apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A random tip given how most visitors know the IKEA Lack shelf. For our (plug ... Chicago SCC submitted) apartment's bar, we used 2 Lack shelves. One of them was cut to fit the nook, and one was used to hang glasses via a glass rack. So, this is where the tips come in.

Lack shelves are very empty inside. It is essentially a thin plywood box, with cardboard (yes, literally cardboard) /\/\/\/ shaped inserts inside to support the frame. However, the middle of it (where the prongs that attach to the wall are inserted) is actually dense MDF.
Therefore:

1. If you are cutting it, make sure that your cut will not reach the center, MDF, area - this area is required for the supports! Cutting it is easy with a circular saw (make sure to measure on the right side, so that the holes from the supports are facing down), and if it faces a wall (as it is in our case), nothing is visible.

2. If you want to attach something from the bottom (such as a wine rack), the MAXIMUM absolute width is 14.173. We bought a Pier1 "UNDER CABINET STEMWARE RACK" http://www.pier1.com/catalog/popups/careinfo.aspx?productid=1620561&cat=base
Which seems to be sold out... anyway, that width will barely fit. The depth was perfect. YMMV, you should measure.

To summarize:
Cutting LACK shelves is easy if the edge is hidden with something else.
Hanging stuff on LACK shelves is possible, as long as it attaches to the MDF area, and not the empty space around.

A sorta-tip for Toronto dwellers. We bought the nice, rolling, shower curtain rings in Home Outfitters. Unfortunately the pack had one of the rings broken, and one was completely missing. Check before buying!

Surprised I haven't seen this blogged here yet, or maybe I just missed it:

Tarkett fiberfloor, www.tarkett.com, is the ideal solution for renters with ugly floors and a little bit of cash.

It comes in 12 foot rolls, you just cut it to size and lay it down. No installation. Just put in baseboard or quarter round on top and that's the only thing that keeps it in place. It looks like linoleum or vinyl but a little softer. Not exactly classy - I wouldn't put it in my living room or bedroom and the woodgrain patterns are not fooling anyone - but perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, kids rooms, office, craftsroom, etc. I'm putting it in my son's bedroom and my office. Although I am now a homeowner (!!!) this is perfect for me because the floors are horribly uneven throughout the house and I'm just overwhelmed, so something simple and temporary for a couple of the rooms will make me very happy. At the store I went to it ranged from about $2-3.50/sq foot.

Now that I've gushed about it, I'm hoping someone here actually has experience with it and can tell us about the dark side of fiberfloor.

always come home to a well-lit home...

for comfort, safety, convenience and good feng shui:

-i plugged a big fun lamp into a remote-control power outlet (like this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=SVWRC101&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=462537

-attached the remote to my housekeys

-now when i get out of my elevator i can turn my lights on before i 'come home' so i can see where i'm going and sort out where all my bags/packages/mail go!

-also keeps me from scuffing the walls with my 'stuff' while feeling for a lightswitch...

for those in NYC remodeling kitchens . . .
Build It Green is auctioning off two high end kitchens on their website
http://www.bignyc.org/node/177
Lighter Bulthaup Cabinet Set with Gaggenau Appliances
and
Larch Bulthaup Cabinets with Gaggenau Appliances

looks like a real deal to me!

Build It Green has amazing salvage of all sorts for reasonable prices - fixtures, doors, paint - brilliant organization!
It's been written up here quite a bit in the past.

For those in Boston:

CSN Warehouse is a great resource for inexpensive furniture. It's the warehouse for the CSN website sales. All returns are sold there at up to 70% off. There's a mix of traditional and modern, but it's potluck as to what they have there at any given time. They take cash or credit card and you must take the items away the day of purchase, they will not ship.l

Unfortunately, they're moving this summer to Dedham and I'm heartbroken. I've gotten great deals on a new kitchen table and chairs and a new pair of designer lamps. You can check out some of their items for sale on Boston's Craigslist site. Just click on furniture and search "CSN".

If you're looking for upscale barstools, this is the place for you!

Here's their address:

88 Black Falcon Ave
Boston MA 02210
Loading Docks 28-31
Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
Wed 11am-8pm
CLOSED: Sat & Sun

Hey NYC'ers - there are two high-end kitchens on auction for HUGE savings on the "Built it Green" website. They include Bulthaup cabinets, Gaggennau ovens/range and a Bosch dishwasher all for under $10k! I think it is on for 3 days more:
http://www.bignyc.org/lightbulthaup
http://www.bignyc.org/darkbulthaup

Another Toronto, tiny tip. Honest Ed's (Bathurst & Bloor) has great round vases for $3-5. Simple-fishbowl type vase, thick glass, very stable. And cheap.

On which note, contacting the manufacturer (Aquarius, located in Canada, no real website to speak of) of the broken shower rings worked - they offered to mail the a replacement for the broken one! (hopefully the missing one too.)

Tip: contact manufacturers for a possibly less hassle free way on replacing broken/missing things.