apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would like some advice on hardwood floors- I have been in my apt for about 11 yrs. In my main room (LR/DR/Office) I have these ugle wood parquet tiles that I refinished when I moved in. After all this time, they are looking pretty scratched up. Since they are just tiles, I am not sure that I want to bother sanding and refinishing them again. In my bedroom, I have wall to wall carpet covering the parquet.

The whole apt. is about 730 square feet, so if I exclude the kitchec and bath, we are talking about maybe 600 square feet of floor.

I would love to replace the floors with wood planks, and get rid of the parquets, but don't even know where to start- do I need a contractor, or can I find one company to provide the wood and labor? Any idea how much this would cost??

Any ideas, references, pics would be great!!!

Thanks!!!

i have a question - i got the 2008 Pentagram wall calendar, but since it was shipped in a tube, it's so curly... what's the best way to get this to hang straight and not curl up?
thanks!

Reroll it in the opposite direction briefly, then just hang it. Gravity (and humidity) will do the ironing.

If you are totally obsessive (or impatient) I could imagine ironing it at a LOW setting through a thick bath towel on a dry setting.

lexipup--
Start at Home Depot to get the jargon and process down, then contact any flooring company in your Yellow Pages and get estimates.

Or go to a flooring website like Bruce, Armstrong, Mannington or Lumber Liquidators and just start reading up. Most provide local providers/installers. Yes, you can get it installed from most product providers.

My husband bought a Herman Miller chair (or possible knock off I can't find any markings on the bottom) a few years ago. It now sinks when he sits down leading to some muscle pain. Does anyone know of someone who can repair these chairs in NYC?

I was waiting a long time for the Shopping Guide to show up again on this new AT site. But I find now that it's almost useless. The old and extremely functional AT site had everything listed by store but now it's listed by comments. What? I looked up mirrors and instead of getting a listing of stores that carry mirrors we get blogger comments. I liked it so much better when the comments were listed AFTER the store and not as the initial search. My frustration grows daily.

Oh, and this happens 9 times out of 10:

404 - File not found

Hello!

I'm looking for everyone's 2 cents of advice concerning my lighting idea for my kitchen.

I have an awful version of a track light right now and would like to remove it and put 3 pendants in the kitchen. http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/1184988690/in/set-72157600128826994/
There would be one light above the tall cabinet on the left, one over the sink and one over refrigererator.

I originally thought I would go with a nice glass and halogen type lamp like this one http://progresslightingoutlet.progressdistributor.com/store.cfm?action=search&Category=13&finish=&family_id=&minprice=0&maxprice=4000&product_id=2155
But now I've come up with this idea http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157603665868356/

Obviously it's not as polished but considering I live in a "loft" with concrete ceilings, pillars and exposed conduit I think it would work nicely. The same fixtures (minus the canopy) are also used as sconces in the hallways of the building. I like the idea of continuity and keeping the industrial loft look.

Thanks!