tommymiller50's Profile

I do all my big enlargements with El-Co color labs which does high quality prints up to 30x60 for cheap ($10 to $30) through their always-running poster special.

They're not quite as quick as some other services (they alternate paper on different days), but the price is unbeatable and the results are very high quality. They also do a nice job of packing and shipping so there is no damage.

http://www.elcocolor.com/poster_special.htm

To me, there are first the prereqs, outside of which I'd never even consider a place: location, price range, basic rooms/layout/ammenties you require. Until you can define this, you're silly to even be looking.

Beyond that, I was sold on my current place because it has great light (SE corner unit 9 floors up), it has historic features that can't be replicated by the piles of new construction in the area, it had great potential for someone who could see beyond the original state, and I could do everything I wanted in it without moving any walls.

A year later, I'm getting close to achieving that original vision. It's been a lot of hard work, but to me that's half the fun. My advice, however, for folks looking for a weekend project as much as a home would be to have a clear plan before you even move in for what you're going to do and what you're going to hire out. I could have saved a lot of time and headaches if I had arranged for more work to be done before I even moved in (got the floors refinished, but wish I had also had the whole place primed and painted white for a fresh palette).

I think Ikea's hand's on format actually allows you to get a pretty good idea of what has the durability needed to survive at home and what's going to fall apart. If you just shop the catalog, you miss it, but if you pay attention in the store to what still looks good and what has wobbly legs, slouchy cushins, scratched finishes, etc. you can usually have good luck.

I do, however agree that the lighting and all the little bits and pieces are the best! Grundtal wall hooks are one of my current favorites at $1 a piece. Great in the front hall and bathroom.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30061247

Yeah, get it to the classifieds. I'm happy to see FSBOs that are house tour worthy, but this place is just OK, not inspirational.

The physics of speakers aren't really all that complicated, and the reality of tiny speakers is that they're never going to sound that great. I'd look at systems with a minimum of a 5" woofer, especially if you're not going to have a sub.

Sony's basic bookshelf series does a nice job for an incredible price. A pair of SS-B1000 is about $50 and can be easily hung up on the wall if that's what you're going for. SS-B3000's are $75ish a pair and add quite a bit more bass (they have 8" woofers, but are still compact enough to fit on a bookshelf due to some clever design). The predecessor to this speaker took top ratings from consumer reports - outperforming much more expensive systems.

You can do this in your oven too!

peaceyall -

I think you're on the right track first focusing on the neutral color, and I'd get this up (and the brick exposed) before making any accent choices. Also, I'd definitely get that color all the way up to the ceiling (i.e. where it's currently white).

I've also struggled a bit in my (still in progress) loft. I decided to get my netural wall color and trim color up everywhere before making any accent decisions. I've gone with a pretty aggressive trim color (a dark grey accenting both the big cement beams in my place as well as the new baseboards I'm putting in) with white walls. At this point I'm guessing I actually won't choose any accent walls.

Remember that you're effectively adding an accent wall by exposing the brick. I'd encourage you to get your grey up eveywhere and brick exposed before worrying too much about accent colors. My guess is that you might be better off with consistent color thorughout, then just use the wall you're thinking about as an accent wall as space to hang some great art.

Good luck!

CB2 had a bedroom set up with a blue/teal wall and a lot of orange and green accents I thought worked really well. You can see it in the room views here...

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=422&f=4492

If you really like those pendants, I'm sure an electrician could wire them up for you without a track.

Don't know your overall aesthetic, but these pendants could be fun. With carbon filament bulbs, they'd really play up the warm tones...
http://www.sundancecatalog.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=12468&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=7&iSubCat=57&iProductID=12468

I'm currently experimenting with this in my loft - installing 6" base throughout, painted a dark charcoal grey. Planning to also paint the cement beams/pillars throughout the same color to accent the architectural interest of the space.

So far seems to be working pretty well, providing some nice contrast with the white walls and light wood floors.