apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Can you paint a lampshade? not a heacy coat, just light.

and if you can, what kind of paint would you use? a fabric paint?

Does anyone have any advice for a cheap, affordable media hutch with glass doors and shelves that is pretty wide, 42" or so? My fiance and I are searching for ideas, we need something for our media equipment, and we have A LOT of it. :D
We might try to make it ourselves, but we still want to look at other stuff for ideas.
Also, wondering if any of you know of any good places to get invitations similar to the ones here? I had a girl e-mail me the other day and I didn't know what to tell her because I made them myself.

We've tried crate and barrel, ikea, etc. but not seeing stuff we're crazy about.

i have a couple questions.

i'm adopting two puppies and they come home the 2nd week of august (oh gosh, so close!) and i'm trying to puppy proof my house. and in doing so i have to make some changes to the second bedroom/office.

i need help with figuring out how to puppy proof all the laptop/etc cords. i'm such an AT:HT failure, but i was thinking someone could help me out with the cord situation (i'll post this on AT:HT as well - just occurred to me).

i also am wanting to do away with the really awful and now dwarfed bookshelf that i have (because our ceilings are way high - yay!) and it just doesn't look that great. so i was planning on putting some wall shelving up on two walls (so as to not overload them with books). i am SO MUCH ON A BUDGET IT IS NOT EVEN FUNNY and was wondering if track shelving would be my best bet in terms of money, and if they will be sturdy enough for books. Plus, doing away with the book shelf frees up floor space so i can actually have a desk (the one we have now is a fold up card table that is incredibly too small). for the desk i was thinking of those white - i guess plywood? - desks that are usually self-assembled. does anyone know what i'm talking about? it's really hard to describe it! but i was thinking that would be cheap, but so simple that it wouldn't look too bad. plus i'm a painter and i do a lot of mixed media so i don't want it that nice, anyway. i was planning on having two long desks that have a corner in the middle (i.e. L shaped) so that we might could have like the computer in the middle and on either side BF and I could have our own workspace.

can anyone help me out? any and all suggestions are MUCH appreciated!

To follow up on the "is Pier 1 discontinuing furniture" discussion of a couple OT's back, the answer seems to be that:

1. Loft 21 flopped big time.
2. Pier 1 is discontinuing online sales & TV advertising, going to direct mail.
3. 100 stores will close this summer (that's not a huge percentage of the total, since like roaches, they're everywhere).
4. To the extent they have a strategy, it's to return to their hippie roots.

Their hated rival, Cost Plus, is also having a less-than-happy year.

Can anyone recommend a table that is narrow but long, like that Parson's table in that more recent post, but more narrow? If it has a drop leaf, that would work. It would be used for eating and kitchen work so 30" height would be ok for me.

Thanks!

to Marbargarbo :
I was never a fan of Media Hutches, too cumbersome and large and overbearing. Have you thought about using other means of media storage, maybe something like the stuff by salamander designs?
http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/

I built a media cart much like the synergy systems on their site, using extruded aluminum from 8020.net and some shelves I made myself. Ended up costing 1/2 of what salamander was asking for. Also ended up making an adjustable, modular bedframe from the same extruded aluminum at 8020.

As for myself, I am looking to purchase a new coffee table, and saw this one on craig:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fur/381053046.html

I really like the style and features (two shelves). Does anyone know of any company that makes something similar to this, with wrought iron frame and two wooden shelves? I think I remember pottery barn selling something like this a few years ago, but the frame was nowhere near as sturdy looking and it only had one wooden shelf. Thanks to all

Lisa2inaustin--

If you can, I'd recommend looking in thrift or antique stores. You can often find really great drop leaf tables for less than you would in a chain store.

Hey all I just visited the FLOR showroom in Atlanta. They were supernice and I got to touch all of the solid pattern FLOR tiles I was interested in. I could post what I thought of the tiles but where should I put them so people beyond today can read them? Also if anyone on AT lives in Atlanta they could provide a more indepth review with thickness, color and pictures. I didnt have time for OCD-ness cause I was on a business trip.

Does anyone know anything about Dacor? I am looking at a gas stove unit = looks to me like a viking or a wolf. Is there any appreciable differences? My main concern will be the heat output - i know some are less insulated than others.
thanks in advance.

Hola,

Have any New Yorkers ordered from Tiny Living? If so, has everyone been happy with their products? We're looking to buy the swivel sofa sleeper.

Thanks!

Nevermind! I'll do a search first next time. Found a review and lots of positive comments.

Trumystique -- I'd post your review of Flor on a 'Tips' thread. Except the last one has been taken over by a design question and discussion, so maybe wait until the next Tips comes up - each one lasts a week, I think.

my mother has a electric dacor. you can crank that thing up to 500 degrees f and the outside stays cool.

it was a requirement for the house being in texas and all.

duh, she has an oven. not the range. sorry. my bad. but if the ovens are that good, i'd def. rec a dacor range.

vikings are just overpriced. try wolfs or DCS.

I think I want something that I can sort of hide everything away in though. And I need something that I can put stuff on top, we have two printers and they need to be accessible but need a sturdy place to sit. I have crap like blank dvds, books of dvds, paper, cords, more cords, chargers, hard drives, usb expanders and modems, stuff you really really wanna hide as much as possible. And a lot of it.

Thanks Sea