apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I read this on the thread:
Look! Great Email from Dave & Melissa
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/look/look-great-email-from-dave-melissa-010338
Back on June 29th, and had been meaning to post a reply/explanation for some time.

the opoponax wrote:
> i do have to say that i disagree adamantly with louise who says that
> it'll still look great in 10 years... stainless steel appliances are
> going to be about the equivalent of the avocado/burnt orange/mustard
> yellow color scheme of the 70's.

Actually, in high-end kitchens, stainless steel will remain fashionable for a long time to come. The reason being- Stainless Steel became the surface of choice for professional kitchens for other reasons that had nothing to do with fashion. Restaurant kitchens have been made of stainless steel for decades and decades because it is rugged, sanitary, and easiest to keep clean and free of germs. Stainless steel became a material of choice in home kitchens when those who could afford such things began to have their home kitchens build as professional kitchens by professional kitchen manufactures, essentially putting a restaurant kitchen in their home. What started as a functional trend by the wealthy- those who hire cook staff to cater to large and lavish dinner parties providing their staff with professional accommodations on site, made its way into designer product lines to cater to these same individuals: 'You can have a professional kitchen, and sleek designer styling at the same time!' This trend eventually trickled its way down into consumer and even budget level products. Some of the low-end product lines may well go by the wayside, but until professional kitchen manufacturers come up with a surface and construction material that is better suited for professional kitchens than stainless steel, the high-end stainless steel kitchen is here to stay.

colleen wrote:
> My other thought, in case you're not married to the idea of
> glass is plexiglass or acrylic, it comes in all colors and sizes
> and it is cheap and safe and light weight enough to move, but
> super strong and sturdy enough to withstand daily use. just
> do a quick google search, you'll find plenty of manufacturers
> who ship world wide.

Plexiglass and Acrylic are great materials. Fortunately, if you live in New York, you need not order these through the mail. We are fortunate to have Canal Street-

Canal Plastics
345 Canal Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-1666
http://www.canalplasticscenter.com/

Plastic Land
357 Canal Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-6376
http://www.plasticland.com/

Industrial Plastic Supply Co
309 Canal St Fl 1
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-2010
http://www.yelp.com/biz/QypJKfH6xIYOmxiyKyYI4A

Sorry, this is for NYC people...has anyone signed up with an ESCO (Energy supply company through Con Ed)? I find this whole process very confusing. Con Ed keeps asking us to sign up with ESCO's and that we can save money, but I can't find any comparison of the ESCOs! I finally signed up with "Con Ed Solutions" and chose the green power option, just got a letter saying that I would be charged a flat fee of 17.5 cents per kwh until next June. For the life of me I can't figure out what this means. Anyone here in NYC that can shed some light on this issue?

Matilda,

I've been avoiding doing what you did due to the confusing amount of information. But the other day a nice young man came to my door wanting to see my con ed and gas bill to see if I qualified for a reduction in price based on account number. I did and he signed me up for it through the company he was convassing for. So the thing I was avoiding is done, evidently.

I just hope that he wasn't signing you up for magazine subscriptions or something, instead.

After more than a week of incredible nasty heat, I'm at home wearing jeans today!

I posted this late last night on the good question thread, but this is where it should really go.



"bought this low TV center today at a thrift shop. It needs some serious TLC. what's the best way to repair scratches? type of stain? anyone know which store it might have come from? the only thing I could find on the bottom is a date - 04/04."

thx

click my name to see it.

Matilda,

Here's how the whole ESCO thing breaks down. ESCOs are companies that supply energy. They are NOT utilities (those produce enegy). ConEd is a utility. ESCOs buy their enegy on the open market.

As an example:

I'm ConEd here in NY and I'm producing energy it likely costs me a lot. The real-estate for my powerplants is expensive, taxes and regulations, etc. So I offer my power to consumers for say $0.21/KwH (kilowatt hour).

You are an ESCO who can operate in NY. You buy your energy from all over. Maybe you buy some from a hydro plant in Colorado, some from a gas-fired plan in Iowa, etc. You buy the hydro power for $0.05 KwH because you are buying so much. You buy that gas-fired power for $0.04. So let's say that you find it profitable to sell that power for $0.12.

ConEd will agree to deliver your power for a fee of say $0.028/KwH. So the end consumer cost is about $0.15/KwH. Everyone is happy. The consumer pays less for his power, you make money buying cheap energy and selling it for more, ConEd makes money acting as the "delivery" person for the energy and doesn't have to strain it's power plants.

In your instance you elected to go with an ESCO offering for "Green" power. You're likely paying a premium on the power, but you know your ESCO is only buying power from hydro and wind sources (according to what I've read).

Some ESCOs offer fixed rate plans, which is kind of like buying energy futures. If energy rates go up you're sitting pretty because you've bought in at a lower rate. If they fall then you'll be paying more than everyone else.

Thanks Max, that makes sense now. The green power I bought was only 1 cent more per kwh than the non-green option, so I felt good. The wind power only option was 2 cents more per kwh (it's either whole cents or percents of cents, I can't remember which).

Hi. Does anyone know a place in New York where I can get solid wood cut to size. Like a 2" thick slab of solid maple or cherry or something? I was thinking of making my own upside-down U shaped table.

No problem Matilda. I was thinking about the green option, but I ended up with Ecconergy as my ESCO because it was about 25% cheaper per kwh. My frugality won out over my eco-guilt.

it's an open thread, so i am taking advantage!

i am seeking any and all opinions on flocked wallpaper. tres chic or a bit tacky? easy to install or a pain in the arse?

i am thinking about doing one wall in my living room with "como flower" by manuel canovas. (click my name below for a link to a picture of it)...

Curtis -- I hear you.

As an added benefit of being an ubiquitous fixture on the blogosphere, apperently, I am now DELUGED by spam! Especially of the Africans inviting me to share their money variety.

Jessica -- search this site for wood. One very informative post and thread you'll come up with is:

www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-solid-thick-wood-shelving-source-005935

M Fine Lumber in Brooklyn.

Max -- thanks for the ESCO breakdown

Geraldine--

What you do depends a bit on the current finish and the desired future finish. I can't really tell if there's a wood grain to the piece. I also can't tell if the corner (in the closeup) has been filled in with some white stuff.

If you want to keep wood grain, a refinishing is probably in order. When serious TLC is needed, I prefer to start anew: stripping, sanding, staining, finishing. Could be very difficult if the scratches are deep into a veneer.

If wood grain isn't important, painting might be the way to go, especially if there's already filler involved. I'd go with black or charcoal personally. There was chatter on a recent thread about not painting furniture with latex paint.

Jessica:
Homedepot in queens will do straight cuts on wood that they sell, but straight cuts only and they charge per cut; i am sure you can order cut wood from the 59th or 23rd street stores as well. also, there is Dykes on 44th street near 9th, i've never used them in the city, but i'm sure they have full service lumber yard that you can order from. lastly, I've had 2x4's cut at gracious home on the east side into small blocks, they didn't even cahrge me for them, they're really great there, i don't know the extent of their lumber services, but if you're near one, it might be worth checking.

Cool idea, btw.

Hello ATers,

Have any of you bought sheets or wall flats from inhabit? Was wondering about the quality.

I am considering buying these sheets:
http://www.inhabitliving.com/detail.aspx?ID=836

and these wall flats:
http://www.inhabitliving.com/detail.aspx?ID=851

I was thinking of painting them light green to match the sheets, as an accent wall behind the bed in an all-white bedroom (furniture is espresso).

Any comments welcome!!

-Cat

b, i love the flocked wallpaper! I think if its done in small dosages its fabulous. I've never done any kind of wallpapering though.

has anyone received the home depot direct catalog? What the hell...I had no idea such greatness existed in the Home Depot corporation.

A good product resource, Homeportfolio(dot)com, has added a new category called "Hip" products:

http://tinyurl.com/ohryo

Hey Max thanks for your explanation! I never took the time to read up on it. It seems like a no brainer now.

Michelle of Montreal,

It looks to be stained originally. I will have to find a match for the stain and go from there.

Alright I am embarking on painting my room! In the end, I've settled on a sort of rich grey with some brown undertones. I'm going to paint the whole room and then use wall hangings and linen and rugs to infuse the colour that suits me at the time. And like someone suggested (sorry I can't remember who!) I'm going to push the bed up against the big gilded mirror. Unsure of the rest of the furniture arrangement.

i looked into old good things on p2's recommendation for door hardware but i was disappointed to discover that it has an off-shoot of a controversial christian evangelical group.

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6990070&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6

fyi for those who might be considering a purchase.

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping you can help. I found two -really- perfect, sturdy baskets that are the right height to (A) hide the feather mattress cover for the sofa bed and (B) be endtables, but here's the thing... they have no tops.

They're sturdy enough to hold a glass round on top of them, maybe 3/4" thick. The problem is that I don't know where to find ones already made without a table attached. And, because I'm not in NY, the local shops mentioned here aren't for me.

Does anyone know where, online or in general, glass tops for tables can be found?

Ivy,

You can order those glass tops from Pier 1 online.

http://www.pier1.com/catalog/productdetail.aspx?oid=69946&returnURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pier1.com%2fcatalog%2fsearch.aspx%3ffh_location%3d%2f%2fpier1direct%2fen_US%26fh_search%3dglass%2btable%26fh_search_pass%3dliteral%26fh_view%3dsearch&fh_location=//pier1direct/en_US&fh_search=glass%20table&fh_search_pass=literal&fh_view=search

Ivy: I am in nyc, but first, let me ask 3/4" thick is gonna be a heavy piece of glass, are you sure you want something so thick?

also, you did not mention the overall diameter that you were looking for, but pier one imports sells glass rounds (and squares/rectangles too). they're super cheap and they ship.

My other thought, in case you're not married to the idea of glass is plexiglass or acrylic, it comes in all colors and sizes and it is cheap and safe and light weight enough to move, but super strong and sturdy enough to withstand daily use. just do a quick google search, you'll find plenty of manufacturers who ship world wide.

hope you find something that works.

You both are lovelylovely! Thank you :) I took a stab at 3/4" because it was the same thickness that the stuff in the floor is, and it holds an entire person!

Anyway :) Pier One. Got it. Thanks guys!

chris (nyc), Ivy doesn't live in new york, that was the point of her question. but that's a great list. :-)

a friend wrote:
> ...Ivy doesn't live in new york...

Oh, ok

a friend wrote:
> ...but that's a great list...

And they all do custom work.