apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, San Francisco IS home, but it does feel a little lonely over on the AT:SF Spring Cure thread, so consequently I've been posting photos of progress to the SF Flickr group as well as to the Apartment Therapy Cure (Unofficial) Flickr group.

I have a big help! here. Maxwell, AT's convinced us to buy a Dornbracht Meta 0.2 faucet for our upcoming bathroom renovation. We shall be pairing it with a Duravit sink and cabinet like this:
http://www.duravit.com/products/series/fogo-useo6q3rpe.html

We are still looking for tile, a medicine cabinet/mirror, toilet paper holder, towel racks, etc. to work with our lovely sink-to-be. We have yet to pick out shower fixtures or a toilet. At this point, we need to buy within the 'reasonably priced' category. We are also considering a cedar plank shower stall like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98704941@N00/2252716491/in/set-72157602052337782

What might folks recommend or suggest? Subway tiles, round penny tiles, and Hakatai small glass tiles are all in the running for our tile choice. Our bath space, sans bathtub, is quite small. Yours in Curing, Wig

So far, I've tossed that old stereo. I'm sure it was a simple repair, but I haven't taken it to be serviced in nine years. The verdict was in on that one. Also, I cleaned all my dishes (y'know my kitchen is a wreck) and have been cooking dinner daily. I'm even having cereal before work. And a small box of catalogs/ flyers/ magazines went out to the curb.

Week 2 flowers are a blooming!

I was about to start the kitchen clean up and realized that... I don't have to do it. The kitchen is clean, no weird foods are to be found, all is in perfect order! It seems like I,ve applied the lessons learned during the Fall Cure.

The outbox is MUCH smaller than last Spring.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2344701302/

So instead, I took care of the second walk-in.

Before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2334455568/in/set-72157604122297971/

After:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2343869723/in/set-72157604122297971/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2344700310/in/set-72157604122297971/

I meant "than last Fall" not Spring :p

Um, thanks for insulting my "not great" pictures. THat really makes me want to continue the process and posting photos. Sheesh.

My tulips are still beautiful in my kitchen, i'm surprised how long they last !
I've been to IKEA on monday after work ( it's on my way home ) and bought plastic containers with lids ( only 4 Swiss Francs /piece which would be about a Dollar/pc at the actual exchange rate ) in order to store my stuff in the basement properly.
By now, i'm actually looking forward to friday when i'll start this, the mess in my basement is not anymore supportable to me, i want to access everything easily. And get rid of all the stuff i keep "just in case, you never know"...

Almost forgot about this: Is there anyone interested in swapping magazines with me ?
I would love to have a copy of Domino magazine ( with Drew Barrymore), and Dwell magazine.
I'll be happy to send you european shelter magazines ( french, german, i can get some british here too) and some swiss chocolate in exchange.
Anyone ?!

Thanks for linking to my blog! And Maxwell, since you asked everyone else to decide if I am Warm or Cool, does that mean you are as stumped as I am?? :-)

This weekend was spent prepping for the painters. Here's a little preview of some potential colors. As part of that process, I moved some stuff down to storage, donated some books to the library in my building, dropped off clothes and electronics at the recycling event, and took everything off the walls (whew!). All I can say is that I am so excited to infuse some color into my place! The paint is selected and is ready to go!

That said, I may not get to the kitchen until this weekend, or maybe even next week, but just because I'm not sticking to the schedule doesn't mean I'm not committed. In fact, this week will bring some HUGE changes, so stay tuned for post-painting & new light fixture pics next week. In the meantime, I'm still keeping up with the flowers.

I'm with Eve on the kitchen thing, mine has been upkept pretty well. I think I'm just gonna give the fridge and shelves a wipe down and I'm done.

So I've been working on the "office" closet area in my space. I'm not sure if my pics got buried in the last post since I only put them up Monday. Here's the office I was too embarrassed to photograph last fall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12721467@N02/

Jany, yes, I'd love to trade magazines with you! We subscribe to both Dwell and Domino. The Drew Barrymore issue has yet to land in our mail box. Email me at: helicopterhi@yahoo.com.

We accomplished a lot today, so it seemed a good time to update here. This week we cleaned and (we never buy food and it leads to terrible habits, even though we both love to cook), freed up some extra kitchen counter space by evaluating how much we were actually using everything that was there and planned our meals for the week, including some old favourites and some new things too for a good mix.
We were pretty up to date with repairs (we have a great super) so we made a point of finishing one unfinished project (instead of fixing something broken). Two months ago I started stripping and repainting our dining table and chairs, but didn't finish. Today I sanded and primed the table so we can finish that job tomorrow...and take a picture!
And after a pre-cure prune of my work supplies, I decided to opt away from the huge drafting table I have had for years to an adapted kitchen island that will make my workspace take up less real estate in the room while offering way more storage and a worktop that is easier to clean. I brought home all the pieces tonight and we have a four day weekend to put it together. And sheesh! After I read all that, now I'm suddenly exhausted. :) Think I'll go browse the Flickr pool for a bit of relaxation. ;-)

Everyone is doing great! I'm still here. Started in on my kitchen, although I still need to post the photos. And I ordered a new toilet! Hopefully I will order the tile and vanity this weekend... (I've been looking for a while)

I'm posting here: http://j-fer-rose.blogspot.com/
and here: http://www.flickr.com/gp/7301500@N04/593Nz8

Does anyone know how to unwarp a thin sheet of wood?

Should I just lay it flat and hope for the best?

Thanks.

Alana, how big is it? I would think that some controlled application of heat and or moisture could work....

About four feet by four feet--two pieces. Warped from standing propped up for many months.

my husband and i (doug in dc) are working on our living room for the spring cure. he's posted a few “before” pictures on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordscarlet/sets/72157604042358703/) with all sorts of comments about what we've got going on and what we're trying to accomplish with the cure. other than what's on flickr, we haven't really posted any updates, so here goes:
we've started gathering pictures of rooms we love, and we've started an online style tray to help (http://sites.google.com/a/idledreams.net/the-apartment-therapy-cure-2008/Style-Tray). we don't get any home magazines other than domino, so it seemed better to do it online than to cut out pictures or whatever.
we had fabulous weather this past weekend in dc, so we decided to wander around to home stores. miss pixies, dwr (it's mostly obscenely expensive, but we've been eyeing the bantam sofa which is not all that bad. doug also is dreaming of the flight recliner...it's comfy but so much money!), then some of the stores around u street and 14th. never been to rckcndy before. oh, it was pretty! we also hit the new garden district like some of the other dc cure-ees. great minds :)
we each listed our three words for our “vision” for the living room. doug's – hidden, organized, airy; mine – cozy, airy, uncluttered. it's good that we overlap, yeah? how did we both come up with the word airy on our own?
so the big debate for now – i think we might want/need to repaint. we love the red that we have on two and half of the walls. but there are areas in the red that need to be repainted...so do we do a new color? keep the red? the color scheme is our main debate right now. it's seems like without knowing that, we don't really know what to do.
now onto the floorplan!

AndreaU, I'd say you definitely fall into the 'Warm' category - judging from your interview answers and the pictures you posted on your blog. Would you agree? The only thing is that you seem to be a Warm home dweller who likes cool colors, like the stone grey on your walls (I'd think that's pretty common combo).

Alana -- is it plywood that's warped? or some other kind of wood? I googled the words warped plywood, and there were several hits. The one that looked most useful was this one http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/how-to/tips/flattening-warped-plywood.aspx

Hope this helps!

scb to the rescue! Thank you so much.

Let's say it all together: "I love Taunton."

(Actually, I do.)

Let's hope the "warm interior air" will be enough--the driveway is sloped (and mushy) and I don't even let the dog into the garage.

Andrea--the question is this: do you like to be surrounded by your things? Does it give you comfort? (Warm) Or do they need to be packed away and the place as spartan as possible (cool)?

When my place is spotless, I actually feel somewhat bereft. I'm "warm."
But if folks ask you when you're going to decorate, you're probably cool.
That's how I understand it, anyway.

Wig3000, thanks ! i've sent an email to you.

Thanks for the ideas!

Sea - Yes I love the colors, but just feel that it is too sparse at the moment

Alana - I would have to say both! I want things on the walls, but not the surfaces...Anything that I "use' goes in a drawer or neatly on a tray...but I can't stand blank walls!! I don't want to put anything up that we don't love so it's been slow going!

AndreaU, could you be "lukewarm"? I honestly don't think it matters all that much deciding what to call yourself so long as you can identify the things that make you happy--and it seems like you're doing that!

Week Two update:
I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets & wiped down all the surfaces.
Observe my outbox in all its glory: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/2344797460/

On an unrelated note: I sleep in my 8x9 foot closet.
Because there are no windows, it can get warm in there at night, especially in the summer. Currently, I open the living room window and pull a little table fan in to alleviate this problem. Last night was a warm one, and I thought again about installing a ceiling fan in there.
Issues: I rent, it's a closet (am i crazy to install a fan in it?), is the room too small, how much work would it be, can the ceiling hold it? Also, is it expensive?
What do you all think?

Recent tiny bedroom photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/2332903579/in/set-72157604119875207/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/2333730312/in/set-72157604119875207/

Older, when I first converted it from closet to bedroom:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/sets/72157603790864231/

I have no idea about the cost, but i think installing a ceiling fan is a good thing, especially in summer. This would cool down the place and allow air to circulate, no?!

If you have an overhead light in there, you can install an overhead fan. You'll have to invest in a good one, though. Make sure it has a fairly low speed, sits very close to the ceiling and still offers some light.

But, yes, I think you need a ceiling fan.

A mini update here. Still working on finishing my half-painted table and chairs. The whole set should be finished in time to start week 3.

Also updated about a financial fix that was worth the effort -- we found a better deal for our contents insurance so changed providers and queried our final bill from the electric company at our old flat. Between the two, we saved £1000, so definitely worth a few hours checking websites and calling customer service.

HollyinDC - you've done an amazing job turning that closet into a bedroom - it's so serene with all that white and so simple. Plus, I love how you used the curtain to integrate storage plus bedroom and how that curtain became such a lovely soft wall. Hope you get the air issue worked out.

I'd love some advice about painting the trunk/coffee table.
I'm thinking green--but I notice that coffee tables tend to be the "opposite" of one's uphostery in mag shots, not the same. That makes sense given it's usually a focal point. The white seems to stick out like a sore thumb, though.

Any thoughts?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46773919@N00/2347588791/

(Ps, I spiffed up a wee bit since drab Sunday.)

Well, I don't know if I should be happy or sad that my disaster living room photo is posted here! I hope it inspires others...I'm definitely a "warm" person, constantly accumulating too much stuff!
My mom was staying with me up until yesterday, so this week has been tough...
My kitchen also contains a lot of office-type stuff and storage that is under my counter (totally unsightly, but my apartment has no closets!!!! Help! I guess I could install little curtains, if I had any homemaking abilities whatsoever...).
I promise to post a photo of the current dire situation on Flickr!
This weekend, focus is on the kitchen!!

Hey, cool, that's my bedroom!

Progress is a little slow at the moment - I've been busy and hope to finish the bulk of the kitchen stuff tomorrow. It's really satisfying scraping all that old gunk out of unseen corners!

I'm going away for the weekend so hopefully I won't fall too far behind.....

HollyinDC, I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom because there isn't proper wiring for an air conditioner. It makes a huge difference in the summer (and also helps in the winter when my heat goes haywire!) I got mine at Target for something like 30 bucks, and paid my super 60 to install it. I say go for it.

I'm a little late with checking this week, but I thought I'd go ahead and at least say that I'll have more posted on flickr and my blog later today. I'm in the middle of refining my style tray and mapping out a new floor plan. And i need help deciding on fabric for my chair!! I'll post my two options on my blog, the passage unsettled, in a bit..any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I've been looking at fabric for my chair for SO long (long before i even started the cure) and I've just never been able to decide.
I'm actually really looking for a good chevron stripe fabric to use, but haven't seen any. There's an Amy Butler "rittzy stripe" fabric, but it's a little too busy for me.
Anyone seen any good chevron strip fabrics (that aren't upwards of $40 a yard?)

I'd love some input on what to paint my trunk.
Here are some options mocked up:
http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/2008/03/voting-time.html

Thanks.