apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Does anyone know where I can buy a buckwheat pillow in Manhattan? I know there was a post about buckwheat pillows over on one of the other sites (San Francisco or Chicago I think) recently that recommended one that's available online, but I'd really like to see it in person before I decide to buy.

Thanks!

My bathroom sinks have a light blue ring around the drain. I tried to remove it with the rust/lime/calcium remover, and it hasn't budged. Anyone have any experience with this blue-ish ring or know what is causing it?

Case W,

I'm guessing that it's oxidized copper from your pipes. I had the same problem in my bathtub when the faucet had a long-standing leak. Left a blue/green streak on the bottom of the tub, leading all the way to the drain.


L

Lynn, thanks for solving the mystery. I'll do some googling for removing oxidized copper.

Sasha - I've seen one at Bed Bath & Beyond. I don't know if they still have it, however.

Ashley,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I looked at BBB on 6th Ave. (at 18th) and couldn't find any. Could you have seen it at another location?

Try the Japanese Home goods store on 59th between 3rd and 2nd -- they definitely have them.

Case W -- I have a blue green stain around my bathroom sink drain (tap drips) which is just from the water softening salt in the water (they use way too much in my current place). It's pretty easy to clean, so I guess that isn't what you're dealing with, but just wanted to throw that possibility into the mix.

smallcitybeth in canada - what did you use to clean it? I'm willing to try it and at the same time, tell the building about the possibility of oxidized copper.

Does anyone have any furniture made by Istikbal? From what I can gather on the internet, it's a Turkish company slowly making it's way into the US market. It seems like most of the retail stores that post in the "for sale" section of craigslist are selling stuff by Istikbal. A major one is Big Apple Futon. Anyone have any opinions on Istikbal or Big Apple Futon? Thanks.

I'm pretty sure refinery in brooklyn has buckwheat pillows. It is on smith street.

Kaboom took care of the green stains for me.

I will be happy all day over the beautuful tour of Steve Glenn's home featured on Core 77. Admirers of Mid-C and sustainable building will swoon. Treat yourselves. He's a great guy and deserves all the success he can handle. Check it out.

not that Steve needs any endorsement from bad typists in NC.

My question is regarding curtains and paint. I have painted the long somewhat narrow hallway in my apartment granite gray and the trim decorators white. I love the color so much that I was thinking of continuing it into my living room which my hallway flows into. My question is what color curtains would be best for a classic clean look up against the granite gray paint. I am specifically looking for raw silk panels. Also if it matters, though I have not yet gotten my sofa, it will likely be white, cream or a silvery blue. Also, any suggestions on what to do with a long now gray hallway. Part of the hallway opens into the living room and then continues down to the bedrooms and bath. I was thinking of a slim console table in the area that opens into the living room but what to do about the rest?!!!

Thanks for your help.

Robin,
i also have been loving grays lately- my bedroom is an almost charcoal color, and i have accents of light (robin's egg-ish) blue. That plus the white trim in the room really pops. depending how dark your granite gray is, i think an earthy shade of blue would look great, in a tone that will contrast with the gray. If you weren't set on a solid color, maybe a pattern with blue and white would also look nice. it's a very soothing combination.

hey kate (nc)
where in nc are you??
just wonderin'

Case W: I have allergies, so I only use baking soda as a scrubbing powder, and vinegar-and-water as a spray cleaner, so I would use baking soda on a scrubby sponge on the blue-green stuff. Good luck!

I just read about a new line of furniture that's being designed for small spaces. It's from Decor-Rest, and the line is made up of 5 groups of "condo-sized contemporary and traditional fabric and leather sofa suites." The designers are Canada's Designer Guys, Steve Sabados and Chris Hyndman. I haven't seen any pics of the goods, but the line is said to be ready for shipping in April.

Robin--
For drapery, I think an ivory raw silk works really well with gray, especially if an ivory couch is on the way.

But I have always also loved the look of drapery panels matching wall color, so if you are lucky enough to find panels the color of your wall paint, that's an elegant option.

For what to do with the hall, I love the look of black and white photography on colored walls.

Robin,
Dark grey with white trim is a nice classic backdrop. I think you will have a lot of options with this neutral palette.
Grey often looks good with clean pastels - yellow, baby blue, lavender, pink or peach. If the palette is restrained so that it is only grey, white and the accent color the results can be very sophisticated.
Also you could consider a deep red - personally, I think red looks much better with grey than with black.
Creams, as suggested by Patrick, would look lovely and very restrained.

Ashley:

Almost any store with Japanese or meditation products will have a selection of buckwheat pillows. ABC used to have them as well. I might also try the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall Tibetan shop.

Brooke, Orange County. You?

Brooke, Patrick and Alex,

Thank you all for your detailed advise. Based on your replies, I think I've got the drapes covered. I'll probably go with ivory raw silk unless I can find a gray that matches the paint without making the room fall flat, would like some pop, but restrained, polished sophisticated. As for the walls, I am a little concerned about whether black and white prints will stand out on a gray wall. I'm thinking it may not...but I do like the idea and I know just the prints I would use if I am convinced this would work.

Refinery, on Smith Street carried them at one point. You could call and find out: http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/7383332/

Sorry, to clarify that, I was referring to the buckwheat pillow thread for Refinery on Smith.

Thanks, Lady J and smallcitybeth. I'm going to try your suggestions tonight.

Kate-
I'm in Wilmington. I guess it's not THAT small of a world :)

Does anyone have experience with refinishing one's floors without moving out? Is it possible to do it in stages-- a few rooms at a time?

Unfortunately we had to move in as soon as we got our place, but the floors are really scratched up and dirty, esp in high traffic areas. Now that we're in, I don't think we can move out even just to store it somewhere temporarily.

Robin,

I wanted to hang black & white ink drawings on my slate grey wall, but they did blend in too much until I had them framed in antique gold frames with charcoal grey mats. Now, they look wonderful. My drawings have a lot of white in them; if they were darker, I would have gotten white mats.

Hello AT - Last week I made a big purchase at DWR. I noticed today that they are advertising a semi-annual sale with a 10% markdown on all the items that I had purchased last week.

I was wondering if anyone at AT had any advice on how to approach DWR and have them give me the discount on the pruchases I made last week.

Thanks,
JB

Eliza, I had my living room floor refinished last year without moving out and it was fine. The guy had a sander with a vacuum on it and it created hardly any dust at all, in marked contrast to when we did it ourselves with a rented sander sans vacuum. Orange walls, orange ceiling, orange dust in every microscopic crevice. So, just make sure that whoever does it has the right equipment.

Diane,
A vacuum would make such a big difference. Thanks for telling me about that!

Now I just have to figure out which rooms would be priorities and when we could do it...

Diane,
I'm in the same boat as Eliza, about to move into a house with wood floors that need refinishing. Since you've both done it yourself and hired it out, can you comment on which way you'd do it next time, if there were a next time? Can you comment on the price per square foot of hiring it out?

Color help!!

This is the new comforter I bought for my bedroom. I am wondering about a contrasting color for impact. (for sheets, shams, wall color, etc) I want something more bold than taupe and sage. (I wanted a brighter spread but my husband wanted this one. The backside is a dull gold. What color can I add for impact?

Link in my name

Case W-

You might want to try some metal cleaner, like Noxon, Simichrome or Maas on the stain. If it's oxidized metal, the metal cleaner may remove it. I had similar stains on the outside of a couple of my ironstone dinnerware, from my cutlery rubbing against it in the dishwasher, and nothing worked til I got the idea to try the metal cleaner. Might help......

ocgrl-

OMG, I would never do it myself again in a million years, regardless of cost. Did I mention the orange ceilings? As for the cost, I can't say what it will cost in your area, but here's what it cost us. We moved into our 750-sq-ft house in 1995, which has red fir floor in all but the kitchen and bathroom. It cost us $500 to refinish them ourselves, counting the rental of the sander, purchase of sanding pads, finishing equipment and supplies, etc. Last year we hired out the refinishing of the living room alone (sanding, no finish), which I think is about 12 x 19, and that also cost $500. The reason there is no cost for the finish is that, tragically, that turned out to be one sanding too many. All the nails popped, the wood looked bad, and we just decided to put new floors down in the whole house instead. I am a hardcore DIY-er, but the professional did a much smoother job than we did, and made so much less of a mess, that I now think that it's pure folly to take this job on yourself.

Diane,
Are you in the New York area? if so, would you mind saying who your floor person was? The price you paid sound extremely reasonable to me.

Brooke ~
We used to live in Wilmington, on Borden Avenue, walking distance from the Port City Java roastery there on Market. Ah, what a nice neighborhood for families and such beautiful architecture. We could always smell the coffee from our backyard...

Eliza,
Sorry, I'm on the other side of the country! I think that guy was really inexpensive even for here, though.

Nicole, how about picking one of the colors from the comforter and using it about 3 shades darker? For example, a deep olive or chocolate brown?
Joanne

Question: I'm really interested in buying lovely wallpaper,and framing it. I'm not sure how to do this. Does anyone know of any good sites that will provide a how to for buying a frame, cutting a mat, etc. Thanks
Michelle

random question - i stayed at a friend's place and she had the most beautiful bedding by ralph lauren. it was a peacock feather print and seemed to be a high thread count so it must be his high end line. i can't find it online. does anyone have any idea on how to track it down? Thx! Christy

Robin - with the colours you describe I think the raw silk panels would look fab in a dark taupe

Hey Abbe,
that area is one of my favorite in Wilmington! Such cool homes on that side of town...and to wake up to the coffee roasting-jealous!

My dishwasher is white. My fridge is stainless. Desperately trying to find a kit or a how/to to make the dishwasher stainless as well. The only trim kit I found was $220 which seems excessive. Thanks all!

JB,

I called DWR on Sunday to inquire about the same situation, and the sales associate said that they would honor the discount for purchases made a week before or after their sale. So, give them a ring. My purchases were made through the showroom, so I called the sales associate I worked with. Good luck.

Case W

Hey Brooke ! Wilmington is a great get-away place, fun shops, great food, historic houses, the beach. Booked a couple of nights in Wrightsville for spring break. The NY family branch wants to be there. Think of NC for your vacation needs, Y'all.

michelle -

If you go to the House Tours and look about 8 or 9 down and see "Curtis' Attention to Detail..." and click that you'll see my place and you'll see a couple of old-timey wallpapers that are framed. One morsel is framed in a fairly new yet old-fashioned-looking oval frame. There's another one that's kind of pinkish, which, when I first framed it, I did it so that it would fit into a very narrow space between two doors in my old (very much tinier) apartment.

Anyway... I didn't put mats, and having actually worked in the late-1980's at a place that sold custom framing, I have to say that it's VERY difficult to do yourself with the kinds of DIY mat-cutter things, because although it seems expensive to have it done, the human cost is worth it.

Jean
I was pleasantly surprised to find out my dishwasher had two interchangable front panels - white/stainless and almond/black.

Unscrew your front panel and see if yours does too.