apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I know this isn't exactly what you asked but I've worked with Ralph Lauren 'suede' paint which I found was quite easy to apply but you absolutely 100% need to have the right rollers/brushes and technique which sometimes store technicians don't tell you

I like the bookcase idea, I bet a ton of candles would look great there too, Just be carefull not to put tall ones on the higher steps so you don't catch the ceiling on fire.

we had a "stairway to nowhere" when i was a kid growning up. it was the funnest place in the house to play. my dad installed shallow shelves and cabinets all along the wall going up.

I love the stairway-to-nowhere! I'd put cushions on the lower steps for seating, books on the middle, and tchotchkes at the top. If you can find those Shaker baskets that are stairstep-shaped, you can also squeeze in some inconspicuous storage.

I just moved into a cute but small basement apartment, and am stymied by a stairway in my dining area that leads to nowhere (nowhere actually being the upstairs tenants' hall closet.) What can I do to make this not a dead space? Picture link below. (don't mind the clutter, still moving in.)

You could turn the stiarway into a bookcase.

By the way, Agigail is soooo cute!

and of course I meant, Abigail. oops.

The stairs lead up to your neighbors' hall closet? How strange. I would use the stairs as shelving, with the more usable stuff on the bottom stairs, and more kitschy stuff higher up.

BTW, your baby's beautiful!

You might not have enough natural light in a basement apartment for this, but maybe some big, leafy fern-type plants?

Interesting conversation piece, that stairway.

Nicole,

Do you rent or own? If you own, obviously rip it out.

Sad thing is, you'll probably want to install a gate at the bottom anyway to keep Abigail from crawling up, falling down :-(

Has anyone worked with Ralph Lauren's metallic paints or candlelight finish? Were you happy with the result? Were the paints difficult to work with?

Abigail's not mine (she's my niece), so no worries. Thanks for the suggestions! I don't think plants will survive there (NO natural light in that area at all), but I'll see about books and other things I can store/display there.

Totally do storage on the stairs! If it were me, I'd probably buy colorful shoebox sized storage boxes, as well as storing books--almost like built-in bookshelves. I think it would be cool to put small lamps in there too so that it's almost like a library nook.

I used Ralph Lauren metallic paint some years ago in a bathroom. I loved the end result, but it was quite difficult to get rid of the roller marks. Maybe I didn't use the correct roller?

Could you maybe install some lighting at the top of the stairs and have a switch at the bottom to turn them on? I don't know how complex that would be, but I think it would look great. It kind of makes me wish that I had a stairway to nowhere.

nicole---is there a reason why the blue paint isn't continued up that wall where the stairs are? i don't know you if or your landloard painted the place, but i feel like that squaring off of the paint there sort of contributes to making the staircase an awkward space.

I was watching my DVRs of the Food Channel from the weekend last night, and guess what. The "Barefoot Contessa" which typically has the most beautiful photography/visuals of food on the Food Channel was distracting...she has become so hideously fat that i could not enjoy her program. does anyone else feel this way?

I'm sure this has been asked before but I can't find it --

Who has a service the picks up your stuff and sells it on Ebay?

Does anyone have the Jay desk from West Elm?
Does the term "wood construction" equal particle board? I haven't seen it in person.

We've been looking for a used desk for a while--no luck. I'd like something danish modern, but everything I've found is pretty far out of our price range. So, anything fairly simple with a little bit of storage would be fine. Preferably solid wood...good luck, right? Any suggestions for less than $200-250?

Oh, here's the link in my name.

I happened upon a designer moving sale that has some amazing booty amazingly discounted: Carolyn Dicarlo Group (on the north side of 20th street between 5th and 6th) has some full kitchens (modern italian cupboards, gorgeous counters, fancy and cool) and then some single pieces (swing-arm kitchen faucets, bath fixtures, 10-ft wall-units, track lights). There was a dreamy dining table in the front that killed me (because I have children and even a deeply discounted glass table is still a glass table).

Jonathan--what do you mean "she's become hideously fat"? when was she not? In any case, I've decided to boycott her show because of her outrageously pricey new food line, being marketed by the likes of Crate and Barrel and gourmet shops. She has a piecrust mix (flour and salt) that you add butter and water to. $7. obscene.

HELP!
I just got the IKEA expedit bookshelves (5x5) and I can't get them put together! I bought them at a yard sale for $30 CAN so it was a really good deal, but there were no instructions. Being a veteran Ikea-assembler, I didn't think it would be this hard, but even with a mallet and a friend, I couldn't make it fit.
Could anyone point me to a link to the instructions or scan them for me please? That would be amazing.

Oh honey, that's why they were so cheap at a yard sale.

So... I thought my new Jonathan Adler catalog looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Well, this afternoon I was looking through an old binder full of favorite pics from magazines and there it was: a June 2001 House Beautiful feature on Kelly Wearstler featuring a room that looked a *lot* like the room pictured on the more recent catalog. Zebra rug? Check. Brown walls? Round coffee table? Check. Neutral seating? Check. Lattice screens framing a square console? Check. The angle of the photo and indeed the entire composition were uncannily similar. The main differences? Lime and yellow accents vs. fuschia; a white console instead of a black and gold Asian-looking one.

Did anyone else notice this?

I wonder if the catalog shot was deliberately styled as a homage... or whether the stylist saw the Kelly Wearstler room years ago and did not even remember "remembering" it as they put together the Jonathan Adler shoot.

BTW: I *love* both rooms.

PS: Just want to make sure everyone knows I am *not* being critical of Jonathan Adler in pointing out the similarities. We were both at Brown at the same time, though I don't think we ever met. I love his work and would probably collect his ceramics if it weren't for the resident toddler!

I might even prefer "his" version of the room (I love his lacquered furnishings!) even though I'm currently in search of a coffee table like the one in the Kelly Wearstler room.

Lux -
I HAVE worked with RL metallic paints and their lovely, but they generally are kind of translucent and they take at LEAST 2 coats unless you mean for them to be tranlucent. You really need to paint some kind of color under them that you don't mind showing through, because they just are may not really, truly cover otherwise.

Another thing... since it's metallic, keep in mind that if you're brushing, you might want to VERY carefully use very long straight strokes if you want it to seem like sheet metal or something, and you might want to use the tip up of the brush and "pounce" if you want sort of a pebbled, hammered look.

But if you want it REALLY smooth, you really have to have someone spray it on with a professional sprayer. But I think you'd need to make sure that you have it skim-coated first.

I really don't recommend that you roll it on with a paint roller.

Angelune-

I have a copy of the expedit instructions. What's your email address?

thanks Lori 2 - I got myself to Ikea to get a copy today - thanks to zipcar!

so today is the anniversary of the big blackout - anybody doing anything to mark the occasion?

Is anyone watching Design Star tonight?
I am in love with the tiles they used on the backsplash - anyone have any idea what they are?
They would look perfect in my kitchen.
Thanks,
Cat

On the occasion of the anniversary of the blackout I am lighting a candle and cursing the darkness.

where i grew up (nashville, tn) stairways to nowhere are fairly common in old apartments since they are all old bungalows broken up. I was obsessed with them as a child. A friend i had made them into a bookcase but we also just liked to hide out at the top.

If you had a lot of shoes or some other beautiful thing that you love that you don't have enough storage for you could line the stairs with that (i might do yarn and books).

Do you own the apt? If I owned it I would make the tops of each stair into flip up storage bins, though then you might not want to put lots of stuff on top.

What about under the stairs? Is it open down there or walled off? I saw a great thing in domino or real simple or something once about turning that space into a great storage area for little things like nails etc. by nailing spraypainted coffee tins to the underneath of the stair risers (the part that is vertical). But you could also put little shelves there for things that aren't very tall. I've fantasized ever since about having an under the stairs area that could be a sewing area.

Lux -

posting late as always (so you probably won't see this), but we used a RL metallic paint on our bedroom ceiling. It took at least 3 coats, and frankly, needs a 4th, because it is very thin, and parts of it are not evenly coated. We did it ourselves with a sprayer, which is something I would not recommend -- I will definately hire a professional to do the final coat.

We ran into trouble with the primer, BEHR, which we also bought from Home Depot. We had put new drywall on the ceiling (to get rid of a hideous sparyed-on popcorn ceiling), but the primer did not stick to the drywall compound. We are pretty sure that the problem is with the primer, and not the drywall compound. What happends is that the paint just peels off once you have the final coat of paint on -- for example, when you remove some painters' tape. We have it throughout our house; any spot over drywall compound is vulnerable to this sort of damage. After months of having analysis done, they wouldn't admit any responsibility, and provided us with no assistance to fix the problem (so the problem is not fixed).

All this to say, never skimp on primer -- never use a cheap product. We used BEHR on our deck, and despite meticulous prep work, it is peeling off there too, so I would add, never use BEHR.

lux -- also posting late, but i used RL metallic paints on a film set recently, and it was fine to use, went on beautifully. you might want to use a foam brush for detail work, and the above poster's comment about it being pretty translucent is correct. we used two shades of gold (one a yellower color, and one a very antiqued gold), and i believe we did 3 coats (2 yellow gold and one antique).

it might be really pretty, actually, to choose a bright jewel tone (i'm picturing a bright turquoise or poppy color) and then lightly brush just a coat or two of the RL over it. very ethereal.

Lori 2- is there any way you wouldn't mind emailing me those expedit instructions also? It would be a great help to meas I am having trouble figuring out what to do with all those weird parts in the box. thanks! andyandjoann@yahoo.com

Hi Lori 2--Actually, I did the same! Have the Expedit bookcase but no instructions, could you send me an email at meg3171@yahoo.com? Thanks so much,

hi lori 2

could you shoot me a copy of the expedit instructions.....2 hours later...and the parts just don't seem to fit together....there must be a paricular order and alignment....thx....bill