apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Woo hoo! Network issues resolved by way of PC Anywhere (who knew it could be that simple? Oh yeah, Luigi did...)
Anyway, I'm back!

Kathryn

Yay, Kathryn!! We missed you! You are a WELCOME (re)addition to the site these days...

Kathryn
WELCOME BACK!!

Thanks!! Missed you, too, P2!
And I have the Chicago sandbox to play in now, too. Sweet!

Hooray for PC anywhere!
I know you're happy Kathryn....this is good news!

*pours another espresso in honor of Kathryn*

*takes another sip of earl grey in honor of Kathryn and Luigi*

BTW, I always go back to your flickr site to see if you have posted more updates to your awesome loft.

Thanks jamie pup! I haven't done anything else in the loft since the Ikea Stordal Closet project but I'm getting ready to tackle my roofdeck, so there will be a whole new set of before and after shots.

Is there an AT Deck/Patio Month?

P.S. Thanks again for your advice on the flat screen tv. I absolutely love my plasma and agree that it was the best choice!

thanks wende! i have enjoyed your posts for some time now (at home) and am glad to be able to finally respond in realtime!

enjoy that espresso! it's about time for a macchiato here, too!

btw, jamie pup - i am only an occasional tea drinker, but I ordered one of those "tea sticks" a little while ago and it really makes enjoying a cuppa for one more enjoyable!

www.gamilacompany.com/tea/teastick.html

kathryn, why are you hogging the whole open thread?(lol)
are you feeling the AT love?

Kathryn,

I would be interested in what you plan to do on your roof deck and the accompanying pics when you get done. We are gearing up for the summer season on our roof deck as well. We have it partially decked in the front and are going to do an additional area in the back soon. We went to Home Depot this weekend and got some peach trees and planted them in containers. I doubt we will have much of a chance of them fruiting, but they look nice at least. We also spent too much time priming and repainting our West Elm patio furniture and still are not done. The "weatherproof stain" they use almost all wore off after less than a year! Good lesson learned there not to skimp. We should have gotten teak from crate and barrel or somewhere else.

yes, luigi, it's very heartwarming ;)

speaking of espressos and such, i ended up springing for that pasquini espresso machine yesterday. it should arrive in by friday which gives me the whole weekend to practice.

then we'll see who the real barista is!!

Hi Jeremy,

Is that your deck in the pictures? It's awesome!! I'm envious of the high walls. As you can see in the photo (click on my name) our decks are separated only by those railings so it's a lot less private.

The main problem I have with my deck is that it faces east, gets a ton of wind and there is no shade, so I've had a hard time getting anything to grow up there. Last year, I skipped planting altogether. I just splashed out on a patio umbrella but when the BF and I tried to set it up this weekend, we didn't feel safe leaving it up there (even with the umbrella down). The wind is that strong!

I would love to have one of those wooden pergola-type structures, but our condo docs prohibit them.

Kathryn--

What about those panels of canvas called "Shade Sails" or somthing like that... usually triangular pieces of sail-grade canvas, stretched on high-tension wires form various wall anchor points...

Sorry to change the subject, but does anyone have a wallpaper hanger in NYC that they would recommend? I got the name of one person from the D&D, but I'd like to get at least a couple of estimates.

Thanks for your help!

Another change of subject (Kathryn, hi, great wall paint choice; have you selected it before buying new rug or after?):
I just found this piece on small house market offerings (basically, a 1br of about 380sq.ft) in England; wouldn't that be wonderful to have those choices here?

Kathryn that is in fact our rooftop deck. We are lucky that we have the whole roof so the walls of the building give us some privacy from the neighbors. We also have the wind problem and take in our umbrella after we are done using the roof. It is amazing how windy it can get up there when the wind is hardly blowing at ground level! I second patrick's suggestion of the shade sail if you can swing that with your condo board and secure it safely. You could even take it down each time and just have the posts up all the time. we have thought about trying it on part of the deck to offer some escape from the mid-day sun.

We also have the problem with keeping plants alive because the wind dries them out so quickly. I am trying to put mulch on all the pots this year and setting them near the walls to block some of the wind. A potential solution to add some privacy for you would be to have some planting boxes built along each railing and plant some nice shrubs that would at least partially block your neighbor's decks. You might be able to find some fairly drought tolerant ones so you wouldn't have to water as frequently. I think we need a plant therapy special edition on rooftop planting!

The City Gardener has done rooftop decks, and I think his not-drying-out solution was a drip irrigation system designed for and installed into potted/boxed plants.

I think his solution for wind-prone areas was to go with ornamental grasses.

Kathryn, about your roof garden: if I remember correctly, one of the episodes of the Urban Gardener had similar situation: an open balcony on a hi-rise in a very windy spot in suburb of London. Don't remember the host's solution in terms of architecture. Mine would be partition of vertical 1"thick wood slots on pivots, in a frame, so the angle of each slot is adjustable and you could break the wind without putting mush stress on the wood.

For the greenery I would go with the plants accustomed to the windy conditions in their natural habitat: miniature Pine trees, lichens and ivies for soil cover and Yucca for variety.

I remember reading about the Shade Sails here last year. Doesn't the anchor post need to be set in concrete or something like that? I think that's where I stopped reading. I do love the look of it and it seems like it could handle the windy conditions, better than say, a regular patio umbrella.

Jeremy, have you seen that (relatively) new all-white condo building at Greenview and Barry? The person who lives in the top unit has about 6 potted evergreens on his/her deck. I love the way it looks - very Tuscan.

Thanks for the rest of the feedback. I'll post pictures as I figure out what to do up there!

Tat,

Thanks for the comment! I pretty much picked out rug and the paint color for the wall at the same time. I knew I wanted something subtle, so I had a bunch of paint chips taped to the wall and was able to match them up against the rug samples.

Kathryn,

Haven't seen that, I will have to check it out this weekend. On the other side of the alley someone has evergreens in a row like that and it looks very nice. My wife doesn't really like the evergreen look, but as Tat said they are probably the best for the conditions. I like p2's suggestion of ornamental grass though. That would be a really nice divider between your deck and the neighbors. The people two buildings down from us just built a wooden pergola with tin roof and it is very sharp looking.

Kathryn: you're lucky. Usually it's much easier to match the paint to the rug than the other way around.
Great choice.

"Is there an AT Deck/Patio Month?"

Oh, that would be great! And soon since warm weather is upon us.

I also have issues with my balcony. Open railings, wind, building restrictions, etc.... I'd love to know how others deal with their issues.

Deck/patio month would be awesome.

I have no advice for railings, but could a plexi panel perhaps be an option?

I'd love to see pictures of what people have done with their outdoor spaces. We have an eventual plan, but we're very transitional now, and will be for at least two years. I'd love to see solutions for creating a space that's protected from wind/sun/dust/etc.

Rachel, I used an old bamboo blind for the railings and it looked really cool. And it just happened to be the EXACT same width as the railings. I had to use wires to secure them onto the rails in several places and then took those twinkle lights made to put over shrubs (what are those called) and it looked pretty at night, even for the neighbors who saw the lights filtered thru the bamboo slats. Problem: wind shredded the blinds in a matter of a couple of months. Now I'm looking for the next solution.

I mean - I took the twinkle lights and stretched them across the bamboo blind and secured those as well.

Yeah, Anne, your wind problem is what made me think of the plexi panel - like you could put the blinds up (again) - and then put a plexi panel in between the blinds and your railings - that way you get the wind protection from the plexi, and thr attractiveness of the blinds....

Oh yeah! that's a great idea. Duh. You always come thru for me. Thanks ray ray

Guido, I went to TJ today and got 6 bottles of wine for $26.00! Yes, a couple of them were 3 buck Chuck but I happen to like that wine for sipping while watching TV on an ordinary night. I love their selection. They also have one of my favorite labels - Whitehall Lane. But that bottle was $40 so I passed on that for now.

Thanks for giving me the heads-up. TOMORROW is devoted to taxes.

Anne, here's a mockup I did with photoshop to show you. I know you already know what I mean, but i'm just so danged proud of my mockup. ;)

Look at you!! That's so helpful. I'm going to call around and get estimates on plexiglass panels.
THANKS!!

Out of curiousity - what do people think about refrigerators?

Besides being a place to keep food, mine is a horrible cluttered mess of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, yellowed clippings from the newspaper, photos of babies, and random magnets from the pizza guy, real estate agents, and the veterinarian's business card.

It really looks cluttered, but I don't know how to change it - it feels like there is a functionality issue here - it could be used for something awesome, but how?

Ideas?

Maybe I could skip the bamboo blinds and use one of these on the plexiglass. I wonder if it works on plexiglass.

http://www.glassdeco.com/thumbnails.cfm

You could also call an architectural model building company and ask them if they have a laser table. With a laser table, you can actually etch whatever design you want into the plexi - be it striations that resemble the patterning on your concrete, a block pattern to echo your flooring, or even some peonies!! :)

Some sign and graphics places will have that capability as well.

hey anne
how about a rundown of the TJ wines
on the open threads on The Kitchen.AT

I went a little crazy helping Astor move
so I'm not quite ready to do the research
myself

Rachel, fridge (see also slinks on 4/4)
http://www.kitchensource.com/kau/frigofunandprac.htm

Anne, another balcony possibility?
http://tinyurl.com/pg5mo

my fridge door is a magnificent floating landscape demonstrating wabi and sabi.

haha. actually rachel, i like to create collages on my fridge, it's a way of doing something with pretty pictures from magazines or postcards or quotations. it requires less startup/cleanup than most art activities. i have a few round swirly colored magnets, right now i think trailing away from a postcard of cherry blossoms.

Andree, thanks! I'll look at that on my next IKEA candle run. Kathryn gave me a good idea from IKEA as well so I need to make a list now.

guido, I'll post my 6 bottles on the Kitchen OT.

After looking at my mother's frig and all the crap she keeps on it I made a decision not to put anything on my frig unless it's an appt. I need to keep. But then that comes down immediately.

Why can't I find The Kitchen? Where is it?

*guido, do they have Lillet? Can't find one in neighborhood stores.

anne, it's in the city bar up top,
next to Chicago

Tat,
finally something we can fully agree on
Lillet!

Astor has it, but so do plenty of wine stores in Park Slope, if that's where you're at

Sterling Grapes on Fifth Ave (across from Key Food)
Red White and Bubbly (Fifth and Union)
and
the wine store on Flatbush/Park Pl
closest to the Q train, Seventh Ave stop

rachel
my newish fridge does not permit magnets on the door
(weird thing about the stainless conserv/summit)
and it's *much* better that way
all the rubbish I love to put on the fridge
is on the side only

*guido, you forgot Helleborus.

I'm in Bay Ridge, Park Slope is too 'progressive' for me (http://tinyurl.com/zt4re)

Thanks for the tip, I'll go to Astor on my way home.

Anne,

The picture that Andree posted is what I was talking about!

Good luck!
Kathryn

Tat,
where in Bay Ridge are you? I live on Shore Road and 87th St

Oh, then my list just got shorter :)

I used to live very close to you, *luigi -@72 S x Colonial, now - Ovington x 4th.

tat
cool. Have you checked out any of the home stores on 3rd ave? ZEN, HOME CHIC and HOM?

In passing. As far as I remember, they're more accessories' places; Zen had some cool garden furniture and lanterns (I was into patio furnishings then, so I noted).
have you been there lately? Changes?

I havent been to Zen since they moved across the street. I've been meaning to check it out

Hi,
I was just reading your blog and noticed some interest in good quality teas in Tea Sticks. Those interested in tea sticks may want to check out this web site www.petittea.com . The site offers world class teas in Tea Sticks. Also teas have been paired with western foods to give the consumer a healthier option to wine.
Have a great and joyous new year.
Rajesh