apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm sure this has been asked before...or similar questions- I've tried to do a search, but have come up empty handed.
Need to know by tomorrow as someone is heading to IKEA and offered to pick up "our list".

We are looking into the HEMNES line of dressers for our bedroom. We want 2 matching pieces, but are having a hard time finding something reasonable and that we like....and will hold up for a few or 10 years-?. Seems like we have to buy the whole set when we find something....and that is just boring.
Anyways, comment away please- We are thinking of getting the "highboy" style and the 3 drawer style.... and of course they don't come in coordinating colours so we are thinking of getting one black and the other white (please comment if you think that's crazy too!)

We've had great luck with items such as the Billy bookcases...so you never know.

ok I realize this might be a really dumb question. I am moving into a new place this week and the kitchen tile is white with dark grout. I've looked into some advice on this internet thing about re-grouting, but it all says to hack out the old grout first. If I just want to change the color of the grout (the existing grout is in fine condition) can I just, uh, grout *over* it with white? Or is that like a major grouting faux-pas? I'm anxious to change the look of the kitchen but not anxious to have to hack out grout.

I have had the white Hemnes 8 drawer chest for 5 years now, and it still looks brand new. It has tons of storage, couldn't be happier. I recently moved in with my bofyriend and we are looking at getting the white highboy (6 drawer chest) for his stuff. I just looked online - the 3 drawer and the highboy both come in white, are they not available at your IKEA?

Anyways, can't go wrong with the Hemnes, I highly recommend it. Also, the 8 drawer chest was HEAVY when we moved it.

To tuckersmith -

I can't look up those particular bookcases right now since ikea.com is blocked where I work, but if you're looking for something to last 10ish years I wouldn't buy Ikea. Ikea is made to be inexpensive, something that you can beat up for a few years and then replace.

Instead, I'd keep your eyes open for solid wood if possible. I'd watch Craigslist, people often sell entire bedroom sets, I'm sure one will come down the pike with a matching pair of dressers.

tuckersmith, I'm in the same exact situation as you! thanks for the info leely....good to know, since hemnes is really the only dresser I like for under $1000! it seems because it's wood, it would hold up pretty well.

the 3, 6 and 8 drawer all come in white....but i think you can definitely mix and match red with white or black with white if it fits your color scheme. i'm planning on doing all white, just because i already have other (non-hemnes) pieces in the room that are the birch finish, so i'll mix and match that way

aquarabbit - i haven't tried it myself, but check out the grout paint in this post: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/painting-fixing-repair/tile-guards-tile-grout-coating-040462

Thanks gretchenalexis! That looks like *just* the thing I need...!

yes, both are available in white.....looked online and found out. Catalogue isn't so much help. I think we're going with the white...beige walls and dark bed?!

no problem, aquarabbit! you'll have to report back to let us know how it goes!

speaking of flooring...do any dc-ers have a recommendation for floor installers? we're looking at getting hardwood flooring put into our bedroom and kitchen (theoretically to match the living room and hallway). anybody have any positive or negative reviews to share with the class? thanks!

tuckersmith
I've had the Hemnes day bed with drawers for about 4 years, and I've used it daily, and it's in great shape.

A couple things:
Hemnes is extremely heavy
When assembling take extra care because the composite only gives you one shot at getting it right (solid wood heals a bit).
The foil finish is harder than the billy surface, and it's a perfect match for Ace hardware's "nostalgic" white.

For gretchenalexis for flooring: I have a negative rec: DC Floors in Takoma are terrible (as in talk to the police because of the threatening behavior of the owner) and apparently are equally terrible to everyone in the neighborhood - I was never followed by the owner, but apparently some of my neighbors had very scary encounters with him in that regard. My recommendation - see if you have a neighborhood listserve and ask for any floor recommendations.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Liquid Sand? Does it work as well as elbow-grease sanding? Is it easy to use? What is the result? Thanks!

hey at:dc! does any1 know where to get kitchen and bath grout in a silver or grey color to go with my tin backsplash?

Did anyone else notice that The Washington Post today has an article about Sarah Vowell and that she is quoted making a quip about Apartment Therapy???

As a fan of both This American Life and Apartment Therapy, I was pleased to see this overlap.