apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

which would you choose: poly fill or feather-down, for a 42" bolster pillow. the poly fill is on-sale for 20% off right now. that's a savings of $43.

I have an unusual NYC apartment problem - huge blank walls. With 14 foot ceilings, I feel like my walls are totally overwhelming. Does anyone have some suggestions for stuff to put up that is modern, interesting and inexpensive?

Thanks!

I have the same problem, Pigletliver. We decided to paint a couple accent walls in very bold colors, and now we're trying to get our hands on some oversized artwork. Normal-sized framed pictures look like postage stamps on the walls.

Our largest wall we painted peacock blue/green and did some textured greenish stripes to hide the seams in the drywall. We used the same greenish hue on the opposite wall to tie them together.

We'll probably end up Rasterbating using iron-on paper and making our own large-scale artwork on canvas.

Piglet- the fabric stores in NYC are the best in the world. Get over to 38th and 39th street and pick up some fabrics to stretch onto large canvas frames. (or just some cheap plywood, or thin wood rails anchored at the corners with L brackets) You can make a fantastic, oversize installation that would look amazing on your walls with high ceilings.

Teeze and Caitlinella have great ideas. You could hang three vertical panels (think Marimekko or whatever you love) either framed or even just hung by a dowel at the top and bottom. Or hang a couple of long horizontal panels. Check out Textile Arts for some inspiration.

http://store.txtlart.com/browse.html

Rasterbating is also a perfect idea for you.

Remember you have what many of us want!

Pigletliver: same issue in my apt. I bought a mobile from mobilosity on etsy.com, $50 for the area above the "office," alternated 35" square mirrors with silver framed prints running up the wall above the bookcase and on another area used the stick-on round mirrors from cb2 to pattern a narrower stretch of wall next to the windows and hung an arrangement of the 6' west elm colored mirrored garland from the ceiling down (tacked to the wall) to play on the height.

I'll get my photos in the flickr pool for the cure so you can see.

hope this helps.

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I'd love to see your pictures cherrybomb.

I'm posting in the cure pool this weekend, and will link on this thread for you...my embarrassment of a messy, cluttery bedroom is going up there too--I need some major cure and help there! we redid the living room, kitchen and bath for the fall cure. I left the worst for last.

Piglet: here are photos of the mirroring, ignore the dister of a bedroom, that is my spring project...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robnsarah/sets/72157615693684603/

I am doing the Spring cure on my bedroom, and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a place where I can buy an inexpensive 5x8 rug for my bedroom. I have checked IKEA and do not see anything that will work.

Is it ever ok to have different window treatments in the same room?

We have a large window on the front wall of our living room area and I'd like to put up some curtains I already have from my last apartment. There is also a window on the adjacent wall that is higher up. We have a low profile t.v. stand and flat screen under this window and curtains would look ridiculous (this is the only wall the stand will fit on, so moving it is not an option). If I do a simple shade on the window above the t.v., must I nix the curtains on my other window? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Pigletliver~
First, lucky you to have 14' ceilings! I envy you. Any of these ideas or combination could work to bring the ceiling down for more intimacy.

1) You can give them the feeling of lowering the ceiling by drawing a line all the way around the room at say 10-12' height. Then paint above that line and paint the ceiling the same color. You should go for a darker color to make it feel like the ceiling is coming closer to you. It doesn't have to be a deep color, just darker than your wall color.

2) You could attach chair rail molding at 9' and then paint one color up to the molding, another color on top of molding/ceiling. This time you could paint whatever color you want the walls and then leave it white above if you like that look.

3) Hang large canvases. This has already been said. To give you an idea of cost, you can get 4' x 5' canvases pre stretched on sale at Aaron Bros (twice a year they have a penny sale so instead of paying $80 for one canvas this size, you can get two for that price). What to do next? If you're not confident about your own ability or do not want to spend a lot of time on it, paint each canvas a different solid color. Another idea would be to get maybe 12 - 16 smaller sized canvases and paint each a different color and then hang them in cube formation with spaces in between
IE: 4 in a row across x 4 rows of size 12" x 12" x 2.5" deep canvas "box frames" would work great on this idea.

4) The stretched fabric idea someone mentioned would also be lovely.

5) You can hang mobile art from the ceiling--many musuem shops have paper mobiles that are inexpensive. Or you can make your own art by using kites hung from different heights --imagine how wonderful flying across your ceiling?--or Asian umbrellas hung so the parasol side is open for viewing, the handle towards the ceiling.
I've also used Tibetan prayer flags draped across the ceiling and pinned at lower points along the side walls.

It really depends on what YOU want to create for the overall decor mood of your room. My own loft in LA was 16' wide with 12' ceilings --the entire space was about 75' long but sooooo narrow. I used only things I already had available to me and added some inexpensive chairs from IKEA to get the look I wanted and to solve the problem of the high ceiling. See my post "Perfect Balance" on my Feng Shui By Fishgirl website for photo of what I did.

Hope this helps!
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

Dear J,

The only rule to decorating is there are no rules! Your idea to put a simple shade on the window above the TV is a good one. Go with your instincts!

Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

Hey fishgirl,

First of all, I just checked out your site, and it's awesome! Tons of ideas!

I think the scariest thing is just getting started. Once I have a few things up, it probably wont be so bad. Maybe I should take before and after shots!

Hi Pigletliver,
Yes, take the B & A shots---I posted that in reply to your comments on my blog. Thanks for the compliments. Feng shui does not have to break the bank. Often I work with what people already have in their homes but rearrange it in a more pleasing way.
Let me know how it goes!
Namaste,
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

To Lynne F re: "cheap rugs"

Try Vera Bradley's rugs which are cheap but cheerful: http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/Colors.aspx?dept=990020

I design rugs but they are heirloom quality hand made rugs that you can pass down for generations (ie: not cheap but still a value) that you can see on http://www.spacify.com as well as I'm sure they have other more affordable items.

Target and Wallmart might be an option as well.
Good luck!
Katy Allgeyer
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

J--

I would say there should be *some* consistency within one room, but that could actually just be your "base layer" (so, for example, all windows get a solar shade or matchstick blinds, but just one window gets side drapery panels...).

In one room in the works for a client, he has one large square living room window, and floor-to-ceiling windows in the adjacent (open plan) dining area... so I'm using the same fabric for both, but doing a Roman shade on the single window, and drapery panels in the dining area, with blackout shades behind both.

Does anyone know of a source to commission an art student, or starving artist for a painting? I have a pretty huge wall that I want a single painting for -- I don't have enough $ for a "serious" painting, can't find a print I like and would rather have something original. Seems like it should be a pretty easy thing to find in the NYC area, esp in this economy, but I am not having any luck.

robyn,

try craigslist or your local community college! :)

We are re-doing our bathroom and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the IKEA Freden line of bathroom cabinetry. It says that the color is "brown/black" but the pictures online make it seem black. We chose a dark marble floor that is deep chocolate with white veins. I am wondering if the floor will seem too brown with that sink cabinet. We wanted a black and white bathroom, but I am thinking it will end up more chocolate/white? Has anyone seen it in person? Is it black or more brown? I have attached links to both the cabinet and the type of floor.

My fear is that the cabinet will be more black and the floor more brown and it will clash. Help!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20141184

http://flooring.builddirect.com/Marble-Tile/marble-floor-Laurent-Brown/Additional_6945_0_10066735_5125_0.aspx

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Robyn,
Re: muralists...you might want to consider paying more but offering to pay the artist in monthly installments. Decide how much you can part with each month until you've reached a figure that the artist finds reasonable, too.
Good luck!
Katy

http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com