apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hello A.T. readers. I have a question, I am interested in purchasing a curved glass coffee and end table but I've had no luck yet. If purchased they come from Italy so there is a long wait. So, I checked out the acrylic/lucite tables and they are a bit pricey depending on thickness.
I've also heard that the acrylic shows a lot of small scratches on it sometimes quick or after time and for the price I don't want to see imperfections right away. Question is which is better? Which is more practical and should I even bother with either? With the glass I feel shipping might be a problem. I don't want it chipped or cracked. I appreciate your responses.

Another question for everyone this a.m: I gave up on Ikea and built a bookshelf this weekend, but I am not sure what kind of paint I should use on it. I feel like semi-gloss would be a bit much, maybe eggshell? What would tolerate some mild book action best? Thanks!

Anne,
I'm not certain what is ''a bit much'

I would recommend a semi-gloss for a bookcase for durability. It's not just the moving of books on and off the shelf - it's the risk of paint sticking to the books (and peeling off the shelf) after several months of sitting. This is very discouraging when it happens - and it will with a flat. Also, let the paint dry for at least twice as long as recommended on the can - I would let it dry for at least one week to insure it is hard enough. The last thing you want is your paint drying to your books.

If you are looking for a more matte finish you might try an eggshell - the kitchen and bath paints by Benjamin Moore are pretty durable. An alternate is to see if there is a matte clear acrylic coating available that you could paint over a flat paint. Another alternate is an oil paint, which will have a very hard surface.
All will need significant drying time for long term success.

Anne - I painted some shelves I built in my study last summer with eggshell (and also the ones I blogged about recently, although it's too early to report on those). The only problem I have had is with some small marks made by suede covered box files. The shelves with books on are fine, even the ones I use almost every day. The marks seem to wipe off fairly easily with a damp microfibre cloth, but I have wondered if a little coat of matt clear varnish could help on the shelves that get most wear. I don't know how that would affect the finish, though, so I haven't tried it yet.

I second the tip about giving it plenty of time to dry really hard before putting books on, though.

Sofa should be ok. There are some services that will also disassemble sofas to get them into NYC apartments, but if the store offers the service then it should be legit. Not an uncommon problem!

Hello AT-ers,

I have an ugly, slightly stained old white refrigerator in my kitchen that I cannot afford to replace right now. I didn't notice it as much when my fridge was cluttered with photos of other people's babies and coupons, but now I want a cleaner look. Any suggestions for camouflaging this sucker? I have limited DIY skills. Thanks all.

Roseanne - I once saw in a magazine a refrigerator on which someone had actually glued various postcards (completely covering it) and then varnished on top. It looked stunning.

My hideous apartment includes white panelled walls. What's worse is that our black cable internet cord runs from the outlet, up to the ceiling and around into a different room. What would be a good way to disguise a big black cord running up a white wall?

.

FYI-

A few days ago I posted a link to my blog. Just a quick update.

I've now moved the site to the:
http://www.GigantiCo.com

...domain. For now it will still forward to the SquareSpace holding page, but eventually it will actually migrate to the GigantiCo domain, so especially if you plan to bookmark it, use the new URL.

And thank you to everyone who has visited!

.

Shawn,
Can you just replace the cable cord with a white one? I've never even seen a black one--they're almost always white. Or are you talking about something different and fixed to the wall?

Roseanne, my ugly white fridge is covered in bottle caps with round magnets underneath. People like to move the colors around. The magnet costs add up by the footage required, hot glue might work. There was a beautiful house tour that showed a black fridge covered with caps. Can't remember the name, two artists' home.?? Inside my cabinets I stick all my fruit/vege stickers and I like the multicolored collage of that. Recipes or pictures of food would be good for covering. I loved that varnish, modpodge, when I was a kid. That would seal it and keep it clean. Or maybe some kind of clear stick on contact paper.

Shawn,
I agree with Pixie, swap it out if you can. If not, don't be afraid to put a bit of paint to it.

Shawn,

The white cords are superior to black cable cords in quality, so replace it if you can--and get a long enough one that you can run it along the joints where the wall meets the ceiling, a doorway, etc. Otherwise, paint away.

Also, I recomend if you're replacing the cable, use coaxial cable clips, which are shaped like a C, to go over the cord and nail into the wall. You may bang your finger a couple of times along the way (small nail), but it's worth it, and they come in white as well. A decent hardware store should have them.

Good luck!

Rosanne - Contact paper is now made in a faux-stainless...this could be easy enough to "paper" over your fridge.

Depending on the rest of your decor, I have seen a leopard printed felt-covered fridge. And yup, it roarred as you openned the door! A bit out there for my tastes, but definitely a conversation piece. =)

Cielo - If you can find a table base you like, consider contacting your local hardware store and ask who they use for their glass sourcing (unless they do it in-house). Then you can call that place and price a glass top in the exact dimensions you're looking for, and they can discuss thickness (thicker means less likely to break), edge finish, and coating the glass for protection. Usually their turn around is about a week-two weeks, if it isn't too out of the ordinary.

This way you can have a lot of control over the process, and you can discuss delivery directly with the supplier.

Kate-

Thanks for the contact paper info -- that sounds pretty cool -- I've got a stainless oven, so that would look great.

Kate,

Black or white are no different as far as "quality" goes. Black is just what was always made because usually it would be in a wall, etc. The white is made for those times you will actually see the cable.

Wanted to follow up on Maxwell's request from a few days ago for suggestions for a new open ended photo series to follow Chair &, and Home is...

What about "What if...?"

A great way to offer the opportunity for photos incorporating fantasy, place, etc.

My two cents.

Katelin

Cielo: if you go with the acrylic, there is a special paste that removes nicks and scratches. The craftsman who made some stuff for my lab gave me some years ago. I do not know what it is called: it is dirty pink.

Cielo- kate has the right idea, my dad works in the glass industry and our dining room table was a thick sheet of glass (like 5x8 feet or something crazy) and the base was custom made. It would not be hard to get a sheet of glass cut to whatever size you want, just talk to them about things like beveling the edges. Our dining table has lasted for decades!

Also, thanks everybody for the bookshelf painting tips, I will make sure to let the paint dry for a very long time, normally I am very impatient about these things so that's a good reminder for me.

In the Nov '06 issue of Domino magazine, Nick Olsen wallpapered his fridge. They don't say how he did it but since he blogs for Domino now, you might be able to email him for info.

Also there is this cool idea by Danny Seo:
(pic link in my name)

Shawn,

Do you have any idea how old your cable is--or how abused it is? It could be hard to determine, if you live in apartment; it's not a huge deal unless you're really into your cable & TV. Quality could be an issue related to age, but aesthetics could be the bigger quality issue, as the case would seem to be with your question.