rascoagogo's Profile

I snapped these up at Anthropologie for Christmas gifts and managed to keep one of the black ones for myself. It's pretty fantastic.

My bathroom is just dandy, so I'll be working more on the living room this week. This weekend, I got most of the hard work done on refinishing a couple of tables. I'd like to get walls painted this weekend if possible.

I have a question for you guys. I got a new white iron 40's bed that's nice and modern on Craigslist last weekend. Now there's too much white going on in my bedroom. It's a rental, so I don't want to do any really colorful painting. I'm thinking of hanging the KVARTAL curtain track system (from Ikea) on the ceiling behind the bed. That way I can have a swath of intense color where I need it. They also have some pretty transparent patterned panels that would make up for not being able to hang art there. Has anyone used the system or have some dire warning about it?

I feel behind, but I don't think I actually am yet. Likely because I've found/done things not for the week at hand while sorting out my big challenge--the living room.

Last weekend, I found a darling modern, white, iron 40's bed on Craigslist for only $40 and did the minor repairs needed. Then I U-Hauled it home, took my old bed to my parents' house along with the furniture I refinished this weekend. I hope to finish the refinishing this week since my arm gave out after two days of scraping and sanding!

I finally have a plan and color scheme down for rooms. My roommate is on-board and helping me out now, which is really nice. Most importantly, I've come to accept what can't be changed in a rental, and have found good solutions for what I can change. I'll put up pics in my Chicago group later this week when I finish up my refinished tables.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40417709@N00/sets/72157601974945891/

Those shelves are glorious! So clever to use exposed framing as built-ins.

I'm in Austin, doing the Deep Treatment. I thought having a larger, nicer apartment with a better floorplan would fix the problem of things not feeling cohesive or well-arranged, but it didn't. I have a minor in ID and am totally embarrassed that I'm fumbling with my own stuff when I have such and easy time coming up with design solutions for friends.

Part of that is that I'm 25 and have a fair bit of hand-me-down furniture. They're really solid, high-quality pieces but aren't the right choice for the space. I'm very much looking forward to having some input on better ways to arrange the furniture in the main room. Will post pictures tonight!

I've been kicking around the idea of doing a Master's in interiors for a couple of years, and am not into the commercial side of it myself. Do a lot of self-analysis and get all the brochures from programs. I was surprised how different their focuses and approaches are. Parsons, Pratt, SCAD and the Boston Architectural Center are my short list.

If you haven't looked at Boston yet, you might want to. They have a 5yr Master's where you work part-time to fulfill the practice requirements for sitting for the licensing exam. It's less expensive and you get some of the expense offset by the apprenticeship thing. Plus you get to cut your teeth in a nurturing, teaching environment. My cousin Rob has friends that go there and LOVE it.

Thanks for pointing out this series! Some of these are stunning (this one is my favorite). I love that they use one closet as a pantry and the other for storing cookware and had it wired for the microwave and toaster to keep visual clutter to a minimum. An excellent idea.

I second the leather. Another thing I prefer with a patina is glass (not cut glass). Jars and vases and household objects are so much better a little bit dulled. Same thing goes for pewter, brass and some silver.

This made me think about how so many of the products that aren't especially friendly (solid wood, leather) are the things that can stay around forever and be exceptionally useful and beautiful, while polymers and many alternative materials have a set lifespan.

Even if you're handy enough at sewing to make a dress or pillows, there's an excellent chance you can't do justice to the clean lines of contemporary furniture. There's no room for mistakes there.

Heavy upholstery fabrics are really different to work with than normal ones, and home equipment isn't truly up to the task. Also, making your own piping and getting it in there all nice and straight and even will take your soul and leave you a hollow shell of a person. If you're quite handy, I'd suggest doing a small test pillow first in the fabric you'd use with the piping and the gussets and all.

That said, upholstery isn't as expensive as you might think, especially since the wood and supportive parts will be new. The upholsterer can get you good pricing on the fabrics they carry as well (mine in Austin does).

I use mine for what Mrs. Meyer's can't get out (which isn't much). Mostly for the moving into a new apartment and want to make sure it's *really* clean. The eraser took up dirt that hands and knees brush scouring couldn't get out of linoleum--it was a totally different color. It's okay used gingerly on things painted with high-gloss enamel (like kitchen walls), but I'd test first.

My cleaning progression is natural methods to chemicals to this. I'm not sure that this is a worse thing than going through an entire bottle of something like super-strength Tilex when a minute with the eraser will get the job done. I'll be sure to clean up well after myself and keep these where the dog can't get them.