Apartment Therapy Archive: Sep 2012

Have you ever driven by a run-down, abandoned house and thought what a shame it is that such a lovely home is going to waste? This is the story of how one couple purchased an abandoned home and, with a lot of help from generous friends and neighbors, gave it a completely new lease on life. The couple in question are the parents of our lovely and talented video director, Rebecca Blumhagen.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Since it is fall and wedding planning may be in the cards for some readers, I thought it’d be a good time to share some tips for putting your own personal touch on the wedding meal. • Wedding Meal Advice The Kitchn

If you’re looking for an orchard or scenic drive to experience this autumn, here are some national and regional directories to check out. • Orchards, Pumpkins, Drives… Apartment Therapy

Name: Rustam Babayev Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia Size: 335 square feet (31 sq. m) Years lived in: 4 years – owned. A colorful gem of small space living comes today by way of the northernmost largest city in Russia, Saint Petersburg. What may be equally surprising as the location and the cozy dimensions of the studio apartment is the enthusiastically vibrant and international midcentury elements which permeate throughout.

On a scale of 1-10, organizing cables and cords behind an entertainment center ranks about a .001 on my scale. But when it’s all done and finished, the results are often night and day, not only just improving the aesthetics in and around the home entertainment center, but also possibly making your home a little bit safer thanks to better organized power and wiring.

Earlier this week Regina showed us the classic Brno chair in various contemporary interiors. One of the most famous pieces attributed to Mies van der Rohe, the Brno chair was actually probably designed by Lilly Reich, and was heavily inspired by yet another designer. Check out the story of the Brno chair and the house it was designed for.In 1928, Mies met with Fritz and Grete Tugendhat, a Czech couple who wanted him to build them a house in Brno, Czechoslovakia.

Today Beatrix Potter’s very rare personal recipe book will go on sale in London. The 161-year-old book recipe book is full of family recipes, and thanks to an official release by the book’s handlers, we have the actual gingerbread recipe here! • Beatrix Potter’s Gingerbread The Kitchn

“Obsessed with home decor? You may have self-image problems,” warned a recent article claiming that women today feel stressed about home decor to the point that they have self-esteem issues. • Hobby or Unhealthy? Apartment Therapy

14 years after Harry Bertoia’s steel mesh furniture made its debut, came the Platner chair. Born of a generation embracing a more luxurious, sensual brand of modernism, the Platner chair gave new-school materials an old-school elegance. • The Platner Chair Apartment Therapy

Where do you stow your umbrella when not in use? Stuffed in the coat closet? Some other place that’s less than convenient? Silly, that’s why umbrella stands were invented! We looked around the web and rounded up our favorite umbrella holders — from simple vessels to more unique stands.• Lacquer Umbrella Stand from Jonathan Adler $295• Blomus Vido Umbrella Stand from AllModern $125.09• Prato Umbrella Stand from Container Store $24.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Honey can be quite the unwieldy ingredient. How do you store it? If you want something attractive, consider one of these sweet honey jars or pots. From jars designed to emulate a bee hive to simple ceramic pots, there are lovely choices for every style. • 10 Honey Jars and Pots

Tatami mats are a kind of rush flooring used in traditional Japanese homes. Made of woven rush grass around a rice straw core, they are gentle but firm underfoot, and also give off a lovely (I think) scent, especially on rainy or humid days. Increasingly rare in modern Japanese interiors, tatami deserves to be considered as a potential material in all homes. Let’s take a look at its rich history.

In 1948 Florence Knoll asked her friend, Finnish architect and furniture designer Eero Saarinen, to create a chair that felt like “a great big basket of pillows that I can curl up in”. Saarinen more than rose to the occasion — and the Womb Chair was born.I don’t have the space, or the cash, for a womb chair right now, but sometimes I go down the street to Sunset Settings and sit in their womb chairs for a while, until the salespeople start to give me dirty looks.

Name: Lindsay Nakashima and son Hugo Location: Hyde Park — Austin, TexasSize: 1400 square feetYears lived in: Owned, 10 years Beauty permeates every inch of the Austin home of Lindsay Nakashima, the grandniece of famed Mid-Century Modern furniture maker George Nakashima. His modern and warm wood furniture designs mix with Lindsay’s refreshingly simple and honest approach to design, to create a home that’s entirely welcoming.

Are you tired of the Apple-issue water droplets on your iPad’s background? Sick of searching for thoughtful, creative and beautiful artwork for your iPhone’s lock screen and finding only the same images of blooming flowers and Maxim centerfolds? Here are 11 sites you can dive into to find beautiful wallpapers for your iDevices.Poolga.comThis well-organized site offers up illustrated wallpapers for iPhone retina displays, the new iPhone 5, iPad and iPad retina.

“Obsessed with home decor? You may have self-image problems,” ran a recent headline in The Globe and Mail. The article heavily quotes our very own Apartment Therapy commenters and writer Sarah Dobbins, and claims that women today feel pressured and stressed about home decor to the point that they have self-esteem issues.

Are you thinking about making a big change? If you have big dreams, Apartment Therapy wants to partner with you to help make those dreams happen with our Renovation Diary Program. • Renovation Diary Apartment Therapy

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Smoothies are a fast, easy breakfast, and many of us are devoted to our morning shake. So we’ve rounded up our best ideas and tips covering everything from blenders to protein powder, plus inspiring recipes with fruit, greens, and even whole grains. • 20 Smoothie Tips & Recipes The Kitchn

Although it’s the tail end of the season for fishermen, scallops in both fashion and the home are still going strong. This simple pattern and/or detail makes things both classic and special. • Scallop Designs in the Home Apartment Therapy

Having a home office and guest room are luxuries many of us can hardly afford in smaller homes or apartmentes. It almost makes perfect sense for an infrequently used guest room to work double duty as a home office. But how do you mix the two rooms without overwhelming the space and making it a mess? Read our tips as well as share your own on how to peacefully merge the two.Don’t get too techy, it’s a home office after all.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) We go behind the scenes of the food blog Love & Lemons for a tour of the pristine cottage-modern kitchen where all their lovely food and photography are produced. • A Zesty, Radiant Kitchen The Kitchn

In last week’s post declaring the Wassily Chair a modern classic we looked at the chair in a variety of interiors. Now it’s time to look at where to buy one – whether it’s shelling out almost $2G for an authentic Wassily or choosing one of the budget-friendly reproductions.New Authentic Wassily Chairs — The authentic chair is produced by Knoll so it’s the same price ($1,924) at each of these stores.

Edison bulbs, aka filament bulbs, are those antique-looking light bulbs that you can look at directly without hurting your eyes. They are therefore often used bare, and they typically add a rustic or vintage accent to a room. Let’s find out how they are different from regular, modern incandescent bulbs, and see if we find any surprising facts about the Wizard of Menlo Park himself, Thomas Edison, and his role in the invention of electric light bulbs.

Being a design lover and a parent is tough, isn’t it? We crave beautiful things – clothes, toys, shoes, decor – for our kids, but the price tags can be steep. I’ve found the best way to keep my sweet design tooth satisfied is with flash sale websites. They feature all of our favorite brands – and many new brands you may have never heard of before – at steep discounts, usually 40 – 70% off retail prices.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Sometimes we don’t have time for a full cleanup and overhaul of our kitchen storage, but still, the smallest effort can make the largest difference. Here are six things to do tonight that will only take you 10 minutes. • A Tidy Pantry in 10 Minutes The Kitchn

You might not think of scrolled arms and contoured backs as features of modern design, but Thonet’s classic “cafe” chairs were light years ahead of their time. To make them Thonet pioneered the use of heat to bend wood into improbable shapes. •

My boyfriend and I recently decided to co-habitate. Merging our existing possessions wasn’t too painful, but buying and arranging furniture? War. How do you settle décor disputes? • Resolving Design Disputes Apartment Therapy

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) The right packaging will ensure that frozen foods retain their flavor, color, and texture, without developing freezer burn or absorbing other flavors and odors. The following containers are suitable for frozen foods: • Choosing the Right Freezer Containers The Kitchn

Name: Olivia Ellen (3)Location: Copenhagen, DenmarkRoom Size: 107 sq ft When your mother is a professional stylist you know you’re going to end up with an amazing room. Rikke Graff Juel designed this space for her daughter, Olivia Ellen, in much the same Scandinavian style as the rest of her home – white walls, plenty of vintage wood pieces combined with fresh modern colors and accessories.

Is there anything more ubiquitous than the IKEA LACK series? I remember it being amongst my first purchases coming out of college, thanks to its neutral-modern design and affordable price. It’s no surprise it remains popular to this day for the same reason. Here’s an example of someone taking a me-too LACK and converting it into a me-only TV stand… I searched and searched for a TV table I could live with, and finally came across this cool Jetson-esque one at Logue Studio.

The iconic Eames rocker is a well-loved addition to many nurseries that we have featured here. Most nursery rockers and gliders tend towards enormity, but this little workhorse is a stylish small space wonder that’s great for nursing, reading, or just hanging out.Designed in 1948, the Eames’ borrowed techniques for molding plastic from World War II research to create a plastic chair with a more organic, body-contoured form.

Though I’ve been doing this a long time, the power of paint to transform things still astonishes me. Take this lamp (or lamps, since it’s part of a pair) for instance. They’ve been moving from room to room as I’ve tried to work their weird green base into my home’s neutral color scheme. But it wasn’t working.

The Bertoia diamond chair, another offering from the line of wire mesh furniture Harry Bertoia created for Knoll, is the Bertoia side chair‘s loungey cousin. Its namesake diamond form and wire mesh construction make it one of the most recognizable of midcentury designs.The chair’s popularity isn’t hard to understand; it’s beautiful, comfortable, and works indoors and out, in pretty much any kind of space.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) There are so many recipes that can make a little extra to be squirreled away in the freezer for a later time. These little packages from the past are a huge gift to your future self when you are busy, stressed, and in need of a quick fix. • 15 Double

Setting up a first studio at home doesn’t have to be a daunting affair. With a few inexpensive solutions, you can photograph small objects with terrific results. Here’s what you need… • Photographing Objects Apartment Therapy

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) I’m pinching myself, but it’s true: I leave for Italy this morning on a short trip. Venice, to be precise. I’ve never been — have you? Have you visited there or other places in Italy, and if so, what was the best kitchen souvenir you brought back? • Italian Kitchen Souvenirs

If you live in an expensive city, are you asking yourself how long you can afford to stay? Do you love your city so much that you plan to just pay crazy-high rent forever and forget about buying a home? • Living in Expensive Cities Apartment Therapy

The wire chairs he designed for Knoll show Harry Bertoia at the top of his game — his love of sculpture and knowledge of metalworking and ergonomics came together to create a chair that is lovely from every angle (and even quite comfortable, if you’re willing to shell out a little extra for seat pads). The first versions of Bertoia’s wire chairs were made with the edges comprised of two thin wires, welded together on either side of the mesh seat.

Name: CaraLocation: West Hollywood, California Interior design is not my job, it’s my passion and it is in my blood. I grew up with a father who kick started and fueled my love for beautifully cool spaces… And now, well, he’s the proud Dad of a girl who likes to move every year so she can change-up her ” look”.As a Creative Director in an L.A.

Setting up a first studio at home doesn’t have to be a daunting affair. With a few inexpensive solutions, you can photograph small objects with terrific results. And you can take the principles of this contrived setting out with you into the world when shooting outside of your studio.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Constant opening of doors plus hot weather equals flies. There’s not much we can do to completely prevent them from entering the building, but it would be nice to repel them from the kitchen… • How To Repel Flies The Kitchn

Updating laminate counters without completely replacing them can be a big challenge. Which is why we were so impressed with this project which added a layer of concrete on top of the existing counter. • Laminate to Concrete Counter Apartment Therapy

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Meals are a shared experience in most cultures, so it is a classic time for loneliness to come up if you find yourself alone at meal times. Do you eat alone often? How do you deal with the times when a single place setting at the table feels lonely? • Eating

Writing for Apartment Therapy means that I’ve created quite a few inspiration/mood boards, and writing for Apartment Therapy Tech means that I’ve used tech to create many of these. While there are great options out there for creating these on your computer, what about when you want to make one that’s a bit more mobile? Check out these Android and iPad picks for creating inspiration boards on your tablet.

Updating old laminate countertops without having to completely replace them can be a big challenge. Faux finishes can often look, well… faux, and tackling a DIY project (like pouring your own concrete countertops) can be tricky and exhausting. That’s why I was so impressed with this project from interior designer Kara Paslay.Kara managed a realistic concrete look without the hassle and weight of fully-formed slabs.

My older sister got married this summer, and due to a credit with her photographer, I was told that I could choose one or two of the wedding photos as a print for myself. On hearing this, the question that came to mind (besides which of the 691 gorgeous images to go for) was: Is it okay to put these things up in my home?!The last time Apartment Therapy spoke about displaying personal photos, be it wedding or otherwise, there were a lot of opinions raised.

When Melody found this white painted dresser on her local Craigslist, she knew that it could be transformed by a little TLC. Despite the peeling paint and damaged top, the dresser had great lines and was solidly built, making it an excellent candidate for a makeover. Best of all, Melody had a spot and a purpose all picked out for this piece once the transformation was complete.Melody’s first step was stripping and sanding the top to see if she would be able to restain it vs. painting.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) How pretty are these hammered silver cabinets? Although it’s a small kitchen, the shimmery panels make the room feel very luxe. Would you ever go for this look? • Silver Cabinets The Kitchn