apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I really like the advice to skip ahead, rather than fall behind too much.

The bf and I are actually working on arranging the living room/dining room (it's a single room with a dual purpose) today, and I would really like to get feedback from the group on how to swing it. I am at a loss in this room. We had waaay too much going on in the room, now we have too little in there. We just had it painted last week, we have a new couch and chair, new tv. But we have no end tables, no rugs down, no curtains up, not sure about the layout, etc.

I'll be putting up pics on my LiveJournal and flickr. Maybe I can get some pointers from all you guys?

I don't know that my living room is worthy of "Total Attention," but it does need help! But our issue in that room isn't the book/clutter issue, so it's probably not an ideal candidate for the special attention.

Will today count as a media fast for those without connections?

That's a wonderful offer Maxwell. I'm good, though. I'm going to concentrate on doing what I can--which is not all I should.

Today I finish washing the cornice and begin painting--that is if my foot holds out. I've plantar fasciitus (no idea how to spell it) which is just a fancy way of saying that the tendon which runs from the heel to toe, inside the arch, gets inflammed and painful. Hard to climb up and down ladders is all.

How is everyone else doing? Looking forward to hearing how much you all got done!

Oh and Maxwell, for the second edition a not about a toolbox would be great--or is there one already?

Like Opo--I keep losing my tape measure!

Marm--where are the pics of your living room?
The connection goes to your blog...can you give me a link to the flickr photos? Then I can leave comments there for you.

We love our Poangs - they are identifiably IKEA, but they are soooo comfortable and visually light.

Alana in Canada: I just put my liv. room pics up on the flickr AT Cure group.

They're going up on my blog too, in a bit.

The chairs already did make to MOMA. They are a very loose adaptation of the Saarinen Grasshopper chair.

http://www.artnet.de/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=B5CF661AA11B271CECC7C4C3D2993BB6

Ikea's Poang has, over its lifetime, undergone significant changes, has it not? Does one prize the original canvas or the later corduroy? And what does anyone have to say about Poang's footrest? Necessary? Overkill? And does the Saarinen Grasshopper chair have bounce in the way that Poang does? One of its finest features is its movement.

Hey marm! Where's the site you got your floor plan from? I'd love to play around with a few arrangements for you--my foot is too sore to do anything but sit.

Cathy, nice reading nook! I really like those shelves, great brackets.

I'm watching with much admiration those who are doing the Cure! I planned to begin with the crew but quickly realized that this is just not the right 8-weeks for me to do this. (This is my last year of a graduate program and with classes and clinical work, it's just too much). BUT, I have set some goals for myself to reach by the end of this Cure:
1. Create landing strip in hallway (I've taken some before and after photos, it's pretty bad right now).
2. Rewire and hang cool vintage green lamps above kitchen table.
3. Find roller blinds for all windows. Probably going to visit Janovic, maybe Blinds to Go, for these since all of my windows are non-standard size and I'm trying my best to keep things on a budget. I love the fabric roller blinds from Smith & Noble but priced it out and it was really expensive--I'm in a rental apartment and though we plan to be here for a couple of years, S & N is just too much of an investment.
4. Clean out two closets (mine and my husband's) and sell clothing on Ebay or donate. I think there are a couple of things I can sell and put the $$$ towards my blinds.

Good luck everyone, I find your photos really inspiring.

alana -- i finally found one of my three missing tape measures under the radiator! maybe there's a wormhole between our houses and all mine are behind your couch?

so i did it. i went for the carb furniture. and paid out the nose for it, too. or at least out the absolute top of my price range. i went with West Elm's Modern Storage media center (in acorn and white) for the living room so that i could bring my decidedly protein pedestal desk into the bedroom. i've just spent too damn long going around and around trying to find something protein and also perfect, and crazy cheap, too. if i hadn't just bit the bullet and gone West Elm, i never would finish my cure on time. but i did it, and it should arrive tomorrow afternoon. i may assemble it right away and move the desk ASAP, or i may stick the huge flat packed box in a corner and wait until after i paint next weekend.

see new photos, including a look at my new rug and chair, in my new more user friendly cure flickr set. linked in my name!

Alana, it's the "Arrange-a-Room" feature at the Better Homes & Gardens site. Link's in my name.

I'm doing the on-room cure on my living room & I'm feeling pretty stuck & alone.
I've got furniture & a rug that I like (except for a coffee table - not sure on that yet) but I'm getting stuck on the color part. So far everything I have is pretty neutral - I want to use my throw pillows & art as a way of inserting color. I like red-orange, but I don't want this to be a one-note room. I want to do something interesting that represents my style : cozy, bookish & stylish.
But my big thing right now: How to hang my pictures. Can anybody offer some suggestions for my space? It's a small apartment - I don't want anything too busy, but I want it to be interesting.
Thanks :-)

JC, I'd have to agree with the VERY loose adaptation of the Grasshopper chair, which doesn't look nearly as comfy to me. And Lurking Jenny, I would say the Poang footstool is a necessity, it's the natural extension of your body in that chair and it's much less ocmfy without it.

Anyways, that was random, but I love that chair. Just got back from a Target run and hung some bigger art (finally found frames!) in the office. Now to hang curtains on my new curtain rods! I'm putting off hanging the bedroom curtains because I REALLY want to get that room painted (I'm thinking a blue somewhere in between the two bathroom colors) before I do anything to fix it up, that may be the room to skip and do a one-room cure on in the near future.

Opo, love the new chair but your nightstand definitely needs some love. Are you attached to that giant clamp light or is it merely for the sake of expediency? The rug is nice, it seems a little carb-y to me though. It's hard to find good colorful ones on a budget, isn't it? I'm addicted to placeholder furniture and am worried that I will never replace it with anything real if I keep this up.

Holly, I am in the process of leaving an excessive amount of comments on your pics.

New pics next week, or as soon as flickr lets me.

LOVE that storage unit from west elm, great choice!

mustn't take time to look at pics...mustn't take time to look at pics...

Just popped in for a minute to say hi, everybody, and to report that this morning I got up early and finished going through the large box of manuscripts/drafts/whatever! (I am now regretting the getting-up-early part, but I'm very happy about the finished-going-through part.) Now all the drafts/ideas/research stuff that I'm keeping is all filed and labeled (what a concept!), and the rest will be shredded in due course (the elevation of Mount ShredMore did rise in the course of the going-through-of-the-box). I got the LPs ready to go, but they didn't make it out the door, because I then developed a headache, and have been dealing with it instead of Curing this afternoon.

This evening, I don't get to do any Curing, because I will be sallying forth to enjoy my 15 seconds of fame (this won't count for the whole 15 minutes of fame we're each supposed to get). I'm going to a hymnbook launch/singing workshop that's part of a nationwide tour. Two of my hymntexts are in the book, which is very exciting for me. However, as with most things, as long as they're safely in the future, I look forward to them with eagerness. Once they loom right in front of me, I'd rather stay home. The managing editor of the hymnbook project emailed me this week to see if I'd be there, so I'm kind of expecting he might say "stand up and wave to the nice people, smallcitybeth" (hence the 15 seconds of fame). I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I get there, and I know I'd be sorry if I didn't go, but right now I'd rather stay home. Silly me.

Anyway, great work, folks! I'll take a look at pics and ponder questions when I come home, because I have a feeling that by then I'll be too keyed up to sleep.

not a huge amount to report here, I was away half the week at a conference, and had night class the other half, so my progress was mostly limited to today (and whatever I do tomorrow). I spent a lot of energy 'curing' the back balcony/fire escape, mostly removing cobwebs, piles of dust and leaves, that were basically f*cking up the chi in a nasty and tangible way. I also purged a few more of my books, and started to figure out what can go in the very inaccessible shelves at the back of the clothes closet.

Oh! and I caved re: my bathroom storage, and bought an etagere. It's definitely a temporary and imperfect fix, but if I'm lucky I won't tire of it before I move out of here, at least a year from next March.

I spent some time this morning moving things around a bit. The plan I had yesterday didn't work out, but I did end up with something different. I still have a fair amount of work to do tomorrow, though, so I won't post pictures until then.

Oh! I got inspired by CathyinMN's reading nook and bought a vintage chair for my turret space! I'm really excited about it, especially after successfully hauling it up to my 3rd floor apartment. I only almost got it stuck in the stairwell once. I've decided that I'm going to use the shade I got at IKEA upside-down, I'm a bit odd, so it makes a certain amount of sense.

I also moved my office chair into the living romm. It's quite monolithic, but I can now close the french doors.

Still no progress on the landing strip...

Hey Marm, I've had fun playing about: click on my name to see what I've done so far. (I think I will try the table by the windows, just to see. Let you know whaen that's done).

I started the painting--but it's tough going. I don't want to talk about it.

well, Marm, it doesn't work. (The table by the windows).

Hope you get something you like!

Alana, wow! I thought you wanted to use that room arranging site for your own place, not to troubleshoot for the likes of me. I'm touched!

The table was in front of the windows originally, and no, it never really worked there. I think there's room to make it work to the right of the wide entrance, though. We're seeing about keeping the couch pretty much where it is in the photos, at an angle. We'll see.

I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm sorry the painting's not going well. Is there any way you can get some help, since you're foot is acting up? Maybe you can put off that job until you're feeling up to it.

Thanks again for your input.

I hope you don't change the colours in the end from what you've done all ready (as shown in your link to the older posting). They look amazing!

ha ha, marm: no......my couch goes only one way in my living room! No need for a program. (poot).

That's why it was so much fun to do yours. Seriously--I love drawing floor plans--like a jigsaw puzzle. (I used to buy those mags with the floorplans when I was about 14 and "walk" through them...man, can people design bad houses!)

and amc--are you talking to me?
and what colours shouldn't I change???

Anyway, the first coat still isn't done...but it will be before bed. Dh finally came home (from work) and gave me a bit of help.

I will say this: buy better tools than you can afford.

hooray! First coat on the cornice is done.

And you know, I can see a difference. For the first time since buying the white billy's (about a year ago--a year and a half?) I think it's OK. I have been looking and wishing we'd paid the extra for "espresso" --but it may just be OK after all. I still want to repaint them with melamine paint in cloud white (a warm white, white) just to take away the IKEA glow.....but I think everything's going to work out fine.

Second coat tomorrow--it may take a third--but photos as soon as it is done, I promise.

Oh, Anne in Reno: what resolution are your pics at when you upload them? I scan mine, so it's a different process, but 72 dpi is plenty for flickr. Alternately, you can resize them so the longest side is 432 pixels and it'll be fine.

I've got 39 photos up and have only used 4% of my allotted space for the month.

Alana in Canada -- I know you were talking to Anne in Reno, but your advice about dpi and pixels and such is helpful for me, as well, because at 29 pictures, I was at ninety-something percent of my allotted space for this month. That's WAY different to your percentage! I will have to try and use brain when I next put pics on Flickr. (using brain not always an easy process for a bear of very little brain such as I) (me?)

Congrats on getting the first coat on the cornice. I can imagine that's not easy to paint, reaching over your head and painting on a curve. Way to go!

And that's really cool what you did for Marm. Even though I'm happy with my furniture arrangement, methinks I'd like to play with that tool! (and it sure would be easier on the muscles than the heave-the-furniture-around-the-room method I used to arrive at my current configuration!)

Cathy in MN, every time I look at your reading nook, I just want to curl up and, well, read! It is so inviting. I just love that picture!

Christina -- have you posted the before and after pics of your landing strip? We'd love to see them.

And hey, join the gang, do what you can. It looks like you've set yourself a pretty ambitious list there, but we're definitely here to cheer you on. There've been a few others join lately, and I think that's great!

In response to Maxwell's suggestion about skipping a week of the Cure, I'm kinda out of whack right now with the deep treatment, but I'm still going to try to bring it all in on time. I'm kind of doing a mini one room remedy in the middle of everything, with my dragon store room. Once the store room is dealt with, the living room/office should just neatly fall into place, since I did a lot of the Cure of that area during the summer (my first Cure, May/June, was really a one-room-remedy of the Living Room). However, I have decided I have to pull back a bit from what I wanted to accomplish over the course of the Cure, purely for budgetary reasons. I know what I want, but I just can't afford it all just now. So I've decided to do what I can, which will at least lay a good foundation for then adding the other bits and pieces as I'm able to afford them.

And already the Cure is making a difference. When I came in tonight, it was so nice to see my nice neat landing strip waiting for me, instead of the messy jumble that closet has been for the past 7 years. It has gone through various permutations of jumble over that time period, but jumble has always been a keynote of its "style". I definitely like non-jumbled better. In a few weeks, every room in this apartment will make me smile, just as the landing strip did tonight, and that's such a good thing to look forward to (she says, looking over the vista of LPs bagged and ready to go out sitting on one OutBox chair in the middle of the living room, loveseat strewn with Christmas decorations in the process of being priced for the rummage sale they're being donated to, other OutBox chair piled high with all manner of donationary things, bags of shredding ready to get dumped in the recycling bin blocking access to one arm chair, a pile of paper waiting to be shredded next to the other arm chair...) This is definitely a work in progress. But there *will* be progress. "In the end, it will all be OK. If it's not OK, it's not the end."

Just wanted to remind you all--dst ends at midnight tonight. Yay--an extra hour of sleep.

And scb, I had to smile at your description. Oh--the chaos that is the cure! I have it too.

I'm good at sorting things to toss--but not at actually getting it all out of the house!

that purple nursery is going to look fabulous!
what a lucky baby!

I'm having a friend over tomorrow for tea and shortbread (first time ever). She has a house that I love and she's also crafty, really respect her opinion. She's coming over to see my apartment for the first time ever, versus viewing it on my blog. I've been Curing like crazy, rearranging, and finally installing things that should have been up a year ago. Wish me luck!

After that I hopefully will be posting pictures that FINALLY look like I've been doing something since June.

Hi All -- So much going on this weekend. Alana, much sympathy with the foot pain as I've had p.f. (no clue on spelling either) in the past and it is horrible!! I got a little foot massager/roller thing and used it before getting out of bed in the a.m. to great relief -- that is my one medical tip for the post. :-)
We had a very successful Ikea run yesterday a.m. and a fairly successful Target trip as well. Got the bookcase and glass doors that will be my new china hutch at Ikea and picked out the new desk for the office. I'm going to go get the desk next week. Target was less successful because I still cannot find one that has the storage ottoman I want to add to the LR, but I did see a throw that I am going to get to go with the ottoman and we picked up a 2d hepa filter for the back 1/2 of the apt.

The living room is done except the ottoman, throw and there is an area that I want to add light to. Light will be done today. I managed to get all of the books from the bedroom into the shelves in the LR and still have everything look tidy, so I am very happy about that. And in the end I didn't have to make an gut-wrenching book decisions which was perfect.

I took the bookcase out of the bedroom and it made SUCH a difference -- it is no longer crowded on my side of the bed. This one small change and some deep cleaning is going to tide me over until the 1 room cure in Jan.

I emptied the desk and filing cabinet that were in the office (basically onto the floor) and my friend Eric came over to help me carry them to the landing in my apt. building --- next stop for those is craigslist. Basically the office is trashed like rockstars stayed there, but we have a plan and I think in the end I'm going to be much happier in the space and get a lot more use from it which is the whole goal.

No curing for me until later -- am at work now (the balance for my early departure the other day), then hanging out with friends. Hope to get back to working at it by 5pm -- which means I won't be follwing Maxwell's advice an spending Sun afternoon walking, shopping, cooking, going to bed early. Ah, the give and takes of the cure.

Can't wait to read about and see all of your progress later!

Being a word nerd, I just had to find out how to spell that horribly painful foot thing... it's plantar fasciitis. Now, if only knowing how to spell it was actually helpful in making it better!

Lisa in VA, I just looked at your blog, and it's great! I'm looking forward to your pics later.

Jacquelyn, way to go on everything. I'm contemplating building my own storage ottoman (in the spring). I want a lower one than I've seen available, and I just thought it would be cool to be able to think "I built that..." I've figured out how to do it, I just have to wait and see if it'll actually work. In the meantime I'm going to use one of the many stepstools I have around here (I like to keep things off the floor, as witnessed in the filing part of my landing strip, so I have multitudinous el-cheapo stepstools.) My new-in-the-summer armchairs would be even more comfy if I could put my feet up. Putting my feet up being a post-Cure type thing.

Must go sort something.

Jaquelyn--thank you. You reminded me the kids had a plastic ball, once, with little spikes coming out all over it--the last time the attack was this bad, I was nursing, and I used to sit in the chair and run my foot over it while we nursed. It's long gone by now, but I'm sure I can find something similiar.

And scb, your post made me smile. Thanks for looking that up! Have you noticed how much your writing in your posts has improved since you started the cure? It could just be that you are more comfortable with us and let your own "voice" through more--or it could be the happiness brought about by the cure. In any case, when someone can make me chuckle at my computer screen--that's a fine piece of writing. (Which this isn't. I don't seem to start (or end) my day with any grammar skills at all).

And oh, to spend my afternoon shiopping, then cooking and having a leisurely evening--what a treat that would be. But shopping here is going to a big store and pushing a cart and looking for kids in the comic book aisle and just isn't as fun as wandering into a little shop filled with intyeresting things....

And cooking? "I don't like potatoes," "I don't like noodles" "I don't like...." In the name of peace--never allow your kids to refuse food. Their tastes can become so narrow there's nothing to cook anymore. Oh well, this is apartment therapy--not family therapy, lol!

As my foot allows, today I plan to
1) get caught up on laundry
2) finish switching the seasonal clothing (with six inches of snow out there now, I'd better get that done)
3) get caught up on the dishes
4) put up the second coat on the cornice
5) nag dh to clear the sink drain in the bathroom.
6) finish sorting and flinging the "letters from old boyfriends and others" box.

well, I actually had a much more productive cure-weekend than I thought. The BF came home around 9 PM last night from his brother's bachelor party, to the living room in various states of decluttering and re-arranging. Instead of freaking out, he dug right in, helping me re-stack the bookcases, and sorting through the piles of papers from the (now outboxed) file cabinet. I'm going to post pictures later, but I'm so happy that he's finally on board for the cure.

Next weekend is the wedding and a conveniently timed trip to IKEA, where three pieces of storage will now be mine!

Managed to unload my grandmother's "Nice Chairs That No One SIts In" to a lovely person who will love them the way they should be, and while I was rehearsing yesterday my darling husband took yet another big load of stuff to the Salvation Army. So now I only have my own crap to contend with...and it's still everywhere. I need to give my studio the deep treatment!

Next step: fix ugly slapdash hanging lamp situation in dining area, and paint. That's the hardest thing. And how did all these random papers and costume materials and photos and post-its and receipts end up in piles everywhere, like drifts of snow? I had a dance gig last night, and now there's a trail of makeup and costume parts everywhere.

Oh my...I meant to mention also that I dreamed about the outbox last night. I was putting more stuff in it.

Okay, I have completely emptied the shelves of one of my bookcases, and have gotten rid of a few more books in the process (yes, I was trying to take a shortcut the other day, bad me).

The question now is about photos. What are you doing about them if you have a lot? I have been divorced for almost nine years, but my wedding album is still amongst the rest of my albums. I have sevral albums and several boxes of photos, I'm really reluctant to edit them, even though I hardly ever look at them.

Suggestions?

Don't know if this will help you in editing old SO letters and photos, but in feng shui the recommendation is to toss that stuff immediately after the involvement ends, the idea being that keeping the old stuff ties you mentally and emotionally to the dead relationship and you have no room in your life for anyone new. A wedding album it might be harder to get rid of, but maybe some offsite storage for the album might not be a bad idea.

Being both a minimalist and someone who prefers the present to the past I've always been quick to dump the letters and photos right after the break-ups; can't say I've ever regretted tossing any of it.

Good for you wrtrmaus!

Do you have children?
You should offer it to them. It's a part of their heritage--but that doesn't mean you are the one who has to store it.

About photos--I can't go there at all. I have about 1200-1400 taken since 2000 (yes, all film).

I can sort those when I'm in the nursing home.

my mother is divorced and remarried, and she's been trying to pawn off her wedding album on me for ages. i'm perfectly happy to take them, and i definitely have room for them. so i agree with Alana -- try to give them to someone who will find them more meaningful.

new pics are up! comments/constructive criticism welcomed, especially pre-IKEA trip! I'm buying all black/brown finish furniture, I want the living room to be a little more dark and cozy than the bright white walls allow.

Alana and the opoponax -- Thanks for the advice, but I don't have children, I'll probably hold onto it for now until I can make a rational decision.

hey, Amy in Richmond. I was looking at your photos last night and I'm excited about your getting more attractive storage for your place!

Are you sure about the black/brown? Just want to check with you because your style tray from "target" is full of light colours...dark wood stuff will pull down the "light and airy" mood the page suggests. But then again, there's not really much to go on in your style tray....it certainly could work.

As well, I think that with the amount of stuff and the number of stoprage units you plan to get that you really DO need to unify it all with one finish. And black/brown is classy.

wtrmaus--then that's good in a way. Those albums are totally up to you to make a decision about--and you will when you're ready.

If you want to "talk" about it on-line, with others who may have been in that very same boat, I'll remind everyone about www. organizedhome.com once again.

So, opo--are you calling your mother? Are you going home for Christmas? You could get it/them then. Have you got your desk moved in yet--or are you waiting to get the painting done?

I got the "old boyfriend" box sorted (there were letters from my Dad and other family I wanted to make sure I held onto) and some of the laundry and dishes done.....AND I got little gel arch supports for my shoes. whew.

Now, onward and up the ladder....

I think I'm hitting the "therapy" in apartment therapy. I'm finding myself resistant to getting into the work as deeply as I should, and I'm figuring out why.

I live alone, I'm not in a relationship, and I rarely have peole over to my apartment. Because of this, I keep finidng myself going back to "it's just me" as a justification for not making many changes.

Rationally, this doesn't make sense, because I should be doing all of this work for myself even more than for anyone else. I need to come up with a way to value myself enough to want to make my living space as comfortable and functional as possible, and the fact that I apparently don't is, frankly, rather disturbing.

I'm trying to work this out with myself, but I don't know how well I'm doing. I still have my second bookcase to empty, clean, and refill, my pendant light to hang (I just couldn't bring myself to go to Home Depot, or anywhere else, this afternoon), and my couch to clear off and re-slipcover. As a result of these deficiencies (and the early darkness) photos will once again be delayed.

I did put a different rug on the landing part of my landing strip and straighten the shoes on it, so that's something.

Good luck with the painting, Alana. I hope the gel arch supports do the trick...foot pain is the pits!

First of all, Alana, thanks for what you said about my writing. You are very insightful. I'm going to go back and look at my earlier comments -- I think I'm likely feeling more comfortable and letting my own voice through, but I also think I'm feeling freer (is that a word?) in general, as I work through the cure. Anyway, thanks for the boost.

Wrtrmaus, I hear you. It's hard to feel that it's worthwhile to work on one's home when "it's just me", but let me tell you, as one who has lived alone for many years, You Are Worth It! You Are Worth the sense of joy having a nice home can bring. You Are Worth having a comfortable, welcoming place. You Are Worth It! Flylady, in amongst her other "stuff" has a lot to say about Finally Loving Yourself (that's what the acronym F.L.Y. really means), and it's important to work at getting to the point where you do Finally Love Yourself, when you know that You Are Worth It. (I keep capitalizing those words because I want to emphasize them without shouting.) You are.

About getting rid of things that remind you of the "ex", once when I was dealing with the many jumbled emotions of a painful break-up, I had photos of him, gifts, etc., that I didn't want to encounter in my apartment, but I wasn't ready to just trash. So I asked a close friend to store them for me. There came a time when I was able to say to her, "You can get rid of all that stuff now". I think it helped, not only to take that sort of Outbox approach, but also it helped that in the end it was someone else who actually put the stuff in the garbage. Just something to think about.

It was a triumphant weekend of framing and hanging and switching and rehanging stuff on the office walls. They look a little less bare now and I am a lot happier with the continuity of things. I have, however, determined that I really like small art. I just need to learn to display it better.

Now I just need to patch some holes in the walls. Still contemplating paint colors for the bedroom, haven't got to swatches yet but that might happen soon...

The mister fixed the garbage disposal and we picked up the new oven (so pretty and shiny!) and there is an appointment set up with the electrician to make sure it's safe to plug the new one in where the old one was. Other than that, still working on general cleaning, organizing and decluttering, no significant progress to report. Well, maybe it's all significant. Either way, stuff is happening.

Alana in Canada -- I meant to comment on your snow, also. Eeeps! You have 6 inches of the stuff?? I was complaining today because there were a few flakes falling (and a bit of it was staying). Guess I'd better count my blessings!

smallcitybeth, thanks so much for your encouragement. it's really inspiring to see what everyone is doing here.yeah, when i looked at that list i created i realized i may have taken on a bit much but as long as i can get to work on the landing strip, closets, and lights by the end i will be happy. today my husband cleaned the windows and i cannot believe how much of a difference it made! wasn't on the list but it should have been!

hope everyone has a great week.

Today, I unplugged the TV and VCR and moved them out of the living room (I'm taking a break from them for a while) and replaced them with the bookcase from the bedroom and moved all the books in, going through the books in the process - I had pretty much weeded them out not too long ago, so no big deal. I also rearranged the LR since the TV is no longer the focus and put a reading chair and lamp next to the bookcase. I am quite pleased. This may not be the permanent arrangement, but it's great to mix things up a bit and break out of the ruts.

Good for you Pixie. A friend of mine told me she had nothing but bookcases on her walls all around the room and four chairs centered around a coffee table (like a dining room) in her living room. She said the family loves it--though she does have a problem with the cords of the lamps on the tables beside the chairs!

Will you have pics of your new serene space?


And wrtmaus--scb said it best. Although I have a family and can say I'm doing it for them, I'm not really. The kids are too young to really care--and dh, well never mind dh! (Though to be fair, he does say he likes the changes after I've made them, when prompted.)

Still slogging on the LR. And I'm running out of paint.

Okay, well after a week of contemplation, I am no closer to figuring out what to do with my living room. I've posted a set of photos showing my latest attempt.

Here are my design constraints:
1. the room needs to function as office, living room, and dining room. It's 19 x 10 ft

2. the long wall is shared with the landlady, so the tv can't go against it.

3. the tv shouldn't be visible from the dinner table (we watch too much as it is)

The current arrangment fails in these ways:

a. all the furniture is jammed in one end of the room

b. there's no place to put a landing strip

c. the couch/tv bookshelf feels like a very rigid block that constricts flow

I feel like we've made improvements from where we started, but I can't quite see how to finish it.

Thanks for your help!
-Anna

I didn't answer the survey because I can't say I'm doing the entire Cure. But I'm doing a partial Cure. I got some help from my nephew today. We were able to take the stuff in the outbox to Goodwill and rearrange the furniture in the living room. Much better flow now and easier to get to the clutter to remove it. We've been able to shred a lot of unneeded paper. I posted some pictures of my living room during this process. I would be glad to have *some* attention (not total attention, thanks :) ).

Just one really quick comment (I have to get to work early every morning this week -- really cuts in to my AT time!)...

Marilyn, you have done so much! Well done! (Pats Marilyn on the back.) I didn't have time to do comments on your pics, but I did look at them, and enjoy them (and I love your cats!) Way to go!

Amy in Richmond, how do you get your 'home' Flickr page to look like that? I haven't been able to figure it out.

Thanks

Purged over 200 books this weekend--mostly the kids'--#1 child went against his nature and did a great job of not holding onto stuff! I purged knitting mags--half are gone. (pinch me! Am I awake!) A dear friend took a whole basket of yarn and SKIPPED out of my house! We were both thrilled!

This is my last week of work so will be "making hay while the sun shines"! Good luck this week to all of you!

Marilyn,

Have you created some success for yourself? I'm not sure when in the process you took your pictures. I try to pick one (sometimes TINY!) area that is spotless and DONE! If you haven't done this already, try to do it for yourself this week!

I have needed to hire a carpet cleaner for months--two dogs, three kids--and have committed to booking one today!

Have you tried turning your table out the long way from the wall?

Good for you to ask for help from your nephews!

tara, maybe it looks different to you than to me? can you send me a link to the specific page you mean?

Bella - 200 books?! Awesome job.

Marilyn - I left a few comments. Hope they help. You're making progress, don't quit now!

Finally posted a "before" or "in progress" pic to Flickr of the home office.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ambernussbaum/283603836/

Painted three of the four walls a light gray. The wall with the brown bookshelf will be an accent wall (fire engine red).

The desk in a box is a parsons table with drawers, will be white lacquer. All furniture in this room will be black & white. I have a black Bertoia wire side chair with white pad to go with it.

Also, the wall the box is leaning against is magnetic (painted with magnetic paint before the color went up). I plan on putting all my concert posters, flyers, etc. on that wall so they'll be more of a cohesive collection than just random posters tacked up around the house.

wrtrmaus,

You and I are in the exact same situation. Hang in there. When I joined the first Cure months ago I decided to start a blog too. I figured if I had to make updates to it I would have to force myself to get things done despite the "it's only me" excuse. Well, it does work, inch by inch, bit by bit, I'm getting there.

This weekend I invited a friend over. We usually meet at her house and go somewhere for coffee. So I've seen her house, was even there when her husband was redoing their bathroom though she has never been to mine. So I finally invited her over and it wasn't so bad. She had a lot of nice things to say about what I had accomplished for a rental apartment that I can't paint.

Of course, in the last week since I invited her, I did go through a whirlwind of activity. My Outbox is officially empty!! I have even made the decision on the artwork I am buying, my way of adding color to the walls. And this morning when I left and closed the door on my little home, I looked back over my shoulder and smiled. Keep trucking on, it's well worth it.

p.s.
The worst your before pictures, the better the afters look!

Amber -- LOVE what you are doing in your office. The grey is very nice.

I didn't get very far yesterday, but the new china hutch is built thanks to my SO and I filled it with my stuff. It has a lot more room than the old one, but actually takes up less space. I'm really pleased with the change.

Way behind in taking photos for this and for stuff that I'm craigslisting, but hoping to get to that tonight. Along with some work on the sad, trashed office. Little loose threads hanging from LR as well.

Have a great day all!

Aargh! I have 59 comments to catch up on, and would LOVE the living room help, but I was in Milwaukee all weekend with the fam, so I didn't even have a chance to look at at.com, much less take and post pictures of my living room besides the one I already have on there....grr! I'm sooo disappointed I'll miss the chance!

BUT the weekend was really productive in getting some sewing done, and I'll post pics tonight, my mom and I sewed a ton, all day Saturday and I kept cutting on Sunday. I was too tired when I finally got home last night to take pictures. I just put away the leftover food in the fridge and the sheets on the bed and crashed. Could barely stay awake to even converse with DH.

5+ hour drives just suck a lot out of you, both time-wise and soul-wise, when it's the same scenery for basically the entire trip. Pretty, but not exciting to say the least!

Amy in Richmond - I'm asking about the page you link to from your name. Ah - wait- found it. Hadn't used the organize feature yet.

I put new pictures up Saturday night, link is in my name. These show the new layout I designed. It's working much better; I'm now working on clearing out clutter & half-completed projects. Those are going quicker too, which is neat.

got around to hanging pictures & rearranging some things. i've decided to get rid of my terribly uncomfortable (but beautiful) desk chair - i inherited an attractive, comfy one from a friend who moved.
i'm also nixing my hide-the-tv fabric. i think the room looks less busy without anything covering the tv.

thanks to everyone for their suggestions! and to chantel for her AMAZING and inspirational style tray! WOW!
pictures to come!

skyway kate--I don't think it's too late. You could take the pics tonight and upload them tomorrow? or Wednesday--really, I can't think there's a rush. Besides, no one else has volunteered for the "feature." (I think)Glad you had a good visit with your Mom.

Lisa in VA--glad you updayted us about your visit. I was wondering how it went. Glad you could smile!

Haven't thought about what I"m doing today. I really think I need a third coat on the cornice but dh may not want me to go out and get another can of paint. If not, I can hang my sconces and putter. I love to putter.

Amber--that will be one gorgeous office. Can't wait to see it done.

Bella--wow. I'm in awe. 200 books???

Marilyn--keep truckin'. Isn't it great to see the floor? You've been working hard.

I left a few comments, but I need to ask: what do you need? Is most of that stuiff going out--or does it have a home or is it all homeless stuff? Do you need storage--and what kind? Bureaus? shelving? trunks? What sorts of things need storing?

Keep working on getting stuff put away and purged--we'll get to arranging the furnitre before the cire is done and offering specific decorating advice. Promise.

Anna in Santa Cruz: what are the dimensions of your furniture? In a space as tight as this, I hesitate to offer an alternate floor plan until I have that info. But I'd be happy to muck about with that program--it's easy and fun.

And boy do you ever have nice chairs--and that trestle table is gorgeous. It looks so inviting by the window.

About the TV? Unplug it. If you have to plug it in everytime you need to use it, you may find the inconvenience not worth the hassle.
Alternatively, put the remote in your sock drawer.

Checking in after a busy few days. I didn't expect the reading nook to be such a hit! Neat! :) It's just as comfy as it looks, especially since I picked up the Poang ottoman on Friday. I even managed to find the frame in good shape in the As Is section. It was meant to be! Only problem I have now is that the SO keeps beating me to the chair when he visits. :-p

Let's see...what else have I been up to? I organized the cordtopus last night! My desk sits right next to the radiator (which is never on because my apartment is always too warm), and the SO suggested hiding the surge protector and cords behind that instead of trying to attach things to the underside of the desk or hide them behind the monitor. With a liberal application of cable ties, it looks pretty darn good. I'll post pictures later today after I've picked up a new stereo at CircuitCity. Buy.com claimed to have it in stock, but a *week* after placing my order, I get an email saying that they don't know when their supplier will fill the order...grrrr. I'll pay about $30 more at CC, but at least I'll have the darn thing!

I've also run into a snag with my new floorplan. I'm going to play with it a bit more today, but I'll probably be back later to ask for advice.

Keep on truckin', everyone! I've been looking back at my before pictures and feeling *much* better about everything that I've accomplished. If you're feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, take five or ten minutes to look at 'before' pictures or think back to what things used to look like. It'll give you a little shot of energy and keep you moving forward. C'mon guys! We're halfway through!

I have to say that I am feeling so great because I put my TV, VCR, video tapes and associated tv stuff in the outbox. I won't make any decisions until I'm sure, maybe a week or more, but since I decided a week ago to do this, I've been already feeling quite sure. And after rearranging my space and considering the unleashed free hours and reduction of brain-deadening time resulting from no TV and the reduced clutter and liberation of free space, I feel very empowered. What I wish is that I could get tv shows through my computer when I want them. I know some tv shows are starting to become available through various channels, but I want to get out from under the tyranny of the big box now!

I decided to hold off on the Cure. As much as I wanted to be a part of the group with everybody and the need of getting everything together in my apartment plus purchase some shelves and all.

Other things have become more of a top priority in my life right now, and making an attempt to work on the Cure keeps being pushed on the bottom of my to do list.

Does anyone know if Maxwell will do a spring Cure?

On Saturday morning I had come to the conclusion, much like Maxwell's recommendation, that my cure was really about all the little stuff I have been focusing on rather than the major work I can't even start until after this cure is over because of the work the co-op is doing in my apartment.
So I took some before photos in the morning of the areas I can work on - my bathroom, dressing room and front hall. These are the areas that have risen to the top of the TO DO list as the what I can and should do now.

Sunday I went to IKEA and joined the rest of the masses contributing to the Swedish economy. I picked up about 1/2 of the Grundtal wall organization system (love it) for both the kitchen and bathroom , two more shelves for my Pax closets, a curtain track, lovely linen curtains, several baskets, sheets and towels. They were out of BOTH mirrors I wanted to buy .. grrrr .... but I will be back in a couple week. As a whole, it was very successful shopping day. The lists and planning I have done over the past several weeks helped focus what the problems were and limit the spending to real solutions.

At home, I home and ripped out two of my closets - shelves, rods and all ... and re-did them all because they have not been working well. The cat came in about 3/4 of the way thru and for a critique (seriously) that made me rip out half of it again ... but by 10 pm it was finally done and we are both happy.

I also installed half of the grundtal system in the kitchen - and it is so lovely - more countertop for cooking!!
I need to get a tile bit to do the work in the bathroom - and I can hardly wait to get it done!!

Regarding paint color -- I have been starting to think that the color of my main room is too pale ... I've decided to paint the front hall for now. I know what color I want there - a deep taupe - which it may help me decide if the color of the main room is just right.

But, and this is the most important thing, I am feeling so much better about everything right now. I am focusing on the areas I can work on and I know I can get done in the next couple of weeks. It will feel like an accomplishment which will help when I can move to the next step. There is a part of me that wants to focus on the big room, but this stuff is just as important.

I took photos of the work as it stands - so there is before and mid- process - but left the camera at home so I can't upload images for you all quite yet -- boo -- hopefully tomorrow.

It's great to see everyone's progress and I really appreciate everyone's comments and help.
Alana, I can't wait to see the cornice painted!!
Bella, 200 books - wow - you could have your own book sale!!

I'm starting to think that what I need to do is skip the living room and do my future one-room cure in there. Like, in the spring. There is so much more that I want to do still in my office and the kitchen and the places we're supposed to be done with and I want to spend extra time focusing on the bedroom.

On that note. I'm realizing that the headboard accumulates clutter, as it was basically supposed to, but I don't want to look at it. What I'd love is to be able to put in some sliding doors to hide the contents when we're not using it. Has anyone tried this? I'd love to be able to just stick in some tracks and a couple of panes of frosted glass. Anyone? Anyone?

My Living Room didn't need much curing since it has almost nothing but furniture in it. However, I'm on week 3 of a continual effort to get rid of 100% of my CDs. Since I need to ensure that I have a backup of many of them (I'm a swing DJ and a hard drive crash would be a major business problem) it's taking a long time to get them all processed. But I've already sold a good number of them to friends, so definite progress.

My boyfriend is out of the country this week and weekend, so I've decided to do a major push on my "other" room which counts as an office, closet and media storage. It also holds my outbox which is spilling over. Lots to do, but this is the part that needs it the most. The rest of my place feels great.

Yay Alex! It is so important to focus on what you can do, rather than what you cannot. Good for you!

And shanabanana--wow, I hope all the transferring works for you. I'd be too scared to do it.

Anne: I've thought about making sliding doors for my shelves: a bed is a different thing. Let me have a look at your bed and if I see a way to do it, I'll leave some comments there.

I did a huge errand run this morning (Monday's is dh's day off)
got more paint,

more moulding,

a shelf and brackets to put up over the TV,

blinds--which I'm taking back--I can cover those windows for less than the $40 it cost me--and they're the wrong size to boot (which I knew when I bought them. Thought I could do something, have decided not too). These are the windows flanking the chimney breast and inside mount is only 17" wide. I REALLY want matchstick blinds--not fabric--but it cannot be.
(and my foot is flaring up again big time. oh well, third and final coat, here I come!)

I'll check in later...

now that it's monday again, i'm rethinking french blue for the trim and a possible accent wall in my bedroom. my office building was redone in the late 80's/early 90's, and all the trim is teal (on white walls). it looks so. dated. not to mention even if my bedroom magically didn't look dated, it would probably remind me of work. not exactly what i'm going for in my little sun porch/gypsy caravan. i think i might have to either bring my swatches to work and pick the one least like the teal trim, or i might have to take photos of the hallways and bring them home to figure out how NOT to get that look.

so i'm thinking i'm going to stick to the beachglass on the walls and use the french blue only on my chair. except i'm not sure how the two shades will relate. i'll probably have to get some pillows that have both colors, or something? i need to bring the photos of that runner up from last year's color contest (w/ the white walls and lots of different bright colored accessories) into my style tray and try to figure out how he got that look.

I could definitely use some pointers regarding my living room. More than getting all new furniture [which I KNOW I need], the arrangement is awkward. Unfortunately, we do have relatively large groups of people over from time to time, so it almost seems like it's our only possible arrangement. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

I am so behind, but hope to get to Ikea sometime this week to pick up some pieces. Hopefully I can post up some good pix soon!

ATL,
I've put a couple comments on your flckr site.

smallcitybeth, Alana, and Lisa in VA -- Thank you all for your support and encouragement, it really helped. I enjoy living alone, I just feel inept when it comes to making my space my own. The last time I lived by myself (five years ago, for three-and-a-half years) I never really got around to fully claiming my space as mine either, so this is sort of a big step for me.

I posted a couple of progress shots of my turret space. It still needs work, but I'm liking it more already.

I've also decided to go with the board-on-the-radiator landing strip. I got a piece of board and some paint when I was out getting S-hooks to hang the light. The board is in place temporarily, the painting will likely wait until the weekend.

I hope to do more work on the living room this evening. There will be photos eventually, really.

Everyone seems to be making such great progress, well done!

Has anybody seen my double-sided tape? I had a narrow roll and a wide roll, and I can't find either of them. I suspect they've run off with Opo's tape measures...

Anyway, I'm glad my words helped you, wrtrmaus. I've just been on your Flickr site, and I've left some comments. (Love your chair!)

I don't have anything really earthshattering to report -- got one of the little chests-of-drawers in the storage room cleaned out and organized, organized the remaining stuff on the shelves, and did more shredding. I've given myself permission to leave the detailed sorting until after the cure (long-winter-evening project). So some of the stuff in the chests of drawers isn't sorted, but it's pretty much in the right drawer, and it's neatly put away. (Several years ago I started teaching myself to "do what I can, and let go of the rest" -- that's what I'm having to do with the Cure, do what I can, every small bit is a definite improvement.)

Alana in Canada -- when you were out doing errands today, did you happen to buy a little rolly-ball thing to roll your foot on?

Now, I'm heading over to ATL's "place" (on Flickr, that is), and I'll likely call in on a few others as well. It's so inspiring to see what other people are doing with their homes!

Alana, Thanks for asking about what exactly makes up my clutter--stuff that going to be tossed, moved, or is homeless? Since I didn't know the answer to that question (you must have guessed that I didn't want to look into it too closely :) ), I surveyed the stuff and found it is all 3. The most time-consuming part is the paper. I brought paper with me from my old apartment when I moved in here more than 10 years ago! Now, thanks to the pointers I've gotten here, I know I can safely trash at least half of it. So I've been shredding like mad! I've got tons of storage space here, which is part of the problem. I've got one closet that is big enough to fit most of my clutter and that's how I've dealt with it in the past. I don't want to do that anymore. So I want to select homes for stuff carefully. For example, I've downloaded and bought information to make me smarter financially. Just like from my books, I'm hoping I'll learn by osmosis. :) I've got to read and look at the stuff someday, and I don't want to forget I have it. I also want to get rid of stuff if I'm really not going to use it. My categories of clutter are: media (cassettes, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs), papers (financial records, educatonal materials, personal writing/notes, pictures, family memorabilia, notebooks, stationery, post-its), bags (purses, totes, folios, one briefcase, a couple of laptop carriers), books (including booklets and pamphlets), cat stuff (toys, beds, carriers, litter boxes, food), clothes (in 3 different sizes so I don't have to worry when I gain/lose weight), afghans my mom or my aunt crocheted, curios/objects (vases, ceramics, stuffed animals, etc.), and sundries. I've been able to restrict my collection of Weight Watchers materials to a fairly small box. Those are the things I feel most confidently have a home.

Thanks to all for your comments on my pictures. I do have a couple of the one-size-fits-all slipcovers for the couches. It was very insightful of Alex & Cargo to say the cat scratch the couches because they are in the center of the action. I never thought of that.

Yay Marilyn. You've looked at it, now you can conquer it.

Remember: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Good for you.

Now you have to figure out where to put that stuff: and the rule of thumb is: put where you use it. (If you can). Obviously, Cd's videos, etc by your dvd player and audio equipment, and so on.

As well, though I'm no a cat owner, I wonder if they aren't a little rambunctious because of the clutter? I know my kids aren't at their best when the house is messy (as it often is.)

I just can't concentrate any more right now, and I've got muffins to bake...I wonder if this will be the last post of the weekend thread??

Fellow Cure-rs, thank you for the comments. The extra sets of eyes has helped greatly. I think I am going to swap the couch and TV. I have been looking for a new TV stand, and now I think I have a better idea what to look for. Thanks for all the great ideas!! I will definitely keep you all posted.

I've posted my pictures of my in-need-of-much-help living room. I'm going to be late for work, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Please be kind...after seeing some of the entries on other places in this site, I'm kind of scared, but willing to do it for the good help I know I'll get.

I can spend some money on the room, but will probably have to stick to Ikea-level prices for now. I know I want a rug, am looking for a wool one, ideally that didn't use child labor. I want squishy comfort under my feet. Paint is also something I'm looking to do, I've been thinking about the wall behind the loveseat and TV for basically the whole time we've lived here. Maybe a pattern or design that incorporates the new pillow fabric??

I do really like that I went with the B&W fabric for the pillow covers on the couch and love seat; I haven't sewn them yet, but will get them done over Thanksgiving weekend with my mom. It was the one project we didn't get to.

More later!

Way to go, ATL. I just went over to your Flickrs again, and left a comment that I'm sure I left last night, but it isn't there this morning. (we are now entering the Twilight Zone...) oh, and I think swapping the TV and the couch will work well.

Love your pillow fabric, skywaykate!

Coffee break's over... hope the new Week 5 post will be up when I check again at afternoon coffee break (hint, hint...)

A little more on the living room to help you help me...

It's a bit more than 16' long by 12' wide (along the window with the AC in it)---very rectangular, no angles to the walls, unlike it may appear in the pictures. I would love to put the furniture on an angle, but because of the radiator, doors and room openning, I find that hard to figure out how.

I'm going to go re-draw my arrange-a-room so it's more acurate.

I had kind of thought of the Strind end tables from Ikea:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15564&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=76738&langId=-1&categoryId=15800&chosenPartNumber=40103435
Thoughts? Don't like the strind coffee table, though, so maybe I should hold out until I pick out a coffee table.

I do like the round curved leg coffee table at WE, but is it carby? http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODp048&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNTBL&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNTBL

I know the plant has to go, I've got a black thumb so it's slowly been on the decline. I'd love to get some big green palm-type plants, I'm not a fan of many plants at all, in the sense of having them in my house, and definitely not hanging. And I'm good at killing them, so that just compounds the matter.

I guess I have a fear that I'll bring in too much color, though I know I need it to better unify the room. Any suggestions for rugs or window treatments?

Coming up with big prints for the walls (as in pictures) isn't hard, I have access to a big plotter, which is great, just have to figure out what to do. What color(s) for the frames??

I've added a few notes on my flickr pics, as well.

Thanks everyone!

ATL,
After looking at your photos yesterday and mulling over ideas while working on my place last night, I have added some comments on your flckr site regarding the living room. I got a bit chatty - sorry about that - so ignore anything you think is a bit to anal as I tend to go there.

One more thought, you might want to layer a rug on the carpet in the area of the sofa to define a seating area. I would say you need a rug that is 8x10. (chatty, chatty, chatty girl)

Quick thoght on tables - your end tables and coffee table don't need to match. Matchy, matchy is pretty boring IMHO.
I like both of your selections - that they are different materials will add a richness to the room. Both seem pretty glam and would add a different vibe to the room.

Kate,
Obviously the last comment was for you (sorry about the spelling errors)
I love these tables for the room. You need long curtains to frame the windows - simple white cotton or linen from Ikea would be fine - add trim to make customize them for the room.

Frames could be silver repeating the sidetable material. Are the window frames dark stained wood? - if so, the frame could be dark wood also. Print could be anything that works for you. A black and white photo would look really good - gelatin prints would be better but ..... - maybe of a favorite view or from a vacation (photoshop - make it b&w - edit image for an interesting view or closeup detail.

I haven't got a great idea for a rug right now. You could keep it simple. Crate and Barrel has a simple wool rug similar to a sisal in weave - I think it is called Athena - in a cream would be pretty and I don't think the price is not bad for the quality (no idea about child labor issues). The C&B Pebbles Shag would be a more lux option. Add a really good rug pad (1/8" thickness min) - it's worth the money (and the price will shock you)