apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a kitchen cabinet dilemma:

I am planning to have a service like Traemand or Kitchen Couple come measure and design my cabinetry. I am also planning to have my GC install the cabinets. Traemand charges less for measure and design than Kitchen Couple but I have seen mixed things about them on this site. Does anyone have a sense of which service is better for design?

Also, what do you think about having a GC install the cabinets as opposed to the ikea service itself?

P.S. I am talking Ikea kitchen cabinets in the post above.

Hi everyone,

I just thought that someone should know that there is an amazing Asian (Japanese?) piece of furniture at the Housing Works in Brooklyn Heights. It costs $390, I think. It doesn't have shelves inside of it, but they could easily be added. It also doesn't have a back. It's still pretty cool! I took a picture but don't have time to upload it to Flickr right now. Housing Works is on Montague Street near Henry. Inspired by the AT book I just brought several boxes plus some furniture over there!

I just had to share: Holy Crap! The guys are here to finish my bathroom! I can theoretically take a shower in my bathroom as of this evening! Again, Holy Crap! I am so excited!

Howdy all!

I recently finished my dissertation, and my wife and I decided it is time to make our tiny apartment feel a bit more like home! Found this site, and it has been great. Step one (tonight) will go down as "The Great Clothing Purge '07." I haven't done a clothing purge in too many years, and was inspired by a recent post on getting back to a basic wardrobe. Hopefully I'll be getting rid of about 70-80% of my clothes! (I am quite a pack-rat, but trying to give up the habit!) Wish me luck!

good luck mark, the old 'if you havent worn it in a year' rule is very useful for tossing. We did an unmerciless purge once where I was invited into my friends home to 'judge and purge' his wardrobe and he was allowed veto and keep up to 20%. We donated 6x trash bags, pretty good for a days work.

Hello hello! Does anyone know where to get one of those grocery shopping bags that are thick woven material, think baskets with fabric lining and a leather (or leather alternative) handle that's just big enough to go over my shoulder? i'm dying for one!

Thanks for the encouragement Clairepetrol! For the first round (as embarrassing as this is) I did the "If I haven't even thought about it in 3 years let alone worn it" rule, and that got me down to about 50%.. But I can already feel how much "lighter" it'll be when all this extra junk is gone.. quite liberating actually!

Now I just have to convince myself that all the good memories are in my head, not in those old, falling apart, dingy, undergrad t-shirts! :D (Let it go Mark... let it go...)

Has anyone used paperstone http://kliptech.com/index.shtml
products for building/remodeling? Price and concept BOTH sounds great. I want to know about performance and appearance...

Hi guys,

I'm moving into a new space, with dark brown floors (laminate), white walls, and it's pretty small, although it's got high ceilings (13') and huge windows.

My question is... what colour sofa should I get?

I've got my eye on this one: http://www.gusmodern.com/products1/sofas/carter-sofa/carter-sofa.shtml#carter-sofa

It's dark grey though... which I like, but apparently goes against the decorating rules of having a lighter coloured sofa on dark floors. The sofa does come in an off-white putty colour, but I'm not a huge fan of light sofas. Also, it might come across as looking dirty against a pure white wall.

So, any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

For X (RE Ikea kitchen cabinets) have you checked out ikeafans.com? We did an ikea kitchen remodel and did all the design ourselves with the help of the people on that site...

An regarding paperstone/richlite I've heard really good things about it but you can scratch it (which ruled it out for us).

Can anybody recommend a place in NYC to clean a Flokati rug? Instruction say "Professional carpet cleaning".

Thank you!

ten_eighteen, if you prefer the dark gray sofa, get it! Your floors and your sofa are not the only things happening in the room. You have chairs, tables, accessories, and (p(too) will tell you firmly) a rug to help the sofa and the floor learn to play nicely together.

I'm seeing a rug with some medium gray in it, but maybe that's the wine talking.

I don't believe in those type of rules ten_eighteen. Why would you buy a lighter colored sofa if you don't really want to? Like Wende said buy the one you want, that's the only way you'll be happy with it.

Mark -- what has got me past the "needing to hold on to the memories" part of decluttering (in clothes, in keepsakes, in everything) is thinking that "as long as I have my memory, I will have those things and what they meant to me in my memory, so I don't need all the 'things' any more; and if I lose my memory, then it won't matter that I don't have the 'things' any more anyway." (Did that make sense? It makes sense in my head, but when I try to write it... ... ...)

Anne in Reno -- Yay, you!

clothing purges are fun. I usually take the opportunity not only to get rid of stuff, but also figure out what has to be replaced and updated. I think I'm stuck for a proper suit this year, but I'll know when I get to my closet

bettsbillabong, definitely use the installation service. That's what they do every day, install cabinets, and they know the nuances of cabinet installation. Protect your investment! You want someone who does it every day, not once in awhile.

I don't know about each service, but you may want to see prior jobs from each and evaluate their design expertise. You don't even have to see them in person, although that always helps, but images are fine. That's one good way to compare design abilities. Take a little time now and you'll learn a lot more.

If you're talking about a small difference in cost, try to put that aside and just go with who you feel is more creative and offers better service.

The last thing is be involved. Double check their work, their design details, etc.

Thanks for the tip smallcitybeth! It definitely makes sense.

Well, the great purge of '07 is over. The result? 5XL garbage bags 1 large shopping bag full of "new" rags. The most memorable moment? When I pulled out a heavy flannel shirt, and my wife, with tears of laughter in her eyes eeks out "1996 called- it wants its flannel back!"

I went from WAAAAY too many clothes, most of which I wasn't wearing, to 1 reasonably filled closet rod (verses the crammed so tight, you couldn't get anything out, closet rod), 3 1/2 dresser drawers, and one under the bed storage bin for winter stuff that will get switched out with the summer stuff.

I think I'd call that a successful purge! :)

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I think I'll stick to the dark grey sofa, and try to figure out the rest somehow, lol. It's too bad there isn't a message board or forum here, since you guys have such great ideas.

I'm moving into a new place, with just a floor plan to work with for now. I thought it'd be so much fun to get all new stuff... but little did I know how hard it really is! Now that I know what sofa I'm gonna get... I'll need as much help as I can get figuring out a layout and making everything else work out. Hope you guys don't mind me posting lots of questions in the next while... ;)

Anne - YAY!! Congrats on being able to shower again! Ha, ha! =)

Mark - I agree it's really liberating when you've finally had enough of having too much and you purge. I held on to tees forEVER because I had memories tied up in them, I didn't do the outbox concept exactly, but I did it mentally, and finally I've been able to let them go.

SCBeth - good to see you...how's the new place going? Email me over at Home Tech and we can catch up!

It's probably a bit late on a Friday to be posting this but....does anyone know of a cheap glass mosaic tile source? I'm looking for the tiny 1 inch by 1 inch mosaic tiles which come mesh backed on large 12 inch by 12 inch sheets. I'm just looking for something neutral for a kitchen backsplash which I've decided to change at the last minute but funds are really low. I live just outside Philadelphia so it would need to be somewhere close to Philly or online would be fine too. Thanks in advance!