apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Here at AT we're big fans of non-toxic cleaning products. They're better for the earth and better for your health. That said, we know some people are skeptical of their cleaning powers, and we admit that there are a few things we haven't found good non-toxic alternatives for, like bleach. Natural cleaning products also tend be more expensive than their conventional counterparts. What do you use to clean your house?

There are a few reasons we think this drinking fountain is great. The mosaic work is certainly one of them; we're big fans of public art of any kind, and this is colorful fountain really brightened up our day when we ran across it in a park. We also love the three levels - adult, child (and we suspect, ADA compliant,) and dog. Brilliant.

We hate to admit it, but we're what some might call organizationally challenged. It's a constant struggle for us to keep on top of the paper piles, but we're determined to win the fight. We've discovered that having an "inbox" is key - it gives us a space to park lose papers until we get around to actually filing them, and requires little immediate effort. These Thomas Paul Inbox Trays are perfect for performing the task with some style.

Every home should have a rocking chair. Preferably one like this 60's danish teak rocker that doesn't scream "nursery" but instead just looks like a fun place to sit.

Is it just us, or is this one of the most stunning fences you've seen in a long while? Made out of ipe, a sustainably harvested Brazilian hardwood, in two thicknesses, we think it's the fact that boards are laid horizontally that makes it so uniquely gorgeous. Its practically beach-side location doesn't hurt, of course.

Mercury glass is a favorite of ours - it can glam up any room instantly but stays away from being too shiny or glitzy. So we love these Silvershift Lamps from Anthropologie, and have already thought of about a million places in our house they would be perfect.

We're in the middle of painting the entire inside of a two bedroom house right now, and thought we would share one of our favorite painting tricks. If you're using latex paint, brushes and rollers can be frozen overnight, saving you the arduous task of cleaning them until you're done with the project.

Coasters are a great housewarming present - one of those things that are practically indispensable but people often forget to buy for themselves. These six-pack coasters are begging to be given as a gift, wrapped up with with a six pack of your favorite beverage.

We stopped by Stanford Mall this weekend for a quick shopping trip and were stopped in our tracks by the gorgeous planters. Giant roses, huge amounts of yellow ranunculus, and more flowers than we can name in practically every color of the rainbow. You could make some pretty gorgeous arrangements from these planters, which our shopping partner speculated is probably one of the reasons there are security guards patrolling the grounds.

Finding an attractive garbage can is more difficult than one would think. This Large Waste Paper Bin is a classic, and we love that it can be used for other things. We think it would be just as good at holding throw blankets in the living room or children's toys as it is at containing all those crumpled up drafts next to your desk. Of course it also looks great as a modern wood basket next to the fireplace, as shown above.

This is our last Cure check in post, and it has us feeling a little bit sad. While the Cure can at times be stressful, it's been inspiring to watch all of our Curers transform their homes into spaces that really are more beautiful, organized and healthy. This is the core of what AT is all about, and it helps remind us of why we love working here. So thank you, Spring 2008 SF Cure class. We've learned a lot from you, and hope that you've gotten something out of participating in the Spring 2008 Cure too.

Mold can be a big problem in homes - not only is having moldy walls, ducts, or windows just kind of gross, it can also make you really sick. Getting rid of it can be problematic, however, as most mold killers themselves are toxic. Enter Concrobium Mold Control, a product that claims to both eliminate and prevent mold while being environmentally friendly. While they're not saying exactly what's in the apparent miracle spray, they do say what it doesn't contain, namely "no bleach, ammonia, alcohol or other harmful chemicals."

While these Vintage, Retro '60s, Mid-century dining chairs may be having some sort of identity (or at least naming) crisis, that's a whole lot of style for less than $45 a chair.

We're notoriously indecisive, so it was no surprise that when trying to decide on a color and pattern of FLOR tiles to use for a entry runner we ended up ordering literally boxes of samples. Luckily we have a fairly ingenious boyfriend who realized we could stretch our full sized tiles by using the samples in between them. At first we weren't sure we liked it, but the colorful look has really grown on us.

We admit that we really like the name of this product, but the form and function of the piece are also exceedingly charming. What would you put in A Container for One Thing?

Summer and warm weather requires a change of curtains in our house - away goes the heavy winter canvas and in comes the summer linen. Like the majority of Bay Area residents we don't have air conditioning, and we've discovered that keeping cool means thinking cool, and linen sheers always make a room feel cooler to us. One of our favorite curtain resources is West Elm - their sheer linen window panels in particular are reasonably priced and come in a wide range of lengths.

We think every home needs at least one gorgeous piece of wooden furniture. This Roll Top Desk would fill that role nicely.

Instructions are only so helpful - sometimes a visual aid is needed to get us through steps 3-6. Enter VideoJug, a UK-based website with how-to videos on practically everything. Of course, the area we're most interested in is the "DIY & Home" category, which includes videos like "How To Fit A Curtain Rail To A Brick Wall" and "How To Repair A Leaking Showerhead."

Like many people who live in urban neighborhoods we don't have an actual yard to call our own, so we make do with potted plants. These containers are not only colorful but are also eco-friendly, because they're made from, wait for it, rice husks.

Wow! We made it! Week eight is finally here. The start of the Cure seems like a distant memory at this point - who knew that eight weeks would both last so long and fly by so quickly, leaving all of the Curers with such amazingly improved homes. So this week is party week, and we hope that all of you who've made it through the Cure are having some sort of celebration in your newly Cured homes, whether it's a blowout or just a small dinner for some close friends. Everyone has put in a lot of hard work, and you definitely deserve to celebrate and show off your digs.

We suspect there are many areas in the home that this magnetic wall organizer would be useful, the most obvious being a great landing strip component. Some hooks for your keys (or scarves,) a cup for pens (or spare change,) space to rest your wallet and cell phone, and a handy magnetic surface to tack reminders to.

How is everyone sleeping? Better, we hope. We always notice feeling more rested after sleeping in a cleaned and de-cluttered bedroom. The same goes for sleeping on new sheets - anyone go out and replace theirs this week? We took the time to wash our quilts and comforters in hot-hot water, good for making them smell squeaky clean and for getting rid of built up dust. Speaking of dust - who took the plunge and bought an air filter? We said it last week, but we'll say it again, this really does make a big difference in your bedroom.