Inside Out: A showcase for those who transform their residences into homes
via innovative intervention
Name: Robert
Location: East Village
Size: 780 sqft Co-op
Years lived in: Since 1999
If you recall, Roberts Mitchell Lama apartment is almost wholly his own making. As his efforts continue, I thought I would bring readers up to date on his latest undertakings.
Robert has always hated the intercom phone that he inherited along with the apartment and that cannot be exchanged for something more sexy-looking, nor removed and discarded. So, Robert did the third best thinghe built around it. He designed and created a mirror covered cabinet to hide all the ugly thingspower strips, telephones, answering machines, sunglasses, keys, and eventuallymail. The extra ugly things have double protection, so that when you open the cabinet, you still have to open a frosted plexiglass panel to see them!
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The second project, finally completed, is 3 curtain panels to hide clothing and storage along one wall in the bedroom. In response to some comments by AT readers, Robert looked forward to adding softer elements to the apartments dcor. Robert used Marimekko white on white fabric to create 3 hanging panels on a 3-track Silent Gliss system attached to the ceiling.
Although he tried, he could not order the product directly, and instead had to go through Blinds and Beyond. Unfortunately, it took them over 6 months to fulfill Roberts request and when they finished, the results were unsatisfactory. It seems that those who are not afraid to take on major DIY efforts themselves, and who are perfectionists have the most stress dealing with supposed professionals. To Roberts credit, Blinds and Beyond failed to follow most of his incredibly detailed directions. He is now going to have to redo the panels with another service.
The last project, for now, is to install a brown, wool, short pile rug (sound/neighbor issues) and to redo the office space. He is going professional again, and using a carpenter to build a custom made desk/storage unit that will divide the room from the open hall space and the bedroom. Both remaining walls will be lined with shelving that Robert is going to install himself.
Let us wish him luck.
hmmm I think I like it. it's hard to tell because of how the mirror makes the pictures wonky.
clever hiding spot are fun though.
I too am confused by hiding the phone etc. Most people buy B&O stuff BECAUSE of the way it looks and they want to show it off (at those prices they should be shown off.) It seems like a waste of money to me. But I do like the yellow door!
Per the 3-panel curtains: I like the idea and the fabric but I am curious as to why the order took over 6 months. Even though the panels are large it looks like the sewing was pretty straight-forward -- curtains are one of the easiest things to make and those could have been hand-sewn even in about a week. Probably one day on a machine. so what took so long? getting the track installed? Are the curtains more complicated than they look? Just wondering.
I second hiding the B&O phone, which is the only unfussy thing I can see in this place! Create space with architecture, not curtains and blinds!
I like the idea of hiding hidious intercom systems which are necessary. But this is a bit of overkill.
I have thought about a simular thing to incorporate an area for plugging in those ugly wall warts for charging the cell phone, iPod, etc... Like a charging cabinet or something.
maybe I'm just dense, but does he have to open both those door thingies everytime the phone rings, or the intercom buzzes? What a pain (to my thinking). I'd have trouble hearing a phone that was hidden away in a closet. Oh well, I guess he likes it...
I'm not sure that I get the point behind either of these "fixes". And it is really bugging me that the fabric pattern is running horizontal when in should be vertical. Sideways trees?
Rather than build a cabinet, I would have busted out the soldering iron and replaced the not-so-good-looking phone intercome with a nice looking handset. It would likely be pretty simple to swap that for an old bake-lite style handset that would look swanky.
I hate to say it, but to my eyes the fabric for the panels is sideways and should be turned 90 degrees clockwise so the brances are reaching upwards. If sideways orientation was intentional I apologize.
Nice idea but poor execution. I'm a seamstress and I agree about the curved edge being distressing. Have you tried steaming them to try and work out the curve?
Personally, I like the mirrored cabinet, and would love to have one for my bathroom. I also like the fabric used for the blinds, though I can't quite figure out the placement in the apartment.
I do think that phone is hideous, so I'm not sure why everyone is so puzzled that it would be hidden away. Brand-name electronics are not always attractive, just like brand-name furniture is not always attractive.
whoops. i just realized this isn't the work-in-progress mitchell lama apartment i thought it was.
i was thinking about that kid whose father was doing his gut reno. you know, the one with all the pointless custom tiling? boy, am i glad i deleted the part of my post where i called Robert a trustafarian poseur...
i actually DON'T hate the rest of the apartment (though it isn't my taste and i might have said something disparaging in the original post), but i still stand by what i said about the entryway solutions.
I think the panels are beautiful. I thought the panels showed branches, ie, supposed to be sideways. Anyhow, if that's the way the fabric drapes then you just have to go with it.
any ideas on where i might find that fabric?
HOW many doors now hide that intercom?
Well, I like doors, so I can't criticize.
Opoponax, I initially thought it was that other apartment, too. Darned if I know why. Possibly because I live in a world of SCOPE the project, BUY the supplies, BULLY the contractors, call it DONE.
terry, it looks like Marimekko Tuuli fabric. Google it, there are lots of places to purchase, including www.kiitosmarimekko.com. I'm a big fan of the black/white Tuuli fabric and have been considering using it as a wall hanging.
i like the cabinet. i too like to hide everything.
who did the work? a carpenter? or did you do it yourself?
I will freaking buy that phone and intercom so he won't have to hide it any longer, and he can get a Mickey Mouse phone to display, and hide the cord behind the molding he designed himself.
Robert does not want to show off his phones. His panels are great.
Looks like the blog takes a turn like how the first or the 2nd writes on the blog.
can't you guys appreciate the clean look ?
I really appreciate what he did.
Having a 15 month old tornado baby girl I belive that everything get done thru smoke and mirrors. In our place, we have contain-safe zones. i.e: one section inside a credenza in our bedroom, a drawer of a piece of furniture in our living room and a small medicine cabinet that we adapted to use in the kitchen as message board/calendar holder/payment center/bills, etc... (of course we removed the mirror and replaced with black painted glass) if you come to our place at any given time, without notice, it will be hard for you to notice that we have a kid around the house, unless you go to her bedroom. I'm a true believer that cables and neccessary junk must be hidden and he did a great job achieving that. I also, have, like he did, a small, black, plastic box with all the chargers inside and the only thing that sticks out is the correct cable for the device you need to charge: phone, ipod, camera, psp, etc. cables everywhere is my main pet peeve.
regards,
joel@miami
What is up with those curtains??
Who the hell sewed them SIDEWAYS???
No wonder he wasn't happy with it!
and six months??? - I just made a pair of large lined curtains to fit our very tall Victorian windows - it took me one day! - getting professionals to do stuff isn't always the best way to go clearly...
I can see the care and attention to detail he is putting into this apartment but all I can think is "I wonder what it looked like with all the 60s stuff in it?"
What's the deal with the blue tape/black cord going into the top of the door?(seems a lot uglier than a phone)
Love the yellow door!
One of my most enduring inpirations is a Chelsea studio reno featured in NY Times Style mag last year by Giuseppe Lignano of LOT/EK architects. Totally designed small space with the inherent elements of construction (like chalk plumb line markings on the wall) left to decorate the space. So it looks really organic. Also a big feature of their style and the studio was the exposed hardware and wires of stuff. It added an industrial element and didn't look wayward or chaotic.
That convinced me that there's a way to have wires and electronics enter the design of a space without doing interminable battle with them.
I've dealt with superfluous electronic detritus by minimizing: cellphone, laptop, small audio equipment. And yeah, I would pay for a sleeker or more attractive design of a thing like a phone or radio (Tivoli!) just to look at it every day. So the irony of the B&O is not unnoticed.
Good luck with the never ending always surprising and enlightening progress of the home, Robert.
could it be that the curved drapery seam problem lies in its horizontal use, i.e. that it's railroaded? if the selvages were on the sides it might solve the curve as well as making the branches look more natural.
This apartment doesn't seem complete enough to be posted.
Although I like the mirrored closet, those wires taped with blue around the doorway seem to negate the whole 'wireless' sensibility attempted by the fix.
I had curtains similar in scope made by local Brooklyn dry cleaner/tailor--it only took a couple days and they were perfectly straight. Cheap, too.
The overall attitude of the apartment owner seems to be nit-picky precious perfectionism at the expense of just getting it done.
Criticisms aside, that chartreuse door is frogalicious!
Not good enough to be posted? It's clearly a work in progress.
I too am troubled by the fabric panels thus far, but I will wait to see how everything else turns out before judging. I'm assuming the pattern will end up complementing something. I think they trouble me because they don't seem heavy enough to serve such a practical purpose. Personally I would have used plywood, plexiglass (or real frosted glass!) or at minimum something heavy like canvas.
Ilove everything.
The curtain panels are genius. I have the same thing to cover my closet but used king-sized sheets and hardware store curtain rods (the kind that have brackets that can be hung vertically or horizontally and the rods slide into little hook-like parts on the brackets). This solution is far more elegant. Too bad your pros did not do a good job.
Also on the curtain panels: I adore the fabric because it is subtle and beautiful. Really snazzy!
The niches are genius. They might not be everyone's preference, but since you like them, I congratulate you on the fabulous execution. Did you do the carpentry or do you have a good carpenter?
A suggestion:
The curtain panels: You could do them yourself with fabric glue (I just did the same as I don't have a sewing machine or the skills necessary.)
Else, a decent tailor at a dry cleaners ought to be able to do this. If you want to come uptown, I can recommend a very good, detail-oriented tailor who will do an excellent job. He did some curtains for me and then re-did them (to perfection) when I realized I would have preferred double-width panels.
tgraves12@yahoo.com if you want the skinny on this tailor.
Finally, the thought you are putting into your place is amazing. Kudos!
Joel Pirela, are you the same Joel Pirela from Pirela Blade Design? If you are, I love your work.
Ok, what? I didn't even realize how pointless the cabinet was in the begining. Like, I also share a compasinate hatred for all wires and electrical cords. But two sets of doors???!?! Why the plexiglass doors over the phone also. What a waste of money. We have an intercom thing thats SOOOOOOOOOOOO much uglier than that. It old 80's style white (now yellow-ish) plastic with one red button...I bought a set of 3 ikea mirrors for 1.99 each and hung them all vertically. One of them covers my intercom I hate so much. Problem solved for 1.99. And this may seem retarded, but why 2 phones? It looks like there's the intercom box, and then 2 phones. Why spend so much money on a "brand name" phone if your gonna hide it. I personally havent even herd of B&O or whatever it is, but my uncle had a similar phone from when he was my age (about 20 years ago). You probably could have spent less on hiding a Wal-MArt phone.
I didn't notice the curtains were sideways. I like the fabric, but agree with some of the other posts, I sew my own curtains (and it took me one day for 4 curtains with 2 different fabrics each). I hope you got one hell of a deal if it took you 6 months to get them....
I love the yellow door.
Cassandra, I am thinking that the 2nd phone (the white one) is actually the intercom; lots of apartment buildings use a telephone this way. The square box on the top shelf sounds from the description like it's a B&O caller ID box. And B&O stands for Bang & Olufsen, a very nice audio equipment manufacturer.
I love the sideways trees - in fact I didn't notice it until it was pointed out here. Overall I get a very abstract effect. I am curious about why you wanted them done by a professional drapery maker. Was there something you hoped to achieve above and beyond the simple job so many of us are thinking it should have been? Truly just curious here, Robert.
Cannot wait to see the built in desk.
Oh, and Cassandra I love your 3-mirror solution. Brilliant.
"3-track 'Silent Gliss'
Where did you get this system and whom makes it?
I'm looking for something similar for the outdoors.
...oh, & what was the cost?