apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's Ash Wednesday so I'm up early. The weather in the Bay Area has turned cold. I'll just call it 'crisp' and accept that Global Temperature Change just pushes those weather patterns out of shape.
p.s. Don't tell people they have something on their forehead. They know.
;)

ebrown, happy ash wednesday! (years ago, a clueless me did exactly what you warned us not to do: I told a co-worker she had a smudge on her forehead. I had no idea! But she educated me.)

To: Hot Rob (the Rob who said he burns up like a radiator when he sleeps and asked for tips on good, cool mattresses)
Rob, in many parts of Asia it is common during the hot season to place a thin layer of rattan or bamboo bed roll (specially made for that purpose) directly on top of the bedsheet you're sleeping on. The rattan/bamboo layer allows air to circulate beneath you and cools you off.

You can purchase one of those inexpensive rattan/bamboo fold-up beach mats from a drugstore or your local Chinatown souvenir shop and use it on your bed. Hope that'll help keep you cool.

Morning all -
My husband & I have been trying for a long time now to find some bedroom nightstands. We both loved the table that was pictured in the February 27th "February is Bedroom Month" post:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/022706/news/february-is-bedroom-month-006717

Does anyone recognize this table? Any leads would be much appreciated!

ebrown--

I think you meant +;)

Hi. I asked this a while ago, but on at the end of a very long open thread. Here goes again:

Does anyone know of a way to cover disgusting bathroom tile with plaster, concrete, paint, or other? I long to do something about my bath, but can't afford a full reno.

Any suggestions appreciated. Oh, and PS: Much of the tile is in the tub/shower area, thus, the solution needs to be waterproof.

patrick

you make my day!!

phillymeg

i don't know anything about those end tables but i'm in philadelphia also. hi. have you contacted maxwell directly about the photo with the tables you like? he may have some leads for you.

I am reposting my question from last night, since there is a new open thread.

I am attaching the general plan of my bedroom and a picture of the wall that I need help with.

The wall has a block of white shelves attached with brackets to the wall. I need help figuring out what to do with the rest of the wall space. Right now I have a freestanding wooden shelf that has my shoe boxes on it. I am giving the shelf away, along with all the other stuff against that wall, except the white shelves. I need some streamlined storage for my shoes and for other junk, such as office supplies, that I do not want people to see. Maybe some additional bookshelves to accomodate my expanding book collection. It all needs to somehow fit in with the white shelves. help me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30117221@N00/sets/72057594072318599/

Hi Obi - Go Philly!
You know I didn't think to e-mail Maxwell directly; thanks for the suggestion.
M.

Terry--
I have seen tile painted (grout and all) but I think it a process best left to the pros, since I believe it requires some serious epoxy-based paint. Maybe the same kinds of companies that re-epoxy bathtubs?

Not sure the shelf-life of the effect, but I have seen it in shower/wet areas.

New Tenant--
Lengthening and thickening is what you need to do (oh my!). Use more of the wall space freed up by removing the wood piece (good call), and do something to bulk up the shelves. I also think you need to incorporate boxes to the mix (on eye-level and lower shelves) to keep your view from bed much less visually busy.

I think someone (anne?) suggested a long, fairly narrow shelving unit the width of wall-hung shelves, directly beneath. Same material/finish as the shelves. I'd try hard to do this, in order to remove as much other furniture from the space.

I'd look into Hold Everything and/or The Container Store, or a company like Astech, which can incorporate cabinetry, worktops and drawers into a modular wall-hung solution.

While we're solving shelving problems, any guidance on shelves meant to go over a bed? (As in, "don't even think about doing x,y,z?") In the much-improved bed position, there's no room for nightstands, so I need something above the bed to support alarm clock, etc.

The bedroom is finally finding itself in an understated Asian manner, but with light wood, not the dark colors that are widely available. I want to float the shelves (or stick to very plain brackets) for a clean look.

Wende -
I can't picture exactly what your layout is, but methinx that shelves over a bed are kind of one of those very "don't even think about" things, and I'm not a feng shui master by ANY stretch, but it sounds kind of anti- that, because it sounds like they might say, "Shelves above your head in bed mean that you will die of a grand-piano falling on your head in the middle of the night." Or something like that. And really, although those things sound crazy in one way, they're kind of common sense.

If you're trying to get stuff off the ground, consider mounting some kind of night stands to the wall in "night-stand positions" on either side of the bed, in the same spirit that people sometimes mount swinging arm lamps, and, in fact, you should probably also install those, too. Because if you do THAT, then more of that space is freed up for that alarm clock, etc., and so the surface need not be big.

What I'm seeing (and maybe I saw this on some show?) is possibly just a VERY simple 5-sided wooden cube, either painted or stained to match other woodwork and screw the back-side of it into the wall. Even if you have crappy walls, you could easily put a BUNCH of screws through the back of it, into the wall (counter-sinking the screws) and by the time you putty over the holes, etc., the shadow would obscure the putty. So then you'd have the top surfaces and the insides of the cubes, too.

VERY easy to vaccuum underneath!

Terry. I posted some info on your question in an open thread several months ago but couldn't find the thread. (I believe jamie pup had also contributed some useful suggestions on this thread.) There are a number of companies that specialize in refinishing and reglazing ceramic tile walls and countertops, tubs, showers, etc. (A simple internet search should yield a few leads. PermaGlaze comes to mind.) I once lived in a rental that had had this done. Every tiled surface in the bathroom and kitchen had been professionally sprayed with a thick non-pourous epoxy, completely covering even the grout lines. Since this was an early '60s building, chances are the original tile color was a period-correct pastel color. But the epoxy color chosen by the property owner was a gleaming white, which substantially updated the look of both rooms. The surface wasn't completely hard-wearing, but it was good enough. (I once nicked the epoxy on the kitchen counter and did a quick touch up using white nail polish.) But, p(too) is correct: this is a process best left to professionals and not DIY. And I don't believe the reno is one that can be done while you are still occupying the space because of the chemicals involved (but I could be wrong about that).

Jonathan dearest

Thanks for the wonderful advice and the charming constructive criticism. I apologize if my comment about my book collection seemed pretentious, but I merely referred to it as "growing" since most of my books were lost several years ago in a tragic fire that claimed the lives of my entire family, as well as my dog, Waldo. The process of rebuilding my book collection is part of my ongoing therapeutic recovery.

my decision to buy books on dyslexia was a tribute to my poor dead sister, who struggled with the affliction most of her life, but still managed to become an award winning author, and, as you have probably guessed, I bought the "where's waldo" books in loving memory of my sweet dog, whose charred remains were found in a position that suggests he died trying to save the baby (orphaned by Hurricane Katrina) that my parents had recently adopted. The Danielle Steel novel was given to me after my mother died by a lady who she had taught to read as a volunteer ESL teacher. It was the very first english language book this lady was able to read cover to cover.

Oh, and the blue fabric is not a table cloth but a hand-woven Mexican shawl that was made as a gift by a young girl whom my parents had sponsored through Feed the Children.

Thanks again for you kind advice.

OMG.

I just came across the MOST GORGEOUS kitchen on the 2modern blog. It's perfect. I am in love and swoooning. Anyone have any experience with these cabinets??

Click my name for the 2modern link, and they have a link to the website of the manufacturer.

New Tenant, please don't feel you have to justify anything to Jonathan. He's an asshole and just not that important.

Oh my. Sackcloth and ashes for you Jonathan.

Doubtless you'll wear it well.

OK, enough is enough.

If you don't like what jonathan says, PLEASE STOP writing critiques on him, what his postings reveal about him, telling him to stop, etc.! He is trying to work you ppl up to get a reaction and the more you write disparaging remarks the more you will "feed the troll" and the more he will get a kick out of it - surely you must have heard the term "Do not feed the trolls" before? It works! Just ignore him.

However, if you get him and like his humor then by all means, play up to it like NewTenant did.

So either play along or stop complaining.

Jonathan - I'm glad I entertained you :) Of course, my post was completely inconsistent because I said that the fire was two years ago, but that the adopted baby had been orphaned by Katrina. LOL! BTW, I'm a she, not a he :)

Diane - you're so sweet. The whole thing was a joke in response to jonathan's funny comments about my books. His over-the-top comments are just his sense of humor - even the insulting ones. he doesn't really mean any of it, including his insults to you - don't take him personally and try to appreciate his off-beat humor.

Jonathan has a MOTHER?

p(too): Of course he does. That's the only way he could be a son of a... never mind!

Anyway, it's usually fatherhood that's in doubt in these cases.

"Where's Waldo"--nice touch! Bonus: it reminded me of John Cale's "The Gift":

http://www.lyricstime.com/john-cale-the-gift-lyrics.html

But back to bookshelves.

I just assumed "petri dish experiment gone terribly wrong." Or, actually "petri dish experiment STILL going terribly wrong."

new tenant--my god, I'm so sorry.

I did a search for online or cyber Tourette's Syndrome, but didn't get any hits. I guess it's back to troll research. It's been quite an interesting study.

At least, for you.

bravo jamie pup! i think jonathan AND new tenant are hysterical.

New Tenant, okay, I didn't get the joke. I never looked at your pictures, so how would I know? I just read your response to his weird post and... oh, well.

Terry, Enrique's right. I can't seem to find the tread either, but I remember desiring at the time to do the same with some Pepto-Bismol pink tiles.

I've seen the epoxy paint used and it looks great, but I have no idea about its durability. If memory serves, you first need to etch the tiles using citric acid before refinishing. I seem to remember the entire process taking at least 4 days or so, during which no water should come into contact with the area of application.

There are online resources to explain how to DIY, but it probably is a better idea to leave to a professional.

Terry,
In my old bathroom, I painted the tiles by first painting a coat of kilz over everything. However, these were those plastic 60's type bathroom tiles, and not in the bathtub area. After I painted them with kilz, I did two coats of an oil based paint, and it seemed to stay on pretty well, but we only lived there for another year, so I can't vouch for the long term quality. It was a nice change to have bright white tiles though, after the grey and gold and blue 'fake marble' look. :)

PhillyMeg - those end tables look like Thayer Coggin:

http://www.thayercoggin.com/Pages/table%20gallery1.html

Gorgeous, with a price to match, I'm sure. Although The ones you pointed out look like they have storage. hmmm . . .

Oh gosh - now I feel bad that people think my post was serious. I tried to make it so over-the-top that no one would be fooled.

You guys are so sweet - here's the real deal: my mom and dad are alive - they are in their 70s, retired and living in Australia. They spend six months of each year traveling all around the world, including Mexico several years ago, where my mom bought the blue woven shawl.

My sister, who actually did have dyslexia as a child, is a lawyer in Australia. I never had a dog named Waldo, although my family has owned several dogs that have met untimely deaths - we did not have much luck with pets when I was growing up. But I appear to have overcome the curse since I have a Kitty who is now 15 and is still very healthy.

I actually do have a Danielle Steel book on that bookshelf which was sent to me by mistake by one of those horrible book clubs. I have never read it and can't even remember the title. There are no Where's Waldo books.

If you're looking for Waldo, he's getting busy in the Danielle Steele book with a tennis pro named Cooke or a race car driver named Snake.

Terry,
Enrique is right.
(and I just put his prize in the mail)

I had my tub coated (by a random company out of the phonebook.)
It came out great and I'm sure would be worth it if you're not going to just rip it all out and replace. They sand down the old, coat it with goo and bake it with french fry lights for a couple hours. All under a plastic tent.
It took a day for a tub...at least I don't think he came back a second day. I was in a reno and working haze.
Anyway, it's not a DIY job.

You have to skip abrasive cleansers with the epoxy coatings -- it's not like kiln-fired coatings,
but it's held up pretty well for me.

After a particularly funny exchange between Jonathan and Patrick last week, I thought that some posters are sitcom characters made up by Maxwell to inject humor and personality into what would be endless,tedious hunks of decorating advice. Watch out for AT, the tv sitcom coming soon. Are you on it Maxwell?

Wait, so you don't think I'm a hunk? :(
All this ab work for NOTHING?!?

I wasn't looking for Waldo, but now maybe I will!

J -

I am certainly not in favor of burning witches but I am partial to throwing them in lakes or rivers to see if they float.

does someone have a teensy weensy persecution problem?

P2 - yes, but you are a tedious hunk :)

A hunka hunka burnin love darlin! It's a spring day in north carolina, I'm off to yard work now

New Tenant--
I'll take it!
And he will only float if he lets go of all that baggage, which probably ain't happening anytime soon...

Kate(NC)--
I'm SUCH a sucker for a Southern accent.

I never should've thrown out my book of spells.

Jonathan--
The beauty of those "Word a Day" calendars is that you can move on to the next day for a brand new word. You've been stuck on "sanctimonious" for quite awhile now. Time to TURN THE PAGE.

OK, everyone do yourselves a favor and go here:

http://www.pakin.org/complaint

You too can have hours of fun and laughter, and amaze and astound your friends as you regale them with tales of cunning and wit.

Or you could simply fall asleep if you didn't take the one paragraph option.

Hey jamiepup--
Did you see the great link/lead from "RichardinLA" in the Room & Board bed thread?

Wow! No I had not seen it. Thanks for the heads up. Amazing looking furniture. Better IMO than a lot of the other Italian stuff I like.
Now I want a new bed to replace the Cappellini one we have!

This: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/images/uploads/mosaicwave.jpg just arrived at my office via UPS --If you remember, Aviva was featured here a few weeks ago. She's very nice, and the work is amazing in person.

...Just thought I'd share my excitement!

Best,

Jonathan A - Beautiful.

"funny exchange between Jonathan and Patrick last week" --- I must have missed that. Which thread?

Jonathan, why do you frequent this blog if you hate us so? Why not find another site more to your liking?

Pixie, seriously, did you read what I wrote?

Stop posting about or to jonathan.

you know one thing i really love about this site? i can hit the "refresh" button after reading a post and viola! another ATer has posted, and there is usually a new link on the home page, too.

jp-I tried to ignore it previously, but everyone else is reacting. So, now I just want an honest answer to a direct question to Jonathan. Why does he stay at this site since he doesn't like it?

Sorry jamiepup, I'm guilty of re-loading the trap today, too.

But it's out of my system, I swear (after being VERY restrained for the past few days...)

This site is the best, a gossip column for apts. I am hooked, it is better than the New York Times.

Susan

Terry:

Painting bathroom tiles is easy. However, when they're in direct contact with water, such as the shower/tub, none of the finishes really last that long and they have a tendency to chip and peal. I've painted tiles several times. It is necessary to sand them, giving them "tooth", and then prime with something like KILZ, and then use any good paint. Sometimes a Polyurethane coat will seal them but, again, direct water contact makes for a future mess.

Have you considered locating large sheets of an acrylic material, nailing them in and then groating? How about just going to a good hardware store (not Home Depot!) and asking...

Anyway, good luck.

P2 --

Congrats! Sounds like you've been have been putting the past few days to good use, then.

jamiepup is a wise, wise man.

Jonathan, What do you love about the site?

He doesn't like my hometown - guess 2004 still smarts a little.

Wallpaper = burning witches? Damn, I knew I would have to find a new job. ;)

Jonathan, Why don't you answer my question about why you love this site?

Carmella would never put a plasma over the fireplace.

A 42 inch TV? Definitely New Jersey.

Jonathan A, Congratulations on your acquisition. I loved the works but didn't dare find out the prices! The one you chose was my favorite too.

okay enough about jonathan, back to my bedroom wall issues.

Jonathan, I love the Bo Concept stuff and I will decorate my NEXT house with that. For now, I need something a lot cheaper :)

Here are the long sideboards at IKEA:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=12&catalogId=10103&langId=-1&topcategoryId=15561&parentCats=15561*15639*15644&categoryId=15644&cattype=sub

I am considering going the least expensive route, and getting two of the Ottenby and painting them white, but I'm open to suggestions - if anyone has experience with any of these items, please let me know.

Above the sideboard and next to the shelves, I was thinking about putting some glass cabinets:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=12&catalogId=10103&langId=-1&topcategoryId=15561&parentCats=15561*15639*15645&categoryId=15645&cattype=sub
I'm leaning towards the pelto

Obviously I need to see these in person before deciding. I may also put in some thicker shelves. thoughts?

Plasma over fireplace - nix.

Televisions (and their programmes) are banal monstrosities.

If you can afford a plasma - you can afford one of those tv-lift cabinets to hide the thing. Plus you'll have one more cool thing that will give you an edge on your neighbors.

If rainy days make you yearn for the outdoors, you should check out pebble tile. These are 12x12" mesh backed tiles made of loose river rock. They are pretty easy to install and feel great under a bare foot. I just added them to my website:

www.sbkinc.com.

I'm an ex-DWR alum who is now in trying to bring some fresh ideas to the Kitchen & Bath market. Please take a look. I would welcome comments from the Apartment Therapy community.

Cheers,
Nuno Ferreira

Jonathan -
I vote no on the TV above the fire place.

New Tenant -
1. Your post on the books was hilarious. Such a treat to read!

2. As for your room, of your links posted, I would vote for two side by side NIVAs if you had the space, or one of the BONDEs.

If you have the white shelves on the wall, and a dresser type thing on the floor, I think adding the glass cabinets would undo the de-cluttering you are achieving by getting rid of those wood shelves on the left hand side.

If you really need that much more storage, then I would suggest taking down the white shelves and just doing the whole wall in shelves such as the BILLY or EXPEDIT - in white.

Hey Lori 2

thanks for the encouragement :)

I really like both the sideboard suggestions you made - they are probably my two favorite. I am just so hesitant to by anything that is not solid wood - It will depend a lot on how they look in person.

thanks so much for your suggestions - i appreciate it

New Tenant,

Design sponge (link in right nav) did a great job painting an Ikea sideboard recently. You may want to check her site for details.

It made me want to try it, too!

Cheers,
Fiona

Ok, I'm a technoJUNKIE and I do have a plasma, it's not hidden, but I just dont understand who thought a TV over a fireplace was a good idea in the first place. Who really wants to look UP at a tv? Even with the tilt mount, who wants to tilt their tv every time they watch it? Get an armoire to hide it in, your neck will thank you for it.

Oh and Carmela's TV is small and in an armoire/cabinety thing. Of course Tony also has a movie theater in the house.

I can't wait to see them in two weeks. I've missed them sooooo much.

terry:

my advice - i know you don't want to hear it - is to work with what you've got until you can afford to do it right. doing it on the cheap is just going to wind up costing you more money and aggravation in the long run. i can tell you of my bathroom reno if you like, because my biggest mistake was trying to make it look like what it wasn't. i say, if you've got hideous, and you don't want to spend money, and you're going to gut it someday anyway, then enjoy the freedom of doing whatever over-the-top, bad, bad, bad decorating nightmares you've always dreamed about.

new tenant:
rapier wit. superstar.

jonathan:
GROUP HUG. Naked.

oh, forgot:

plasma tv over the fireplace = large dolce & gabbana appliques on the ass of your jeans.

(and by the by - i'm not sure which reeks more of the low - the huge plasma tv or the danielle steele novel)

but maybe i'm just bitter because i don't have a plasma tv. or a tv at all. or an ass that looks good in jeans.

There's some kind of new TV, though I'm not sure if it's plasma or one of the other kind, that comes in a wooden picture frame and looks like a big ole mirror when not in use. THAT I could imagine over a fireplace, but otherwise, no.

And that's only if you were sure that the heat of the fireplace wasn't going to ruin it.

By the way, at home I have a Sony VAIO Computer from 2001 and it's the kind of screen where you can actually use a stylus to interact with the screen, but it has developed black horizontal lines, so if there's a television that's made in that same way, I would avoid it like the plague.

The worst thing about having a TV above the fireplace, I think, is craning one's neck to see it.

On the other hand, in a non-working fireplace, I THINK that I wouldn't mind looking down slightly at a TV that was sitting IN it, because at Christmas, it would be a giggle watching the yule log video on it.

We'll be the judge of that.

Meanwhile, if I were to sell my old apartment completely furnished for like a million dollars (the only way I could ever part with my "Baroquen Television"), and had to start over in a new space with all modern stuff, I think I would clad the entire wall surrounding the plasma TV I would get in huge blocks of black onyx or black glass, to partially celebrate and partially camouflage the TV.

(whoops, that was in response to pphillipp)

good strategy lads, hang out in the old thread
anyone designing an anti-troll device?

curtis love,
ever use the teflon paint rollers mentioned in the NYT today? now I can't see a paint novelty without wanting to ask you what you think . . .

pphillipp, how nice to see you back
whatcha do to the bathroom?

guido, you noticed.

i started the surface "demolition" myself, but didn't have the talent to skim-coat - and i was thinking, "you know - i'm just going to paint these damn walls to look like a cross between rothko and motherwell and shale," and was going to experiment with numerous coats of paint ranging from high gloss black to cobalt blue (cuz i'm an artschool drop out from the 80s) - but in the end i opted for professional skim coating, resurfacing the tub, put in a new tile floor (myself), new lights, huge new mirror (inspired by enrique, but not as fabulous) over the sink.

i guess it's going to be easier to sell this way, but for me it's a big zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

it sure ain't dark wood panelling ;)

To all:
Thanks so much for all the suggestions for my bathroom. I am mulling all options over and will let you guys know what happens as I go along. Really, thank you so much!

Help! My son just moved into an apartment in New York and has been trying to hang roman shades so that the ugly bars covering his windows are covered up. We tried drilling into the plaster covered wall (there may be concrete under there) with a special drill bit (one home depot said would work), but we couldn't make a hole. He then bought liquid nails and tried gluing the shades to the wall. Alas, the shades came down. Any idea what we can use??