Lofty Decorating
In order to unpack after moving house, one must have appropriate storage for most of the items that are to be unpacked. Thus, Debra and I have spent the past few days searching the suburbs for furniture that performs such a function. Debra flew back to Texas today, so now I'm on my own.
So far, I have an occasional table, a kitchen counter thing (which will nicely double as a butcher block, I think, to go along with the sweet cutting board Tamara got for me) with drawers and shelf space, a coffee table, and an end table, all from Ikea. I ordered a sofa, a chair, and a dining table and chairs from a furniture store. Venturing into Pier 1, I found a swanky headboard for my bed, along with other matching bedroom stuff, but it turns out they're having a bedroom sale starting a week from now, so I'm going to put that off until then.
Now, I need a desk, a bookcase or three, more shelving, a file cabinet, a dresser, bed rails, and patio stuff, as far as furniture goes. Beyond that, I also want to get curtains, another something-or-other for the bathroom, and more stuff for my office.
I want the most basic desk you can imagine: a long piece of finished wood supported by two other pieces of finished wood. I've decided buying another dining table is actually the way to go for this.
In the morning, I plan to head down the street a few blocks and check out the shops on Walnut Street, which include Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, for shelf-type stuff and patio furniture. Then, I'll go back out into the 'burbs for a dining table/desk.
It's coming together very well. You should visit and check it out! And, for those of you who suck and won't bother visiting me, I will post pictures here after everything is arranged.
In other news, my car was rear-ended at a stop light on Carson Street last night while Katy, Debra, and I were trying to find parking for our new favorite martini bar. It ended up being a hit-and-run; the dude didn't even pull over with me. There was no damage, though. Oh well.
After parking at Ikea this afternoon, I watched a big pick-up truck trying to park, and he hit the front of the car in the adjacent spot. He got out and didn't bother leaving a note or anything.
I guess Pittsburgh is the land of crappy drivers. It's time to be even more defensive while driving, parking, etc. I'm glad I have off-street parking at home.