department of the interior: home decor

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/3/2/13/f_201m_b2565e6.jpg

I've gotten sooo much stuff out since my roommate moved out and I'm much happier with my place recently, now I just have to get moving on building some shelving to replace my current liquor cabinet and glassware storage, which is made of cardboard boxes.

wow!

would you like to come design my apartment?

The cardboard boxes are, admittedly, kind of rad.

Jpgs here pls

I'm sure it's some kind of mid-century cliche by now, but I can't shake the desire to paint my future living room robin's-egg blue and accent it with white woodwork and dark wood furniture and cream-and-gold carpets. It's total real estate erotica: I fantasize about washing the picture rails and putting out my (modest) Frankoma collection.

Specifically, this 8-foot-square rug:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/P11887881.jpg

I DIED, you have far too much furniture. i think you need to strip it back a tad.

that rug <3

hahaha jed I have actually thought about getting rid of the chair but it was my great-grandmother's!

Laurel before you posted the picture of the rug your description sounded very early 19th-century Federal rather than mid-century modern!

I was kind of thinking of the white woodwork being egg and dart molding, though.

would you like to come design my apartment?

― lucky girl LOL (tehresa), Friday, February 13, 2009 10:16 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

step 1: put stuff in a closet, starting with the most important stuff and moving down from there

step 2: once the closet is full, throw everything else out.

done!

No, Brian, more like this.

Altho some of the stuff in that shot is a little too fussy for me, and the blue is too light/pastel. But you get the idea.

However, our realtor just reposted the ad for the apt on CL so we may not be moving in after all....

closet has too many skeletons for stuff!

oh no laurel I hope you get the space!

Laurel, more like this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/colinohara/2960652988_1f9b5418bf.jpg

Yes, JUST like that. Orange/red/coral accents OBVIOUSLY to be expected. :D

Ugh, this is making me ill.

Oh dear I even have an early 1900's Remington typewriter, found on the street. I am a cliche.

you only think that way because you look at the blogs and recognise your own taste in other peoples things. it will be unique to you when you actually realise it and it's quite singular by 99.9% of peoples standards.

or rather against their standards.

Anybody have experience with temporary wall stickers? White walls are killing me and I have no desire to paint an apartment.

http://storesense4.megawebservers.com/stores/m/modernwallgraphics.com/catalog/ROUNDSQ_image.JPG

Wall stickers work and are easy. Blik is good. I especially like them applied to (non-upholstered) furniture. Get something that looks good applied to less than a whole wall, otherwise it gets very expensive.

i looked at wall stickers @ ikea but then realized that they are probably not a good idea for a rental space.

anyone have experience mounting ikea's bookcases to the wall? they all recommend you do so to prevent tipping over. how much of a pain in the ass is it?

v easy if you have a drill, rawplugs and a screwdriver.

i am really bad at drills u_u

but thank you!

Get something that looks good applied to less than a whole wall

yeah that's the key - I don't think what I posted would look good covering half a wall or just the center (6x6 square for instance). or would it

T, I've never attached ANY Ikea furniture to a wall, not even tall things. I do recommend going to a hardware store and buying a packet of wooden shims -- thin little wedges of soft wood that you can break or cut to length, and use them to slightly tilt your bookshelf backwards -- not enough to make it unsteady, but just to transfer the weight to the back rather than the front. Especially useful if your floor is slightly sloped.

One packet of shims would have lasted me three or four moves, if I didn't keep losing them in between. I can't find my screwdrivers, either.

ooh that sounds smart.

A lot of taller IKEA furniture includes a short woven nylon strap and screws to attach it to the wall - anything floorstanding shouldn't need to be anchored but the strap is good insurance if anyone pulls on the piece of furniture accidentally. It's not holding any of the weight of the piece, just making sure it stays upright.

Yeah, I'd never have any confidence in a fully loaded bookshelf being held up by a screw in a piece of drywall, if someone pulled on it that hard. I probably shouldn't be dissuading anyone from using the recommended safety precautions, though.

tza im not sure what the ikea attachments are like but you can get these safety wall straps from home depot/lowes etc for maybe $5(?) in the child safety section. theyre easy to put on and the straps are pretty easy to de/attach so you just attach one side to the bookcase, one side to the wall then hook the strap together. easy peasey. that said, im sure ikea just say that so they dont get lawsuits from people with squished shelf climbing kids

oh sounds like the strap i died is talking about

The key here is not to try to violently pull your bookcases toward you.

if you can resist

That's why I got rid of most of my books, personal safety. The temptation is too great.

yeah i mean like i was looking at the stuff and it was like 'we strongly recommend securing shit to the wall' so iw as worried that it was prone to toppling.

The ikea bookshelf in my living room actually adjustable pads on it so you can tip it slightly backwards towards the wall, no shims required. It still said I should attach it to the wall but it's been fine even with tons of shit on it.

it's not really a problem, things with a lot of weight on them stacked vertically are inherently stable, as sunny mentioned it's really just lawsuit inoculation.

if it's into drywall it's even easier, just use these dywall/ plasterboard rawplugs and you don't even need to drill, just screw them in then use the screws provided to anchor whatever it is to the wall. they're prety impossible to get out and will definitely stop a billy or whatever from toppling.

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/98/p1395398_l.jpg

but i agree with sunny & I DIED too - i guess it depends on how level your floors are too. anyway, those drywall rawplugs are v easy to use and worth getting.

i think i'm going to get this
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411Yd1Ae9fL._AA400_.jpg

oooh i like that!

i wish they had it in the store so i didn't have to wait!

oh hmm it is vinyl not fabric :(

easier to clean?

not as nice/pretty :(

also fabric curtains you can generally just throw in the wash.