apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

what are your thoughts on buying juvenile furniture for adults rooms? specifically smaller spaces were kiddie/teen furniture may fit better.

If it fits and you like the design - go for it.

I've always coveted the big silly blue kids armoire at Ikea. :)

Please help with a window treatment dilemma! I need something for the windows in my office room. The decor is a blend of modern and traditional. The problems:

1. There are radiators right underneath the windows, so we can't get long curtains, and I don't really like the look of short curtains (they have "country kitchen" connotations for me).
2. We have a cat with a fetish for eating string; he has chewed through the cords on the backs of our roman blinds in another room, rendering them inoperable, so anything with long expanses of exposed string is out.
3. I ordered "honeycomb" blinds to fit inside the moulding, but there is not enough wood area there to attach the brackets to. I'd prefer not to have to mount the brackets on or outside the moulding, because the moulding would be covered up--I like the look of something that's just inside the moulding.

The only other option I can think of are roller shades, but I think of those as looking plasticky and always breaking. Should I give them a try anyway? Are there other options I'm not thinking of?

Thanks, wise ATers.

Jenny, would these work - http://tinyurl.com/329fdn

thanks I Love Upstate. i saw this bed system on pbteens and i think it might be a perfect space saving design for my diminutive bedroom. it's in the "stuff-your-stuff" collection. unfortunately, it comes with a bed that i don't like (it's too low) and a desk that i don't need, but i can give that away or re-purpose it. what i really want are the two bookshelf towers and suspension shelves-which are only sold in package (and who knows why they won't sell the suspension shelves separately)-but c'est la vie. there's also a really practical "store-it" bed that i like, but of course the store-it and the stuff-your-stuff can't be packaged together. figures! i called them and they told me that i can't mix and match the packages, i'd have to buy the whole package and buy the other bed separately. :-|

sadly i'll end up with extra furniture, but it may be worth the extra cost i guess.

Sasha, thanks for the suggestion, but I dont think those would work b/c the size is wrong, and we need something a little more opaque.

sasha those seem like the perfect solution for jenny.

Jenny in DC -- It's too bad that shutters are almost certainly out of your price range and too much hassle to install, as they'd solve all your problems so stylishly.

Does anyone know of a more stylish alternative to "snack tables". My living room is super tiny -- only 7 feet wide, but it is where we spend most of our time. My coffee table is really a low bench, because a regular size coffee table would leave no walking room (otherwise, I would be in search of one of those pop-up ones that have been featured a few times on AT). Several meals per week happen in there (no place to eat in the kitchen), so we have folding, wooden snack tables that I absolutely despise. I have not been able to find any nice looking ones, or something to use in their place. Any suggestions for something I can tuck away when I am not using it?

Jenny in DC, maybe a Roman shade with the cords tied around a decorative glass knob out of reach would work. Or a button up shade. http://tinyurl.com/yowsue No strings.

What do ATers think about vaulted ceilings? I have a small home with one fairly large combined dining and living space. The ceilings are vaulted and there is no architectural detail to speak of. Since I only have one living area this space is the first thing you see when you enter the house, as well as the kitchen, since it is positioned at the front of the home also. Everything is very open and the ceilings are vaulted, which for some reason intimidates me in choosing color. I am working from a clean slate and I can choose any color, but I'm at a loss. Do the same color rules apply to vaulted ceilings? It seems all the spaces I see and admire on AT have straight ceilings.

Jenny in DC -

I had the same window problem.

I bought fabric from a fabric store and had a tailor sew it into panels that were just a little larger than my windows. Then I attached the fabric to metal clips that hang from a metal rod that I bought in a hospital supply store (believe it or not, I modeled it after how hospitals hang the curtains to separate the space in large rooms). I pull the curtains open by hand (no string). I usually do not like short curtains, but these look really cool and it was very cheap! Just an idea.

In NYC fabric stores are everywhere, I am not sure where to find one in DC. But I am sure they are out there.

robyn check bombay company and target online i remember seeing some stylish dinner trays on those two sites.

Jenny -

I understand your plastic-y roller shade bias, but I think there is a lot out there that might change your mind. I've seen some lovely roller shades at a friend's house. I don't know her brand, but a quick google shows me these at Hunter Douglas, for example:

http://www.hunterdouglas.com/hdg_product_detail.jsp?id=8

You won't be confined to vinyl in off-white!

robyn, the retro TV trays at UncommonGoods.com are pretty neat.

Hey guys,
I am painting my kitchen backsplash this week, but I have a minor problem: there is one edge where the backsplash ends, but the wall continues. Does that make sense?
Is there a simple way (other then taping it off in a straight vertical line) to finish this edge?

robyn - have you seen these?
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=114&f=3701&viewall=1

robyn,

i ditto cat on the cb2 folding tray thingy...i've been wanting to get a few for eatin' by the teevee. also, the cb2/west elm c-table is cool, but not fold-away-able. it does look like it makes nice for eatin' though ;)



jenny,

i fear the cord thing, too, but they do make those ties you screw into the wall, then the cord gets wrapped around it. remember in elementary school, those huge vinyl roller shades? my teacher looked like a sailor pulling rope when she had to open/close those things. but anyway, the cords always got wrapped around a thingamawhutzit to hold in place or to keep kids from choking, you know.

good luck though!

To clarify the cord thing (or, perhaps, to clarify my cat): It's not so much the cord you pull on to lift and lower the blinds/shades that is the problem, if only in that they still work even if the cat has eaten the bottoms of them. The problem is that the cat gets between the shades and the window and chew sthrough the strings that go up the back of the roman shades, and when those break you can't raise or lower the shades anymore. (I mean, you can tie the broken strings back together, but that's not really a permanent solution.)

It may be that the cat needs help more than we do.

Jenny, what kind of radiators do you have? If they're old cast iron ones, hanging curtains in front of them shouldn't be a problem.

The radiators are old cast iron ones--I just assumed that it would be a fire hazard to have curtains, because I think they would inevitably touch the radiators. Am I wrong about that?

Jenny, I have cast iron radiators as well (some painted, some not). I don't think it is a fire hazard, but I have not had good luck with curtains near them -- the steam creates humidity (I guess) and the curtains get these yellow-ish water spots on them that don't come out, even with professional cleaning.

Lots of roman shades are available with "loop control" now -- so no hanging cords, just a loop that is never lower than the windowsill. That's what I ended up with on most of my windows.

OH - or if you have the space -- I like the swing-out curtain rods. I have them in my bedroom and I made flat panels that are windowsill height but don't look the least bit country (modern fabric they hang flat (not bunched up like regular curtains).

Jenny,
Don't be so down on white vinyl roller shades. You can cover them with fabric, contact paper, wallpaper, the list goes on.

Robyn, these are a little pricey, but nice-looking: http://tinyurl.com/2m2qwd

SD913 - Don't forget to check out the Pottery Barn outlet in the Hamptons (Riverhead actually)...call them on the phone they might have just the pieces you're interested in.

cat, could you continue painting the edge of wall outward and upward after the backsplash stops? Or, continue painting the wide "stripe" backsplash to where it ends and place a piece of artwork, or a magnetic knife strip, or something else that you like to break up the stripe and fill that area that doesn't have cabinets above.

Hi - I'm new here and looking for rug advice. My wife and I have been working with ABC carpet to design a custom rug. It seemed to be going ok at first and the slsperson was very helpful picking out colors etc but it now has been 3 months and we still haven't seen the sample - technically 2 months late at this point. Anyway, we are concerned that if we actually like the sample that it could take forever for them to make and deliver the whole rug. So - any recommendations for other vendors in the NYC area would be really appreciated.

Thanks,

cb

fastkat - Unfortunately, I can't continue the paint (wall setup is too complicated above and below to describe), but I was considering using something to "end" the strip, like you described. I am just not sure what will look best. Maybe just taping it off to make a clean line would be best.
Hmmm...

cat, do you have pictures of the area?

I'm so frustrated with this that I'm going to ask again:

as of Monday evening I have not been able to see any photos on the NY site. All the other sites of AT are fine. Maxwell told me I should delete all AT cookies which I did but it didn't help. Does anyone here have a suggestion as to how to fix this problem? It's a bummer when you can't see the photos. (text and ads are still visible).

I have problems seeing ONE post on the LA site - the one about the peacock blue color. I can't pull it up at all. I let people know but it still doesn't work today. Something is amiss.

kdkaboom - I just uploaded a couple. There's about an inch after the counter and cabinets end and the wall continues.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/14836392@N04/1534773031/in/set-72157602351715276/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14836392@N04/1535641514/in/set-72157602351715276/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14836392@N04/1534772323/in/set-72157602351715276/

hey cat, why not paint the whole awkward corner area? maybe not above the cabinets, but the side of that wall, down to that weird one inch area and on below the counter line? or do some playful painting over there - a few shades of the same color, play up the corners and angles?

I recently bought my first home, and I'm looking at paint colors, and I'm sure this question has been asked here before, but I'm looking for a perfect, brilliant, bright, modern, icy white. A chilly white, with no trace of softness, no trace of yellow or cream colored undertones. I've spent hours pouring over Benjamin Moore paint chips. Apparently, they've got over 100 shades of white. I'm starting to go a little batty, trying to distinguish between, "chalk," "superwhite," etc. So far, I like "snow white" and "decorator's white." Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

cat, I would paint that inch that hangs off the same color as the backsplash. It's such a small little space. You can always continue painting to the end, and if it doesn't look right, continue the red up a little bit to the top of the cabinet. Good kitchen by the way. I love it. So many possibilities there. I love both of your color choices. Good luck.

The return of the triple click: As others have been noting lately, I've got to triple click to return to the previous page, but only on Windows, not on Mac.

Thanks, Kdkaboom ad fastkat. I think I'll have to play with it to see what looks best.

While I have the pics up, I have another challenging question. What would you do with those 3 silly little half-circle shelves at the end of the counter here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14836392@N04/1534824115/in/set-72157602351715276/

I never put anything on them because they don't fit books, and I hate clutter. But they look even worse empty. What do you guys think?

Pixie - this triple click thing has been driving me nuts for days. And it happens on both my home and work computers.

World's most gorgeous roller shades:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/window-coverings/delia-shades-026334

Er, that last was for Jenny.

Also, the triple-click thing is driving me batty as well.

cat, how about a piece of red pottery on each shelf to go with the BM currant red. Bauer of California made some pieces close to this color. http://www.bauerpottery.com/ And of course, there is always Fiesta Ware. I would keep it kithen-y. Pottery such as platters, bowls, even vases always work.

cat, i agree with fastkat!

just one large piece per shelf, like wide bowls and stout vases, would make a big impact right there. i wouldn't do books or multiple objects because then it would just look like "stuff on a shelf". have fun in your kitchen!

cheers,
katy

Thanks for the suggestions. You guys are so awesome :D

So what's more annoying - the triple-back-click or the spam that this guy keeps posting?

Yes to the triple click as well. Why is there no communication from AT about what the problem might be?

BACK BUTTON PROBLEM -- Are y'all using IE?

"Triple click to go back" is a known problem in IE and has nothing to do with saved cookies; it is caused by the coding on the Web site itself. Somewhere in the coding on the site -- possibly in how the ads are pulled up -- there is something that interferes with the way IE handles the back button. This has happened on a lot of sites that use various forms of prefab code.

i love upstate,

the outlet! i never even thought of that. i'll check in my area (DC) to see if they have one nearby.

thanks

Still doesn't explain why there is one single post I can't open on the site. Wish someone cared, but I'm giving up at this point. No response to any of the emails I've sent.