Offtza's Profile

Just over the summer I did my Mom's bedroom and had to remove a few layers of old, disgusting wall paper. It was glued directly on concrete walls. I didn't have any fancy steamers, I just used water bottle with spray and filled it up with as hot water as I could, but used also cooled water whenever I needed. I just wetted small areas of walls and moved through layers, wetting as needed till the concrete. Some parts were so well glued it was scrabbing it millimeter by millimeter (can you notice I am from Europe? ;-)). Very annoying and I am quite proud of myself I was able to finish it!

I dont' know how people can organize by color, to me it's kind of disrespectful for the books, like bying per meter leather bound b/c they look nice...

I had to move overseas recently and that was a great way to choose only the books I find really important. I am an educator and most of my books are non-fiction related to my field, but also books I am interested in, with some fiction added (only the best, the ones I knew would be difficult to get in original language here).
I wish I could have a built in.. for now I have four wide billy's which almost exactly fit the width of the home office's wall. One day I might try and DIY them into the built-in look. At the moment all of the shelves are covered, but I am not planning on getting any new books now, so I hope it can last for a while.

Really warm and sweet. And I love the wood instead of stone under feet! Beautiful.

absolutely beautiful! What a nice, cozy and colorful nest. I could move in any moment!

This room has a style! It's not my style, but that doesn't matter, it's obvious someone put some thought and love into it. Great job!

Finally some colors! even though I can't stand orange, and wouldn't be able to live in a space in that color, I love what you did in your place. I love the vibrancy, liveliness of the room. Great job!

I always like when people try to do something different, to go with a gut feeling and personal idea. I have very little money but I have managed to do a lot in my place. Any object can spark an idea. To decorate the walls in my place, in addition to paint, I used branches, puzzle pieces, joint compound and coffee grounds, fabric and tons of masking tape... Some mind find it tacky, "cheap" (hey, it WAS cheap) or crazy. I call it mine.

kudos for great idea, colorful space.
for some people a place is good only if it's expensive and has obvious big names on furniture.

I am a messy painter, so even with an experience, I still use painter's tape.
I also sand the whole wall before painting. It evens out everything, makes the wall catching paint better, and makes sure the wall is really clean.
I do freeze brushes/rollers, it makes it much easier.
As a matter of fact, I am going right now to paint hallway's wall, to cover up messed up mural project... :)

I think there were more interesting DIY creations in the contest. How do you choose which to highlight?

I agree with almost all that FJ!! and jmilb have said. I never can understand the attack on anything IKEA around here. The call that there is only pro-IKEA??? geez, whenever someone has IKEA there are voices right away pointing it out on house calls. all said with patronizing comments. Almost always I sense elitists undertones in it.

I LOVE IKEA. I started my apt with a suitcase. Nothing else. Without IKEA I would have slept on the floor. I have a modest teacher's salary and no family who could pass to me some unneeded pieces of furniture (and I dont' even talk about antiques!).
I have no car, so craigslist was out. I have TWO thrift stores, I found once something I could use. I don't like mid-century, I like simple, clean lines. Ikea is perfect for that. I do mix it with other things, but I don't mind that it's obvious some pieces are from them... I am happy to pay and reward their ideas. They do high-quality things and they do affordable cheaper stuff. They use reusable materials, recycling a lot. They are creative and are not afraid of new ideas and of color.

I am often inspired just going through their catalog. The things are made for apartments, and for many styles.
I hack many of the things I have from them, but not to hide it's ikea, but simply to add my own style.