apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am so glad this month is art month on AT. I am getting close to being settled in my new apt – my mother was in town over the holidays and taught me how to build a platform bed, and we finished assembling my shelves. Now I need to put up art. I have a very large charcoal drawing that I need to frame – it is 45 x 65. Is this going to cost me a fortune? Can I do this for under $500? I am thinking to do a wide (at least 4 inch) white frame. I can post the drawing on flickr if someone re-posts the instructions on how to do that.

Lori 2--

That size will be tough to frame on the cheap, but there are ways.

Let me know if you'd like some art prep/selection/purchase assistance.

hatrickdesign@netscape.net

how come AT never posts my good questions?

bsavarese--
I'm guessing because there is most likely a huge backlog, and perhaps you are not submitting them with pics? GQs with pics jump to the head of the line.

i'm looking for bedside tables. The catch is that they can't be any wider than 15". And need to have a drawer. All the cool ones I find are too wide to fit.

Has anyone seen any narrow bedside tables?

Hi Anna
What style are you looking for and where are you located? I have two wooden bedside tables that I'm thinking of replacing because they are too small. I can email you a pic tomorrow if you're interested.

anna
one has one drawer and the other has two drawers.

anna,
15" is so narrow...is your room very modern? Because you could do one of those little multi-drawer art carts from hold everything or ikea. Even take the casters off.

http://www.holdeverything.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?parentId=HE-SH1OFFFLG&partNumber=HE-PROD1101&retainNav=true&cmsrc=HE-SH1OFFFLG&storeId=11001&langId=-1&catalogId=11002&viewSetCode=E

Hopefully this link works.

New Tenant-
I'm in Brooklyn. I'm not entirely sure what style I'm looking for. Probably minimal/modern, but if the right eclectic ones came along, I'd be open to that.

If you could email me pictures, that would be great
annaoler (at) mac (dot) com

i just thought i would post the skirt i'm wearing today
trust me, this does have something to do with the site!
i got it at target this weekend in brooklyn, its basically a bell skirt printed with blonde hardwood flooring!
on my walk into work, i was stopped not once, but twice, by people asking me where i got it! i feel so stylish!
now, if only the floors in my apt. matched my skirt!!!

can anyone else think of instances where fashion designers have gleaned inspiration from interior decorating?
its like the opposite of that domino (yes, i love domino and i'm not afraid to admit it!) feature that asks, "can this outfit be made into a room"

oh, i linked the skirt to my name above, forgot to mention that

Ann,
Thanks for posting that...very cool.

anna
I'm in Manhattan so that's convenient! I will email you the picture tomorrow.

Methinx Missiz Mizrahi iz dipping a toe in the water of interiors. It will be interesting to see what happenz. Probably has a semi-built-in Target market.

At the risk of sounding like a Valley Girl, OMG, Ann! OMG!

I have a burning need for a conversation-starting clothing item (must network with artsy strangers... but I'm not a raving extravert...) -- it may be time for a visit to Target. Usually I go with large and/or vintage jewelry, but that skirt deserves a look. (Contemplates entire oops-I'm-an-apartment outfit...)

ann--
That IS way cool.

And, not to imply AT ALL that you share any qualities... but I could TOTALLY see that also being used as a tree skirt come next holiday!

Anna, I have a similar problem, our BR is only 11x12' and has an obstruction on almost every wall. We have a queen bed, so I have been looking for nightstands (or an accent table that can be used for a nightstand) that is 12" square or less. We might just get a murphy bed and forget the table idea. I saw these tabes at a Pier 1 store and they are pretty nice. Good if you don't need lots of storage in a nightstand, but just want a place for a lamp, clock, book:

Hainan Table
or
Sumas Table

I wonder why the links didn't work?

Hainan Table:
http://www.pier1.com/catalog/productdetail.aspx?oid=72787

Sumas Table:
http://www.pier1.com/catalog/productdetail.aspx?oid=69491

Oh, I guess those Pier 1 tables are kind of high, and would only work as a bedside table if your bed is high too.

Ann and Wende -
There is, out there somewhere, a necklace that whose charm is a little carpenter's level. You know, with the yellow liquid and the bubble in it? That would be a fun part of an outfit that included that skirt. A T-shirt bearing the logo of a construction company from a town nowhere near you, and maybe a construction boot with kind of a highish heel would be a gas.

Maybe you'd carry a discrete tool bag as a purse? Cannot for the life of me remember the name of the catalog that sells so many different kinds of tool bags, except that it starts with a "D" and is the name of a midwestern town.

OK. I'm officially out of control.

Love the Sumas table!

I was in a Target in FL over the holidays and was looking at Mizrahi clothes when a woman looked at me and said "I didn't know he designed clothes!" I was dumbfounded and asked her what she thought he did for a living. She said she thought he was a TV show host. hahahahaha! I then set her straight.

When his line first came out in Target I decided to go check it out. As I was walking down my block to the subway I saw him sitting at an outdoor table of a local gourmet takeout and shouted out to him that I was on my way to buy some of his clothes. He laughed and said "THANK YOU! Buy a lot!"

Curtis -

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/tools_shop/tool_bags/tool_bags.aspx

Hi guys
any suggestions for wall mounted wine racks?

Exactly, anne! That's exactly the place I was thinking of!

Curtis, Thank you for mentioning tool bags! I'm going to start marketing fun survival kits and these types of bags are perfect! I wouldn't have thought of it until I started looking at the list of websites that make these bags.

New Tenant,
How many bottles are you looking to store on the mounted wine rack?

bed side tables:
my boyfriend and I have a reallly narrow sort of bowling alley bedroom and we both wanted bedside tables with room for books and hand lotions and other assorted unmentionalbles that your average young male couple might need close at hand.
Best thing I ever bought: 2 Kartell tables for our bedroom. they look great, they are classic modern with a fab design, and they hold a TON of stuff.... and they are, eh hem, easily cleaned.
Now, that said, i know kartell is shockingly less expensive in Europe (where we live), but it is worth a try at the store in Soho.
I have posted a link. beware, we don't have the ones in the link. we have a 2 drawer version in white... but the chrome color is cool too.

http://www.kartell.it/global.aspx?idLingua=EN

link doesn't owrk, it is called CAMPONIBILI.

wall mounted wine racks:
IKEA has a great one, if you are looking for modern and minimal

Anne, that's a great story...so new york. Meanwhile, DC stories are something like "Oh yeah, I saw Jack Abramoff at my salon (gym,doctor's office etc.)" :)

I have a carpenter's level ring and a bracelet I made of key rings and o-rings. I took the radiator keys off of it.

anne,
you now have a business reason to go to France.
Go to any hardware store. They'll have the best and cheapest canvas/leather tool bags ever.

ann
love that skirt.
no way am I wearing a skirt, but loooove the skirt!

A.L.
I'd like to store around a dozen bottles at a time

I saw this on the PB website and I thought that a similar idea might work for one of the walls in my dining area.

http://ww1.potterybarn.com//cat/pip.cfm?gids=p6472&pgid=p5262&cmsrc=rel&src=pipgp5262|k|s&lid=1

I also saw this wine rack on the PB site

http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schi1%7Cp1%7Crsalhoa%7Cwwall%5Cswine%5Csrack&pkey=sf1s00salhoa%2Crack%2Cwall%2Cwine&gids=p6043

which I like better than the one they have in their display.


Kristian - is this the Ikea one you were talking about?
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=12968

I like it a lot - I was thinking about getting several of them and incorporating them into a display wall with framed photos, gallery shelves and display boxes. Any creative input would be helpful

new tenant:
that is it. i think it is perfect design. it holds the bottles, is attracting, and you can read the labels. i would buy a bunch and do a line floor to ceiling.

o the siren call of Ikea . . .

they have new fabrics that leave the florals behind . . .

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=null&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=68773&langId=-1&parentCats=null&news=1

Ikea mid-C moderne

Thanks P2, I knew you would respond!
I'll send an email tonight...

good point about the labels kristian. and you can't beat the price.

New Tenant,
I also like this sort of rack, that I have seen sometimes done in wood.

http://www.rosehillwinecellars.com/3rsV2/productdetails.php?id=596

But I did think the iron PB racks attractive - However much less modern looking than the Ikea. I guess it depends on your general decor.

anna,

how about something like this:

http://www.sculpturegallery.com/sculpture/victorian_shell_bracket_shelf.html

(except nicer and maybe black)

no drawer, but it frees up your floor

Also, was wondering what the peoples were thinking about the park slope house in today's House&Home?

Lovely, right? But I was kinda turned off by all the mentions of all the products the residents were involved in selling..

Curtis--

You refer to the very cool work of jewelry designer artist LeeAnn Herreid...

http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=11480

Also via this site, some very cool wood cuff bracelets:
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=13863

And to round out the look (beat the theme to death!?), a little Screw (Earring!):
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=10831

A.L.

That's cool too. It reminds me a bit of this one:
http://www.wine-wall.com/tube.htm

Holy Pearl Onions, guido! Those Ikea fabrics are fantastic! I think I kind of need to have more than one apartment, though. So I can work a more mid-to-late century look, so I can just keep the early-to-mid one I've got now as-is.

Those screw earrings are so fantastic that it makes me ALMOST want to have my own ears pierced.

I like A.L.'s idea of the metal multidrawer art carts. Question though: our "bedroom" is really more of an alcove off the office, where 3 of the IKEA art carts already live. Can I use them again as bedside tables, or is that too much? The ones in the office are red and yellow, so I was thinking maybe green for bedside tables. The whole space has a modern/ industrial vibe because of the desks and computers, so I've been thinking that I need to let the bedroom be kind of modern/industrial too.

New Tenant--
I've always been a fan of Pottery Barn's other wall-mounted wine storage shelf...

http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=shpcaccstrwin%7Crshop&pkey=caccstrwin&gids=p5262

...especially if considering incorporating it into a wall display, isnce thye have other components.

But I really like the simplicity of the metal one from PB you showed.

isnce thye? have you gone celtic on us P2?

I think I need to go to PB and look at this stuff in person - I'll know better then.

and yet that $8 ikea piece is calling . . .

Did anyone read the article in today's Home and Garden section called A Man For All Details? Great article and if you go to his website he has a long list of websites for almost everything for the home:

http://stonestandard.com/faq.cfm

He also sells things and the prices are so inexpensive. Check it out.

MaddoxJoliePitt -
I like articles that tell me where everything is from. I didn't get that the people in the article were selling these products. Did I miss something? Even so, when I see something I love I hate the long hunt and emails to find out where to get it. I want the info right in front of me.

Lazy ass anne.

Hey Maxwell,

When are you going to get rid of the #s we have to type in????? I still hate them.

anne

maybe you hate them 'cause you're a lazy ass.


j/k I hate them too.

OUT WITH THE NUMBERS!!!

DC-area readers:

In today's edition of dcwatch.com's themail, a poster mentions two new Brookland stores: furniture-resale store Basements and Attics, and an art gallery, Roxanne's Artiques.

I love B-land ... I hope it won't get too hip. I think it's DC's best-kept secret.

hijacking the open thread.

hey wende, when are we having the AT get-together in SF? did i miss the date decision? these open threads are humongous.

Jean, thanks for the tip. I just got a photo speeding ticket up on Michigan Avenue (whopping 35 mph) near Catholic. Grrrr. I'll go visit, but will drive very slowly or take metro!

Ditto the numbers...I am constantly having to retype in the code...

I have an antique mahoghany mirror I picked up last spring up in Brimfield, MA at the Antique Festival. The mirror is oval with some beautiful carving around the inner edge and slightly beveled (I think that's the proper term) along the edge of the glass. Needless to say this joker is rather heavy and while carrying it back to the car the chain on the back broke (which is an easy enough fix). My question is what should I use to give the mirror a good cleaning before I have it hung on my wall (which is cement); which leads to question #2 - could it be to heavy to hang on its own and need some type of shelf below it?

Thanks to anyone.

What's the coolest roller shades out there?

I want something modern and semi-sheer to cool up my pre (civil) war place. Also, do I still want the art gallery white or the new, dark sheers that I see on Smith and Noble?

New Tenant,

Chiasso has one:

http://www.chiasso.com/store/item.aspx?itemid=50152

Clyde

new tennant:

eight dollars! eight dollars! !eight dollars!!!

that is all i have to say.

LJF
Nothing is too heavy to hang, but lordeelou you want it done right. (I have a pot rack that you could use for trapeze in my kitchen. I had to go out for an extra giant screwdriver to assist the handy friend that was helping me - meaning, it's all about the right anchors and tools.)

Does the mirror have some kind of gunk on it?

a mild vinegar solution should be all you need.
but
some old mirrors have black lines/discoloration where the silver is coming off from the other side. That is not a cleanable problem. You learn to love the character, or you get it resilvered.

hey Anna

Regarding the bedside tables

Another option is to make up in depth what you lose in width. For example, these step side tables from west elm give you some depth and look pretty nifty as well:

http://email.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cfrntbl&gids=f033&ftest=1&flash=on&cid=frntbl&bnrid=3901504&area=shp

you're funny kristian :)

I can't believe I didn't think to ask this before.

I bought a bunch of these mirrored tiles from west elm (I heart West Elm):

http://email.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cwllmir&gids=w034&ftest=1&flash=on&cid=wllmir&bnrid=3901504&area=shp

But I can't figure out the best way to hang them so that the are all straight - I am trying to make a rectangle that is six tiles across and four tiles down. It is really hard to get them straight. the tiles hang on one screw fits into a hole at the center of the tile, near the top. any advice?

am I asking too many questions?

wait wait! Anna - check this out!

http://email.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?bnrid=3301517&src=shpcfurbedtbl%7Crshop&pkey=cfurbedtbl&gids=p6235&ftest=1&flash=off

I know it's kind of pricy - but this is what I would get if I had the $

i've been looking for a wine rack to fit into a tall but narrow space and i think the ikea one is it. though i might repaint it, the raw metal is a little too cold for me....

NT,

http://www.simpullproducts.com/

http://www.simpullproducts.com/products/cards/1stmark.htm

This is something I saw on I Want That last night and thought it was a great tool. It helps you to hang everything perfectly the first time. I don't know how much it is but you could call to find out.

As far as the # we have to type, I just type any 6 numbers the first time because I know I'll have to type them again. I hate them.

Just got back from a quick IKEA run at lunch...

Anna: The dimensions of this piece might work for you. http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=53344 Not the prettiest option, but a great deal at $30.

New Tenant: I'm with Kristian on the IKEA option. http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=12968 They look fantastic in real-life with a nice satin-finish coating on the stainless steel. The quality looks similar to pieces going for $50 each.

Also, they just got a new chair in stock that looks great on the website. It's so new, the IKEA store near me still hadn't assembled a floor sample. $35 for really great lines! A really cost-concious option with for those with high-end Mid-C/Danish Modern tastes and a Target budget...

My best buy was one I made last week: 20"x20" cowhide patchwork pillow covers for $20 each! (Of course, they were competely sold out when I returned this afternoon.)

Damn, forgot the link for the $35 IKEA chair...
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15564&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=68635&langId=-1&parentCats=null&news=1&categoryId=15564

Hey, for all of you who live in the Philly area, check this out:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/tfr/124802086.html

Enrique, that chair makes me want to put my dining room table and chairs out on the curb and spring for a bunch of chairs with the narrower table I long for. Just beautiful. I think we may need to make a trip over to the Schaumberg, IL, store.

Ann, the skirt is fabulous! I was just complaining to a friend today about the amount of contact paper, some woodgrained, that I have had to remove from every storage surface in our house. That's what the skirt kinda reminds me of. But it uses the pattern in the right way!

A.T. Experts : Please help!

I need a small table / cabinet to set my small LCD TV atop and conceal / hold my DVD player and cable box. My constraints are that the table needs to be between 24 - 30 inches wide and pref. no taller than 22 inches. No one seems to make a stylish cabinet this size that can hold components (and isn't über-expensive).

Adjacent furniture is a birch Aalto dining table, white Eames eiffel chairs and a olive colored sofa, therefore I'd like the table to be either natural birch, white or black. I almost ordered the small Eames Storage Unit, but thought that the wood finish may look bad with the Aalto table.
What about the Blu Dot Modulicious bedside table? It's a little low, but cheap.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Love your advice, regulars.

room and board makes pretty good media pieces. I like the way they open and close so your cable box can be hidden when not in use

bryan.nyc: Wow that's a tall order. Most media furniture I've seen is in the 42"-70" width range. Maybe you should explore custom options? Or maybe you can look at smaller coffee tables that have a built-in shelf like this one: http://www.la-z-boy.com/ourfurniture/product.aspx?pid=3795 (but obviously not THIS exact one 'cuz it's kinda fugly and probably wouldn't work with your existing decor.

PS to bryan.nyc: I had the opposite problem. I needed full-wall width media storage because I have so many CDs and DVDs. When I got a custom quote from Shelter (here in L.A.) it was close to $3000. So I got 3 IKEA low bookshelf units. Installed drawer kits on the left and right units and used them for CD storage. Got glass shelves and glass-faced doors for the center unit. I then applied plastic frosting film on the glass doors, which helped conceal all the component clutter, but still allowed me to use my remotes without having to open the doors. I got 3" drill bit and drilled holes on the backing for the middle cabinet for cord management. So, now the only visible components are the bigscreen TV itself and the speakers, which were all placed on top of the bookshelf units. I think my final cost was in the $650 range. (Plus all the sweat equity to assemble all those damn pieces!) So, maybe you should check IKEA and see if they have existing pieces that might better suit your needs with some slight modifications.

Brian, maybe you should try checking out wide low bed side tables instead of media centers. your discription, taken out of context, sounds more like a occasional table in "furniture land".
here are some quick ideas off the top of my head:
west elm has a lot of low tables:

http://ww2.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cfrntbl&gids=p033&cid=frntbl&area=shp

This has no doors but is really cheap and i think would go with the pieces you have:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-20/qid=1137145454/ref=sr_1_20/601-9058290-8038565?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000BU5NAQ

Ah, this might be the winner:
http://www.boconcept.com/Default.aspx?ID=10277

Bryan, have you checked Bo Concept? Without checking their site, I know they have all kinds of components, many of them very low.

I was in the East Village last night, and I posted on the flickr thing to the right a couple of photos I took while I was early to meet my friend. The first one is of some VERY lovely and interesting pillows at a place a couple of doors east of 2nd Avenue on the north side of the street, taken from outside the store.

The other one was taken of the front of the tinest custom frame shop I ever saw in my life, which is across the street and yet more east a few stores over. I didn't go in and take pictures because at that point I stopped being early.

When I was born, I stopped being early. I am in a perpetual state of lateness. My universe has a 10-minute rip in the time-space continuum.

(That was a terrific turn of phrase, Curtis!)

Enrigue: love those new IKEA chairs. Clearly I need to make an IKEA run soon.

Maxwell: the numbers are suckage. (I suppose I could just be grateful, though, that the codes are *just* readable numbers, and not those awful, morphed-looking combinations of letters and numbers that some sites use. Half the time I get those wrong and really, I'm a very literate person... makes me feel D-2-U-8-M-6-B-1!

bryan...

What about modifying a modular wall mounted kitchen cabinet from Ikea... They come in 30" widths (and 24") with a variety of door styles including glass. You could drill through the bottom and bring the cords out there.

Enrique those chairs are terrific. My husband and I are currently debating between a modern aesthetic and one more in keeping with the pre-war style of our co-op but if we go the former route, those chairs will definately be on my list. At that price I have no qualms about the beating they'll get from my 2 1/2 year old daughter.

Guido thanks!

I neglected to mention that the back of the mirror is mahogany wood. I just wanted to know the best thing to use to clean & treat the wood.

Hi there
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-Waiter's corkscrew
-No Drip Pourer
-Vineyard Tracker Wine Tracking Software
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Thank you
Carlos
www.wine-wall.com