apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

NOTE TO SELF (AT): When even the add of Jennifer Convertible posted in a NYC subway car features a zebra skin rug, it is time to move on (be it real or fake).

Anyone have ideas on how to ventilate a bathroom with no fan and high ceilings (but not a high door)?

We shower with the door open and yet there's still problems with paint/plaster cracking and little spots of mold.

Are there portable-type fans than can be mounted to the inside of a door, maybe flipped up when not in use? Is damprid a good product? Does it smell like anything?

k2 - do you have a window?

k2 - there are small fans designed to be mounted in the corner of a door that are sometimes used by people who heat with wood, to move warm air into another room. They are small enough to allow use of the door while they're in place.

Here's an example:

http://www.plowhearth.com/product.asp?section_id=0&department=0&search_type=normal&search_value=fan&cur_index=&pcode=78

OK in MA - that looks great - thanks!

The bathroom has no window. There's a sort of window (well, a window frame where the glass has been covered or replaced by wood) that's opened just a little crack - but it goes into into an airshaft between units that's dark and scary and lets me hear too much of what our neighbours do - so I'd rather shut it than open it further.

Quick question for everyone:

I am planning on painting this summer, inside...I think I am going to paint most of the rooms in my house white, with some color. Is the consensus pretty much toward flat paint on walls? I don't think I like eggshell, and glossy seems....odd, I suppose...though I saw it in a magazine recently (can't recall which). Thanks!

k2, if you decide to try that kind of fan, keep in mind that it's not a high-powered fan. It will need to be on most of the time, not just while the shower is in use. In heating applications it would probably run all the time that the stove was burning.

Incidentally, when I had a bathroom with an odd shape that blocked ventilation even though there was a window, I found that it helped to place a fan in the hall outside, aimed inward.

Rachel, we painted our rooms with flat and are really pleased with the results. Flat paint doesn't reflect light as much as glossier sheens, so unevenness and other imperfections in the walls are made a bit less noticeable with flat. Our walls are super uneven, so I don't know that flat helped all that much. There's no camouflaging some problems!

Q: Does anyone in these parts know a source in Manhattan where one can find a floral thermos like this one?

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/asianideas_1948_53349127

There's nothing on the Pearl River website, but maybe someone has seen something similar in Chinatown? I figure that's my best bet.

Thanks!

Thanks Marm!


K2, would you be able to open up the space above your door to make a vent or window? Or possibly to install an exhaust fan into the airshaft - blocking the view AND the sound?

Need to replace the bookshelves in the bedroom and add a wardrobe.

IKEA experts: Billy vs. Expedit? Malm vs. Pax?

Does anyone own the Delaney sofa from Crate and Barrel? I saw it in store, and was generally pleased, but I'm curious how it holds up after a few years!

Anusha73--

AD, not "add."

MamaChilanga--
Just go with what your prefer. Oy. It's all particle board and laminate.

Anokha--
If you are hard on furniture, it will look like crap. If not, it will look lovely. No one else's opinion matters, since you are the one living on and with that sofa.

P2 - are you feeling grumpy today? :(

New question for anybody in the know...As sofabeds are the devil, and I need something to perform a sofabed-type function, I'm looking for alternatives. Nice alternatives.

I've seen a couple neat homemade thingies here but they tend to be a little bulky and I'd like to go as streamlined as possible.

Help? Somebody?

As bookcases go, Billy is a hard-working introvert that will hold up your books without saying much for itself, while Expedit is a flamboyant extravert who can't stop saying "Look at me!" no matter how many vases you load on it. So which you choose depends on what personality you want from that piece of furniture.

JR - I saw a nice idea that I'm totally going to steal/DIY. It's an ottoman/bed. It's basicially a foam mattress cut in 3, with the pieces stacked on top of each other, accordion -style, then upholstered to look like an ottoman.

There may be velcro involved to get the pieces to stick together as a bed.

Not as sleek as your average coffee table, but I think it's mroe comfy than a lumpy springy sofa bed.

Actually cat, I sorta was when I posted that. Apologies for tone.
But the info still holds true. :)

Actually, Anusha73, when Jennifer Convertibles starts using zebra, maybe it just means they finally got a good stylist/art director for their photo shoots.

Mama,

I have an Expedit, but I kind of wish that we had gone for some Billys instead. My thinking with the Expedit was that the bottom would be great for closed storage, and that it would be a good choice to accommodate all of our oddly sized books (photographer boyfriend former urban planning student me = lots of books in non-standard sizes). It does well on both counts, but it just looks kind of...big. The Billy series is a little easier to expand and would probably be a little more versatile (IMO). Just my two cents.

Mama C, I have the Norrebo and think it's the nicest looking bookshelf from Ikea. It's actually solid wood, which is a rarity. It's not on the website, but it's pictured in this post: http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/02/need-help-choosing-bookcases-for-heavy.html

p2, thanks for the feedback :) I'm still shopping around, so perhaps something else will catch my eye (in my price range)

HEY, an ottoman/bed. Thanks k2, I hadn't thought of that possibility. Gonna run it past the DIY-er of the family and see what he thinks.