apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi everyone! First to post! Random ruminations:

Fort Greene in the house, Target at Atlantic Terminal is pretty pathetic. I wish my sectional wasn't as large. Who else is in the Brooklyn area?

Me, we are in the Heights. I agree about that Target, although I'm still glad it's there. Wish there was a Container Store in Brooklyn, that's my need - and it's not being met. Who's next?

I'd bet you anything that by January 2007 you'll end up having a Container Store in Brooklyn. I have no inside info at all, but I just can't imagine it not happening.

From your lips to G-d's ears, Curtis.

Curtis, that headboard you made from a room divider is so ingenious! Just had to say it.

Thanks! It was great fun. I love doing stuff like that.

Prospect Heights here. The Atlantic Terminal Target is a soul sucking black hole of long lines and bewildered staff.

soul sucking, yes, but unfortunately necessary.

i don't find their selection to be lacking, per se, but it just seems like every time i go there, i just don't find what i'm looking for. whether it's a question of style or specific item.

Fort Greene in the hizzle!

Curtis! Just looked through your Flickr site. I love the series "Oak" laminate to Faux Wenge! Perhaps you can be convinced to do a full DIY post on the process? I think it would be a great resource for those of us who'd like to customize older or less-expensive, big-box-store furniture pieces.

Curtis, your subway bathroom is so cool. I'd love to see a DIY post on that too:)

Enrique -

Thanks!

Would love to do something like that, but I think it was too much caffeine and too long of an e-mail reply on my part about it that prompted a communication glitch when something along those lines was suggested, so I kind of dropped it.

Curtis --

Brilliant job on those shelves. Had a question on the lighting under the shelves. It does not appear to be hooked to a cord or outlet. Do they
run on batteries?

Please tell me what they're all about. I'd like to get them for under-the-cabinet lighting in
my kitchen.

Thanks!

i can't seem to see curtis' fabu work, link won't work. how sad =(

AT posted a bed trolley a few weeks back...citing a Ready Made article and then an IKEA piece that did the same thing. Just curious if anyone has tried to make something like that and how successful it was. the Ikea piece is too short for my bed else i would just buy it.

I'm a brooklynite: Park Slope here!

Yes, the Atlantic center Target may very well be permanently understocked and tangled in intrictately woven long lines but it is great gigantic leap from the pathetic stores that once comprised the Atlantic center.

Any other brooklynites remember the days when the entire 'mall' had 2 lousy stores for household items?
1. that Marshalls which demonstrates almost admirable consistency in its 'hurricane just blew through here' look
2. that Macys filled with an extremely limited (yet still mostly unattractive) selection of household items.

and I have a question on headboards. I'm considering a tufted upholstered headboard that I found online. The website says 'works with any standard bedframe'.
However I don't have a traditional bed frame, instead I have a wooden captains bed base.

I was considering just buying the headboard anyway and keeping it upright by pushing the bed up against a wall.

Anyone have a better idea? or suggestion?

Danae, I remember the pre-Target Atlantic Terminal well. I hate everything about that place, pre and post Target. Bruce Ratner should be forced to live out the remainder of his days wandering that hell hole like an uglier and wimpier minotaur in a labyrinth, forever chased by those "tough neighborhood kids" he designed the place to keep out.

I usually just lurk but I LOVE Grant's work and think he deserves his own thread on this blog, similar to the wonderful new Color Therapy thread.

Holly -
It's flickr(dot)com(forward-slash)photos(forward-slash)artycurtis(forward-slash)sets
Maybe typing it in will help?

Nerdo -
Not sure which shelves you're talking about; there are several that I have on there in various places.

Rachel -
Shortly after I did that subway-station-bathroom thing, some people in the building that I lived in, who had a little public access cable show taped me doing a little demonstration of it -- I kind of hated how I looked and sounded (like a MAJOR crazola), and have no idea how to turn the video into anything click-able, but it was kind of a giggle.

Re: Target -- if you are in Brooklyn Heights or feeling adventurous, try hopping over to the Jersey City Target (subway to World Trade, then PATH to Newport). The Target is about 1 block from the PATH station. Its huge, clean, and well stocked. Not kidding.

Danae,
I made my own upholstered headboard in my pre-drill-owning days, so that is the solution I used to prop up mine. It works okay, for the most part. My major issue is just that the "brakes" on my casters don't work, so my bed tends to drift gradually over time...which isn't really an issue with the headboard holding capacity so much as the casters.

I second the JC Target!

I apologize in advance for this but I rent a zipcar on a fairly regular basis to get to the JC Target and it is almost heaven! You can take your carts to your car!! None of that crazy wobbling wheel tractor beam weirdness that you get in Atlantic Terminal.

Plus only 3% sales tax at the JC Target!

Very random question but I thought I would see if anyone else has had this problem.

My husband's titanium wedding band is leaving thin silver marks on our white porcelain sinks. I cannot get the marks out and have called Kohler, Porcher, etc. I am so sad about this because the sinks are only a year old. Any suggestions?

AT-Maybe you could post this as a general question. I would hate for this to happen to other people.

curtis, typing it in worked. your headboard indeed looks fabu ^_^

HH, have you tried a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? Those seem to get the most bizarre stains out of porcelain.

Curtis - holy smokes! I can't believe all you've done yourself, ESPECIALLY the oak-to-wenge!!!
Fantastic.

Jamie pup,
Zipcar? how much is it? I'd love to escape NYC with a car and go to Target, Ikea, etc.

It's a car club. You have a card, you swipe it and drive away. I'm not sure you you pay a flat fee and get a certain number of hours, or if you get a membership and get billed for the hours you use. I've not tried it, but I have several friends that do.

http://www.zipcar.com/

Jackie,

I did try Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It did not work. It works great on MANY other things.

Thanks though! HH

HH - try ZUD. It's a powder that works works wonders on porcelain and almost any hard surface with a hard to remove stain.

HH,
There is porcelain paint you can get from places like home depot to fix the scratches he's already made. I think because platinum is supposed to be the hardest metal, etc., etc., that he's actually scratching the porcelain and not the metal is leaving marks sort of thing. Other than having him take his ring off when he uses the sink, I don't know an expert way to prevent it. Hope that helps a little.

Holly -
I'm glad you got it working; thanks!

Sharon -
Thanks to you, too!. That oak-to-wenge thing was really actually kind of simple, but the VERY funny thing is that dang paint, which really goes on very well. The biggest problem with that paint is that I THINK that's sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, but getting someone in the Wal-Mart we went to who actually admits to be qualified to mix the paint was not easy.

We happened onto sort of a management-type guy who was trying to be all polite and stuff because he was kind of supposed to, but he was clearly looking around wishing that he hadn't been stuck with that little task, but knew good and well that the place just is never well enough staffed for anyone else to have stepped up.

So, it looks like the Kilz folks may not have REALLY hitched their wagon to the right star.

Anyway... it went on well, dried nicely, had a nice satin finish, covered well, and then when I dry-brushed on that second color, it behaved well on that little part of the application, too.

If I hadn't found that stuff, I would have just primed with regular water-based Kilz (the white kind) and then used some other satin-finish enamel or something; it's just that it would have taken an extra layer of drying time, and would have maybe taken yet ANOTHER coat of paint to have covered the white.

Hi Curtis,

re: under the shelf lighting. It is slide 6, pantrywboox of the Brooklyn Bibliotechnichian....

They look cool. Do they run on batteries? Where'd you get em.

Nerdo -
I see what you mean. OK, by the way, those round things you see in those pics are the touch lights that were NOT enough light, and I'm pretty sure I got those at Bed Bath & Beyond or something. They DO run on batteries, and they're better than nothing.

Actually, in that picture, I can't even see what I installed above (I think perhaps that picture may pre-date the installation?) of the over-the-counter kind I ended up installing.

Anyway... what I ended up buying was just some 18" long or so fluorescent things and I put 2 of them on the ceiling, and used a lot of extension cord and one these normal-switch-looking-adapter things to turn them on and off with, since there was no electricity in that closet at all. Hope that answers your question.

I am having a very difficult time find a decent upright vacuum cleaner. I have carpet in my lving area and wood floors in my kitchen.

So far I have bought and returned an Oreck, the cord gets caught in the mechanism and is chewed up. I now have a Shark, it overheats and needs much dirt removal. It too will be returned.

Does anyone know of a moderately priced vacuum cleaner that would be good for a rug with a 2" pile.

Susan,
It ain't fancy, but my cheap-o $50 dirt devil (has a bag) works fine. I've had it for 4 years now. http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_11/601-8164365-3790503?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0009I725O

I also own an electrolux cordless vacuum for small jobs now that I have hardwood floors and not wall to wall. But, that cost 2x as much and works 1/2 as well.

Curtis,

Thanks for that. I'm wondering if you would
recommend those for under the cabinet lighting
in the kitchen.

Thanks Christine(DC),

I had a Dirt Devil and the carpet cleaners said it was not powerful enough for a carpet. It gave me no trouble and after many years I gave it away. I may be forced to buy another.

Susan

Nerdo -
If you're talking about those round touch-lights that run on batteries, I'd have to say that you'd need kind of a lot of them, and kind of a huge stash of batteries to keep up with the dying batteries, and they still might not give you much light, but the flurouescent ones that I'm talking about, but which don't show up in that picture really are good.

Nerdo

Maybe this could help
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-help-with-undercounter-lighting-006536

Curtis, which paints (brand names and colors) did you use for your wenge finish. I have been looking everywhere trying to find a way to get this effect.
Thanks.