more things done

Tired, so this is unedited:

- repotted all plants
- planted thyme seeds
- hung hooks in bedroom (desperately needed; almost done)
- hung curtains in bedroom. Don't know what height to hang them so am sleeping on it before installing the other five.
- finally hung up trash bin on the inside of the cabinet door
- carried in bookshelf
- chose lamps to replace ceiling fans

I have never been so happy to have an unassembled chair in my kitchen

The Lunna chair by Ikea doesn't look like much, but after the ass test I was smitten. It is the perfect size and shape for my body, and provides lots of support without being too squishy. It also has no armrests, so it is the perfect knitting chair.

I have been trying to buy this goddamn chair since August, when the computer said there was only one left in the store-- one that was not on the shelf. They were getting more in on Monday. I bought the footrest and went home. I know Ikea and their atrocious stocking abilities, so I called several times before I had planned to go back. Every time I called they had a different expected ship date, and I was starting to think they had discontinued the chair entirely. I was in Ikea on Thursday because it was convenient, but no chair. I happened to check the website today on a whim, and THEY HAD IT IN STOCK. After running back and forth around the apartment looking for my cell phone, which was in my pocket, I called Ikea and swore I would never shop from them again if they did not hold that chair for me. They held it, I borrowed a truck, I picked it up, and checked the stock again just now. It is sold out again.

I don't get it. Why only get shipments of 4 chairs when it is ridiculously popular?

Meet Jasper.

I went to the Soho Room & Board store this weekend to take a look at the couches I've been eyeing online. I'm really glad I did-- they vary widely in comfort. On the catalogue page they all look pretty similar, but in person the effects are quite different. Klein and Jasper were neck-and-neck for a while, but Jasper won out. The reasonable depth measurements helped turn the tide, but little legs pushed me over the edge.

It feels really good to have this big decision made.

Commandment #11

Thou shalt not covet furniture that in no way, shape, or form fits into thy budget.

back into it

I've been reading lots of Apartment Therapy in the last few months, and one idea I really liked is a list of things you've done. The list of things I have yet to do is totally overwhelming, especially with my time so limited by work, so I'll start with what I did today, my first unscheduled day in what feels like months:

• slept for 13 hours
• completely stripped bed & washed sheets & duvet cover
• wiped down dresser and drawers
• put away everything that was on the floor of my bedroom
• moved several items up to storage
• swept porch and threw out/moved lingering items
• sorted through my entire giant clothes outbox. Marked 3/4 of it for goodwill, the other 1/4 is heading for the wash because it smells like box
  
• frogged several knitting projects that have been sitting around for months
• set up stereo in the living room
• took apart and thoroughly cleaned rotating fan, a task I've been putting off for two years

My room looked like this at the beginning of the day:

I ruthlessly decided to get rid of this huge pile of clothes:

I am about to finish three more loads of laundry, go get groceries, prime some lightswitch covers and my microwave cart, and paint the last remaining wall of my living room.

I'm finding this process very satisfying, but I cannot wait to have an apartment I'm proud of.

But it's purple!!

This chair is currently on Craigslist in my area, and it's affordable. I love the lush but classic styling, and it might contrast nicely with the modern couch and easy chair that I have picked out. However, the carpeting is pink in my living room, which I'm trying to minimize by picking furniture in neutral palatte. I think this purple might push it over the edge into a pink and purple girly palace. Argh. Wish I could see it in the space and then decide!

The Three Keys to Decluttering

Remembering these three ideas is literally the only way I can keep my apartment in reasonable condition.

Every object must have a home. Once this is true, it's just a matter of returning each thing to its proper place, a process that should take minimal thinking.

Every object must have a purpose. If you find something that's been sitting around for a while with no real intent, ask yourself why it's still there. If it has a purpose, find it a home. If it doesn't, get rid of it. Be ruthless, and remember that you won't miss it in a week.

Just do one object at a time. If you try to tackle a whole room (or even a whole bookcase or box) you will feel a powerful urge to do something else. Instead, start at one end of the room and work your way around. Pick up one or two objects at a time, and find their home. Repeat for each object without skipping any. Music helps you get in a rhythm.

Things I Learned About Painting From Priming One Closet

1) If you have a closet that you need to prime, do that first. Painting takes strategy and practice, and if you fuck this up no one will know. Not that I'd know firsthand or anything.

2) Wear clothes you really, really don't care about. It's not a question of whether you will get paint on yourself, just a question of when and how much. I currently have paint on the back of my heel, hands, elbows, and butt and all I've done so far is a closet.

3) Read about what you're doing before you do it. I just spent about a half hour washing out my roller in the sink, when I could have done things to shorten that time and minimize the amount of paint I put into the water system.

4) Again, wtf isn't there a totally comprehensive and useful guide to this somewhere? Everything I've seen is really abbreviated or leaves out crucial details.

5) Having someone else around, even if they aren't helping, probably makes this process less tiring. Or a book on tape.

6) Get more paint on the roller than you think you will need.

7) Take your time. Really. It's a lot easier to not mess up in the first place than it is to try to fix it. But keep a wet edge. Again, practice and strategy.

8) Mantra: cut in, roll, cut in, roll. I keep forgetting to cut in.

Final pre-paint stages

Choosing paint colors was pretty tough, but I finally settled on colors for the bedroom and living room. For the living room, I bought three of those tester boards and painted them various shades of taupe and taped them to different walls. They're not kidding when they say to look at the paint samples on different surfaces in different lighting conditions. Those colors changed a LOT when you go from wall to wall, or lit to shadow. I picked out a medium grey for the window wall, and custom mixed a light grey for the other wall.

In the bedroom, I had to design around a pinky-orange carpet and dark wood bedframe. I wanted to keep it light since the room doesn't get much sunlight after noon. I didn't do the two-step sample-painting process for the bedroom, I just held the paint chips up to my face, used my imagination, and went with my gut. There were a couple of lighter yellows that would have been nice, but they seemed overbearingly yellow. I liked a light, desaturated yellow, the obnoxiously named "America's Heartland". I'm shooting for "bright and cheery" without a "YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW" feeling. I can always make it darker or richer later if I want to.

I also bought primer, trays, rollers, and a dropcloth. I borrowed spackle and need to go find some sandpaper and a stool, and then I'm getting started. I'm going to start low-commitment with primering the closet to get used to this whole process. This has been a huge mental block and I really just want to get it over with so I can finish moving in.

to look at

Mom says the West End catalogue cover is in blue and brown. I'll check it out when I get back.

Newest stick of furniture.

Some decent design in a nice wood went by on Craigslist so I jumped on it. It actually fit in my car, and I am now the owner of this little guy:

It's from the late 50s, by Kent-Coffey.

Kitchen?

Blue and Brown?
Or just nuke the blue trim and pretend it isn't there?

When it rains it pours...

O Craigslist! In the past you have given me nothing but floral and wicker. A random selection from a recent day to illustrate how completely demoralizing hartford.craigslist.org/fur is:





But now that I've decided on a color scheme that uses dark wood and light neutralish upholstery, I get lots of good stuff. However, it's either way out of my budget ($1450 for a table and chairs?) or plays to my paralyzing fear of bedbugs. Some of the temptations:








I think I need to do some thinking about furniture styles before I get to carried away. Good thing I don't have a truck.

more colour resources

A list of all the color schemes using pink on colorschemer.com.

Some more pink color schemes from colourlovers.com. These seem less helpful for interior design because they use few if any neutrals.

Perfect

I just found a photo of exactly what I'd had in mind....before I saw the pink carpet.

Color inspiration

I've been doing two things to figure out what color scheme to go with. Look through lots of magazines and websites and pull images and color combinations that appeal to me without judgment. This process of creating a Style Tray is one I picked up from AT. It works because even thought I don't know what I like in theory, I know whether or not I like what's in front of my face. After looking at my Tray after weeks of blindly collecting images, I can really see my own style. And I like it. (I'm going to put it on Flickr if I have time tonight).

I've also been combing through apartmenttherapy.com, particularly sites like their Fall Colors Contest and Small Cool Contest to get a sense of what techniques I like and don't like. Useful beyond belief.

I'm absolutely agonizing over what paint colors to choose for the walls. The reason this is even a difficult decision is because the carpeting in the apartment, which the landlord will not get replaced for a year, is pink in the living room and peach in the bedroom. Pink! Peach! Doesn't exactly fit with the organic modern look I was going for. Since all my current furniture was dirt cheap or entirely free I have freedom but I'm at a loss as to where to even start.

Cleaning the bones

Heading off for a cleaning supply run to scrub down every surface of the apartment. The last occupant was ridiculously clean, but this is more of a psychic cleaning to make the apartment mine. It is also a good way to get to know the bones of the apartment, a la Apartment Therapy (AT).

I have no idea what I'm going to paint the walls and I'm upgrading most of my furniture, so I'm just going to keep carting boxes over and stacking them artfully in the middle of my (vacuumed) living room, and scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing. Wish I could finish the bathroom but inexplicably, there's a disconnected washer/dryer set that isn't mine taking up most of the space.

What this is about.

I am 23 years old, and currently living in my 13th living space of the last five years. I am completely sick of temporary living. For the last year I have been in a modest one-bedroom apartment whose linoleum flooring, fluorescent fixtures, strange layout, and isolated location have not inspired me to put any thought or money into it. I don't like coming back to my apartment. I avoid cleaning or organizing until I have to, and I go out instead of having friends over.

Offered a chance at a different apartment with a nicer layout in an apartment building with a community (and my own porch) I pounced. After reading Apartment Therapy, I know that I need to put in the time, money and care to make this a place I love to come home to and want to show off to my friends. I have a lot to learn: how to buy good furniture and lighting, how to paint walls, how to learn what I even like to look at, how to clean lots of new surfaces, and how to have a garden of potted plants.

I'm really excited about the next few weeks. The process will be hard but new and interesting, and the finished product something that enriches my life on many levels. And maybe this will even help you with your nest too.