ChanteuseAR's Profile

My biggest regret, going with the in-house IKEA person for design. She (and IKEA's design software, which she used) completely screwed up the design and my upstairs rental apartment kitchen is a mess and unrentable.

She told me a pull-out base cabinet would fit in the design and it wouldn't so I have nowhere to put cutlery since none of their units with small drawers would fit in, there was supposed to be a cabinet above the window and instead of telling me they didn't make one that would fit, she just sent one that was too big.

The software doesn't take into account the 3/4" the cover panels add to the width of the cabinets and as a result the oven cabinet overshoots the kitchen wall by almost 2" and juts into the adjacent hallway.

I told her I wanted trim to fill in the 4" space between the ceiling and the tops of the wall cabinets and she sent 2" trim.

She didn't tell me that to have a cooktop so close to a tall cabinet I'd have to have the kind of cooktop that has a knob panel on the side and not the front, that panel serving as a buffer between the cabinet and the burners. I now can't use two burners on my cooktop because they're too close to the foil finish of the oven cabinet. She also didn't tell me that when all was said and done I would have LESS counter space than the 2' x 3' I originally had when in the design it looked like I'd at least have the same amount..

I'm saving up now to have it redone and I'm never using IKEA for a kitchen again (I have two more to remodel).

I think I'd like a frosted one better.

I have about 40 pieces of Kobenstyle in Turquoise, White and Apple Green (I'm currently seeking help for this obsession). It all started with a few unused turquoise pieces my mother gave me.

I won't cook in them though, they're used only as serving pieces. I also have what everyone seems to call paella pans. I have the original box and they're not paella pans...in fact, they're not even meant to be cooked in beyond warming food in the oven. They're buffet servers.

My bar consists of various kinds of glass lab flasks for decanters (having worked for a lab I was able to get them pretty cheap). I always make sure to have an interesting coloured liqueur in a few just to brighten the bar up.

I agree with the buffet idea if you're having a lot of people over. Another thing is stations. Have the bar separate from the buffet, place bowls of nibbles on coffee and side tables or tableclothed folding snack tables so those who are waiting to get to the buffet might be able to get a bit of something to take the edge off hunger while they're waiting and the throngs at the bar won't interfere with those queued up for food and vice versa. I also have large spigoted acrylic jars (Pottery Barn Summer Catalog) for beverages...I usually keep one full of ice water and the other full of a pre-made cocktail for fast drink dispensing.

For the buffet, to increase space, I place platters ad bowls at different levels using pedestal cake plates and staking shelf organizers that you can get from the Container Store or Bed Bath and Beyond: Like these: http://www.organize.com/lgstackshelf.html . They can double the capacity of your buffet and many of them are strong enough to hold up a fully loaded 6 quart slow cooker.

I illuminate the bathroom with a few scented votive candles on top of the medicine cabinet so people don't have to turn lights on and off and any odors are quickly eliminated...it's a bathroom, it's going to happen.

I designate a wastebasket lined with a clear trash bag near the bar for emptied bottles and cans for easy recycling and for used plates and flatware, I do what a lot of caterers and restaurants do, set up a folding table for guests to set them on and then check it periodically to empty it.

If you need extra table space, they have these wonderful camping tables that can seat six people but roll up to store in an included storage bag in your closet or under your bed. Rolled up the large version of the table occupies about 8" in circumference and about 43" long (depending on which you get).

If you don't have deep window sills (like I don't) narrow folding conference tables can be purchased or rented and placed under windows.

For coats, instead of guests digging through the pile on my bed, I put a mural on my entryway wall and put knob style coat hooks on the muraled wall that incorporated into the design. It looks great without coats on it and the guests always know where their coats are when they're loaded up.

And finally, floor cushions for the weary who didn't grab a chair or a spot on the sofa in time. They stack up in a corner when not in use.

In answer to the people who asked if the people kept the rooms as they were when Trading Spaces left, I do recall seeing a few of the designers' creations on eBay a few years back. Some I didn't recognize but more of them I did...and didn't blame them for selling them either.

By the by clementine, some industrial adhesive or silicone (like you use to adhere coutertops to cabinets in kitchens) should do the trick. You can get both at any home improvement store.

The Helmers that are preassembled will support a melamine or wood tabletop easily, but I wouldn't risk it with a stone, marble or stone composite top on either the preassembled or flat pack ones.

My mother always had gold flatware for special occasion dinners and I guess I couldn't imagine having my own without some. Hers is quite like the bamboo pattern shown above and mine is more the modern Mono pattern (mine is from Cambridge Silversmiths and my entire service for 8 still cost less than half what a single place setting of the Mono costs).

If you're in the New York area, Home & Fine Arts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn has a few styles of larger Venetian Mirrors starting at $230.00.
They advertise on craigslist.

I did something similar with my great grandmother's Singer base. Fortunately there are granite and marble dealers in my neighborhood and I was able to get a marble remnant piece fairly inexpensively. Now my modern machine, sits on my great-grandmother's antique sewing machine base in my sewing room.