arcgrrl's Profile

The bedroom is accessible only by going through the bathroom?

I have two experiences with this. The first was a woman who not only left numerous boxes in the apartment when she moved but it took her a month to turn off the phone! I spoke to her mother regularly!! After a few weeks of living with her things, I put them on the porch under a tarp and let her know she could come pick them up any time. THREE MONTHS later she was SHOCKED that her things weren't on the back porch anymore. The janitor threw them away.

My other experience involves a small box of silver quarters that my husband found in our newly purchased 2-flat. The coins were in the rental unit and the 90 year old renter, who moved to California with her niece, died shortly after moving. I'm not sure how we would have returned the coins. A friend bought them and we considered it a consolation prize as we had a very difficult home purchase.

Have any online sources for oil cloth? I haven't found too many places that sell modern prints.

Who will powder coat for me in Chicago? I have a non-Saarinen tulip table base and some vintage Knoll file cabinets that I want to have powder coated. What if there is some rust? Will powder coating still work? Any idea on costs?

There are two drawbacks to unit 121--the spiral staircase and the cost per square foot. This unit is priced at $179/SF which seems to be the highest of those remaining which are in the $144 to $159/SF range (213 appears to be sold but 214 is a mirror of it and it is $167/SF).

The reasons, however, to take this unit: no upstairs neighbors and few shared walls (less noise!), two walls of windows (more light!) and an entry shared with one other unit (privacy!). These are all things that condo owners want and they make this unit more valuable at resale.

If you really need an outdoor space, perhaps you could get permission for a patio.

Buy a copy for your daughteron eBay for $15!

We had black rubber tile in our kitchen until our daughter started to crawl...it rubs off and is very hard to keep clean. We replaced it with cork (not an option for a bathroom) and so much happier.

There seems to be an inability to commit to some color...white linens, white curtains, white sofa! This is a look too but then I'd expect to see some pillows or rug with color or pattern (the truquoise dresser is a start). Color is your friend! Is that an Ikea Karlstad loveseat? How about getting another cover for it--something dark like one of the grays or brown--so it will anchor an area and combat the yellow-white of the walls?

I like the idea of putting the head of the bed on the wall by the door to the apartment, hanging curtains and putting the sofa at the foot of the bed, facing the window. I could see sheer ceiling-hung curtains or panels (from IKEA) near the door and between the sofa and bed that can be pulled back or opened up. It would create a nice cozy space to sleep.

I would try to make a built-in looking storage unit at the wall with the radiator. Use two low bookcases that are the height of the window sill or a little lower and place a 12' long shelf over it...maybe hang a curtain or something in front of the radiator if it bothers you (leave a space at the back and bottom for air flow). The TV can go on top and the DVD, etc. on the book cases below. It would unify that wall and give it a more finished look.

I like these decorating questions but I am an architect and I need to sketch something! How can we post images, etc. of our ideas? This reminds me of the recent series the NYT did where they paired up designers with people who needed help and had a modest budget (no design fees). That would be an interesting thing for Apartment Therapy to do...esp. since there are lots of designers without jobs!

Bueller...Bueller...

This is the penthouse at 156 W Superior. The building is by Miller Hull of Seattle--check out thier website. I went on the AIA Chicago tour a few years ago when they were building out the space. This place cost GOBS of money to build out and furnish. GOBS. The table lamp to the left of the fireplace is $2500 at DWR. How many hours do most of us have to work to buy that thing? Is this relevant right now? Maybe the Obabma poster is...

I'm an architect and I love modern architecture and design but I'd rather see real apartments furnished and lived in by people with design sense and not necessarily just money.