apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Holiday travel pop quiz . . .
design store/interesting stuff ideas from Edinburgh, Scotland?

Holiday travel pop quiz . . .
design store/interesting stuff ideas from Edinburgh, Scotland?

there's a weird new feature prompting double posts . . .

ohh AT is in the washington post to day. yay for some love in traditional media!

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113000430.html

and us obsessed? no way!

Yeah - Ky is pictured in that article in his apartment! Still love your orange, Ky!
And Minh, I'm not obsessed with design either ;)

Congrats to AT for the shout-out in the Post.

Picking up on what the Post suggested we do here, can anyone suggest any good, reasonably priced (under $250) wall-mounted lamps that plug-in and don't have to be hard-wired (or in the alternative, how to hard wire when you have no electrical box in the location but a plug in the vicinity near the floor)?

I am looking for something that will give good direct light for reading, but doesn't look like a reading lamp, spotlight or sconce.

Any ideas? I have checked the usual on-line sources (Y-lighting, ikea, etc.), but not found anything. The AT favorite, the IKEA Stamning, probably is too indirect for the light needed.

Thanks.

Guido - I don't remember many design stores in Edinburgh. But maybe I wasn't looking for them then! (I was there for the Fringe...) That being said, it is a beautiful city, easy to navigate and the people are wonderful.

Make sure you hike up to the very top of Arthur's Seat and just sit up there and enjoy the view and the serenity. It's amazing!!!

There's lots of great old streets to just walk around and enjoy the history and architectural details.

Not Related: I am FINALLY painting my apartment! It's only taken seven years to pick a color and decide to do it! I'm kind of freaking out, but in a good way.

On the subject of travel - SAS started their advent calendar of flight deals! Today is Oslo for $299 plus fees. A couple years ago a friend and I took advantage of one of their deals to go to Prague and it was one of my better flying experiences. Oh I wish I had some extra $ on hand to do this again - maybe this is my incentive to pay down debts in time for next year?

Marie - so what color did you pick?

Libby -- do you have a link for SAS? The first I found was in Swedish (or something . . .), the next was British, with all prices in pounds (and not all that cheap, I must say!) No mention of special deals in English site. Thanks!!!

I was really pleased to see the AT piece in today's Washington Post; loved the great shot of Kai's apartment (and Kai!). Congratulations to all!

The SAS link is http://campaign.scandinavian.net/christmas2005/us/ (if the link doesn't work, I attached it to my name here, too).

You sign up and they email you each advent day's destination. They make it fun with little clues to try to get you to guess the scret destination before they reveal it.

I have to say (and mind you I live in Boeing manufacturing land) I really liked their AirBus plane with the snazzy video monitors for each seat, the better food, and the free drinks. When I fly coach, I'm usually surprised they even give out that lousy little bag of peanuts anymore. I know a number of people who have used these SAS deals over the years and have yet to hear any complaints.

Does anyone have any experience using one of the IKEA Klippan slipcovers on the leather version instead of the cloth one? I love my kitties, and they love to scratch. On that note, has anyone seen the almas yellow slipcover in person? Is it totally hideous or wacky-cute (I hope!)? Further, does anyone have experience with Bemz slipcovers? They have some really cool patterns for the Klippan - more expensive, of course. http://www.bemz.com/products/2/3/17/0/35/front/

Thanks guys!

Stefani-

I'm using Benjamin Moore - Wethersfield Moss and Stone House. Most of the walls will be Stone House and one big wall (that will have lots of art on it) will be Wethersfield Moss.

It's not WOW exciting, but it will be better than dirty white walls that I have now!

Randy,

One way to get a customized look with plug-in wall lights is to ask around for cord covers. Most hardware stores have a version....a less-than-ideal-version...but a version.

Or, maybe clip-on lights for a casual look?

I have nothing useful to add but thought I'd share my official AT Xmas Display:
http://wendefeller.com/smallersf/images/at-xmas.jpg

The "tree" is a set of 1960s nesting blocks (yes, those are my toothmarks on them), and the mod furniture comes from Japanese surprise packs.

And you even surrounded the "tree" with color coordinated books!

I have a question about Eames chairs (the classic lounge chair with ottoman.)

How far do they recline? My husband wants a zero-gravity recliner (he's always wanted a dental chair, actually, because he's odd) but the Eames is so much cooler. I want to convince him it'll be just as comfortable.

I guess I missed tonight's episode of Small Space, Big Style (Diamonds in the Rough) the first time it aired, but Anita's place -- which was in the smallest apartment contest --was on and it's fabulous! The pix in the contest, while intriguing and wonderful, did not do it justice. What a clever place!

Valerie, if you're near a DWR (and they seem to be just about everywhere these days), why don't you go check out an Eames chair? I have a knock-off, and I love it, it's incredibly comfortable, but it doesn't really recline like a, well, Barcalounger. . .

Pixie, you did not miss it the first time around. I DVR all episodes and have not missed one yet. This was the first time it aired as was last weeks with the old host this week and last. Which is why I don't understand ppl who keep asking for more new episodes.

I agree with you. Anita's apt looked amazing once we could see it all. She or her friend did say that without a floorplan we could not begin to appreciate what she had done. Reading the old comments is funny now because the suggestions for improvement are pretty much redundant judging by how much better her place looks on TV than on stills.
Her apt in the smallest coolest contest here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/041405/smallest-coolest-apartment-contest/apartment-9-anitas-interlocking-alcoves--002549

Her kitchen in the kitchen contest here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/032105/competitions/kitchen-15-anitas-group-effort-002346

Again, the kitchen looks so much better on TV than on stills. I did like Anita's kitchen in the competition but on the show it is like night and day!

BTW, I did mean to mention it the first time around but the Starck2 toilet is the best looking toilet out there. I used it too here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/022505/house-tours/house-tour-jamie-pup-redoes-his-bathroom-002146

Other favorite in tonight's show was the Miami apt. The snake shelf was my favorite "piece".

Just realized - last night's SSBS had the new host. But there was still a new one the other week with the old one.

Thanks... I would love to do that (I had planned to buy from DWR anyway) but there doesn't seem to be anything nearby, DWR or other suppliers (I'm in the South).

jamie pup - you're a re-do monster. When's your place scheduled for HGTV?

The HGTV site said the SSBS episode last night supposedly aired previously on 11/17. But, maybe they didn't air the episode that the site said they did. I was just glad to catch a new episode.

I'm really starting to get sick of the talking heads on that show (not Max), partly because they're irritating, but partly because they suck up valuable air time when we could be catching more views of the spaces. Also, I just want them to slow the whole show down so you can view everything better. Get rid of all the quick cuts and jumping around. This isn't a cop show. I get really frustrated when they do this because the spaces are so good.

jamiepup, I also liked that continuous shelf. And, I liked that richly colored sliding door in that house. I would have liked to know what each of those items was made of. But no, we had to get another earful of talking head drivel. And, I missed the first moment of Anita's place, so maybe I missed something crucial, but a little more time spent on the layout of the place at the beginning would have been nice and would have saved the viewer puzzling over it throughout the segment until it was made more obvious.

SSBS: aren't you reading this blog, which is populated by rabid viewers?

When I lived in Italy, I was able to buy drapery material by the meter in the markets. It was generally cotton or linen and was pre-finished in the top and hem for very tall windows. It was very reasonably priced and required only to be hemmed on the sides at the preferred width.
Does anyone know of a web link for this type of "drapery-by-the-meter"?

Wende, that's an impressive collection of Loebs you've got there--you a classicist?

re:Holiday travel pop quiz . . .
design store/interesting stuff ideas from Edinburgh, Scotland?

ALWAYS LOOK FOR XMAS GIFTS ON VACATION, THIS YEAR'S GIFTS INCLUDE 3" X 5" NAIVE PAINTING OF FRUIT BOUGHT FROM A STREET VENDOR IN BRAZIL. LAST YEAR MARBLIZED PAPER DESK ITEMS FROM ITALY, BURBERRY SCARFS FROM THE LONDON FACTORY STORE...

I FIND THAT BUYING XMAS GIFTS ON VACATION HELPS FILL THE NEED TO BUY "STUFF" ON VACATION BUT WITHOUT GETTING STUCK WITH TOO MANY "SOUVENIRS" THAT LOSE THIER APPEAL ONCE THEY SIT ON A SHELF FOR A FEW MONTHS AFTER GETTING BACK HOME

Hi, Nora! The Loebs belong to my husband, and the Xmas scene ended up amidst them to hide gaps when I used some to make "hills" for our nativity scene elsewhere in the room. He's the intellectual; I'm the college professor. This works for us.

That SSBS place with the snake shelf was definitely good. But that guy obviously has only skinny friends, as his entry way tables would seem to deny entry for any of the... larger... set.

Max, I wondered about that. It was not clear from the show whether one was not meant to enter between those tables or not. It was very ambiguous. That's the kind of detail I would like the show to make more clear. It's all about the details! I liked the idea of those tables and their multi-purpose uses, but I didn't like the look of the narrow passage between them, much less the possibility of that being the main way into the living room.

Re: design store/interesting stuff ideas from Edinburgh, Scotland?

Although not exactly interior design related, there is an exhibition of paintings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish Art Nouveau architect: http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en-US/corporate/press/britain_calling/0508mackintosh.aspx

Wende, that's very cool. Where else but AT could I meet someone else with Xenophon and tiny chairs? :)

Oops, that should be "posted by Nora" (damn that tab key). We're not that alike....

valerie, i'd measure the incline of my eames chair, but i'm a dork when it comes to things like that. i wonder if dwr customer service could help you if you called and asked?