the painting tips.

So I had a moment and touched up all the paint scrapes from switching around the art in my office, and now I feel like I need to do it in the rest of the house too (maybe I should have done it all the same color after all, but it's too late now). Also had time to start scrubbing down the guest bathroom and clearing out the master (which meant finding some exciting lipsticks I forgot I had, I mostly don't wear makeup but lip stuff is my favorite). The goal is to finish scrubbing out the guest bathroom tonight and clean it out, it should be pretty darn empty and I want it to stay that way!

alana - thanks for the detailed instructions!

wig - not sure if you would be interested in simple/modern pendants like these:
http://www.ylighting.com/pld-g406.html
http://www.ylighting.com/lpl-top.html

i like this one, too, but maybe bell-shaped isn't your thing (and it's more than 8" wide at the bottom):
http://www.ylighting.com/vpn-pantop-p.html

You asked for it.

Here is the abreviated version for the time pressed:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46773919@N00/1609935597/

And here is the version for those waiting for paint to dry. (Or want to know the chaos really is real!)

http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/

Amazing, isn't it?
The former really had more character, the latter just looks like evry other Expedit you've seen filled with stuff. But the room isn't done yet! And it feels so much calmer.

Alana - Wow. A single, contained shelving unit makes quite a difference! The uniformity of the Expedit's cubbies alone creates a more organized look. I really like it -- and those patterned boxes on top are so cute!

Thanks for sharing the photos so quickly with us all!

You're welcome! It actually took longer to construct that post that assemble the unit! I'm glad you like it. The uniformity was exactly what I was after to impose order to the chaos!

I hope to have the computer back upstairs sometime tomorrow. It's chilly down here in the basement!

I need the decorating committee to help me decide what to do about the dressers in my bedroom. I just painted one (using crackle) to get a "barnboard" effect and I'm not sure if it works or just looks like a really sloppy paint job. I'm also not sure how to carry on with the rest of the room, now. It was an impulsive decision, made while washing the drawers for their final coat of white glossy when the veneer started coming off with my hands. I went at it with a metal spatula and removed all I could, but couldn't get it all.

I'd appreciate any input anyone may have.

http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

The former really had more character, the latter just looks like every other Expedit you've seen filled with stuff.

Sometimes having character is exhausting.

Decorating is like directing a play: you don't want the supporting players upstaging the billed stars, as that not only cheeses off the divas but also disrupts the balance of the action and the intended message. So if the shelving is intended to be a walk-on and something else (say, the dining table) is supposed to have its name in lights, then looking like every other Expedit is desirable. The action was never intended to develop a fully rounded character for the shelving.

Oh my God Wende, that was the best decorating metaphor ever! That's a keeper! Now I just need to determine the divas from the supporting cast in my home and everything will fall ito place. I think the giant futon that I spend most of my office pictures trying to avoid photographing is the aging soprano who doesn't quite deserve the attention she demands. And the instruments everywhere are the slightly obtrusive spear-carriers...

It IS a wonderful metaphor! Thank you Wende. That comforts me.

Love the way you carried it through, Anne.

As there is no dining table currently in the dining room, the floor is the Diva. And I like that just fine. (For the moment. I'm not going to be rushed into a new table.)

Alana! Your Expedit looks AMAZING!!

Just wanted to give you a big shout-out and say that I can't believe the improvement. Good for you for going with your gut and getting the darn thing!

& as for the dresser, I dunno, I don't think I'm a huge fan of the barn board effect but maybe it's just that I can't picture it in its final environment?

Thanks Jessicat!
It seems the "barnboard" look isn't going to pass muster.
Anyone know how to get bits of veneer off a dresser? It's already come off a great deal: in great big strips as a matter of fact (a metal spatula just lifted off whole lengths of it on the dresser drawers. But it would break off in parts: leaving me with some parts that are raised (the veneer still left on) and parts that aren't. (The bare board underneath.) There's too much missing to "patch" over the bare bits. Wish I'd taken a photo of the drawers before I painted them.

I guess what I need is a product that will soften the glue that holds what's left of the veneer to the bare wood. Anyone ever heard of such an animal?

Alana, all you need to loosen wood glue is warm water. If that isn't getting you there, try plain white vinegar.

Blast. Wouldn't you know it...I just ran out of vinegar. But that explains why cleaning the coffee pot also bubbled the paint job on the kitchen cabinets!

Thanks. I'll try that.

Yes, amazing work, Alana! anh-minh, thanks for the additional pendant ideas. I think I'll try to mock them up in Photoshop. Our home network went down, so I think I'll be having more of a media fast than I care to!