apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Sitting in the audience, hearing all the remarkable things the NRDC was doing, I even got to thinking, "boy, I really don't do that much. I should do more with my life."

That ever happen to you? Sara Kate and I often have that experience of seeing someone amazing do something amazing and feeling like a bump on a log.

And it's easy to start thinking that when people's life achievements are being trumpeted on stage by Leonardo Dicaprio and Alec Baldwin and one of the honorees is Stella McCartney, who received her award from her father.

But then I thought, "Hey, I do a lot. And even though Apartment Therapy is about the home, it's always been about more than decorating. It's about living a healthy life on this planet, and the home is the place where that all starts." The only problem was that I was sitting on my butt thinking all this when I should have been writing this post.

But I'm writing it now. :-)

This week is about working on your entrance, educating yourself on color and/or possibly hiring someone to help you. This is a big week, because the honeymoon is about to be over and you are going to be faced with a third week of hard work, less certainty that you are doing the right thing or able to pull it off and possibly the voices of work, friends or family who would like you to do something else with your time.

Remember, we're all here to help you stay the course and what you are doing is courageous.

Just like I had to remind myself while sitting in the crowd tonight, raising our awareness of and taking care of our home is a fundamental act that is not so so easily done these days. Our days are full of work, distractions, cares and all sorts of stimulation that pull at us and make it hard to feel a center, to have a foundation in our life. And while there's a lot that we can do to help ourselves, I find the actual space we live in, what we call "Home," to be the easiest place to start. Everyone deserves and should be able to make a home for themselves that is beautiful, healthy and organized.

As always, I am not talking about a FANCY home or a BIG home. Just a simple, beautiful home will do.

Learn to do this and the earth will follow, because environmentalism is just an expansion of the concept of home. Think how hard it is to care about drowning polar bears and ground water pollution when you don't yet have your own good home. If you're house is a mess, why should the earth be any different?

So, you're reading up on the 80/20 rule this week? Great. Cooking two meals at home? Awesome. Thinking about how to make your entrance work more as a filter to keep your house clean? Perfect.

This week you stop being a bump on a log and start to become amazing. And we will be cheering you the whole way - along with Alec Baldwin :-)...

Best, Maxwell

ps. check out all these amazing people below!

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"Hi, haven't quite finished curing my kitchen but thought you might enjoy my Orla Kiely fridge." ~ Casapinka

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"a couple of months ago I renovated my kitchen. as you can see from the before&after pics it was a dank,dark, neglected space with dark rustic furniture, and now it is shiny and light thanks to metallic tiles, glossy white cabinets, white shairs and round table, and glass front appliances." ~ Milan K. in Belgrade, Serbia

Metallic Tiles: Iris Fusion
Cabinets: EuropanelTeam
Appliances: Gorenje/Ora-ito
Chairs: Sintesi
Table: Ikea
Lights: Ikea

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"My kitchen makes me very sad. We are doing a minor fix up job because we don't have enough saved up for renovation. Anything is an improvement.

The plan is to put in a Trafficmaster Allure Commercial Radial Red Vinyl floors- which are easy to put in and look fun. Paint the kitchen gray. Snap off the cabinets and put in curtains- except right next to the stove. Take off the grate over window and put in blinds." ~ Smcasey in Brooklyn, NY

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Before!

"I am a single girl, and I just purchased a 3 bedroom condo six months ago, and I'm doing all the work myself! Here is my bedroom, before and after. This is all temporary, this will eventually be repainted and used as my walk-in closet, right now I am pulling down wallpaper in what will eventually be my bedroom. It feels good just to clean up the mess though, and now I have a nice serene spot to sleep or sit and get away from the mess that is the rest of my home!" ~ Linnea in Worcester, MA

After!

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"My wife and I wanted to spruce up our small condo for the arriving spring, and chose a cool color pallet that is completely uplifting and refreshing." ~ Brad in Boston, MA

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- POST INDEX SPRING 2009

• Week 2 - Show & Tell
• Week 2 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 2 - Intro
• Week 1 - Show & Tell
• Week 1 - Tips & Tricks
• Week 1 - Intro

- CURE INFO

>> Main Cure Page - Spring 2009
>> About The Book
>> Excerpt from Chapter I

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