*spanky*'s Profile

The after is definitely an improvement. In looking a the before, it's not just the OSB that bothers me and the lack of relation of the pod shape to anything else in the room, but that George Nelson fabric doesn't go with the OSB at all. They do nothing to enhance each other. (Also, if you're going to use $$$ fabric, at least line up the pattern!)

The other thing I'm wondering is who sleeps on the pull-out bed? Is that the "nook" for the kid, or just a guest bed? Or is it a sofa--but then why the bed pillows?

OK, and one more thing--birch paneling can be very nice but it's not so great when it has those big dark areas, or when the book-matched grain is wildly different from one panel to the next.

It's a nice kitchen but maybe it's not their taste. It's not my taste and if it were my house and I had the money, I'd be renovating it too.

Make sure your table base is very even and flat on top. I think the slate might crack if it isn't evenly supported.

In my immediate family there have been at least four IKEA kitchens (we move a lot) and I love them.

What I like best, and which I think only one other person here has mentioned---is that they have frameless fronts. This means that the doors are the only thing forming the front of the cabinet and you have full access to entire interior. On a framed front, the frame blocks about 1/2" on the sides and top. This isn't such a pain on wide cabinets but on narrow ones that tend to be used for small things, it's annoying.

But on wider framed front cabinets, you have a 1.5" wide post up the center front. This is what bugs me the most. You can't necessarily arrange your dishes the most efficient way possible inside because often you end up with a stack of something directly behind a post so that you have to reach around the post to get stuff out, or worse---move other stuff to get at that pile of things. I HATE that. I know, it's a minor thing, but when you have moved that pile of stuff 500 times in a year, it gets old.

There's always about 1/8" of front frame raised along the bottom edge so you can't slide heavier stuff in and out.

Also, drawers on framed fronts are significantly narrower because they have to fit into the framed opening.

The last time I shopped for cabinets in the U.S., almost all were framed fronts, including the inexpensive stock cabinets from the big box stores that others have mentioned here.

And one other thing, to the person who said that shelves sagged badly in IKEA cabinets over time, so solid wood is better---go to any lumber area of a big box store, or any lumberyard, and look at the solid wood boards. If you sight down them lengthwise, many of them will be warped or twisted and that's just from lying stacked in a pile. Wood can sag just as easily as MDF or particle board. (And for the record, I had 36" wide cabinets with no center support for the shelves. I had them loaded with very heavy dishes for six years and there was no sagging. I kept worrying that they'd sag at least a little bit, but they didn't.)

The open risers don't bother me too much (though I think they are somewhat dangerous). But the lack of handrails and the open side(s) are too much. #3 is ridiculously dangerous.

Forget kids, old people, and klutzes---how do you lug a laundry basket up and down these things without sweating bullets?

Sorry, I didn't check back on this thread until today. I've heard good things about BK locally but I think also on the Design Addict forum (designaddict.com).

If you're near them, I'm sure you could go look at some of their work in the shop. Good luck!

I don't think it's the art around the TV so much as it's what's going on under the TV. The table (bench?) is too lightweight and not long enough. It also looks very cluttered, and the green vase on the right is on an extension of the top which makes it look like it's about to tip the whole thing over.

I'd go with a sideboard type thing (buffet or credenza, whatever you wanna call it) with closed front where I could stash all that stuff on the top. Then maybe hang bigger, bolder art around the TV. The TV itself is very big and bold---a large solid black mass---and it overpowers all the little lightweight stuff around it. You need large, solid things to balance it in this composition.

OK, couple of things.

1. It IS possible to cut decent mats yourself. It is. You need good equipment and some practice, but it can be done. It might never be as perfect as the pros' work, but you can get pretty good at it.

2. If you have a mat cutter system---not just the knife thing but also the straightedge and gauge---you can frame a lot of things that you probably think aren't worth paying a pro to do. This is worth it just for the FUN! It's creative, it's fun, and you end up with lots of nice things to hang on your wall that aren't from Bed, Bath & Beyond's "wall art" department.

I did this years ago with an Alto EZ Mat Cutter system that I got used. Retail price is $120 or so. They are easy to use and I have had very few screwups, believe it or not. I've cut over a hundred mats at this point. I buy acid-free matboard from the craft shops, often scrap pieces that they cut from the inside of big mats. I frame small drawings and watercolors by friends and family, greeting cards, MANY photos, posters, pretty calendar pages---whatever I like, because it's CHEAP AND FUN.

I've bought used frames, frames on sale at craft stores, frames at IKEA, frames wherever I find them. It helps that I prefer simple frames, especially narrow black ones. it's not that hard to find an affordable ready-made frame to fit a given piece of art and then just do your custom mat.

It's do-able, people.

If you're just using GF flour once in awhile, try Pamela's flour mix (it's a brand that is widely available). It makes the BEST pancakes! I haven't used it for other stuff but imagine it would work for a good range of recipes.

It's easier than buying all the components and mixing them yourself but would probably be pricey if you do a lot of baking.

This was probably painted and papered for some little girl's room by her mom who couldn't afford to buy something new and pretty. She did her best with an old dresser that was probably scuffed and scratched and not at all what a little girl would want.

That's one way that old furniture gets painted and I bet everyone here can understand that.

I love the chairs. They look like Tapiovaara but maybe they're just "inspired by". Love their delicate lines against the heavy masonry walls and floors. The light is very beautiful, too.