apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the iron bed last week. It was in stock so will be here today, and the tempurpedic mattress tomorrow! (Gives us time to do the construction work.)

We got the Claudio Reyes bed and Pottery Barn linens in terracotta and cream.

Thanks again.

Has anyone ever purchased furniture from or worked with the furniture designer Lawson-Fenning out in Los Angeles? Their pieces look fantastic (and the price points are definitely higher end) but I live in Chicago and am a little hesitant to make such a large investment without being able to see in person.

Matt

Real Question here! Please help.

The posts on sound helped me. I wondered if I could get a similar analysis for light.

This may be a matter of personal opinion - but how many lumens/watts (however light is measured) is considered comfortable? How do you factor in the light from computer screen or other sources? Is there a range that is considered too bright? blue light vs. yellow light vs. full-spectrum?

Thanks!

Light is down to the individual. I hate soft white. Reveal level is far preferable. I never wear sunglasses because I don't like color distortion. I want to see things in all their glory. And like things in the 100 150 watt range.
Which works 'cause my ceilings are high and uplights are appropriate to the room.

Re Lighting...

http://www.lightsearch.com/resources/lightguides/index.html

Take a look at the third section down.

Basically, you've got task lighting, general lighting and accent lighting. Every room will need a different combo of lighting based on what goes on any given room.

I'm loving all the bedroom month posts, but it looks as though all the lovely bedrooms are also spacious bedrooms! I have a gorgeous platform bed (queen size) with a 1' ledge on three sides. The sucker is HUGE. I have 15" to spare on my side of the bed, 30" between the foot and the wall, and 25" between my husband's side of the bed and the closet. Short of knocking down walls, is there any conceivable way that this bed can stay, or do I need to suck it up and sell it? I don't know how long we're going to live here (could be 5 years, we own, could be 2 with a move across the ocean) - I LOVE the bed, but really...the lack of space (and continually hitting my shin on the edge at night) is starting to get to me.
Advice??! Or any pics of SERENE crowded bedrooms?

Thanks. I am reading through the lightsearch stuff. If I were to use a light meter and take a reading, what range would be an adequate level of light?

A small bedroom for Rachel - here's mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/realcalm/320501393/
It's not much bigger than what you see. A bedside table that's right up against the closet door, chest of drawers on the wall opposite the headboard. Perhaps it would help to not think of your bedroom as a very small room, but rather as a very large bed.
Cheers,
Joanne

One week sharing a Paris hotel room with my mom and I walked in amazed at the size of my tiny studio. It was actually refreshing to come home.

I like Joanne's take on having not a very small room but a large bed, but that 1" ledge would worry me. With so little space around it I would have problems banging my shins on the ledge, do you notice this? That might be your cue as to whether you need to downsize or not. If it's not an issue then it becomes a matter of storing your stuff gracefully, which is a separate issue. P.S. Joanne love your small serene bedroom. Rachel, it might help if you could post us a pic to look at?

I am looking for really thick, white, plush bath towels. Any recommendations? I have tried, and been disappointed with, PB, RH, Company Store and Martex (via Bloomies), and also, I've bought the ones from Hammacher Schlemmer - they do lose their plushness.

I know that frequency of washing has to do with this, and I can't control that we will wash frequently, but I know there must be some brands that hold out better than others at retaining the absorbency.

Thanks,
A

A -
I have been very happy with Macy's Hotel Collection towels. I don't have white ones, but my grey ones have held up pretty well.

I stumbled on the best store today. It's called Abitare, located at 309 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights. Not only did they have hard to find items like Stelton's Vacuum Carafes, but the staff (actually the owner, I'm guessing) was so nice and helpful. It needs to be featured on AT. Just a suggestion.

Pierre

I live in the area, and haven't yet seen this store - thanks for the suggestion!

Rachel -
Can you stand shoving the bed into a corner? Just have you both getting out of bed on the same side? It's a thought. If I did that, I'd probably do kind of a double headboard, and went onto both walls, perhaps, and when the bed is "made" dress the very corner as the head, sort of, might look interesting, but more importantly, my give that OTHER side (the one you both get out of) even more floor space than you have now.

But since you have no pic posted, I can't tell whether that would work in your space.

Hi, what does one who cannot afford a designer do when an item is only to the trade?

Thanks Curtis, Anne (in Reno) and Joanne -

I've linked in my name the flicker pics from the first cure (I half-participated and did the single room) - you can see the *gorgeous* bed, and the room now has curtains instead of mirrors on the closet door, and the artwork has changed...

I'd normally say sure with the getting out of bed on the same side, but the husband is having none of it. He likes his side of the bed (Of coursse, he's got the bigger side!)

----

Coco, I ask around and see if anyone I know knows a designer, or if anyone has a tax id - sometimes that's all you need is a resellers license....

Ouch! Rachel, your side is tiny! Can you turn the bed 90 degrees so it is under the row of 3 pictures? It looks like there might be more space that way, are my eyes deceiving me?

Anne, it actually used to be that way (I just added another picture to the flickr set) - it made the room look a lot smaller, I think...there was more room on each side, but the foot was crowded (meaning my husband tripped over the dog every morning).

I just don't know. I love love love my bed, but I just don't know. I'm a bit sick of the shins, because yes, I do smack my legs ALL. THE. TIME.

*sigh*

Rachel,

Although I realize it might be different in person, from the pictures, the largeness of the ledge didn't bother me in the context of the room. The bed is nice (as is your bedroom), the my only reaction was that perhaps the headboard was a bit high for the scale of the room. But if you are continually hitting your shins, then maybe it is worth considering another bed. What would you get instead of the one you have? Would a different bed make a significant difference for you (shins, eyes, and space-wise)?

Do small cars relate to the The Eight Step Home Cure, too?

Rachel -
Dang, that's a beautiful bed. But seriously, if it's a constant source of shin bangs, it might as well have be split in half and have medieval cranks at each end like those banks porrayed in those Capital One ads with the pillager guys.

In other words, if it really, simply cannot go up against the wall, it may need to go out the door. BUT... if your headboard could go up against your new curtains that cover your closets without completely hampering access to the insides of the closets, maybe THAT would work?

Thanks Curtis, Lori2 -
If I were to get a different bed, I would probably make something like the platforms beds out of two doors...but I don't even know if that would be any improvement. I'll try the wall with the closet, but I don't quite know if that would work (In an ideal world, I would knock out the closet to open from the other side, and then it wouldn't be a problem. In a VERY ideal world, the room would be 1 foot wider, with 2 less doors. C'est la)

Now that I'm considering options though, I really really love the bed. I don't want it to go. I like the idea of making the room all bed....