apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Storage cabinets in the bathrooms! I know the guy who built the vanities and mirrors originally, and I'd like him to build storage cupboards to go above the toilets in each of the two bathrooms. But they're $225 each. Someday soon!

Finally got into my home cure. Too bad my camera is on the fritz or I'd have before/after shots to show for it. The reason I finally have time to work on the cure is that my work week just got cut in half thanks to the recession and all that. This really sucks because now I am putting myself back on a strict budget again so that tray I've been eying at Ikea is now going to have to wait. Really glad to have finally got going on this though...only took me 4 weeks ;)

Window treatments! (I really hate the thoughts that are provoked by that phrase, though.)

We desperately need a valance for the kitchen (but I can't find anything in bright colors with a red base), curtains for the living room, and white wooden blinds for both rooms. Since I finally found a rug for the living room via The Cure, I can get started on the living room when it arrives next week!

1. A cabinet - IKEA has one I like - to house the AV gear in our living room. Cords/boxes/metal - all super awesome to have when I want to watch Hulu or Netflix or my recorded episodes of the National Parks documentary. But visually, they make the baby Jesus cry. $349.

2. Gray paint for my bedroom - hopefully will have acquired this by weekend. YAY!!

4. Slim blue/teal shaded cushions for the cabinet in the living room - to make obvious "seats" for guests, as this low cabinet doubles as seating when we've got more than 3 people over.

5. Art for living room - need something amazing over the couch, something husband and I both love, and something that makes me happy every time I look at it. How/where to find this miraculous item? No effing idea.

6. The 4x4 painting of two birds I've been eyeing on Etsy for weeks. BOUGHT IT!!! It's for the bedroom - echoing the grays I want in there and it offered me an inspiring citron shade for possible accents there in the future. Happiness is a tiny bird painting.

what don't I want!

1. a credenza or a desk to hold a computer monitor on top (we gave up the TV in favor of just using our computer, saves space!) and to act as a bar or storage underneath.

2. coffee table and rug for our "living room." We live in a tiny apartment and our living room is just 2 arm chairs and a small table. But a rug and real coffee table would make it much more relaxing and delineate the space much better.

3. shelves, shelves, and more shelves. Problem is we don't have space for them (or all of our books, we've purged several times but just can't quite get rid of the few hundred we have left). So my grand idea (we rent so I don't know if this is a possibility) is to build shelves about 18 inches from the ceiling. One long shelf that wraps around the living room and the bedroom. That's more of a building project than retail therapy though.

4. Artwork for the walls. We've got a few pieces that we love, but more is needed.

5. curtains for the living area. I'll probably buy fabric and sew these myself along with complimentary throw pillows.

The refined litter box from the refined feline site. Now I can have my coat closet back from the cats and I won't be embarrassed by having the kitty litter box out in our living space! So much new storage space!!

OH! I almost forgot! the ModKat litterbox! I heart it. and I HATE having the litter box in the bathroom. This one I can put out wherever I have space.

More shelving! I still have boxes of books packed up from when I moved a year and a half ago, simply because there is no place to put them. I used to have enough shelving (barely), but when I moved in with the boyfriend... I had to learn to share!

I'm totally diggin' the hooks all cleaned up.

we need (read = lack) window treatment on MOST of our windows (they have to be functional, aesthetic and cat-proof - not an easy combo); and we need more light. Aside from having too much space thus LR is the most useless and under-used room in the house right now.

But first, I'd like to have a personal designer/ shopping assistant. I'll trade in my skills of an organizer. Anyone? :-)

A sofa! My better half and I have agreed on a design, now all we have to do is select the fabric. I can't wait since we've gone without one for 4 months now.

SHELVING AND WINDOW TREATMENTS!!!
i started with some curtains for my office.

A laundry room and a carport. (Hey, I already got all the affordable stuff!)

What I did so far nad plan to do:
1. Master bedroom.
a. Fixed broken closet door. Need either paint or wallpaper it. Need landlord permission though.
b. Got rid of 1 dresser and small table, used as a changing station. Moved another dresser to elder son's room. Took his, refinished it and put in our bedroom. NICE!
c. Debating ordering new WHITE bedding and dawn comforter... probably will do.

2. Little one's room.
a. Ordered new closet door knobs from Etsy and white finials from PB Teen.
3. Living room.
a. Got rid of a HUGE TV! YAY! Couldn't be happier.
b. Painted walls in turquoise! YAY! Happy!
c. Rearranged ALL furniture.
d. Need area rug. Or two.
e. Need rearrange all art.

4. Entryway.
a. Painted walls in BM Dark Linen. Nice!
b. Created a new landing strip.
c. Hung art.
d. Need to buy either blinds or adhesive window sheet for the front door.
e. Might want to paint a mirror frame (maybe) and change fight fixture on a ceiling (also questionable).

5. Older kid's room.
a. Need to paint it.
b. Re-arrange furniture.

Dining/office/kitchen are fine for now.

A dishwasher and weekly cleaning service :-)

There are lots of things I want. But what I really need are storage containers. However, my husband thinks they're pointless since I can put things directly on the shelves, and each container would take up a little space that can't be used to store things, and with lots of containers, that'd add up to a decent amount of space that stuff can't sit.

Drives me nuts. I can't stand looking at all of it, it looks so messy. Plus if I have containers, I can stack them and don't waste the dead space between each shelf. But he doesn't agree with me. "So just stack the stuff!" he says. I don't prefer piles of junk, thank you. I'd like them to be orderly!

with money I would get storage and worktables in my so-called office/workroom/studio.

within the next two months I have to find some kind of table or end table to go in the corner where my sofa and love seat come together.
Right now there is fabric over a bulletin board on a cardboard box,
with a lamp & books & the printer on it.

The deadline is because my log reindeer is in that box,
& it is getting close to log reindeer time.

I would like-
a built-in wall of shelves in the dining room
a new front door
a new sofa (loveseat actually) and chair/ottoman
a new sink combo in the bathroom

BUT, since the Mr. just bought me a new stove two days ago- those things won't be happening this year.

I want two area rugs, 2 comfortable but smallish upholstered arm chairs, with one ottoman. Going for broke, I'd also like a beautiful reading chair with ottoman for the bedroom.

Here's my list:

- china cabinet and server for my kitchen: I want antiques preferably; I really need to storage for dishes! I'm continuously hunting on Craigslist until I find the right pieces for the right price.

- Ikea Grundtal rails, racks, etc. for my kitchen

- faux tin-ceiling tile backsplash for my kitchen (from Home Depot)

- easy-to-remove wallpaper (from Sherwin Williams) for my bathroom: I've got the pattern picked out

- new desk for my bedroom / living room: still deciding between West Elm's Parsons Desk (white) and a Melltorp table from Ikea

I know EXACTLY what I want, down to the measurements. I'm just waiting until I have the money. I'll scratch a few things off the list when I get paid on the 15th!

The primary things I want for my bedroom one room cure:
-new mattress (working on the research--buying a mattress is way too complicated)
-new blinds (researching next after the mattress)

Also fix bedroom lamp: repair the floor torchiere lamp. The stuff in the base--plaster?--fell out and now I have the base weighted down in an unsightly way. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

Maxwell, love seeing updates on your Cure!

What I want is to reupholster the recliner (50's-early 60's) Danish Modern piece I enherited from good family friends in some blue Buclee type fabric, think ultra marine blue.

Make a bright yellow cushion for an antique captain's chair, would love a new coffee table (Isamu Noguchi, but that's $$$ I don't have right now)

Finish the Jazz album set for over the couch (near full size reproductions of old 60's Blue Note Jazz covers in black album frames, 8 in all and half are done and up)

Get a 4x4 Expidite in maple to extend the LP storage a bit and fill a gap in the dining area where crap now sits

But I may WELL be buying a new printer this week so I can print photos and such with confidence as artwork would be nice for myself and as gifts along with homemade CD's with full album/CD artwork and stuff.

But I really just need to go through and toss stuff, file and such the inbox at my desk as it's overflowing.

Right now my priorities are getting the tools needed to improve my job situation with better pay and parlay what I enjoy doing into a new career.

And hopefully will reinvigor my priorities towards my humble abode after the first of the year. :-)

Maxwell, looks to me like you're posing for the forthcoming "men of AT" calendar.... lol

What would you most like to buy for your home that would really improve it?

New floor tiles in kitchen.

Living room rug (to protect the deteriorating hardwood floor)

New toilet and flooring and shelving in upstairs powder room.

New tub surround in downstairs bath.

Re-wiring the house.

Pixie, have you been to a store to test out mattresses yet? I've bought two mattresses in the last three years, and each time I just go to Macy's, and it's pretty easy to tell which one I like best (that I can afford). After lying on a few, you know if it's too soft or too firm or too high, etc. I've found that a decent mattress is about $750, but maybe others know of good deals.

Lizzy,
Thanks, that's good to know. I haven't been to test mattresses, but will soon - probably next week (out of town this weekend). I'll definitely check out Macy's.

the thing i would most like is a bed. i already have the mattress, and had to ditch the box spring because it wasn't possible to bring it upstairs (or in through an upstairs window). platform bed is a must! but also a "must wait".