jojouc's Profile

Apartment Therapy -- please, please, please include more posts that highlight vintage homes with preserved wood trim. I have a 1909 Chicago greystone with trim very similar to this and every time we need to paint, we struggle to find colors to match the trim. Design/decorating sources are full of beautiful rooms with crisp, white trim, but images with natural wood trim are few and far between.

As for this question -- I like Talby and Unabridged's suggestions. Since your partner likes white walls, I would find a match for the ceiling paint (per Talby) and then get a much less saturated (whiter) version of the same shade for the expanse of wall below the picture rail.

Is the crown molding painted wood or is it tin like the ceiling?

I also think it is a great idea -- if well-implemented. Since the cabinet itself has quite a bit of ornate detail to it, I think it will look too busy competing with "pretty fabric". Instead, consider frosting the glass (etching fluid) or replacing the glass with mirrors, or a mottled colored glass.

Our Chicago neighborhood is the nerve center for the Latin King street gang (whose main gang color is yellow). Despite how cheerful and stylish our porch would look painted yellow against the graystone of the building, I simply cannot bring myself to do it. I don't want there to be the slightest impression that we support/condone the Kings' criminal behavior.

Alas, we went with a boring muted color that is neither a color of the Kings nor their enemy gangs.

The joys of inner city life.

I hate giving or receiving gifts of obligations. My family is pretty minimalist, so I prefer to give experiences instead: memberships to museums, organizations, theater/ballet/symphony tickets or massage gift certificates.

Although I found a store in the Indian/Pakistan part of town that sells lovely silk/pashima scarves that I adore. My mom and G-ma will each get one of these luxurious, yet practical, scarves.

The unit of our two-flat that we currently live in will become the "rental" unit when our tenants move upstairs. Keeping that in mind, I tempered my inclination towards bold colors by painting the walls a neutral color and the ceiling of the dining room a saturated blue with hints of green. I love it, and it adds color to the room without being overwhelming.

In our small foyer, connected to a room with strong red accents, we painted the ceiling a similar shade of deep, rich red. I think this ceiling in particular looks great, because from the vantage point of the living room couch, the red ceiling just peeks out.

In general, I am a big fan of painted ceilings. The one warning I offer is that if the reflection of the ceiling can tint the walls a lighter version of the color.

Hey, don't forget that we don't know the condition of the armoire before it was purple -- maybe it was pristinely stained and varnished, maybe it was a chipped, dull tan paint, or maybe it has water damage that the purple paint conceals.

I would never be the first person to paint over a lovely solid wood piece of furniture, but I'll add the next layer of paint to an already-painted piece.

I have a leopard fainting couch that I absolutely adore -- it has lush sweeping lines, and a rich detailed fabric. It is my favorite piece of furniture that adds a lot of impact to the living room. I love it.

That said, there are tons of crappy, cheesey, gaudy items of furniture in leopard or zebra print out there, that should be avoided by everyone but teenage girls.

Also, leopard is often far more subtle than zebra print, therefore be more restrained with the use of zebra.

Puhlease.

I cannot believe that folks are scolding the crafters for sweater tree, and other similar installations.

This is public art (delightful, whimsical and non-pretentious) plain and simple. For those bemoaning the "time, talent and materials" being sucked up by similar streetpost cozies, give me a break.

Do you realize that there are Goodwill stores, Salvation Army, shelters and regular thrift stores that are filled with good-condition, clean children's clothes that cost barely anything?

Why in this instance does public art get vilified as wasteful? Why in this instance do people have the right to dictate how the artists choose to spend their time and money?
Why is delight and whimsy dismissed and devalued?

To me these renegade knitters/crocheters are wonderful and the result is just as valuable as mural or other public art (actually more meaningful, because it is grass-roots and based on a community of individuals). These crafters are at least using their resources to benefit the community, whereas most people are solely interested in advancing their own interests.

Compared to the the truly impoverished and needy, all of our lives are ridiculously wasteful. We all live in glass houses, so quit pitching rocks unless you are truly the next Mother Theresa.

I agree with Madrid22:

Our living and dining rooms have painted textured wallpaper (that in another month or two I will repaint). Removing the wallpaper = gutting. The wallpaper is basically holding the plaster smooth and tight, but to remove the wallpaper would also free most of the plaster from the underlying laths. No thank you.

While replacing the outlet plate, I saw the true horror of the unpainted wallpaper. The look of painted wallpaper isn't my first choice, but compared to all of our options, it is by far the best choice.

I would love to hear advice on how to best paint over textured walls to get a clean, even finish. Thanks.