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Display Name: Opal
Member Since: 7/5/07
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Paint! I had the worst tile job in the last house I owned, but they were all in good shape (alas). See horror evidence here, complete with the bathtub the former owner painted with one coat of standard latex - it peeled off as soon as I took a bath.

Enter paint. I needed to sell the house, didn't have a budget for redoing the bathroom, and didn't want to screw the potential owners. Home Depot sold me CIL Smart Primer (the super-duper stuff that will stick to anything). I washed the tiles really well with TSP, taped my edges, did two coats of primer, then two coats of a semi gloss kitchen & bathroom paint. Results: not as perfect as new tiles, but SO much nicer.
It also wore really well over the 4 months it took me to sell the house. Cleaned well too.

Only words of caution: you cannot possibly over prep for this. Clean the tile as if you're preparing for surgery in there. And don't rush the drying time.

Good luck!


Apartment Therapy New York | Good Questions: Help Save This Rental Bathroom?
3/4/09 10:37 PM

I finished the Cure too!
http://flickr.com/photos/opal/sets/72157601657033451/

The house got rave reviews from my in-laws when they came to our dinner party. It was great fun until we discovered the cat had injured himself and had a paw 2x the size of normal *groan*

The art did get hung on the wall in the dining room using the Armstrong Arrangement, but since our office is still a guest room, it's obscured again by our temp office. Photos eventually, I swear.


Apartment Therapy - The Fall Cure: Graduation!
11/10/07 4:24 PM

I've been moving slowly recently, but today I sorted through the front closet, the linen closet, and the trunk next to the bed. I now have two full garbage bags and a medium box of stuff for yet another outbox. It's incredible to me how much I've removed, and yet how much more I find to remove!

Cleaning is easier each week. The house feels better each week.

I actually use the living room to sit down and read in.

Progress? Oh how great it feels :)


Apartment Therapy - The Fall Cure: Week 7 - Weekend
10/27/07 2:33 PM

Re: the orange chair, there are more info here:

http://members.shaw.ca/lunarlounge/bokz%20arm%20chair.html

I found it on ebay, though I need brown and not orange, so I would have to order directly.

They claim handmade, so quality is probably pretty high. For the most part, their ebay feedback is extremely positive, and the negs are ones that make you shake your head.


Apartment Therapy - The Spring Cure: Week Five - Weekend
10/13/07 2:45 PM

Holymoly there's my living room. Eeek!
:)

The office is a stalemate for me, since it's also a guest room and we currently have a guest in it. I've purchased American Clay for the walls, though. It's looking like the spring Cure for that one.


Apartment Therapy - The Fall Cure: Week Five
10/9/07 4:39 PM

Michelle, I'm very sorry to read your post. My condolences to you and your family.

Jess2nola - or someone else - how do you decide what height to hang curtains at? I've resisted hemming my own 2' pool of curtain because I'm afraid I've got the curtain rod at the wrong height. I have 16" or so between the top of the window and the ceiling. And a thumb circumference rod in case that makes a difference.

Also, what sort of a mess am I making if I go warm instead of cool for the bedroom? I set my self onto a light orange accent wall and orange-beige other walls, but now I don't know.

I remember seeing a link to a colour-scheme generator at some point, I think the context was colour-schemes based on artwork, does anyone have the link?

So many questions, so few self-generated answers. I'm sorry for the flood!


Apartment Therapy - The Fall Cure: Week Three
9/25/07 5:10 PM

A few weeks ago, I got a great 1950s teak sofa and chair thanks to Craigslist Toronto: http://flickr.com/photos/opal/1232615210/in/photostream/
I've also gotten rid of lots of stuff via the free section. Who knew so many people wanted an old futon?!


Apartment Therapy - Craigslist
8/28/07 5:22 AM

Those would last about 30 seconds before one of my cats snagged a claw. I smell disaster.


Apartment Therapy - Chair-Air by Zo Design
8/24/07 9:30 AM

Oh, awesome! I have the world's worst plaster job on two walls in my second bedroom/office (long story) and I've been trying to figure out how to fix it. I think you just introduced the solution :)


Apartment Therapy - Best Product: American Clay
8/23/07 11:16 AM

I love this soap. Once I started using it, I tried to switch back. Then I realized how much damage my old soap was doing to me. :(

I haven't used it for cleaning either, but I think it's time to just get the biggest container and use it for everything.


Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps
8/10/07 8:25 AM

For that price range, I can build an earthship completely off of the grid.

It's neat that people are looking at different building materials, though.


Hot or Not? Cardboard House
8/3/07 8:53 AM

I use my (big ugly) printer so infrequently that it's worth the hassle to pull it out of the closet in my office and hook it up when I need it. I'd rather do that than look at it.

(And yes, I recognize that this makes me a little bit of a freak. I'm okay with that ;)


Good Questions: Where Should I Stow My Printer and Scanner?
7/31/07 2:57 PM

Wind mills are popping up in Ontario, and I LOVE them. I have to stop and gawk on drives outside of Toronto where we find fields them - I can't help it :)


Inspiration: Windmills, Windmills Everywhere!
7/27/07 8:22 AM

Thanks for the recommendations bellaknollie and peripatetic19 :)
I guess I'd better start haunting antique stores in the area until something decent-sized shows up for living room furniture!


Open Thread 380
7/20/07 4:36 AM

I'm short (5'1") and most furniture is horribly uncomfortable for me because the seat depth is longer than my upper leg (meaning I use a bunch of cushions between my back and the sofa back or spending most of my time sitting cross-legged)

I'm starting to look into an office chair, and, longer term, sofas.

Anyone have suggestions for companies to look into that cater to people on the short end of the bellcurve?


Open Thread 380
7/19/07 6:41 AM

A small container of white vinegar, left open in each compartment, will neutralize the smell.

All of our closets reeked of smoke - including the cedar lined ones! - and the vinegar trick worked really well. Once you smell vinegar when you open the drawer, instead of smoke, you're done.

You might have to repeat this a few times over the months to be entirely free of the smell.


Good Questions: How Can I Get Rid of the Smell of Smoke?
7/18/07 7:32 AM

I'd rip out the carpet and put down an area rug to cover most of the subfloor, specifically traffic areas. You could paint the parts that won't be covered by the area rug so that it matches the rest of the room.

As I understand it, you don't want to walk on the bare subfloor for any length of time. Since it's not made to be walked upon directly, you'll wear it and then have to replace it too.

Otherwise, you could embrace the 70s and decorate the room as if the shag carpet was on purpose.


Good Questions: How Can I Make This Room Bearable?
7/11/07 12:54 PM