apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In the past we've posted about cleaning sponges by nuking them in the microwave. However, one ATLA reader had a good question:

How do you get the stinky sponge smell out of the microwave?

Barclay Butera Home is by far the hottest high end showroom at the Pacific Design Center.
With showrooms and retail stores in Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, North Carolina, and most recently in New York.
The showroom at the PDC is full of fab custom made furnishings and accessories.
Zak Graff, the showroom manager can help you customize any piece in the showroom to your liking from a variety of fabrics and styles, which is entirely made in Los Angeles. If you are at the PDC you should definitely check out the Barclay Butera showroom you won’t want to leave its so beautiful and there is so much to see!
-Vanessa (aka Turquoise)

A week ago I introduced a Canadian interior design magazine called Style at Home and found this great DIY idea that I wanted to share. In this issue they took old funky animal figurines and had them painted matte white to give them a more modern look.

Perhaps spray painting them red gloss or robins egg blue could also be an alternative color to use. If you wanted to try this idea I'm sure you could use any spray paint color to match your decor - since there are so many colors now available to choose from.

Does anyone else want to share a fun DIY project or a painting idea? If so, email me! -Vanessa (aka Turquoise)

Most believe owning artwork is the domain of folks living the lifestyle of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But considering I’m living a life of Diet Coke sips and Velveeta dreams, yet surrounded by a small and gratifying collection of artwork, the truth is bringing original art into the home isn’t as far fetched as one might believe.

I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend Caryn Coleman, owner of Culver City’s sixspace gallery and founder of art.blogging.la, about the ins and outs of tapping into your J. Paul Getty on a J.C. Penny bankroll.

Alec posted about the Airswitch TC back in November last year, but we just read that there is another version that is out now. Airswitch lamps, by Mathmos, change with movement. If you raise your hand above the fixture, it brightens, and if you lower your hand, it dims the light. The Airswitch 1 is a cool frosted white edition that looks like a science lab flask.

"Taste is more to do with manners than appearances. Taste is both myth and reality; it is not a style."

Stephen Bayley

Since it's already mid June (yikes!), we find ourselves in the midst of the most popular month for weddings. If you happen to fall into the "hurry I need a last-minute wedding gift!" category, Crate & Barrel offers up a beautiful set of blue and white dishes. The modern clean dotted designs are inspired by japanese linens, and they are also boxed and packaged in a nifty round box.

This Saturday, Junc Gallery hosts Cast, a group sculpture show featuring the work of artists Evah Fan, Gary Garay, Jungmin Koh, Albert Reyes, Florencio Zavala, Rachell Sumpter, Luke Ramsey, Patrick Roberts, Esther Watson, Mark Todd, Jess Hutch, and Mari Araki.

Hidden over the hill in Studio City is a wonderful new home décor store called The Black Door.

Owner and interior designer Jessica Nakata opened her doors just a few months ago. The store is filled with an assortment of bedding, candles, home furnishings and a variety of accessories.

The Black Door also carries
Martha Stewart’s signature high-end furniture line, and most of the line can be seen at the store.

We recommend a visit to her store, hidden just behind Le Pain restaurant just off Ventura and Coldwater. You can reach Jessica at jessica@theblkdoor.com.

-Vanessa (aka Turquoise)

-Gregory (The Avant Garde Retard)

Driving down PCH last weekend, I couldn't help but notice this strange sign on a small building with the word GROT on it. So I stopped and took a look. Inside, I found the most charming vintage furniture store, despite the unusual name. Owner Gavin Hampson explained, "I was inspired to name the store GROT, based off of a fictional store in a BBC television series called "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"."

Opened in the fall of 1995, Gavin initially wanted the store to act as a community gallery to showcase art, furniture, and lighting from local artists. Over time, the business has evolved to more of a furniture shop. The central concept of the store is "reinvention." Gavin reclaims and transforms vintage pieces into a functional modern piece, yet always retaining the quality and craftsmanship of the past.

Ice cream, Americana architecture, and a mid-century slideshow? Count me in! Friend and neighbor, Heseon, kindly reminded me about the upcoming launch party and ice cream social happening just around the corner for Americana The Beautiful: Mid-Century in Kodachrome, the newest book from kitsch-classic tour guide and "histotainer", Charles Phoenix.