department of the interior: home decor

robyn I don't understand throw pillows at all, I try to and I love them because they're so colorful and there are so many, like CANDY for your HOUSE, but seriously who SITS ON THEM?? Or sleeps on them. Nobody.

finnstyleis having a marimekko sale and i'm having trouble not buying everything

i already have a whole bunch of stretched marimekko fabric and really need to have stuff on my walls that is not marimekko fabric but i jusssssst cannn't stoppppp

I'm glad to hear that! Do we rate a photo?

haha sure:
http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee366/lamp11/Picture007.jpg

IS THAT WALLPAPER? IS THAT YOUR WALLPAPER? Oh well done.

I have probably ten throw pillows on our L-shaped couch. We lean on them! Rest our heads! Put them on our laps for coziness! Only time I've seen someone sit on them is when the dog curls up all cutely in a ball and sleeps there.

LAMP ARE YOU AT JANE?? That looks like the Jane tree. Love the walls/apartment vibe!

i got these military-animal bust images on super huge throw pillows for the bedroom (black on a sort of taupe colour)

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.215909076.jpg

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.155787868.jpg

and also two lamps like this

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.187577776.jpg

except one of the vintage shades was totally fucked bc the seller failed to properly package them at all, and now i'm having the hardest time finding replacements.

also gonna repaint the antique night tables i've had for a while, hang some more art and buy new bedding.

yeah, we just put it up last month. we also painted and installed new light fixtures and blah blah blah. pic in better light:

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee366/lamp11/Picture002.jpg

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee366/lamp11/Picture003.jpg

xps - no, like east part of little portugal close to trinity bellwoods

I really love that paper. I couldn't put it in my place but I adore looking at it. And it's perfect with the candle sconce.

Now you just have to paint the inside walls of that window niche a nice light-sucking charcoal grey to be in keeping with the darkened historic library theme.

haha we just painted! it doesnt show very well but its a very cool mint green with a bit of a grey tone. it looks nice with the rest of the stuff we have in the room, i think.

I once moved into an apt with the kitchen painted somewhere between mint and pistachio. I was unsure about it at first but it was soothing to look at every day, it made me happy to prepare food in, and now I miss it. I'm sure your green is even better and goes great with that sofa that seems to have really cool squared lines.

holy wow at that wallpaper. where is that print from?

it made me thing of charles burchfield for some reason. ok i'm starting a thread for prints/patterns so i don't overwhelm this thread.

You know what's really fun? Trying to identify as many of those sf/f books as possible from their spines. Do I spy Sean Russell's Sea Without a Shore down in the middle column? And is that a Tad Williams on top?

And I could swear there's a Thomas Canty or two.

all I really want in my dept of home interior is a giant awesome bed with awesome sheets, a sweet minimalist couch with maximalist comfort, a swimming pool, a climbing wall, a terasse, a living room that opens to the (well-ventilated kitchen) and a good vacuum. Also: art.

And yeah some kind of mythic organizing system for all my ridiculous shit.

Of that list, I have...a vacuum.

I probably want cool wallpaper too! But would hardly think of it! I need a decorator! One day!

I just keep hanging all sorts of found crap on my walls that i think looks pretty. it's good. the bedroom walls are starting to accumulate religious art and floral dinner plates. i have added plenty more yarn art to the kitchen. also i am going out to look for moss / ferns / small plants today because TERRARIUMS.

oh oh and i got a cute edward gorey print for xmas, it is of two bearded dudes in furs touring in a motorcar, i adore it but haven't hung it up yet

The Gorey sounds wonderful!

I need to get some things framed for shur. Maybe I'll go to Marshall's today and see what ugly things in frames are going for.

West Elm sent me a coupon for 15% off. Yes, that makes that $100 bath rug totally affordable, thanks.

our house is like ski lodge with white walls instead of wood. its got a mezzanine with a balcony looking down into the living room. All very open plan. lately I've had a vey strong desire to tile the kitchen walls and bathroom walls. considering the walls are so white and tall in the rest of the house would this be a mistake. im not thinking ceramic but instead glass tiles like these:

http://www.mybestkitchen.net/glass-tile/

Prob not this extreme but something along these lines

am i crazy?

We did a bit of our bathroom in mosaic tiles. They can get way expensive if you're doing a large area so make sure you shop around and haggle for a good price. You can get coloured grouting as well that will finish off the look.

any regrets? and where did you do it? walls, shower? etc

No regrets but it was part of a major renovation we put a lot of time and money into! Did them around the bath up to the ceiling, which was a p huge area.
Was admiring the glass tiles in Sherlock last week as well....
I did find that a lot of them have this iridescent sheen which just makes everything look shiny and pink regardless of the underlying colour.

yeah that iridescence is what has me hooked. Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll start with a subtle kitchen backslpash and see how much more I can handle from there.

My insane pillow cases AND my shade fabric are here!!!! Bedroom re-do before Monday!

OMG the shams come in a cute little self-fabric drawstring bag. <3 <3

Excited for you! And btw I am in NYC, whatcha doing tomorrow other than sewing???

Oh damn! Tomorrow afternoon I'm supposed to have a rehearsal in Bushwick that may end in tequila drinking and leave me unfit for any other evening pursuit! I'll ilx-mail you my phone no so we can make last-min arrangements in case things free up.

Sounds good!

I've been thinking a lot lately about buying some things but my question is.. what is the A.P.C. equivalent in furniture? (Besides 'mid century modern' even if that's what J Touitou says it is..)

quincie, if you're online today, get in touch! I don't have your phone no and my rehearsal for today has been cancelled. My evening is yours.

Was just looking at a house tour on Apartment Therapy and it struck me that the home in question has SO MANY DIFFERENT PLACES TO SIT! I counted at least 4 different rooms with couches, chairs, chaise longues. For two people.

I don't really mind, or blame them, it just kind of feels like they didn't have ideas for what to do with the extra rooms, and tbh there's no floor-plan so many some of them aren't whole rooms but just niches or something. But there's no studio, no sewing area or craft room, no instruments in sight, no sign of more books than you could put on some display shelves, no sign of any hobbies (and no kids). If you don't have hobbies like that or you don't showcase them at home, I guess that's all there is, is more ways to sit around?

I think this is such a cool idea:

How To: Create a Paper Cut Map of Your Favorite City
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-create-a-paper-cut-map-of-your-favorite-city-164811

^ things that make me wish i loved crafty things more. but, like, lol @ "the steps look simple enough" - i could never do this, at least not as a fun activity - i'm like "this is why we made the machines!!" haha. i got frustrated just reading about drawing the lines, let alone exacto-ing all that.

Hah! Fair enough. I'm not generally very crafty but I have little bursts, I feel like I could do something like this fairly easily (but I'd probably pick a smaller area - my small neighbourhood of Toronto, say, to keep it simple).

I've been thinking a lot lately about buying some things but my question is.. what is the A.P.C. equivalent in furniture? (Besides 'mid century modern' even if that's what J Touitou says it is..)

I've been thinking about this quite a bit since you asked and yeah, I think the closest to an A.P.C. equivalent in furniture is probably the Eames work for Herman Miller and the Saarinen work for Knoll. Modern while comfortable and not at all imposing, not cheap but not insanely expensive, works in just about any context. Hard to think of many manufacturers now that are doing similarly versatile work, although there are some companies reaching for it (Atlantico, Blu Dot, Arper).

for some reason i am thinking about folding down my fold-out couch/love-seat so that it lays flat (it is similar to a futon rather than a proper couch) and then i will have a flat surface for lounging. i think this is inspired by recessed lounge areas/giant couches...

I'm going to learn upholstery! I have all the tools and books plus a room full of 1940s furniture.

I just have to master plumbing first. Ugh. :(

HEY GUYS

what do you think of my new wall unit?

what sort of rug do i need for this space?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6842200019_b648eb8435_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6842206129_51381f2bd5_b.jpg

sorry about the shitty cellphone pics by the way - also it's lit very badly but i'd just finished installing it so i was dying to take a picture

I like all the pieces of furniture, but that room seems very crowded. Can you move the shelving unit to the left side of that wall and away from the window so the tree isn't in front of it?

unfortunately there's a door just to the left of the frame, and there's a door just to the right of the bookshelf

my back was more or less to a wall when i took that pic - unfortunately it's just a small living room and i sort of feel the urge to at least be able to entertain at least two friends

i think i need to move the tree and get rid of the speakers, or figure out somewhere else to put the whole stereo arrangement. i would really like to put a bunch of hanging plants in that space but i'm not sure i have time for that right now and i'm worried about plants dripping onto my precious midcentury swag

the other option would be a nice shelf of succulents and miniature palms in and around that west-facing window but there doesn't really seem to be room for that either

the wall unit is sort of stuck there because of structural reasons and the tree is there because of photosynthetic reasons ... you might notice the tree is in an extremely hideous pot - but i rescued him and i have a hard time abandoning plants or moving them once they seem comfortable ... i'd put the stereo on the wall facing the windows but there's a heater there ... maybe i could still make it work