Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with interiordecorating

Rochester NY decorating services / help?

14580 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:27:47 -0800

We're remodeling our kitchen and adjacent family room and we need help finding someone in the Rochester NY that can help us pick out and coordinate the colors of our walls, counter-tops, rugs and floors. I've been looking at the web sites of interior designers and decorators and I find them very intimating. It looks like they work on $$$$ projects and we have a modest house and a modest budget. Do you have any recommendations or suggestions?

Interior Design FAIL

GuffProof — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:54:29 -0800

Can the interior walls of a log home be plastered smooth? Fairly simply? After a frustrating six month search for a country home in my semi-modest price range, I found a real possibility. The location is a dream, the price is great. Yes, it needs a lot of work, but having searched this long, I am realistic about the options available to me.

There's just one thing. It's a log home, something I had not even considered. I adore the country setting but when it comes to interior decorating, I am the farthest thing from "rustic".

The living room-- UGH.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43417725@N05/3999122328/

None of my furniture belongs in a room like this, nor do I want it to. The only way I could be happy with it would be to somehow cover over the interior loggage and make them look like "normal" walls.

So that's what I'm wondering... Can you just trowel on a good layer of plaster to fill in and smooth over the logs... or would it take a complete drywalling project... and what the heck would I do with the vaulted ceiling?

Voices of both experience and/or creative ideas are welcome!

For what it's worth, I'm a fairly handy person who could likely handle a plaster-and-paint job herself if given instructions to follow. Never attempted dry wall or the like, though, and would definitely leave something like that to a professional.

I've seen the place from the outside and peered through the windows. I'm touring the inside with the realtor on Monday.

Oh, and yup I know that if I don't really *like* log houses then it's sort of silly to consider buying a log house. I hear ya. But again, I've been searching for SIX MONTHS and if I have to be willing to compromise, that's what I'm going to do! Thanks, all!

(PS- sorry about the link, it wasn't showing up in Preview so I assumed I was doing something wrong and just skipped it.)

How Best to Set Up a Furniture Rearrangement Question?

WCityMike — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:08:21 -0800

How can I best set up a question regarding furniture rearrangement (in terms of spatially rearranging things, with measurements) on the Internet, and is Ask Mefi the best source or are there other communities that would be better? Are there Flash tools that let you post furniture floorplans and let others come and rearrange things? Alternatively, for advice simply on arrangement of furniture, how much might a professional's advice be, and would an interior decorator be the profession to turn to? (Do they still call themselves interior decorators? It seems a '70s term.) I am going to be living in a small studio for a while to come now. It is a great landlord and a pleasant building. I have no use for a one-bedroom and also would prefer to reserve funds (funds that would then go for increased rent) for other quite important targets at the moment, not to mention I don't have people who could help me move at the moment.

The problem with the studio is space and outlets, however: I have only two outlets in the main living area, limiting where certain things can be placed (computer, TV/DVD/cable, etc.), and electricians have advised that new outlets can't be added without major renovation.

I think I've done the best for what I've got, but it does need fixing. And recently I realized I have two furniture-space crises coming down the pike: (i) I've been sleeping on a twin air mattress for a while. I plan to replace that with a "full" bed, but have no idea how that might be introduced to the space without seriously getting in the way. And (ii) my bookshelves are overflowing and another one needs to be added, but there's utterly nowhere to put it. (I had considered a futon, but I think that after a certain age, it says that something's a little weird about you if you're still on a futon. Or is that just an idea I picked up from "The Office"? Dunno.)

I'd like to turn to hiveminds for advice -- either Ask Mefi's hivemind or that of a "furniture rearrangement" community -- but I frankly don't know how to appropriately post the problem in a manner that people can give effective answers, given that it involves accurate measurement and rearrangement of things.

I already have all the measurements done, and have set up a little cardstock model with rearrangable furniture to try my own hand at moving things around. Is there a website -- probably something involving Flash -- where you can set up a sort of bird's-eye view of your apartment and then Joe Schmoe come in off the street and rearrange the things inside?

Alternatively, how much would it zing me, financially, to get a professional to walk in and say, "If you put this there, put this there, put this there, and replace this with this, your problems should be solved"? (I live in Chicago.)

Tips for "fixing" the color of a gallon of paint?

zeph — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:32:54 -0800

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend, who's just bought a relatively pricey gallon of interior paint only to discover it's not coming out the color she'd wanted. What would be the best (i.e., most reliable and least expensive) way of fixing this? Can she simply buy a different color and mix her own? The paint in question is latex and was supposed to be orange (a bright orange - think "nectarine") but instead is drying as a goldenrod-yellow. Sites like this give hope that mixing to adjust the color -is- possible, but unfortunately we're having little luck coming up with specific tips, do's, and don'ts (for instance, some sites suggest you can alter paint with Kool-Aid, while others state that that's a Very Bad Idea). Can anybody who's had experience with this help? Are there tints she could buy to change the color - and if so, where should she look to find such things? Would it be best to simply buy more paint and mix the two? If so, any suggestions as to the color/type of paint she should find to mix in - I'd assume a red would work but is that correct?

I realize that some amount of experimentation will be necessary but given the cost of the initial gallon, my friend is reluctant to go out and buy -more- until she's got confirmation that it could work.

Gosh, isn't moving -fun-?

Help me find a use for these curtain panels.

frobozz — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:50:01 -0800

Any suggestions for what I can do with two curtain panels that won't work for the purpose I bought them? The area of my apartment which does not contain the bedrooms is shaped like a long hallway, with the front hall 'area' running into the living room 'area' and so into the kitchen. I had the bright idea to break up the living room and kitchen areas with curtains hung across the 'hall,' and when I went looking for some had the luck to come across some that were absolutely perfect for my apartment as far as color and pattern go - almost exactly what I had in my head when I started out, which is unusual and pretty lucky, I think. Unfortunately, when I got them hung up across the space it looked like crap - very amateurish and just not right. I don't want to return them, since they're so exactly 'right' for my apartment, but what, barring actually hanging them in the windows (I currently don't have window curtains, just blinds) is something attractive and creative I can do with two 50 x 95 in. panels? They're lightweight (though not sheer) and have sort of a sheen to them.

Toilet paper cozies for hipster-wannabes?

commander_cool — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:29:21 -0800

Our cats have discovered the joy of shredding toilet paper. Is there a cool and stylish toilet-paper cozy that can be a solution? My condo is decorated with black-granite-and-steel furniture and abstract art, so the standard frilly knitted cozy with a puff-ball on top wouldn't quite match. Is there something hip and ironic that serves as a toilet-paper cozy (sort of the way Alessi makes funky toilet brushes) that one can purchase? I like this knitted "sushi roll" cozy as a compromise, but it's an arts-and-crafts project rather than something for sale.

(Yes, we can just close the bathroom door, which may just be the answer, though these are cats that have figured out how to open doors if they're so inclined.)

Be it ever so humble...

LoriFLA — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:18:13 -0800

How can I make my house's decor appear sophisticated and interesting? My house is nice enough, but I want to do something different.

If I had a ton of money I could buy a charming house with built-in bookcases, hardwood floors, and fill it with antiques and oriental rugs. Hannah's apartment in the movie Hannah and her Sisters is my dream space. Since I am not a millionaire, how can I make my decorating in my 2000 square-foot stucco home with vaulted ceilings more interesting? I have a typical Florida suburban house--not really any architectural interest to speak of.

I *know* that I should create interiors that are interesting to me. I feel that I do, but I need more ideas.

I don't want to necessarily buy mass-marketed home accessories (been there, done that), I don't want my house to look like a page in a catalog. I want something else.

What could I fill my bookshelves with? What kind of art or prints, pottery, textiles, furniture, planters, etc. should I choose without looking like a complete poseur?

I want to convey a sense of elegance and sophistication on a middle class budget. (I am not completely broke, I recently returned to work part-time with a nice hourly wage for mad money. I could piecemeal.)

I want my house to say "interesting" even though I have Formica cabinets. Any and all ideas appreciated.

Looking for interesting floor/table lamps.

You Should See the Other Guy — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:05:10 -0800

Looking for a unique or stylin' a) table lamp and b) floor lamp. Suggestions? I'm looking for a nice table lamp and floor lamp. I prefer stuff made by artists instead of mass produced stuff but if'n it rocks and is mass produced, I'll consider it. I'm also open to antique/retro so if you've got a link to something that's no longer produced but is cool, please hook me up as I don't mind searching for used.

For instance, I'm close to buying this table lamp but am looking for other suggestions (and opinions on that one if you have it or have seen it).

I know that suggestions would normally depend on the environment they're going to be used in but I think I'll leave it open and ask for links to any lamps that you made you think 'wow' when you saw them. (Don't let that tube lamp link deter you from linking something you think clashes with it.)

Thanks!

Unbasement my basement

PercussivePaul — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:21:21 -0800

Help me make my new basement room feel like a non-basement room. Specifically, paint, lighting, and other decorating ideas. So I'm moving into a new place and it's slightly underground. It has reasonably-sized windows but they start halfway up the wall. Some light gets in but not as much as a normal above-ground. The whole place looks kind of bleh because it has dark beige carpets and light beige walls. Also the overhead light in my room is hospital-bright so it feels very artificial. I want to make it look brighter, funkier, more lively. It's not really that bad right now but I think it could be a lot better. (I've never done any decorating before.)

I can repaint the walls - they are due for a new coat anyway, so the landlord will pay - though I will probably have to paint them back when I move out, probably in two years, so I should avoid colors that will take four coats to apply and four to paint over. I saw this thread which is great - any further suggestions for colors?

Lighting-wise, a friend is going to sell me a few lamps. I thought maybe if I used the lamps instead of the overhead light, or maybe in combination with the overhead light using a lower-wattage bulb. then it might feel more warmer and more welcoming. Any thoughts?

Other ideas - plants. I think having a bunch of plants would help. Though I don't know if they'll get enough sunlight? those near the window will be fine but elsewhere I don't know. Would houseplants thrive on artifical light? I've never owned any before!

Thanks

What kind and color of curtains should I buy?

acridrabbit — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 21:19:36 -0800

Adventures in home decorating: what kind and color of curtains should I buy? I just ordered a new sectional. I've never had nice furniture before, only Salvation Army and hand-me-downs. I'm worried about the fabric fading, so I'd like to get curtains for the windows in that room. Right now I have a permanently-closed cheap plastic windowshade in the North window, which looks out onto the street, and nothing in the East window, which is screened by landscaping. So privacy is a concern in one window, but not the other, and light coming in is a concern for the East window but not the North.

So what sort of curtains should I buy? I don't want to obscure my view out of the East window, so I was thinking about sheer, but that doesn't help me in the North window, where I need a privacy screen. Would it be ugly to just leave the windowshade there? Will sheer curtains be enough to block the sun and keep my new furniture from fading?

Also, color. The trim is white, the walls are blue, the new furniture is light brown. Do I match the trim, or the walls, or the furniture, or try to find a pattern with all the colors? Is there a rule, or anyone have strong opinions on what looks good? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hanging art from the ceiling... ?

dobbs — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 10:06:48 -0800

I have several large paintings (5 x 5 or so) and am moving into a new apartment. I know from experience at my current apartment that I like to move stuff around and that I don't like holes in the walls. What's involved in hanging paintings from the ceiling like galleries often do?

What to paint a bedroom?

Colloquial Collision — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 19:45:27 -0800

In your, professional or casual opinion, what's a good, inviting and livable color to paint a bedroom? Thank you.

Prettyin' up the joint...

jennyjenny — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 18:37:00 -0800

I'm moving from a small, really nice place in a sweet neighborhood to a larger, less swank place in a considerably less sweet neighborhood. There are no trees on my street, a lot more trash, and it's noisier. Any tips for making my apartment prettier, a place that I'm just thrilled to come home to? I have a very low budget. I have never really done much to consciously make an apartment that I live in livable or coordinated. I have always just acquired the furniture that I could from the street or salvation army, threw it in there and kept the place fairly neat. But in the place I live now, I got to a point where I was just not happy to come home -- my apartment was cluttered and dark and small and not very pretty.

Now I would like to actually try to make the place nice. Any advice you might have on how to do this with a tiny budget?

I need a good source for a huge image to put on a wall 8' x 11'.

rfordh — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 15:06:15 -0800

I have: A dorm room wall, about 8' x 11', and access to a high quality, 54" printer that prints to a roll. I want to cover my whole wall with one image. Help me, please. [MI] I haven’t moved in, so I don’t have more specific measurements, but you get the idea. I need a cool source image at an insane resolution, or some idea of how to obtain one. There must be a place to get something like this on the web, right? Alternatively, what sort of film could be enlarged to that size? How much would it cost to persuade an artist to do so, if it came to that? What should I use to affix the two pieces to the wall? I can’t permanently damage them, and I imagine this superposter will be pretty heavy. Something like thumbtacks is OK, normally, but to support something of this size, it would make too many holes and be too visible on the image. I can manage cutting the image in Photoshop and matching the edges, I think.

As for what kind of image I’m looking for, well, that’s the really hard part. I’d like this to be a conversation piece because of its size and content. For you decorator types, the other walls are white. The furniture is either a light wood color or black.

I’m just tired of having a boring-looking room, and this project screams out to me as something that could be cool. I’ve got access to a whole print shop, so other ideas are welcome. Non mefites should feel free to email me at the address in my profile. Other dorm-room-décor ideas are welcome in small doses, but the pressing questions are outlined above. Thanks, AskMefites.