apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Has anyone made this?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/how-to/how-to-make-a-glittering-lightscape-037077

I tried with a blue canvas and it looked awful. The white from the canvas (white threads) came through the hole where the light was. I'm going to paint another canvas a lighter color but I wanted to know if anyone had any tips to keep from ruining another canvas.

Has anybody ever child-proofed a large flat panel television (other than mounting on a wall)? I know there are mounting strips and furniture tethers out there, has anybody had any experience with this? There are other places to post this question but AT is always my first stop. Thanks for your help.

C2 - you might try painting the back of the canvas too - as well as the edges of the holes you made.

I'm in the process of removing the carpet in my apt. to get to the hardwood floors underneath. (BTW, there's something so cathartic about ripping up this beige rental carpet and yanking out the nails and staples left behind. I highly recommend it.) Most of the oak floors are in pretty decent shape, although they will need a coating of polyurethane. However, the floors in the bedroom are more worn, and have a few areas where the floor is worn down to the wood, where the floor looks grey. My question: can I apply a polyurethane coating over these areas, without having the floor sanded? It's a rental, so I'd really prefer to spend as little as possible. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Jendavid99 -

saw something for this awhile back. not for tying it down, but it was an acrylic over that went over the screen to protect it from anything that could touch it. but i remember it being pricey.

other then that, you could literally bolt it into a table, or a false top to a table and paint to match. like through the tv's stand into a false top with recessed holes on the bottom to put the nuts and bolts in, and then put that on top of something. but you're going to look like you're in lockdown.

why is wall mounting out of the option. if you like the look but can't put the holes in the walls west elm and ikea both make tv units that have a large flat panel up the back as a fake wall to attach the tv too.

jmorey, thanks for your post -- we can't install the tv on a wall right now due to $$. The mount and pro installation cost is about $500 (at least). I think we might try to tether the thing to the wall, though I like the idea of bolting the thing down but that would wreck the credenza. Anyway, just trying not to wreck my *kid* by allowing him to pull the thing down on himself (he's four and plenty strong). If we can't make it safe we're gonna keep it in the box until we can get the mount.

Is there a thread for Bravo's Top Design? Or is it too mediocre to watch this season?

Anyone have thoughts/advice on creating radiator/steam riser covers using wool felt. The main goal is childproofing, however this is a hot old NYC apartment, so if the felt blocks a portion of the heat from entering the room, so much the better. Is it safe to heat felt to steam temperatures?

Charnuska, I would worry about having any sort of textile that close to the radiator. A friend of mine has an interesting cover for one of his radiators that is made of thin, flexible metal with a pierced design, with a wood part on top that serves as a shelf. It was there when he moved in but it seems like it wouldn't be difficult to make if you could find a source for the metal. It is something like this but with wood only on the top:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,1582598,00.html

The woman living below me is upset that I'm making too much noise. She's had this problem with the previous tenants as well. I can't put down carpets for medical reasons. I'm sympathetic, but she's crazy. What can I do to reduce noise somewhat to placate Ms. Twitch?

What I'm already doing:
I do not wear shoes inside, I work 10 hours a day, I am in bed by 11pm, I do not have people over frequently, no loud music ...

What I'll be doing soon: putting those little felt stickies on the bottoms of chair legs and my coffee table.

Is there something like those little felt stickies for beds - ie deadens noise but doesn't make the bed skate across the room at inopportune moments? I have one of those crappy metal frames that comes with the bed.

sciencegeek- it sounds to me like you have already went above and beyond the call of duty for this.

if she had problem with the tenant before, and with you, then it doesn't seem to be YOUR problem. Sounds like a poorly built building, which you can't change.

I'll just be blunt with my opinion on this, because i'm not in the mood for niceties today. If she doesn't like it, she can move. It is not your fault that the building probably wasn't built to be even remotely soundproof. You shouldn't have to change your lifestyle because of this (eg. putting felt bottoms on everything you own, wearing shoes, etc)

she'd have a fun time with me. I like to chase my dog around the apartment. I stay up late, usually til around 1 playing some video games or watching tv. Never have heard from my neighbors below, but our place is built like a rock. I can walk out in the morning and hear someone's tv through their door, quite loudly, but can't hear any of it inside my place.

Sciencegeek,
There are padded feet you can get for your bed. They look like small plastic saucers with felt pads on the botton--about $3 at pretty much any home improvement store.

yeah, it sounds like you are going above-and-beyond. but another option would be cork.
i can sympathize. i had a downstairs neighbor that was an absolute lunatic. on a couple of occasions he SCREAMED at my roomate and i from the intercom! we were outside early in the morning clearing snow off our cars and he yelled at us from inside his apartment through the intercom. it was crazy/scary.

I just ordered the new Domino Book of Decorating for $20.80 from Barnes and Noble.com through www.bn.com/domino

A STEAM radiator will not ignite anything. An ELECTRIC heater can; don't confuse the two. Wool felt would be good for the project. I don't have any pointers to a project though. Cheap acrylic felt - you would probably regret it, my educated guess is that it will melt on a very hot rad.

As far as upstairs neighbors go, I have had a few who are kind of loud but don't sound like they mean to be. Some of the issues tend to be stomping instead of walking, and one who sounded like he was assembling furniture almost any time of day. Without a rug underneath, a dropped screw (or several at various 2-10 minute intervals) at 2 in the morning could wake me up and keep me from getting back to sleep, and then there was the rolling wheels of things across the floor above my ceiling.

I would definitely pad the furniture feet, get those things mentioned that go under bed feet. They're on the rack with other furniture feet things and made of rubber. If for whatever health reasons prevent you from getting a rug, research other options for matting the floor attractively. I sympathize with my downstairs neighbor, as I tend to stay up late and/or wake very early, and the floor creaks whether I am walking on the rug or not. I try to keep my activities to a minimum, no tackling chores late or early, etc. She hasn't complained, nor have I about my upstairs neighbors. I consider it mostly in the range of normal to hear such things as a dog picking up the ball and dropping the ball and picking up the ball and dropping the ball, and so on. He goes to bed early, it's not heavy metal (music or otherwise).

Some people are a little more sensitive than others, and I think your neighbor may be. Do your best, considering, and just allow that she's going to complain when there's little anyone can do about it until hovering technology is commonplace.

Does anyone know why the NY Scavenger has become so few and far between? I miss them.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to go and get the bed feet thingies on the way home tonight if possible and a few more of the regular felt things for chairs and so on.

Yeah, I know she is crazy, but we are all crazy about something. My goal is to be 20% quieter and forget about the rest. Maybe it will bring me 20% good karma.

The funny thing is that there are two apartments of college students on my floor who are having really loud parties every weekend and sometimes on week nights, but I'm getting the complaints.

I once had an upstairs neighbor who was making the most peculiar sound - it was obviously exercise-related but it took me weeks to figure out that she was jumping rope. The thump, click, thump, click, thump, which was jumping interspersed with the sharp clack of the plastic jump rope hitting the hardwood floor was a puzzler. Once I knew what it was it was completely obvious.

how about a cheap bike lock to anchor the tv.and an EYE bolt in a stud.. Repair hole from botl when moving.. All will be in back so you will not see!

Has anyone ever made a backsplash out of a large (like banner sized) laminated photograph?

K T G - best comment on here

"and one who sounded like he was assembling furniture almost any time of day."

Made me think of some people that i had living beneath me a few years ago, really late at night, around 1 or 2, it would sound like the 3 guys were wrestling. I mean like banging, walls getting hit, that kind of thing. It would start up then end in a minute or so. I lived with my sister at the time and she ended up having a class with one of the guys. So she asked him "ummm...odd question, but do you guys wrestle around at like 2 in the morning?" He said, no and had no idea what the noise was.

Maybe we were haunted.

Does anyone remember a tour with a vintage wood display shelf for holding magazines? I believe the owner painted it a lime green ... and it was in the entryway. I saw one at a yarn shop yesterday (holding magazines) and my desire to own one is renewed.

It's from one of sarahrae's audition posts for AT:Chi
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/guest-posts/the-3-makeover-051895

Thanks so much! Now if I can just figure out the right string of search words to hunt one down ... :-D