apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Shockingly, I've found three decent chairs on my local Craiglist (it's usually quite terrible). Like most older chairs, they are upholstered in vinyl-y leather stuff.

How difficult and expensive is it to reupholster chairs like that? If you take the thick vinyl off and want fabric instead, do you have to put any batting or cushioning in?

Nicole,

I upholstered some chairs I bought off ebay. Time consuming but not difficult.

But for you, it would depend exactly what the chairs are like. Are they metal? Is the chair cushion recessed into a surrounding piece of wood / metal? etc, etc.

In terms of cushioning, you could always use the old cushioning. If that is a mess when you take the vinyl off, then go to Canal Rubber (& Foam?) on Canal street. That's where I got mine.

I just want to say "woohoo!" to Open Thread 410. You rocked yesterday.

Posted this on yesterdays - forgetting there'd be one today
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Nicole R, thanks for the input - sorry I didn't check back in last night - but that is an awesome idea. I think there's got to be some way to attach it directly to the dishwasher because it was a built in and has that...thing...oy I don't know what it's called..anyway on top of it that looks like it attached to the counter that was initially on top of it, maybe? Are built-ins attached to the counter? Anyway, you can email me at pjpixie1104 at aol dot com (per our last "conversation" about wondering how you go about doing that..) and i'll give you my real email address - don't wanna post that one!!

ps YES the craiglist for birmingham is AWFUL! I'm actually planning on going to ATL soon to get some stuff from Ikea and peruse little five points.

Oh, and do you know if the recycling center is still open for self-sorting? I know it closed for a little while but I heard it's open again...

I'm a fan of the interior design at the Chipotle restaurant chain and I've been inspired by their softly polished steel topped tables. My idea is to take the Ikea Docksta table and top it with the same type of steel...but how can I do this?

Does anyone have any ideas on who could do this? I've contacted the Colorado based Chipotle and I'm waiting for a response but I bet we have the right resources here in NY. Any ideas? Thanks.

Link for DOCKSTA Dining table:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&productId=35194

There was a New York design magazine posted awhile back on AT:NY that I have been searching in vain for. Does anyone recall the name of that magazine? Thanks.

Perhaps New York Home?

Linda--
I'd be afraid of adding the weight of steel to that particular table. Looks like a tip-risk with extra weight.

Seems more like Debbie Travis faux-finish job...

Yes, that's it! Thank you patrick (the other one).

Lisa2,

Hi. I am getting closer to my range decision. I'm going with the Premier. Now I have to decide on which option backsplash/backguard to get.

I found it very helpful to get all my prospective stoves one one comparison page, along with the out-of-reach drool-worthies and see what it is that is different about them, at least on paper. The premier comes in as the only under $1k stove with a high BTU on the burners and stove. I also like the lack of digital parts, less to break, etc.

This is the site that has most of the brands, check off the boxes and click on "compare"

http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/Gas;Freestanding;Ranges/N~25 4294965554 4294965548 4294964458

Then the thing that seems to be the deciding factor is how sturdy (or not) they feel in person. a small stove is not gonna as heavy a thing as a larger model, right?

Anyway, good luck, I'm off to the stores to fondle me some more stoves.

Whoa! wrong link!! that link goes to the humangoid drool-worthies like the Aga's. Whoops. Below is the correct link:

http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/Gas;Freestanding;Ranges/N~25 4294965554 4294965548 4294964458

oh man! it's not working :(

copy and paste the entire 2 lines of text. Or select the freestanding 24" gas ranges on their site.

did Pixie's question get answered yesterday, about 3 days only for voting on Smallest/Coolest contest? I'm looking at the site less these days, so that puts me out of voting range...

Linda - on a table like that I would think the Debbie Travis route would be a good idea. You could do a nice faux marble, subltle and it would be attractive, but as P(too) says, putting something heavy on top wouldn't be a good idea.

It's a good thing I don't have anyone at work to answer to. I've spent 3 minutes working on a contract and the rest of my day looking at contest entries. ........ .... I'm blind at this point...

JacksonMarie, I just speed-read all the entrants thus far . . .

LindaNY, in Chinatown/Bowery there's industrial steel fabricators where you can get this kind of stuff. Round might be more of a challenge, I don't know. I'm sure specific sources have been discussed here before, esp for backsplashes...have you tried Search?

I'm looking for inspiration for a long, narrow apt. I't like a canal house, 10 feet wide and 40 feet long overall, with big windows all along one short and one long wall. My living/dining/kitchen measures 10 by 14 feet. My bedroom is 7 by 7 feet. The place feels really spacious, because of the windows and view, but squeezing furniture in is really a challenge.

I was hoping someone knew of a great site with pictures of European canal houses.

FYI to all... David and Im (winner's of AT smallest contest last year) on cover of Dwell this month.

Congrats! Still in love w/ their place and storage. And, it looks like they got a new Aluminum Group Lounger from DWR w/ the prize money.

Hi everyone.
I am interested in this table from West Elm:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf472&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNTBL&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNTBL

But... I've not seen it in person. (I live in Ohio, and we don't have a physical store here.) Has anyone seen it? What are your thoughts? Is the quality good? (we have a 3 year old boy!)

Originally, I was looking for something like Carrie Bradshaw's coffee table ( http://www.hbo.com/city/interiors/carrie.shtml ), but I ran across the west elm piece and I think I love it.... that is, if it's good quality.

Thanks!

regarding the table with a steel top.... Agreed weight is a problem, so I would go with the peel and stick route. THere are some faux finishes that come on peel and stick material, they come in a stainless steel finish. I do not know where to get them, but I have seen them used on the design network on kitchen counters, so I guess it would last....

mgb--
You may also try to research "shot gun houses" in New Orleans... they may also offer some long-and-narrow inspiration.

Thanks Patrick, i searched and found a house type that exactly describes my apt - Side Hall House. It's a shotgun with a side hall. It's great to have a name for it. Thanks again.

MGB, I'm glad you explained that - it wasn't clear from your initial post whether was a side hall or a railroad plan, although from the bedroom dimensions I guessed that there was a hall.

If you're willing, could you describe how the bedroom is furnished? At another venue I've been involved in a discussion of furnishing small bedrooms, but the definition of "small" there implied a larger room than 7 x 7.

Yeah, shot-gun houses in the south are very similar to railroad apartments, in that it's one long string of rooms connected to each other.

The difference being that the shot-gun houses got their name from the fact that, in order to get cross-ventilation through the entire house, all the doors from room-to-room are lined up in such a way that one could (theoretically) shoot a shot-gun from one end of the house and the bullet would come out at the other end of it.

By the way, (although is has nothing to do with your question) large antebellum homes were similarly ventilated, but with a central corridor that served that same thing, but they referred to that corridor as a dog-trot, because of how a dog could literally walk through the front door and leave out the back door in one straight line.

OK in MA, how is my bedroom furnished? I have an extra-long twin bed; an old marble-top end table (it was my mother's) as a bedside table; a small 3-drawer chest; and 4 rubbermaid storage bins, stacked high and full of yarn, that my cat likes to sit on and watch me sleep. I haven't done anything constructive in there, or anywhere, in my apartment since I moved in last fall. But I've got that springtime nesting urge, I've cleared away other obligations and I'm really ready to plan and execute.