secretlyironic's Profile

I usually just use paper grocery bags laid down on the floor. Or a piece of a cardboard box. I guess that's less pretty though.

The Moooi "Smoke" series of chairs (and their AMAZING chandelier) -- http://www.moooi.com/producten/30-smoke-dining-chair.html

I'd recommend a handful of wall-mount brackets from Rakks.com (either the desk-brackets, which support 18-20" desks, or narrower shelf brackets), and then whatever you want on top-- check your local reclaimed-lumber vendor, or ask a kitchen place what they've got in the way of lightweight countertops (bamboo!)

You could get away with short (1-2 foot) C standards mounted every 18-32 inches. Or get taller brackets and add shelves above the desk as well.

Let the wood be the color/accent, and do other stuff in your neutral colors... white, grey, etc. That'll draw the attention to the wood, which is the real star of the show anyway.

You could use a darker color as well, say a darker shade of grey on the bottom half of a wall, then your natural chair-rail or whatever, then the lighter shade or white up top.

Or try an accent color that picks up a tone from the wood; I've got a lot of very warm oak and teak in one room and it works fine with my orange walls (Mythic's "Baby Carrot").

How big a bottle of peroxide? It comes in many sizes, from about 12-oz to about 2-gallon. Big difference.

I spotted what must have been an earlier set of sheets from Dwell Studio for Target at my local Target awhile ago. Nice looks, but you can tell how they hit their price point: Somewhat scratchier and lower-count than their luxe versions. Not a bad thing, but something to be aware of if you're sheet-shoppin'.

Agreed that the jars are too small for real fish. Generally I'd rather have the smallest-profile bookends: In my house, shelf-space is too precious to waste on decorative bookends. I've got 73 linear feet of fiction. None of it is decorative bookends. All of it is books.

My issue with wire shelving is that it's a bitch to clean. Anyone got tips on that?

My solution is generally to have fewer linens.

Buying a tabletop from a place specializing in reclaimed lumber should be relatively simple. There seems to be one in every region. Google "reclaimed lumber [my city]" and you'll find it. One of those plus the base from an existing/damaged/scrap table, or a trip to a furniture in parts store (boconcept, door store, even ikea) and you've got your ingredients.

You can save money and get extra character by buying the "Rustic" grade and getting it unfinished. It's what I did last week when ordering countertops (don't have them yet, sadly).

Of course if you get it unfinished, you'll need to sand it (Tip I've heard but not tried yet: save the sawdust, mix it with wood filler, and jam it into any holes in the wood for a better color match).

Then finish: A good finish coat will keep you from having rings and make maintenance a breeze.

Note: Shellac will give you water rings every time. Don't use that on a table.

Pure tung oil is beloved by serious wood craft folks for its water resistance, natural-ness, and so forth. But it takes a long time to dry, and because you need to use more than a few coats, you're stuck waiting around for what seems like forever.

If you have less patience/space than them, consider various relatives of pure tung oil (Waterlox Tung Oil Finish or Minwax Tung Oil Finish are not, I am told, actually made of tung oil, but some substitute that dries faster and is easier to work with. If you want real tung oil, make sure it says 100% Pure Tung Oil or "Pure Tung Oil Mixed With Mineral Spirits. Ask your local reputable retailer. YMMV.)

Or, you know, polyurethane works fine too. Just be sure you have plenty of ventilation- the fumes are nasty.

Hope this helps!