apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Thought of the AT regulars today when I read the letter from the editor in Elle Decor. It was the answer to a question "where is all the stuff?", which is something that many of us (like me) asked during the SCA competition. Their answer was: it's there, just hidden or incorporated into the design.

When I ask where's the stuff it's not that I want to see the stuff laying around, it's because I want to know how the problem of stuff was solved, where's the storage, where'd you put the stuff! How did you incorporate it into the design? Tell us!

I always want to see how built-ins are made or faked. (for example, lining a full wall with shelves that are all painted the same color as the wall, inside and out.) you can have a looooot of stuff if you slap doors or curtains in front or on top of it. I still think it's better to keep that stuff organized, though, and weed things out every so often. I'm a reformed accumulator. Long-distance moves will reform most accumulators, actually.

But back to built-ins. I have a lot of books - several thousand - so i'm always looking for better, less-cluttered ways to store books. Over the last year or two i've also gone out of my way to get rid of books, so that my library only contains what I need for research or books about which i'm truly enthusiastic. I mentioned my fantastic local library system on this weekend's reading thread; they've helped a lot.

(I mean: I've worked in several bookstores and gotten really great deals on piles of books that I didn't need. I also bought every book I wanted to read, regardless of its intrinsic long-term value, and never used the library. Now I use the library for "entertainment" reading and try to confine my purchases to things that have more long-term utility. When determining whether to discard past "entertainment" reading, whether I've read it or not, my decision is based mostly on whether or not the library has a copy. Even so, I will always have a large library. I rarely see much specialized information on how to deal with this, although there are a few decent... books... on the topic, like "Living with Books" and "At Home With Books." One is more practical than the other.)

I get that question a lot when people come over.
"Where's all your stuff?" Even though I live in a small studio apt. I seem to have the "stuff" put away so that the only things people see is a well organized living space. Now, I can't claim that the things hidden away are neat and organized but hey, at least I know where everything is and that's what counts.

If I knew how to post a photo to this site I'd show you.

Speaking of "stuff", this is reposted from the last thread.

Hi everyone.
I'm a lurker who once upon a time entered a contest here. This question goes out to Patrick (too), but please jump in if you have advice. Patrick, I've been searching for medium size metal containers without lids for my bathroom, similar to those you have in your bathroom. Where'd you get them?

I'm having a serious problem editing my apartment. I have a few days off and have made it a point to declutter. I have basically no closet space, so I have to resort to containing things. HELP!

Lord help us, IKEA had open metal bins, Cilla, if you're looking for the galvanized tin kind. I'm taking a cleaning break at the moment, and I can't bear to dig up P(2)'s bathroom to see if that's what you're refering to...

Miranda.
BOOKS! Me, too. I finally got a carpenter friend to build a wall of shelves in my hallway instead of continuing to squirrell away small shelves all over my place. It's 8' x 8' and boy does it change things. They are self-supporting, but anchored to my old old walls. It was less $$ than alot of hideous Gothic Cabinet solutions.

My place has some shallow naturally occuring nooks - I put those metal strips on the sides that take clips for permanently adjustable shelves, which is nice when you dump a bunch of paperbacks and need larger space.

Now, a question.
SHOWER CURTAIN. Which side do I hang towards the water, the smooth or the rough? It's a rubbery one - pevex or something. Which side is going to repel mildew and be cleaned?

THX, I feel silly asking.

Guido, I have those bins, but don't want to use them in my bathroom. I want non-ikea and a bit larger. Thanks, though!

As for the shower curtain, I would assume you put the smooth side toward the water. I go by the way the fabric folds near the shower rings. Just think of a shirt seam.

Cilla--
The bins in my bathroom came from a place called Hydrangea in Lambertville, which typically offers one-of-a-kind and vintage items. While I don't think these bins are either, I don't think they regulary carry them. Have you tried HoldEverything and Container Store, Ballard Designs, Conran Shop or possibly Spiegal Catalog? I'll keep looking/thinking...yes, I was lucky to spot/nab those bins!

Target has been selling open metal bins too, albeit at a premium compared to their usual stuff. They're in the Isaac Mizrahi corner of the bathroom section.

It wouldn't be enough for me to have someone build bookshelves... I'd want to do it myself! (which may be a bad idea.) In the "how to deal with a personal library" category, there's a third book by Henry Petroski called "The Book on the Bookshelf." It's not decor porn like the other two I mentioned... no color photos or anything. It talks about how people have stored books through the ages, and about schemes for library design. Petroski mentions that putting a 1"-wide wood lip on the front of a shelf will help keep the shelf from bowing. So when I build (or pay someone to build), that will definitely be part of the design.

Anyway, until recently (due to not having a budget) the scheme has been to buy six-foot white - never ever faux-woodgrain - melamine-covered bookshelves from whatever discount store. They're not nice, but they're nicer than other shelving at the same price point, and they sort of vanish into a white wall and look nicer than they really are, lined up in a row. Since my fiance is an illustrator who has a ton of large art books but keeps them in tiny waist-high bookcases, I think the entire shelving and storage situation is going to be overhauled after the wedding. And I'm looking forward to it.

Miranda: There was a post about living with books on this site about a year ago:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/121504/apartment-therapy-on/apartment-therapy-on-books-001642

Haha! No, that's not actually a post on dealing with books; it's a post encouraging people who have a lot of books to get rid of most of them, which is a song that anyone with books has heard from decluttering gurus before. And it's fine if that's what you're into, but not really great if you're a writer or someone else who needs the reference. (Note that it wasn't M's aunt who was the Shakespeare scholar, though she is a writer of some sort. Scholars need their libraries if the work is ongoing. The divestment method of dealing with a library is fine for people who read avidly, for entertainment only, and rarely need to refer to a book a second time. Also probably fine in the example cited: when the owner of the library is aging and can make a very clear decision about whether or not she'll be using any of those items in the future.) I think the comments are a little more valuable.

I am interested in the ways that people *keep* relatively extensive personal libraries in their homes, not cut out the library entirely. It is true that what you don't have doesn't take up space. But I want to know what people DO have and how they're storing it attractively and in ways that are actually good for the books. For example, spine-up storage puts too much stress on the binding.

I am not interested, though, in the mere *fact* of whether or not people are keeping books in their home. I'm interested in seeing book people's photos, or hearing their descriptions, of their shelving and storage setups. So, the past thread didn't really have much to do with that. Readerville had a good thread on the topic, but the phrase "Levenger BookBox" came up a little too often for comfort... =/

This is a plea for help from a long-time lurker. I have a wonderful old four-poster, full-sized bed given to me years ago by a dear friend. It has metal mattress rails, the kind with tabs that fit into slots on the head- and foot-boards. A few weeks ago, one of the rails broke -- a rivet snapped clean off (and no, there was no particularly strenuous activity going on at the time, more's the pity). So I have a bed with one busted rail. Can someone suggest a place in NYC, or even via the Internet, where I can buy a replacement without having to buy an entire set of rails? Or would I be better off replacing the busted and intact ones with something newer?

Your help would be appreciated tremendously. Thanks,

Right now, my books are presenting the biggest problem for me, but I have pruned to the point where I really can't get rid of any more. I grew up in a house that had a LOT of books--according to a childhood friend, the most books she'd ever seen in a house--but that also had a lot of space.

I ended up reading a lot of my parents' books, which sparked interests that I would never have had otherwise. Since we are planning to have kid(s) in the few years, I would like for my children to have that experience when the time comes.

My dream is to one day have a room that can be a dedicated library (am I a nerd or what?), but for right now, I struggle. I am not prepared to do what a very design-conscious friend did, and get rid of all her books except for 12. She rarely reads, so I guess that wasn't a big sacrifice for her.

If AT could address the alternatives to getting rid of books, that would really helpful.

I agree with a library-centric post idea! Maybe it should be a contest, eventually - best book storage!

I have about ten mismatched bookcases scattered throughout an 800sf apartment. I don't have what *I* would call an extensive library, but it's still heavy - probably about 600 books.

I adore Atlaseast.com's shelving systems (not to mention the bed - does anyone know how much it costs?)

So late, but thanks to Patrick and everyone else that helped!!