I have pretty strong feelings about buying original furniture too. I compare it to buying art. Its like hanging a good quality print of an Andy Warhol on your wall. It does nothing to detract from the original painting which you will not be able to buy in a million years. A lot of copied furniture is very well made and often still pretty expensive. Some unauthorised modern pieces are even manufactured in Europe, to pretty exacting standards. Shure, knowing that you have a Noguchi table with a signature on it, is wonderful, but living with the same design at a fraction of the price still gives as much pleasure.

I love the icons of the last century and my home is starting to look like a moma exhibition. I love curating this collection, paying tribute to the modern masters. Some of what I have is not original, but they were the best quality copies I could afford.

Furthermore, most of the so-called classics were designed to be mass consumed at prices most people can afford. Some of the Eames' best work was for "low cost" competitions. There is something very wrong about paying 20 times more for an almost identical item.

My home cure is not going according to plan at all. Mostly because work decided to become ridiculously busy. I'm commenting on this now (1:00a) because I'm killing time while waiting for some work stuff to finish (renders... computers are never fast enough). It seems I just can't catch a break. For the past 2 weeks, I've been working until at least 10p, which left me about an hour each night to "cure." Which is fine for the little cleaning and de-cluttering tasks, but it's these bigger projects that feel like they'll never get done. And my weekends have been consumed with either more work or prior engagements (scheduling things way far in advance is not always a good thing). And this coming weekend is completely shot since I'll be out of town on vacation, where I should be relaxing but I know I'll just be stressing about all of the stuff at home I "could" be doing if I weren't on vacation.

I've never had everyday life be quite so busy that it adversely affects the curing process. And I must admit, right now I could really go for having absolutely no life at all. If only all of this inspiration and motivation to cure could magically give me more hours in a day. :)

We've been doing the cure pretty faithfully, and the place is neater and more organized, but I can't post any "after" pictures - no one but me would be able to tell what we changed! Its a little frustrating b/c I was hoping for bigger results. I think next time we'll do a one-room treatment so that we can take on bigger projects and see more results.

I work in health care and there is IP associated with every product and drug we take. But the nature of medicine is such that governments reward research and hard work developing drugs with specific years of patent exclusivity.

With furniture, why not the same argument? Nothing has changed about, say an Eames lounger, since it was designed. It's not and shouldn't be illegal to make copies.

But price is and continues to remain an indicator of quality for many. To each her own when it comes to buying originals or reproductions.

sparkle, I can totally relate! I'm not quite as busy as you, but I'm often kicking myself for having made plans that will now keep me from getting as much Curing done as I would like!! Last weekend I managed to spend some time with a friend and tie in some Cure shopping and this week a friend is taking me to Goodwill to empty my outbox (I don't have a car, so it's Zipcar or friends if I want to get this stuff done!) and I'll buy her dinner after. At least that's tying in productivity and fun, right?!

I'm definitely a weekend Curer though, and have been trying to keep one day of each weekend commitment free so I can spend it working on the Cure, but it's tough! This weekend a friend from Australia is in town. Haven't seen her in a year, won't see her again for at least another, so want to spend as much time as possible with her.

Meredith I have a lot of those "no one but me would know" things, too, but they make me so happy every time I see them! I'm deep curing, but throwing in a few larger projects in each room as I go through them so there are certainly some more noticeable things happening as well, but often it's the ones only I realize that make me the happiest!

I too am finding it hard to make time to Cure. Today might be the day to start moving things around a bit. My cure mostly involves my work/computer space, and as I need to do my taxes ASAP I would be well-served to arrange my desk so it's more usable. I've also found a home for my old DVD player, which makes me happy. Now to put the old TV on the curb...

Baby steps!

Having a new house, I kind of "Cured" as I went along, so our place is in pretty good shape.

I did want to add to the support for quality reproductions of classic furniture. Copyright for most creative material is limited to 50 years after the death of the creator, with extensions available if applied for. I personally think one iteration is long enough, and that designs that are still sought after past that time period should be freely available for replication.

Collecting the Real Thing is a wonderful thing, for those who value and want to care for the authentic originals. No quarrel with me about that. But I just want "the look", so my reproduction Barcelona Chair (with ottoman, $600) suits me just fine. I'm not trying to convince anybody I have the Real Thing. I just like the style of the chair. My R&B Jake chairs (reproductions of Series 7) also work for me. I like that the furniture is new and not in need of repair or restoration.

I was getting along swimmingly until the land strip. I am still trying to figure out how to best suit our needs. the first thing that needs to happen is to get my two big planters out on the porch and out of the landing area so the space gets freed up a bit. The problem is that it's suppose to snow again on Thursday and I've managed to keep those plants alive all winter and I don't want to lose them on our last April snow! So I've been pushing back getting this area truly organized.

So a week behind and just struggling to keep the "bones" in shape with the little ones destroying after me as I go! But it is ALL so much cleaner and less cluttered so I think I'm making progress.

I really, really love Gridpaper's stool - any sourcing thoughts?

Also, regarding our narrowminded reader who dissed on you for your Eames musings, Maxwell, he/she/it obviously doesn't understand the point of AT - education, decoration within a budget, and creating peace at home. In other words, let them go be pissy in a corner... the rest of us are listening.

Gridpaper's stool is from Urban Outfitters. Good going, everyone!

@sparkle--sending you a boost of energy. Just your setting an intention to participate is admirable. Breaking things down into very small tasks helps. You'd be amazed how much you can get done in five very focused minutes (especially if you don't berate yourself for not doing more).

I've been lucky enough to have a wonderful house guest since last week. When he heard about the Cure, he offered to help, and has kept me company while I cull through cabinets and shuttle stuff to Goodwill. He even installed the water filter, hung shelves and gardened. Plus, he's a singer songwriter, and when my ancient CD player died on Thursday, my friend provided musical accompaniment. So, if you know any talented musicians, invite 'em over to serenade you. Worked for me ;-).

@Meredith: Consider keeping a journal (complete with lists where you can check tasks off as they're finished). I did this because I was forgetting what was still left to do. It feels awesome to see a row of checked boxes (admittedly, I'm a giant geek, but still...) And brava! to you for doing the work just for yourself, regardless of what others may or may not notice.

Sparkle and others in Sparkle's shoes -- I am having the same problem, working all week and all weekend, too. No time to really get into it.

I have had some success by doing one little thing each evening, sometimes just one drawer. It's slow going, but half the kitchen is done.

saving the world, one drawer at a time.

Week one was great! Weeks two and three were pretty much spent due to major allergies. At least I kept up with my reading and found some inspiring photos.
Hope to post "before" (and a couple "after") photos on Flikr soon!

My cure is going slowly. I have the floor laid in the entry and hall. I'm actually doing the one-room cure now on a craft room, painting woodwork at the moment, before I lay the floor. I'm pretty tired, because I'm redoing the entire house, and working during the week, as others of you are. I finished a one-room cure on a guest room/office in February, then started this project. But I see changes in myself at the same time I'm changing my home - I feel like I've dumped pounds of useless debris off my back. Sometimes I just go sit in the finished guest room, enjoying the feel and smell and colors of it. It motivates me to keep going.

Have a question - after you've worked on decluttering and cleaning a room or a space, do you feel the empty space when you open the door? I thought I was crazy at first - but I feel an open space now, almost like a whoosh.

Ashley,

Have you considered moving the shelf-and-things closer to the door? It seems like you're asking for a door pile by forcing yourself to cross the room to put things away, especially since the coats are right there.

I know that if it were me, I'd hang my coat and then want to dump my stuff on the floor under it.

yeah, i thought about it, but the lamp is plugged into the outlet controlled by the switch next to the door, so that's convenient. And really, as there's no furniture in there yet, it's all temporary. Once I get a sofa and other pieces in there, there will be a better layout, but for now, it's just a big empty room.

I haven't been as fruitful for this cure as I'd like to be. I am moving in with my fiance and he's put the kibosh on a lot of things I feel we need to do. He honestly isn't bothered with being surrounded by packing material and using cardboard boxes in lieu of, oh say, a dresser. It drives me nuts a lot, but I try to take deep breaths and tell myself that I'll eventually get all my "curing" done and he's totally worth it.

I love the distinction between carbohydrate and protein furniture. I don't think one really must spend big $$ to get protein. I bought my favorite set of six vintage Thonet chairs for 300$ (plus fabric for reupholsery), and I hope these chairs will serve me for a long time yet. Same goes for my Lane Acclaim walnut table, which I bought at an estate sale for 120$. It's really not a lot of money for furniture that has served for 50 years and is still beautiful and solid.

I have a different problem though - inability to buy carb furniture. This, combined with zero budget, results in a home that is very... austere and not entirely comfortable (I need an armchair and a dresser at the very least) . I look at my home and wonder whether I am a "cold" person. I always thought of myself a warm person.

As for the cure, I've cleaned and organized as much as possible (and my home was already rather clean and relatively organized), but I am not sure what to do next without a budget. Maybe I should have waited till Fall or even Spring '10 :(

Ashley, is the pictured room your living room? I ask because if it is, we lived in an apartment with the same front layout. My husband moved in there with a roommate the year before we married, and she had the couch with its back to the door, about 4 feet into the room. There was a kidney-shaped table behind the couch, across from the piece of wall between the door and the window. She had done a project on the table where you break pretty ceramic plates and then use the pieces as tiles to cover the table-top. She kept a small lamp, a dish for keys, and an upright mail-sorter on the table and it worked really well. Just wanted to toss that out as an idea for placement for you.

Oh boy, projects never seem to be done. Every time I accomplish something Junior demolishes something else. I'm tired! Nevertheless, I love the direction I'm taking and figure just moving at a slow plod will put me way ahead of where I was 8 weeks ago when all is said and done. A mop rack hung here, a hook placed there. I LOVE my under sink storage and the bins in my pantry have helped soooo much: We know what we have, where it is and what to grocery shop for.

firebird - maybe it's time to make your shopping list, including lots of details of what you are looking for and some price sourcing. That way you know what the bottom line is, what's a priority and what can wait, and what's a steal if you happen to see it.

Yello-cape-cod- thanks for that idea. I was toying with the idea of having the seating area like that (when i scrounge up the $ to buy another sofa that is!), especially if I can splurge and get 2 sofas. : ) For now, it's empty room with little table.

Where can I order those CD holders from?