apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

what is with brooklyn and this shitty mail delivery?

where is MY september issue of WOI? where is my Vogue? where is my Harpers? where is my frickin' Domino?

do not make me move back to manhattan USPS!

Terrific post. I don't think I'm confident enough in my DIY skills to mix my own paint... love learning about it though!

Love the old world feel. Like JH above, I'm certain I have no paint-mixing skills.

Milk paint is VERY easy to mix and has such a nice chalky texture and visual depth to it. Though painting such a large surface with such sluggishly thick paint must have been a real time suck (with gorgeous results).

I don't think I could bring myself to put cheese on the wall.

Love the paint, love the fabrics, but I particularly wish Mr. Hinwood would come to my apartment and hang my paintings and photos for me. I love that kind of seemingly artless profusion.

I had no idea Quark was used as a binder--fascinating. I wonder whether there is a residual smell, however, after application.

The colors are great, but I soooo would like to see a slide show of the rest of the place.

I truly love the irony for someone who is lactose intolerant. I may have to try this.

WOW

This is a beautiful space, but what caught my eye was the reversed book cover in the lower left corner of the top photo. Someone flipped the picture!

The spreads in World of Interiors are always amazing. Manages to makes a style that might easily come off as old-fashioned or frumpy seem instead vibrant and rich. Probably my favorite shelter magazine, even though my own style is probably more sleek. They have wonderful National Geographic-style features too, where they find decorating inspiration by exploring traditional ethnic art forms. For example, there was a recent piece on Russian wood churches, and another on tassels. Worth checking out.

Great rug in the top picture too.

I think the reason these works so well is that the blue ties everything together, even in the middle photo where the oranges and reds are so strong. To be able to reach this level of cohesion, you really have to be willing to gut a space and be ruthless about eliminating anything that does not promote the intended aesthetic. Still a lot to learn from here though. :-)

All the woodwork in my 18th century house was painted with milkpaint. (I saw "my" - I was 11 at the time, so I really didn't have a choice.)

It took 2 men 2 months to paint all the woodwork. They had to mix a fresh batch of color each day, then use that batch to complete one whole room, lest there be color differences. They got good - they'd mix up just enough to use the last drops on the last surface by 5 PM. I don't remember there being any smell. 20 odd years later, the surfaces are still as beautiful as ever, with no to very little wear.

One caveat - don't use it in a wet area without sealing it. It will spot with the slightest drop of water and can't be fixed.

Peter Hinwood? As in Rocky Horror?

I've read from a chair maker's blog that "Real Milk Paint" (www.realmilkpaint.com) is actually a better quality product than "Old Fashioned Milk Paint." Also, both companies sell their own binding product to mix in with the pigment, so you probably don't have to use cheese. I really want to try painting a few of my chairs with a mix of light gray milk paint--just a few light coats and then lightly sanded down to let some of the grain come back through. And then you can rub it (and sort of burnish) with a coat of linseed oil or wax which produces that very smooth hardened on look which might better for chairs that get lots of wear and tear... Has anyone got an experience with this?

I love the way this looks, particularly in the 2nd photo down.

Petro: Correct. I wouldn't have known but I happened to read this the other day:
http://aestheteslament.blogspot.com/2008/08/whatever-happened-to.html

major drooling right now!

I'm somewhat put off by this being a review/images/idea of something taken entirely from a magazines review/images/idea. I would be more interested in a review on something that wasn't already covered by a mainstream magazine, or if it was already covered at least make it seem like it wasn't taken directly from there.

I'm vegan (seriously.) Can I mix up soymilk paint instead? Hemp quark cheese?