apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We'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...

We 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]

I 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.

That economic stimulus package hasn't arrived yet (Ummm, hello...Uncle Sam? Anyone?), but we're thinking some lucky dad might find himself getting one of these amazing tool sets from Sears funded partially by the government gift. Sure, you'll need nearly 15 of those stimulus packages to purchase the complete 1470 piece Craftsman Professional Tool Set, but doesn't dear old Dad deserves it?

Pssst...and remember Mother's Day is this Sunday. Maybe Mom would want the set above for herself. We know you haven't forgotten (it will be our little secret).

[via Uncrate]

Swissmiss posted the Scullcave, a children's play hut made out of a lightweight industrial material normally used as isolation when laying the foundation of cemented roads. But we can't help think that this would make for a much better kitty litter box cover than something we'd want our kids playing inside.

Here's a beautiful NY to Cali collaboration that resulted in amazing effect. ATLA reader Chelsea's best friend flew out from New York and helped transform her walls into a breezy woodland scene using "Starry Night" paint by Ralph Lauren. Above is the work in progress, with the finished results under the jump...

Yay, it's finally here for us to give away: the Apartment Therapy Presents: real homes, real people, hundreds of design solutions book is filled with beautiful interiors culled from all of our best house tours, including several from Los Angeles. And now you can have your own autographed copy for free! Each city site is giving away one signed copy of our new book, so jump below to enter to win your copy from ATLA...

We'd like to apologize for the site being down for most of the day today. Although we think "small is cool", this apparently doesn't apply when referring to server traffic capacity. An unusual spike in reader traffic brought our site to its knees this morning and we've only just recovered. We're getting everything upgraded now so we can avoid this problem. Thanks for being patient with our growing pains...

David tells us his DIY platform bed project isn't yet complete, but we think he's done such a spectacular job with his bed/storage to this point, we wanted to go ahead and share what's he's completed thus far...

Here's a couple of old timey inspired decor accessory items that combine a bit of whimsy with utility. The Curiosity Shoppe's Mustache Key Holder comes with five hooks to keep those keys to your locked up pennyfarthing safely kept, while the Don't Forget Chalkboard points out your reminders of the day with a chalkboard surface. And look, they even share our love for secret compartment items too, with a dictionary book box. Plenty of other new and old fashioned fun stuff at the The Curiosity Shoppe site.

Here's an excellent high end idea that we'd love to see brought down in scale and price for us small space dwellers: Poggenpohl's Dining Desk incorporates two slim dining tables that open to reveal a central kitchen unit that includes customizable options hidden away, such as a cooking element, a cutting board, and trolly access. It's like a modernist Benihana teppan setup for the home, but makes perfect sense for easy and compact dining.

[via BlogSelecto]

CurbedLA has an interesting and heated topic that not only affects Los Angeles, but almost all of the nation where urban sprawl has gone off the deep end. Whichever side of the fence you sit upon, McMansions are a hot button topic, and it looks like the LA City Council has stepped out against the trend with a unanimous approval of the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance, restricting maximum residential floor size in relation to lot size...

[Photo: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times]

Kelly writes in:

My boyfriend and I recently found our little dream cottage -- the only problem is the entry way. The landlord has built a huge fence separating our home from the front home so our front door & window look out onto a wall...

We thought we'd pass along this reader's tip sent in by Alex, both because of the offer, but also because of his eye-catching photos that want us seeing the rest of his home (we replied with a house tour request). Another photo and his deal tip under the jump...

The Ambrogio book stand's beauty is in its sheer simplicity: an airy stainless steel frame cradling a bent Y-shaped plywood receptacle, veneered in bleached or wengé-stained oak. Remove the plywood part and you've got a minimalist towel rack. We only wish the stand came with those amazing towels shown above also...

[via swissmiss]

I think my first and proudest DIY was cutting several hundred pages out of a book from my father's library so I could fashion my own secret compartment to stash away a few lucky keepsakes, jr. high love letters, and whatever else I deemed important at the age of 12. I believe I got a bit of a whooping later when my dad realized I had altered his riveting copy of The New Isolationism: A Study in Politics and Foreign Policy Since 1950, but it was worth it. Secret hiding spots were and remain cool, like this fake stack of dishes that reveal a small storage section inside...

Freshaire Choice Paint looks to be a smart choice if you're looking to paint your walls without worry of VOCs or harsh chemicals mucking up your interior air. And you can give this eco-friendly brand a try without any investment or worry: Freshaire Choice Paint is offering three 2-oz samples from a palette of 66 colors shown above for absolutely free...they're even covering shipping costs. Details below...

Anthony over at Unplggd sent us the link to this unique floor lamp that takes the recognizable shape of the bottle and reimagines it as a unique floor lamp. We like the scale and smoked top version of these bottle shaped lamps, creating an almost volcanic effect. The Flaska is also available in two different clear versions, if the smoked bottle isn't your drink of choice, shown under the jump...

Name: David + Im Schafer
Home then: onespace - 426 SF, San Diego, CA
Home now: Hotel Pontiac - 550SF, Pontiac Michigan

David and Im conclude our Southwest series of updates and sneak peaks of AT homes featured in our newest book: Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions. The book showcases 40 homes of AT readers including interviews, photos and resources. There's also some great commentary by Maxwell!

David and Im's "onespace" was amongst our own personal favourites from the 2006 Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest entries, a most memorable example of modern space efficiency that deservedly shared 1st place that year. The couple has moved to a most unexpected of locales and dwelling since...check out their new home all under the jump.

The Scents Room in the House of Bols gave us an idea about what to do with all those small cans of interior paint samples, perhaps altered for a horizontal application up our stairway. The colourful space was designed by staatamsterdam.nl and contains 36 ‘puffers’ with different scents such as strawberry, white mint, coffee and peach...smelling as interesting as it looks.

[photo with permission from Matthijs Borghgraef]

As we mentioned earlier today, we enjoyed a hurried, but welcome getaway up to our former neighborhood up in San Francisco this weekend. The trip was about seeing family (we were visiting both of our younger sibling's separate, but neighboring new apartments), and also about getting away from the computer, out and about in what we think is the most beautiful city in all of the United States (see SF, LA has nothing but love for you). There was plenty of unexpected surprises, like this CFL bulb-bicycle wheel chandelier hung outside near my sister's apartment. A few more inspiring places we enjoyed below the jump...

Name: Jean Aw
Location: Pacific Palisades, CA, USA
Favourite website or link: NOTCOT.org (ok ok, so i'm biased - but i do love my sites!!!) - and if i had to pick one that wasnt mine: questionablecontent.net

Jean's favourite use of space she's ever seen under the jump...

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Here are the top five favourite posts of the last week here on Apartment Therapy Los Angeles for you to revisit or catch up with, including a guest House Call post from our friend Anh-minh, of ATSF, discussion about Trading Spaces, Ivanka Trump, a family looking for decor advice and a roundup of best staircase storage solutions...