apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This has nothing to do with anything I suppose but I happen to be online. After being back in LA for about six months, I've discovered (not new to everyone else perhaps) this absolutely fabulous place to go and linger - if you're into cooking, which I am. (And maybe I should have emailed Sara Kate about this one...)

www.surfasonline.com

in Culver City. Went to look at some bread pans. Turns out they have an incredible array of pro restaurant/kitchen "have to have" items, in addition to food, and better yet - a wonderful little cafe with excellent sandwiches and coffee. They have all the big guns along with the little hard to locate oddities and the prices are excellent. Nice way to spend your time, and maybe some money, on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I'm just sayin'.......

I read all of your articles using your RSS feed but I frequently get duplicates of many of your articles. I'm not sure why this happens but I would guess because a story was published then later edited so both versions end up on the RSS (again, this is a guess -- I don't know if thats why.) Anyways, this is very annoying.

Second, downloading images from your website takes noticibly longer than from other websites I frequently read (well, subscribe to using RSS.) If your budget can handle it, a bandwidth upgrade may be useful.

Other than that, keep up the great work! I love the unique takes on decorating, especially having to do with some unique or innovative item like the green apple fruit display stand, bellevile coat hanger and the ideas on decorating an inactive fireplace.

Does anyone know a good place for hardwood floors? I have to replace mine and would rather hire a mom and pop shop then someone from Home Depot or Lowes ??

Here is a question to all those who live with a "significant other"... how do you resolve style and desire issues when it comes to decorating your home?

My fridge recently conked out -- anyone have any recommendations on refrigerators they love? I'm thinking of a bottom drawer freezer in stainless but everywhere I look I read about repair issues within a few months or within 2 years.

In response to Aimee's Petite Maison: I'm lucky enough to be the design "decider" in our household. My significant other invariably says "You decide, you know best." Rather than take this as carte blanche, I've gotten better results by continuing to ask him for his opinion, and - when I'm out shopping by myself - always bearing in mind what I know to be his likes and dislikes and making that part of the design equation. I suspect any designer always tries (well, should try) to please both the client and themselves, so there's nothing wrong with one partner making the design decisions. When I look around our house I realize my love for my partner has triumphed again and again over my passion for a particular color or style or object - and that is a very small sacrifice.

JacksonMarie, I love Surfas!!! I used to live and work right near it. There's also a little french cafe close by that's cute and delicious. It's called La Dijonaise Cafe and I think it's on Washington.

LA, I got my wood flooring at Lumber Liquidators. They're all over the place and have great stuff. *Much* better than Lowes or the 'Po.

Another response for Amiee's Petite Maison - I'm also the "decider", as my husband claims to have no style or style knowledge (not really true). I'm trying to be careful as I make changes - no matter how often he says this is now 'our' house, it was his house for 10 years.

Unfortunately, he thinks attempting to be 'green' is all a bunch of hype. He's the most wonderful man in all other ways so I'm trying to overlook that, and make the changes to being green as unobtrusively as possible (ie. instead of going into the environmental benefits of using a low VOC paint, I just said that I wanted that particular color and no one else had it). So far, he's just accepted the changes and hasn't realized we're going green. He knew I recycled, etc. before we got married so he doesn't question much of what I do.

In other things - wall color, etc., I do ask his opinion. When it eventually comes time to buy new living room furniture (Lord - please make that soon!) I'll show him some magazine and catalog pictures (leaning heavily toward what I'd prefer but keeping in mind that at 6'2" he's a big guy, and it's got to be comfortable) and ask for his opinion and comments.

As Marco said, it's a very small sacrifice to let your S/O's likes and dislikes play a huge role in what's chosen for your home. But I can't discount the entertainment factor when I tell him (with a very straight face) that I'm considering using raffia for kitchen curtains, a surfboard for a coffee table and mounting tiki torches on the wall in the dining area.

I'd have done the surfboard coffee table if I'd access to a cheap one. But hey - what would you expect from someone named "oceandreamer"?? ;->

I am living in a 1920s Spanish Duplex and have a floor furnace right in the middle of the floor. It's in a horrible location, just past the archway that divides the dining and living rooms, jutting out about 6" from the wall. Besides the location, it is big, ugly and gets very hot when in use.

Has anyone here (or anyone you know) lived with one of these things? Are there any options for us? I've tried searching, but always come up empty handed.

Here's a picture of one that seems to be similarly placed/sized as mine (but we don't have carpet).

thanks!

Liz, it sounds like there is no way rearrange your furnishings put a table or chair with high clearance over it?

Sparkle: I will look for La Dijonaise Cafe. Thank you!.

Well, I've already planned to get back to Surfas in two weeks to pick up a some plain white espresso cups.

Let me know if you ever want to shop!!

I checked out your blog. I adore your pink and orange walls.

Ditto what Robizzle said about the RSS dupes. Makes me crazy, and reveals the extent of my addiction to this site that I just sigh and tolerate it.

On the S.O. topic, I mostly get to be the decider because I have more time to put into researching, but I don't do anything my husband hates, and we do discuss almost everything. I'm new to this design world, though, so my ideas are still pretty malleable, and I'm not particularly invested in being the design-y one in the relationship.

Wood floors - our painter (he's a great painter) mentioned he does them. I have never seen his floor work, but he is really good at matching finishes on walls (our house is Spanish style with plaster walls, and there were a lot of patchy parts where people had done work and done a bad job of plastering over it and he fixed them all seamlessly) so I'd guess he's similarly exacting with his floors. His name is Gilberto and his number is (818) 219-9473.

That's right kimg924. I'll admit something embarrassing just for you: When we first moved in (after leaving an apt. building w/ updated HVAC) we moved part of our sofa was over it. The first night we turned the heat on the fabric melted right off the bottom of the sofa!! This thing gets HOT (it's meant to push air to a large section of the house).

Luckily the lesson was learned before burning the house down :)

Haha! We should totally go shopping, JacksonMarie!
And then go get lunch at La Dijoinaise, I haven't been there in so long... since I had to move to the valley which is so far away from LIFE! :)

Oops, I'm kind of new to boards and posting and I think I posted on a really old thread. Anyhow, here's my question. I just purchased a slipcovered sofa from 'sofa u love,' in natural cotton canvas. The color is a bit yellow hued and darker than I'd like. I would like a just off white. Do you think I could bleach the slipcovers to lighten them up a bit?