apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I bought the bi-cast leather rivet chair in dark chocolate from the Global Bazaar collection at Target for 1/2 off & rearranged my living room to fit it!

I bought a bunch of shelf organizers from Ikea since we just moved and cut our kitchen space in half.

I finally made cushions for a danish modern couch frame that I found for 20 bucks at a thrift 4 years ago.

I finally checked out the Apartment Therapy book from the library and have been reading through it. Today, I did a full-out clean of my front room and kitchen, and am about to start on my bedroom/office. I'm already shoving stuff into my outbox, too. Hopefully this week, I can get the property management out to reset my tiles since the thin set under all of them deteriorated into dust (thank goodness for warranty). They're hoping to only have to fix the loose tiles, so I marked them off, but I'm thinking they'll have to reset all of them. Just thinking about it stresses me out, but I'll stress about it until it's done, so it's really time to get a move on!

I searched and found a danish modern easy chair for my boyfriends bedroom. He's been living refugee style in his place - mattress on the floor, stacks of books, hanging bare bulb - and since my house is basically set I'm having a ball helping him grow up :)

Impressive! If you've got pictures, upload em to the flickr pool!

Put in a new soaker tub and laid down the backerboard for the floor to put my pebble tile on (that has been sitting in boxes for a year).


Started to clear out the second bedroom which has been used as a general storage and dumping ground to come up with ideas for organized storage and workspace.

The plan:

Convert 4' wide closet into an office via container store elfa system. Will have to install new electrical outlet, put in a new light fixture and replace bi-fold door with sliding door from Ikea.

Install a ceiling mounted pulley bicycle storage system.

Create a suspended turntable and record storage platform that can be raised and lowered to the ceiling. It can be lowered to counter height and simply wired to an amp that will be on ground level.

Paint the room an obnoxiously loud yellow (Behr Disney).

Down the road...punch through the wall into the hallway to create a rectangular window or a louvered window to bring natural light into the hallway.

Does anyone have a super effective cleaning technique for anodized aluminum?

Has anyone ever tried to put a porthole in a door?

I started and practically finished the "homo sweet homo" design for my manager.

http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/

My boyfriend and I have spent two weekends installing a flagstone patio in the backyard. A few more stones and we're ready for a BBQ.

DIY projects really make you appreciate the pros who do it all day long! soreness and blisters oh my!

@Brianne,

That is so freaking cool I can't stand it.

Is it hard to learn how to cross stich?

Art,

Subversive cross stitch patterns are the easiest ones I've ever done. They are a perfect starting place for a newbie to cross stich.

Didn't have a long weekend, but I was at my parents' and took advantage of the opportunity to use my dad's power tools (and my dad to help...) to start my new bookshelf/printer stand/nightstand project. I bought the fabric for it, too...

excellent.

those are right up my alley.

they would be great gifts as well! I'm going to start looking out for frames.

The cross stitch patterns look like they will be pretty tiny though, no?

Rescued vintage dollhouse from its likely fate of being redone sweetly Victorian... it is now filling pretty much the only open floor space in the apartment, waiting for its second coat of paint. It'll take at least a month to transform it into a hipster pad, though.

This is a crazy question... but any idea what kind of wood floors those are? We are looking for floors and those are perfect.

i hosted a moped rally and rode through Malibu with almost 200 vintage mopeds. it was amazing.

Everyone else did cool stuff. After a couple of days of play and volunteer work (and sleep!), today was condo day, but it was all cleaning, mostly. I did some extra stuff that I never have time for, like vacuuming out the ceiling vent fan in the bathroom - looked like it hadn't been done in 20 years, I'm surprised the fan worked at all. And, under the fridge - same thing. I washed the kitchen floor - this is by a non-floor washer! Felt good to do these things that I'm always meaning to get to. Unfortunately, I also had to auger out the toilet, but it fixed it. I also raised the float in the toilet - it was easy - and adjusted the handle to be less loose, but it probably needs a new one, which I won't get, since I'm planning to replace this with a Toto.

jenzoe, I don't know what the wood floors were in the old apartment, just that they were really really old and had been sanded within an inch of their lives...good luck!

I've been undergoing a *complete and total* home redesign since November. It started with ordering a Room and
Board couch and snowballed from there. I think the only things I've kept are three antique chests... everything else is in the "for sale" or "discard" pile. This particular weekend has been about window treatments and touching up the wall paint.

I finished removing all of the old dime-store aluminum curtain rods and patching/painting the holes. I was all excited to use a powerdrill to install my brand new rods, and discoverd that I didn't actually need it. Then I hung new linen drapes. I'm now very worried that there is too much drape in the room. I will have to submit pics for opinions.

I also took down all of my art and patched/painted the nail holes. Nothing will be hung back up until the furnishings and texiles are in place.

Do you get more than 8 weeks if you're doing 4 rooms??

what is the best vacuum?

especially for smooth floors and for auxiliary hose vacuuming?

I've been embroidering gifts for next December, mostly tea towels. My patterns and the terrific towels are from Sublime Stitching ..... and I believe I discovered that site through a mention on AT.

I've been reorganizing my closets, I'm finally letting myself part with a number of craft projects that have been lingering unfinished for years.

I redid my fireplace - took off bricks when I discovered that they were just a tile-like facing. It was really fun demolishing it! Then I painted it with Ralph Lauren river rock paint to try to give it a stone like finish. There is still more to do, but I am enjoying the change. (I added it to the Flickr pool for anyone who wants to see it.)

Now I am about to sand and re-stain the coffee table.

I love 3-day weekends!

spent the weekend learning to use design software. my daughter just signed a lease on a 250 square feet studio. definately a design challenge. now we are just waiting for the new ikea to open down by cincinatti.

Let's see...painted the bathroom walls, the bathroom ceiling, and scrubbed the bathroom floor. I would have got more done except I took Saturday to just relax with the cats and watch HGTV for more ideas. ;-)

I'm jealous ... everyone had a three-day weekend, and I didn't!

:(

is there a blogroll of los angeles based design-y bloggers?

I moved this weekend too. Still trying to figure out what to do with the bedroom. Or better yet, what I need to buy for the new bedroom.

I technically wasn't supposed to have a three-day weekend, but I took today off because of this strange allergy-like reaction that decided to wreak havoc on my face. Unfortunately I didn't really get much done this weekend because of it. But I did manage to get to Target and pick up their Hudson desk that was on sale for $99. I may put it together during the week and FINALLY replace the old $20 "workstation."

I've been working hard to coordinate the Davis Feminist Film Festival, which happens February 28th and 29th. It's a really great event that has nothing to do with home decor, but if you're nearby you should come. As soon as it's over, I will be so excited to be home-project-y again. I miss it.

After falling in love with with the kitchen on Showtime's Dexter, I spent the weekend Dexterfying my horrid old kitchen. Cabinets painted glossy white, splashbacks in glossy black, white and gunmetal mosiacs (painstakingly handplaced because I couldn't find the mosiacs I wanted in Perth Western Australia!), white slimline blinds and the best bit? the countertop. I couldn't afford a new one so I used large (600x600) super black polished floor tiles which I've cemented onto the old counter top and finished off with black silicon instead of grout. From vomit beige to sexy dex in 3 days for $600. bloody marvellous!!

http://www.modern-sofa.net/
http://www.modern-sofa.net/
http://www.modern-sofa.net/ it looks like living room series sofas, all in modern style

I spent the weekend learning to love my new shredder after burning out the old one. I worked my way through about seven years of my old financial records and ten years of my late father's. I'd been putting the last part off because I knew it would make me sad.

I did a major purging of things on my desk and now have a nice tidy space to work in.

I FINALLY got rid of a TON of stuff that I had in storage and was trying to get rid of ... this charity called Hour Children here in NY came and picked it all up (half a room full!) so that being done I started an early spring clean.

I also bought this 44-drawer utility thing at Target and put all my hardware odds-and-ends (everything from nuts and screws to batteries and spare lightbulbs!) in it. It completely streamlined my utility closet.

Next weekend I'll break out the labelmaker and label all those lovely drawers ... (For an organizational nerd like me, it's the greatest thing in the world having a friend who works high up at DYMO) ;-)

Aldyth, I'm envious! I have a ton of papers to sort through and organize/toss, and I hate doing it.

I am sewing covers for a couple of floor cushions. It's getting hard because I have only one side undone, and it's getting REALLY tight. Working on the matching ottoman next.

I also scored a Kartell f/ly lamp secondhand and need to install it. I can't tell which is the ground wire though, so I'm going to ask my super to help. Electricity scares me!

I'm jealous too. I did such a huge paper purge last year that I actually burned out the motor on my Michael Graves shredder. I liked that one (which they don't make anymore) so much, that I haven't had the heart yet to buy a new one.

I rearranged the furniture in & decluttered my bedroom and vacuumed up 6 months worth of dust bunnies (gross). It was very liberating.

I have a giant pile of shredding to do but I hid it in the closet. I'm inspired to get to it.

greengelato---Im actually putting together an LA based blogroll on here. Add more if you know of em!

sleeping eating going out, sleeping eating going out, sleeping eating going out, sleeping eating going out..i had a 4 day weekend YEZ!
oh no i also went to the most beautiful nursery in culver city (rolling greens). the smell, the plants, the flowers. fantastic.
got 4 plants to replace some dead stuff i had around.
it makes sucha difference to have beautiful healthy plants at home.. doesnt it?

Saturday: wedding

Sunday: purchased new Dwell duvet cover/shams.

Monday: enjoyed the 70 degree weather and watched season 1 of 24!

No fair! I didn't get a long weekend. I did make a list 3 pages long of projects I would like to accomplish. I was all motivated until I looked at the mess in my office and ultimately ended up closed the door. I'm not ready to tackle that one.

Can anyone recommend any nice/aesthetically pleasing storage boxes with lids that aren't too expensive? I'm thinking they need to be slightly bigger than a photo box. Thanks!

This weekend is my project weekend. My mother- queen of demolition and all things decorating is coming up to stay. We are painting the walls a beautiful grey/taupe color. It's the 2nd grey I have picked out (first was too white). I am in love with the platinum rug from Crate and Barrel. The wall color seems to go with the rug really well. Fingers crossed it's a winner. Maybe a trip to the fabric store to find drapery material. I found some great pottery barn dual drapery rods on ebay for about half of the original price.

Next weekend I tackle the tv entertainment center. My father is going to help me build a floating unit for the new flat panel- similar to the MASH studio wall mounted storage unit. I am tweaking the design and routing out interior space for sliding glass panels. I think while we are at it I might make new night stands similar to the ones at CB2- sleepy hollow storage shelf. Has anyone worked with bamboo veneer? I have a lot of experience with basswood/balsa wood/mat board but I have never worked with veneer.

Sorry for the long post- work procrastination. Good luck with all of the projects.

My first comment! woo-hoo! I had a whopping four-day weekend and still didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I did empty the bedroom in preparation for its Remedy/Remediation. The ceiling is the 12" fiberboard squares that I hate. I've lain in bed for four years staring at it and hating it. So far, it is washed and primed and I've started filling all the gaps so hopefully once it's sanded and painted I can pretend it's all nice and flat. After that, paint, a new rug and the new quilt that took me two years to find (and I just found something last night I like as much or more) and about 6,000 other things, not to mention clearing out clothes that haven't fit in way too long. I did take before pictures and will post all should I ever get this all done. Wish me luck!