What a lovely surprise this evening: just before leaving work I checked the Apartment Therapy site to see the latest entries in the Small is Cool 2008 contest. I was quite surprised to find that my little apartment had made it up! My entry confirmation said that AT would contact me before the post went live, but I'm certainly not complaining. In fact, I'm quite humbled by the response it's gotten.
You can see my entry, Roxy's Room to Grow on Apartment Therapy's site. In order to vote you must first register. To register, scroll down to the bottom of the comments, and click on the "Register to Comment" link in the login box. Even if my apartment is not to your taste, there are many amazing entries.
Besides my own, I am also in love with Jessie's Town Street Studio, which includes lovely dark tones and a keen eye for style. Turquoise pretty much rocks my world.
Showing posts with label enjoying the apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enjoying the apartment. Show all posts
Friday, April 4, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Apartment Tour :: Roxy's Room to Grow
After T and I got back from Target I convinced him to help me clean for pictures. What a sweet guy he is (yes, I'm totally buttering him up for more). We dusted and vacuumed and prepped for my contest entry photo session. Hopefully P is coming down so we can hang out next weekend...and also so he can help me put up a huge NYC print I got from Ikea. I fell in love with it because I can see my work building in the photo. Silly, I know. I want to take before pictures just in case the canvas doesn't work out.
Ikea's awesome Premiär Flatiron print,
soon to be living on my wall.
One thing I have noticed is that it's hard to keep things that have outlived their usefulness. For example, my old bedding set is now sitting in a couple of bags under my pub table. I'm not ready to part with it yet but I don't really have room to store it here. I suppose I could take it to Julio but even that seems wasteful. The set might end up getting donated. I also have a dog bed, most recently home to doggy visitor Mooshi but now propped up against the far side of my bed as well as two pathetically under-used laptop bags.
"I have clutter!" I moaned. "The ONE thing I've tried so desperately to avoid." T smirked and assured me I was fine. He'd seen way worse, including the way I used to live in Connecticut. I suppose it is true that the more space you have the easier it is to fill it up.
After my drama attack was over T and I shared faux romantic lunch. He excused himself ("don't wanna be in the way of your photography session") and I started snapping. It was very hard to get good angles because my apartment is long and sort of narrow. After about an hour I was pleased enough.
I think I take decent enough photos, but I want to know how the heck professional photographers get such soft lighting on their pictures. All the interior design books have an almost glowy quality to them. I feel like I should be more of a Photoshop photo filter expert than I am. Alas, even after fiddling with my exposure and white balance my pictures still retain the hardness of, well, a photo. Hopefully my photos will be softened a bit if they make up to the Apartment Therapy site.
Even so, contest or no contest, I've come quite a long way since I moved in. I'm quite proud -- I spent almost a month on my sofabed and I've gone through 3 TV stands but otherwise it's been good. It's not my first solo living space but it's probably the most adult one. Up until now my little railroad at 3 Cottage St in Norwalk was my favorite place but I think this place has replaced it as coolest pad.
I can only submit 5 photos for the contest but I made a slideshow of my favorite shots:
I need to take some additional kitchen photos and maybe a couple more bathroom shots but that more or less is the whole tour. It's not big, but it's modern and it's mine. Besides quiet neighbors, you can't really ask for much more.
Ikea's awesome Premiär Flatiron print,soon to be living on my wall.
One thing I have noticed is that it's hard to keep things that have outlived their usefulness. For example, my old bedding set is now sitting in a couple of bags under my pub table. I'm not ready to part with it yet but I don't really have room to store it here. I suppose I could take it to Julio but even that seems wasteful. The set might end up getting donated. I also have a dog bed, most recently home to doggy visitor Mooshi but now propped up against the far side of my bed as well as two pathetically under-used laptop bags.
"I have clutter!" I moaned. "The ONE thing I've tried so desperately to avoid." T smirked and assured me I was fine. He'd seen way worse, including the way I used to live in Connecticut. I suppose it is true that the more space you have the easier it is to fill it up.
After my drama attack was over T and I shared faux romantic lunch. He excused himself ("don't wanna be in the way of your photography session") and I started snapping. It was very hard to get good angles because my apartment is long and sort of narrow. After about an hour I was pleased enough.
I think I take decent enough photos, but I want to know how the heck professional photographers get such soft lighting on their pictures. All the interior design books have an almost glowy quality to them. I feel like I should be more of a Photoshop photo filter expert than I am. Alas, even after fiddling with my exposure and white balance my pictures still retain the hardness of, well, a photo. Hopefully my photos will be softened a bit if they make up to the Apartment Therapy site.
Even so, contest or no contest, I've come quite a long way since I moved in. I'm quite proud -- I spent almost a month on my sofabed and I've gone through 3 TV stands but otherwise it's been good. It's not my first solo living space but it's probably the most adult one. Up until now my little railroad at 3 Cottage St in Norwalk was my favorite place but I think this place has replaced it as coolest pad.
I can only submit 5 photos for the contest but I made a slideshow of my favorite shots:
I need to take some additional kitchen photos and maybe a couple more bathroom shots but that more or less is the whole tour. It's not big, but it's modern and it's mine. Besides quiet neighbors, you can't really ask for much more.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Accent Wall
The accent wall, pre-paint.After work I raced home and tried a sample spot. Though the green came out a little bit darker on my wall than in the chip sample, I still loved it. Stem green it is! With spring coming I need a little bit of the outdoors in. The next day I was back at the Benjamin Moore store for a gallon in semi-gloss. A gallon was way more than I thought I needed. Better to be safe than sorry.
Next, I called in a solid you owe me. P had painted several rooms in my Norwalk house and seemed to know what he was doing. Good enough for me! Plus I love hanging out with him. It's a true East Coast relationship -- we spend half the time loving and half the time arguing with each other.
I met P at Grand Central on Saturday and then we 6'ed it back up to my apartment. He had sent me prep instructions earlier in the week. I'd gotten a dropcloth and painting tape, along with 2-extending arm rollers. He came prepared as well. More tape, a special non-tip tray, and rags. After the obligatory teasing about the size of my apartment, we started taping. We agreed that he would do all the cutting (using a paintbrush on the edges of the wall) and I would do the rolling.
P tapes. It was tight quarters.We had to do some furniture shifting. In a 300-sq. foot apartment there's not a lot room to maneuver but we managed to make enough space to paint. Getting the ladder in was another story.
My ceilings are probably about 12' high, so it wasn't like a stepladder would do. Luckily, my building super keeps a stepladder on my backyard. P got it in the door OK but then looked at the space between the wall and my bed and realized there was no way he could open the ladder up. Instead, he risked injury by leaning the ladder against the wall and carefully scaling it. Ever the doting assistant, I held up the paint tray so he wouldn't have to mess with his balance while cutting. Somehow, it worked.
We decided we didn't need to prime because the walls were painted eggshell right before I moved in. P worked on cutting around the radiator while I rolled. By the end of the first coat I had a nickname -- reckless roller. It may have been well deserved. Since I was just doing an accent wall I had to be careful near the other walls. I'd also picked the one wall with a window and the kitchen entry. A couple of times my roller may have accidentally gotten into the white trim. It got to be pretty funny. I'd say oops and P would look at me accusingly before grabbing the Windex and rag to clean up. He told me I was being rambunctious. I was just having fun.
All told, the taping and the first coat took about an hour. I was pleasantly surprised that the smell wasn't too bad. I guess I'm used to latex paint, which stinks to high heaven. We headed out to lunch despite the pouring rain. I'm sure we must have been quite the sight -- we'd attacked each other with brushes a few times.
We waited another hour before doing the second coat. The first coat had dried like the sample box -- a bit darker than the color chip. P told me not to worry and he was right. The second coat was much brighter. The paint coverage was excellent. Two coats was all we needed.
I headed back to Norwalk with P so the wall could dry in peace. When I returned on Sunday I was thrilled with the outcome.
The accent wall, post-paint.
My ceilings are probably about 12' high, so it wasn't like a stepladder would do. Luckily, my building super keeps a stepladder on my backyard. P got it in the door OK but then looked at the space between the wall and my bed and realized there was no way he could open the ladder up. Instead, he risked injury by leaning the ladder against the wall and carefully scaling it. Ever the doting assistant, I held up the paint tray so he wouldn't have to mess with his balance while cutting. Somehow, it worked.
We decided we didn't need to prime because the walls were painted eggshell right before I moved in. P worked on cutting around the radiator while I rolled. By the end of the first coat I had a nickname -- reckless roller. It may have been well deserved. Since I was just doing an accent wall I had to be careful near the other walls. I'd also picked the one wall with a window and the kitchen entry. A couple of times my roller may have accidentally gotten into the white trim. It got to be pretty funny. I'd say oops and P would look at me accusingly before grabbing the Windex and rag to clean up. He told me I was being rambunctious. I was just having fun.
All told, the taping and the first coat took about an hour. I was pleasantly surprised that the smell wasn't too bad. I guess I'm used to latex paint, which stinks to high heaven. We headed out to lunch despite the pouring rain. I'm sure we must have been quite the sight -- we'd attacked each other with brushes a few times.
We waited another hour before doing the second coat. The first coat had dried like the sample box -- a bit darker than the color chip. P told me not to worry and he was right. The second coat was much brighter. The paint coverage was excellent. Two coats was all we needed.
I headed back to Norwalk with P so the wall could dry in peace. When I returned on Sunday I was thrilled with the outcome.
The accent wall, post-paint.The image in the Pottery Barn catalog made the color look lighter, but it's got a very pleasant tone to it. I keep my apartment lights slightly dimmed which makes the color look like fresh spring grass. But with direct light on it it takes on a much lighter look. It's multi-tonal.
I was excited that the color reflectsoff my bathroom mirror.
My main concern was that painting one wall would make my apartment look smaller. I'm happy to say I really don't notice a difference. Also, the green makes me happy. I couldn't be more pleased with the end result.
The final result.
The final result.I've nicknamed this end of my apartment Pottery Barn corner. The art piece, my bedding and now the wall color are from there. It's a nice focal point when guests arrive and it makes me feel like an adult. It's another part of settling in.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
First snow
Whoo-hoo for the white stuff!I am a winter baby, and I love the fluffy white stuff. Snow that is. On Sunday we finally had (temporary) accumulation here in the city. While everyone else whines and moans about winter I love it until about March. I love snowboarding. I love building forts and tobaggon trails and having snowball fights. I even love shoveling.
The whole 1 inch we got made walking treacherous. It was a slushy mix by mid-afternoon and even in my winter boots I was slip-sliding along the sidewalks. A couple of times I almost took a spill. When I crossed in front of doorman buildings and businesses, the sidewalk was salted and noticeably easier to walk on. I suppose this is how it goes. It doesn't give me much confidence in my winter walking ability -- I put the over/under for number of times I fall at 10.
Of course, since it was snowing and freezing I had to run about 15 errands...I went to the Rainbow/Ace Hardware on 1st Ave. at least twice. That place rocks, by the way. They really have everything there -- household goods, tableware, candles, drugstore stuff, some food. I fell in love with these storage towers, but they were a bit too expensive. I also had to run to see Julio; he was holding some of my winter clothes. I sprang for a taxi ride there and back, and slapped myself silly when I got home and realized I'd forgotten my portable heater. Guess Julio gets another visit soon.
If I squint, I can almost see
mountains...
The snow has me dreaming of the mountains. I plan on hitting the Rockies during a trip to Colorado this winter (hello, Copper and A-Basin!), but in the meantime I'd like to go to Stowe, Vermont. They've had a pretty good snow season up there...I can almost feel my lips freezing now.
The whole 1 inch we got made walking treacherous. It was a slushy mix by mid-afternoon and even in my winter boots I was slip-sliding along the sidewalks. A couple of times I almost took a spill. When I crossed in front of doorman buildings and businesses, the sidewalk was salted and noticeably easier to walk on. I suppose this is how it goes. It doesn't give me much confidence in my winter walking ability -- I put the over/under for number of times I fall at 10.
Of course, since it was snowing and freezing I had to run about 15 errands...I went to the Rainbow/Ace Hardware on 1st Ave. at least twice. That place rocks, by the way. They really have everything there -- household goods, tableware, candles, drugstore stuff, some food. I fell in love with these storage towers, but they were a bit too expensive. I also had to run to see Julio; he was holding some of my winter clothes. I sprang for a taxi ride there and back, and slapped myself silly when I got home and realized I'd forgotten my portable heater. Guess Julio gets another visit soon.
If I squint, I can almost seemountains...
The snow has me dreaming of the mountains. I plan on hitting the Rockies during a trip to Colorado this winter (hello, Copper and A-Basin!), but in the meantime I'd like to go to Stowe, Vermont. They've had a pretty good snow season up there...I can almost feel my lips freezing now.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Are outdoor fireplaces legal in New York City?
I never thought this was a quandary I'd have to face, but I really want to know if outdoor fire places are legal in New York City. It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was in New Jersey visiting some friends who had just bought a new house. They grilled in their lovely backyard, which had a nice deck, glorious landscape...and an outdoor fireplace.
I was instantly in love. Of course, the one they have is huge and would never fit in my backyard. But thanks to my love of HGTV and all things home improvement I know that there are smaller outdoor fire bowls for sale at places like Target. (My favorite part of the reviews for the bowl at Target are the ones about using it indoors. You must be kidding, right? What part of outdoor fire bowl do you not get??!)
My backyard has a perfect round concrete area that would easily fit the bowl, plus four benches around it to sit on. I can already see cozying up with friends and a hot guy around the fire during the winter, making smores in the grand forest that is my backyard.
My side of the backyard last summer,
before the overgrowth got really bad.
I was instantly in love. Of course, the one they have is huge and would never fit in my backyard. But thanks to my love of HGTV and all things home improvement I know that there are smaller outdoor fire bowls for sale at places like Target. (My favorite part of the reviews for the bowl at Target are the ones about using it indoors. You must be kidding, right? What part of outdoor fire bowl do you not get??!)
My backyard has a perfect round concrete area that would easily fit the bowl, plus four benches around it to sit on. I can already see cozying up with friends and a hot guy around the fire during the winter, making smores in the grand forest that is my backyard.
My side of the backyard last summer,before the overgrowth got really bad.
Actually, I didn't even know I had the round patio until I did some fall yardwork. I know, fall yardwork in New York City -- it's been a grand source of amusement for my friends. But as I was starting to feel better I looked out back and saw leaves everywhere, and the neat fern beds in the photo above were overgrown.
So I went out back and cleaned my side of the yard. I swept the leaves into a pile, and cut back the trees and shrubs on the right and the left sides. There's also a tree that's dying back there. Several branches had dropped. With no woodchipper around, I had to place them in the fountain bed the old tenant had left behind. That was a bit of a bummer.
After transferring most of my piles into a big trash bag, I discovered was a nice, round sitting area about 12 feet in diameter. Flash forward to me in Jersey, and I mentally put two and two together. I asked my friends how I could find out about having an outdoor fireplace in the city. The consensus? This sounds like a job for 311!
Back in the city, I called 311. I listened in bemusement as a recorded message said, "please, if this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911." Soon after I was connected with an operator, a woman.
I applaud the operator's patience, as I wasn't able to articulate what an outdoor fire bowl is. I browsed around the FDNY site a bit but wasn't able to find what I was looking for. I'm not even sure where to look next, but I must know if I can put the bowl on my holiday list or not, and soon.
So I went out back and cleaned my side of the yard. I swept the leaves into a pile, and cut back the trees and shrubs on the right and the left sides. There's also a tree that's dying back there. Several branches had dropped. With no woodchipper around, I had to place them in the fountain bed the old tenant had left behind. That was a bit of a bummer.
After transferring most of my piles into a big trash bag, I discovered was a nice, round sitting area about 12 feet in diameter. Flash forward to me in Jersey, and I mentally put two and two together. I asked my friends how I could find out about having an outdoor fireplace in the city. The consensus? This sounds like a job for 311!
Back in the city, I called 311. I listened in bemusement as a recorded message said, "please, if this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911." Soon after I was connected with an operator, a woman.
Me - "Hi. Do you know if it is legal to have an outdoor fireplace in New York City?"
Woman - "You mean like a grill?"
Me - "No, like an outdoor fire bowl. I live on the Upper East Side and I have a backyard. I'd like to purchase an outdoor fire bowl to use in it."
Woman - "Ma'am, it is illegal to have camp fires in Manhattan."
Me - "No, no, not a camp fire. It's like...an iron bowl that you can build small fires in. Kind of like a grill I guess, but open...."
Woman (confused) - "I'm not sure what you're asking. Yes, it is legal to have a grill in Manhattan. But you cannot have brush fires."
Me - "Well, it's not a brush fire --"
Woman - "Maybe you should go the FDNY website and check there. They break down many of the city's regulations. I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance."
I applaud the operator's patience, as I wasn't able to articulate what an outdoor fire bowl is. I browsed around the FDNY site a bit but wasn't able to find what I was looking for. I'm not even sure where to look next, but I must know if I can put the bowl on my holiday list or not, and soon.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Progress
It's been three weeks and I'm not fully unpacked yet. But I've made excellent progress.
move-in day (Aug. 18)
****
move-in day (Aug. 18)
****
Around Sept. 1
****
Yesterday
****
Yes I have a bed! That I can sleep on! And a TV! With cable just installed! I also maybe have a mouse. Sigh...I'm going out drinking.
****
Yesterday****
Yes I have a bed! That I can sleep on! And a TV! With cable just installed! I also maybe have a mouse. Sigh...I'm going out drinking.
Friday, September 7, 2007
My first official dinner guest
It's Friday and I still have no gas. Again. Again! I'm almost resigned to my fate at this point. My microwave will sit on top of my stove forever. I will have no gas, so there will be no point in moving it. Seriously - screw Con-Ed. Screw the plumber. I can't possibly think of any feasible reason why this has taken my non-Super 3 weeks to straighten out. The bill is in my name. Con-Ed has inspected the line. What is the hold-up here? Is there someone I can contact about this? A Senator or something? Ridiculous. I should invest my rent in some kind of interest-baring account.
Anyway, my pissy-ness about the situation was not going to stop me from having my first dinner guest - my BFF. My place is about 75% set up now. All of my boxes are 'unpacked' but not everything has a home yet. I've vacillated endlessly about what furniture combinations I should buy. Yes - incognito desk from Crate & Barrel, No - more lack shelves from Ikea. Yes - more lack shelves and a cabinet for over my dresser, No - incognito desk. I'm trying to find a way to take advantage of the vertical space in my apartment but it's proved to be difficult. My Ikea catalog is getting a lot of mileage right now as I debate internally.
With enough space cleared to make the apartment look semi-neat and my chairs in place out in the backyard, I invited M over for some pre-made Whole Foods dinner. She oohed and aahed appropriately as we discussed and debated my plans. She expressed frustration at my gas situation. Then we headed out to the backyard and chatted until it was too dark to stay outside (though my neighbors all have lights, I do not. The weirdness continues.).
In the end, we decided to forego in-house dinner and we hit Haru's, which is at the end of my block. I'm so not a sushi fan but it was pretty good. We started with some calamari that rocked. M got a salmon-cucumber-something roll that had just a little bit of ocean taste and was yummy. My tuna rolls were good but I could only down three before the rawness started to get to me.
We made plans to hit Manhattan Mini-Storage the next day. We're going in together on a unit. I quoted online and it looks like it'll cost about $50 a month which is totally doable. Plus, there is a location a block away from her apartment. She lives on the UWS on Columbus Ave. just below Morninside Heights, so kind of a haul for me but cheaper than storage in my area. I'm having trouble reconciling that I'll be paying to store my off-season crap somewhere, but this is how it goes in New York City. This is how it goes.
Anyway, my pissy-ness about the situation was not going to stop me from having my first dinner guest - my BFF. My place is about 75% set up now. All of my boxes are 'unpacked' but not everything has a home yet. I've vacillated endlessly about what furniture combinations I should buy. Yes - incognito desk from Crate & Barrel, No - more lack shelves from Ikea. Yes - more lack shelves and a cabinet for over my dresser, No - incognito desk. I'm trying to find a way to take advantage of the vertical space in my apartment but it's proved to be difficult. My Ikea catalog is getting a lot of mileage right now as I debate internally.
With enough space cleared to make the apartment look semi-neat and my chairs in place out in the backyard, I invited M over for some pre-made Whole Foods dinner. She oohed and aahed appropriately as we discussed and debated my plans. She expressed frustration at my gas situation. Then we headed out to the backyard and chatted until it was too dark to stay outside (though my neighbors all have lights, I do not. The weirdness continues.).
In the end, we decided to forego in-house dinner and we hit Haru's, which is at the end of my block. I'm so not a sushi fan but it was pretty good. We started with some calamari that rocked. M got a salmon-cucumber-something roll that had just a little bit of ocean taste and was yummy. My tuna rolls were good but I could only down three before the rawness started to get to me.
We made plans to hit Manhattan Mini-Storage the next day. We're going in together on a unit. I quoted online and it looks like it'll cost about $50 a month which is totally doable. Plus, there is a location a block away from her apartment. She lives on the UWS on Columbus Ave. just below Morninside Heights, so kind of a haul for me but cheaper than storage in my area. I'm having trouble reconciling that I'll be paying to store my off-season crap somewhere, but this is how it goes in New York City. This is how it goes.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Stuck inside
I have an awesome backyard that I haven't been able to enjoy yet. Why? Because I'm still inside, stuck unpacking. As predicted I brought way too much stuff to my wonderful starter apartment. I mentioned this to my best friend, who mentioned in turn that she was considering getting a storage space and did I want to share to split the cost? Hells yes! I love how things have a way of working out.
Other things are not working out as well - my car for instance. It's been for sale for nearly a month with only two nibbles. The day before I moved, I took Hunk to a dealership in the hopes of selling it back. But they wouldn't buy because I financed the SUV and I'm still paying it off. Bummer. They gave me some recommendations - list on AutoTrader.com (done, as well as Cars.com), post on Craigslist (like they even had to suggest that to me) and consider dropping my price. With a sigh, I went home and did just that, cutting the price by $1000. I know these things take time but the thought of making a car payment in addition to my rent is daunting. As each day goes by I'm more stressed about this. I hope the car sells soon.
Work has been tough because of the car stress and also unpacking stress. I make a task list at work of the things I want to finish at night. More time is great but I've spending a lot of that extra time on the phone catching up with friends. My own fault. I finally cut the shelf down enough to get it installed in my closet. Next on the assembly line was the space saver.
A space saver is a cabinet or shelf that goes over your toilet. I say this because my boyfriend has no idea what the hell I was talking about when I told him about it. Assembly time. I opened the box and took out all the parts. I'd learned my lesson in college with assembly furniture - read the directions. By step 3 I was already screwed. Two support pieces were missing. I was mad for about 10 minutes, figuring I was stuck. Further consideration showed I could still put the rest together and evaluate post-assembly.
A half hour later the space saver was assembled. The doors do not quite line up at the top, but I can fix that with my drill. What should I expect for $45? The missing support pieces would have added stability but the piece came together without them. I called the 800-number on the instruction manual and ordered the missing pieces (they were free as they should be). Then I put the space saver in my bathroom. It was tight and I had to take off the bottom support bar to maneuver it around the water shutoff. Once in, it was wobbly from the missing pieces but looked great!
I'm probably a bit too excited. Like my shower curtain? It's actually a light blue. And the rod I had to buy for it? Fell on my head three times while I tried to expand it to the right size. All worth it though. Next to buy: a bamboo shade for my window so I can have some privacy, and shelves for under my bed so I can finally set it up. I've unpacked about 10 boxes and set aside 5 to store when my friend and I get a storage unit. My apartment is a bit of a mess. But a good mess.
Other things are not working out as well - my car for instance. It's been for sale for nearly a month with only two nibbles. The day before I moved, I took Hunk to a dealership in the hopes of selling it back. But they wouldn't buy because I financed the SUV and I'm still paying it off. Bummer. They gave me some recommendations - list on AutoTrader.com (done, as well as Cars.com), post on Craigslist (like they even had to suggest that to me) and consider dropping my price. With a sigh, I went home and did just that, cutting the price by $1000. I know these things take time but the thought of making a car payment in addition to my rent is daunting. As each day goes by I'm more stressed about this. I hope the car sells soon.
Work has been tough because of the car stress and also unpacking stress. I make a task list at work of the things I want to finish at night. More time is great but I've spending a lot of that extra time on the phone catching up with friends. My own fault. I finally cut the shelf down enough to get it installed in my closet. Next on the assembly line was the space saver.
A space saver is a cabinet or shelf that goes over your toilet. I say this because my boyfriend has no idea what the hell I was talking about when I told him about it. Assembly time. I opened the box and took out all the parts. I'd learned my lesson in college with assembly furniture - read the directions. By step 3 I was already screwed. Two support pieces were missing. I was mad for about 10 minutes, figuring I was stuck. Further consideration showed I could still put the rest together and evaluate post-assembly.
A half hour later the space saver was assembled. The doors do not quite line up at the top, but I can fix that with my drill. What should I expect for $45? The missing support pieces would have added stability but the piece came together without them. I called the 800-number on the instruction manual and ordered the missing pieces (they were free as they should be). Then I put the space saver in my bathroom. It was tight and I had to take off the bottom support bar to maneuver it around the water shutoff. Once in, it was wobbly from the missing pieces but looked great!
I'm probably a bit too excited. Like my shower curtain? It's actually a light blue. And the rod I had to buy for it? Fell on my head three times while I tried to expand it to the right size. All worth it though. Next to buy: a bamboo shade for my window so I can have some privacy, and shelves for under my bed so I can finally set it up. I've unpacked about 10 boxes and set aside 5 to store when my friend and I get a storage unit. My apartment is a bit of a mess. But a good mess.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Taxi
My space saver came really fast - arrived today. I had it shipped to work brilliantly. It wasn't heavy but it was bulky meaning another taxi ride was in my future. There was a Home Depot in walking distance of work, so I ran there post-worktime for the additional closet shelf I wanted. Yes, they do have Home Depots in NYC (and kudos to that).
I looked around for the lumber section but didn't find it. Instead, I stumbled across a pre-fabbed shelving section! Perfect, since all of my closet hardware was painted white. I found a piece long enough - a bit too long actually. I found a clerk and asked them to cut it down only to find out that they can't cut it down in New York City. What?!? Methinks I got lied to. But I decided to be resourceful. I went to the saws section and picked out the only one under $200 - a $35 jigsaw. With the shelf I spent just over $50. Not too bad. I forgot my change of address coupon but I knew I'd be back for a shelf to add to my kitchen - a brilliant plan I'll expand on in a future post.
I grabbed a taxi, a Ford Escape hybrid SUV. My driver was hysterical. He had a son just starting high school. He was worried because his son wanted to get a job. How funny! The driver asked me funny questions about my first job and I found out his son goes to Brooklyn Tech, which is where my Dad went. A neat coincidence. We talked about the pressure to get into a good college. When we got to my building, he helped me unload my stuff. I tipped him well.
Inside, I set up two boxes as my sawhorse and read the operating instructions for the saw. Okay, I read the box. Okay, I looked at the pictures on the box. I put on my hiking boots to protect my feet and carefully inserted the saw blade. I turned it on briefly to test it and then measured twice on the shelf. I marked the proper length and prepared to cut.
Man, the saw was hard to control. There was a lot of vibration and I had a hard time keeping the saw on the line. Sawdust flew everywhere. When the cut was done, I reviewed my work and laughed. I'd gone horribly off-course on the second half of the shelf. I fixed my cut. The cut side had jagged edges from the saw, but I didn't care. Time to put the shelf in.
There was already support wood in the closet for the shelf. It was hard to maneuver the shelf in. I had to finagle it in diagonally and then flip it so it laid horizontally as it should. I did this only to find out the shelf was too long. Oy. I pulled the shelf back out, measured again and cut the board down by an inch. I finagled it back into the closet. Still too long. Rinse, repeat. Still too long. By this time it was 9:30 and too late to politely try again. I'll go to bed without the shelf installed.
I looked around for the lumber section but didn't find it. Instead, I stumbled across a pre-fabbed shelving section! Perfect, since all of my closet hardware was painted white. I found a piece long enough - a bit too long actually. I found a clerk and asked them to cut it down only to find out that they can't cut it down in New York City. What?!? Methinks I got lied to. But I decided to be resourceful. I went to the saws section and picked out the only one under $200 - a $35 jigsaw. With the shelf I spent just over $50. Not too bad. I forgot my change of address coupon but I knew I'd be back for a shelf to add to my kitchen - a brilliant plan I'll expand on in a future post.
I grabbed a taxi, a Ford Escape hybrid SUV. My driver was hysterical. He had a son just starting high school. He was worried because his son wanted to get a job. How funny! The driver asked me funny questions about my first job and I found out his son goes to Brooklyn Tech, which is where my Dad went. A neat coincidence. We talked about the pressure to get into a good college. When we got to my building, he helped me unload my stuff. I tipped him well.
Inside, I set up two boxes as my sawhorse and read the operating instructions for the saw. Okay, I read the box. Okay, I looked at the pictures on the box. I put on my hiking boots to protect my feet and carefully inserted the saw blade. I turned it on briefly to test it and then measured twice on the shelf. I marked the proper length and prepared to cut.
Man, the saw was hard to control. There was a lot of vibration and I had a hard time keeping the saw on the line. Sawdust flew everywhere. When the cut was done, I reviewed my work and laughed. I'd gone horribly off-course on the second half of the shelf. I fixed my cut. The cut side had jagged edges from the saw, but I didn't care. Time to put the shelf in.
There was already support wood in the closet for the shelf. It was hard to maneuver the shelf in. I had to finagle it in diagonally and then flip it so it laid horizontally as it should. I did this only to find out the shelf was too long. Oy. I pulled the shelf back out, measured again and cut the board down by an inch. I finagled it back into the closet. Still too long. Rinse, repeat. Still too long. By this time it was 9:30 and too late to politely try again. I'll go to bed without the shelf installed.
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