apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i'm curious as to what other people would nominate as their "curingest" cheap purchase (under 50).

the reason i ask, is that i realized that one of the best things i ever did was to buy a stool, i.e. something that had no other use but as a stepstoool, which made all kinds of above-my-head storage accessible, and made my apt far neater than it has ever been without me tidying any more often.

In the last apartment, where we shared basement laundry facilities, it was a three-compartment laundry sorter from Target.

In the house before the move to California, it was a garment rack from Target that replaced the stupidly arranged interior of our foyer closet.

Neither item works in this apartment, where so far the Curingest purchase has been a $2.49 plastic garbage container that *fits* around all the pipes under the kitchen sink. Yup, Target.

these days, it's one of Umbra's 'Crush' laundry hampers. for $12.95 it's a great place to stash all my 'not quite dirty yet' clothes rather than just letting it pile up on chairs and such. they have handles, too, which makes it easy to pick up and sweep under. come in either a cylindrical option (my choice) or a rectangular bin shape.

Mine would be the $25 clear plastic shoe bag that I hung on the back of my bathroom closet door to hold all the stuff that I need access to everyday, but don't want to display.

I originally saw this idea in Real Simple magazine.

Although I'm not an unreserved fan of "the cure" (the connection between keeping your house neat and ordered, and having a productive, happy life seems to me tenuous), I still do organize and tidy up from time to time.

My best organizational move so far has been to place the daily-use towels in color-coordinated stacks on open shelves in the bathroom. When you need a fresh towel you take one of the correct color off the top of the stack. When laundry gets done, the folded towels go to the bottom. Somehow, open shelves make it easier to keep up with the system, rather than closets.

i have a question for anyone out there - totally unrelated subject, sorry...

my radiator is exposed and supposed to be white, but the steam valve has issues and sometimes sprays rusty water. (i have had the building handyman check it out a number of times and it still isnt totally fixed.) its also right underneath a window, so the grime from outside also prevents it from staying white. my studio apartment is nice and clean otherwise, but this thing is an total eyesore. my question is: do i try to paint it? do i ask my building super to paint it? or do i get a radiator cover?

any ideas are appreciated. thanks!

well it sounds like if you did paint it, it would just grime right back up again. a radiator cover might be the best option if you want a really neat and clean look.

squixan, AT had a post about radiator covers. i was thinking of using this place as my apartment has a radiator in each room...

http://www.woodenradiatorcabinet.com/english/home.html

the shaker style is nice and simple.

organization-wise, i bought an under the sink adjustable shelfing unit from bed bath and beyond (that i've used so far three apartments), and a plastic bin compartment i've used since college (6 years and running) that's been anywhere from my printer table, crafts holder, filing cabinet, to sock/underwear drawers. under the bed containers have been handy for storing out of season clothes also.

good point. i was afraid that might be the consensus. most covers i see are either really ugly or more than i want to spend for my rental. but i know AT has mentioned this topic before so i'll check the archives for some resources.

thanks, opoponax

i'll check it out. thanks, h!

anyone who is interested in radiator covers, i found this site as well. very clean-looking.

http://www.colorsfurniture.com/radiatorcover/

one of my best organizational tools has been a 3-tiered basket (usually used in kitchens to hold produce) for organizing my toiletries and cosmetics in my closet. Basically I hang it from the closet rod and organize items by large (body lotion), medium (perfume, sunscreen etc.) and small (nailpolish, eyeshadow).

It worked really well in an older apartment, where I had a tiny medicine cabinet and no vanity. My current place has both a larger medicine cabinet and vanity, but it still comes in handy for overflow.

I want to sell (or barter) my set of Swid Powell dishes. It's a very rare set that was designed by Robert Venturi. I would appreciate any suggestions (aside from Ebay & Craigslist) as to where to list them/how to find buyers. I haven't posted a classified here since they are largely restricted to furniture.

Anyone interested in purchasing directly can contact me at AZUL1123@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.

I was at the International Art + Design fair at the Park Ave. Armory yesterday. The centerpiece of the fair is a small exhibition of Eva Zeisel's career.

What do people here think of her work? Do the modernists among you like it, or do you find it insufficiently severe? Do the traditionalists like it, or do you find it insufficiently decorative?

For somebody with this astonishingly long career, Eva Zeisel doesn't appear to command unadulterated respect. There's always a touch of "yes, but ..." in evaluations of her work, and she doesn't have same iconic status that, say, the Eameses do. I'm trying to put my finger on why.

Her gender, her positioning herself as a practitioner of design rather than as a theoretician, her prolific output are probably all factors. I was wondering what other people felt.

My cheapest and most satisfying "cure" elements have probably been having flowers in the apt. regularly (bedroom and living room) and putting new covers on some existing sofa pillows. My place didn't really need a huge cure (I'm a minimalist by nature and a serious clean freak, so no clutter/grubby problems); I still need to get some better curtains and a couple of rugs, but in the interim the flowers and new pillow covers (in richer, better colors and better fabric than the previous) have really made vast improvements in the apartment. I feel much better on a daily basis just on the strength of those very inexpensive changes.

Design Dabbler - I like Eva's work - I didn't know abut her until the reproduction line was made for Crate and Barrel, and I love those dishes - I never bought them though (damn student budget!) - everything I've seen from her though make me happy.

Rachel: Bloomingdale's has a new issue by Chantal of another of her old designs, "Pinnacle." This is a line she'd designed earlier, but which wasn't produced till now. A coffee mug in this line is $10, cheaper than the one in the Classic Century reissue.

Design Dabbler:
Good time to mention Eva -- she is turning 100 in November. My taste lies somewhere between a traditionalist and a modernist, and I am an ardent Eva Zeisel fan. I've bought several pieces from the Tomorrow's Classic collection on Ebay and use them all the time. It doesn't matter to me whether people think of her as a design icon; all I know is that her china has the most beautiful lines (to me) and is a joy to use.
Oh, and I am a student with a tiny budget, but I find her designs well worth the money.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I have a radiator and would like to situate my desk over the radiator (there's enough clearance and it's a good way to use every bit of space -- since that's wasted area under the desk). I have the white parsons desk from West Elm though and am worried the radiator might damage the desk. My roommate suggested putting some sort of reflective insulation lining between the desk and the radiator. Anyone have any ideas/comments? I have not yet had the heat turned on in the building, but I heard that the apartment gets toasty.

In other news, I happened on a rare-ish poster yesterday for $3 -- and it goes perfectly with my room. I think it's a sign that the 'cure' is already working.

In order: my cheapest cure-y-ist purchase was and over the cabinet door clip for my kitchen dish towel. Picked it up at Tiny, a hole-in-the-wall East Village place that specialized in small scaled items for small scaled spaced. I may go back for the over the cabinet bar.

As for Ziesel, first I've ever heard of her being a yes, but. I think she's had cycles of being in fashion, but regardless of gender, most designers do. Certainly over the past 10, 20 years she's been treated with nothing but respect. Like her designs myself, but like ena rothenberg's better....

grace, i'm dealing with a similar issue. i'm doing some minor cure-related rearranging in my bedroom, and the best plan involves putting my desk up against the heater. my radiator doesn't get too hot to touch, so i don't think it's a fire hazard or anything. and the apartment gets quite toasty, so i'm not worried it'll block the heat (in fact, some deflection would be good). but i'd hate to damage my desk when placing it on the other wall would be almost as good.

also, i saw that very desk in black last night at west elm and fell in love! it wouldn't match anything in my apartment, but ohhhh... shiny...

bubble and co.: Yes, ebay is a good place to pick up pieces by Eva. Prices are sometimes high, but there are enough variations that if you are patient you can get bargains.

I was curious about the Eva-as-icon issue in a theoretical way. It does not alter my appreciation of her work. I, too, use her pieces regularly, and have two modestly complete sets from different lines (Tomorrow's Classic and Redwing Town and Country). Every year I serve a killer Easter brunch on my Tomorrow's Classic dishes.

DD, thanks for your response. I'm not qualified to argue about Eva's work theory-wise, so I'll just stick to appreciating it in my own way. Glad to know you use her china too. :D

Cheapest Cure purchase so far - the mister walked in yesterday and said "ooh, I like irises". So I'm calling 'em a success.

My cheapest Cure item was probably a gallon of BM Apple Green, that makes me happy every day.

I cured my CD clutter by burning everything onto ITunes and donating the CD's to the local library.

Three continents, a new business and another move later I bless the folks at Apple daily.

Does anyone know the name of the paint color from this article in the last issue of Blueprint?

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel4700131&site=blueprint

I can't figure out who to email to ask this question. Thanks!

Jennie (2), it looks an awful lot like the color I put in my kitchen -- BM Weekend Getaway. It's a fantastic green that looks like a silvery sage in low light but really warms up in sunlight.

hi,

HELP ME FIND A TALBLE

DINING TABLE needed for a small apartment to seat 2 (4 max) my coffee table is this but with an oxide/silver grey base:

http://baker.kohlerinteriors.com/baker/1_1_5_2_prod_lg.jsp?coll_id=323350&prod_id=363150&prod_num=3453-1

my walls are neutral, off white. the couch is called "cadet blue" which is a navy/charcoal grey. pillows are grey and silver.


THANK YOU!

Ann, thank you. I will take a look at that color today. In the magazine it's a little more yellow.

Can any manhattan-bound ATers comment on reports of a plane crashing into a residential building at E 72nd & York?

As soon as it was said the hit was to a residential building, we knew what it wasn't. But still...

The best money I ever spent on my apartment - Radiator Covers. Those things were so ugly and totally wasted space. With the covers, they look like nice furniture and I can even use the space now, by putting things on the covers. I bought mine from these guys - and I would do it again. They were really fast and friendly. It was a great experience - they look great and the quality is also perfect. www.fichman.com.

newyorkdesigner: do you find that it's less hot in the room where Fichman radiator covers are being used?

I don't absolutely need a cover but I'm a little afraid to turn my radiators off. I think the water hammer that's been waking me up for years has finally gone. I still don't know what they did to make it stop and I may never know for sure, so I don't want to take chances. I'd love some way to just stop or absorb some of the heat from radiating into the room.

hey swbird, no I definiely don't notice any difference in the heat in the room. I've already referred fichman radiator covers to two friends and they don't notice a difference either - and the cosmetic difference in the room is priceless.

my husband says the cover is a good design because the screen is really open, and it is one of the few designs that are open underneath, all the way around (between the feet) to let cool air enter and leave through the screens.