James Cobalt's Profile

Creative, but not for me, and I think the stained middle section is not for ANYBODY. It's the dirty diaper of stair design. :-/

1. Dispelling IKEA kitchen myths: http://www.ikeafans.com/kitchen-planning-guide/ikea-kitchen-quality.html#gsc.tab=0

2. A couple years ago, Consumer Reports (or Consumer Digest? can't remember which publication; anyone have the link?) did a comparison of semi-custom kitchen cabinetry and found IKEA cabinets were some of the best

3. Strong guarantees and return policies for kitchen cabinetry and fittings: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/campaigns/kitchen_quality_guarantee.html
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/img/customer_service/AKURUM_warranty.pdf

4. Appliances are just rebranded Whirlpool. Same interior, different casings. The built-in appliances are custom fitted for their cabinets; if going the built-in route, you'll need to go with their selection.

5. Cabinet door and drawer hardware is by Blum- a very high end brand, but it's rebranded with the IKEA name. Best door & drawer hardware you can get.

6. If you're handy, you've got tools, and a relatively newer house, you can do it yourself. Otherwise, you'll need to hire a contractor.

Personally, the clips are one of my most favorite purchases from IKEA ever. Yes, a little bit of a pain for the big bags, but they keep a *much* tighter seal than the regular big clips for a lot of bag types. I don't mind it. I do wish they had one size larger though for the flour bags etc

DON'T LISTEN TO THE NAYSAYERS! YOU CAN DO IT!

I had a great potted garden at my last apartment. I converted cheap plastic waste bins from IKEA into planters. I drilled holes in the bottom, put rocks in, then moss, then soil, and attached trellises to them. Pretty much everything did great. I had green beans, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, eggplant, lettuce, and some small watermelons. ALL FROM MY BALCONY IN COLD NEW HAMPSHIRE. I didn't even get direct sunlight- we were at an angle to the sun, had tall trees nearby, and had a balcony above us. Also, this was my first time gardening- zero experience.

I started growing things a bit early in the season- both by buying from a greenhouse and starting seeds indoors, and using lots of fertilizer. If there was risk of frost, I'd bring everything inside (a long process- we're talking 20 pots) and put them under some plant lights. I extended the season by a month by keeping them indoors under the plant light and next to a humidifier. Kind of funny having trellises of fresh tomatoes in your living room. For watering I got a hose adapter for the kitchen faucet and a coiled garden hose that was *just* long enough to get to the balcony.

I'm not bothering with soil this time though- now it's all hydroponics. I've had a lot of early success. It's just as expensive as going the soil route (in some ways more so) but I'm getting bigger stuff faster.

Either way, it's a lot cheaper to buy stuff from the grocery store (and Freakonomics suggests it's better for the environment too... go figure) but I can never get through produce fast enough before it spoils. Going off the vine results in less wasted food in the end and fresh produce whenever I want it.

FYI, as at time of posting the article doesn't mention it, but the Fable games and the Mass Effect games are also on the PC. Halo 1 and 2 are also available for Windows. You can get the first Jet Set Radio game on PC, but not the sequel mentioned in the article.

Also in the bargain bin and worth one's time- L.A. Noir (the architecture alone is worth the $5 price of admission), Alan Wake, Dead Space 1 + 2, Portal 1 + 2, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Trine 1 + 2, The Witcher 2, Sonic Generations, The Walking Dead, and the older Assassin's Creed games. While it's only 6 months old, it's also only $1 - $3 (subject to platform), so also pick up Super Hexagon just to blow your mind.

Wow, some nasty and ignorant responses on this thread. Yikes. I can think of lots of valid reasons to have this. Lots of people have disabilities and this would be awesome for them. Lots of people want their homes to look lived in when they're not there. Lots of people like waking up to natural sunlight, but if you live in the city you can't simply leave your drapes open when you go to bed (street lights, street noise, etc).

Not sure who makes the best or has the best value, but I'd too like to know. My place is surrounded by many bright lights and is on a busy street (even at 3am), so something like this would be awesome for me. I've noticed my very-necessary blackout curtains don't make it easy to wake up in the AM...

How fast will it get me there? That's all I care about. Sometimes driving is much faster, sometimes the bus/train combo is. I always check on Google Maps based on current traffic before heading out.

Being in the majority who can't afford the iconic originals in most instances, I've also dabbled in replicas. I'm hoping in 10 years I'll be far enough in my career I'll be able to afford a few more choice pieces, but for now I'm not losing any sleep that 50+ year old designs are being copied by others for those who can't afford them. Especially considering the ridiculousness of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk862BbjWx4

I have some ghost chairs by a couple different manufacturers. None of them are as good as the originals. The ones from www.munizplastics.com are just sturdy enough but are not 100% blemish free, nor are they without seams. The ones from www.stackchairdepot.com are very sturdy (more so than the original from Kartell) and seamless but have ugly rough edges on the bottom lip of the seat-back where the polycarbonate was injected into the mold. Kartell has an annual sale that makes the original ghost chairs much more reasonable. I'd recommend waiting for the sale if you can and can afford them; I'd like to eventually replace my munizplastics.com chairs with the Kartell ones.

There are a lot of Tulip table knockoffs out there- the ugliest probably being the DOCKSTA table at IKEA. The Wilco table looks great and is very reasonable; I got it from ViveDecor but I've seen it at a lot of places. I believe it's made out of the same materials as the table that inspired it; many of the tulip tables have fiberglass bases- this one is aluminum. I've only had it for 6 months or so but it's holding up ok. It's a super shiny surface so you need placemats or you risk scratching the finish... I wouldn't use a pen to write on paper on it without something under it.

Off the top of my head, I think it's inMod that makes a ball chair that is better than the original- bigger, more plush, and with integrated sound system.

I've heard mixed things about Eames lounge chair replicas. They never seem to be as comfortable as the original (not as plush) and the assembly isn't seamless. The edges are sometimes rough (not properly sanded) and it's not unusual for them to get damaged during shipping. Also the leather is often inferior and wears quickly. However, some people seem thrilled with them and are ok with the imperfections considering it's less than 1/4th the price of a licensed model.

I do have a couple original pieces, but by and large it's simply impossible for people like me to pay homage to our favorite designers without supplementing with replicas. For those of you for whom this isn't an issue (you have a mortgage, take an exotic vacation every year, and can live off savings for a few months...) GREAT! I'm honestly happy for you and the license holders. But don't be haters! Nobody's losing money, so the argument about residuals to legacy children/estates (who had nothing to do with the original creative process anyway) simply don't hold up in this circumstance. Please enjoy your superior originals, take pity on us design-loving peasants, and make a generous monetary donation to my bank account ^_^

</rant> to be more specific, you'll only know if it's worthwhile if you actually try it :-)

Agreed. Too short for an indoor end table, but could be a good ottoman or even just an art piece. Outdoor furniture tends to be a lot shorter.