apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yes, Virginia, there is customer service in cyberspace.

Just received a brand-new Offi Bench Box for my office from the folks at Design Public (formerly Edge Modern). It came lightning-fast, and Drew worked with me to determine some possible options I was looking into it, and even gave me some dimensions not included in the specs to make sure specific books would fit. Plus, he honored a slightly-expired coupon. And no S&H on this item!

Sorry for the blatant plug, but that "new furniture smell" has me all giddy.

I've worked with Drew before when I tried to order some out-of-production Pure Design "Bond" cocktail tables a few months back. He was extremely helpful and spent a good amount of time bouncing design ideas around with me. Ultimately, the pieces I wanted were no longer avaiable and we had to kill the order. But the customer service I received from him and Design Public/Edge Modern was the best I've ever encountered. Everyone I've spoken to over there really seems to "get it" and can speak knowledgably about their products.

I have a question . . .
What's your favorite red for one wall?
One big living room/entrance wall that goes up the stairs of a duplex (parlor and top floor of 1894 federal style building.)
I am partial to Benjamin Moore paints... and do I want eggshell or flat?

I've always stuck to white walls for my apt. I'm painting dark as a background for a mountain of framed (ok, to-be-framed) very bright multicolored artworks. The art is orange, green, red, blue, pink - strong colors.
Thoughts?
THX!

p.s.
also torn about the matting of said Arts.

P2, that's a yummy site.
Where did you get a coupon?

It was an email offer, so make sure you sign up on the site for emails.

(no, I am not a paid endorsee!)

An open message to the person trying to identify that bedside table back a few weeks ago from the photo...I think I tracked itdown for you finally.

David Brunicardi makes it. (or something damn close)

It took me ages to find this table and track it down but I couldn't resist the challenge. Here it is... Check here:
http://www.element107.com/products/retired.html#

Sadly it is in the retired products list.

"do I want eggshell or flat?"

FLAT!

"I'm painting dark as a background for a mountain of framed (ok, to-be-framed) very bright multicolored artworks. The art is orange, green, red, blue, pink - strong colors."

Be careful. The color of the art will be influenced by the color of the wall, and may wind up looking nothing like you imagined. But it might rock the Kazbah, who knows?

THX pphillipp
i'll approach this project slooooowly

Can I ask how people get away with using and recommending flat paint? Years ago I did my bedroom in a flat Pratt & Lambert and the walls are heinously filthy now. Didn't take long for that to happen, either. Fingerprints, footprints, handprints, all manner of marks and stains. The rest of the apt. is eggshell and is just fine, and not overly shiny either.

what the heck are you DOING over there bklynprof?

Guido- on a different thread a couple of months ago I posted about a red wall I did, where I sponged three VERY similar reds on top of each other in order to give that wall sort of a velvety rich, yet basically uniform look. You really had to look closely to see that it was more than one color.

And yes, it was Benjamin Moore, and one of the reds was just called "Red" another of them was "Million Dollar Red" and the name of the 3rd one escapes me. It just made the wall look less like cheap red Formica. It was in the home of a Broadway stage manager whose home is filled with show posters, many of which end up having various shades of red in them, and all of which work nicely with the resulting color.

And the flat paint that was used was Regal Matte, which is Benjamin Moore's farily new scrubbable flat finish.

One of the paint companies now makes a washable flat. I'll look on the can when I get home to see whose it is.

In my place, on the accent walls not likely to be frequently hit, I used flat. For the wall next to my bed, I used the other company's washable flat. It does mark (since it's a really dark color) but not so readily as the others.

Some paint lines also offer a finish between egshell and flat.

*Regardless* of what you're doing, you're right: flat paint, although a gorgeous finish, is the most unforgiving for picking up scuffs and marks. On the other hand, it is the most forgiving for hiding general imperfections on a wall.

I just recently saw a sort of paint/sponge/stick thing that allowed you to keep a small amount of touch-up paint in an airtight applicator. That might be the route to go to keep your flat wall as pristine as you want 'em.

Ah, as usual, Curtis is the paint answer man. I believe the paint I was referring to was also the Benjamin Moore Regal Matte that he referenced.

Another thing about flat paint, though, is that it is THE most forgiving with touch-ups. There is something about the chemical process of even SLIGHTLY drying and/or separating and/or aging in the can that makes eggshell finish paint touch-up ALWAYS a tad obvious.

But with flat, once it's dry, you would play hell trying to figure out where it was touched up.

I would also personally vouch for the nearly invisible touch-up Flat affords.

Haaaaaaa, Guido! Not doing anything too untoward. But the wall color is Icelandic Blue, which is fairly light, and so all marks are OBVIOUS. And my bedroom is literally the bed-room. Queen size and 4 walls (well, with a little jelly cabinet in one corner), so there is little room for error. Not like a normal bedroom, that you can walk around in, and you know, not be millimeters from the walls at all times. Thankfully I'm moving to a newer, bigger pad. I have PTSD from this flat paint, but I will look and see if BM has something in between flat & eggshell for the new digs. I think they do...satin?

Realize, of course, then whenever I touch up paint, I tend to gently "pounce" the paint on with the very ends of the bristles, so that the texture of the touch-up imitates the texture of the rolled-on paint, and I gently feather it out just a little past the errant area in a sort of semi-random amoeba-like formation, so that just in case it's detectable at all, it at least doesn't look like a bug-stain on a wind-shield.

bklynprof- if you can't do anythng untoward in a bedroom, where CAN you? But, yeah ... in that kind of case, satin might be nice.

i know, i know flat DOES show everything - but I've been using Pacific paints (the top quality - they have three), and if you don't scrub with lots of muscle power, you can clean them up a bit.

i've never, ever been happy with eggshell, any time i've used it. i put it in my hallway, thinking it would be more practical, thinking, "oh, it will look fine." every time i walk down the hall, i want to cry.

but that's because my parents abused me, and my therapy's not working.

(mom, dad, that was a joke)

(sort of)

(YES, it was a joke!)