The Poor Man's Loft

My updates have been far and few between recently because:
a) I was in Cali back to back weeks and didn't have much time to devote to decorating.
b) Said travels have made me poor.


So on that note, I've decided to dedicate an entry to IKEA, the humble furniture store I both hate and love (OK, more like hate).


I will admit, I used to love IKEA because the items were so trendy and so affordable! But with time I've only grown to hate them because the quality is so cheap and shoddy. IKEA is good for things like trash cans and minimalist lighting and basically anything I associate with a dorm. But it has not treated me kindly for more substantial objects like my dresser (2 busted drawers) and old futon.


Still, I occasionally frequent the IKEA Hackers blog because they've got some pretty outrageous ideas for ye standard Billy and Expedit bookcases and the like.


My personal favorites are the:

Bedroom Dress Boys

Because everyone is guilty of tossing their somewhat-used-but-not-quite-ready-to-be-washed clothes around.

Tromso Loft Bed Hack

For those who desire to sleep on top of their closets!

If only I had a really crafty bone in my body, I would attempt both of these.

The Foam Panel Project

I realized that I never put up the step-by-step progress of our wall panel art, so here it is!

Opening up the box of 50 Auralex foam wedges (the kind they use in music recording studios). Mike said they were ugly and we should send them back.

 

Trying to come up with a configuration on the floor first. Did not prove easy with curious dog.

The first prototype.

The worst of it all, the measuring and taping of the panels.

Le painting.

Applying and glueing each foam wedge.

Progress...

And the finished product!

Taking Inspiration from The Office

Not The Office as in Dunder Mifflin, but The Office as in the place where I've been spending 10-11 hours a day lately. For a 9-5 job in New York I don't think that's too bad. (I am jaded, I know.) At the end of the day I really dig this gig, and then I get to come home to le loft, so it's not a shabby deal.


We recently expanded in our building and acquired some space on the 5th floor. It's funky and modern like you'd expect from behemoth tech companies, but the designers have done a good job at throwing in some cool things, like converted bathtubs with glass tops on them as tables, phone rooms designed to look like apartments complete with peepholes and windows, and a floor-wide puzzle based on QR codes found in different conference rooms, kitchens, hallways, etc.


My favorite room though, is the library. If I could just pick it up and transport it to my own home office, I would be set, methinks.

The Mad Men-inspired lounge area.

If I was a feminist maybe I'd suspect they're trying to hint at something here, but I still like the feel of that old-school boardroom-- even if that means my place during that era would be restricted to fetching coffee and gossiping with the other gals by my typewriter.

Upholstered wingback chair, complete with pinstripes and a tie. Benefit: it's also comfy.

Homage to Star Wars on the walls. I particularly like this one of Boba Fett.

Secret hideaway!!! This one is my favorite. The bookcase, shown here swung open, rotates to reveal a mini phone room. I have always wanted a secret bookcase; who doesn't!!! The only downside here is that you can't actually tell if the room is occupied, so the only way to find out is to barge in. Awkward for both parties involved. But in theory, it's cool. And also, there are 3 of them which makes them triple in coolness.

Adventures with Astro-turf

Shaggy throws and carpets seem to be pretty in right now. Some of them look pretty ugly, and scary to clean, but I recently overcame those fears, for free.


One night at CB2, my husband and I shamelessly went dumpster-diving at the back of the SoHo store. We got the idea because we had JUST witness an employee toss out what looked like a carpet, or part of it. (So you germaphobes don't worry, it was like the 5-second rule applied here.) I don't know what the rationale is for throwing out seemingly perfectly good rugs, but nonetheless since it was kind of dark at the time we didn't realize it was actually cut up into shoddy squares.

Not knowing how large the original rug was supposed to be, we only got about 4-5 patches of the fake grass stuff.

A quick visit to the website revealed it was actually much, much larger than we realized:

Anyway, we gave them all a good wash at the laundromat because you never really know about that 5-second rule... Patched them together, and voila -- ASTROTURF!

From left to right: Hive storage unit (CB2), Metropol floor lamp (Pier One), Torka twigs and vase (Ikea), Chunky wood floor mirror (West Elm)

Since all dogs love grass, I was a little hesitant to bring in what would seem like an indoor potty, but Waffle seems content to make it her hangout spot for chewing bones and napping.

But maybe I will test my luck and add this in for fun.