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How-To: Renovate an Apartment For $10,000 or Less

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:00:22 -0700

Over the course of the past two years, graphic designer Russell Lewis and his girlfriend, design assistant Gemma Ahern, renovated their 1200-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. Located in Leigh-on-Sea, a village an hour outside of London, the apartment was overhauled for £6,500, or $10,300. You can check out their entire apartment in this New York Times slideshow. The couple beautifully mixed high and low accents and objects, which definitely helped to keep costs down, but they used some other smart ideas as well. To get the secrets of their cheap decorating success, read on.
Jonathan Player for The New York Times

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Online Sale Alert! Otte Discounts

FabSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:00:22 -0800

Otte in New York has three fabulous locations, but if you can't stop in, be sure to peruse its online store. The sale section currently houses tons of designer duds for way less. There's even a 50 percent off section. These Wendy Nichol Cone/Bead Dangle Earrings ($57, originally $188) came out of the 70 percent off section. Part bubbly, part spiky - awesome!

For more great deals, check out the Frugalosity! and Cheap Chic FabSugar Community groups!

Casa Interview: Tyler Velten

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:45:16 -0700

Tyler Velten, a student at the Yale School of Architecture, was recently featured in the New York Times article Lighting Changes Everything. However, Tyler wasn't interviewed for his architectural projects. Instead, his artistic re-use of found objects and repurposing of Craigslist furniture and even the hated plastic bag were featured in the article. Tyler recently found some time between his busy school schedule to answer some questions for CasaSugar about his home design experiments.

CasaSugar: What was the first object you found that inspired you to start augmenting your apartment?

Tyler: We moved into the apartment knowing I was going to play with the space. It is a gorgeous apartment with great natural daylight. When it was empty, it felt more like a studio than an apartment. The first task was to somehow distract attention from the white walls. We found a kitschy brass table lamp complete with a tattered latex shade on the street. Instead of placing it on an end table or dresser (which we didn't have), I hung it from the wall. Lizzie [Tyler's wife] has teased me for years about taking it down. As a relic from our first days in the apartment, the lamp simply cannot be replaced.

For the rest of my questions, and to find out how Tyler's wife feels about his experiments, read more.

CasaSugar: How do you feel your architecture training has changed your ideas about interior design, if at all?

Tyler: I have been making art for many years now, whereas architecture is a fairly new adventure for me. Although I do think that my first year in architecture school has helped inform some of my newer pieces, like the woven light shade beside the bed, I believe most of my ideas regarding space were born a while ago. The real benefits of the program are the community of designers. I am surrounded by creative people thinking about culture and objects at all different scales.

CasaSugar: How does your wife feel about your lighting and décor experiments? Is she a part of the creative process?

Tyler: Absolutely she is part of the process. There are pieces she adores, and others, she could do without. Most of the pieces use non-traditional switches or are situated in awkward ways. My desire as an artist is to challenge our interactions and perceptions of functionality with everyday objects. In doing so this often inhibits their purpose. Lizzie is always helping me refine and focus my pieces, to make them intuitive without sacrificing their idea. She is my voice of reason.

CasaSugar: What projects do you have in the works?

Tyler: The real task in our apartment, and consequently the real derivation for most of my non-lighting projects, is to create more storage for our tiny apartment. We only have one closet in the apartment and the kitchen has one tiny counter top with a few small cupboards. I am constantly trying to find more storage space for our things. Although I would love to make a new bed and headboard, the real pressing projects are coming up with creative storage systems.

CasaSugar: When do you have time to work on this? Do you find these projects relaxing/therapeutic? What motivates you to work on them?

Tyler: I do not have much time because of school. Most of these projects manifest themselves over Winter or Spring breaks. Nonetheless, they do not take much time. Most of these projects take an hour or less. Aside from the grocery bag chandelier, every other project was quite simple. Adding doors to bookcases requires a bit of measuring, but the assembly is very quick, a few saw-cuts and a few screws. Although I love to design unique objects, I feel the most satisfying design is to re-purpose/recycle waste into useful things. By filling up wine bottles with water, then burrowing them upside-down in the soil of a large potted plant, one can make a great slow drip-irrigation well for indoor plants.

It is tremendously therapeutic to think of ways to use the waste that we create in unique ways. We throw away so much stuff, stuff that is really beautiful. It is very satisfying to make an object like a grocery bag transcend its original purpose by becoming an elegant light filter for a chandelier.

CasaSugar: What are some of your dream projects?

Tyler: I would like to have more specific big ideas, but that usually gets me into trouble. I can only hope to continue to experiment and play.

Phil Mansfield for The New York Times

Yummy Links: From Peanut Butter Bacon Pie to Alton Brown

partysugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:50:08 -0700

Must make: frozen peanut butter pie with candied bacon. - Gourmet
Find out which cheap olive oils taste good.- Serious Eats
Learn the basic technique for teriyaki chicken. - Chow
Erik Trinidad teaches Nightline how to make fancy fast food. - Eat Me Daily
An inside look at the ultimate New York City pop-up event. - The Epi-Log
Who knew Tom Colicchio had so many lookalikes? - Eater
Madonna is "not a cheese person." - Grub Street
Alton Brown disses his fellow Food Network chefs. - Food Network Humor

Food Section Sampler - Sept. 30, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:50:50 -0700

Beer tries to earn a spot next to cheese plates. - Wall Street Journal
Reforming school lunches isn't easy - or cheap. - Washington Post
New green cookware lets you sauté without worry. - San Francisco Chronicle
In West Virginia, pepperoni rolls are an old-time favorite fast food. - New York Times
Should restaurants be allowed to ban diners from using laptops? - Boston Globe
How dinner parties are changing among cost-conscious foodies. - Chicago Tribune
One LA bakery's strawberry cake is a local legend. - Los Angeles Times

Source: Flickr User Samat Jain

Savvy Read: In Cheap We Trust

SavvySugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:30:30 -0700

You can never have too many books on your reading list, and this suggestion might bring some variety to those you've already cracked open. Former reporter for Reuters and Newsday Lauren Weber just published her book In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue, which focuses on the evolution of thrift, from the Puritans to the freegans. She keeps the text fresh by including personal anecdotes - she describes her economist father as "compulsively cheap" and admits that once he tried to ration toilet paper.

Lauren chatted with The New York Times about how she embraces the word cheap because living within her means has allowed her the freedom to never stay in a job that she didn't love. That's pretty powerful. The author is a pro at budget traveling and swears by public transportation and street food while she's on a trip.

I like that Lauren speaks from experience and keeps her topic from seeming stale by including her own stories. In Cheap We Trust is on my list as the next book to get me through my commute.

Your Personality Quirks Come Out When You Eat Out

TresSugar — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:00:00 -0700

People say you really get to know someone when traveling with them or living with them. To that I would add - and when you go out to eat with them.

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni would agree. He recently wrote about the odd quirks and desires people bring to the dinner table. Whether your quirks are about sharing food, hoarding food, being picky, or pretending to make a big show of eating when you've left most of the food you started with on your plate - it seems that your relationship to eating, especially when you eat out, can be a key to your personality. "People are as strange about eating as they are about love," he says. "They want what they want."

I have to say - I’m definitely a hoarder type. I hope this doesn’t mean I’m a selfish person in other ways, but I’m not big on family-style eating. One of my biggest pleasures is going to a restaurant, poring over the menu, and after an anguished process of elimination I take dead seriously (salad or soup? steak or risotto?), I settle in and hope I chose well. (But yes - you can have a bite!) I'm a sharer when it comes to bills, however. Folks who pull out the calculator (mentally or literally) drive me bananas. And don't get me started on people who are rude to wait staff or cheap tippers!

What are your quirks when eating out?

Food Section Sampler - Aug. 19, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:30:00 -0700

When prepared right, okra can taste reminiscent of asparagus and eggplant, with none of the slime. - San Francisco Chronicle
The hottest table in town, Restaurant City, is a virtual eatery that can only be accessed through Facebook. - Los Angeles Times
Pay attention to the story behind cheap food prices. - Washington Post
Dates are in serious demand during the Islamic month of Ramadan. - Boston Globe
To taste some of the world's most exquisite fruit, you'll have to fly to Asia. - Wall Street Journal
With Portuguese delights, the secret is in the piri-piri pepper sauce. - Chicago Tribune
If you're missing out on this season's tomatoes, make a BLT with plums instead. - New York Times

Casa Interview, Part II: Domino Founding Editor Deborah Needleman (and an Awesome Giveaway!)

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:00:39 -0700

Deborah Needleman, the founding editor of Domino, is a goldmine of savvy advice on decorating your home, honed from years of experience heading up the style-centric magazine as well as decorating her own home. You can read the first half of my interview with her here. Deborah's tips and thoughts on decorating continue in the second half of this interview.

Our homes are really personal spaces. Considering that most of us are shopping from the same few décor retailers and finding inspiration in the same shelter magazines and blogs, how should we go about personalizing our homes?
Every home definitely needs a few old things and a couple unique things. And when most of what we have is mass-produced, it's more important than ever to have some things made by actual human hands, whether it's pottery, rugs, pictures, whatever. It is essential to find a few things that no one else has, whether you find them in a shop, at a tag sale, bring them back from a trip, collect them from nature, or even make them - like just tacking up drawings or notes from friends. Stuff that is meaningful to us, what we love or collect or find is interesting to our guests. I also do think it's really nice to have one really good piece - whether that's a table, rug, chandelier, whatever. It gives your room some substance, some weight - and also ensures it doesn't look like anyone else's.

To read the rest of the interview, read more.

I love your home, which I saw featured in New York magazine a few years ago. I know that you’re a big fan of neutrals and white, or at least you were when that article was written. Are you still a neutrals gal?
Thanks. It's funny, in New York City which is so chaotic and where I get easily overwhelmed, I need to be a neutral gal. It totally calms me down, and keeps my head clear. But upstate, where I feel more relaxed, I love layering patterns and color - florals, suzanis, chintzes, Indian prints, etc. I'm covering my sofa there in purple linen, my study is painted black, and one room is the craziest color green I've ever seen.

I love how your home is elegant and adult-oriented, yet still kid-accessible. What is your advice on and personal experience with creating gorgeous spaces that are also kid-friendly?
I have never understood dumbing down design for kids. No one had kid-friendly homes when I was growing up - people just had the homes they had and their children lived in them! A family home is for adults and children - why on earth would anyone give over their living room to let it look like a play room?! I'll probably get hate mail for this, but aside from a gate so children don't tumble down the stairs, and maybe a lock on the cabinet if you have the kind of children that want to eat the Ajax or whatever, children can be taught that table edges are sharp and that food is to be eaten in the kitchen and that open markers can't be left on the rug!

Other than that, if you have a fairly light palette like I do, you have to accept that you won't have the cleanest house in the world. Fortunately I like a bit of a patina on things! I like that the floor is scuffed by skateboards in part because I love a house where children feel free to run wild, have loads of friends over, and make forts out of the sofa cushions, but also where they have a sense of responsibility and respect for things. Oh, and I have cheap rugs, so if they get destroyed, I won't be sad! And I certainly wouldn't choose a linen velvet sofa fabric if I had to do it again! Kids don't rule the roost, they share it.

Your HomeGoods StyleScope tool helps home decorators find their style. How would you describe your own style?
I think I'm fairly conventional at core - I couldn't have furniture at funny angles or a bed floating in a room or anything too wacky or "fun." I dig symmetry. I like things that are classic in shape and form - not overly embellished, but I appreciate many kinds of design. I think I take this fairly classic base and mess it up a bit. I'm certainly not traditional. I like to layer on personality and quirk with ethnic textiles, cushions, interesting objects, fabrics, and art. I love stuff from India, Morocco, England. Thus, Bohemian Classic.

And to revive a favorite Domino feature of mine, what are 10 things that make you happy?
Hilarious question! Well, first of all, we never let people say their children or their dogs!!! Too boring and obvious.

Nearly all Santa Maria Novella products (if I could only choose one thing, it'd be their potpourri. But I'm crazy about the milk body cream, the honeysuckle perfume, and the pomegranate soap and bath salts). I am obsessed with scent - on my body and in my home!
My veg garden. (Really, seeing my children eat their way through our veg garden, but at Domino I would've edited that out as too sentimental!)
Making flower arrangements for the house.
My white parsons table (I have two) - and a brilliant new parsons side table in the pitch-perfect green color.
Comfy chairs in kitchens and bathrooms.
Cheap weekly blowouts from walk-in, no-appointment places.
Summer dinner outside with friends.
Staying in a lovely hotel room (never a trendy hotel, I like old-school, old-fashioned hotels). I love that nothing belongs to me and the beds are perfectly made. The Duc du St. Simon in Paris is pretty excellent.
Bobbi Brown makeup. Makes you look sun-kissed, not dolled up.
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't say this, but having a decorator!! Specifically having the genius Rita Konig as a decorator!

Thank you, Deborah! We have a special giveaway for you CasaSugar readers on the way. One of you lucky readers will win a $500 gift card to HomeGoods! Check back for more details about the giveaway later on today!

Bella Bargain: 75% Off at Rescue Beauty

BellaSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:00:42 -0700

New York City's Rescue Beauty Lounge is best known for its nail-polish expert, Ji Baek, and her collection of trendsetting polish shades. But the brand also has a collection of bath and body goods - think lotions, body washes, and hand creams - and it's now available at a deep discount. The items are a whopping 75 percent off when you use the code smell good at checkout, which shaves the prices of hand cream and body wash down to $5 apiece. That's a lot of luxury for drugstore-level prices, so consider treating yourself or picking up a fancy present on the cheap. (The holidays, after all, are mere months away . . . )