apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi all! I'm looking for a new medicine cabinet--does anyone have suggestions on palces to look and a ballpark price range? Cost isnt much of an issue, my bldg has to pay for it.

Also--the previous one was wall mounted--how difficult would it be to do inset instead? Any ideas?

Thanks!!

Originally I was going to post a question about West Elm’s Modern Wing Chair, which I thought might make a nice replacement for that white elephant of a chair I have no one liked. Instead I have to post an RIP for the flying mantle.

An architectural fragment I had mounted on my wall some 15 years ago with five brackets any one of which was strong enough to support the piece alone, the mantle met its demise as a result of the vibrations of two vigorous renovations to the apartments above mine. About a dozen ceramics – mostly McCoy pottery – were additional casualties.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7340332@N05/

The wall now sports five wounds. Curiously, the mantle itself is unharmed. It will soon be seeking its fortunes elsewhere courtesy of Craig’s List.

As for the Eight-Week Cure, instead of finishing the other room, it’s back to the deep treatment.

Olya - regarding your Danby dishwasher. Did you have it shipped to you or did you pick it up yourself? I see you are in Canada. The customer service for Danby in the States is getting horrible reviews. Are you seeing good reviews for Canadian Cust Service? I'm completely torn because users say they like the Danby except that the connector is cheap and breaks fast. Customers are also complaining about how bad the packaging is and it arrives broken. :-( It's between a Danby and a GE spacesaver, but the GE is more expensive and doesn't have the features of the Danby (and there are complaints on reliability.)

I'm having to redo the complete kitchen and bath in my little house and I get so frustrated with shopping for appliances. Seems that if they are good in features, then no one carries them or the shipping is terrible. Can't seem to get all the factors to line up: compact good customer service, reliable retailer with good shipping, non-astronomical price, and a reliable appliance.

I'm in Texas and of course everyone wants BIG everything, so finding compact appliances is nutty.

Reposted from LA cause the NYC open threads are so bustlin' ;)

I need some help - I've fallen in love with a piece of art featured here and I don't even know where to start looking for it, or something like it. Can anyone at least tell me the era and style? It's the huge piece on the right side of the image here:
http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/inspiration-using-mirrors-as-additional-windows-024545

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know of a website that sells parts from IKEA shelving units that were discontinued years ago?

My parents have a great wall unit, but we need to modify it a bit to make room for a much larger television, and I am looking for a short version of the long supporting side unit pieces. Any suggestions of places to look? A quick search of the ikea website was frustrating to say the least.

Oh JohnathanB--that really is too bad. You had a lovely quirky wall there. I'm sad it came down. Glad no one was hurt.


About Ikea parts--try calling their customer service. They may even have a suggestion for a substitute. There are actually bits of things you can get they never tell you about. (I got extra metal shelf prong/supports that fit the holes in a unit purchased over 20 years ago).

Is it pine? Perhaps new pine boards stained to match the old might do--or you can always use new boards and paint the whole thing.

Thanks, Alana. I am trying to remember the name of the unit so I can call them. It is made of pine shelves with thick white (shiny) vertical supports in between. I'm pretty sure they're hollow. They have lots of those tiny holes running up and down the inside of each one for adjusting shelf height. They were bought around 1992/3. Any idea how I might go about finding out the product name??

As you suggested, what we might do is just try to cut the long one we have and cover it and the adjacent shelves with one large piece of matching pine (or maybe melamine). I just don't want it to look messy or too DIYish, if that makes any sense!

Thanks again.

I know that this was posted on the site somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. I am buying an MCM daybed that is missing the bottom cushion. I need to find a place with custom cut foam to replace it. Anyone have a good source in Manhattan?

Hello AT, does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality, fairly priced shop in Manhattan or Brooklyn that makes custom window treatments?

K_darling, I don't have any personal experience with them, but Economy Foam & Futons advertises "foam cut to size while you wait". They have 2 locations, W. 8th between 5th & 6th Ave., and E. Houston @ 1st Ave. http://www.economyfoamandfutons.com/.

Alana -- so am I, but at least the insurance would have covered that. However, I'll find something just as quirky to do with that spot as soon as I've recovered from my upset.

I just bought really great Blik red iron vines wall decals to use in my all-white bathroom, but before I put them up I wanted to know if anyone had experience with wall decals in high-humidity situations before. Will they begin to peel after a while? If so- how long did they last?

[wish i thought about this before purchasing them...]

thanks!

Anyone have a good online source for an inexpensive 14x22 black frame? The cheapest ones I have been able to find are at least $30 on Ebay and I was wondering if anyone might have alternative sources (seems like a weird thing to get off Ebay, is all I mean) other than getting one custom-made. The thing is, the poster was free (and it's pretty beat up too) so I just have trouble justifying spending a ton of $$ on it even though I love it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Anne (in Reno): I have done much framing on the cheap with thrift store frames that I then sand down and spray paint black. I don't know the thrifting scene in Reno but in Chicago I can get a frame like that anywhere from $3 - $15.

cat

IKEA will give you parts for free (at least they do here in SoCal) if they have them. You go to the Customer Service desk and tell them what you are looking for. Not so sure how that works for discontinued pieces, but they seemed to know for my dresser which pieces would work instead. They went so far as to take the piece I needed off of one of their AS IS pieces and give it to me.

Anne (in Reno): try framesbymail.com

I've ordered from them and were pleased with the frames and the prices for custom sizes are great.

k_darling,
try canal rubber supply: http://www.canalrubber.com/
L

gardenjen - thanks! I will definitely check out that option :)

Another thought, Cat--do take a pic--you'll have a pic to show to the folks at customer service (who may have been born in 1992/3--well, ok, not quite--but you get my drift) AND if you post it, I'd bet $$ that if you link to it, someone here will be able to identify it.



Looking forward to the next installation JonathanB--


Good luck with the frame, Anne in Reno. You already know this, I'm just reminding you--give that poster the respect it deserves--the value of it is in your heart--not what you paid for it. (As it is for all things).

Hey Anne in Reno - have you tried the larger craft stores? Seems like I remember seeing poster frames in a Michael's or Ben Franklin - admittedly years ago as we don't have a craft store in my town. If I remember correctly, the one I was in also had a framing service in the back of the store.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone, I will do some more hunting now that I've got better places to look. And Alana, I agree that the value of it is in my heart but it is a beat-up kitschy poster that I happen to love and spending excessively to frame it would just not look right.

JonathanB, I feel your pain of adjacent renovation . . . same thing happened to my kitchen shelves. In my case, the victim was several vaseline glass bowls (that freaky pale green glass.)

Glad the Buddha didn't get wacked!

Melanie - if you click through that link to its origin at the Small Space Big Style website, you can email the designer (homeowner) directly -- he would probably be your best bet.

I live in a small studio, so I have a tiny kitchen. Recently, the landlord remodelled, putting in a new sink. I have a kitchen cart that I use for storage/counterspace between the sink and stove. Before the new sink was installed, there was about an inch gap between the side of the cart and the stove. With the new sink in, I lost that inch and when I put the cart back, it's now tight against the stove. There is no leeway to move the stove - it's right against the wall already.

Now my concert: The cart is white laminate glued onto pressed wood. I'm nervous that the heat of the stove may affect the kitchen cart. Does anyone think I have a fire hazard on my hands? Can the cart can take the heat of the stove safely?

**I have looked for other carts, but so far I haven't found one advertised that would be narrow enough to fit the gap between my sink and stove. Also, I have no other place to put this cart - removing it would leave a huge open space between the sink and stove.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry - should have proofread my post. I meant to say:

Now my CONCERN:

Patty1h, your cart sounds like it has the same construction as a typical Formica kitchen counter, and those are fine next to stoves.

Is your stove that hot on its outsides? Modern stoves shouldn't be -- insulation standards were improved dramatically around the 1970s, so your stove's exterior shouldn't be more than warm to the touch when the oven is on. Even the cheapest Sears stove beloved of landlords (the $350-ish model where the oven vents onto the cooktop, providing an excellent spot for softening butter while the oven is preheating) doesn't really get hot-hot on the outside.

k_darling,
I second the reccommendation for Canal Rubber Supply. I was there last weeked to get some new couch cushions cut. We got the high density foam (mid-grade) and paid about $60 for two 29" x 23" cushions.

The staff was wonderful!