apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, Maxwell, that must be a near-record for posts. It's a testament to how well the Cure is catching on.

Shall we do interview/quiz results in this thread? Praxilla brought it up, and it seems like a nice light weekend topic.

Chris (in Oakland?)- just looked at your photos - wow! First, you have a fantastic layout for a studio. Great kitchen, closet space and overall square footage. Also, curious about your cure intentions, since you seem to be in such good shape already. Best of luck.

This is for Tashistation. What a great apartment! re: bowling alley, I think you would do well to move your furniture away from the walls. When everything is lined up against walls, it 'chokes' the room. Try moving your couch around to make a conversation area with blue chair... definitely move it at least 6 inches from wall.. or move dining table in front of window... move the tv to one side or the other? I see that you have an interesting trim detail that circles the room, so i think painting that vertical wall behind the tv a different color might look odd... great place!

I'm enjoying this so much. We have an awesome community going with people commenting and such to help one another out.

I'm at SxSW on a business trip right now in Austin, but as soon as I get back I'm going to tear my apartment apart! I'm so excited... this is so great!

Meggethpixel on flickr.

Most of my curing will have to be done on the weekend.

I've been debating whether to participate: but there are things that need to be done. It's the change in season--finally!

Today's plan is to put everything away and do the floors.

That's a BIG job, I kid you not.

Hi everybody!
this time i'll be joining the cure. I decided to follow the one-room remedy. About a year ago i bought my appartment and have already de-cluttered A LOT while moving. Now, i need to remake my kitchen, which is not practical at all, with old appliances, and very little workspace ( only about 60cmx60cm large.
I'm a little ahead, as i already made my floor plan, checked for furniture and appliances and did my shopping list. This coming week an electrician and plumber will come to quote me prices for the work they'll have to do. I'm still searching for a handy-man to do all the other work that needs to be done ( pulling down the closet, and the old kitchen, painting, installing the new furniture ).

Hey Andrea,

Oh my gosh! That's the biggest star destroyer model I have ever seen! Are those leggos? My inner-nerd is snorting uncontrolably!

May the force be with you

Okay - today's the day - I've got my toddler out with my husband for about 4 hours. I got a jump start last night, filled a cart of books to go, and today I will be putting out a very old and cruddy bookshelf for my one thing to get rid of in week one. I am feeling totally resistant, but in my determination to do this in the righr order, I am going to tackle my floors. Right now.

After I finish this large coffee. I am going to open all the windows, put on some music, and pull things out and get those dust bunnies. Ugh. I'd even rather sort through my piles, but I know this is cleaning and bones day. The more I write here, the more I procrastinate. So, see ya.

Oteach1, I will finish my coffee and put on music right along with you. The husband's job is to do floors and I intend to hold him to it, but fiddling with the kitchen will give me a certain OCD satisfaction. It's the one space I have no trouble keeping brutally, rigidly organized -- the office is quite another beast.

Another wrench has been thrown into my curing plans. I now have a totally non-existent budget because my main contract has not been renewed. (I work freelance).

In re-arranging my furniture I've identified at least one piece I'm willing to part with. Regarding my comment in the last thread about expecting to eventually live in a larger apartment: I think it's fairly certain within the next 5 years.

I've linked to photos of my before/after furniture rearrangement. I think the living room is better with the bookshelves moved to the office because there's more space and flexibility to the layout, but I'm not as happy with how I've currently set it up. I think I need to tweak that. Much tidying still needs to be done because I haven't found new homes for everything that came off the shelf that I've stuck in my outbox.

hooray! this is so great. i found last monday's thread to be a bit intimidating in length, but i'm loving all of the support on flickr. what a great group! best of luck to everyone.

most of my week one tasks are complete, but i still need to find my one thing to put on the curb and the biggie - clean the floors. which would entail buying a new mop. (did i mention i really hate cleaning floors?)

jodi*mckee on flickr

Applause to you all! I'm hoping to acquire the book by the time the next Cure rolls around, but I'm going to enjoy keeping up with what everyone is doing this time.

angorian: I work freelance myself, so I know what a spanner losing your primary client can throw into the works. However, spending a bit of money could be looked at as an investment in yourself, your health and well-being, and the creation of a suitable work environment (if you work from home, which, ultimately, most freelancers do).

EEEEEE! I'm so excited! This is so fun and motivating. It's cold here and northern Cal, and it's already 11:30. Sitting here at my friends (I'm house sitting), in my PJ's, drinking coffee, and trying to get myself up and moving. My to-do list is to use their truck and open up my living room by emptying my outbox (i.e. my living room.) I can't even move around to clean. I'm procrastinating. Big Time.
What's the deal? I'm really exciting to be doing this; and yet... Here I sit. :p
C'mon Stacia... off your ass.
Maybe I'll look at the group on flickr for inspiration for a while.

Part of the reason I think I felt the need to re-arrange the living room (even though I actually liked it a lot) is that because I work from home, I see it ALL THE TIME and I just felt a bit stagnant. My "chi wasn't moving freely anymore" as a friend of mine would say.

Also, I hoped that by removing the bookshelves from the living room, I would be able to find an arrangement that solved the problems it DID have.
(The bookshelves HAD to go against the wall they were on because the floor and walls are not straight (the building is from the 1920s) and so they leaned dangerously out from the wall in any other location. This meant very little flexibility in layout). Note that there's only outlets on the two end walls, not the long side wall.

The problems:
1) The table had to be pulled out if my S.O and I wanted to sit any way other than side-by-side or if we had any guests.
2) It felt crowded by all the furniture.
3) I was bored with the layout.

I think my new problems are:
1) It's still messy from the uproar I caused by emptying bookshelves
2) The arrangement looks haphazard and less balanced than it used to.
3) It feels more crowded.

Oteach has finished the vacuuming - man, those floor moldings take on a life of their own. Also did the mopping, but cheated a lot - I wet swiffed, which I think is bad for my wood floors.


I had 2 "therapy" moments, and now I understand the reason behind title. The first is that I am going to break my usual habit of "all or nothing". I am tempted to start all of these HUGE projects today...cause as I did the floors and moved around every inch of the apartment, things kept popping up. I forced myself to focus, and I realized that I can only do so much at once. My son will be home soon, I have plans later, etc. SO I just put all the things I noticed on my list rather than attempt to do too much then finish nothing.

The second "therapy" moment runs a bit deeper. Each time I need to do a little repair or replace something, I get caught in the indecision web where nothing seems quite right, or good enough, and then so much time goes by deciding that I end up doing nothing. I sort of finally just admitted to myself where that comes from (without naming names, let's just say I grew up in home with unfinished business and unfinished projects everywhere).

I am resolving to trust my instincts and break this cycle. Especially with buying the little things, like a new bedroom trash can, or a new toilet brush system. Hee, hee. How hard can those things be?

On that note, I am done with todays cleaning, it is time to catch some sunshine and pick out some flowers for the week. How much light does an orchid need?

Does anyone know of any more aesthetically pleasing alternatives to the plastic floor at that office chairs roll so nicely on?

thanks for the therapy post oteach1. I think I'm still sitting here (see earlier post) in part because I have the idea in my brain that I have to do "all this stuff" today to have accomplished anything. (sooo silly) :P
I could pick one thing and get that done.
and/or I could the flylady 15 minute timer thing. (pick a small area to clean or de-clutter and set a timer for 15 minutes... amazing how much you can get done in those few minutes.)


okay stacia... turnoffthetv; turnoffthetv; turnoff thetv; turnoffthetv; turnoffthetv...... oooommmmmmmm.

jekyll, if the plastic floor is to prevent the chair scratching a wood floor underneath, you can get non-scratching wheels for your chair. If it is to make it roll over carpet, I'm stumped. My chair just rolls poorly because I won't put one of those things on my nice shaggy carpet.

Oteach, orchids seem to like filtered, bright to medium light. Like not in my dark living room that gets no direct light all day but ok in my non-demolished bathroom that gets indirect light only but gets it all day. And I agree about starting with the little things, you may want to do everything but it is worth making a comprehensive list and then deciding what will have to wait until the next Cure. Last Cure I did the whole house and didn't get quite everything the way I wanted it anywhere. So this time I am getting this bathroom exactly right if it takes the whole 8 weeks. Anything else can wait.

angorian, have you considered those bookshelf attachment things to keep yours from leaning? They sort of tack the top of your bookshelf to the wall.

stacia, you can do it! The emptying of the Outbox gets so easy to procrastinate but makes a HUGE difference once you get to it!

Anyways, off to buy paint! Yay!

Jany - are you planning to totally remodel the kitchen? Like with new cabinets and everything? I love those cabinets. I also have two space suggestions: 1) I see so many spacially challenged kitchens with precious counter space taken up by a dish-drainer. When I do dishes, I just lay out a clean dishtowel and let them drip dry on that. Thirty minutes later, I put them away, hang the towel and the rest of the time, the counter space is free.
Also, what about a narrow, counter-height table half the distance between the kitchen appliances and the wall the table is on now? When cooking you could use it as work space and keep two stools on the end or other side of it to sit when eating, etc.

Anne ... the extent of the wall and floor uneveness is such that those aren't even remotely an option.
The front bottom would have to be on a huge wedge to make that possible. The floor tips down from the wall and the wall tips out, so I really couldn't use the long living room wall. (You can't really see it in the picture, but the shelf on the left is a good 6 inches from the wall at the top, even though the bottom is snugged up close). I'm quite happy with the shelves in the office. I'm just not so pleased with the new furniture arrangement I came up with in the living room.

jekyll - you can get wood mats for chairs called snap mats. they are laminated and sorta rubbery on the bottom so they don't slip around.

http://www.snapmat.com/

I think they are a little expensive, about 180; mr. kendra.e bought one for our floor, and I think it blends in pretty well with the regular floor tho. You can kinda see it under the chair/desk in this picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81337094@N00/411950603/

yay! i'm posting my progress on my blog too.

ok! We took a bunch of stuff to the thrift store today and sorted out the Awesome Room a bit. Right now the plan is still to put in the purple futon into the Awesome Room, and put a desk in there. I think we are also going to set up mr. kendra e's old video game systems in there, and when we have a party, people can play them.

I am also surprised by the things that come up, you know, like feelings, through this process. I got a little teary when I realized we were gamers and that would be a fun room for us if we set it up like that. I have also posted a few more pictures of things I like, things I have and way more detail about how I feel about each item than you really want to know.

Hello Everyone, I am amazed at the number of people doing the cure. I am really motivated
to keep curing. I have made a good start this week.

Thanks for the suggestions, I have thoroughly cleaned my wood floors using Good for Wood from Method. I love how it cleans and the almond scent is great. The only problem is that I have some very worn spots on my floor. Does anyone know of a [green] product to shine or coat my floors?

I went to the Architectural Digest Show in New
York today to get some ideas, many beautiful things, unfortunately most of the things are not in my budget. I did get lot's of inspiration.
On my way home I went to Gracious Home and I found a great faux leather green waste basket on
sale for 50 percent off. It works perfectly in my living room. I also picked up some beautiful tulips to brighten my apartment.

I need to read the next chapters and pick my
style vision, I think I am leaning toward organic modern.

Keep Curing,

LynneF

staciaD in N.Cal -

Angus Oblong is one of my closest friends --do you mind if I pass on the link to your "Inspiration Style tray"? I think he'd be flattered.

He actually just had an interior designer rearrange his whole place last week and it looks great!

I'm in. One room remedy. Same room as before. But I have plowed through years of clutter. Recycling tons of paper, years of mags, old clothes, books. Despite the purging the room is not yet ready for prime time as an office. I think the Cure will take me there this time. Actually, the Cure has enabled me to completely reorganize my bedroom closet, which included giving half my clothes and 1/3 of my shoes to charity. Two huge, awkward and heavy bookcases are ready to be out of here. The flowers that bloom in the spring, ta da!

saidalice;
I sent you a flickr mail, but the gist of it is; Yeah! I wouldn't mind you showing him at all!

kendra.e: I am co-opting the use of the word Awesome in describing all my junk. Its just hiLARious.

Well, I've finally posted my before pics. Pics of an empty apartment -- bet you can hardly wait!!! ;) Link in my name.

I did the floors yesterday, but the bathroom floor definitely needs a deep treatment all its own. There's a yucky looking stain on the bathroom floor that will require some work. I have allergies and chemical sensitivities, so I can't use the harsh things that would likely deal with it, so I'll have to use gentle cleaners and heavy-duty elbow grease. Wish me luck! (I expect to be scrubbing almost daily for the foreseeable future. sigh.)

Today I moved dishes and books (they're not unpacked, just dumped on the kitchen counter in the case of the dishes, and in the storage room in the case of the books).

I also bought a couple of metal shelving units, and put them together, for the storage room. I put a few books on each of them -- I hope they're still standing in the morning (if they're not, I hope the person below my apartment is a sound sleeper, and doesn't get awakened by metal shelves and books crashing down!) Here's a link to what the shelves are like ... I kinda like them.

http://canada.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1770608&cp=1331952.1902764

oteach1, thanks for sharing your "therapy moments" -- the Cure is definitely about more than moving some furniture around. In one of the looking-toward-the-Cure threads, Alana in Canada said that the Cure can be life-changing. She's right.

angorian -- I hear you on the budget issues. It'll be a challenge, but it could lead to all sorts of creativity in dealing with the challenge.

ooooo. Jekyll, i found some neat attractive floor mats here:
http://www.moddecor.com/category_s/5.htm

scroll to bottom of rugs section.

whooooah! yesterday I was posting on here so I could update my small studio apartment and now I'm moving in an amazing apartment... that I just went to look at on a whim. I walked in and fell in LOVE with it. I never thought I would have, being the 5th applicant... next thing I know I am handing over my first month's rent. Three pics of it are on flickr :)

I'm gearing up to move now. A great way to make way for even more in the out box. I'll have some catch-up here and there, but think in the new place my lighting problems, at least will be solved (there is track lighting with dimmers!!!! in every room).

So far this weekend I have cleared out a lot of junk and also reupholstered one of the two chairs I had earmarked to do during the cure.

I'm now left with a problem, which I hope you can help me with. Linked in my name are photos of the reuholstered chair and also of all the other soft furniture in my sitting room. I need to choose fabric for the second chair, but I'm not sure what to go for. I also need to bring it all together somehow using throws / cushions. I'm aiming for a "casually thrown together over the years" look, so don't want everything matching too obviously.

Any ideas welcome!

Hi Sharon:
Yes, i plan to re-model the whole thing. Thanks for your suggestions. Indeed, i plan to put just a round sink and might hang the dish drainer above on the wall. Now, the sink is square-shaped with a draining section and it is all together very large ( about 1 meter ). For the second suggestion, it is nice but would restrain the moving space in the kitchen a lot. As i want to keep the the dining table in the kitchen, it won't be possible.
As for the cabinets, i don't like them at all. They look very cheap in real. I want to achieve a more clean and and modern look in the kitchen. As i cannot afford to change the tiles too, i opted for kitchen cabinets in anthracite color from IKEA, to contrast with the "seventies" red of the tiles. The appliances will be in inox-color, at least those who are apparent as the stove and fridge. The washing machine will be a small Kenwood model which fits under the sink and will be hidden by a cabinet door.
Wishing you and everybody else on this thread a wonderful sunday, here in Switzerland it's almost over, snif!!

Congratulations, Lynnea! Talk about the right apartment calling out to you... it is so charming!

This cure is going to be a lot of fun with so many people participating. The comment thread gets so long, maybe we need an email list or something.

Kendra e. I love the term "awesome room" for a junk room, it has a much nicer ring to it.

Lynnea, that new apt. looks wonderful! Congratulations.

We've had a busy week with the cure. I worked on the living room, just thinking and putting things in the outbox and fixing little things that have been bugging me. I also tackled the huge mess that was my studio. I'll post some photos.

We are thinking of buying this house that we're currently renting, the landlady is coming to talk with us about it next week, so I've also been calling professionals and getting estimates on things like exterior painting, gutters and electrical work.

Jekyll,
About the mat for your desk chair, do you think something like one of these plastic mats would work? They have a few different patterns.

Jekyll,
Sorry, I couldn't get the link to show up. Here are the plastic mats http://www.kokotrends.com/floormats/index.html.

Wow! Thank you for the comments on my Flikr photos, since this is my first cure I can use any opinions and help-all are welcome!

I started to feel bad about all of my awesome crap and then we helped our friends move yesterday. Boy, do I feel better now! 3 26 ft long u hauls and they aren't done yet. I came home and felt light and airy compared to that!

We are working on our repair for the week. We are fixing the hall floor-replacing our sons door, and fixing some nasty trim in the dining room. And by we I actually mean my husband. He's such a trooper.
On to the kitchen.........

Yay everyone! Zooza, oh my gosh! That chair is great! You are my hero because the idea of reupholstering *anything* is really intimidating to me.

Here's a flower tip I learned recently: your flowers will last longer if you add 7-up (soda) to the water! Apparently they really like the sugar. Who knew?

I'm so surprised that out of everything I did in the last week, buying flowers was the most therapeutic for me. Maxwell is right to emphasize the whole process as giving a gift to your home. I bought daffodils and everytime I look at them, I have to make a little gleeful noise at them because they're so beautiful and cheery. It really reinforces for me the fact that "Heart" is the area I need the most improvement in.

That said, I really love having super-clean floors (must admit I'm usually pretty lazy about mopping frequently) and having more space as a result of my curbside deposit. Onto week two!

I can't believe how energized I fell about this whole thing!
The repair work is going well and I just got off the phone with the local women's shelter to take all the kitchen items I don't need. They are willing to take whatever I do not want...everything from pots and pans...to whatever is left in my "OUT BOX"!

I can't wait for week two! I'm even thinking about doing a yard "cure" when the house is done!

Today I put out a side table and a big basket. Figured I could find a place for everything in/on them if they weren't here any more.

Also put three of those bags full of shopping bags and bubblewrap down the trash chute.

Yea!

JANY~ I just checked out your kitchen. I LOVE how you get great sunlight in the space. Looks like there's a lot of potential to upgrade! Are you going to keep the dark red tiles?

Today we ignored the Awesome Room and went into the city and looked at furniture. We didn't really decide on anything, but we did get some fabric samples and I was really surprised by what mr kendra e picked out. I do have to say that when we first met, my apt was really mod with lots of plastic sorta feeling stuff - Saarinen table knockoff, lucite junk, big silver lamps, and mr. kendra.e really hated it. I think we have a lot of california modern stuff right now because we sorta like it, and we don't disagree on it.

Anyhow, I was really surprised that first off we went into a Kartell store and he loved everything. I was the one saying um, I don't know about that. I seriously was almost speechless when he wanted to get a bunch of dif color chairs for the Awesome room. I still don't understand how he can hate Eames chairs, but love those kartell chairs, but that's ok.

Anyhow, then we went on to look at a daybed in a dif store and I picked out these samples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81337094@N00/418248091/

Then mr. kendra e asked for this sample

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81337094@N00/418248093/

wow! I could not believe he wanted a big chili pepper red couch; I feel like we have totally switched places. We checked out a few other stores and picked up some catalogs and stuff on the way home and brainstormed a little bit.

I bought flowers even though I'm doing a one-room cure. I got out of the habit after the last cure and wish I hadn't. So those cheered me up, and I think my first paint swatch might be my favorite already. Does anyone on here ver feel guilty about choosing their first try and not trying lots of different options before they decide? Anyways, swatch is in my name. I can't decide if it will be weird coming from the blue bedroom to a different blue bathroom. I mean, we already have a blue bathroom but you get to it from the hallway, which is white. Is it weird to worry about transitioning my colors from one room to the next? I can't decide...

Anne, it isn't at all weird to consider making the entire space cohesive. My place is so open, I think it about it. But there are so many different things I like...

On Tuesday, I learned that the apt building I've been in for 7 years has been sold and is going condo.
Since I don't want to buy a condo and my lease is up in May, my version of the Cure is going to be purging !!
;-(

Hey Folks,
I want to make a floor plan, can someone give a place to start with a program, either online or a free softward download? I had to work this weekend, but I'm off tomorrow to deep clean the floors. I like the email list or something, it is hard to read the blog for conversation.
Susan

For email list your can use flickr mail. When your looking at someone's photos click on their profile and next to their buddy icon you can 'send them a flickr mail".
Also, I find the back and forth conversations on particular pictures is helpful.
Oh. AND there's also the discussion board on the flickr group too.

But come back here with updates and info too.
When I first found the book blog I didn't have the book or participate in the cure.
I just printed out all the posts and read them. It was very helpful with lots of good ideas. And the moral support everyone showed really gave the courage to participate this time.

Good luck, and i'll see you in the flickr pages.
:)

Tomoko,
yes, i'm going to keep the dark red tiles. The red is kind of "seventies"-style, and when i first moved in i actually didn't like them at all. But now i got used to them and start to like them, so i'm "building" my color scheme for the kitchen based on them.

Getting to work! Already made a list of repairs. Unfortunately my weekend was so busy I didn't get to do the floor-cleaning that I promised myself I would. I will do it on Tuesday evening instead.

Was productive on Thursday, though. Mounted my full length mirror and discovered 3M picture hanger command strips - amazing and awesome for avoiding more holes in the walls!

Still have to put away clothes that are loitering around my apartment in plastic bags. And I need a loveseat or oversized chair for my main room...

So much to do!

this weekend was fantastic for the kitchen...my contractor put together the cabinets from IKEA and we revised the layout. We added (2) more cabinets and a microwave over the stove, that meant one more trip to IKEA. He also gave me measurements for the floor, backsplash & countertops. Anyone know of a discount tile supplier in the NYC area? Still mulling over wall colors for the kitchen... And I changed my moniker to Andrea Gayle in Brooklyn just to keep everything clear.

Free floor plan tool alert!! I wanted to use the icovia website but didn't want to pay the fee for a one time deal. Then I found a free version powered by the same company at Jordan Furniture:
http://www.jordans.com/roomplanner.asp

You can log in, save your plans, make multiple ones, etc.

Also thanks everyone for the tips you've posted about my apt. I made some layout changes last night and will post new pictures tomorrow.

Lady J - congrats on getting rid of the bags of bags! it feels good, doesn't it?

Zooza - your chair is awesome!

Its so fun to see everyone here doing such awesome work.

Our first ever Cure is going well so far. I've got lots of ideas, and we're plugging through them. Once the rest of our furniture gets here in the next week or so, it will be easier to see what options we have with the space.

Its inspiring to see what all of you are up to!

Yesterday I listed a table on freecycle and there is already someone who wants it!

Martybird,

Thanks for the comments! Just like jodi, I too have moved in recently to this small studio....and would like to make it feel home-y. And by doing the cure, I believe I can achieve this.

I'm in. And worried. Just when I thought I'd culled enough, there will surely be more to cull.

I am a little behind.... so all my floor cleaning is happening today. However... I did sell 3 furniture items this week (a huge monstrosity of an office chair, an elfa kitchen cart with butcher block, and a desk) and being rid of them has already made a HUGE difference in how i see my cluttered apartment. I can't wait for what's coming next.

Sharon, there is always *different* to cull. Stuff comes in... stuff wears out... stuff outlives its purpose in your life... stuff migrates to the back of the closet and goes "Boo!" at you when you discover that you still own that.

I'm working on the office instead of the kitchen because the kitchen itself is always organized -- that one gives me no difficulties -- but the office isn't, so things that should be put away in the office end up on the kitchen island.

Just uploaded pictures of my (hand-drawn) floor plans and front views. This helped a lot to see clear and to think of all the details, though i'm sure i've certainly forgotten about some... but the contractors will remind me !
The first one is coming tomorrow morning.

I'm very pleased with this cure's community, there are so much nice ideas ( i particularly LOVE the dotted chair from Zooza ).

oteach: re your therapy revelations... I had a very similar one this weekend. I'm a lazy perfectionist. If it can't be perfect, in my brain it is better to do nothing than to do something and have it be wrong.

I think I'm hitting the "therapy" portion of this thing.

I'm already getting behind schedule, because I was gone Friday through last night (for a mini-vacation in San Francisco). My initial attempts to get someone to come to give a bid on installing strand bamboo flooring have not been successful, but I'll keep trying. I plan to go to some flooring stores this weekend and see what I can find out.

I have several issues on which I'd like to get your feedback. My apartment currently feels empty. It's not very welcoming or homey. A lot of my problem stems from living in an apartment that is literally 7 or 8 times larger than my previous apartment. Last September, my boyfriend and I moved from Boston to Milwaukee, and we left everything but our clothes in Boston. We have been slowly furnishing this new apartment, but it's been slow going. I don't want to waste money on cheap furniture that I'll want to replace as soon as I have a little cash, so currently we go without. I think hanging curtains in the main room will help. What else should I do? Should I pull the two couches away from the wall in the living room? Should I abandon the second bedroom and move my desk into the main room?

I have lots of questions, and they are all posted on my flickr page. I'd appreciate some help. Please be honest; I won't be offended if you don't like something.

My week one pictures are in my siggy. My before pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52764760@N00/sets/72157594567350420/

Jessica - This week has really made me start to come to terms with my own 'lazy perfectionist' side, too. I think that's one of the great things about the cure process - it forces you to make decisions and make things better, even if they are not perfect. I'm sure in the future I will want to change some of the things I do over the next seven weeks, but again, that's part of having a vibrant, living home. At least that's what I'm telling myself at the moment! It just feels so good to be making things happen.

Help!

I'm having technology problems. First of all, I committed the major sin of recharging my camera batteries before they were depleted; now they hardly work at all. I took 3 photos on newly-charged batteries and then the camera shut down and told me to recharge! So, sorry, but there are only 3 "before" pix on Flickr.

Then, the photos are crummy because they ended up being time exposures (I'm sure I don't know why) and I didn't hold the camera steady enough. You can see what I'm talking about, but there is a double image. I put them on Flickr anyway under 'alcemily'. Not sure I'm using Flickr correctly; I think I added my photos to the AT pool, but how would I know? There are so many photos to check . . .

I also had problems logging on to the AT website last week, but think that was only temporary.

I would love some suggestions/comments from others about what to do with my 2 rooms to "cure" them, particularly the workspace problem. My bedroom is such a lovely space that I do all my work in there, putting the laptop on my bed and sitting in a crummy chair pulled up to the bed. My beautiful antique rolltop desk in the study is mainly used now as the junk place where I pile papers which I fully intend to file someday. But I don't know if I'll ever want to work in the study because it's a dark inner room (airshaft window, to NYers) and the lovely light in my bedroom draws me in there. Well OK, I could both work and sleep in my lovely bedroom (though many people advise against it, but I think my room is big enough). But then, what should I use the small inner room for? Make it a giant, walk-through closet/storage space? Somehow, that seems depressing, since I'd have to walk through it every day. (I tried sleeping in there and it was fine in winter but stifling in summer; I don't want to go back to that.)

I love the bathroom with the blue bubble-splotch tiles! That's fun. I will need to redo my bathroom at some point, and this is a great inspiration! But, first things first.

Hi to Anthea! I grew up in Milwaukee, but your place looks nothing like the home I remember! I had friends who bought a 3-story house in Philadelphia, and when they were newly married, they had your dilemma of a lot of empty rooms. As they gradually acquired new furniture, their older stuff migrated upstairs into the empty rooms, and little by little, over the years, they all got furnished. I think that's the way to go -- don't buy junk just to take up space! Better to have the empty space.

I also read once that you should buy one major piece of furniture or other major home item for every period or epoque in your life. I thought that was really nice advice -- again, it's about taking the long view, honoring wherever you are now but expecting to keep those things for years.

OK, enough. Wende, congrats on your really cool-sounding novel. (I am also a writer.) Help, both decorating and techy, will be much appreciated -- thanks!

Emily (Alcemily/Praxilla)

I should be clear that my most recent questions are in my week one flickr set, not my before set. You can find it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52764760@N00/sets/72157594584851354/

Thanks everyone so far for your comments. Alcemily, I know I need to be patient with the lack of furniture, but if people have ideas for what I should do until I can save up the thousands needed for a new couch, I'd appreciate it. I have no technical abilities, so I can't help with your camera. Sorry!

jessica (aka twergi) et al. - The lazy perfectionist - that's a good way to describe me...and it turns into a bit of paralysis. Especially since I don't have the time to do ALL I want to do, what with work and a little guy at home. MY challenge to myself though is to keep at this, follow the book and not take on much more than the book, and make a plan for a dinner party at the end to reward myself. In the meanwhile, as suggested above, I am keeping a master list of all this things I wish to get to (big and small) so that Iknow I can address them as time pops up now and again.

I did find out that I have a day off of work next week, son will be in daycare, so I'd like to plan to do A LOT of apartment work...maybe I'll read ahead just so I can plan a bit what needs to be done...

And last, I think I have my landing strip...I'll post it soon!

Hi, Anthea --

OK, the couch. You can cover the couch(es) you have with bedspreads or ready-made slipcovers. You can buy a used couch at a thrift store, E-bay, or Freecycle (a friend bought an oriental rug on E-bay and said it was terrific and cheap). You can grit your teeth, use the couches you have now (not SO bad, really), and decorate around them. You can make a daybed from an ordinary twin bed, lining the back with bolsters and cushions, instead of getting a couch. You can decide to make a new couch the major purchase for this epoch of your life and skimp on everything else.

I'm sure other people have suggested similar ideas. Couches are no fun, in my opinion, because they're so expensive but irreplaceable in a decorating scheme -- nothing else really fits the bill.

Love your photogenic black cat!

Hi folks. More pics!

My bedroom and my work-in-progress landing strip (yes...I got a little ahead, but only a little). And I posted these pictures with an unmade bed, half-open drawers, and a crooked lamp.

I was hoping that I could pursuade you to take a peek and be brutally honest - if that won't keep me motivated, what will?

Thanks ;)

Oh, hey -- I just discovered how to read the comments you put on the pictures. How do you do that? And I found some of your questions and other people's comments, and so think I'm finally answering the questions you're asking instead of just making random remarks. I suppose this is progress.

How do I put a link to my Flickr photos in these comments?

I see where this will be fun but time consuming.

I'm a little behind, but I got the last of the floors done today. This cure is going to be for purging and for getting into good cleaning habits, mostly. When I get married in September my fiance and I will be doing some one-room cures and probably fairly significant renovations. So this cure is for myself and my habits primarily. I'm pulling for a Bantum couch in the living room, we'll probably do an Ikea kitchen, and we have unknown plans for the bathroom (we just know it needs to be redone).

On my current projects... Does anyone in DC know a good upholsterer? My turquoise chair is in DESPERATE need of reupholstering. Anyway, Week 1 photos attached, of course.

Hi -- Finally got my style tray and before photos up as a set on Flickr. Link is in my name, of course. This has taken me all evening, so I'll just say that all ideas and comments are welcome. But I do have a list of questions I'll be asking for group comment on specifically. Ok, I'll throw one out now...Right now I am looking at C&B as dresser and bedframe source, reviews on quality, ease of ordering/receiving?? Thanks!

I'm new to this and confused by how it's supposed to work. Several of you (JoanathanB, for example, or Wende or Just Curious) seem to be serial patients. Does this "Cure" thing ever actually cure you?

What's this Maxwell's role in all this anyway? He sells his book, and he posts a few lines here and there (e.g., at the top of this thread on how he can't keep up). Does he do anything else for you?

Jill -- If we'd stayed in San Francisco, one Cure would have been plenty. Moving cross-country meant different housing stock, different floor plan, different light, different climate, different lifestyle. Cure #2 took place while we were unpacking, when my priority for the second bedroom was to get boxes unpacked and stuff into the closet -- and that's really the only "problem" room now, but its problems tend to escape into the dining area and make incursions into the kitchen. (The curse of having a kitchen open to the living room...)

This Cure is expected to hold me through graduation in May '09, after which we will... *sigh*... move again.

Maxwell hosts the endeavor. And it's more fun than rearranging furniture alone. Of course the whole thing promotes the book, but it's also a community event where you get to know people.

Jill, the Cure is also a social interaction. It is a chance to get new views on your problems with your space from a fresh eye. We help eachother on here and flickr and Maxwell seems to pop in and out a bit to check on us.

It can be a partial or complete Cure, depending on your time, budget and inclination - the last Cure I did was on the "whole house" but I couldn't do everything so I am now really happy with about half my house and the other half is a work in progress. Right now I am doing the one-room Cure on a bathroom that desperately needed it (more so than the other half of the house). But sometimes you need to Cure repeatedly since stuff accumulates and 8 weeks isn't necessarily that long of a stretch when life frequently gets in the way (i.e. I'm still waiting for the tile guy, but this way I will get it all painted before he arrives, it looks like, at least now that I have chosen a paint color...)

The Cure, on some level, is like group therapy. We are here to encourage eachother and give opinions and answer questions and be helpful if we feel like it. And with so many of us, somebody's GOT to have something helpful to say! I think it is more helpful, on some level, than the rest of the site because we are all here for the same purpose and often it is much more constructive than other parts of the site (not meaning that in an overall negative way, but the snarky people stay on the main site, it seems, and off of "our" threads). It's like a little community, and I'm not surprised that other people come back for more help after one Cure.

Whoops, I'll stop rambling now. Maybe we'll get some responses from the East-Coaster's in the a.m.

Also, does anyone else think we need a mid-week thread? Three threads a week might keep this craziness under control!

Anyone can buy the book and do the Cure solo. I find the Group Cure helpful because it provides extra motivation and energy. Just looking at your own home through photos is illuminating. You can see it in a whole new light. And, as with everything on this blog, there are so many alternative ideas and solutions that one can be exposed to.

This isn't a service. It's a community event.

I like the community aspect, too. It's the "follow the leader" mentality that worries me. It seems like we're being led by the hand, like children, and being told, OK, in week 1 you do this, in week 2, that. It's a little hard for me to get used to, as a newbie. And I can't help feeling that if Maxwell can't even keep his minimal participation on track (his Thursday postings become weekend ones, his Monday one will now appear God knows when), then why should we think he knows anything about getting organized or curing our mess. It's a sort of "Physician, heal thyself" feeling that I'm starting to get.

But the rest of you seem so nice and so sincere and so enthusiastic...

Jill-- there's no set pattern or rules to participate. If you don't want to follow the book's outline and list of tasks, we'll still give you feedback and answer any questions you might be pondering. I find the book useful because Maxwell has spent a lot of time thinking about how to organize space and how to think of our apartments and our stuff in practical ways. His approach helps me create space that is supporting all areas of my life. That being said, his participation on a daily basis isn't really necessary. The cure moves forward with or without him through our comments to each other here on the threads and on flickr. The cure really isn't about Maxwell, but about the community that develops to cheer each other on as we accomplish the goals we have for our living space.

I spent the morning listening to "This American Life" and rearranging furniture. I've decided to abandon the second bedroom. It will function as a closet until we can afford to buy bookshelves and a couch for that room. Then I'll move my desk and the lamp back into it and it will become the second bedroom/office I envisioned.

I like that the living room feels more lived in. I still need curtains. Has anyone had a good experience with Target curtains? What's a good source for cheap window dressings? Cheap roman blinds?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52764760@N00/sets/72157594584851354/

Ah, the Maxwell-and-regular-schedules issue! It's a personality type thing. His style of creativity and insight goes hand-in-hand with a tendency to say "I'm going out for a coffee" and next thing you know, it's three hours later, and you're getting a phone call from New Hampshire about this really cool antique shop with the most amazing latte. It's just how their brains work. A healthy environment doesn't stop this behavior -- it stops them from doing it in a way that screws up their lives.

Similarly, for a big-picture strategist like me, a healthy environment doesn't stop me from plotting world domination; it stops me from spinning my wheels about irrelevancies so I can get on with the work of dominating.

Here are the personality types I'm basing this on:
http://keirsey.com/matrix.html
Maxwell is an Artisan; I'm a Rational; most people hanging out on the main AT site are Idealists or Artisans; and most Americans are Guardians.

I work with this in tedious detail elsewhere:
http://wendefeller.com/mbtiguide.pdf

Ordinarily, Artisans drive me crazy, but rationality tends to overlook aspects of hominess like having flowers, so I try to roll with the whole Artisan thing.

I'm in too! I'm doing the deep treatment, our apartment totally needs it. I'll put before photos up on Flickr tomorrow (hopefully).

I'm so excited!

I'm in!! I am using the eight-week cure to finish up my half-done bedroom and a second project TBD by my do-it-yourselfer husband. I'll get some pictures up this week.

just curious how many curers we have in la.

What can we do,you're so good at it..Well, I believe in a year or two, there'd be thousands of us who'd be staggering our way here..I like the steps and its quite easier and effective as I'd expected it to be...As effective and easy as the installation of my GMC car cover..=)I really enjoy this site..
Very,very helpful..I'll just visit every now and then for some updates...Thanks again!