decor

IKEA trip

by Lara on December 9, 2012

in decor

We finally made it up to IKEA on Saturday to claim my Christmas present!

A dresser! I haven’t had a chest of drawers for almost 4 years, except for the narrow thing of drawers for my drawers and socks and stuff.

We got the 6-drawer Mandal and put it together last night.  So much fun.  If someone paid me well enough to put together IKEA furniture all day, I would totally take that job!

Ulti was our quality control supervisor:

“Don’t blame me if you’re missing a part!”

All set up!

I don’t know how we functioned this long without this extra storage.  It’s been rough.  Then, there was the reorganizing of the stupid stupid tiny closets.

I also got the Fado table lamp that now sits in the hallway radiator.

And lastly, a fun green plastic fruit bowl from the PS line:

We also got a super minimal floor lamp for the bedroom.  Ulti shredded the paper shade one.

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new sofa

by Lara on May 31, 2012

in decor

FINALLY you guys! We got it!

This past Memorial Day weekend, we gave ourselves a budget and hit the furniture stores. We were ready to pull the trigger and had always intended on getting a sectional sofa with a chaise on the side (looking at it – the right side). It would’ve been nice for both of us to stretch out at the same time. Well, that ain’t gonna happen.

I hate buying furniture with our apartment space in mind because we aren’t going to be there forever but, I also don’t want the door to the bedroom blocked for god knows how long. The chaise parts were just too long on everything we looked at plus, we would need a new coffee table PLUS most of the sectionals we looked at didn’t have RIGHT side chaises. Plus we didn’t want loose pillow backs or two tones, and we really wanted leather. Sorry pushy sales lady, we know what we like. I wasn’t going to settle even if our old green sofa (a hand-me-down from my mom) that we despised, was beginning to drive us insane.

Thankfully, we shop really well together and have the same taste. I took measurements before we left, brought a tape measure, and had already searched online for years (you really need to do your own personal butt test in the store).

At the second store we found a sofa that suited us perfectly. It wasn’t a sectional but it was damn near perfect. We figured we could get the loveseat (matching or a different style) for the other wall some other time, since we would’ve gone over our budget for both pieces. I’m a haggler and the salesman wouldn’t budge. He already knew we loved it too much.

There she is!

Normal furniture stores rarely have modern pieces and if they do, they looks like they’re from The Jetsons. “You want modern? We’ll give you modern!”

LaDifference is the major modern furniture store here but sweet christ their prices are la-ridiculous! That’s the place we would go to browse and cry. Maybe one day I’ll own a pillow from there.

The sofa we got was one of 2 modern collections at Havertys… this one didn’t look ultra-futuristic. It’s top grain aniline dyed leather (oh boy did we get an education on leather from our salesman Bob). It was on sale, under budget and we got 18 months no interest to pay it off. Stoked!

It’s a bit darker than the picture in real life but light leather still scared the bejeebus out of me so we got the protection plan for it. If we accidentally mess it up (meaning, I don’t dive onto it naked covered in baby oil with a head full of hair dye), they will come clean it as often as we need and even replace the entire thing within 5 years. Uhm yes!

So here it is in my totally un-staged and messy living room this morning before I headed out the door:

A friend gave us a fluffy orange rug but the cats destroyed it so we just threw it away.  If we ever got another rug it would probably be a cowhide.

The coffee table has a drawer on each end – one for David and one for me. Across from the sofa are 2 windows, 3 Korean style wood cabinets and a big TV. David has his computer hooked up to the TV and has a wireless mouse & keyboard. This is his command center. Ha!

The orange Steelcase chair, I got at Goodwill for $10. That and my mom’s old glass coffee table next to it is gonna go once we get a loveseat. Paintings are by me!

Yay! So excited!

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UncommonGoods giveaway!

by Lara on May 9, 2012

in decor

May 17th 2012: THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!

The winner is:

Congrats Danielle!!!

 

A while back, I discovered a great online store called UncommonGoods and wrote a little post featuring my favorite products. They contacted me recently to see if I would be interested in reviewing anything they offered and host a giveaway! Heck yeah!

With Mother’s Day fast approaching I’m doubtful you could squeeze in a fast purchase (maybe?) but there are so many great gift ideas for everything else coming up- Father’s Day gifts (see all here), wedding gifts (see all here), birthday presents (like this!), graduation time is coming up too. Uncommon Goods has fun unique well-designed things that you just don’t find in normal stores.

The first thing I picked out was this garlic rocker. It’s a more streamlined version of your standard garlic press but, it’s easier to clean and the stainless steel removes garlic odor from your hands when you’re washing it in the sink!

I tried it out with a peeled garlic clove on my cutting board and while you do have to put a bit of pressure on it while you rock it, I was thrilled to have the garlic smooshed up so fast! The top has smooth holes but the underside is beveled for a good grip but not sharp enough to cut yourself. And yes, it cleaned super easy and is virtually indestructible stainless steel.

 The other thing I picked out is just as much for myself and my living room decor as it is for my cats!

The cardboard Cat Teepee! It came in an adorable cardboard box with easy instructions and a special note that it was also for “fat cats” or “gros chats” if your cats speak French. Perfect for 20lb Ringo!

It’s hard to see but there was an extra sheet of fancy decorations (+ 3 ball toys) to customize your teepee and replace any that may get chewed on. I put mine one backwards for contrast.

I assembled it on my kitchen table in less than 5 minutes and Ulti immediately wanted in!

(pardon his indecency)

“Would you hand me my catnip peace pipe?”

Ready for a Pow Meow!

He didn’t want out, so I carried him in his new house to the living room. (It’s pretty sturdy.) Ringo wanted in but couldn’t fit so we removed that inner ring to accommodate his fat cat self and he’s loving it too!

So those are my goodies from UncommonGoods. Shipping was super fast and well-packaged. They have an easy to navigate site, wishlists, gift registries and they also allow people to leave product reviews on their website, which is something I really love!

NOW for the GIVEAWAY!!!

How would you like to win a $50 gift certificate towards anything you want at UncommonGoods?

I’m using Rafflecopter for this giveaway so log in below and follow the instructions to make your entry count!

EDIT:  Log in then leave a comment the normal way (not inside the widget itself) and it registers!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Disclaimer: The products reviewed have been provided to me by UncommonGoods. All opinions and images are my own.

{ 25 comments }

before and after

by Lara on May 7, 2012

in decor

So, I got those lockers on Wednesday April 25th and finished them on Sunday May 6th. Starting this right after finishing my last painting – I’ve got serious painting fatigue. SO glad it’s over!

After I got them, they were scrubbed down with 409 and David sanded them lightly with 180 grit  (one sheet was enough). I didn’t start priming until that Sunday.

After tightening all the screws, we laid it down in the kitchen and I got to work!

I taped around the latches (wish I hadn’t) and used a teeny 2″ dense foam roller meant for touch-ups. I got it for $2 and it came with the little paint tray too. Replacement foam rollers came in 2-packs for $2 each and I got 3 packs of those. I used a 1/2″ flat paint brush for tight areas the roller couldn’t get to, like around the vents.

For a primer, I picked Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 water-based primer. It says it’s for all surfaces with no pre-sanding needed, and for all top coats. A quart was about $8. I’m really pleased with this stuff and clean up is great. I also have a TON left for future projects!

Because I’m a maniac, I did 2 coats of primer. I chose not to do the interior of the lockers but I still had to paint the pieces that fold in, on and around the doors. Such a pain in the ass! This required the lil’ paint brush and took hours. I had 2 doors open at a time, propped on wads of paper towels and wooden dowels. Luckily the primer dries in less than an hour so, I would work and rest and work and rest. Once I started the colors, I had to do this same process again on the edges, coat after coat, only it was standing up.

For the frame and sides, I used Rust-Oleum gloss enamel in white. A half-pint is about $4. I got a quart and should’ve just gotten the half-pint. Rust-Oleum is an oil-based paint and SO nasty to clean up! The odor is pretty strong too and it takes a long time to dry. Coverage is great though. One coat over the primer and that was it. I did the Rust-Oleum white parts first since it’s easier to clean up latex messes off oil.

Rust-Oluem colors are limited so I had to get latex colors mixed. Home Depot had Behr High Gloss Enamel. Actually, they had 4 Behr gloss bases left so I had to get 2 Glidden brand ones as well. Glidden was far superior to Behr. Totally worth a little extra money! (Also, never get Valspar paint from Lowes. Crappiest crap I ever did use.)

For about $10 a quart on sale, I dropped another $60 on 6 colors. So criminal. I could’ve just done one color or 2 or 3 but I was dead set on 6, which turned into a major disappointment.

I wish they would do custom colors in pints. Oh well. If I ever need to paint anything else around my house a fun color, it’s going to be with this leftover paint I have!

(They do offer little sample tubs of paint in any color for $4 each, which would’ve been perfect, but they were only in flat finishes. So, keep that in mind if you ever need a special color for a tiny project that isn’t glossy, or just put on a gloss topcoat!)

Here are the color swatches (from the Behr site) I picked. Clockwise top left: Atomic Tangerine, Grenadine, Garden Sprout (more acid green), Solar Flare (more bright orange), Aqua Waters, Chocolate Sprinkle

 

After a couple days of doing other stuff and recovering from back and leg pain (squatting and bending and hunching killed me), I finally started the colors.

David had the brilliant idea to line my paint tray with plastic wrap for easy clean-up between colors! Muah! So great! I had so many lil foam rollers so I didn’t have to clean them out when I switched colors, and just kept them in ziplocks to stay wet until the 2nd coat the next day. Also, some regular printer paper was used in the cracks instead of taping taping taping.

first coats

HEY! GUESS WHAT? I HATED IT!!!! The 6 colors just didn’t work together. It may look okay in that picture but it’s totally different in real life – offensive to my senses. David was being a true diplomat and biting his tongue saying it was very “European.” I think he meant European pre-school for the colorblind.

Colors in your mind are NOT colors on swatches are NOT colors in paint buckets are NOT colors actually painted are NOT colors photographed.

Kelly, a graphic designer, also noted that when certain colors are next to each other in large expanses, it can change the way you see them, bringing out hues you wouldn’t notice if they were alone or smaller. So there’s definitely that.

So… I sucked it up and picked 3 colors instead – yellow, orange and brown – which was David’s original idea so he had the pleasure of hearing me say he was right. At least I tried my original idea first. I would’ve always wondered and you just never know until you do it… $30 and hours down the tubes. I got my wits about me and finished the sucker!

Aaaaand drum roll please!!

Tada!

We’ve reorganized the kitchen and decided what would go inside the lockers, took meticulous measurements and I got wood dowels and shelves cut to by my dad to maximize storage. I cleared all my spices and cooking stuff off the mantle in the kitchen, got a 2-tier lazy susan that fits in a locker and now have all sorts of clean space on the mantle to decorate!

These two have a shelf 16″ up. The rest have 2 shelves 12″ apart.

repainted the mantle while I was at it

It was just a few days total of real work and about $200 (sigh… I wanted this to be cheaper). Still not bad for what’s on the market right now!

David thinks I should get more of these to paint and sell. Geesh… I just don’t know about that! Squatting and hunching down in my wrecked kitchen murdered my back and legs. I wish I had a workshop!

{ 18 comments }

lockers

by Lara on April 26, 2012

in decor

I got the lockers!!

So, the guy who was selling them on Craigslist was super nice and communicated and cooperated well with me to pick them up at 4pm yesterday. He was located in some strange garage on Broad Street near VCU, a few minutes from my place. Oh! And turns out I knew the seller from way back. He used to own an old theater I saw punk rock shows at and he’s friends with my uncle. I love this big small town sometimes!

I was pretty sure I could get them in the trunk of my car with the seats folded down. I was less than 1/2″ off. We measured 3 times with 2 different tape measures. I started to panic and figured my dad would have to help me get them another day on his flatbed truck.

Dude offered to take them to my apartment!! Score! I helped him get them in the back of his pickup, he picked up a friend who was working close by, and they hauled them up the main stairs of my building. Awesome! Dude’s friend was acting like he was gonna die so, they just left them in the main hallway by my front door. Ugh.

When David got home from work an hour later, he and I beasted the thing into the apartment and had to resort to sliding this heavy steel mess on bath towels into the kitchen where it will live.

So, here’s the plan.

First off, it’s filthy. I’m going to clean the bejesus out of it when I get home today.

Two of the door latches are messed up. I haven’t examined how to fix them but if worse comes to worse, I will rig something up, maybe even with velcro. I don’t care.

We discovered the doors are riveted onto the hinges and then the frame. No way I can remove them and spray paint them like I had hoped. Bummer.

My dad called a friend who does sandblasting but it’s going to be crazy expensive plus, hauling this behemoth back and forth again. Sigh. Not happening.

I researched painting already painted metal and got advice from my dad. I’m going to sand the hell out of the entire exterior surface to give it some “teeth” for primer to adhere to and to remove any rust bits. I have to tape around the latches then prime it with a matte metal primer using a fine foam roller (not fluffy) for a smooth surface.

I’ll lay it on it’s back (to prevent drips) and paint the frame (color undecided) and paint the doors some funky colors with more foam rollers. This may take a few coats and I may even seal it with a clear polyurethane for extra gloss.

I’m planning on leaving the interior and back side alone. Less work. No big deal. Eff it. Maybe not though. We’ll see.

There are bolts inside each section for shelves to rest on so my dad is going to cut 1/2″ thick wood pieces for me to maximize storage.

This is going to be a killer time-consuming project but the results should be pretty fantastic!

$95 + probably $50 worth of supplies to fix up something that costs waaaaay more on the current market.

I’m stoked and terrified all at the same time!

 

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