department of the interior: home decor

*now

you're not kidding about needing workspace & shelving tho

modular wire shelving might be a pretty good / affordable option for kitchen, you can get it at ikea or at home depot or whatever, possibly restaurant / business surplus outlets?

nice spot gbx

not helping is the fact that my sister is staying with me until i move out, and she is nuts for this stuff, and is patiently waiting for my dirtbag ass to leave so she can undo everything i've inflicted on my current place. i'm supposed to finishing up a short research project and she's supposed to be finding a job, and we're both looking up ikea hacks and shit

she has offered to make me curtains, though (but won't the baseboard light them on fire??)

xp for real. currently planning on doing a pegboard over the stove and getting a cheap ikea butcher block. if allowed, i'd like to put up full-width shelving with L-brackets or something.

the real bugbear, though: BIKES. i've had a shed for years, and have been free of the indignity of storing those beasts inside. there's plenty of wall-space for hanging (i've got some special doodads in the shed), but hanging bikes over carpet seems like i'll just lead to tears

bad news: the nearest IKEA is over 2hrs away, and shipping is cray.
good news: i'm close to a college town AND new englanders with money and a couple auction houses. with patience, i think it might not be THAT hard to turn up cool stuff? i'll have about two weeks before i've got light-duty orientation for work, and about three weeks before shit gets real.

all i really need at first is kitchen workspace and a bed.

i have been wasting waaaaaay too much time on this, clearly, but it's the first time i'll have the opportunity/(modest) income to make things nice.

oh! and i was thinking that a picnic/farm table w/detached benches might look nice in there and apparently some dude not that far away will make them to order for $125-200. that's cheap right? how much do you buy a table for, i've never bought a table

is it the ikea in stoughton, ma? xp

imma just keep blogging: it's also right across the street from a rails to trails bike path that does 70% of my morning commute (~10mi). totally in the woods, runs by a big ol lake, looks really frikkin nice. and there's what appears to be a Serious Bike Shop just a couple miles away.

xp yup. i think that's the only one close to new hampshah

We got a couple of cheap sort of industrial mats from target for our bikes, they were like $10, but then I bullied Ytth into moving all the bike stuff to the garage (he's paranoid it's more steal-able in there).

haha ok, that's my "local" ikea as well

i dunno, i would probably go nuts in the furniture section of every thrift store i could find, then get some paint/spray paint to make it look less bad, but that's me. i'm not sure that's the adult look you're going for, but it would serve a purpose until you found the stuff you were looking for. also, it's yard sale season. people are always getting rid of tables!

no, that's kinda what i'm thinking, too, i've just never been too crafty.

i've since discovered that there might be a way to get some of my stuff out there for a somewhat reasonable price (still $$$, though), that i may just go for since i can always sell stuff to college students in the fall.

will someone talk to me about temporary wallpaper? generally i dig the look but i don't know anything about longevity or application or maintenance. was thinking some for bedroom wall(s), for a ~deluxe~ (but not brothely!) feel.
is this a terrible idea?

also has anyone ever used it to cover (rather than paint) furniture pieces?

No, and no. I like wallpaper fine but I've never used the temp stuff. And I don't think I'm really understanding how it could cover furniture...?

like contact paper, but not permanent? i dunno. it was just an idea.

i guess i could also paint designs with tape and all that but honestly? like that's gonna happen? i'm maybe too unmotivated to decorate any more than i already have.
today i planted some new plants and repotted some others. hopefully those will be good.

I think there might have been a whole post about temp wallpaper on the ” oh happy day” bog, I will try to find it

Well that was easy; http://ohhappyday.com/2011/02/removable-wallpaper-the-final-report/

thank u!

I made a vase; not sure this'll work
http://distilleryimage6.ak.instagram.com/26792888c56f11e2ab5722000aa821d3_7.jpg

very nice gbx!

I have some charcoal in my trunk (great place for it, eh?) and I guess I could put some in there -- does it get rid of the smell or just make it smell like charcoal? I have also heard that kitty litter works, but I haven't bought any to find out.

Also, it has been a few days and I'm still somewhat horrified that I used "gift" as a verb. Who am I?

― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Wednesday, May 15, 2013 12:32 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

anything carbon based will absorb smell effectively because carbon particles have a very large surface area. Same reason people light matches after going number two. I cant remember ever smelling charcoal. sounds like a great idea.

gbx, on the matter of curtains, if they don't go all the way to the floor, they should just brush the windowsills. Sill-length (which is still pretty long because those are huge windows) will be perfectly safe from the baseboard heat.

Your apartment looks giant and light and wonderful! Jel of the EIK.

bad news: the nearest IKEA is over 2hrs away, and shipping is cray.
― well if it isn't old 11 cameras simon (gbx), Monday, May 20, 2013 3:19 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This drives me crazy. Our closest IKEAs are Dallas and St Louis so I'm feeling your pain. Isn't Ikea stuff disassembled and boxed already. Why so freaking expensive. A lot of furniture stores ship for free.

Also, is your first picture the bedroom or living room?

first pic is living room---it and the kitchen are one big area, set apart by the faux-tiling and the carpet

"kitchen"

That kitchen could really use a (freestanding) island across from the stove/sink, which would add substantial countertop and cupboard space and still leave plenty of room for an eating table near the fridge. I'd suggest a new or used Ikea Varde except you don't have a nearby Ikea, but any ol' cabinets and worktop will do.

oh i'm definitely getting an island or butcher block, and will likely pick one up at IKEA. cost is an issue, though, as are the dimensions

entrance to my crazy cave
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/8890008305_5f07cd0469.jpg

was thinking of getting some wall-mounted plant holders or possibly ones that hang from ceiling for that corner on the left
are those still sold? do i have to look for old ones?

Was just at Home Depot this weekend and saw some there. And at indie garden centers. Gethsemene on Clark St has lots of cool stuff. Or try amazon.

i need no excuses to go to gethsemane!! love that place, pass it frequently. i'll look there first.
hope i can keep this fern alive...

I have a maidenhair fern in a tiny pot that I wanted to keep in my bathroom but there is 0 natural light there so I have to move it around. Some of the leaves are browning but new ones still grow so I think I'm breaking even.

i've had ferns that lived through all different light conditions, but never thrived like i wanted them to
now i am trying an experiment with one outside and one inside but who the hell knows if either one of them will live?

Argh! Ferns! Okay, let us know how it goes.

Let's see if I'm getting the hang of this:

http://distilleryimage10.ak.instagram.com/44d9c688c93511e286a922000a1fb703_7.jpg

Apparently I am! Those are my two purchases from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden when I went. Neither of them are doing very well.

making slow progress over here. went to pick up some mail at the old place, and the guy who moved in invited me in to see what he had done to the place and it REALLY threw me for a loop. just being in there again, and seeing someone else's stuff there, I don't even know how to describe the feeling tbh. it has stuck with me, that i know.

right now i am trying to figure out if i should keep this big plant holder thing my FIL made outside or bring it in. i think it looks nice outside, but i don't honestly know if it's supposed to be outdoors furniture or what.

i don't think sunny formally announced this anywhere, but the home/design/diy borad is up and running: http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/NewAnswersControllerServlet?boardid=1816841918

oh! oops!

wait, does this mean i have to start this thread over
over there?

i'd rather not tbh!

no no no no, it just reminded me that she was trying to start that board, so i checked and it is up, but i don't think anyone knows.

just for future reference, in case anyone wants to start a particular thread.

oh ok, i was confused for a sec, sorry!
anyway that is good news! i will try to remember it.

Put in a sealed bid with the local estate sale guy for this table and set of six chairs and ended up winning:

http://i.imgur.com/EMdhj0N.jpg

Going to pick them up in about an hour. The surprising thing is that it's a Broyhill Brasilia II table and chair set, which I had no idea about but people seem to be into enough that sets of just the chairs are on ebay for like $1100 without the table, which is twice what we paid for the whole set. I figured someone else would have googled them and outbid us but apparently we lucked out.

gorgeous!

wow nice

Woooow. Dine in good health.

xps yes I Love Home is up and running. Id love the gardening thread and this thread over there but i understand they're already where they are meant to be. For anything else home related come on over <3

ok honest question -- is it too weird, tacky, or disrespectful to hang up this childhood picture of my dad in between iridescent animals?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/8969259016_0057dbcc04.jpg

Note: I obviously don't think so or else the idea would not have occurred to me. But I wonder/so I ask.