Can't wait to get started!

Finally a use for all those interiors and DIY art files I've been collecting for 5 years! I think the hardest part will be not biting off more then I can chew since I'm starting this while moving. Can't wait to dive in though >; )

Welcome, SF Cure participants!

The Spring Cure is such a great time to renew and get your home ready for the lovely summer months. I'm so excited to take part in this with all of you.

Along the way I'll be keeping track of this discussion board and blogging about your progress. Feel free to bring your questions, issues, and achievements here, and please weigh in to support your fellow Curers!

Just follow the link above to submit photos, questions, etc, at any time. Can't wait to see what everybody's up to!

- Susie

i'm in! i'm excited to start, and hopefully finish this time!

Perfect timing! I am in the process of buying a condo, and am looking forward to posting some of my adventures in this forum! good luck to everyone!

This couldn't have come at a better time! I can't wait to get started! I have tried to arrange and re-arrange my new furniture but it just doesn't seem to work! Everything feels so cluttered! I feel a bit overwhelmed. This may be my answer! I am looking forward to this!

Hi San Franciscans, I'm going to join this group because I used to live in San Francisco. I'm currently in Tokyo on assignment and living in a rental apartment that's very nice, but I'm not allowed to make any changes. I'm hoping to tame some of the clutter and grub of three kids and one big dog and bring a little more balance to our living space.

There is also a non-regional, unofficial flickr group that is posting about the spring cure here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/homecure
All spring cure 2009 folks are welcome to join us.

Hope there are some Oakland/Berkeley folks here--especially re: sharing referrals. My big project is the unfinished, filled to the rafters and prone to flooding (built below the water table) basement, which I want to turn into a painting studio/laundry room. Daunting, but so worth doing if it means I no longer have to drape everything in the living room in old sheets in order to work on a painting. So exciting. Lots of work, but still...I'm grateful for the push. Good luck, everyone!

Even though I'm closer to Vancouver than San Fran, I feel a loyalty to the San Fran group from the 2008 Fall Cure so I'm sticking to it!

Exciting! This cure has great timing. We're STILL battling with paint from the fall cure so hopefully the next 8 weeks will get our butts in gear.

Hey guys! As week one begins, I just wanted to let you know that we'd love for you to submit directly to AT via the submission form, but the SF Cure Flickr pool is still going too, if you want to use Flickr to share your photos with other participants.

Find the Apartment Therapy Cure SF pool here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/448946@N25/

- Susie

I didn't manage to finish the Fall cure. Last fall I was going for the whole house. This time I'm going to work on one room (the living room) which is more manageable for me. If I get anything done to another room, its just a bonus. Maybe I'll include the hallway...

So does anyone else have a vision yet?

I've uploaded pictures of my living room to the flick set.

Heather! These are your pictures?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81215304@N00/2945036107/in/pool-homecure

I love your Moroccan tea tables.

Darn, I'm still having technical problems on the AT site, so I'll probably post more to the non-regional home cure flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/homecure

Wig: yes, those are mine.

I got the tea tables at Urban Outfitters for a screamin' deal - I think like $15 each. They're less functional than they could be because the bottom of the tray is curved, not flat. I've been thinking about having plastic cut in rounds to make a flat surface, plus display space underneath.

This is perfect timing for me. I'm moving from MD to CA (San Jose) and in the process have some new challenges. The biggest is that my living room/dining room must now include my tv (which was previously in it's own media room). But on the plus side, I'm going to have a larger space for my craft studio. Those are the two rooms I'm going to focus on. Plus, I'm renting and trying to find ways of bring in color without painting. I look forward to being inspired by everyone else's projects!

ok joined the SF cure flickr group. I know I'm biting off too much but sometimes you have to try.

Im trying to decide if this is the right time to emabark on this project. my wifde and I are expecting in September and have done quite a bit of clearing out but there is still much to do.
I know this started this week but Im gonna do it....Balancing school, work, pregnant wife and the cure will be a challenge but Im ready for it ....I hope.

Hi - I'm near Lake Tahoe.

We've been hit hard by the economy up here and I,m on the look out good design tips for adults sharing a house. Many of us are all of sudden house mates in our 40's and 50's, and looking for ways to make it work in fun, functional and beautiful ways.

Using the Cure for the office/guest /sewing room.

Hey guys! Congratulations on signing up... that's the first brave step. I know it can feel a little daunting, but part of why the Cure is so great is that you can structure it to your own specific needs, budget, and capabilities. Of course the goal is to complete it, but even just getting to this stage where you're diagnosing the problems is sooo important. So, great job!

Can't wait to see all of your pics... send 'em on!

- Susie
AT:SF

Hi everyone, me again! How are the curing projects coming this weekend? My husband and I are contemplating our little garage, trying to clean it out and maximize storage space. It's hard to motivate to take care of a part of the house we don't really use so much! But just knowing it's there in its disorganized state is kind of a drain, I think. So I'm excited to get going on week 2 and start clearing out the clutter!

What's everybody else up to?

The non-regional Flickr is buzzing, so all of us from AT are going to be checking in there a lot when looking for photos for our posts:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/homecure

And of course you can still submit through this page, or on the SF pool:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/448946@N25/

- Susie

By the way, Heather, I love your tea tables too -- and adding an insert to give them a flat surface seems like great solution.

- Susie

This weekend I'm trying to figure out a floor plan for my kitchen and looking at possible options for adding more counter space that can double as eating space. My kitchen is a very long, narrow room with patio doors at one end, and it's a challenge to figure out how to keep things flowing, especially since these are the patio doors we use the most frequently. So I'm trying to refrain from going shopping immediately and actually sit down and plan first.

Good plan, Miriam! Especially in a kitchen, where good flow is so important AND you want to maximize storage space, it's always a good idea to invest some time and energy into the floor plan before jumping into any big changes.

I'll be excited to see what you come up with!

- Susie

This week Im finishing my entertainment center. Our living room was in need of some help and this weekend I added some wall sconces and it makes such a huge difference. 1 project down and Im still in need of curing.
Ill add some pics tonight.

Have completed the Interview. So, what is this meant to tell me and help me with?

Hi Chris,

So, the interview is supposed to help you determine the necessary scope and substance of the project that you're about to undertake. By diagnosing where the problem areas in your home are, and deciding how you'd like it to look different at the end of the cure, you will have some valuable information to use as you move forward and decide on your specific tasks.

For example, if you answer in the interview that you want friends to describe your home as "warm," "comfortable," and "fun," maybe you need to concentrate on creating social spaces with good flow, bringing in good quality seating options, etc. If you want them to describe it as "well-designed" or "sleek," maybe you need to concentrate on getting rid of clutter and making your home as functional as possible (good storage solutions, clever multi-tasking items, etc).

The "favorites" part of the interview is intended simply to guide you in creating your vision. You can think about these influences (your favorite artists etc) when you're looking through magazines and online for inspiration to go in your style tray. (So, okay, if Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors -- maybe I want to look for sofas that are kind of tailored and elegant, like he is. Not so literal as that, perhaps, but it's just an example.)

Hope this helps! Basically chapter one and the interview are laying the groundwork for chapter two, when the real nitty-gritty work begins.

Good luck! I hope you keep checking in here!

- Susie

While working on the plan of my room, I came across this web based software. I'd say it's in Beta but does a pretty good job for planning your room and has furniture, etc to give you an idea of what the finished room will look like.

http://dragonfly.autodesk.com/#index=home

Hope you find it useful.

Chris

I was going to do the deep treatment since we all just moved in but coordinating 3 other adults in attacking the box monster in the garage is like herding kittens. So It'll be a 3 room cure: bed, bath, and attached workspace.

I've made a floor plan in visio and done the interviews. Did I see a SF regional cure flickr pool or do we link to the main one? Not sure where to post my progress.

The hardest part has been trying to determine my sweetie's style. My 8th week goal is "smart, ordered, clean" and his is "comfortable, spacious, calming". My style is easy to pinpoint "classic casual with a vintage twist" but his influences are all over the place. Should I write it out someplace here and hope someone can make sense of it?

Hi Renngrrl,

There is an SF Flickr pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/448946@N25/

The more active group seems to be this non-regional pool:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/homecure

Definitely post pics to those groups if you like! However, for our Cure posts we're pulling from the photos that come in through our submission form. Just head to this page to submit pics of your progress:

http://cure.apartmenttherapy.com/2009/spring/main/form

Merging styles with a partner can definitely be hard. It does seem like your goals for your space will mesh nicely, though... a "clean, ordered" space will likely feel more "comfortable, spacious, and charming."

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

- Susie

Hi, Folks-

All kinds of fun projects, though the big one: the basement from hell turned painting studio, is still in progress. So far, I've deep cleaned the kitchen and bath, made a kitchen table and last night, a rug (total cost for 6' square dining room rug = $8.54 for carpet samples plus 30-yard roll of duck tape). Spent hours ferrying things up and down stairs and creating a huge pile for Goodwill. Yeah!

QUERY: Does anyone know someone who could reglaze (fix the panes) in a very old, rickety front door? We have a multi-panel custom-sized front door that would cost at least $3,000 to replace--just not doable while I'm unemployed. A few of the panes have lost their glazing and slipped--unsightly, dangerous, and cold in winter! If the reglazer is handy at other home repairs, I could come up with a few other things to make it worth the trip to North Oakland. I do most repairs myself, but this is beyond my comfort zone, and the handyman I sometimes work with doesn't do reglazing.

Any suggestions?

Thanks! Loving this Cure already. Will send pix once I unearth the camera cable to upload photos.

Lili

Hi Everyone,

Help! I began the cure a few months ago and came to a dead halt when I got to the week where you're supposed to clear your outbox. My outbox has taken over my entire 2nd bedroom of my 2 bedroom place! I'm completely stuck. I either have to give everything away or have a garage sale. Both require that I carry stuff out .... so I'm at a stand still. At first I thought the outbox was a brilliant idea, which it is, but now I'm a tad overwhelmed by it because I'm getting rid of so much. So I'll try to join in with this cure and stay on track.

My kitchen is so much more functional - no more old food. No more dishes I never use. I cook so much more often and enjoy it more. I've cleaned out closets, clothes and added all to my OUTBOX that ate New York.

Maybe next weekend I'll hold a garage sale!

Anne
Berkeley

Hi Lili,

I don't know of anyone who does reglazing, but I will ask around!

Anne,

That's wonderful that you're letting go of so much stuff! Remember, part of the point of the outbox is to allow you to change your mind about objects you may want to keep after all... so if you look at the things in your outbox and feel overwhelmed, you can definitely let yourself choose a few things to hang onto if you want.

Actually getting rid of the stuff is a chore, too, that's for sure. But holding a garage sale can be fun -- enlist some friends, feed them pizza, and I bet you'll find a lot of takers for your cast-offs (especially in this economy). If you decide to give things away instead, the Salvation Army will do a pickup if you have enough large items. When we moved, I also used a "recycle my junk" service because we had a lot of very old electronics and things like that... Sunset Scavenger runs one of these.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

- Susie

Our entire downstairs living room and the two car garage is being used as an outbox because we haven't finished moving in yet. If I had to do this in a small space, I think I'd go crazy. You folks must be made of stronger stuff then me.

The one thing we roommates have agreed on is that all the old outbox stuff will be listed on ebay, craigslist, etc. Small ticket items are going to WEAVE - our women's shelter. We started listing the items we know we don't want to keep already so we can have cash flow during the project.

I had jump ahead last week. The items I needed for my landing strip are buried in the garage still and to get to them I need my workshop furniture moved upstairs first which meanting paint ahead of schedule. And to make things worse, I've fallen in love with Knack Studios. Now I want to paint everything.

The good news is that after painting swatch after swatch I finally found "the color" and it was so not what I thought I wanted. The color is Valspar's Woodlawn Colonial Gray. You can see the old harvest gold wall color in my flickr file. Just changing the color of the room makes me want to keep going.

I'm hoping to be able to take some pictures this weekend and post them.

@Susie: Thanks for thinking about my window glazing question. It's such an old school skill, and not many seem to have it. I can't afford to replace the door (though it needs replacing), so am looking for a way to make it sound and draft-proof.

@Anne, et al: if you're interested in having an East Bay group yard sale once the weather gets consistently sunny, I have a decent sized yard and would be happy to host (in North Oakland just off of Piedmont Ave). Maybe we could start a new Cure tradition?!

Susie: Is there any way for folks to connect with other local curees where it's safe to leave contact info? I'm not so comfortable posting it on-line, but if the group garage sale is a go, we'll need to coordinate.

Thanks!

Hit a roadblock that while good in the long term is a pain currently. I moved a rug and found that the carpet was really badly stained, clearly I'd forgotten why I put the rug there. So, I raided the piggy bank and have decided to replace the carpet. This is going to delay my overall cure.

Hi Everyone,

Anne here, the one with the HUGE outbox. Thanks Susie for your encouragement. It makes a big difference with staying motivated. I will have a garage sale once the sun is shining on a regular basis.

@LiliZ - While I don't think that I'd haul my stuff over to Oakland, it would be fun to check out your yard sale. Or you could join mine ... when the sun shines. I live 1 1/2 blocks from Out of the Closet, in Berkeley, so it's easy to get rid of the leftovers.

I've become addicted to craigslist - looking at sofas in case something pops up before C & B and R & B have sales. I was 2nd in line for a used Twilight Sofa last weekend. Sigh. Would have been a great find. Waiting for the sales for styles like the Crate & Barrel Steele or Room & Board Townsend or Klein.

I have to say that the Cure has changed my habits, for the better. I have been making my bed every single day for years now, but I did not always do my dishes before bed and now I do. I also used my DR table for piles of mail, which I don't anymore. So while I haven't really taken big action with change or refinement of style, I feel much better in my place. Once I deal w/ the outbox, I'll feel even better.

~Anne

Hi All!

@Renngrrl - Sometimes painting does provide a much-needed jumpstart, doesn't it? Don't worry about jumping ahead of the Cure... it's all really just guidelines intended to help you in a straightforward way, so if there's a different way that works better for you, go for it!

@LiliZ - What a fantastic idea about a group garage sale! I love it. If you want, interested parties can e-mail me at susie@apartmenttherapy.com, and I can put you guys in touch with each other.

@SF Chris - What a bummer about your carpet! Is the stain in a place where you can put something over it (like a piece of furniture)? Also, do you know what the flooring looks like underneath? I don't know if you rent or own, but sometimes pulling up carpet reveals amazing wood floors...

@Anne - So glad you are feeling good about how the Cure is going so far! Those long-term changes are always so rewarding. By the way, SALE ALERT! Got an e-mail today from CB2 in Berkeley - they are having a sidewalk sample sale this weekend, floor samples for cheap. Maybe your sofa will be there??

Have fun, everyone! And congrats on making it halfway.

- Susie

Me again, just to be more specific:

CB2 Berkeley Sample Sale, Saturday 4/11
1730 Fourth Street

I might just check it out myself!

- Susie

Hi everyone, I have been distracted from my kitchen/family room project by some craziness at work and a scout campout, but finally this weekend I have some time without anything competing for my time. It's been great to catch up on everyone's struggle with their outboxes. I have a few things that need to be taken care of in that department.

The weather cooperated here in Tokyo and we had a beautiful Saturday, so I moved my patio furniture out onto the patio and put away the dog kennel that was taking up a huge amount of space. Suddenly the "family room" part of my kitchen seems huge! Tomorrow I'm going to clean like the devil -- I invested in a steam cleaner that I hope will refresh my white floors.

I'm not sure what to call this space, so I think I'll just continue calling it the family room for now. I ordered some new furniture for my newly empty room today, and it's going to be delivered on Thursday! My living room is very comfy with warm colors, so I'm doing something different with the family room and going with a very streamlined Japanese minimalist look from MUJI to go with all my white walls, cabinetry, curtains, and floors.

Photos are posted here.

Thanks for the invite, Anne. If I'm able to sell the bigger stuff on CL, I might be able to bring the rest over to you, otherwise, you could always join us to hang out and maybe, sell a few smaller items either before or after your own sale.

Fantastic suggestion, Susie, to coordinate through you for a group yard sale. Since Anne's said she'd prefer not to haul her stuff from Berkeley and I'm not able to move all my stuff to her in my tiny car, I'll just put the call out to folks and offer to host a yard sale at my home in a month or two. Here 'tis:

Hey, Folks:

AT Spring Cure Yard Sale Extravaganza! Come sell your wares in our sunny garden in a tried and true, lucrative and most excellent location for a yard sale (just off of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland around the corner from Mama's Royal Cafe). Peet's coffee, iced herbal tea, homemade scones and possibly even serenades provided by your artist/writer & musician hosts. Adoration by sweet old Labrador Retriever included.

Time/Date in May TBD according to mutual convenience. Please RSVP to Susie (our fearless AT moderator) at: susie@apartmenttherapy.com.

Hope you'll consider joining us!

Onward!

Lili

@Lili - Thanks - great idea. My outbox is blocking a closet I have to go through still, so even if I get rid of stuff before your yard sale, I'm sure I'll have more from within the closet. Ridiculous how easy it is to accumulate.

CB2 sidewalk sale was a bust. About 5 chairs out there and that was it, but it's always fun to wander around 4th Street and go into DWR and the Gardener and drool a bit over things I'd LOVE ... Twilight Sofa or Sliding Sofa, great wooden coat rack, so much fantastic stuff.

Here's the realization I've come to in this process. I've always thought I liked colorful places, because I like bold color, but that's not what I'm drawn to when I put together my style wall. I'm drawn to rooms that are neutral in the color of the walls & furniture, but that are punctuated by color here and there. So, my light green walls in the LR have got to go, as does my burnt orange sofa. My folk art from Mexico, Africa & Denmark will stay.

MORE progress: I priced some over-the-stove microwaves to replace one of the things on my fix-it list. Also had a plumber come in and fix a leak that had been bugging me for .... months? years?

~Anne

Hi everybody! Just wanted to say I hope you're all enjoying this amazing weekend... I love Maxwell's guide to a Sunday at home in this week's chapter, and today is a perfectly sunny day for going out on foot to shop, cooking at home with the windows open, and so on. Have fun!

- Susie

Hi All

New flooring is being installed the week of April 27th, so happy. Have been using the time to really look at all of my stuff and have been hitting up Freecycle to find new owners for it. Mixed success, some of it is going to have to go in the trash but overall a good response.

Am taking the week of the 27th off work an am hoping to do some catch up with the time I've missed.

Chris

My husband confessed to me last night that he was overwhelmed with all the changes. Next year I'll get him involved from the get-go. He's not AT material and I did not mention that AT was my inspiration for my spring cleaning/life upheaval. Poor guy. When I brought home paint samples last night he had a fit. "When is it going to end" he asked throwing up his hands. "2 weeks and 6 days" I told him. Just two more weeks! He has no idea what I'm talking about.

He told me he was getting anxious with all the changes and tired of seeing 'piles of stuff everywhere'.

To my credit its only the library that looks undone and contains piles of stuff. The living room, kitchen and dining room are spotless.

Anyone else having problems getting their Significant Others in the spirit? What did you do to get them to join in the fun, versus question your sanity?

He did end the conversation with the phrase "I really like what you've done to the place.. I really do." So I suppose it will all be worth it in the end.

Chris, great to hear that you've been making progress! Freecycle is a fantastic resource I often forget about.

Renee, I think your point about getting your partner involved from the beginning is a good one. It's hard to make the cure really work if everyone who lives in your home is not on board. That being said, it's great that he's pleased with what you've done so far! Even though we're in the home stretch now, you might consider asking him to get involved directly in what you have left to do, especially since this week is the bedroom, a space the two of you share. Is there some specific task in these last two weeks that might appeal to him? Maybe he would have fun planning next week's party with you?

Good luck!

- Susie

Renee, that's very funny about your SO being frustrated with the changes. I tend to get that way too when things are in progress and I don't have a good road map to the end. I told my kids about this spring cure, but they were all, "Whatever, it's one of mom's nutty internet things."

I ran into a week's delay on my project due to some difficulties with Japanese translation, but I'm back on track and ready to start thinking about art in my family room. Right now I have on one wall a grouping of artwork made by my kids, and on the other wall some photos of them. It's a mishmash, really. I'm thinking of putting up some photographs of California ranching life (a group of three) on one wall, but I'll have to think about what would go with that on the other side. In fact, maybe that would be a good theme to soften up the very minimalist lines of the MUJI furniture.

I'm also thinking about this space really being the nerve center of our family's business - cooking, laundry, bills, garbage (yes, managing your garbage, or gomi, is very big here in Japan), homework, etc.

How is everyone else doing? Are you tackling art yet?

Oooh, and I was just thinking about and promise to post links to photos of some very interesting little design things in my Japanese apartment that I haven't seen elsewhere, things that make life easy and efficient.

My new floors are finally in and I'm very happy about them. Am now putting everything that I'm keeping back in place. The only issue with the floors is that they make some of my furniture look in need of replacement. Ah well.

SF Chris, who did you use for your flooring installation or did you do it yourself?

Hi Wig3000

I bought the flooring from simplefloors and decided to use their installation service. Overall, I was very pleased with the installation team. Because of the awkward shape of my place we need to come up with an approach that made everything look coherent. They install was quick and efficient.

I also bought all the bamboo flooring for my house in Northern California -- their service was fantastic. I had a local carpenter install them for me and I love them. In fact, I'm really, really looking forward to coming home to California for a lovely six weeks this summer.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo I finished my kitchen/family room re-do. I'm very happy with the results, and instead of being somewhere we avoid, I'm finding that my kids come in and keep me company while I cook or take on baking projects themselves. I put up a few "after photos" in my Tokyo apartment Flickr set, starting here. My housekeeper also loves the new setup, and she feels like this is her space when she's working.

I also posted some photos of 10 things I love about my apartment in Tokyo, including some things I haven't seen in the U.S. You can see them starting here.

Hey all, I wanted to invite you over to a new flickr group called -home-: www.flickr.com/groups/-home-

Consider it a place to hang out and talk about home projects and design obsessions in between official Apartment Therapy cures.

I hope you'll join us!