Almost every place we've lived — house or apartment — has had some DIY project done by the landlord or previous inhabitant that we really wish had been left up to professionals. It took us awhile to figure out that the back hallway of our current house was not covered in a high-gloss vinyl, but was actually a painstaking DIY enterprise.
After design school, I (Kayla) took up a hobby in ceramics. The only part I was ever any good at was glazing and, at the end of 3 years, I had an extensive collection of irreverently colorful, wonderfully imperfect, and mostly unusable bowls. Most of the glazes are not food-safe and the rest have cracked bases so, until now, they’ve lived quietly among us — stacked on shelves, sadly under-appreciated. But I love these bowls — particularly the colorful insides — so as Wes and I continued our living room makeover, we also began strategizing a way to install my bowls on the wall as abstract pieces of art.
Using simple, inexpensive materials like rebar and salvaged wood, architect Daniel Moreno created a small and flexible workspace as an extension of an existing home in Quito, Ecuador.
Most of us struggle with the design conundrum of how to disguise or hide messy cords, particularly if you want to use a leggy piece of furniture as a desktop or electronics docking spot. One clever, affordable idea (as in $4 affordable!) comes from Michelle, whose dreamy home we'll be featuring in a future Apartment Therapy House Tour.
Name: Victor
Location: Allston, Massachusetts
I'm a restaurant owner and bought my 340 square foot condo 4½ years ago. Soon after moving in I became obsessed with small spaces, interior design and renovation work in general. I demolished what was left of the kitchen, bath and entry way area while leaving some cool old nods to the past (original wood moldings throughout and the hot water heater I ended up painting dark maroon). I didn't have a style I was going for initially but in the end I shamelessly dubbed it Urban Industrial Cozy.
These DWR Theatre Armchairs are a beautiful light saffron leather and are in good condition save some sun fading on one side of one chair. $800 each is negotiable if you take both chairs, so if you have the space you might consider picking them both up.
Here's some DIY inspiration for the weekend: a second look at two Rhode Island homes we've toured, both featuring beautifully stenciled wall patterns. While we used to think of stencils as being too quaint for our taste, we're won over by the growing number of creative and contemporary examples that we've seen lately, these included.
Q: Like a lot of couples, my husband wants a comfortable recliner and I want something I like the looks of. After reading the many recliner related posts on Apartment Therapy, I've got my sights set on this one from Room & Board: Pierce Recliner (at left). Does anyone have experience actually using this chair? How comfortable is it? Is the push back mechanism quiet? We aren't near a Room & Board store so we'd have to buy online without trying it out. Any suggestions for similar recliners that I might have overlooked?
Sent by Jasmine
Name: Tina
Location: Salem, Massachusetts
We bought our antique farmhouse in 2006. When we moved in, we had grand ideas to re-do, rebuild and update the entire house. However, in these economic times, things got extremely tight. I got pregnant, had a baby and things have been moving slower than expected. However, in the midst of all that, I feel we've kept some sense of style on a very low budget.
The French aren't known for being arbitrary, but sometimes the pursuit of pure reason leaves little to be desired in the realm of aesthetics.
These Knoll Risom side chairs really are a great bargain, usually each will run between $400 and $500 depending where you look, and here you are getting a set of four for $1000.
Yesterday we wrote about how to set up a multi-functional workout space, which included putting wheels on our ottoman so that we can move it out of the way easily when it's time to jazzercise. Here's how we did it.
Q: I bought a super-cute kitchen table and 4 chairs off Craigslist. It looks great in our kitchen and the chairs double as extra seating in the living room and game room/office. I just picked up this new cushion fabric, and am now wondering if I should refinish the entire set (table, leaf, 4 chairs) so it's worthy of its new cushions. The finish is pretty worn on the table's edges and chair arms. I would love to do this myself, but there are a few complicating factors: woven backs on the chairs, wrapped detailing, laminate tabletop. So my question is two-fold: 1. What color should I paint this set, keeping in mind it has to work in three different rooms, and 2. is it worth attempting this myself? Thanks!
Sent by Sarah
It's only February in New England and I am having Spring fever. I want to be outside digging in the dirt and planting things. Since I can't do that, I have decided to pay special attention to my houseplants. For this "How To" I show you how to easily re-pot your plants which you should do every year or two to keep them vibrant and growing.
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