apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


LA House Tour: Cindy and Harvey's Eichler Original

050908DSC_0235.jpgName: Cindy and Harvey
Location: Granada Hills, CA
Size: 2500 sf
Years lived in: Own, 9 months

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2-23-housetourlogo.jpgIn the northern most part of Granada Hills, in an area where time seemingly forgot, is an enclave of colourful modernist homes...a slice of Midcentury heaven filled with preserved and renovated homes all sharing the recognizable architectural details of the California-based, post-war residential real estate developer, Joseph Eichler. Cindy of OneStopModern was kind enough to invite us to step inside her renovated Eichler home on this magical block...

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Close-Up!: Monique and Richard's Wrap-Around Shelf

5-9-shelf1.jpgOne of the many things we loved about Monique and Richard's Apartment at a Glance was this shelf that wraps around a corner.

Graham & Brown Paintables Small Squares Wallcoverings

050908grahambrown01.jpgWe've now got a growing desire to cover our stairway ceiling and walls with these paintable and textured wall coverings from Graham & Brown. We've never considered using wallpaper on the ceiling, but these vinyl sheets seem more like ceiling or wall tiles, don't they? Plenty more photos and where to get them below the jump...

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SF Spring Cure: Graduation

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PuglyFeet's post-cure dining room - see below the jump for the before/after slideshow
5-8-curetrophy.gifWow! It's over. Congratulations to the graduating class of the SF Spring 2008 Cure. We hope you enjoyed the process as much as we did.


We loved this idea from TRUE BLUE last week:
"I actually suggested when the book first came out that the apartment management buy a book for everyone in the building. Or start giving them away with each new lease or when they raise the rent (yearly). It makes sense from not just a renter's point of view. But from a management point of view too. For people to make good choices when it comes to their apartment . . . It's something for those of us in multiple resident dwellings to consider suggesting to our landlords. Everybody wins."

And it's true, with the Cure everybody does win. We suspect that living in beautiful, organized and healthy homes affects not just the residents but everyone they interact with - when your home is more together your life is more together, and it shows in areas of your life that you think have nothing to do with your house.

click below the jump to see the AT:SF Cure before & after slideshow

Small Cool 2008: Jan Parr's Honorable Mention

(This is the first of our honorable mentions, which go to submissions that did not make the finals but really rock. They are awarded purely at the judge's discretion. Each honorable mention receives a special gift.)

2008-05-09-edre.jpg2008-05-09-janparr.jpgOur Midwest Judge, Jan Parr, chose a fantastic entry, East #21 - Eduardos Recyclables as her Honorable Mention.

She has this to say about Eduardo's place: "This apartment has loads of charm and feels very personal. The artwork is great, and it's a great example of how open shelves can open up a space and provide lots of storage when done right."

Mr. Squirrel Assembles a Real Good Chair

A fun TGIF video from the good folks at Blu Dot. Who knew squirrels were so crafty...or into modern furnishings?

Modern for the Masses?

050908knockoffs.jpgWe unwittingly opened a Pandora's box earlier this week when we posted about an Eames-style office chair knockoff a reader wrote in about as a sales tip. There was plenty of discussion about the ethics of purchasing discount priced copies of modernist classics. Target continues to offer near exact copies of many modernist originals to the excitement of some and to the horror of others (sans the exacting quality and details of the originals), and two equally passionate camps on both sides of the fence make valid arguments for and against the practice. Check under the jump for some notable quotes about the topic from a site specifically reporting Target's modernist knockoff offerings...

[image via Blue Ant Studio]

Seattle Late-Breaking Event: West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day

5-9-08-garage-sale.jpgThis Saturday, May 10th, from 9am to 3pm, West Seattle ushers in the yard sale season with its Community Garage Sale Day. What this means is that more than 70 individual households, blocks and businesses will be conducting garage sales at the same time.

Color Combo: Yellow and Gray

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Our friend is decorating her bedroom in yellow and gray - a color combination we love. She thought it might be too trendy at first, but she loved the pieces she found so much that she decided to go with it. We think that's the right way to approach decorating - don't worry too much about trends and do what you love because you're the one living with it. In honor of our friend, here's a roundup of yellow and gray color combos...

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Hot or Not?: Stairs by Jordivayreda Projectteam

Look!: Small Hardware Storage Out of Recycled Cans

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It seems like such a no-brainer to use these short, wide containers for small parts storage. But then again, we've discarded hundreds of tuna fish cans in our lifetimes without a second thought, so there you go.

Good Quotes

atla-050908-possession01.jpgEvery possession is a responsiblity - Anonymous, via Real Simple


49-Mile Scenic Drive Art by Annie Galvin

5-9-08 49mile.jpgAnyone who has driven around San Francisco has probably grown accustomed to seeing the little blue and white signs which read "49-Mile Scenic Drive"...

Southwest Cure: Graduation!

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Dean's After
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Wow! Fabulous job on the Cure everyone. It takes a real commitment to ourselves and our homes to make it through the Cure. As SarahC pointed out, it doesn't matter if you got everything done you wanted to, it's making progress that counts. And we're all very proud of that. From clutter clearing, to painting, to new layouts, you each tackled something that would improve the time spent at home. Click below to see some highlights from this Spring's Southwest Curees:

Store Your Stuff in the Rafters

atla-050908totetrac01.jpgThere's a part of us that feels that if you're storing stuff on the ceiling it might be time to recognize that it's time to start tossing. But, if you live in a small space, sometimes it's the only option. If you have stuff that needs to go up, especially if it doesn't need to be accessed on a regular basis (back taxes, holiday decorations and camping equipment fall into this category for us), ToteTrac is a practical and easy way to do it. We like that it uses containers you may already own.

SF Good Questions: Trays for Wheatgrass?

5-9-tray.jpgAT:SF, i am planning my wedding and we're doing wheatgrass centerpieces... we've found the perfect tray to hold the wheatgrass on the jamali garden website but we're hoping to find the same sort of thing for cheaper...we've looked at cost plus, crate & barrel, CB2 but we're at a loss. basically we want something that's fairly shallow and rectangular/square shaped...do you know where we can find something like this? we'd like to do a dark wood but we're totally open to anything as long as the shape is right! (we live in the LA/Orange County area but we're getting married in the Bay Area so we'll take tips from either place.) thnx.

-jam

CHI Good Questions: Reupholstery Ideas?

2008-05-08-chair.jpgJared sent in a good question: "We have recently decided to purchase a vintage chair and need a bit of help deciding on a fabric/color to reupholster it. Currently the only other furniture that we have is the Rochelle couch from Gus Modern in Gosford (shown below the jump), which reads as a dusty greenish/grey, and a media console in black...

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.
Email questions and pics
with QUESTIONS in subject line to:
chicago(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)

Suburbia: George Lange, Cheryl Maeder & Charles Maraia

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Title: Stephie, Greenport, 2007
Photographer: George Lange
Gallery: Meter

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- Click thumbnails for more -
- Please join us by submitting your own pictures (all info below) -

Look: Secret Kitchen Compartment

050908louiskitch01.jpgI recently had the pleasure of checking out my good friend's new apartment, a stylishly furnished 30's era Spanish style 2-bedroom unit with all the architectural fixin's that had us weak at the knees upon entry. While snooping around his place during a house warming party, I noticed his kitchen pantry seemed to hide something behind its closed doors...and of course I had to investigate.

India Rose

5-9-india rose big pic.jpg5-9-india rose logo.jpgWe first heard about India Rose while checking out the annual Sample Sale at the American Industrial Building on Third Street. Their showroom was definitely one of the highlights of the day - a lovely, light-filled space with sheer curtains framing the main space and loads of gorgeous textiles throughout. Alas, on a recent visit it had been taken over by boxes from their warehouse, but we were directed to their online store which features their products just as artfully displayed as we remembered.

How To: Mirror a Dresser

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AFTER

Time: 2 weekends
Cost: $400

Ever wanted a mirrored dresser and looked into how much they cost? Very fashionable in the last few years and VERY expensive, this is an awesome DIY project by Shauna that she submitted to our January Jumpstart Contest (which she also WON). In this DIY , she manages to take a modern IKEA dresser and turn it into a beautiful and much more dramatic art deco object...

Best Thrift Store Finds

trolleyseats-thriftfinds.jpgWe're always envious of those gifted thrift store types. You know, the people who manage to find a mid-century gem for only $20; people who find a dumpy couch and with a quick cleaning and new pillows suddenly have a fantastic centerpiece for their living room. Yeah...we hate those people. Still, we've been lucky once or twice!

LA Good Question: Is this Craigslist Find Worth Recovering?

050908_jank.jpgDear AT,

I'm thinking of purchasing this sofa (the pic is someone else's house). I'm on a pretty tight budget and I'm wondering whether you think it would be possible to have it reupholstered in some of IKEA's decorator's weight fabric or will it look janky after 2 years?

--Ginger

Ameno Housekeeping: Cleaning Service

5-9-ameno.jpgFor Spring Cleaning Month, we're going to be posting all the good and recommended cleaning services that we know of. I don't know how we found Ameno Housekeeping, but we've been using them to clean our offices twice a month for the past year and they're great. They have really nice people, are always on time and do a good job...

Graphic Bowls from Urban Outfitters

5-09-08urbanoutmain.jpgWe've spotted these bowls and plates at Urban Outfitters recently. We really liked how many different printed designs there were...

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