apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

cool.. i'm making a push to finish renovating my house, and its time for the bathrooms! just finished one and look forward to ideas my other bath and powder room.

while i'm thinking of it, let me recommend Morris Tile on tuxedo road, right off of kennilworth ave.

not the fanciest tiles, but great prices.
http://www.morristile.com/

Also, over near Morris Tile (which is awesome) there is a place called Peoples Supply (www.peoplessupply.com). It's been there since 1932 and a lot of contractors shop there. We just got a door from them and ordering it there was SO MUCH BETTER than trying to corral someone useless at Home Depot or Lowes. The folks there are helpful and know their stuff and orders come in fast (our door took less than a week).

Plus, they have popcorn and a very cool pneumatic tube system that shoots orders around.

Can anyone recommend an installer of engineered wood flooring--or any good brands to look for? (Not for bathroom, but seeking local recs). thanks!

amen to Peoples. I've used them a lot.

that pocket of PG county has a lot of resources that really kick.
ironworks.
salvage places
machine shops.
display stores.

oh.. and a go cart track.

Go kart? I haven't seen that, although I do used to go to the (now defunct, right?) Friendly Inn. And I've been to Community Forklift out that way.

So I guess I should use this month to get our upstairs bathroom out of the world of primer white and half-done. I have grout stain, we just need to figure out paint colors. And fix the trim and paint. Sigh.

On that note, if anyone has any tips on painting tin ceilings, let me know! I am sure there is something I should be warned about.....

backsplash on a budget for a renter.... ideas? right now it's just the wall with semi-gloss paint...

How about decent bath towels that don't cost a fortune? My lastest treak to TJMaxx and Marshalls indicates they are getting the lowest common denominator in the linens industry. I've had luck with Target but want to branch out (I have too much luck at Target and end up buying too much stuff). Thanks!

I bought a set of Pottery Barn bath towels on eBay maybe 4-5 years ago and they're still going strong.

They're the "hotel" style, meaning that they're not super plush, which I think helps them look better for a longer time (they don't get raggedy).

Here is a great article that focuses on inexpensive upgrades for the bathroom.
http://www.mydesignsecrets.com/2009/02/23/affordable-upgrades-for-a-cozy-bathroom/

lots of towels on sale at garnet hill...

JCPenny's has great towels, curtains, you name it. After many rolls of the eyes when my grandmother or mother told me to look at their catalog (I was picturing page after page of puffy pink floral comforters), I finally did. The price and the quality is great. I just looked at their current mailer yesterday, and they are having a sale on towels. 6 (2 bath, 2 hand, and 2 wash cloths) for around $26, I think, in a ton of colors! There's also puffy pink floral comforters... if that's your thing.

Has anyone used the Amicus building center in Kensington? How are they?

Unrelated, but maybe someone will know... I recall an image from last year's Smallest Coolest... it was a shot of someone's closet, and I was blown away because all her clothes were the same general mushroomy-taupe color. She'd obviously decided that that was her color, and she'd weeded everything else out of her closet - hard core!! I've been looking through the archives and can't find the image. Does anyone else recall where it was?

Hi! I'd like to find someone to remove and replace the caulk & grout around my shower tiles and tub, and to reglaze the tub. Does anyone have any recommendations, by any chance?

I'm actually leaning toward using either Perma-Glaze or Miracle Method people, mostly because I don't want to relive the bad experiences of having to wait for and chase down small independent contractors who were not really interested in working on my kitchen. (I ended up going to Lowe's for the kitchen, and it was done in no time!) Does anyone happen to have experience with either of these two companies (or any others)?

Thanks!!

I LOVE Amicus! The folks over there are really helpful and knowledgeable. My husband is an architect and furniture maker and uses their products and finishes on a regular basis.

I second JCPenny's. I needed several window coverings for my new home and was impressed by their quality and customer service. Sign up for their email notification- you will receive free shipping codes and discount codes for percentages off of total order. Also, you can return items to the store without issues.

ValHalla- I highly recommend Angel Floors in MD 301-252-4037. They refinished the hardwood floors through out my DC house (1200 sqft) and installed Ikea laminate in my kitchen. Don't recommend the flooring... but call Roxanna and talk to her about what you need and what you want. They are wonderful and my old VA neighbor and I cannot speak well enough about them and their customer service. Plus, they have a great rating on Angies list!

backsplash on a budget for a renter.... ideas? right now it's just the wall with semi-gloss paint...
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is it drywall or plaster wall?

if drywall, you could tile on cementboard or WEDI board, then screw it in just a few spots. you remove it and putty the holes when you leave.

use it as a coffee table top at the next place.

Seconding Amicus here (the people are very nice) although if you need to order something make sure you have a TON of lead time...our cork floors took longer than they told us it would take (they said six weeks, and it was over that) and the recycled rubber flooring took over two months before we had to give up on it (nobody could give us any ETA on arrival) and cancel. That's not really their fault, though. It seems like almost all building materials have stupid lead times.

We also used the American Pride paint they offer and it was pretty good, although the guys who painted with it said it was harder to work with than regular paint and even some other low VOC type paints they used. It looks fine, though.

ah march. the month of bathrooms and kitchens.
the two rooms that i hate cleaning...but love decorating
woe is me.

I too have been pondering regrouting the tiles in our bathroom floor. Looking forward to hearing what you use and how it works!

I have not had great experiences with Amicus. I have generally found them not nearly as helpful or polite as I would like. And when they recommended a series of contractors, I only had one return my phone call and he didn't work in Mont. County.

I really like Mosaic Tile. They have been great to work with and found me some wonderful budget ceramic tile for my kitchen.
http://www.mosaictileco.com

Well, I'm always a big fan of paint -- because it's cheap and I can do it myself.

Check out some paint ideas for the bathroom:
http://mochihome.com/?cat=7
There are also some gorgeous Restoration Hardware lights here. Sometimes upgrading the little details can really make a place classy.

There's also a kitchen upgrade here too:
http://mochihome.com/?cat=5

If anyone is upgrading and wants to see some visuals, upload an image to this site and we'll try to do a post for you!

Renter backsplash -- buy a tempered glass IKEA tall cabinet doot and turn it sideways, resting on counter (use a little caulk to hold it to wall). FYI, IKEA Woodbridge has 78" x 18" on clearance in the bathroom section for $10.

door, not doot

DOes anyone have an exterior housepainter they recommend?

Does anyone have advice on someone who can do furniture stripping (including pick up and delivery)? Or any other stripping advice (of the furniture sort)? My last refinishing experience was a nightmare, and I just bought a funky (as in, really bad) dresser this weekend that needs to be stripped. Thanks!

I just found Peoples last week and have yet to go there--but there is a Salvation Army a few doors down that I took donations to...and browsed. There seems to be some good finds if you look, though priced a bit on the high side for a thrift store.

I third JC Penney. I have their basic towels and silk drapes. If you catch a sale with a coupon, even better! I got a coupon this week if anyone wants free shipping...I'll look it up when I get home!

This open thread is perfect as I am redoing the backsplash in my kitchen (finally!) and I am getting a lot of good ideas. My problem is that I want to install glass mosaic tiles but I have not yet found any that I like in a price range I can afford. Can anyone recommend a local tile distributor that carries something along these lines? I am looking for modern and clean lines but all the reasonably priced distributors I know of are located in NYC (sigh!)and I honestly don't feel like driving 4 hours to get 25 sf of tile. Thanks!

c&o, just buy them online. I buy mosaic all the time, pay between 4 and 6 a foot. google glass mosaic tile and shop; it around, or find some you like on ebay and make an offer. THere has been cut rate (under 4/ft) bisazza tile on ebay for the past 6 months.

My boyfriend and I found a brand new Ikea Klippan sofa through Craigslist for $75 but the red slipcover it came with doesn't match anything (and frankly, gives me a bit of a headache, it's so bright). We were thinking of buying this Bemz slipcover: http://www.bemz.com/index.php/page/shop/prod_id/2/model_id/41/pattern_id/102/ as we figured we could splurge since we found the sofa for so cheap....but then we saw that shipping is $77 and we just couldn't justify nearly a hundred dollars more than the sofa for the slipcover and shipping.

Now, we're thinking of just buying a natural colored slipcover from Ikea for $19 and dying it. Does anyone have any suggestions for dyes with which we could achieve that dark grey? Or are we better off bringing it somewhere to get it dyed and if so, does anyone know anywhere in the area who could dye the slipcover for us?? (Metro accessible is best!)

Thanks!

Dcarie --

for good towels, try Land's End. They are great quality, and reasonably priced. (I think they sell them at Sears?)

http://www.landsend.com/ix/home-travel-luggage/Home-Travel/Bath/index.html?seq=1~2~3&catNumbers=256~258&visible=1~2~1&store=le&sort=Recommended&tab=5&setPageSize=72

http://www.landsend.com/cd/popup/0,,copyName=pop_product_0204_FTHtowels.html

One of the AT writers suggested to me earlier this year that I post photos of my redone diy ikea kitchen on the AT flickr site. Which site should I post those on? There are several different AT (official and unofficial one) flickr groups. Thanks.

justveggingout- if you are in DC, post to the DC Flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/846621@N21/

Valhalla- we have used Baltimore Floor Works in our past two houses. No sure where you are located.

http://www.baltimorefloorworks.com/about.htm

They refinished our floors, made patches, matched stains. We have engineered hardwood in our family room. We used Armstrong and have had no problems. I've heard Mirage is great as well.

Hope that helps.