I know Cheddar wants this litter box.  The only question is… which color?

Got this new FORLIFE brew-in-mug teaware last week in Austin and I’ve been using it every night with some herbal tea. Loose tea is sexier than bagged tea. Even when all you do is cut open the bag…

Before:

After:

The contact paper is the “Maron Dark” color and available at DesignYourWall.  It’s a bit more user-friendly than regular contact paper because it isn’t super sticky.  It sticks well to the furniture once you’ve got it where you want it, but if it accidentally gets positioned wrong or folds back on itself you don’t have to start over again.   I chose not to do the inner supports because I was hoping to eventually find either a contrasting color or an interesting pattern to cover those elements.  Covering the shelves was relatively tedious and required a modest amount of patience, attention to detail, and x-acto knife skill.  At $65 for a 49 foot roll it’s eminently more affordable than buying new shelves.

]]> http://www.anundonecalm.com/2008/10/04/wood-grain-contact-paper/feed/ 2 http://www.anundonecalm.com/2008/07/30/scratch-that/ http://www.anundonecalm.com/2008/07/30/scratch-that/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:04:42 +0000 Anne http://www.anundonecalm.com/?p=427 Continue reading →]]> New plan for household revitalization that doesn’t involve spending as much $$: DIY.  I’m going to paint the laminate shelving unit that I hate.  I realized I don’t actually hate the unit itself.  I hate moving it (and have vowed to never do so again) and I dislike the light wood.

So, after some Apartment Therapy and Ikea Hacker research it appears I can paint it even though they are maple or birch veneers.  Now in an ideal world I’d be able to stain it a deep dark almost black chocolate color, but I’m pretty sure I can’t stain those veneers.  So paint, in a high gloss blackish chocolate, will have to do.  I think the darkness will contrast nicely with the brushed metal supports.  Luckily I can do test spots on the back supports.  My cursory research suggests the steps are sand paper, vacuum/clean, numerous coats of paint.  It doesn’t need to last forever so that’s my plan for my first attempt at DIY.  The living room is now void of table and chairs so there’s plenty of room for my project after I get back from Iceland.

Did I mention I was going to Iceland on Friday?  Ten blissful days of cool rainy (read: ideal) weather in a Scandinavian country.  V. excited.

Naturally, I wouldn’t order it in that color.  I’ll give you one guess which color I’d go with…

I’m not quite sure about the ottoman situation.  Is one enough?  Or maybe a non-matching ottoman that’s large enough to be shared?  That’s trickier.

Then, I also need to replace the eating area in a more convenient size and location so that we might actually use it.  I like this table idea (also from Room & Board).

It’s narrow enough (30″) that it could just go up against the wall with 3 chairs, but you could pull it out and add a fourth chair if you needed to.  Or even do two chairs on the long side.  I’d prefer the walnut top, but at $400 less, I think I’d go with the plain glass top.

Then I also have to get chairs.  Eeesh.  Maybe Ikea chairs will do. At $19.99, this Stefan chair could be hard to beat.

So, 2 chairs, 1 ottoman, table, 4 dining chairs = $2366 + tax + shipping.  The chairs are the bulk of that though.  More debating required.

I picked up one of these Snapware GlassLock containers at Bed Bath and Beyond this past weekend and I’m already smitten. Basically it functions like tupperware except it’s a glass bowl and a silicon lid. Read: no scary plastic chemicals leeching into your food, fewer disposable tupperware containers in the landfills. The glass is heavy and durable so it doesn’t feel like it will break if you throw it your lunch bag and the seal is airtight. The container is microwave friendly and dishwasher safe and all those good things (not that I have a dishwasher!). The only downside is the price, but probably that evens out over time.

Nevermind about that not posting business. I’ve been inspired again…. I finally saw Helvetica at the IFC Center. A movie about a font. But Helvetica is not just any font. It’s ubiquitous and elegant and modern and universal and clean and everything a font should be. This documentary is eighty minutes of typographic glory. Everyone should see it, if only to open their eyes to the world of type around them.