apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

For you faux fans out there, Crate & Barrel has a few really nice faux orchids.

Just curious, I remember the small couch competiton, but I'm just wondering which company makes a more lasting couch-- Crate and Barrel or Room and Board? Also holding up with fading from being in the sun.
I like both places the kinds they make.

Are fake flowers ever OK? (I used to think no, but then they're everywhere and seem to be the norm now.) Discuss.

Well, I just don't like them in general, but I've seen some high quality fakes that are lovely, and I know that there's gotta be someone who's used the kitch factor as a good thing...

The problem is, my decor doesn't lend itself to the kitsch factor -- I want them in a vase on my fireplace mantel, but can't really afford to buy them fresh every week. I want to get some beautiful high-quality fake ones, and then I think, but will that actually be making one of the tackiest decorating mistakes one can make?

Clean slate! It's all me! Woo hoo!

Here's my open thread question- what item would you really miss if it were gone/broken? Maybe not to the point of grabbing it to save it from a fire, but after the fire, you would be sad that it had perished.

My answer is my alarm clock. I bought it in 1986 or 87 (if some of you weren't alive back then or you were 2 or whatever, keep it to yourselves). I had a cheap drugstore clock radio which broke, so I went to Macy's which still had electronics. It's a Sony clock radio shaped like a cube and its bright red. It has an actual face which has a little light. The 2 best parts- you set the alarm by twisting the face cover, moving a little arrow to the time you want. Totally simple and clear. AND you can wake up to the radio or, as I do, to a sweet, tinny version of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun". Fabulous. I've been considering my clock since a discussion on AT about items that we appreciate, and it made me realize how much true affection I have for this object and how long it's been a small but fairly intregal part of my life. I will be terribly sad if it ever gives up the ghost.

Anyone else?

It took me so long to type that and then divest it of semicolons that I'm not first. I'm sad.

-what if questions- bleck

I saw fake flowers at Crate and Barrel, and lately around, I still can't get over them. I think I'm just going to buy some plants that Derek suggested in that other post. On then once in awhile buy fresh cut flowers.

Jenifer,

My instinct on fake flowers is to say no across the board if they are trying to look real. That said, I have seen some cool paper flowers that are really an art form in themselves. I remember seeing a whole wedding done with crepe paper flowers in an issue of Martha Stewart Weddings a few years ago. And paper-source dot com has some cool paper flower kits on their site (and I imagine once you buy the kit you can figure out how to make them on your own). I would go that route first.

Christy --

Paper-source.com, what a cool site! I'm going to try that out, I love the look of some of their kits. I keep hoping the tide will turn and realistic-looking flowers will be the height of class, but I need to accept that it ain't going to happen. (I think I've kept hope alive since C&B, PB, and RH (those retails stores that pride themselves in being the arbiters of good taste) offer a ton of them, more every season it seems. But crafty flowers made of beautiful paper it is.

I have seen some fake orchids that looked COMPLETLEY REAL. If I had a mantle, I'd put a fake orchid.

As for the expense of real flowers, maybe a few vases, each with a gerbera daisy? I've had bodega daisies last a whole WEEK. And the plant idea is a great one too-potted in an elegant planter, bowl...

Jennifer,
I don't know if this would work in your decor, but what about branches or something of that ilk?

I generally can't stand silk flowers; it baffles me that Michael's and JoAnn's can carry endless aisles of bright tacky flowers, some with plastic beads of dew glued on...!!?!

I love to have flowers around, though. So I always keep fresh mums or astrolemerias - cheap and long-lasting - on my kitchen table. And I think dried florals, if that's your thing and if carefully chosen, can look very cool. I use a lot of white, well-dried flowers and other things that go better with a more clean, modern look. And of course the ubiquitous branches in a vase - requisite vertical element notwithstanding - I do like a lot.

And all that being said, I did buy one spray of those wine velvet plum blossoms from PB. They were beautiful, and just stylized enough to avoid looking like I was trying to actually emulate real flowers. And they are right next to a tall rice paper lamp in my bedroom, so they create a dark silhouetted shape there.

Don't mean to ramble - I have just tried a lot of different things to get a natural, organic look in my little apartment without compromising clean lines and some element of taste. Don't forget about potted plants, too...

My mother often used fresh flowers from her suburban garden to brighten up the house, but many of them usually bothered our allergies. I can't really be bothered to buy fresh flowers only to suffer because of them. I enjoy green plants, but have no qualms about using appropriate artificial flowers for decor when needed. They're not fake, they're little works of art.

I'm not crazy about artificial flowers. But I will admit to having one fake plant among my real ones. It's a very good likeness of a fern waaaaaay up on top of my armoire. Too high to water or tell that it's fake.

I do buy fresh cut flowers almost every week from the green market at the entrance to Prospect Park. And I always pick up fresh eucalyptus when they have it. Not only does it last for a couple of weeks, it's a great conditioner for stuff winter apartment air.

STUFFY winter apartment air

MRoman-- I think both C&B and R&B are reputable, and some of their stock actually comes from the same manufacturers (Mitchell Gold, for example). If buying from C&B, make sure your selection is form their actual furniture collections, and not from the furniture they sell as part of their regular collection (in some stores, the Furniture Collections are upstairs, even though they have a few pieces of furniture downstairs). Furniture on the C&B site will be labelled that way.

MRoman-- Since I believe you are NYC-adjacent, another option is to go right to the Mitchell Gold shop at ABC Carpet and Home-- one of the few places (Blue Raccoon in New Hope and SouthBeachStyle in Miami and Ft Lauderdale some others) that sells Mitchell Gold directly under the Mitchell Gold name.

I'm wondering what has happened to Patrick - the original one? He used to comment about 5 times a day. Has "patrick (the other one)" chased him away? Eaten him? Was there a rumble? Has the Original Patrick gone on a long voyage and will he be back bearing fabulous fabrics and tales of cabana boys?

The drama!

kyra-- Ha! If only! (the fabrics and cabana boys part).

Well, it's complicated... I was originally just lowercase "patrick". Then ANOTHER lowercase patrick came on the scene, so I switched to "patrick (the other one)". So my old posts still say patrick.

And you say "5 times a day" like it was obsessive or something. ;)

(so should I adopt your suggestion of "Patrick - the original"?!?)

Patrick the awesome

I am about to purchase a chocolate brown leather sofa, which looks similar to the Portola sofa at DWR (dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=5205), but mine has square feet. I have a choice of wood and finish for the feet, and I'm hoping that someone can give me some insight on how to choose. Should I match the feet to the color of the leather upholstery, to my floors, to my other furniture, or to something else?

My floors are wood parquet, and it looks like medium-stained oak to my untrained eye. We have a hodgepodge of furniture in the living room, including a long low console with bird's eye maple veneer, and some nesting end tables made of mahogany (I think).

Thanks in advance for any tips.

I vote for matching the color of the leather, or the closest dark wood that you already have furniture of which will be nearby the sofa. God, the structure of that sentence sucked.

You can make a cheap grocery store assorted bouquet look special by separating out the different components into separate, small vases, or better yet, juice glasses or jars or the like. Line them up, ordered by texture, color, height, whatever suits.

Patrick the awesome,
Thanks for your quick feedback! The name suits you well.

Hearing about the alarm clock reminds me of my coffee pot. I got a new coffee pot for Christmas. The new coffee pot has a timer to turn itself on and off and looks much better. Throwing away my old coffee pot was weirdly difficult. I couldn't bring myself to do it. For the first couple of weeks in January, the new coffee pot just sat in its box.

My old coffee pot was my first one. I bought it at Hills during my freshmen year in college and carried it from apartment to apartment since then. When it came time to chuck the dirty old coffee pot, I got senimental over the 10 long years I had it. Found myself saying "bye" to this coffee pot in my building's garbage room . . . then I slipped and dropped it and the pitcher smashed to smithereens.

Changing topics quickly ... does anyone know an online source for (drumroll, please) Ultrasuede futon covers? Real Ultrasuede, not "microsuede." If not, I suppose I could visit an upholsterer.

to chris,

it's entirely okay to give feelings to coffee pots. and the "smashing" gave you a reason for it to go. i spent several minutes saying goodbye to a pair of slippers the other day. (i know, both bizarre and ocd) and i then felt angry at the new ones for about a day because they were not as comfortable as the old ones that i tossed down the shoot. (the new ones are great now...and the others, well, i just remember that they were blue.)

i tend to buy orchids from trader joe's (do you have tj's in nyc?) because they're lovely, cheap, they last forever, and you only have to feed them a piece of ice a couple times a week.

or daisies from the farmer's market because they, too, are cheap and last forever.

i had also wondered what had happened to patrick (the original) so am glad someone else thought to ask.

if anyone goes to the ashes & snow exhibit, could you see if they sell prints/postcards/anything anywhere? have been unable to find any info on the website or anywhere else.

When people hear "fake plant" they assume silk petals with plastic dew drops. There are literally hundreds of high-quality fake flowers that are jaw-dropping amazing. I have a nice orchid. It is fake. People come over and do the whole "oooh" and "aaaw" routine. It is always in bloom, came with a nice pot, and I can neglect it for weeks witout it changing a bit (aside from dust). Sure, fresh, beautiful bouquets would nice... but I can barely pay my cell phone bill on time, let alone afford fresh flowers every week. But honestly, my orchid is stellar. I couldn't keep a real one looking this good.

hi sally,

where did you buy your fake orchid from?

thanks!

"I don't know if this would work in your decor, but what about branches or something of that ilk?"

At a store in San Francisco they do this really cool thing. They took these really ornate branches and spray painted them white. They then hung them from the ceiling. It creates a really nice effect. It breaks up their space. It has inspired me to do the same thing at home, but in a vase. It's REALLY cool looking.

Just a thought, I sometimes buy an orchid (real) on 28th Street which costs about $30.This lasts about 3 months before the blossoms are expired. So, it averages out to $1 dollar a day and
I get a to have a beautiful living plant in my home.

Patrick -- I don't know about that letting something die in your house idea... Then again, all of the plants I bought to take advantage of the sunlight in my last apartment died miserable deaths in my new, not-so-sunny apartment.

There are easy, low maintence, hard-to-kill orchids out there that thrive in low light and warm houses. If the guys at that KMart over on Astor Place can keep them alive in the basement near the subway station, you'll do just fine. Why not spend some time wandering around the flower district and asking the vendors there? There are also two great plant shops in the Meat Packing District -- one in the Chelsea Market and another just outside it and down the block.

Does anyone have the link to the previous post (by Derek) with recommended plants?

There's only one place I can put fresh flowers in my house, because anywhere else my cats can reach and they will have a fresh flower banquet. so, I have some fake greenery, even though I don't really approve of it, but it's truly the only option.

Hmm, I just bought a condo, and I have been poring over the internet looking for furniture and such. I really wasn't going by much, only the knowledge that I didn't really like Pottery Barn and the ilk (although I love the Axis sofa from Crate and Barrel). I disliked most of my friends' furniture, and my only launching point was my girlfriend's Noguchi coffee table, which I love. As I did more and more researching, I discovered that I love all mid century modern furniture. But now, I feel like I am going overboard. I am planning on getting the Noguchi table, an Eames round table and dining chairs, a Nelson end table, an Eames desk (I think it would go well with a Mondrian print, surely this is an abused pairing), Case Study bed, etc. etc. How much is too much though? I feel like my condo will look like it is straight out of DWR instead of Pottery Barn, and that makes my disdain of the Pottery Barn catalog "look" of the Friends apartments completely hypocritical. I am even disgusted that the Rothko print I have had forever is peddled with most of the furniture I now want at Room and Board. I don't know, should I just accept the irony that in my quest to be different I have become completely derivative, or can I take comfort in thinking that the mid-century aesthetic completely and wholly agrees with some intrinsic taste within?

Oh, and not to hijack the thread, I have bought many orchids for my girlfriend, and they were all expensive, and all have died quick deaths at her hands, even the really big one I got for her birthday that was supposed to bloom every year around the same time. When I saw the fake ones on this site, I thought they would be the perfect for the next time I give her flowers. Honestly, who has time for plants...

Retro--
Buy what you LOVE.
Just don't necessarily buy it all in one place. The beauty's in the mix. And as far as the Rothko showing up in Room & Board, maybe they are just now catching up with YOU!
And besides, there are FAR worse end-results than looking like Room & Board...

I am not actually buying anything from Room and Board, they just seem to have all the stuff I want to get. I know, same difference. I can get contract pricing on all Herman Miller furniture at work, which will save me a ton, which makes me want to buy everything. Why is it so hard to pass up a bargain?

Mary, I just have to say I am not an orchid killer. Of course I water and mist my orchid to keep it alive, but the flowers on real plants don't last forever and I have to replace the plant.
Thanks for responding to my post.

Fake flowers are a tricky thing, but I've bought some beautiful ones at certain close-out outlets like Weber's, etc. Some are amazingly cheap, yet wonderful. But it sort of depends on the colors you're trying to work with, etc. If you get the right mix of expensive and cheap, you can get something that looks really great and has a presence, but doesn't cost a fortune.

And as far as fake flowers, if you're working sort of a period look of ANY kind, think about the possibility of an arrangement that looks like fake flower arrangements looked back then. And if that's a slightly kitsch look, fine -- just do it really, really beautifully.

Fake flowers are a tricky thing, but I've bought some beautiful ones at certain close-out outlets like Weber's, etc. Some are amazingly cheap, yet wonderful. But it sort of depends on the colors you're trying to work with, etc. If you get the right mix of expensive and cheap, you can get something that looks really great and has a presence, but doesn't cost a fortune.

And as far as fake flowers, if you're working sort of a period look of ANY kind, think about the possibility of an arrangement that looks like fake flower arrangements looked back then. And if that's a slightly kitsch look, fine, I've done that before -- just do it really, really beautifully.

Does Frette ever have a warehouse sale?

I'm a photographer and my wife and I have a studio apt. I have tons of photo gear and don't really have any good ideas for storage. Does anyone have any ideas that are a little stylish. Thanks williambrinson.com

William -

I'm gonna pretend you own your place, since you don't indicate. I'm also going to pretend that you have a pretty high ceiling. If your walls have picture rails (typical Upper West Side), instead of painting the part of the wall above them white, along with the ceiling, paint them black, like they do in black-box theatres. OR... if you have a more loft-like apartment than that, you can still do that, or maybe just the ceiling, itself. It seems like most photo gear that I've seen comes in black cases, kind of like sound equipment comes in.

So, I think that it might be good to install pulleys on the ceiling, and hoist those boxes up to the ceiling area. Maybe you can arrange them in such a way that the ropes of the pulleys are draped in a cool-looking draped kind of way.

That's the first thing that comes mind, but I'll think about it more.

hi ruth with the sony clock

I have the same clock bought around the same time and I am still incredibly attached to it - I feel exactly the way you do about it - sadly the battery door on mine broke a while ago and is missing -

in fact I got to this site because I googled the clock hoping to find another

Hi Ruth and sweetlia with the Sony Clocks, mine was black and try as I might. No luck with finding another.

thanks for the memories,

P A

where can you get a sofa like the dwr portola with out the price tag???

sony clock fans - oh my goodness, i totally had the clock until 2000 - blue, here comes the sun -- schlepped it to germany when studying there as an undergrad. got my first job (at 30) and it gave up!
I just found one at the salvation army - my old trusted blue one - but alas it only plays vivaldi's spring (blecH!). I on a serious mission to find another - my dentist in fact has one. i am bringing batteries next time to see if it plays the beloved "here comes the sun" melody. weren't the 80's grand?!!

I have the red Sony that plays "Here comes the sun" . It still works great. I think I bought it in 1968. I'm thinking of putting it on ebay.

Do you still have the clock radio??? I had one when I was in high school (1986). It was black and I LOVED it. I would definitely consider buying it. Periodically I've searched the web for one to no avail. I also found this site by trying to find the clock.

Laura