apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

oops... looks like i caught the end of the last open thread, so ill post again here.

i am about to move into a new apartment and the Mrs. and i want to lay down some carpet in the bedroom. we have been looking at Flor tiles and i am wondering: instead of covering an area of about 12' x 6' that would give a nice carpeted landing area around the kingsize bed, can i omit some tiles that will live underneath the bed? in other-words, instead of buying 30 tiles to cover 12x6, can i buy something like 15 or 20 tiles and essentially make a big "U" and not put tiles underneath the bed (where they would never be seen anyway?) i am wondering if the tiles will slide around like this or if it is doable?

thanks!

This is doable.

Can somebody help me? Our dining area is definitely a work in progress...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajftuba/465180113/

but I would really like to replace the nasty light fixture. I am looking for a nice plain attractive pendant light with a 16-20" diameter drum shade, something like this would be lovely...

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/lights-up/3621

but anything I like seems to only take a single bulb, and our current fixture has six. I don't want to give up the light as our house is pretty darn dim to start with but this thing is so horrific looking that I can't figure out what to replace it with! Any suggestions would be wonderful! Thanks!

Anne (in Reno) - Not exactly what you were looking for, but how about this?

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p8625/index.cfm?pkey=clgthngall

I would swear I saw something closer to what you were looking for...I'll keep looking! :o)

~Mariah

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/realestate/15cov.html?ref=realestate

Today's NYT real estate section has an article about renters who are willing to sink some sizable dollars into improvements/renovations. Surprised our hosts weren't included in the roundup. Interesting article.

Anne in Reno, how about the Shimmer light on this page?

http://www.stonegatedesigns.com/pendant.asp?DI_Page=1&Pane=0

Anne in Reno - I was going to suggest www.alluminaire.com -- totally customizable drum pendants, BUT now I am drooling over the Shimmer that Anne in Chicago suggested.

shecky,
As Rick said, this is doable. I have Flor tiles, and they are capable of slipping around, but I think it's only because of the high traffic over them (also, I haven't completely gotten around to securing every single corner of the outer edges). There's no traffic under your bed, and the U-edges all around can be stuck down on the floor to secure the whole thing. The only thing is that you'll have to make sure the underlying hard floor is relatively clean and flat first.

Thanks Sydney. This article addresses a question I posed on the host's apartment renovation tour. I guess this is definately a "New York" thing. I think it makes a lot of sense, especially if you make plenty of money. But it still doesn't answer another part of the question that I had. After renovations what things are now considered the property of the owner and what things are the property of the renter? Can the renter take the cabinets and lighting fixtures with them? I guess it doesn't matter because if you can afford to make the improvements you just add it to your monthly expenses and eat it. I think about how much happier I would have been if I had tiled over my dingy bathroom floor in my old apartment but didn't because I refused to pay another penny for place. I ended up living there for 5 years. That would have been about $40 a year to make a huge difference in the appearance of the bathroom.

Maybe this type of thinking that is discussed in this article will result in a new type of rental property, one that is ready for the tenant to built out with their own appliances, fixtures and cabinets.

I posted this question a few weeks ago, but didn't get the response I was looking for. Tried again last night, but I think it was too late. Here goes one more time...(and I promise, the last!)

I've been searching AT for information about wardrobes but have not been able to find anything. Our new apartment is 460 sq.ft. and has only one tiny closet. We need more than just an armoire for our storage needs. I've looked at the Pax units from IKEA, but this Triplo from BoConcept has really caught my eye.

http://www.boconcept.us/default.aspx?id=62944&ImageID=2358

Does anybody have any experience with it? Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

art - anything that becomes a "fixture," including light fixtures, cabinets, faucets, tile, wood floors, etc., becomes a part of the real estate the second it's installed. In other words, if you replace your ceiling fan with a $5,000 chandelier, that chandelier has just become your landlord's property. If you remove it at the end of your lease and reinstall the original ceiling fan, he could sue you for conversion.

Many leases make this explicit, but they don't have to.

Hello,
I'm moving into a new place next week. The kitchen cupboards are fairly new but they are REALLY grimy and dull. I'm giving them a good cleaning but I vaguely remember my real estate agent telling me that I could get an oil that would restore the shine to the cabinets. They are an oaky kind of wood. Does anyone know what kind of oil that would be or have any other tips to bring some life back into my cabinets?
I have already purchased some nice brushed metal knobs to replaced the scratched up gold ones.

Gail,

I don't have any experience with the Triplo per se but I have looked at it in the Bo Concept store and found it to look pretty flimsy and cheap (especially for what they charge for it, which I can't remember any more, but at the time I remember thinking it just seemed really expensive for that level of quality).

My husband and I have a three-closet unit of the tall, shallow PAX from Ikea with mirrored doors and have been very happy with it.

For what it's worth.

Gail,
I don't know about the pricey wardrobe you're looking at, but what's wrong with the Ikea Pax? They even have the same type of doors as the one you like....

I had a couple of Pax wardrobes, and thought they were good. Plus it was nice how, over time, I could accessorize them with Ikea's various products and change the inside configuration when I wanted.

art & anne in chicago
I don't know the law about fixtures, but I know it is very commonly done in NYC that people take their special stuff with them when they leave, and reinstall what was there before or equivalent.
If you are concerned about doing it, look for advice on tennant.net

I am all for making a place liveable to your standards/pleasure, and doing it on your own dime. Consider tile like you would a rug or a picture you hang on the wall!

I've lived in New York City since 1986, but I've only been a "cooperater" (shareholder/resident of a co-op) since 1998, but back when I rented, I could never just take whatever the landlord gave me without making mine in some small ways, that actually sometimes cost me money -- and money was scarcer for me back then.

I think that above a certain threshold income point, there will always be people who seem to be able to afford to buy, but insist on renting. Sometimes yes, they technically COULD buy SOMETHING, but not nearly as nice of a thing as they could rent, so they're rather rent.

Some people ending up living past their 90's, and some people don't, and since most people don't really know which ones they're going to end up being, you kind of have to do the best you can.