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Journal Red Warrior's Journal: Ask (an elite, clever, suave subset of) /. Home furnishing 30

Journal by Red Warrior
Coming home to a place I've never been before...

Backstory: I bought a house a little under two years ago - as recorded for posterity right here on /. I moved in with my "eclectic" divorced guy, aspiring to almost as good as college apartment -style mix of furnature. My friends and neighbors gave me an all expense paid vacation to the scenic middle east. I rented out said house, and put my stuff into storage. Except for the 90% that I donated to goodwill/St Vincent's/etc.

Present: I'm getting ready to go home in +/- 1 month, and will need to funish an approx 1450 sq ft 50's rambler-type house. I could just go to goodwill and buy my furnature back, but was considering actually decorating in some purposeful manner. I was able to walk out of Vanity Fair ["Haaaated it!"] last night, so I don't feel completely metro, but still....

What I am looking for is a feeling of openness/lightness/airyness, an impression of lots of space. I would like to organize my space to minimize appearent clutter, as well as the potential for clutter. Housing average population of 1 (with surges to two on visitation weekends). 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 "den/bonus" room, 1 living room, 1 dining room, 1 mud room w/washer & dryer. Closet space is at a premium (VERY shallow and small). I expect I will need to purchase a wardrobe (with a lion would be cool, no witches need apply), at least in the near term. Lots of space in the master bedroom, so that shouldn't be an issue. One but kitchen, but with loads of cupboard space.

I expect my den/study/office/computer/entertainment room to be an exception, and be pleasantly cluttered. I know fsck-all about interior decorating. But would like the furnature to actually go together.

Ideas, half-baked or otherwise?

This discussion was created by Red Warrior (637634) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Ask (an elite, clever, suave subset of) /. Home furnishing More

Ask (an elite, clever, suave subset of) /. Home furnishing

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  • don't rule out all the witches. It's bad luck.

    Then consider some japanese screens and some matting, and pick an overall theme for the place that leaves you comfortable.

    Wait, what am i talking about? My apartment is decorated with plants and sparkling rocks. Damn. Pay no attention to the dragon. HIRE somebody whose job it is to make you happy with your environment.

    *sigh*

  • And not just because I'm Swedish. But their stuff is affordable and fairly modern (non cluttery) looking, although not the most robust in the world. Plus you get the joy of putting it all together, insert plug A in hole B. Or if you're loaded hire a decorator.
    • While there is a lot to be critical of with IKEA furniture (on the BILLY bookcase the 'carboard' backing is actually a critical component to its stability; I've re-nailed in the backing 3-4 times over the years on some bookcases; I've had drawers for dressers fall apart after a year or two - however I wear my shit HARD.) the price CANNOT be beat. I did me entire first house in IKEA; much of it still living in this new place.

      "real" furniture is WAAAY to fucking expensive and frequently its only marginally
      • on the BILLY bookcase the 'carboard' backing is actually a critical component to its stability

        Just about any assemble at home furniture (Sauder comes to mind) is the same way. And God Help You if movers manage to fuck up the cardboard...

        "real" furniture is WAAAY to fucking expensive and frequently its only marginally better than ikea.

        I have a "real" mountain pine crib which is supposed to be convertable into a toddler bed and then a twin headboard. I just noticed today that the headboard piece is split

        • I respect your cleat/melamine shelving suggestion. Currently my kitchen pantry is the wire stuff- AND I FUCKING HATE IT. I think melamine is in my future (and since we are talking a pantry I will need madd extra supports; nobody likes saggy boards)

          However I only recommended the wire one because for clothes you can get the slider bar and eve wrap it around corners; a nice feature.
          Also as a relative newb I was able to do marvelous things to a walk in closet (double hang on the left, smooth turn until half
          • I guess people's mileage will vary. I bought some Sauder stuff >10 years ago when I got married that I still own and use, through three moves even. The only piece that's ever been a problem was the dresser I alluded to, and it was manhandled by "professional" movers.

            The IKEA stuff, despite being solid wood, doesn't really seem to be of significantly higher quality to me. It's all glue-ups anyway, so it's maybe a couple steps above chipboard/fiberboard, but it's not sturdy like real wood ought to be :-

    • IKEA all the way. The furniture is simple enough to not overpower a room. As far as particle board furniture goes, IKEA stuff is quality. I also suggest you pick up one of their funky blue lamps while you're there. :^)

      Only bad part...they discontinue things without warning. I wanted to play Living Room Tangrams with the Lack tables, only to find that they have discontinued the triangles. :^(
  • from *surprise* IKEA.

    I have this [ikea.com] one; GALANT workspace series, table top with frame.
    Can't find the same legs on that IKEA site but those on my desk are in the corners, going straight down, and they are height adjustable.

    A bit pricey (~$200), but worth every work hour. It's big enough for two 17" CRTs, a small hp printer, a small scanner, small speakers, a telephone and some books and I still have plenty of space. It's "curved" in a nice way.
    The best thing is that even when I stretch my legs out I do

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Yes! Effektiv is the name. I thought that maybe they had renamed it to GALANT or something but the GALANT is probably another model, longer and with different legs.

        Maybe it's a bit more expensive, I paid a bit over $200 but that's three years ago and on a sale.

    • I have this desk too at HBI's insistence and its amazing. Great desk.

      I was a little shell shocked by the price (you want THAT much for a DESK!) but it was totally worth it. One of the only desks I have ever had that was like big enough for everything and was like really good ergonomically too.
  • you'd ever want to take advice on this. i think it was buffer or Sol who said "so someone actually lives here?" when seeing my house.

    yeah... my house is pretty empty... its like i'm doing the whole minimal thing but to an extreme i suppose. oh sure i even have a kitchen table and what furniture i do have has all been aquired at the ikea not a mile from my house. the hardwood floors also add to the whole "hey look, more reverb" atmosphere to the place.

    but i completely dig the look you are going after here.
  • A few ideas come to mind.
    1. 50's style kitsch, to go with the general layout of the house.
    2. Western style because what house is complete without horns over the front entrance.
    3. Nothing says "Player" like black leather and chrome everything (don't hate the player, hate the game).
    4. Oriental. Can't get much cleaner than that.

    Or hire the Fab 5's local equivalents. Wasn't there a gal that you worked with that came over to your place and gave some sage advice? Hire her if all else fails. Oh, and Feng Shui is pop

    • The small, dark room will not stay dark. Also, it is only slightly smaller than son's room - really. I measured. It only feels tiny because of the walls, carpet, drapes, and lighting.

      I donno the den is going to be the movie area, with wet bar, surround sound, and the whole nine yards (well, eventually). I was also thinking of having it be the computer room - remember - it's freak'n huge!

      I'm kinda partial to the oriental thing, but I don't wanna be all like "hey, look at me, I'm trying to be all oriental,

      • Oh, nice touch, yes, the den as a movie room. Large screen projection to the street side. Open up the wall and in the summer you can sit out front, make like a drive in (don't worry about you neighbor, mostly harmless).

        I would suggest the LACK of window covering like we have at home, but then you're in the city. Unless you want the little old ladies in back to have a thrill. Blinds would do it, and let light in. A skylight would be nice in the dining area.

        It is so much fun helping someone else spend
        • It is so much fun helping someone else spend money.

          Yup. We can have all the fun of bitching if he doesn't follow our sage advice and none of the fallout if our ideas suck.

          Hey, RW! Have you considered inflatable furniture that you can fill with helium? It will ALWAYS be out of the way and easy to clean around!
  • First apartment at college, the roomates and I prided ourselves for getting everything in common areas from dead people. Honest. Couches from a deceased friend down the street from back home, dining room table from a recently passed grandmother, etc, etc.

    Now, the current home is comfortable. Well, to me. I don't know if Bodak has an opinion. Some pieces of furniture could (and probably should) be replaced, but I know I don't have a good eye for things like that, so I am not going to worry about it until i
  • This is just screaming "inflatable furniture" to me! :-)

    Ok, all kidding aside, here's the thing with interior design... everyone else's opinion is stupid... you live there, if you like it, it's right for you. I'd suggest watching some HGTV and picking up some of those free home magazines at different stores (or while you are at the dentist/doctor) and browsing around. If you see something cool, make a note of it and where you can get it. Or take that magazine to a store and ask for something similar.

    • Never be afraid to take off your pants and plop down on a couch at a furniture store.

      That statement reminds me of my old couch. Finally replaced it this past summer/fall due to a few issues. You lay down on it, it had a tendancy to roll you out on to the floor, so I had blocks under the front legs to lean it back (and yes it had all four original legs). It was so low that if you were above 6' tall it would be like climbing out of a hole to get up. A few cushions were really beat up and if you sat just ri
  • Bed. Couch. Chair. Desk. Toilet. Bathtub. Dining room. Everything. Do it.

    If your day is sucking, well at least you can laugh at what you've done.
  • to assist you in the decoration area. I must be invited over to see the house, however.

    Please ignore the fact that my house tends to be an eclectic mix of stuff, purchased and given to me. After all, I *do* live with Talinom. You haven't had the pleasure of seeing me in a place that's all my own! (come to think of it, neither have *I*) *shrug*

    Well, the offer is out there, but my vote overall tends towards the IKEA route too.

    ^_^

  • First off don't try to decorate everything at once. Especially if you haven't really spent much time in the house. Get a feel for how you want things to work and try moving stuff like tv's and stand-in couches around.

    You say you have shallow closets right now so maybe you might consider doing some actual demo and construction work to give yourself some bigger closets in certain areas.

    Finally, watch some shows. TLC's Trading Spaces and In A Fix are good for getting design and function ideas that don't require outrageous budgets (though they do benefit from lots of workers).
    • And the above is really good advice. Definitely don't try to do it all at once, especially if you haven't decorated before.

      When HBI moved into his current apartment I was in charge of decorating (all blah white walls). Was great fun choosing colors and painting. But I also had a pretty clear vision about what I wanted to do and its worked out great.

      And decorating shows are excellent. Even if you don't watch the entire show, just watching the end where they show you the before and after is cool, just so yo
  • http://dwellmag.com/ [dwellmag.com] not sure if you can get that magazine in your current location. you could easily find one once you get back stateside.

    i subscribe because it's full of cool ideas (that i never implement). it's all about design that is functional as well as pretty. envision your future hipster lifestyle.

    actually, the wife and i have taken a few ideas from dwell. but we usually use cheaper pieces to accomplish our goals. that designer stuff is expensive.

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