apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

hey, i live in a really amazing apt, but since it's a victorian, things are always needing repaired. anyway, the landlords are nice, but the mechanics are real morons.

the hot water in my bathroom looks like milk for about a month now. the guy looked at it & said he didn't know how to fix it & laughed. then, he had the nerve to tell me that CALCIUM WAS GOOD FOR ME.

i'm in columbus, what would you do? i'm gonna take a bottle of the water to the office.

It's money down the drain when we are oggling at crate and barrel & pottery barn furniture.
Carefully crafted words like "speciality wood" is to used to define furniture when they are worm infested and stained "wenge" so that such deficient wood will not be noticed.To learn how they are manufactured Read 'pottery barn unstuffed' at Smart Money - Vol XV-NO.X. it is the october 2006 issue.
Here's the shocker - "All of these furniture are made from particle board covered with a veneer so thin- one fortieth of an inch- that the slightest wear will scar it". And we continue to pay an arm and a leg for it.

I will be moving into a loft in the Eastern Columbia building in downtown LA and need to find a good contractor (and/or designer) to do some build out, specifically a couple walls, a closet or two, some lighting and a kitchen island.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Does anyone have a good picture hanger they could recommend?

Peter. This designer recommendation may be more than you need, but I wanted to throw it out there anyway... My cousin's husband is a designer who's done a number of private residential projects. (A recent Silver Lake project was covered by the NYT last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/garden/08whitman.html?ex=1307419200&en=75e34a02fae35dad&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss )

I rarely discuss business with family, so don't know if he'd be good fit for your needs. But you can always click through to his website, poke around, and shoot him an inquiry email if you like his work. http://www.neumayr-design.com/

Also, my cousin has a great lighting shop that caters primarily to the trade. So, whichever designer you choose, you can use her store as a resource. http://www.pluglighting.com/

Good luck!

[End of *shameless* nepotistic schilling.]

juliew:
i've had success with the monkey hook. you don't need any tools, works on drywall, and can carry a good amount of weight. i'm a renter, so these are perfect for me.
http://tinyurl.com/ns3mn (atny's review of them)

this is sort of random, but has anyone taken any sewing lessons in the los angeles area? i'm looking for a small, straightforward beginner class. anyone have any experience with the santa monica sewing arts center?

hey all, maybe you can help me:
i am looking for the perfect cheap coffee table.
i have a cream color vinyl sofa, and FLOR tile rug in natural gray and red. , and an EXPEDIT (white, 4x4, and i think its great, it holds everything.) full of books. so i trying to brake the squareness..
so far no luck on CL,  i found this online:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf025&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1SLEFRN&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1SLEFRN
did any one seen this in person? and is this HOT or not?
any other solutions?
MS

MS, you might want a little bit of contrast against the white and cream and gray, I like this one personally, at least the style and contrast of it if not the price. I've also seen some nice solid color lacquered tables in some house tours, a solid red might look nice with the red Flor. Also with chain store stuff like this it is often a good idea to check it out in person so you know what you're paying for, if that's possible.

thanks Anne, i think you are right.
contrast is what we need. we gave up the idea of the West Elm table.
Thanks, i guess will keep looking on CL..
MS

MALIBU FIRE:

AT - I hope you guys can give us an update... I am watching the news and am shocked, as I loved that section of the PCH/Malibu Canyon Road.

Holly

MS- go with the contrast for sure. have you considered maybe a couple of japanese garden benches? it would add a touch of the unexpected.

just a thought!

megan

Schill away Enrique. What brilliant relatives. I enjoyed the links.

Hi all, I'm looking to get a frameless fixed glass panel installed for a shower enclosure - anyone have any company recommendations? Thanks much!

thanks Megan,
that is an idea, i am reasserting it as we speak, do u have any-specific ones in mind?
thanks again!
MS

OK...,
here is a strange one Dear ATers,
since you now the answer for almost everything....
there is a movie out there right now called - the Holiday" . its a nice afternoon movie, which i watched recently. there was a certain plant in the Los angeles apartment (Cameron Diaz's home) that i just loved.
it was a coffee table plant, a green sort of small hills of grass. i can't think of abetter way to describe it.
i was wondering if any one know what that was, and where can i get some of it?
thanks so much!
Mmm

i just got an amazing deal on an Eames management chair, but I'd love to get it recovered in a different color leather. Any idea of someone who's relatively cheap, but really good?

MS- i was thinking, definitely, a solid colored one. there's a shop on venice by hd buttercup called, i think, 'evolution'. anyway, they have a nice one that comes in a few colors. also, "tengu" (again check the name) is a show room in the mart where i find all kinds of funky asian things that would make for interesting coffee tables.
one more idea, an hd buttercup vendor has what looks like a root system from the base of a tree --add some glass and you have an organic, beautiful table.

thanks Megan, i'll let you know what we'll find...
going hunting for all of this during the weekend.
MS

A reminder to everyone in LA that Art LA is this weekend at the Santa Monica Civic. I'm always really inspired to make my own art after wandering around the stalls and fantasizing about buying one day.

sparky,

i took a sewing class at otis design which is on lincoln south of venice. it was very thorough & if you have a kcrw card you get a discount on the cost of the class.

the bird and the bee

ENRIQUE, HEY!
or any music freaks:

off topic + please forgive me as well
if they've been brought up already...
but i must froth about these enchanted Angelenos,
this disc is on fire, airy fairy
heart rending perfection
(one to be so taken with, listening to tracks
4 + 6 endlessly & making select co-workers listen,
i am dying)

brought up here as it is sort of rare aural prozac, magic wallpaper, to re-ignite a passion for any sort of smash hit of style + substance...
get it w/out delay if you need such a fix!!

at least i think they're brilliantly from LA, at least recorded there @ Echo studios

Hey orange ed. Thanks for the tip! I just tracked throught the album on iTunes and am definitely digging it. Dream-pop with a ironic twist. (Like a lighter Ivy without the French accent.) Will definitely be purchasing this when I'm back home and have the external hard drive with my music library hooked up.

:-D

Orange Ed, thanks. I heard them on NPR and after your recommendation, went to their MySpace site to hear more. Do you have any other suggestions for someone who likes "The Bird and Bee"? I am wondering who Ivy is?

Sparky, I took a sewing class at the SM Sewing Arts and was less than thrilled. What about Adult Ed sewing classes offered at High Schools? A few years ago, I took an MS Office course through Beverly Hills Adult Ed and was very happy with it.

Lauren: Wonder no more... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_(band)

Thanks for the link, Enrique!

Lauren,
glad someone is maybe benefitting from my hyperbolic ranting. that NPR segment by the fine LA Times writer Steve Hawkman, when he said Bacharach, certain Beach Boys & played a smidgeon of multi-tracked vocal harmony i had to get it.
(hello Cocteau Twins & Abba heaven!).

of course you must know the great band St. etienne (capital e won't work on my computer).
Ivy absolutely came to mind. And Mono. Do some eels discs
fall in line? (don't know them well enough.)
Other than that all i can think of at the moment are little bands like The Softies and Glo-worm, who are sort of similar.
The Real Tuesday Weld is not quite similar but fun.

One good pic (for sentimental saps like myself) is the Magnetic Fields first release, from 1991ish, The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees, a dbl album. Imagine Judy Collins singing with a group of folky, plucky grown up gothic teenagers, slight touches of enya, great lyrics by Stephin Merrit, pastoral but slightly barbed.

anyone else chime in please!

O. E. - Thanks for your descriptions and suggestions. :-) I'm looking forward to tracking them down and listening. And you're right, other suggestions are welcome, too.

abby + lauren:

thanks for the sewing class tips, i'll definitely look into them.

Hey All,

I'm thinking now that the LA housing market is slowing down about buying a place or a condo or something rather than throwing money down the rent toilet. ANyone have any ideas where to start online? I'm not ready to contact a realtor yet, just want to get an idea.

Thanks!

Ingenious site. Will you ever feature Atlanta? Lots of great apartments here!