apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Dose anyone have the Lillberg rocking armchair from IKEA? - I want to get it but wondered how comfy and durable it is

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15585&catalogId=10103&storeId=7&productId=85727&langId=-20&categoryId=15940&chosenPartNumber=S09839805

i just bought, received, unpacked, assembled, unassembled, repacked, and returned a tower fan from amazon.com.

here's the piece o' junk: http://www.amazon.com/Enviracaire-EFY-045-Digital-Tower-Ionizer/dp/B00079PETG

it cannot function in my apartment - my floors aren't totally level, and there's some shake when walking thru the room...so the fan doesn't oscillate, rather it stutters and wobbles uncontrollably and requires a hand to steady it in order for it to oscillate. not gonna happen. it needs a perfect location in order to work, whatev. i call it "defective". got free return shipping.

so, anyone have suggestions for a good one under $50? or should i just stick w/ a normal oscillating fan?

hey, speaking of green... does anyone make a low-VOC primer? and what exactly is primer anyway?

I painted the gallery walls for my current show with a low-VOC paint from Glidden and it is really lovely. When the show ends I need to "prime" out my mural for the next artist, but the primer the previous artist used smelled just awful. Anyone have any experience with this?

Check this link out aquarabbit.

http://www.bettencourtwood.com/products_afm_safecoat.html

Regarding your question on why you prime, it depends really. Priming on drywall or other raw surfaces is done to prepare the surface for paint. I'm pretty sure you don't need to prime previously painted surfaces for that reason.

However, many people use a primer to cover over other colors. You get a tinted primer to help cover the old paint. (Generally the darker the paint the more pigment is added and the pigment is expensive). If you are going to light to dark, you get a primer that is tinted towards your new color so you won't have paint too many coats with your final color.

Thanks Clea! Yes, I am trying to cover over a painted wall that is light blue with a dark red mural. I need to make sure that the next artist has something 'clean' to start from, but I have no idea what color they will want to use. Maybe I can just cover it up with white paint? It was really great to use the low-VOC paint in this tiny, un-ventilated room.

Such a shame to go through all this work for something that will only be up for a month! The light blue wall is really beautiful, but my camera doesn't do it justice.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21532939@N00/521718485/in/set-72157600286935217/

Listpic has been shut down

Anyone who has ever used Listpic knows what a HUGE improvement it is over the old fashioned bare-bones Craigslist interface.

Today the developer of Listpic was slapped with a "Cease and Desist" order.

Please, everybody write to Craigslist and ask them to reconsider or to provide the same functionality themselves. I just can't imagine going back to the dreary tedious old way of using Craigslist.

I hope they'll reconsider if they get enough emails.

jim@craigslist.org
craig@craigslist.org

Regarding fans...

Tower fans don't work as well as regular fans. I remember seeing something about the design that makes them less effective for moving air.

I have a compact VORNADO fan and a HOLMES fan (larger and looks a little like a VORNADO).

The VORNADO is fine - but not sure if it was worth the extra $. It's a little loud. Love the HOLMES fan - pretty quiet at low/medium speeds. They don't oscillate but are supposed to be air circulators - IMHO they both do a good job of moving air around the room.

I have my fans resting on a magazine/doormat to help muffle the vibrations. Don't know if that really helps but it makes me feel better.

I have both a tower fan and a regular fan (and a ceiling fan). The tower fan doesn't move as much air, but it's quiet, has an ionizer, and an on/off timer and remote control (seriously!). The tower fan is great in my bedroom during the warmer months. The quietness doesn't keep me awake and moves just enough air to let me shut off the A/C at night.

In my home office though, I like the regular fan as it gets warm in that room and the extra airflow matters. The fan I use is a Casablanca, an updated remake of the classic retro design from the 30's/40's. It's built like a tank but it's noisy. Not from vibrations, just from the power it puts out. I used a small (1x2) wool rug under the fan to help stop vibrations.

The only way I found to have lots of airflow without a lot of noise is to use the largest fan you can get and run it at a low speed.

I am planning on a major furniture purchase - a light couch. Very excited about how it looks, but any tips on keeping it clean? Stain removal? Or should I bag it and get something darker?

ms on b,
Maintenance on your light colored couch is going to depend greatly on what the fabric is. Search the archives here on microfiber and you will have a weekend's worth of reading. I lived for 7 years with a very light ivory-colored chenille couch and it still looked almost new when we gave it away. But, we have no pets, no children and didn't do lots of eating or drinking on it. You certainly can live sucessfully with a light colored couch, but I think it requires a little extra care and thought to keep it looking good. My biggest tip, especially if you are in NYC, is to keep it away from open windows -- grime and dust from outside are your biggest enemies!

thanks for the fan tips, y'all!

aquarabbit -

The lowest stink of anything right now is Benjamin Moore's Aura line of paints, and since they're a primer and topcoat in one, I think that's the way to go. They're not cheap, though, at $56 retail, but if you wrangle a discount, it could about $50 including tax. However, that's for custom colors, but I'd think it could be less than that if you just want some kind of pre-mixed white.

- Curtis

aquarabbit - ICI makes a no-voc primer. I think Benjamin Moore does too. We used the ICI one last time and it was very good. I think it was $18 per gallon on sale, a few years ago.

Primer tends to be more opaque than just white paint. And is usually cheaper. But if you do go with just white paint, choose one billed as "high-hiding" white.

Listpic is gone??? noooo!