apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Having just moved into a new apartment, I have already decluttered and cleaned. I still need to focus on settling into my new place...The biggies that I haven't done yet are hanging shelves in my bathroom, a shelf in the kitchen, and hanging pictures that I'm having trouble committing to a place. I also need to acquire end tables and prep for the November arrival of my new "grown up" sofa (i.e. not the one I got off the street that I currently own!).

I need to fung shui my place. I feel there is some serious negative energy in my apt. I feel stopped, depressed and tense, don't sleep well, feel angry, feel trapped because of the layout of my apt. and the way the rooms are used. I know that there is significant debate about what is real "fung shui" so I did some research and bought The Idiot's Guide to Fung Shui, which surprisingly uses the original methods, and I'm in the middle of reading it now. Has anyone else every used the real Fung Shui? What were the results etc?

I have amassed a ton of fabric and have a simple armless sofe in need of a slip cover and a new look for fall/winter. That's the next project!

I have a list of to dos that I've just never gotten done. They're not big to dos, they're just little loose ends that I need to finish off, and now's a good a time as any... I need to do a little cleaning and reoganising, but most of what I need to do is hanging curtains, retouching paint and generally making the place look a little better...

Mary--

Don't underestimate the immense healing power of the "little" to-do item, once it's done. I just had watch batteries put in a whole bunch of watches this weekend, and was amazed at how I felt after this simple, simple step. It's surprising how much "brain room" some of these tiny things take up, without even realizing it.

my project is aimed at cluttering, rather than de-cluttering. i like my furniture, its arrangement, how it works w/ wall color and window treatments -- but all of its' surfaces are bare. nothing on the mantel, nothing on the coffee table, nothing on the breakfront... you get the idea. i don't have many "decorative accessories" because i feel like a phony buying such things in bulk. the few things i do have, i don't display because i'm not sure i have a knack for knick-knacks. can anyone recommend rules of thumb for displaying accessories?

Meg-
I feel exactly the same way about my space. Having objects around that don't feel sincere doesn't feel right. Sometimes when I am out with friends and relatives I end up bringing something home, sort of a way to remember. And having a significant other helps because you can always buy something for them. One area that I never feel strange about is my collection of teapots (I know, not very manly) - but I like collecting them. I always like to visit a friend's place and see what they collect. You might find a type of art or design that really speaks to you and that you end up collecting as a way to connect and understand it better. When I was in college, I started to buy student artwork for that reason. I am sure many people will have similar stories and more exciting ways to collect objects - but just remember above all else to enjoy what you do collect.

Hey Meg, until this weekend I had this same bare old problem. But with a little help from some tall grass near my home and a cheep vase from the local salvage i was able to create a great mantel display.

I cut some tall grassy weeds from along side a fence in my yard. Just a hand full did the trick. In a tall narrow necked vase I added my tall grass and a few tall narrow (de-leaved) branches off a tree. The look was so cool that I did the same, only a smaller version, on the end table next to my couch. Once in the vase, add water and fan out to create a cool magazine like look.

I’ve also done this with grape vines before too. Same tall narrow vase, use the wider ends of the grape vine, cut into 1 ½ to 2 foot sections. Creates a pretty neat look. All for free.

correction - I want to make a slip cover for my "sofa" not my "sofe"

As for Fung Shui, I attempted that through a do-it-yourself book only to find that the entire house I was living in would have to be picked up and rotated to work. Basically, my finances space was in the bathroom (thus "going down the toilet") and the death space was our bedroom. Hmmm... well, the marriage ended since then so maybe there was something to that!

I support the overall idea that less clutter and a more peaceful overall vibe will make a living space more relaxing to most people.

I have this great leather couch that I paid a fortune for new a while back, but that my cats have completely shredded on the corners.
My project it to make some kind of groovy slipcover that doesn't make it look like it belongs in a haunted house. Should be a challenge, since it is a corner model and is pretty curvy. I have to salvage it somehow, since it was so expensive!

Meg--
Perhaps look to the seasons to inspire your collecting. This is a great time of year for "natural " decor (as Scottd seems to have the knack for), but it's also full of great holidays to inspire you. Things like gourds and bowls of apples or nuts can bring some color and texture into your home as well as honoring the passing of the seasons.

But, if your place feels bare to you, why does it bother you to go out and shop to correct the "problem"? As long as you are only still buying things that speak to you (and that you can afford), I say start combing the city. Without remorse! (I'd be happy to help!!!)

Meg, Patrick
I can't help with combing the city, but I would be more than glad to comb the far out parts of this countryside that I live in. This time of the year is my favorite; the natural is so abundant and useful here. I'll be more than happy to share.

I just put out things I like. And change them out regularly. Books are always good. Sometimes I put out books with similarities, e.g. all poetry, or all fiction, or all design, or all by the same author, or all with similar covers or dust jackets. Various ceramic pitchers, similar bowls, a collection of house plants on a beautiful platter. Candles, Pieces of my collection of religious art. A few bare branches in the late winter. At Christmas, besides the tree, my crèches are scattered about.

I agree there's nothing wrong with buying things to address the issue. Just get things you love and always think multiples for smaller things.

Meg -- I also have mostly bare surfaces in my house, but I've discovered that I really enjoy going out to the city's flea markets, even just to browse. It so much better to spend an hour wandering around stacks of African trade beads and vintage cigarette cases than trolling through a store. Even when I don't leave with anything, I still leave with things...

Coffee table inventory-
1 santo of San Pedro
four stoneware bowls in various sizes - white and celadon blue
1 skyblue platter on which are two pots (beautiful shades of green )succulents and 1 light green pot thrown by a Trappist monk
"West Wind" by Mary Oliver (cover is blue and ochre)
"Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl ( cover is brown, carmine, and a splash of green

this momth the plan is get the bedroom in order. I've lived here for almost a year and i'm still finding dust from the previous owners (On top of doors, closet shelves). In fact, i'm right now taping down plastic and getting ready to prime tomorrow and give it a coat of Behr Mother Nature. Then on to bed linens, windows, carpets cleaned, bookshelves in place, frames for my prints. And i signed up for the Introduction to Furnituremaking class so I can make use of the 40s and 50s furniture plans i've been collecting for years.

I didn't take a before picture. Oops. But I've already started my renewal project - I am painting the living room. I'd like to do the hallway, too, though I don't know if I can get that completed by the end of the month. It's pretty much one wall at a time, since my non-profit job keeps me insanely busy and I'm living with a disability, but hopefully I'll get the living room done by the end of the month, at the very least! I've completed two living room walls so far - one per September weekend...

Oh, and I forgot one other thing...I'm painting a small bookshelf and attaching casters (castors?) to the bottom, to use as a "console" (read: place to drop crap like mail, keys, and sunglasses when I come in the door) in my tiny entrance hall. I think I might also get some drawer pulls for the sides so it's easier to move around....

Meg - it's totally okay not to fill up your space with things you don't love! Empty surfaces are much nicer than unloved dust-collectors. If I look around my place now, just about everything I've collected over the years are things handed down by family, given to me or made for me by people I love, or things I absolutely fell in love with and had to have. When I had less objects around me, I filled up the spaces with things I didn't love, and all they ever did was make me resent dusting them.

I know this isn't for everyone, but often I prefer to put greenery or flowering plants in empty spaces - it's an inexpensive way to fill up lonely spaces, and just having "life" in a space seems to improve my mood. There are lots of plants available that will grow even in low light, and you can get some very attractive cache pots to put plants in, too, whatever your style preference.

Sorry for the triple-post!

Since I am not a collector, have no collection urge, I am always very curious about the urge to collect. Why do people like to collect?

Project-wise, I have been trying to decide what color to make the backsplash in my kitchen. The kitchen is open-ended, so one can see it from the living room. There is one wall in the living room painted orange - kind of a bright orange-yellow - that at certain angles can be seen at the same time as the backsplash wall. Also, one of the bedroom walls is acid green. So, at certain angles, you can see the orange and the green walls at the same time as the backsplash wall. The kitchen is painted white, white appliances, off white cabinets, stainless steel restaurant table. I keep changing my mind about what color to make the backsplash. I've thought about a true orange or a darker color to add depth to the light colored kitchen. I would paint it and possibly put plexiglas over it. Any thoughts on colors?

I've painted the wall behind my bed (orange) and last week painted the bedside tables (lime green). But our bed still has the greenish gray sheets that my boyfriend had at his old apartment. So my goal is to put the bedding together to finish the space. I actually bought a new quilt several months ago, but it's been so hot in our apartment all summer that we haven't put anything on the bed but sheets. Hooray for cooler weather and AT for prodding us into projects.

I have nearly the same project as Anna. I silver leafed (aluminum leaf, actually) the wall behind my bed and now need to redo the bedding and curtains. After that's done, I'm retiling the bathroom floor.

All the while I'll be looking for affordable silver gelatin prints I like to hang on my bare walls. Any suggestions for places to look? I can't seem to find anything I like under $2000.

i often like the prints on sale from the new york times archive.

http://www.nytimes.com/nytstore/photos/

some of them are more nostalgic than cool, but quite a few of them--the older black and white ones in particular--are more photo-journalist than greeting-card. they link a different one every day on the sidebar accompanying some of the stories--i can't remember any favorites off hand, but i know there were a few i really liked.