apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, I think I have finally have a color choice for my kitchen. Although I really liked the brown color, my husband really liked the green. So, we are going with green, and I am going to paint the laundry room brown. (he doesn't win alot of these design questions so sometimes I just need to throw him a bone-besides I like the green fine)
Now, if the Mi govt. shuts down, that's another story. No new cabinets or countertops. But, I can live with mine for a a while, they are in good condition generally- just not the color (white) that I want. I will just fix the sink cabinet bottom that has a small water issue and fix the sink seal. Small dollars. And the destroyed walls are going to be fixed with beadboard I believe. I don't feel like tiling.

To everyone who's posting pictures of their food - I'm seriously impressed by how good it all looks. Food is hard to photo, so it must be even better looking in person. Nice work!

Mella, every time I see your dining nook, I like it even more (and I liked it a lot the first time!) Sam, Sam, and Sam add so much to it, and the table is great at an angle. Well done!

I like that lamp of ImaVunDerBrah's -- it wouldn't really go with my apartment, but I find myself wanting it anyway...

Good for you for reaching a compromise-type decision, lorijo. Fingers crossed for the govt to keep gov'ing.

I used a cold as an excuse for not Curing all week, but I seem to be relatively cured of the Cold, so now I'm back at Curing my apartment. I did some sorting and pitching in the storage room this evening, and it's looking much better. I have a floor! (which will get mopped tomorrow) I haven't quite found a place for the ladder yet. I have to keep reminding myself that it *is* a storage room, after all, and so looking like a storage room is acceptable. The landing strip will be easier. Just have to get a new drill bit so I can put up the hooks I want, and an outbasket for the top of the little chest of drawers, so that I can put things I need to take with me in the mornings -- magazines to share with co-workers, letters to mail, things like that. Also I want something to put loose change in. I'm wavering between a traditional "piggy", and something more classy (which hasn't revealed itself to me yet). Many things will happen tomorrow!

lorijo- I have done a lot of compromising too: we live in a gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel just because my husband liked the untamed backyard. He is a birder and he though it the perfect place to see birds. I'm slowly
( sometime it seem way too slow) upgrading the interior from a dated-seventies- decor (think harvest gold appliances) to something more modern, but not so modern that it would clash with the house. Major renovations will have to wait until the offsprings schooling is completed. In the meantime I'm truly happy with the results of a minimum budget ( mostly paint) and a maximum decluttering, all done with the inspiration of AT and the help of fellow curers.

I just posted some photos of the cured kitchen: please leave comments, especially on my attempt to add a little color.

Francesca- I feel your pain. I live in a 70's pre fab ranch that came with original tri color shag (yellow,brown,cream) mirrored walls and fake pine paneling. My husband bought it because of the yard that has river frontage. I knew the minute we walked into the living room and he looked out those windows that we were going to end up living here. But, I have learned to love it here- last Sunday we had a bald eagle in the tree in our back yard. We have brown trout in our backyard, deer cruising through our underbrush and herons in our pond. And we are in a village- not the country. It still isn't finished- maybe never will be- but it's been fun fixing this mess.
(P.S) I am a city girl- the last 20 years were spent in Austin Tx- living in the woods has been a challenge

For some reason I am having such a difficult time with paint and how to add color maybe without painting, just with art. THe thing is I have limited money to buy art. I love ETSY. Maybe I will have luck there. ANy other websites that you guys know of that offers reasonable art?

i guess this is the it gets worse before it gets better stage. like a bad haircut that needs growing out. i'm proud of myself for actually ordering things for my home (one of my biggest design challenges is never finishing a project--perfectionism). now i've ordered a rug, a file console, bathroom cabinet etc. so my apt. looks kind of like a warehouse. boxes to be thrown out. stuff to be put together, things that can't be put in their proper place until i declutter more. but i guess this is progress. i hope so.

nicolej: i bought the art I have here and there, some from street artists, some at college art shows, some at thrifts and some of the times I have spent more on the framing than on the art. AT has shown several places that used inexpensive small things, but repeated to create a big splash. The upcoming color contest may inspire you.

Last night I finished my list for this week- I like my subscription list and catalog lists- but I weeded out the past issues, kept what I wanted and threw out about 12 issues. Freed up an entire drawer. Yea!

We picked the color of the kitchen and bought it last night, I have an entire box filled for my outbox (again) my landing strip was still in really good shape, and my entrance is clear. I cook at home all the time so that is not a problem (I'm making a brisket today) and today we are working in the basement- my Mr. trying to fix the furnace, me going through boxes and general clean up.
But, when I was sleeping this morning the globe FELL off my ceiling fan in the dining room/kitchen area. Just fell off. Shattered and went everywhere. So- it's off to lowes again today I guess-

Always something- I have to work today and I'm typing while waiting for timers to go off. My landing strip is not working very well: if I'm not the first to reach home, the mail ends up on the coffee table.

I no longer subscribe to any magazine, because the public library carries most of the ones that I'm interested in. Ill buy an occasional issue if something catches my eye. I do need to unsubscribe to catalogs, I get too many.

Cooking is not a problem for me either, since my husband and I share the job and we cook most nights unless we have a meeting. I have been amazed too by the quality and eye appeal of the food appearing on our flickr group.

I have a landing strip!!! (Where are the Herald Trumpets when you need them?)

I played "retail therapy" this afternoon, and got myself 4 items that completed my landing strip to my satisfaction -- indeed, to my joy and delight. One of them is temporary, until I find a better one, but the rest is there to stay. And I'm so happy with them! They fulfill the functions I'd been looking for -- I have a place to put loose change; a place to put letters to mail; and something for the blank wall behind the little chest of drawers. None of them are what I had in mind when I set out on my retail-therapy expedition, but they're better! (At least in my eyes, and that's what counts, right?) And no, I'm not going to tell you what they are, until I have pictures for illustration purposes. (I have taken pictures, but I need to take about 9 more pics to finish off the roll of film -- that shouldn't take long -- then I'll take 'em to the quick quick hurry hurry developing place, and I will post them as soon as possible.)

Meantime, I've left the closet door open so that I can go and admire my landing strip every now and then.