apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wanted to share this from LA Times Home:

After seasons of cocoa and watercolor pastels, West Elm has broken out in a rash of summer color. In its while-supplies-last price reduction at the Santa Monica store, the orangepowder-coated tripod table lamp is $29.99, a tall turquoise glass vase is $19.99 and spangly 12-inch-square sari-inspired pillow covers and neon bath towels are $9.99 each. The yellow resin pillar candle stand, charmingly described by a sales clerk as "Jonathan Adler for less," is $6.99. 1433 4th St., (310) 576-7270.

I'm looking for a very thin shelf to go under a mirror. I think it's called a rail shelf, I was thinking abut an inch and a half deep. anyone know what I'm talking about? thanks!

Nice beach at sunset photo. Is it Manhattan Beach?

Who is photographer?

Thanks, Turquoise! Time to go shopping! I hope they still have those orange and fuschia capiz shell trays. Color! Yow! Particularly welcome on these gloomy grey santa monica mornings.

Hey Jon. Thanks for posting my "good question" this morning. I just tried to click through and read the comments, but I get a blank screen. Any idea what might have caused this? I'm curious to see everyone's suggestions... Thanks!

Did anyone get a "Home Depot Direct" catalog in the mail today? YAY. I had no idea this was going on! They are very in tune with my current fascination: zebra print. So is West Elm but their execution is poor.

I actually like the West Elm faux zebra pillow. Checked it out in person at the Portland store two weeks ago. The textured stitching is very cool...

Enrique, I believe you have researched outstanding hotel bathrooms and wondered if you know the manufacturer or name of the toilet in the hotel bath you have showcased in Flickr (the one with the marble surround, white)? I really like its sleek look and would like to upgrade to such a model. Many thanks : ) L

Hi, Louise. I believe the toilet in that hotel bathroom is manufactured by Toto. I'm almost positive the model pictured is the exact model I have in my own bathroom. They're pretty reasonably-priced. If you want to do more research on them, there are a couple of threads on the NY site on Toto toilets.

Thanks for the info, Enrique!

Dilema... I love the 33 inch Treku bookshelf from DWR ( http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=5499 link is 18 inch version) but it is a tad bit expensive. My intention is to buy 2 and place them apart, with art in between them (and a plant or 2 underneath) but at over $1000 each, is it worth it? I love the dark wood and metal combination. Anyone know of alternatives I can consider?

Annk:

What about this? On sale until Aug 12. It's not a lot cheaper but you can chose the elements you need and add to it later.

Sorry, click on my name for the link.

Annk -

You might be able to achieve a similar look using the Ikea Stolmen series with the side rails:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?cattype=sub&topcategoryId=15597&categoryId=15867&parentCats=15597*15852*15855&storeId=12&catalogId=10103&langId=-1

I didn't see any examples of what it actully looks like with the side rails, however. Additionally, the Stolmen system connects to the ceiling, not the wall, which might not work for you.

Thanks Juli and heps for the links!

simone,

have you tried exposuresonline.com? click my name for a link. they sell ledges for displaying photos as well as all kinds of photo albums/frames/bracelets. i'm not sure if they go as thin as 1 1/2"; i think their thinnest ledges are 3" but they have a good selection.

Thanks Abby,
That's exactly what I'm looking for.

Hey AT---I know you have themes of the month (pet month etc). Have you done a month about getting organized? I love seeing gadgets (like the dorrknob key thing) and basically anything that makes storage pretty and useful.

just wonderin....

Annk,

Here is another possibility

http://store.rakks.com/

simone--
Room & Board, gus modern and Pottery Barn also do picture rails/ledges

I was wondering if there was some kind of gadget that would allow me to turn old phones into cordless. I have a great old rotary phone and an older push-button phone in super retro colors, but the phone jacks in my new apartment are in weird places. I'd prefer not to have cords all across the floor.

Hey everyone :) I'm looking for a table similar to the one that my name is linked to, but unfortunately, I don't have the $200+ to spend on it. Does anyone have any ideas on where I can find something close? Thanks!

Cheryl: You could convert your old rotary and push button phones into wireless cellphones:

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/06/portable_rotary.html

breaking the thread here...
do people refrain themselves from hanging stuff on the walls in apartments. our lease mentions not to but I was wondering if we should abide by that strictly. our manager is very icky sometimes and we will be in this place for atleast the year of the lease. it's an old 70's building with textured walls. maybe I can fill up the holes when I leave?

Re: Apartment walls

You can usually get by with some nail holes from hanging pictures. Anything that can be fixed with some spakle and painted over is usually fine. But leaving behind drywall screws can drive a landlord crazy, since he has to tear a big hole in the wall to get it out.

re: apartment walls
i'm a renter and have a good amount of stuff on my walls. my landlord appears to have turned a blind eye to my activities. i feel like that's the unspoken trade off for not being allowed to paint and (in my case) remove the hideous venetian blinds. on a side note, at:nyc did a write up of the monkey hook
http://tinyurl.com/ns3mn
which are great to use for hanging heavier items.

ALSO, has anyone been following the news that surfas in culver city may be forced to close!?!? i'm willing to put up with a lot of negative things about the L.A. area -- traffic, crime, high cost of living. but take away my easily accessible 3kg packs of valrhona chocolate and it's all over!
http://tinyurl.com/rwt65

Apartment walls -

I've always hung many pictures on my rented walls. And, since we live in earthquake country I use the straps to bolt larger furniture (these make some sizable wall holes).

I'm just careful to spackle every hole when I leave. If you do it properly the repairs are hardly noticable.

I'm looking for asian drawer pulls, in the vein of Kelly Wearstler--I thought I saw something in a catalogue, but can't remember where...any ideas?

I'm looking for nice, but cheap, sisal rugs. I suspect that Pottery Barn is over-priced. Does anyone know of a better (or cheaper) place to find them? Thanks!

What's the deal with the dates next to the current postings?

Are we so prescient that we *know* what will be posted in mid-August 2006?

Disregard my last post. I was staring at a wall calendar that hadn't been switched since July. I need coffee!