apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wish I had some good gossip or innuendo, but alas I don't. I do have a conundrum. I have just purchased the Theo armchair in stone from dwr, along with a bunch of beautiful pillows from Butter & Eggs in Tribeca. I just know, we are doomed to have either playdough, markers or simply chocolate rubbed all over it. Does anyone have advice for stain protection or should families just go with leather and give up all the beauty of fabric. My kids are babies by the way so I dont think I can wait 18years for texture in our apartment. Thanks for any suggestions.

all I know about is scotchguard for fabric...and even that doesn't guarantee to block all the mess. However, if you're looking to reupholster, I did see something on HGTV this past month (on one of those home renovation shows) about a new type of fabric that was suede-like visually, but soft and absolutely washable. A family had their kids draw all over it with markers, eat and spill spaghetti on it, they poured red wine on it, dog dirt, etc...and all it took was a wet rag, dishsoap, and a little bit of rubbing to remove it all (another option was to buy their solution they sell with the fabric that easily removes the stains)- and it looked good as new. I was impressed. It probably costs a pretty penny, but might be worth it in the long-run when you don't have to worry about replacing your furniture when your kids hit teenager-hood.

Don't despair, Raquel. We have 4 and 2 year old daughters. Here's what we've learned. Patterned oriental rugs hide stains better than solid ones. Wool repels spills better than jute. Red rugs under dining tables hide most food stains. Look for furniture with washable slipcovers (but don't tumble dry them). Buy extra slipcovers. Buy pillows with zippered, removable covers. Most kids art supplies (crayons, markers) have washable equivalents these days. And if you do get stains, Mr. Clean magic eraser will get most anything out. Now, if someone could tell me how to get ground-in play-doh out of my green jute rug without bleaching it...

OOOH I totally forgot about those Mr Clean erasers...those are lifesavers!

so, maxwell, what would you take if there were a fire (other than skgr)? and, remember, if size and weight didn't matter?

p.s. i've always found this to be a really important question when it comes to de-cluttering. realizing what really matters to me helps me to clean things out and try to be a minimalist.

...so here's a maximalist question. My sister lives in a midwestern city and has an "extra" bedroom in her apartment. She decided that she just didn't want a roommate and left the room mostly empty -- it holds exercise equipment and an over-stuffed closet. So. Suddenly your apartment grows a door. Beyond it is a room that is the size of the smallest room in your apartment and just enough space to house one living activity of yours. What would you put in it? If you live with someone else, do you get the room, or do you shove all of your partner's junk in there?

my husband gets the room to spread all his camping equipment, bicycling stuff and half-read books around so he can survey them all at once on a moment's notice. this seems to be what he misses most about living in his bachelor pad where he kept waist-high stacks of newspapers just in case he wanted to browse for some article he saw last month. this way, the rest of our apartment could be a design mecca (which he does LIKE, but finds a bit confining) and he would have no remaining reason to complain when I banish his stuff.

I get the room. I put in all my painting stuff, easel, oils etc. My own little studio. I wish that would really happen!

We have 2 bedrooms plus a den (don't hate me, that's why we bought in Brooklyn). The second bedroom is my studio and the den is my husband's music room. If I had a bonus room, it would be a library. No TV, no phone, no internet. Just a really comforable chair, good lighting and floor to ceiling bookcases.

My extra room would hold all my cluttery-looking collections, so the rest of my apartment will have clean, zen surfaces.

Maybe this is sad, but I would have it designed into a walk-in closet. I would love to have my clothes beautifully organized and all visible at the same time. I would also love to have specially designed shelves for my yarn stash.

I would turn it into a music room- put my piano, guitars, and drumset in there...hang up some of my rock-related art, put a few plush chairs and such in there, and just have it as a comfortable jam-room. That would be glorious. Now my sister would turn it into a showcase room- lots of glass display shelves to display her shoe collection and Jordan memorabilia. Paradise.

i'd make it into a glorious dressing room... or...i'd make it into a dining room. or wait - a meditation/yoga room! NO! i'd make it a LIBRARY!!! OR AN ARTS/CRAFTS ROOM!!!!

i'm clearly far too excited about this. i need a bigger apartment. sigh.

You don't need a bigger apartment, you just need to get rid of the things you don't need -- if you really want a library, why not make a wonderful little nook in a corner of your living room? Or clear out all the extra stuff from your bedroom area and make it more meditation-worthy?

I ask this because I chided my sister about her waste of space, and she pointed out that I had converted a dark 6x6 "bedroom" in my studio apartment into a walk-in closet. Touché, but it's the only closet in the place, and I'm so glad I don't have to live in the same room as all my clothes, shopping cart, art supplies and assorted crap. If I had another, I would make it into an office. I work from home, and just having another room would help me concentrate and compartmentalise better. ...and I'd probably spend less time on the internet when I'm supposed to be, you know, living or something...

I got an extra room in my cottage that you can barely fit a twin size mattress. I use it as a storage room for all my books, magazines, computer accessories, clothes, laundry etc. The rest of living space is now clutter-free.

I would put a bed in it. And buy a couch to put where my bed currently is. Oh, and I hope this new "bed room" as one might call it has a view of something other than the brick wall that's just outside the windows of the rest of my apartment.

thanks for the suggestions -- I like library & yoga room best.

I have actually managed to put an extra room in my apartment. Let me explain.

My apartment is on the ground floor of a deep tenement building, and all the windows were in the back wall, tenement-style. Turns out the building next to it on the street was only half as deep -- the wall looked out onto their courtyard.

So I opened windows in the blind wall. It was a big production, complete with filing with DOB & the expenses of an engineer, architect, expediter, etc., but now, instead of a dark den & hallway lined with closts, I have a sunlit L-shaped space, 20 x10x5. My big issue is where do I put the stuff I was storing in all those closets.

I just wanted to let anyone here know that you can put new windows into a blind, load-bearing wall, if you have one and there's nothing on the other side of it. It won't actually give you more floor space, but it will give you lots more light, which will make it feel like more space.

For me - soundproof walls, turntables and records - full stop.

For someone else - hardwood floor, mirrors and zen-like tranquility.

Anyone else have problems with De La Espada. I bought a number of pieces from them and with a week they all had giant sized cracks in them The headboard on my bed alone has 5 cracks in it and the footboard is splintering. They have been of no help at all and have refused to stand by their product.
I spent serious dosh with them and am receiving worse customer care than I would get at Ikea!
To all, buyer beware!

I would make an extra room into a "terrace". An imaginary outdoor space, with garden furniture, plants growing out of control and dangling all around, paint the ceiling a deep sky blue and pillows... maybe even a hammock or glider. Some flower garland lights and white X-mas lights around all the windows, oversize seashells and a picnic table. And then use it at night just like I would use a terrace - to drink a glass of wine after putting my son to sleep and talk to my husband. We just bought a three bedroom on West 186th street instead of the one bedroom we could have managed downtown, and that room, if I can pull it off, might just make all the time on the A train worthwhile.

hi