apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I decided to remove the 43 years worth of paint off my front door and leave it unfinished. I used Peel Away and it got most of the paint off. There's still a thin layer of paint left on the door.

Any suggestions on how I can finish it off to get to the bare metal so I can buff and seal it? I tried steel wool and mineral spirits but it is not quite aggressive enough. I bought a sander but now I am wondering if this is the right tool.

I think a sander IS the right tool, but if you have panels and that little molding they sometimes have around them, you might want to get a little Dremel tool with some of those little sanding stone bits (I can't remember what they're called, but you know what I mean).

That's most likely the original enamel and won't come off too easily. You can try Strip-eaze or an industrial-strength boat stripper and let it sit for a few hours or you can have it sandblasted...

An oscilating sander will do it but if the door isn't flat (has decorative moulding etc...) it's going to be a pain.

Alvin:

Have you tried a heating method? For 43-year-old paint (probably with lead) you're not supposed to use a heat gun, but they also sell/rent infrared paint removers that heat the paint up in a safe way. The paint softens and bubbles up, and you can scrape it off.

http://www.silentpaintremover.com/

Hey, what gives: http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/

What color, what wall?

#43 NestWest here.

We got a few comments suggesting that wall color could help brighten our living room and we are scratching our heads trying to figure out which wall is best and what color might work. Though our lease says no paint, that hasn’t stopped us in the past. So we thought we would put the question to the open thread and see what ideas are out there (and to see if they match the idea we are kicking around).

Here’s our thinking: We liked the white walls when we moved in because it looked nice and clean and fresh. We had just moved out of another apartment where we had painted our dining nook with Benjamin Moore Tangelo. In the days before moving, we sanded for countless hours and slapped up at least 4 coats of primer to cover that damn Tangelo. We were, literally, exhausted by color (see link).

Now, maybe we are ready to think about color in the living room. Problems: Each wall is broken up about 4 times – brick, windows, corners, cabinet, doors, nooks or crannies – so there isn’t one continuous wall that makes for an obvious choice. A neutral butter color might work with the wood furniture and the brick, but we fear it might just add some more beige. The apartment gets a lot of light and the color of the room changes all day, so the paint color would need to allow for a light shifts. And, heavily saturated colors are out (including Tangelo), as are blues and yellows.

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

I've only used the Peel Away. And with it, I can see the metal but there is this layer for film. I'll try your suggestions. It's a good thing the door and frame are both flat.

Have you ever started a project and midway through, you think to yourself, "Why did I do this?"

Thanks

the lovely and talented andree put me on to http://www.aussino.com/, which combines intriguing designs for bed linen with a bizarre refusal to explain how i can exchange money for bedsheet in the u.s.of a. anyone know?

question two, both my mdc desk (o folly of youth, thinkng anything not ikea was quality!) and my bathroom cabinet have peeling/jagged "strips" (painted/coated bristleboard that has been glued to the main particleboard). i could pull the damaged strips off but i don't know where i'd find new ones in the same color, and painting the exposed particleboard would look quite different from the rest of the piece. any ideas?

thanks everyone. and on another note, i finally bought a lamp but i hate the shade. at least i get to hate in a lamp-lit room.

Melanie & Doug -

What about something like Celery Ice or Mantis Green on your center wall between the living area and the kitchen/bedroom side of the apartment...then also in the nook behind the books?

Celery Ice is:
V070-MN28-F821
Celery Ice 2030-60

Mantis Green:
V2RU-VH69-AYQ1
Mantis Green 2033-60

I think it would pick up the green in the piece of art on your window wall, while that frame picks up the brick. Plus, painting that wall (which is broken by doors and plane shifts) would smooth it out a bit. And the metal letters would pop against the green, as would your table.

nestwest, i think your apt is wonderful without adding a wall of color. and i'm not in the least anti-color, my own apt being vivid.

Alvin -
I think that what I did with my metal door (no kiddin') was that I probably used big ole stanky-stanky-stanky Zip Strip! I figure, hell, I don't drink or smoke, so the odd murdered brain cell once every time I buy an apartment couldn't hurt THAT much.

So, I THINK that I might have done most of the work with the Peel-Away, but that by the time I got down to the last bits, I had no choice but to use Zip-Strip, because there just wasn't enough to "peel" away, right? So at that point, I used the Zip Strip kind of kind of like a detergent on dirt. It came VERY clean and nice, but you gotta get a couple of rolls of paper towels and don't be afraid to use them.

I tried asking this question waaaay down on Friday's thread ... but it couldn't complete with flokati rugs and West Elm furniture! :) Does anyone have experience with Ultracraft cabinets? They seemed very impressive when I checked them out this weekend. They're frameless, made of MDF (which I'm not afraid of, after following discussions on this site), and come with full-extension drawers (that close gently without banging) as standard features, without having to request an upgrade.

I should clarify, in case it isn't obvious, that I'm talking about kitchen cabinets!

Alvin-

Jsut a reminder- if you do go the industrial stripper route be sure to get a respirator and some good gloves. Latex or vinyl gloves will not keep the stripper out and it WILL burn your skin. And do it outside- it STINKS!

G'luck!

Oh, and inevitabally about an hour into any project I have that "crap, what am I doing?" moment... That's when I know it's time for a beer!

-J

Rasil

- is this what you are talking about? -the edging strips that finish off a 'foil' covered mdf/particleboard furniture piece? You can get thin strips (approx 1 inch wide and oodles long) at IKEA - we had a bunch left over after our kitchen was installed (that I just 'cured' out to the trash!) -they used them to cover the little strips where two cabinets joined but the cupboards did not cover -I think you iron them on and then trim with an exacto knife. I've also seen them on TV in veneered woods as well (same iron on technique)and they said to get them from building supply stores (which I think is TVese for Home Depot). i hope that helps?!

You can also find the edging strips at www.rockler.com and I saw them at Artie's (on W14th St.) the other day.

Hey Nestwest folks--I loved your place sans color as well. And, I appreciate the tangelo warning, as i'm just venturing into choosing a color for my rented place and have been going to the oranges....

I have a crisis here and don't know what to think. In my addiction to vintage design books, I just ordered House & Garden Guide to ID from the 1970s and in addition to finding alot of the furniture that "inspired" Jonathan Adler, I found a room almost exactly like one in his book. Anyone who has it, its the english room with a union jack pillow that was for a showhouse. I love JA but this is really too much and I don't know what to think. Any thoughts?

NestWest: My suggestions/thoughts on the potential color wall for your living room:
One option would be to paint the entire wall that the fireplace is on, with the exception of the fireplace projection itself, which would help set off the fireplace, extending the color all the way into the bed alcove to accentuate the length of the wall. Or, if you want a quick and easy solution, paint just the fireplace projection a strong color to again help accent the fireplace. I'd not paint the window wall because, as you noted, it's too broken up.
Another thing to consider would be to paint the walls in your kitchen alcove to help really set it off and to give some contrast between the walls and the cabinets. If you did this, you could possibly paint the kitchen alcove and the fireplace wall the same color, helping to tie the two sides of your wonderful space together.

Is there any way to dye a wool rug? It has a very old stain on bright blue wool with a black and white border and a strange yellow squiggle, bought for a child's room and about to be thrown out. It is very dense and soft. I'd like to make it dark brown all over. anything would be an improvement. There is a company in FL that colors carpet, I googled. Any cheap way for me to do it myself?

Wool dies very well. However, you may need to use a mordant so that wool accepts whatever dye you use. In addition, the rug may have been treated with various chemicals, which might make some of the fibers resistant. However, if the rug is small and not very valuable, you could just toss it in a Rit bath and see what happens (assuming, that it is pre-shrunk). Another alternative is to take it to a rug dealer who also does cleaning and repairs; he may also do dying.

Thaanks ebrown, I should have specified this is a heavy room sized rug. I was hoping for a method to sponge or mop something onto it. I bought it cheaply at a rug outlet because is is such a wierd design. I meant to use it with Dr. Seuss posters is a baby's room.

Hey, big day at AT is right! Tons going on.

Alvin: If you're removing 43 years of built up paint, have you considered there might be lead in the old paint? A test kit is easy to pick up although it sounds as though you're nearly done. Just a caution: Lead is, after all, quite toxic. You might want to check with a pro or at your local paint store about how to handle removing old paint in a safe manner. It isn't just a matter of a respirator. But good luck, because that much paint is a real chore.

Are you doing before and after photos?

Is it really necessary to turn nurseries into squishy gushy places dribbling with mobils and posters and bears and stuffed unicorns? I suppose this gets at the heart of child rearing. my older sister, idiot that she is, was always scared her children would be ugly. i am more afraid my child will be stupid and i have long suspected that putting children in an environment like that raises the stupidity risk

we have opted to put our baby in a room that would be suitable for a 15th century calvinist. this is a selfish act, as greeting posters of barney would make me cringe.

hopefully the kid won't be on a bell tower one day with a rifle but who knows.

I'll make it official. I'm no longer using

jmarieb(jackie)

I'll just do Jackie from now on......in case it matters :)

Regarding dyeing the rug - I think it would be well worth it to get an estimate on a dye job from a rug dealer. Look at it this way - you bought the rug cheaply, but if you're not going to use it as is, that's money wasted. If you can get what you want, it adds up to money well spent.

All this is assuming that the shape and texture are something you really like, like enough that you don't want to just go buy another rug. Also assuming that the cost of dyeing is not so exorbitant that it would make more sense to sell the rug cheaply or give it to charity, and buy a new one instead.

I've had clothes that have lost their colour professionally dyed, and I've been very happy with the results. I've also dyed things myself in the past, and unless it's going to be a fun creative project, I'd rather pay someone else to deal with the mess.

No experience with rugs, though. Good luck.

Jane, it doesn't look like anyone knows Ultracraft cabinets. (I didn't want your request hanging there all plaintive - sorry I can't help.)

Nestwest, I like your white walls, too. But then, I generally prefer white walls, which I have learned makes me something of a freak. This is why I collect French decorating magazines. They seem to like white walls, and (since the only thing the French worship apart from food is braininess) many of the apartments are stacked with books.

If you do decide to add colour, please post pictures. I think your apartment looks extremely polished. I only wish I could whip my own into similar shape.

J, your baby's room actually looks pretty voluptuous.

If you do nothing else right at least you sprung for that fabulous chandelier. What a good Daddy.

Jonathan, room decor doesn't mean much to a kid, a rocking chair with a loving parent in it and a big stack of book, some of which you will read over and over and over again are the most important thing you can give your child. Don't park him front of the plasma screen, and take him out to see and do. Now that I think of it, who cares about that ugly rug with kid puke stains. I'll just put it under the drum set and do something more important than dyeing a rug. Like taking my kids to hear Temple Grandin who is speaking near here this week and is one of the most interesting people on the planet

The day I need to be told to read to my child from someone who resides in the state that elected Jesse Helms will be a cold day in hell to say the godamned least

thanks everyone for the strip suggestions. i think buying a strip will be hard bc of the unusual color of the desk but i will give it a try.

i hate not real wood.

Wow, the unsolicited insults just don't stop!

hey anne
I was on 14th St today - the TJ wine store opened.

Kate(NC)
hello!

Thanks, original blues! I figured somebody would have spoken up by now if they did. (And I also figure that, if they come with a 100-year warranty, they must be pretty good.) For the life of me, I can't figure out why people would buy cabinets with a 5-year warranty when you can get a lifetime warranty in the same price range!

Thanks guido! Taxes be damned, I'm going to buy wine instead of doing my taxes. Oh wait, maybe I won't have any money left for wine. Ummm. Oh what the hell, I'm going wine shopping!

BTW, guido - did you go in and check out the prices/selection?

Right on Shoshana. Jonathan Adler acclaim makes me nuts. I too have a bunch of old design books and indeed "his" stuff is all right there. He's not a designer. He's a stylist.

Alvin. Kudos on the door. Did it to mine. Dislike chemical strip so I just put on a face mask, goggles and got obsessive with my handy, dandy straight edge razor. Granted, made some minor scrapes but that is ok since the door seems to be galvanized steel or something that is flecks of different color metal. Then went over it with steel wool, coarse grade then finer. Finally put on a thin coat of matte urethane so it wouldn't get the rusty streaks though some like that look. Then, to brighten up the long, dark and dreary hall the door leads into put a load of little round mirrors and colored glass blobs that match the walls in a swirling starburst design. Makes me happy every time I see it and really changed the hall for the better.

"hopefully the kid won't be on a bell tower one day with a rifle but who knows."

I wonder if your plethora of positivity will rub off on him? If it does, avoid bell towers. Are you the same Jonathan who was banned from AT at one point? You Jonathan who said he hated himself? I can sure see why.

Calvinist. Please. I guess it's easier to decorate by ones beliefs than follow them.

anne, this wine you can afford
no matter what is going on with the taxman

whether you'll want to drink it, I don't know
are their insanely cheap house brands drinkable?
their special Chilean whatevers? No idea.

For everything else, it's not so different from any already reasonably priced purveyor and the selection is not as good. I guess their deal is that they pick some wines and sell in bulk. One bottle I am totally familiar with was $13.99 there, and $18.99 in Park Slope.
It's $14.95 at Sherry-Lehmann.

Conclusion: downtown I'm an Astor loyalist. Or Union Sq Wines. Or that place on 14th St further west . . .

Re: Jonathan Adler

What I do: Try to help people put together looks they want, generally for a much lower price than what is seen in magazines. I can't do it if the products don't exist.

What Jonathan Adler seems to do: Brings back things that people can't find anymore to make them available to duplicate that look that was once popular.

I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that, other than if it was claimed to be an "original" idea. Having a name brand that will consistently duplicate items that are no longer found, in up-to-date colors isn't a bad thing.

It DOES take a lot of talent to KNOW when to bring out a collection of items to sell to the public, even if they are virtual copies of older items. What if, instead, he'd decided to bring out copies of all the avocado green/harvest gold/coppertone items from the 70's. Would they sell in this wave of browns and blues? Nope. Those colors are too warm-dull earthy and autumnal. People want cooler-clearer "earthy" and ethereal.

FRITZ:

In case you don't see the other post, I found Hello There chairs available individually here:
http://themagazine.info/products/-/678.html

Enjoy!

Heres the thing: I love Jonathan Adler and I believe that good design often takes inspiration from other design. I even debated whether or not to post this but the pictures are almost exactly the same--the bed--frame, linens and all, the wall..everything. Its just upsetting. (Arent I lucky I never believed in Santa?)

Two Buck Chuck!
Two Buck Chuck!

Rasil:

Darhhhhling, you have to visit the retail store locations for the products. The Aussino site is a manufacturer site. They'll tease you with all kinds of goodies, and never sell them to you.

From their retailers page:
USA
Fred Meyers; JCPenney; Luxury Linen; Chambers; Fingerhut; Strouds.

I don't see anything come up at JCP in their store search. Oh, for crying out loud, I can't find anything. Isn't one of those stores a grocery store or jewelry store?

Okay, so here's their contact info:
AUSSINO (U.S.A.) INC.
295 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1102,New York, NY10016, U.S.A.
Tel: (212) 213 8838
Fax: (212) 213 8999

You were in N.Y., no? Call them and yell at them. Or show up at that address demanding a bedding set.

I second Two Buck Chuck! Also known as Charles Shaw :)

The boy and I enjoy the Cab the best - We've only tried the Cab, Merlot and Shiraz though.

It's three buck chuck here in Oregon. I wonder what it'll cost in NYC?

I second Susan's recommendation of the Cab.

I love Trader Joe's!

Shoshana:

It would be interesting to see that pair of pictures. Any way you can scan them and post somewhere, like on the Flickr site?

I have some older books and magazines that have all kinds of GREAT STUFF in them. Things that I cannot buy at retail, because they no longer exist. Books old enough to tout asbestos as being the best overall insulation.

Secondly, if I could find them in a vintage condition, they might be so badly damaged or worn that they would require extensive rehabilitation, which I cannot do on my own without the proper expertise and equipment.

But what if it becomes available under someone's name? Like Jonathan Adler? Same style, but brand new. I don't have to do the rehab. I don't have to have the tools. I can just buy the item I saw in an older book or magazine.

Do you feel he's being "dishonest"? Would it have made a difference if he included a copy of the original inspiration picture? With text like "I've loved this room since I was a child and it was the main reason I started my own company, to duplicate the look of this room (and others) that I yearned for in my youth."

And is that the same as saying "I blatantly ripped off everything in this picture and labeled it as my own creation to make a profit"?

While the end result is the same, the motivation is different. I do things with heart. I'd reproduce things I can't find at retail to please myself and others who like the same things as I do.

I can see a market for Rasil's floral, but I can't find it to buy it. If I almost copied the design of the Company Store or the kimono, am I ripping it off, or just trying to make it available in other colorways to please more people?

I just want people to be happy and enjoy their home.

I'd love to hear the opinions of other people. I bet that pair of pictures would start a most heated discussion. Even if it's only me arguing with me.

LOL. You make alot of good points, Andree and some of them I had thought of. I think what bothered me more about the room was that it wasn't a private residence but a showroom.
The discussion of who owns design has come up before but I believe that a showroom is supposed to exhibit one's own work and talent. I don't think Adler needed to post both pictures (though I wish wish I could but...) however if he had written that it was inspired by rooms of the 70s I would not have been so saddened. Don't fashion designers, for instance, reference each other all the time? I still believe he's talented and I love his manifesto but I think he could have done better at least in this situation.
Anyway, I'm going away tomorrow for the holidays but when I come back I will try to set up a flickr acct. and post the pics for everyone.

Christine:

Are you able to view this link?
http://tinyurl.com/of46b

Anything in there strike your fancy?

DC Christine - Tangelo is a great color. We used it with a coral and a yellow in a dining area we had where we did large overlapping circles (looked like bubbles - very cute and retro). But, not joking, we rolled on no less than 4 thick coats of primer to cover it. And I could still make out those damn orange circles.

Rachel - that green is the exact color we used in our first bathroom. Good color.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

NestWest, why not add the color with fabric or use paint on a canvas? I have a HUGE canvas that I picked up for FREE with a silver frame. It had been someone's art project, I guess, and it was absolutely hideous. It was left in the trash room.

All I do is add a coat of paint to it, and I have insta-color. It's great for testing out a color you're thinking of using in a larger scale. But it's great to use AS the color instead of painting the walls or buying artwork. It's just a big colorful rectangle. Well, uh, right now it's a yukky taupe shade that just won't do.

A trio of canvases painted can be hung vertically or horizontally, to add the color when and where needed. Easily changed with a quart of paint...or even the paint samples (depending on the size of your canvas).

Cheap-cheap, buy a quart of OOPS/mis-mix paint from your local paint, home improvement, or hardware store for about a buck, and see how it looks as an accent. You don't have to worry about all the gallons of paint matching, because it's just a color for those canvas items.

Check out this link for a picture of fabric as art:
http://tinyurl.com/s8ttu

I don't know how to open the image in a new window with this browser (Safari) but if the above doesn't work, I'll switch over to the other browser and get that picture-only link. Let me know.

Lastly, you can frame anything flat. Paper, wrapping paper, gift paper, paper bags, grocery bags. Wallpaper, newspaper, toilet paper. Fabric, which can come from a pricey designer, or is a shape cut out of a groovy shirt, jacket, dress, or pants leg that you found at a thrift store. Leaves, flowers, all can be pressed and framed. Holiday tinsel, postcards, love letters, cereal boxes, album covers. Hair balls, dust bunnies, crayon shavings.

You have the opportunity to add colors to your wall without painting. To add patterns. Anything you can think of, including a part of your high school prom dress. Anything that means something to you or that you enjoy.

andree,
very nice little riff you just wrote. both poetic and practical - really nice, made me smile.

NestWest -- You need to use a hard-core primer to cover over darker colors. KillZ and Bin are my favorites, but you need to leave the windows wide open when you use them. With two coats of Killz, I covered over Benjamin Moore's bright-bright Exotic Red...

Thanks Andree - your ideas have us thinking. I gave you some other responses on the page with our entry.

My prom dress is (was?) bronze and sort of a chocolately color so that could work in this room. I was so ahead of the times back then - I predicted bronze would be back over a decade ago.

PS: Mary - we DID use Kilz if you can believe it. Our walls were just so porous that the paint soaked in.

Andree, about framing something you enjoy: need your technical help here.
I want to hang vintage Chanel headscarf, but can't use the stretching/stapling process you linked to above: the fabric is extremely fragile silk and already have some holes in it. I was thinking about spraying a non-permanent adheseve on pale-blue cotton (the scarf is aqua), attaching the scarf and using cut matting on top, but afraid the adheseve will come thru the fabric in ugly spots.

What do you think?

Tat, what about sandwiching the scarf between two pieces of glass then putting a piece of matboard behind the second piece of glass - so the scarf floats in front of it - and using a frame, or clips to hold the whole thing together?

Thanks, *rachel, that's a wonderful solution.
I'll see if I can find a non-envasive frame big enough and deep eanough so it'll fit (2) 1/4"glasses and a cardboard for the back.

Great!

What about this one, Tat (linked in my name)? You can get the pieces in the length you need, and the frame is easy to assemble. Plus, the face is rather minimal, though the depth is there.

There are other profiles as well.

You have to actually call them to order the frames, which I like, so that there is a real person walking me through the purchase.

Bookmarked.
Thanx!

Tat--
If it's a valuable scarf, take it to a professional framer. Do NOT experiment with adhesives yourself.

I want to hang a vintage vera scarf over my fireplace. Would it get cooked?