ciddyguy's Profile

My Mom for years used her sterling silver flatware and her good china for major meals such as Thanksgiving.

The china went in the dishwasher no problem, but sterling silver NEVER should go in the dishwasher, the harsh soaps used in many dishwashers can damage the silver, especially if it's silver plate.

And washing silver flatware doesn't take much time and it's dried and put away that night or in the morning if it's put in a clean tray for overnight.

And good flatware with wooden handles should never go in the dishwasher either as the very hot water will damage the finish and dry out the wood, causing it to crack.

But yeah, use the dishwasher as much as possible and at my sister's many of us help clear away the tables and get as much picked up and washed as we can so there isn't so much left for the next morning. I think by the time Mom and I leave, the dishwasher's been run at least twice.

I like this idea for some things in a kitchen, especially a funky one where counter space is limited to begin with.

That said, some have asked where does one find restaurant tables for cheap? If you google restaurant work tables, you'll find links to suppliers that can sell you tables in the 150-200 or so range, they ARE out there.

I like what you've done to the house indeed, it's very nice and in many ways, similar to mine but less vibrant in color since you went with more muted color pallets outside of the bright yellow chairs.

I agree with bepsf, with 3 kids one does not necessarily need to get a larger home, unless you need a family room or some such and can't add on for some reason.

I grew up in a 2000Sq Ft split entry home from the 60's being the youngest in a family of 4 siblings and both parents, we managed just fine and my sisters were Jr/Sr high aged, me in grade school and our friends hung out all the time there - and we had at least 2 dogs and a cat most of the time.

I love this and I love how unpretentious it all is, her cupboard where she keeps gadgets is a prime example, crooked shelf due to a mismeasurement, stuff stacked about, but if she needs something, it's there.

Her kitchen is a lot like mine albeit she has a dishwasher, I don't and she has more counter space than I do and other than her fridge being on the sink side, her layout is in someways similar.

In my kitchen, where her dishwasher is, is a blank wall where my tiny hot water heater sits behind and thus my garbage can, my stove and fridge are on the same side of the kitchen and I can just reach behind to toss stuff into my garbage can. It's quite convenient and has lots of storage, something not always found in many rentals

I love how she's got stuff that's clearly been around a while (some of the Al Clad shown for instance) and clearly stuff she's used and has kept over the years says a lot about her being an actual cook, not a cook wannabe.

I have no qualms of some of her cookware sitting on the floor, if that's were you have a spot for it, then by all means - especially if its used on a regular basis. :-)

A very well done kitchen tour BTW.

MKO: Those are the Ray and Charles Eames tables from the late 50's and are NOT plant stands by themselves but can be used as such as in this photograph.

LINA123: That is the Charles Eames plastic shell rocking chair, it's the armchair model, but fitted to the rocking chair base and they come in several bases that are bolted to rubber shock mounts, also from the 50's.

Both, however may be modern reproductions.

I agree that a clean desk CAN help many in keeping organized but I'm like a lot out there, out of sight is out of mind, more than likely.

But that being said, letting the clutter get out of control is another matter entirely and when that happens, it's time to clean up and tidy up, and that means, putting bills in a bill holder, filing stuff or simply putting in the "to be filed" bin and do later, toss out detritus, take the dirty dishes/glasses to the kitchen, wipe down the desktop etc and then begin anew, now in a middle of a project, a bit of clutter is perfectly fine, which in an ideal world, which isn't unfortunately, I'd be able to afford a 2 bedroom apt and have my desk, computer etc in the second room so when in a middle of a project, I can leave it until done and not have that crap in my bedroom. :-)

ah well, I'll get there, someday...

A great primer on the very beginnings of color and I largely agree with Maxwell on this, however I'd have emphasized that when choosing colors, yes, red tends to be a warm color, blue cool, but that within those two colors are varying shades of same, some warmer than others.

Take red for instance, if it has a base color of blue in it, it'll be a lot less warmer than a red with yellow or orange in it, in fact, a bluish red will feel a bit on the cool side, which may help in southern facing rooms where one wants to use red and vice versa is also true of cooler colors with a more warmer cast to them will work in northern facing rooms, but there again, how much to use of each in each scenario is key to a successful use of that color.

The problem I can see with Mike's room is that while brown and blue CAN work, the shade of blue didn't work with the shade of brown used, if the brown is more warm in cast, then the blue should have a similar warmer cast to it, not a cool light blue, a turquoise or aqua would work with a chocolate brown, but that same blue with a lighter brown would not most likely but they CAN work, but finding the right combo can be tricky so for the uninitiated, best to stick to warm colors or cool colors all the way until one gets used to how color works and I don't think Maxwell was saying these rules are set in stone, but good rules of thumb to learn from and once you know how colors work, you can then learn to break them where necessary is I think the key to anything one does.

At the moment I don't have an outbox, not even a donate box as I got rid of a bunch of stuff recently and no time to accumulate anything else as yet. :-)

Most everything in my place I like and works but ya never know what I will decide to part with in the future though as I only have 600SqFt of apartment to work with.

First off, for all who have asked, I think that orange chair is from IKEA.

As to the OP. The lamp you have is OK, but I agree, too small for the space, need something larger, but for the time being until you get the right replacement, pull it out from the very corner a bit so it CAN work as a reading light in a pinch, as it is, it's too shoved into the corner and too far back of the sofa.

Otherwise, you are indeed on the right track here but do need to think of not only dramatic lighting, but also task/reading light too so a cool, mod/modern table lamp or two would work or a nice floor lamp with a suitable reading light attached would work fantastic and do not underestimate the value of good vintage pieces to fit in with the room.

An example, the Hesso lamp, now only in red/orange and white can be found used in yellow and blue too if I recall, and I think in a smaller size as well. Not so much for reading/task, but for mood lighting as it's not that tall, but creates a nice glow as the light shines through the shade.

Also, think about small, not expensive accent lamps to bring light to say a corner or a spot on a shelf and don't forget to go indirect lighting, that is, bounce light off of the ceiling for a dramatic effect as well and it'll vary the lighting throughout the room.

Otherwise, good job so far and good luck!

After reading the comments and looking at the photograph again, here are my suggestions.

First off, I was going to suggest you paint the cabinets (if you do, I'd darken them somewhat with a warm medium brown say) but in stead, leave then as is, change out the hardware for something that mimics the 50's stylistically but in something other than white or stainless, that'd be too matchy, matchy but something that stands out better with the white cabinets, paint the wall a nice bold color to bring color in that way and if you can't replace all of your counter top, do the peninsula instead as it's easy enough to do for little money.

One thing to be aware of is your flooring is fine and can go with almost any color you choose for the walls, but please stay away from the brown/taupe colors, red, yellow, anything other than the beige/taupe/tan but do consider how the colors will look with food, for instance, blue or green may make what you cook appear ghastly but a nice warm color won't.

I agree, switch out the fluorescent fixture but if you want bright lighting in the kitchen, get one that's retro in style (and they are out there, such as some of the models sold at Home Depot), like a 2 or 4 tube 4 footer with a half round design comes to mind, fit them with warm white tubes and it'll fit right in, add under cabinet lighting in the form of inexpensive fluorescent under cabinet fixtures or the classic halogen pucks to bring the light to the counter top, I wonder if just a single pendant will be enough general lighting as it will be largely behind wherever you stand, thus the shadow effect right where you are working, with what appears to be high ceilings, let a good retro fluorescent fixture spread the general lighting around, over the top of you, less chance of shadows.

I think the garbage can is fine where it is as you may not have the right sized cabinets nearby to hide it and as long as the can is attractive, it'll do just fine.

Oh, and put a couple of stools on the back side of the peninsula so guests can sit and kabitz while you cook.