apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have some terrible news. My father passed away suddenly last Sunday night/ Monday morning. He was in great shape and only 59 years old, it was completely unexpected. He and my mom were still so in love after 36 years and we were such a close family. Thank goodness we still are, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get through the next few months.

I was actually deeply engrossed in my style try and uploading pictures to Flickr when my mom called at 3:30am to tell me dad was in the ambulance having CPR done on him. I was on a flight home by 6:30am. We had a memorial service on Wednesday and the funeral on Friday.

Needless to say, I got nothing specifically cure-related done this week. I DID however host 8 people in my tiny studio apartment!! My mom and sister helped me put a bunch of the clutter under the bed and in the closet, not fully organized but a good temporary solution. It is so strange to be working on this again exactly a week later, but it's also good to have something to put my mind to.

I'm having trouble figuring out my color scheme. I was thinking some red and brown in the living/dining area and then a curtain or open bookcase behind the futon to separate the bedroom area, which could have more grays and whites and a little bit of pale green?? Mom says I should keep everything the same since I'm working in one space. Ideas?

All About Eve, I LOVE that red door!!

"michelle" -- my condolences on the death of your father. That would be such a shock. You're right, it will be helpful to have something to concentrate on in the weeks ahead. Take care of you...

Zooza -- you astound me. Well done.

My condolences to you and your family,try to do a little cure every day while you process your grief...just take time to take care of yourself,too.

"michelle", condolences. I think it's great you chose to continue with the cure, even if all you get to do is change the doormat.

About the color scheme, you definitely do not have to keep it the same color.

Thank you smallcitybeth, eveapple, and Geraldine. I'm a member of another online group as well, and it's amazing how much support I find from people I've never met. It's appreciated, even though I know there really is nothing to say.

I think I will try the 2 different schemes and as long as they don't clash, I think it could work.

michelle - my deepest condolences on your loss. I agree with the other posters that you don't need to eliminate a color scheme. I think working on your home and turning it into a place of joy and life is one of the single best things you can do during this tough time.

*michelle*- I'm so sorry. And I agree with others, that it's so nice to have something like the Cure that you're involved in - it's an action-oriented, concrete thing to focus on, where you get results and you take care of yourself. And it's nice to be thinking about colors and things like that.

My condolences too. I lost my father suddenly, as well, when I was 22. I hope the cure will help you heal.

About the colour scheme: I looked at your flickr set and your floor plans--great floor plans! You will wind up having a red/brown/grey/white colour scheme with touches of green. The space is just that open and that small. I don't want to see you divide it with anything tall, like a bookcase, because that will cut off your light. Though using the couch or low bookcases could work.
I'd recommend choosing a neutral for the whole apartment (I'm thinking of the walls, mostly) and then either a cool or a warm colour as an accent.

If we're talking everything but the walls, then two colours max. Both warm or both cool or complimentary.

My thoughts are with you Michelle, I lost both of my grandfathers last year and I can only imagine what a loss you must feel. On a lighter note, I'm "All about Eve" on Flickr and I'm glad you liked my door. :)

I'm so happy my pic made an AT cure post! Woohoo! I have a lot of paint left, so I'm going to use it to paint a wall in the nearby walk-in closet as well as a small étagère that just looks so sad right now.

My landing strip is ok but the cedar chest has some water damage on top. I'm thinking of getting a piece of red 3form stuff to put on top. I also need hooks for my guests coat and am leaning towards treating myself to an Eames Hang it All.

Oh Michelle, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. It must be hard, especially living in a new place. I'm glad you have such a close family - it makes a difference at times like these. I hope this process of creating a warm and healthy home helps you to heal. My only advice is not to be too hard on yourself about keeping up with the cure, although you probably knew that already.

Any cool ideas for kitchen shelf liner. I had contact paper, but the options at Kmart, Target don't really appeal. Anything really pretty and different out there?

Michelle - my thoughts are with you and your family! I can't even imagine how you are going on right now as we seem to be about the same age. I do greatly appreciate all the comments you've left me (I'm suziegoombs on flickr), you have such great ideas! I also love checking out your flickr page too, you have such lovely photos in your style tray.

As for my "progress," over the weekend boyfriend and I trekked over to Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond. We picked up lots of hooks and screws, some paint, and a new laundry hamper. I painted the frames of two bulletin boards I'm going to put up soon and we installed child locks so the kitty can't get into the cabinet his food is in :) I ordered curtains (still not sure how I'm putting them up) and randomly bought a living room chair on ebay! The chair is awesome but was a completely unexpected purchase.

@Lady J - we used cork liner from the Container Store (although I'm sure you could find it somewhere else as well) and have been very happy with it. It cushions the dishes and looks nice.

*michelle*, deepest condolences, this must be so shocking. Blessings to your family.

I just realized that Alana basically made all the same suggestions I was about to, verbatim. But I'd also say I love your floor plans and your place has a neat layout.

Zooza - I'm in awe. Nice job!

Lady J, I found some contact paper that is shiny coppery, and I really like the look of it (it was more expensive than the regular, of course). Thing is, the store I found it in is a Canadian store, and I don't know an American source to suggest. You can see what it's like at this amazon link -- http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Brushed-Copper-Contact-Paper/dp/B000KKMO7W

(although I also like the sound of that cork stuff that pearlandopal suggested, and it would cushion the dishes).

I was out of town this weekend, so I'm behind a bit. I'm going away in 10 days again, but now it looks like I'll be returning with a house guest, so I really need to get on top of some of this stuff this week.

Kitchen, front hall and Mr. Magoo's closet, general house cleaning. And make some calls on the repair work.

But the outbox is big. And growing. I've gotten to that point where I'm looking for stuff that I can put into to it.

Michelle- I am so sorry for your loss. Although few of us will actually ever meet in person- it is like we all know each other well, after all, we've all been to each others houses. Please take care of yourself.

lorijo aka the farmers daughter (on flickr)

It's a logistical nightmare.

I plan on taking this week to focus on the changes I want to make to the dining room.

That means painting the walls and a few bits of furniture.

That means emptying the room.

I have no room for the stuff in here. I can barely figure out where some of the furniture can go, so that some of it can be pushed away from the walls and into the center. It is absolutely over-whelming. And I've figured out that it will take nine days minimum to paint it (allowing 12 hours between coats, is realistically, only one coat a day).

What on earth can I do?

Well, someone might ask, so I'll spell it out.

1 day: fill holes and sand
2 days: prime (2 coats)
2 days: 2 coats of colour on three walls.
2 days: time to wait for freshly painted walls to cure so I can tape them.
2 days: paint "accent" wall and trim.

Alana - is this the red room or the paler one with your Windsor chairs in? If its the latter, I wouldn't have thought you'd need two coats of primer (or, indeed, any) which would knock 1-2 days off. If it is the red room, well, yep - 9 days.

Unless.... you paint the two first coats of the main walls and the accent walls on the first day (but don't go up to the edge where they meet on the darker colour - in fact overlapping the paler colour onto the darker wall so you only have to tape one edge later). Ditto second coat. Then touching up the edges where they meet should only take 1 day if you do it first thing in the morning and then last thing at night. Time saved = 1 day.

At least you work these things out in advance. I just go all tally-ho into the task and then get frustrated when I'm still doing it nine days later.

LadyJ...how about wallpaper? maybe you could find some paisley or swirly on clearance? Or just use an art or scrapbook paper you like and cover it with clear contact paper (you could even improvise a patchwork design of many different papers).

Depending on what kind of shelf you are lining, fabric might also be an option? you could use the liquid starch idea that others have posted about for mounting fabric to a wall--it could work on a shelf also....it just might not be wipeable if you are using it in a kitchen.

Michele -- my condolences. My thoughts are with you.

All About Eve -- love what you did with that door. Inspires me to finally do something about the inside of my front door, even if it's not on the "scheduled" room.

ZuleikaD -- since I used to row crew -- albeit double scull -- your screen name gives me the willies

Wound up running my mother to the emergency room yesterday. She's been discharged, but today and tomorrow will probably be spent taking her a round or two of doctors, so I'm not sure how much cure I'll be doing this week.

*michelle* - I'm so sorry for your loss.

For color scheme, my suggestion is to use two variants on a base. i.e., room 1 is red with green accent and room 2 is pale green with red accent, and both with a warm grey main color.

The shared colors tie the areas together, and using different 'strengths' of each helps identify them as separate 'rooms'.

JonathanB--I'm sorry to hear about your mother, but I'm glad she's mobile.

Zooza--thanks fortrying to help me save one day! I think I'll go and collect boxes as best I can for the books. Part of the problem, is, of course, I'm not willing to give the kids a "fall vacation" (we're doing school as sporadically as ever right now anyway and not much of it when we do). and all the school stuff is stored in here just because there is no where else for it.

I've also been set back by a project I thought I'd finished. I've been staining and varnishing a little round drop leaf table--and when I'd finished the underside, I flipped it over last night and realised the top coat of varnish on the center piece needed to be re-done. Unfortunately, I got a little too vigorous with the sanding and now I have an awful mess with some area sanded almost to bare wood and others, not.

I'm not sure what to do about it.
And of course, this dining room is also the "project room" where I have this table and two kitchen chairs I'm also painting.

I'm just not sure what to do anymore and I want to quit. Just fuggeddaboutit. So mature.

Thanks for the ideas. I like both the cork and the starched fabric ideas. These cabinets are too high for me to see the bottoms, but pattern across the back might be nice.

Michelle,

I too wanted to add my condolences on the death of your father. I hope this project helps even in a little way to improve your spirits.

Alana,

Why don't you start by working on your table and chairs? Take it one project at a time! :-) Finishing the table and chairs might be the motivation you need to tackle the behemoth of a job that is painting the dining room walls.

Zooza,

Amazing cabinet doors!

And to everyone who offered some advice re: puppies and curtains,

Thanks for your wise words. At this stage, I think I'm probably going to hold off on the curtains at least until around Christmas time, which I'm not happy about, but seems the sensible thing to do. :-( I'd hate for beautiful new curtains to be destroyed, but truthfully I think I'd hate my husband saying "I told you so" even more. ;-)

Thanks Phillippa. Your words gave me the energy I needed to do a little more sanding. It's just disheartening to realise you're essentially starting over from scratch just when you thought you were done.

I'll finish the chairs up soon....and just take the packing in stages. I'd wanted to start painting asap, but I guess not. One wall a day will take four days. Maybe that'll work. I don't know. I hate things all disrupted and in disarray.

Michelle - I'm so very sorry for your loss, and relieved to hear that you have a support system that is eager to provide comfort and decorating advice.

My thoughts on your color scheme delimma are as follows - I'd keep all the walls one color, using the separation as a way to integrate more of one color or the other on either side. I'm not sure how big your space is, but my 13 years in a NYC apartment tell me that if you keep your background simple you can really create different zones with art, rugs, accessories, etc.

Aww Michelle, I wish you all the strength in the world right now, I'm so sorry for your loss.

I love all the photos above, you guys are making such great progress! As for the shelf liner, I would go with the cork or something that you can just lay down. I have a very small cabinet and the sticky contact paper was kind of a pain.

I'm a little behind, due to yom kippur, 21 mile run, and football. I still have to clean beneath my sink, and clear off my dining room table. But I'm not too worried, there isn't really much to do in the entry way. I already pretty much have a landing strip, but I'm thinking of getting rid of it. It's actually a dresser I'm using there until I can afford a nice buffet I think. And I just realized that my dresser will fit in my "closet." But I don't know if I like that space empty. I'll try to get pics up tonight. I found some hooks at urban outfitters online that I'm going to go check out and see if they look as good in person.

Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Take care of yourself--and if the "cure" process becomes more stress than distraction, feel free to step away!

LadyJ, I have used the cushiony liner that they have at Home Depot for tool drawers--the "grip" stuff. I like it better than the lighter weight offwhite stuff made for drawers. I think it's only offered in dark grey/black. Depending on whether you want it to be cushioned or wipeable, another option is to line it with patterned paper. You could always pick a pattern you like and put clear contact paper over it.

I am SO FAR behind. I'm going to go into cram mode and try to get the last few weeks of curing done!

I just squeeled with excitement seeing my living room pop up...thanks! I needed that today...

It makes me very happy that the curtains now brush the floor perfectly instead of pooling into 2 feet of fabric...

Also, when I took them down to do the alterations, I realized what a tremendous impact curtains have on the room, which makes my search for the perfect bedroom curtains even more important this week...

All About Eve...that door is hot...and so is your photo, the lighting in your entry is great...

I need to work on lighting our entry, there is only an overhead light (I hate overhead lighting)...but I'm not sure where to put other lights...hmm..

Michelle, I'm very sorry to read your post. My condolences to you and your family.


Jess2nola - or someone else - how do you decide what height to hang curtains at? I've resisted hemming my own 2' pool of curtain because I'm afraid I've got the curtain rod at the wrong height. I have 16" or so between the top of the window and the ceiling. And a thumb circumference rod in case that makes a difference.

Also, what sort of a mess am I making if I go warm instead of cool for the bedroom? I set my self onto a light orange accent wall and orange-beige other walls, but now I don't know.

I remember seeing a link to a colour-scheme generator at some point, I think the context was colour-schemes based on artwork, does anyone have the link?

So many questions, so few self-generated answers. I'm sorry for the flood!

Marcelo, Pixie, Alana in Canada, Eve, betsbillabong, AmandaC/Suziegooms, Mella DP, lorijo/thefarmersdaughter, JonathanB (I hope your mother is recovering well!), Kyrdissa, phillippa, LIMOM, EastVillageAmy, Christine in DC, and Opal, THANK YOU ALL for your kind words.

I spent the afternoon in Ikea today getting lots of ideas but only bought 2 pillows since I took the bus. The pillows are a shiny deep red and a more subtle shiny gray with brown. I think those will be my accent colors, but lots of neutral and brown in the furniture and more red in the living area and more gray in the bedroom area. Everyone's comments really helped me think it through!!

I took a bunch of pictures to help with ideas and decisions, I will have to post ones of what I'm thinking of buying. I still want to stop by crate and barrel and some other stores as well, first. I saw some curtain panels in a gray and white simple floral pattern that I LOVE, I need to find out if they're long enough though.

Opal, I had similar dilemmas as you, I wouldn't worry about the bedroom needing to be cool or visa versa, if you've found something you love that's the most important thing!!

Here's a puzzle.

On p. 115, Maxwell, you write "...white is cool....When you paint a room straight white, it will be cool. Therefore, white rooms require some warm color or other warm element to make them physically comfortable."

Then on the very next page, you say, "Don't mix warm and cool palettes unless you want your room to be purposely funky or off-beat."

All throughout this chapter, of course, you urge us to consider whether a room should be predominently warm or cool and you advise, "If a room is currently a mixture of warm and cool decide which it should be."

You've probably been told this before, but either warm OR cool is fairly radical--and in the case of white (never mind that white really can be either warm or cool) --if we follow your advice, we will have to "mix" our palettes. But I don't think a room with white walls and furniture and objects in warm colours is particularily "radical or off-beat." (And nor, to be fair, do I think you do.)

But this whole "only" cool or "only" warm thing--are we reading you "too straight"--trying to make a rule, say, when it isn't really there? Perhaps you could clear some of this up for us? (well, OK, me.) Thanks.


Oh--and in cure news, I did manage to get one shelf (the 6'6" shelf) in the dining room/office cleared of books and tchotkes today. That was major progress in the whole scheme of things!

Alana

Your question reminds me of the one on another thread about the white room with the cerise pillow.

If you were asking me the question, I would say that "ice" tones of any color will warm up a white room without violating the inherent "coolness" of the space. Because colors have hues and values, Maxwell is not contradicting himself. Darker shades are warmer than lighter shades. Purer shades are cooler than muddied shades.

So much for my two cents, or perhaps given inflation, my toonie.

JonathanB--I've never heard that before. But it makes sense.
Darker shades are warmer than cool ones.
Purer colours are cooler than muddied ones.

That corresponds to my new colour scheme in the dining room: I picked what I would call a warm white and a darkish blue (blues any lighter didn't look right). Neither are "pure." So, this combination is on the warm side of cool. Am I nuts to find this reassuring? I was a bit concerned I might "freeze" myself out of this room. (I have no "predominately" cool rooms in my house at all. None. This'll be the first.)

And hey, did you notice the dollar is almost at par? I'll take that toonie. Thanks.

Hope your mom is doing better.

Hey, just checking in on everyone, my landing strip survived the last couple of cures so I am printing out resumes and sending out job applications instead of dealing with junk mail etc. Will catch up with everyone next week... or maybe on flickr.

I was wondering about the warm/cool color thing. After I read it I was a little confused, and just figured I like way the colors I picked look together, so if I'm not following the rules I don't really care so much. My living/bedroom is pale lavendar/lilac, with black trim and grey, black, & whites. One tiny wall/doorway is painted black so that's warm. On the other side or the black wall is my entry/dining/kitchen. There the walls are a butter yellow, cabinets are red, and the trim is turquoise. I also have my front door painted with black chalboard paint in there and find that the chalk colors match the yellow and turquoise quite nicely.

My bathroom is still naked white, I'm going with black trim cause it matches the door, for the walls I'm contemplating either going with the Monet water lillies look or painting it a light cooler version of tiffany blue, and hanging dead sea photos there.

Oh also while I was watching my Cowboys beat the Bears on Sunday night football I heard a really great quote that applies to the cure as much as it does to life. Bill Parcells told Tony Romo, "Don't let good enough be good enough."

So from that I decided if I'm not totally in love with something, it's not coming into my apartment.

Alana

Navy blue and white is a classic combination.

Yes, I suspect that surprised a lot of people. Especially those who thought the American economy was doing well.

As for my mother, the crises is past. Now she has yet another medical regime to follow.

Jonathan--I hope the changes for your Mom aren't too upsetting.

The colour I've picked isn't navy--that would be dark blue, but you just reminded me of something from waaaay back.

I think it was Ralph Lauren, and this would have been when he first started his foray into home design--maybe--but what I remember is a brochure called "D'eauville." (It may have even been a Vogue spread, but I don't think so) It had a picture of a navy and white striped deck chair, cobalt blue and white tiles, (not delft, probably persian, but I wouldn't have known that then) and other combinations of deep intense blues and whites...and I remember the absolute jolt of longing I got looking at it.

Funny, how, probably 20 years later, I'm finally realising a vision I once had. (Or, rather, was given to me, really).
I am now, once again, excited to get this room painted. Much better head space than the despair I was in yesterday.
Thanks JonathanB.

re: "Darker shades are warmer than cool ones.
Purer colours are cooler than muddied ones."

Um, not so much. Well, at least not automatically.

Anywho, just a ringing endorsement for the power of the landing strip... it was a HUGE turning point for me, and created a functional and attractive, welcoming "room" out of an unused stair landing for my ex.

I just spent the day shipping out 15 boxes of eBay sales, from my uncle's collections which I am helping to find good homes for. Whew.

Opal,
I just realized you can't tell in my picture, but I hang my curtains as close to the ceiling as possible (and because I have kinda puny windows about 16" to each side of the window) This way they serve to heighten the room and make the window seem larger...

P(2):

No, it's not axiomatic, it's a rule of thumb. It will usually work. And I didn't even present it that strongly.

But congratulations on getting through those 15 boxes via eBay. I can well imagine that being a great relief.

Hey Patrick (the other one) good to see you again. I was wondering where you were--but I guess you were under a pile of boxes!

Do you know the history of the expression "a rule of thumb?"

Back in the day when these sorts of things were par for the course, the "rule of thumb" referred to the stipulation that the leather strap you used to beat your wife would be no wider than your thumb. (Or maybe no thicker. Can't precisely remember.)

Anyway, I try not to use that expression anymore!

But maybe you can tell me what the heck a "warm" blue is then?

Is it a sort of violet? (blue blue red)
Or a sort of blue-green? (blue blue yellow)?

I heartily endorse the landing strip too. Don't know where we would be without it.

didn't know that was the origin of the rule of thumb. thanks. I love stories like that.

My landing strip is done!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mteson/1445326530/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mteson/1444466401/

You can see what the whole area looked like before here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mteson/1251970453/

Our goal at this point is to add more color to the kitchen area. I'll be posting photos of that (you can't really see it). It's all black, white, and wood at this point. We have one bright orange dish towel, and we're looking for more things to warm up the space and make it a little more colorful. Painting the kitchen is a no go. Any other suggestions outright?

Hey guys, I finally got pics up! Would love to hear your comments:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12721467@N02/sets/72157602167088268/

Marcelo, for adding color you could go with art work, placemats, chair cushions, canisters, flowers, or even a bowl of fruit.

Wow, I started the Apartment Therapy 8 week cure 3 weeks ago! I guess I'm just in time!

Are the "official" Apartment Therapy cures done every quarter?

Here's my Week 3 Landing Strip
http://my101.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/72-apartment-therapy-week-3/

And my Week 3 with pictures
http://my101.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/the-landing-strip/

Not every quarter, though that would be nice. So far they've run every Fall and Spring.

101Things -- not quite every quarter... so far there's a Fall Cure, and a Spring Cure. The first year (2006) they were April-May and October-November. This year they were a little earlier, March-April, and September-October. But it's just two Cures a year.

Welcome to the "party"!

Hi everyone,

It's been a long week - had a family emergency (which now seems to be stabilized - hopefully - my sister-in-law going into labor 4 months early). And now I am in San Francisco trying to get an artwork ready.

However, I am still here in spirit although I can't declutter my landing strip since I'm not at home. Instead I am thinking hard about my loft.

I think I have decided to put it off for now, and to focus instead on the deep clean, although I will definitely be painting my floor because I just can't deal with it anymore! However, I don't think I'll make as many major changes as I'd originally thought. I don't want to burn myself out. I am also concerned that, since it can't be put completely up against a wall, that the loft will actually really break up the room and make it feel smaller. Thoughts? I wish it could fit horizontally (that is, parallel to the window wall), but it doesn't, so it will have to be exactly where my bed is, but taller. Thoughts?

I will post a possible floor plan that is slightly different soon... would love to hear people's input on my plan.

So here is the floor plan I'm liking most right now:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12591722@N08/1438855452/

And I've tentatively decided on going with grey/brown/red for the whole main room. These are my 2 main inspiration pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12591722@N08/1435390140/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12591722@N08/1433594401/

Maybe I can incorporate some green/brown/white in the bathroom, which is at least totally separate.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Betsbillabong, hope your sister-in-law and the baby are doing well!

EastVillageAmy - that owl painting is wonderful and amazing! Are you now an artist?

My initial thoughts on your before pix are to focus on the big picture and how it looks and works overall, rather than to think about painting little individual areas. Like, what will your overall colors be and how will they work together? Do you need to paint overall rather than focusing on small spots? Do you have clear zones for your different activities?

summercityfun

thank you

marcelo and 101 things

whenever I see a good landing strip I get jealous because I don't have the room for a proper one

betsbillabong

hope your sister in law in doing better

if it helps, I don't think I've ever actually completed a cure, but my place always looks and works immeasurably better after I've done what I could do in the process

EastVillageAmy - maybe the owl painting can be the basis for your color scheme, since it looks to me from the picture, that the colors work really well together. Pretty good for a 3 year old! What I mean is to perhaps bring out the minor colors of the painting into your space rather than the overall color of the painting, which would be overwhelming if you put it on the walls, and then maybe pick up the overall color of the painting in accents. Just a thought!

I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks, so I'm afraid the rest of my cure will be delayed as well as any new pictures. You all are great inspiration to pick it up when I get back, so thank you!

re: "Darker shades are warmer than cool ones.
Purer colours are cooler than muddied ones." part deux

Just reread that, and I'm not sure the first part is even right...
"warmer than cool ones"? Did you mean "darker shades are warmer than lighter ones"? A dark room may seem cozier than a lighter one, but I'm not sure that's a true case of "warm/cool" in colorspeak.

And a clear, pure unadulterated orange is *not* necessarily cooler than a "muddied" terra cotta.

It all depends on whether the color is pigmented with warm or cool colors (reds and yellows, or blues and greens). The "shade" or value does not in any way determine warmth or coolness, thumbs or axioms or otherwise.

Thanks for the feedback Pixie. I'm not currently an artist by profession, but I play around with stuff every now and again. My mom was really into oil painting when I was a kid and so she let me have my own canvas to play with and that's what came out. I like it as an accent piece to go with all the funky bright colors in the area.

I like my overall colors on the walls, it's just those bits of trim, and such that need painting to pull it all together. Also I need to look into more lighting options. I'm now working on the designating areas. I think most of my stuff that was cluttering was just due to me not making proper areas for activities. I just posted new pics of the re-positioned and de-cluttered dining table. It looks so much better, but now I have to add the table to "the little things that need painting" list.

JonathanB -

I too thought I had zero room for something like that, but then I realized that all I needed were a few hooks on the wall and a place to put the mail. Depending on how many people live in your place you may not even need all that. But it's made all the difference in keeping the kitchen tidy.

I too have fallen behind!
I'm still working on the kitchen, but progress has been made! I now have a shiny clean fridge (there was definitly some weird goo in that thing...), and shiny clean drip pans! Photos of the drip pans are at my flicker page, although, honestly, I don't know that anyone other than me would be interested in my clean drip pans...
The new filing cabinet that we ordered came the other day, and unfortunitly the nice "medium oak" color turned out to be an orange/red color that really dosen't go with the rest of the wood tones in the room http://www.flickr.com/photos/13108435@N03/1448953379/
so I think I'm going to return it and exchange it for the same cabinet in a dark stain, which should be similar to the desk and the other filing cabinet. Shipping it back is turning out to be a real pain in the bum, but this was supposed to be a peice of furniture that would last quite a while, and I really don't want to have something I don't like haning around forever...On the upside, the quality appears to be really good, and the shipping was fairly fast...so hopefully I will soon have a pretty new filing cabinet that I actually like...

Rosie--I left you some comments on flickr, but they may not show up. That orange thing is fugly. Send it back and you should ask them to reemburse you for the shipping. And congrats on the burner pans! They look wonderful. I gave up on mine years ago--we have an electric stove, so I can use those burner liners.

But maybe you can tell me what the heck a "warm" blue is then?

Warm blue has a slight yellowish tint rather than a grayish undertone. Sky blue or robin's egg blue are warmer than a cloudy gray-blue. Navy is a tad warmer than royal blue.

Similarly, lime is a warm green (as is avocado), and a red that leans more toward purple than toward orange is a cool red even though it looks RED.

I think it's possible to use "intense vs. neutral" or "dark vs. light" where Maxwell uses "warm vs. cool" -- not because they're the SAME thing (they're not) but because his treatment focuses on expanding vs. contracting space, which intensity and tone do quite separately from the warmth or coolness of the color.

Thank you, Wende. That clears it up nicely.

"his treatment focuses on expanding vs. contracting space, which intensity and tone do quite separately from the warmth or coolness of the color."

Well, I hope he sees this and can explain it a tad better in the next edition.

So, generally speaking:
contraction: cool colours or darkish colours or purish (not a lot of grey).

Expansion: warm colours or pale (light) or muddied.

Though "light and dark" refer more to value than intensity or tone, this clears it up nicely for me. (Assuming I understood, of course!) I hope we haven't muddied the waters for others.

Ignore that "value, intensity and tone comment" I'm always getting confused by those.

Michelle- I don't know if you're still checking comments here, but I wanted to send my condolences as well. My husband and I had this experience just after our wedding last year--his 56-year-old dad died very suddenly, too. The shock of it is physical, and I hope that you are able to treat yourself very delicately for a while. My thoughts are with you.

I've found the http://kuler.adobe.com website to be really helpful in looking for colors/themes. You can enter a base color and then choose from complimentary, shades etc. It's genius!

I started the cure last spring/summer but am going through it (unfortunately at my own pace though, not necessarily quite with the pace on the site) still. I am around week 3, with some jumping around to other steps in between.

I'm documenting my progress on my blog, and hope to get a few photos posted on flickr. Photos are on my blog now and hopefully more to come soon. Can't wait to get a chance to check out what some other people are doing as well!

Here's the link to my AT posts in case anyone wants to have a look:
http://cottoncandypink.blogspot.com/search/label/Apartment%20Therapy

I LOVE the AT book and process and have been recommending the book to all my friends!