Adventures in upholstery class

Last week I took my first upholstery class as part of a month long series. And…uh it was hard! But it also felt good using my hands and power tools. For this class we are each making our own ottoman from scratch, meaning we each were given a wooden frame to start with. This first class dealt mostly with adding the webbing and springs for the ottoman.

Jute Webbing is the base support for the ottomans

Jute Webbing

Air Compressed Staple Gun!

After the first class, I’ve already begun to appreciate the art of well done upholstery work.  It definitely feels like an older craft…like basket weaving or something. But I digress. The best part of this class is that we get to use these cool air-compressed staple guns. These babies are awesome! And they will make anyone feel like a macho man. The teacher is cool if not a little intimidating. And the people in my class seem nice, although there is one “know-it-all” that I can already tell will drive me nuts. Grrr! But, I did pick up some good tips.

Different Types of Springs
A major difference between a quality piece of furniture and mass-produced “crap” is the kind of springs it uses. The best kind are coil springs (which we are installing in our ottomans). Spring coils will last 10-15 years. Next is the zig zag springs, which is very common in mass produced pieces because it is fast to install. This kind is ok. Then there is elastic webbing, which is basically just stretchy fabric. This is the worst as it will stretch out after only about 4 years. You can generally tell what kind of springs are used by following this rule of thumb: If the bottom of the furniture is solid then it is probably coil springs, if the bottom is hollow than it is either zigzag or elastic webbing. Of course, I can’t afford custom pieces, so I don’t have anything that is new that uses spring coils, but it is just good to know what you are getting into.

Coil Springs

Coil Springs

Zig Zag Springs

Elastic Webbing GROSS!




Tip: When Buying Vintage Look Underneath
When thinking about buying a vintage piece of furniture check underneath. If the bottom is sagging that means that the springs and webbing are worn and need to be replaced. This means that the chair would need to be stripped to its wood frame which is both mega expensive and time consuming.

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Cherry blossoms – a bit of spring you can bring into your home

The other day I was walking through the Union Square Green Market when I spotted a vendor selling cherry blossom branches. This excited me because despite all the snow we have gotten in New York, spring must be on its way. I also love the look of blooming branches used as floral arrangements.

Sakura, the cherry blossom tree, is indigenous to Japan. In Japanese culture the cherry blossom stands for good fortune, love and affection, and spring. Sakuras made their way to the US when Japan gave 3,020 trees to the US as a gift in 1912. Now there are cherry blossom festivals all over the US including Washington, DC and even here in Brooklyn at the Botanical Garden.

Anyway, enough history, here are some photos to get you inspired




How to Care for Branches (from Sunset.com)

Clip branches when the flower buds grow fat or when the first bud opens. Make an inch-deep slit in each stem end.

Fill your container with lukewarm water and add floral preservative. Display out of direct sunlight; change water when it gets murky, and recut and reslit stem ends.

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Designing with Personal Photos

No matter what our age or our budgets, there is one thing that we all have…personal photos, old birthday cards and various other mementos. These sentimental objects are usually stored away in a shoebox or a scrapbook, but don’t you think you would enjoy them much more if you could experience them everyday? So why not use them as a design element and put them on your wall? And the good news is that there are countless ways you can display your photos that are more inventive than just framing and hanging. Here are some ideas.

Tape It Up!
Your personal photos are just that…personal and so its ok to treat them a little sentimentally. By skipping the formality of framing and taping up images in an informal arrangement, you are giving the photos a very comfortable and personal treatment.




Frame Them But Don’t Hang Them
Remember, these photos are of the people you love, so arrange them informally and it will have a warmer effect then if you hang them symmetrically in matching frames. It’s ok for the photos to look a little cluttered as long as it is a sweet and sentimental clutter. Think of your grandma’s shelf and all her old photos…that’s what we are going for! You could arrange framed images on a table top or you could use picture ledge wall shelves like the ones pictured below. West Elm sells these for $35- $55.




Forget What I Just Said
Ok, remember how I just said this: “it will have a warmer effect then if you hang them symmetrically in matching frames”? Well, I don’t mean to be disingenuous, but here is an idea from the late great Domino that does just that. What’s so great about this idea is that the frames are the IKEA RAM frames that cost $1.99 for a 3 pack. Cheap and cool! Awesome!



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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls? – Naomi’s Calming Reminders of Spring

[This] is a series of pictures and frames my sister-in-law – who is an amazing photographer and artist – made us for Christmas.  I was never that in to nature decorations before but the pictures are really calming, and good to look at in the middle of an East Coast winter when you’ve forgotten what green looks like.

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Be afraid of what lurks behind the curtain!

In Front of the Curtain

I have a personal problem and I’m going to be honest about it. Half of my apartment is slowly turning into a junk zone. My apartment’s living room and bedroom are separated by a curtain. So on one side we have our lovely living room and kitchen and on the other side is our bedroom and office space…or in other words a sea of musical equipment, clothes, papers and furniture we need to get rid of. Wow, promise you won’t judge me ok?

When someone first walks into my place they may feel cheery looking at the colorful furniture and knick knacks…but then there comes a time when they must venture….dum dum dum BEHIND THE CURTAIN!

GASP!  In my defense, I live in a studio with my boyfriend and those of you who live in small spaces with a roommate or a partner know that keeping your home out of the junk zone is a constant battle.

The reason I am sharing this with you is that I plan on fixing it and I will chronicle how I do this. But just to introduce you to the problem at hand, here are some highlights…er lowlights.

The Downside of Working From Home (+ stuff I acquired after moving from an office back to a home office)

Josh’s Music Gear

My Shoes And Clothes!

And Random Shit Like Old Lampshades And An Exercise Bike.

MORE TO COME!

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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls? – Madeline’s Most Valuable Work of Art

I love this drawing/card that drawn for my birthday a few years ago. The artist was an awesome four year old, Rowan.

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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls? – Liz’s Vegan Taxidermy

An editor where I used to work rescued this paper and wire “taxidermy” from the side of the road in Tribeca. He’s perfect for my room,  which has a lot of traditional furniture with more modern, playful fabrics and accessories.  I like his big scale (at 36″ high, 22″ deep) and how he brings the eye up,  drawing attention to my high ceiling. I’ve resisted any temptation to paint him to cover the bandage on the snout because I love the ethereal quality brought by afternoon light shining through the paper. And I love him more for his imperfections!

PS. Nice paint color!

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Well Well Well I’m not the only one talking about inspiration today

I guess great minds think alike…therefore 2nd Floor Living must be gaining on Apartment Therapy (uhhh not quite), but whatever. Today they posted an amazingly apropos post about how to collect inspiration. Read my last post and be amazed at how connected these are!

Check out Apartment Therapy’s advice here.

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Finding your style & working it on a small budget

 

Last weekend a friend of mine asked me for advice (which was very flattering). Her problem is that her apartment is full of stuff, but it is stuff that she has inherited from her parents or just randomly acquired over the years. So she was wondering how to make her apartment feel more designed and cohesive. I know that many people in their 20’s have this problem. How to infuse an apartment with your style when you never actually went and picked out the furniture you have?

Well, I have to refer back to the good ole’ Domino book. The first chapter is all about finding inspiration and then coming up with your personal style. Even if you can’t go out and buy things, defining your ideal living space is the first step to achieving it. It may take years to fully incorporate your style into your home but at the same time, if you know what you are looking for you will achieve more on a small budget than if you have no real direction. In short, figuring out what you like is the first step regardless of budget.

1. Look for things that inspire you
To find inspiration Domino suggests looking not only at magazines and design books but also films, art and fashion. Basically anything visual that strikes your fancy is worth noting. And hey! Reading this blog is a good idea too ;)

2. Devise a way to keep track of the cool things you find
Next, they suggest keeping a file or record of the inspirational things that you find. It could be anything from a 3-ring binder or just a list you keep on your smart phone. One really easy way to keep track of stuff is through the site Kaboodle.com. You can keep wish lists and create style boards. There is also a “Kaboodle it” button you can install in your toolbar that makes tagging things very easy.

3. Find the common thread
Once you have collected a few sources of inspiration look for common themes within them. As Domino says “Have you picked several things that feature the same yellow? Lots of gilding? African-esque patterns? Are you drawn to rooms filled with stuff or ones that are more spartan?”

4. Give your style a name.
Finally, try to assign words to the common threads you found in your list of inspirations. They can be contradictory, but in the end it should be a short succinct phrase that will help you more clearly define your style. Here are some example words that Domino suggests using:

bohemian, feminine, elegant, vibrant, masculine, clean, tailored, organic, classic, traditional, modern, exuberant, bold, unconventional, sentimental, witty, comfortable, punk, ladylike, edgy, cozy, zen, romantic, noir, dramatic, pop

It’s helpful to have a phrase because it will keep you focused. You could fall in love with a hot pink vinyl chair (you could) but if you are going for “Feminine Traditional Sentimental” you probably don’t want that chair in your living room. Not to say that you should limit yourself (if you really need the chair then I won’t stop you), but having a phrase will help you keep the big picture in mind.

I hope this helps some of you. I’d love to hear what “Style Phrases” you come up with!

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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls? – Stefanie’s Repurposed Flea Market Find

I found this gem at the Brooklyn Flea Market in DUMBO. It’s just a beat-up, discolored metal tray, but if you hang on the wall like so, you can hang all kinds of beautiful things from it! I used it for my earrings. Very rugged industrial femme, no?

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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls? – Kate’s Prehistoric Statement

My friend Carter found it on the street up near Columbia and when he moved, he left it nailed to the wall. I visited his roommate, and when I saw it there, I freaked and took it home to brooklyn on the Subway. Alex [Kate's boyfriend] haaaaates it, but I love it best of all my things.

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What’s The Best Thing On Your Walls?

A few weeks ago I asked readers to send in images and brief description of their favorite wall decoration. Thanks to all of you who sent in photos! Starting today, I’m going to be featuring one “WTBTOYW” a day! If you feel inspired by any of these posts and want to share the best thing on your walls feel free to fill out a submission form.

Alright! Here goes!!

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Advice from the book arranger to the rich and famous

In December I wrote a post about attempting to rearrange my bookcase. A day after that post, I learned that Madeline Donahue of the screen printing duo FakeDog is a professional book arranger! She works for a large book store in Manhattan and is hired to put together private libraries for people who can…well, afford to pay someone to put together a library for them (aka not us). Above is an image of a room she did for O Magazine. See, she knows what she’s doing! And now, without delay is her excellent advice for putting together bookcases!

Basics for book shelf organization/decor:

  1. Separate paperbacks and hardcovers. Leave the hardcovers for eye level & higher shelves and save paperbacks for less obvious areas in the home such as the bottoms of shelves or in the bedroom.
  2. Decide your goal for the books. Are you using them as a decorative element in the room or would you like to be able to find certain titles and subjects easily?
  3. Group together books of similar size and color (or by similar subject, then by color). Books are printed in two general sizes: trade and oversize. Trade size books can be grouped in blocks of colors (blocks of black and white or whatever the prevailing color might be). A good look is to mix in colors between the solid color blocks (6-10 books per block). Oversize books look best if they are stacked sideways on shelves in small groups- tallest books on bottom of stack. I usually group these stacks by color as well.
  4. Another easy way to make books look better: As you are arranging, be sure to keep spines in a line with one another on shelf, either flush with the edge of the shelf or about a half inch back on the shelf.
  5. If you don’t have enough books to fill your bookcase, start by placing books in the middle of the case. Place books in orderly stacks and work out to the nearest shelves. Do not worry about areas that are not at eye level or in view from other areas of the room/house such as bottom and top rows. Take a step back to view your masterpiece as you work- check all points of view. You can also add framed photos/sturdy sculptures/objects as book ends or stack more delicate objects on top of a few books. Look for pieces that have a color in common with the books.
  6. Symmetry is also an important design element to think about when arranging books. Think about what you have the most of and remember to divide those books into parts to place in different places in the bookcase.

Thanks Madeline! And if you want to help FakeDog go to SXSW Flatstock, check out their Kickstarter project and donate some $$.

Also, I have to mention that a friend of mine who is currently getting a masters in Library Science, shared this advice for those of us interested more in organization than decoration:

“If you want to be super dorky and catalogue your books, there’s a great website called librarything.com

Yes Megan! We want to be dorky! Additionally, Apartment Therapy recently wrote about an amazing iphone app that can help with the cataloging process. Check that out here.

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Shopping Highlight: Penguin Postcards

Just posted on Amazon for pre-ordering is a set of 100 postcards depicting classic Penguin book covers. Penguin is known for having some great book designs especially in decades past. There is even a book dedicated to the designers behind some of these classic covers called Penguin By Design. I think these postcards are going to be making their way onto my wall. Alas, they aren’t shipping out until the fall, but then again my birthday is in October…hmmm

Check them out here!

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After picking up the pieces (literally), I have a new beginning. The kitchen catastrophe follow-up!

By now, you probably have heard about the heart-wrenching incident that took place in my kitchen late last week. A wall-mounted shelf broke and I lost all but three of my plates in the crash. True to my word, I spent the weekend fixing up the kitchen and thanks to IKEA, I was able to not only replace everything but also to make my kitchen look better!

I wanted to take inspiration from those old British kitchens with the open shelving and hanging pots. And not to brag or anything but the final result was actually better than I expected. I love when that happens. Having said that though, there are a couple of things that need improvement. First is figuring out a good lighting setup and second is the paint color. I think a different wall color would work better, but I have yet to decide if I feel up for painting my kitchen for the third time in 3 years. Only time will tell. All it takes is one boring Saturday and I might do it…. Anyway, here is a before picture followed by what I ended up with!

BEFORE:

Here is my kitchen before the incident (note the infamous shelf!). This isn't bad, but it looks pretty junky.

AFTER

This was the best angle I could get to show all the new additions (did I mention my kitchen is teeny?).

Yay! These two shelves not only have that rustic vibe I was looking for but they also double my storage space.

Don't those new IKEA dishes look so sweet and simple?

With the new storage, I now have room on top of my oven for more of my cooking utensils. In case you haven't noticed my oven is very old and cute. Luckily it is also functional.

And here is exactly what I bought at IKEA to achieve this look.

1) FÄRGRIK 18-piece dinnerware set $24.99

2) EKBY TRYGGVE Shelf $7 each & EKBY Wall Bracket $6

3) KROKEN Rail $3.99 & KROKEN S-hook $2.99  / 5 pack

4) ELLY Dish towels $2.49  / 4 pack

TOTAL SPENT: $72.46

So maybe this incident was a blessing in disguise? Rest assured, these new shelves are very well supported on the wall. All I know is that my kitchen is now a happier and safer place.

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