apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

DIY question for a non-DIY'er:

I want to make a 10'x10' backdrop of some solid material (wood? mdf? ...not cloth or streched canvas) that can be painted and hung on the wall. I do not want to just paint a square on the wall - it needs to have some depth and a shadow.

I have seen this done in stores like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcweiss/309961670/in/set-72157594408568049/

Ideally, it would look like a solid surface, but realistically, I imagine it would be two (or three) pieces somehow attached together.

Any thoughts or instructions?

Kathryn,
Would you consider painting a square on the wall, then framing it with molding? To me, that would be much easier than lugging a giant piece of plywood around (and I think you would need to piece together a few pieces of plywood to get a 10' x 10' ... then you would have the issue of seams).

I just heard that Bombay Company is closing ALL their stores. They're having a huge sale to clear everything out. Everything from the warehouses have been moved to the stores. They have nice mirrors and lamps. I've been eyeing a chair of theirs for my mother. Gotta go!

I'm thinking about getting a Barcelona chair in ivory. Anyone have any experience with how it will hold up? It certainly won't be an every day chair becuase I'll be sitting on the couch mostly, but it will certainly get some use. I just don't want to end up with it being filthy at the end of 6 months and wishing I had gone with black. Thanks!

Has anyone ordered from this company before? They have a nice inventory but I'm wondering what they are like.

http://www.lampsplus.com/

Marimekko used to have some large wooden frames that you could staple fabric to. I had one that was probably five feet by five feet. It was very light weight and could hang on a single nail.

kathryn: i don't see anything wrong with hanging some wood on the wall like it's a big picture frame. as long as you anchor it properly. what about three large "strips" of plywood, each stained differently? mmm? ebony, cherry, clear? mmm. otherwise, fabric on stretchers is really easy and light and cheap. and if you want shadow action, screw in a length of wood to the wall, top and bottom, then attach your wood/fabric/object to it...it will extend the piece out about 2 inches.



anne: i went into the bombay co around union square and it was pretty lame. lots of dogs in waistcoats serving drinks and christmassy nutcrackers or somesuch things. enjoy, though!



peargirl: i'd go for black simply cuz it's looks better bahaha. that's not very helpful, is it? i don't own anything white because anything white is just asking to be ruined. ;)



lisa2: i've never ordered from them, but i've surfed their site a gazillion times. and reviews i've read sound great. a good resource is resellerratings.com.





and now my own question:

last nite at 4am my poor visiting aunt (er, not aunt flo! aunt LINDA hehe) woke up on the floor after our blowup bed went kaput. now i need to buy another one since my sister is coming this weekend...

my question, finally:

other than the big stores (bed bath, target, linens n things, kmart, sears, etc) where could i go shop for a new air mattress?

preferably a place that sells more than aerobeds, which are so frickin' expensive!!! i might have to just get the raised aerobed for $259 (GULP GULP GULP CAN'T DO IT NOPE NO WAY)

any advice? oh yeah, the RAISED air beds are what i'm looking for...and, sob, potentially around $100? and in the city because i can't wait for shipping? gulp?

I have successfully ordered twice from Lamps Plus.

Lisa, my dad is also a huge lamps plus fan, he brought me their catalog at one point as he had replaced all his downstairs fixtures using them and loved them, sadly I haven't gotten around to doing mine yet but they are a resource I plan to use as well.

katryn - I've been meaning to get a wall hanging kit for the longest time - http://store.txtlart.com/isosakit.html is the one I have my eye one (from a smallest coolest entry last year!). Someone in a house tour or something had mounted a door on its side as a headboard recently. that looked pretty cool.

Thanks for the tips on lamps plus!

i recently bought a very firm (but nice-looking) sofa that i would like to get re-stuffed with something more cushiony (there are two seat cushions)... any tips on who to call/what i should get it re-stuffed? thnx!!

Kathryn -

What about taking a huge piece of Masonite, and attaching some wood strips to the back of it. Just make sure that you measure carefully when you have the lumber yard cut the strips of wood that go behind it. See, that way it will come away from the wall, and then you can paint it and it will be a slick-as-a-whistle surface to paint, almost like sheetrock, actually. I would use wood putty or something at the very edges, and sand it so the very edges are smooth, though.

And actually it would work best if you didn't have to cut the Masonite, but use it full-size with the factory edges. They make it in 4-foot-x-8-foot sheets, but sometimes you can find it in 4-foot-x-4-foot sheets.

Good luck with it, and whatever you do, post it on here so we can see it!

Thank you Curtis - I think you nailed it for me!!