jxk's Profile

FWIW: I was once told by a professional upholsterer that he refused to work on anything built after the 1960's, because the wood used was most likely from the south, which was less dense than wood from the north. To him, it was not worth the extra work (and presumably, extra cost to his customer) of having to glue the tacks in place so they would not loosen over time.

If it makes anyone feel better, a copy of the fourth one hung in my grandfather's bedroom for years. Definitely a print glued to a piece of pressed cardboard -- it wouldn't take a expert to figure out its "provenance." (Thanks for the fond memory, though!)

It's embarrassing that this is what our civilization churns out. Really? There are a lot of things that should be left to the nine-year-old imagination and Roald Dahl...

Zip line

I love your note collection. It reminds me of when I was studying in France years ago when the language school's copy machine got torched. (It was oddly, pretty much outside....) Someone put a note on top of the charred and melted wreckage: "En panne" (that is, "Out of order").

Hi Paula,

I would recommend setting the couch at an angle. I would start by pointing the far back corner of the couch toward the middle of the window and then aim the near back corner toward your dining room table. From there I would adjust the angle so that, (1) you can comfortably walk between the couch and the staircase, and (2) the near back corner doesn't crowd the sliding door too much.

I think you can gain a few inches of floor space between the TV and the couch without visually crowding the sliding door. Angling the couch also opens up the pathway to the door in the far corner of the TV room. (That door "feels" crowded right now, even if the door clears the couch when opened....) It also keeps the couch from pressing up against the curtains, making it look cramped.

Then I would start thinking about a coffeetable and get rid of the end table. And maybe add a lamp something like this:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/meryl-floor-lamp/s518096

I do love your table, but I think the space needs something larger and rectangular. Like a weatherbeaten wooden farm table. If it were possible, I would move the Knappa lamp over the dining room table (and maybe add a second one if a rectangular table were added).

Using your couch pillows color as an inspiration, I would put a (mainly) red rug (same size) on my wish list and get some very fun, very colorful pop art up on the TV wall.

If you wanted to use the same hardware over the window, I would put up a light blocking window treatment to block the glare of the sun on the TV and to make the window appear larger. (As it stands, you can tell that the window is much smaller than the area that the curtains cover when the sun shines through.)

I would take larger pieces of wall art and place them directly across from each doorway where you can stand back and get a good look at them. I imagine people coming down the hallway for the first time would not even register the artwork because the space is too narrow to see it in perspective. When they would turn to leave a room, it would be an unexpected surprise. If you have a sense of humor and the budget for it, you might want to tie the artwork to the purpose of the room. Some rooms you might want to be more careful about than others.

That single light, in my opinion, is psychologically annoying -- moving in and out of the shadows it creates. (I've lived with enough of them to know.) I think you might get more out of the hall if you played up its darkness and created pools of light, used first and foremost to illuminate the artwork. And then perhaps adding visually interesting, but not too bright sconces, pendants or candles between the art. It would create a visual interest and draw people through as they move down the hall for the first time.

No furniture or stuff that sticks too far off the wall, though. You'll curse it everytime you walk around it.

Color? Not-to-dark gray with white trim. I love me some gray walls.