apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Got an all-white bedroom that's crying out for a lick of color? Dress up your bed with colorful sheets. Here's a list of good sources. Comment away, or add to the list if you know of others!

• Amenity
• Area Bedding
• The Company Store
• Designers Guild
• Dwell
• Garnet Hill

We stumbled on this cheerful quilt-of-a-carpet while reading Hatch.

It was created by a St Louis ceramicist who calls herself "idahostudios" on flickr and has an amazing sense of color. And because she did it on the cheap we thought it would be a great idea for SF readers struggling with the epic long hallways so common in our Victorian flats. So we asked her how she made it and she said...

Wall writing doesn't have to be cheesy.

You can go the Barbara Kruger route and make a statement -- political, humorous, or sentimental. Or you can revel in the beauty of typography, and use text almost as a pattern, as Alexander Girard did with his famous alphabet wallpaper pattern, or as Garnet Hill did with their (less famous) travel journal bedding.

Here are some photos of wall writing culled from around the web. These are here for inspiration, but you can make many of these ideas your own with vinyl letters, words, and text elements from Wallwords or Wonderful Graffiti.

(Above: letters float to the sky like smoke in an unidentified locale. Image: Pagoto.)

Walking down Fillmore Street a couple of years ago, we stumbled on a shop window that was showcasing several spare and beautiful pieces of handcrafted furniture. With classic mid-century proportions they felt oddly familiar, but they were also refreshingly new.

They turned out to be the work of David Pierce of OHIO Design. Pierce is a Bay Area furniture maker with a streamlined style that evokes the organic modernism and fine craftsmanship of George Nakashima.

We love the fact that these guys do nothing but reupholster mid-century furniture. With the slogan "We can do anything to your mid-century chair," RetroRedo.com is an eBay or craigslist buyer's dream resource.

Here's how we'd work it: spot a great chair on eBay or craigslist. Buy it for a rock bottom price and ship it straight to RetroRedo.com for a makeover. Select a fabric from one of the terrific, contemporary and atomic-age upholstery lines they stock (these include Maharam and Angela Adams), and leave the rest to this Oklahoma-based specialty workshop. In 7 days you get your newly-upholstered chair via mail.

That's not of course how RetroRedo.com expects it to go -- they expect you to send it yourself -- but we like the idea of never laying eyes on the chair in its ugly phase. It would feel like receiving a brand-new, custom-made chair instead of something musty and dusty out of a stranger's basement.

I'm fascinated by other peoples' clutter management strategies. It's handy that I've lived in apartment buildings for most of my life. I've had ample opportunity to see other people's clutter -- and to pick up on the occasional great decluttering technique.

For instance: the lobby/mailroom of my old building was graced with a recycling bin. It was a neighbor's idea, and this industrious woman had not only convinced the Super to accept its presence there but had persuaded him to empty the bin for us on a regular basis. Because of this wonderful, well-placed bin, junk mail never even passed the threshold of my apartment.

We recently found this chair on the street. It obviously needs some TLC. I am wondering if it's wiser to re-upholster ourselves or to take it to a shop? We re-upholstered our couch ourselves about a year ago and that turned out not bad but it wasn't the greatest work either, so I'm a bit hesitant.

Hello AT!

Thanks in advance!
MN

Hi AT:SF,

Thanks,
Pauline

Seems to be a good business in NYC, but I am having a heck of a time finding anything out here. (I saw this post from a couple years back in NY.)

Our little neighborhood, even though it is sandwiched on three sides by some fairly daunting hills, scores an amazing 98 points out of a possible 100 on Walk Score, a cool little gizmo that calculates the walkability of a 'hood by mapping your address's proximity to businesses and services of all kinds.

Hi AT,

I found this beautiful carved piece of wood at a furniture store I've driven by many times. I have always wanted one, and the very nice guy who works there made me an offer too good to pass up.

The piece is carved horizontally so I can't lean it against the wall as in the picture. I would like to hang it on the wall but I have no idea how to do so.

AROUND THE HOUSE: Susan's endorsable finds include BoundlessGallery.com and Perlick's super narrow under-the-counter fridges. Sally's resource of the week is Ricochet Consignment, above, for buying or unloading vintage furniture.

WHEN THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE IS 150 YEARS OLD: An 1850s Bayview house get the full historic makeover.

HOT STUFF: Laura Thomas visits Tazi Designs on Linden Lane and picks up the Moorish decorating bug.

COUNTER CULTURE: Nicole Spiridakis has some great pointers for urbanites who long for their own gardens, including some tips on hydroponic gardens and small, shallow "salad growing tables" that can be wheeled in and out of the light.

At this gallery, green is primary: Nancy Davis Kho visits eco-design showcase Green City Gallery in Berkeley, and learns how to bring sustainable design home. It's only funded through August, so visit soon.

Many people consider our region to be one of the world's great escapes. So we'll be blogging Escapes Month a little differently here at AT:SF. Yes, you'll see a few fabulous second homes and vacation paradises here, but don't be surprised if you also see a fair bit of inspiration that's closer to home. Not everyone has the Marin Headlands in their backyard.

What are your summer escapes, your homes away from home? Do you have a retreat right here in the City, or do you have to leave these stomping grounds to get any relief? Do you visit the home you grew up in and take a nostalgia bath? Or are you creating something new for yourself, at Burning Man or elsewhere? And what types of mementos do you seek when you travel, and how do you integrate them into your home when you return? We'd love to post your escape-related ideas and pictures this month; just e-mail us here.

Also this month, we're collecting suggestions on great movers. Check out the conversation so far and please jump in if you have a heave-ho team to recommend.

Last but not least: if you've got something to share or a question to pose on anything home design-related, you can always e-mail us. We're open 24/7.

• Branch
  • Set Sale for Summer: up to 50% off on warm-weather specials

• DWR SF
  • Sample Sale: up to 75% off on samples
  • August 11 - 12
  • Potrero Studio Warehouse

I have recently bought 3 of these ottomans (2 are the same size and 1 is a bit smaller) thinking I would paint and reupholster them. They are so ghastly as-is but they were cheap. I love the bold, mid-century graphic look and I have these 2 fabrics picked out [pics of fabric and living room after the jump].