Curbed: All Posts by Mercedes KrausLove where you live2020-03-02T09:30:00-05:00https://archive.curbed.com/authors/mercedes-kraus/rss2020-03-02T09:30:00-05:002020-03-02T09:30:00-05:00Reupholstered and it feels so good
<figure>
<img alt="Two sofas in a striped red, green, and tan pattern face each other, with a coffee table in the middle, in a large room. A large poster hangs on the wall along with a mirror, two picture frames, and a steer skull. Baby toys are on the floor, near the rug." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7aBoU1KA_DP5dldXBK52E2PIAaQ=/8x0:3815x2855/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66415640/Living_room_closer.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The end result: Our <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.calicocorners.com/p-15401-motola-crypton-home-crimsontan.aspx" target="_blank">reupholstered</a> sofas—one full-sized, one a loveseat—in the living room. | <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What it’s <em>really</em> like to get a sofa covered on a budget</p> <div id="IlMnoz"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6"><em>I found a couple of dope sofas at a vintage store for a great price, snagged them with the intention to reupholster, and then spent a lot of time researching how to do that—when in fact expertise had been right in front of me all along. Here’s my journey. —Mercedes</em></h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Sofa king original</h3>
<p id="1B3JbV">We curbed a very comfortable, NYC apartment-perfect <a href="https://fave.co/3chqCHc" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ikea Ektorp loveseat</a> the day we left Brooklyn. So when we moved into our first Los Angeles home with only the Milo Baughman armchair I’d snagged for $75 (haggled down from $125!), I immediately began the hunt for a couch—used and unique, of course. (FYI l adhere to using <a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sofa-vs-couch-260517">”sofa” and “couch”</a> interchangeably.)</p>
<p id="tOU5We">I’d been given the tip to follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vangsgarcia/?hl=en">@vangsgarcia</a>—without a storefront, its prices tend to be lower than local vintage stores—and had begun scouting estate sales, but quickly realized I needed to just hit the pavement. My Highland Park-based bff <a href="https://cecook.com/New-Paintings">Carrie Cook</a> took me around the hip neighborhood, guiding me first to the east side’s biggest vintage and vintage-refurbished shop, <a href="https://www.sunbeamvintage.com/">Sunbeam</a>. But it was at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theluxelustlife/?hl=en">the Luxelust Life</a>, a lesser-known, smaller shop, where I spotted two deep-seated, boxy sofas—one full-sized, one a loveseat—with wooden bases. The fabric felt very 1970s California in a way that I loved, even though it was well-worn and starting to deteriorate. I bought both for $872 (including tax—and delivery, I think) knowing I’d eventually reupholster them.</p>
<p id="ehuC6y"><strong>Baby days, a furniture consideration</strong></p>
<p id="NrzgTt">Ten months later, I was five months pregnant and preparing our house for a season of home sequestration with a newborn (and future toddler, child, etc.), mulling the question of what to do with the sofas—whose upholstery, at this point, was actively thinning to the point that I could see the cushions. I consulted our news editor, <a href="https://www.curbed.com/authors/megan-barber">Megan Barber</a>, whom I knew to be deeply practical about cultivating and organizing her home with two small kids. </p>
<p id="PqVQzK">She’d purchased a new sofa over a year before and had some fresh intel. “I actually went with <a href="https://fave.co/2T9er7K" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">this sofa</a> from West Elm in performance velvet, which sounds really counterintuitive, but it’s held up great,” she said. “Spot cleaning comes out really well—stains in my old couch just seemed to accumulate, whereas on this one they disappear. We’ve gotten wine and kid vomit and everything out of it.”</p>
<p id="n4Em2d">“Performance velvet” was a revelation that later set off a research journey into performance fabrics (more in a sec), but first I had to ask her about timing. Should I reupholster before baby arrived? Megan said yes. “You’re home a lot with a new baby, so it’s nice to have your space be what you want.”</p>
<p id="zDQNG8">Let me say here that in my fervor I had completely forgotten that, a few months earlier, for this very newsletter, Kelsey had pulled out <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/13/20851153/reupholstering-sofa-tips-kelsey-keith">expert tips for reupholstering</a> from interior designer Keren Richter. Review these!! They ring more true now that I’ve been through the process, and my own story reveals why and how.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A woman in glasses holds a baby while sitting on a couch. A small white dog is sitting next to her." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-ggECEuZKqSZSmqGfXYCxAruy10=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19760246/mom.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>We had nonstop visitors after Judd was born—this is my mom, and our dog Penny—and I was grateful for the comfort and fresh look of the revitalized couches.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="E65vGS"><strong>Making choices and stretching dollars</strong></p>
<p id="zdtsWb">Ryan got a few estimates for the cost (labor and parts, minus fabric) through Yelp, though <a href="https://fave.co/38cr9qy" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Houzz</a> or <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.angieslist.com%2F&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F3%2F2%2F21161090%2Fbudget-reupholstering-sofa-tips-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Angie’s List</a> should also give you some good options. One shop that an interiors person told us about estimated $3,000, sight unseen. Two shops on Yelp didn’t respond at all. Another one saw photos and estimated $2,500. Scott Hazarian from <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.houzz.com%2Fprofessionals%2Ffurniture-and-accessories%2Fsofa-interiors-pfvwus-pf%7E253204936&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F3%2F2%2F21161090%2Fbudget-reupholstering-sofa-tips-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Sofa Interiors</a> in nearby Glendale asked for photos and lots of measurement details, said he had performance fabric options in his showroom (we noted we were looking), and estimated $1,500. We made an appointment with him. </p>
<p id="ou0n72">When we arrived, two men were reupholstering chairs on large workstations in the back. Up front in the showroom, Scott showed us various fabric books to review, talked about his ethos, and, after I pressed (he seemed happy to have an audience to talk to about the bigger-picture aspects of his work), walked through more specifics around cushions. He said our existing foam cushion was high-quality even though it was definitely aged, and we sat on a few sofas in the showroom to better understand our options for cushion firmness. The tl;dr he gave us was that the firmer the foam, the more expensive they’ll be, but the longer they’ll likely last. They might be very firm at first, though. Out of three firmness options, I chose medium. </p>
<p id="mYKHqx">Before we even got to Scott, I had spent countless hours researching performance fabrics, and fabrics generally (velvet, suede, wool, and on and on), trying to understand how to both meet our various needs and to find a happy medium between Ryan’s and my aesthetic preferences. </p>
<p id="qNdVoX">At the end of my exhaustive research on fabric technology—having learned about everything from Sunbrella to spray-on protection treatments—I decided that I definitely wanted a Crypton fabric. To be clear, Crypton is a fabric treatment technology; <a href="https://www.crypton.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9o6Ri6T15wIVCMZkCh1mdgedEAAYASAAEgL1YfD_BwE">its website says</a> its fabrics resist moisture, stains, and odors, and are earth-friendly and choice abundant. Tbh, my research has validated those claims. </p>
<p id="GVefPt">“Yes, nothing is as good as Crypton—it’s what hospitals use!” said <a href="https://www.curbed.com/authors/laurafenton2536542">Laura Fenton</a>, writer, home editor, and close friend of Curbed. Laura knows a thing or two about reupholstery, and she skipped it, in fact. “When I looked into getting a chair reupholstered, it was $400 for the labor and I would have needed six yards of fabric,” she said. “At that point I just said, ‘Hey, I will give this chair away and buy a new (used) one.’” In New York City, Laura has used <a href="https://www.yellowpages.com/corona-ny/mip/oscar-deco-inc-6934458">Oscar Deco</a> in Corona, Queens, for furniture repair, and noted they’re listed as upholsterers too. Laura also said local decorator <a href="http://emilycbutler.com/">Emily Butler</a> recommends <a href="http://mcdworkroom.com/">Master Craftsman Decorators</a> in Long Island City for reupholstery.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Sunlight and shadows appear over a gray sofa with a small green pillow." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DDXmm7PDxN-B7jW7xbIrmVWNcI0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19760249/Sofa_orig.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>The sofa before we got it reupholstered.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="iG9taI">Once I’d committed to going with Crypton, I looked at <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joann.com%2Ffabric%2Ffeatured-brands-fabric%2Fcrypton%2F&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F3%2F2%2F21161090%2Fbudget-reupholstering-sofa-tips-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">options at JoAnn</a> (we default to our safe spaces) and a few other stores that I found on the <a href="https://www.crypton.com/where-to-find/retailers/">Crypton retailer list</a>. I even ordered a couple of swatches from the Crypton site, which in retrospect was probably a waste—I should’ve just gone into a store. </p>
<p id="aUCdrg">I finally saw a few options I liked at <a href="https://www.calicocorners.com/c-425-crypton.aspx">Calico</a>—and found a <a href="https://www.calicocorners.com/p-15401-motola-crypton-home-crimsontan.aspx">stripe called Motola</a> in crimson/tan on sale for $38.49/yard, down from $54.99. I was trying to keep us under $30/yard, and since Scott had said we’d need 33 yards, that would’ve capped fabric at $1,000. Upon seeing it in person at a local Calico, we decided the extra cost was worth it, ordered it then and there, and had it sent to our house; Ryan later dropped it off at Sofa Interiors.</p>
<p id="Zrhuf4">We actually ordered 34 yards and ended up with extra, but I’m not mad: I see it as an opportunity for when things go wrong. And as <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/13/20851153/reupholstering-sofa-tips-kelsey-keith">Keren Richter told Kelsey</a>, you’ll likely need to order more fabric when you’re doing a pattern so that the upholsterers can match everything up. We have stripes, so it made sense to order more.</p>
<p id="YpT6fw">Reupholstering was in line with our values, and I had roughly calculated that the financial investment would be worthwhile. That was after seeing that, for instance, a new 87-inch sofa at West Elm is in the $2,000 range (pray you don’t get <a href="https://www.theawl.com/2017/02/why-does-this-one-couch-from-west-elm-suck-so-much/">a Peggy</a>) and other sofas of that size often go for closer to $4,000—not including delivery fees that range from $250 to $400. </p>
<p id="0TWa9O">In total, my two one-of-a-kind sofas cost me $3,825: </p>
<ul>
<li id="BC2jBL">$872 for the sofa (87 inches long) and loveseat (62 inches long)</li>
<li id="7VCuyi">$1,440 for fabric </li>
<li id="ry9jq7">$1,473 for upholstery labor, new foam, spring reinforcement, and delivery ($120) </li>
<li id="aHO2MF">$40 cash tip for delivery ($20 per person)</li>
</ul>
<p id="FVeRL1">After all the upfront work, we finally had the sofas picked up on April 10th; baby Judd was due on April 20th (!). But Scott knew that and gave us all assurances; he had our couches back home about a week later. Depending on how busy your shop is, it can take about two to six weeks for a turnaround. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A book, two pieces of paper, and a black pen are on top of a wooden surface." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1BTrGDpp6dyOZMJf-EESNijaVws=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19760251/Receipts.jpg">
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A closeup of sofa cushion’s fabric that is in a tan, red, and green striped pattern. There is a visible seam for the zipper." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_153MP_vlXlIC7N3us4cvxeuXB4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19760253/Seams.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>Above: I have receipts. And a copy of <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/3amau5u" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener"><em>Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence</em></a>. (And also <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/2vzMKMr" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener"><em>Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers</em></a>). Below: Not all of the seams are perfectly in line, but it’s better this way—real people, my neighbors, made these cushion covers. Wabi sabi principles help me remember that. </figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="R6Msof">The look of love</h3>
<p id="p3Rvf0">When we first got the sofas, I loved everything about them—the fabric and the way all the pillows aligned to make the stripes consistent and connected. Anything spilled just sort of pooled but didn’t soak in. </p>
<p id="AohL10">After I spent some time with them (time plods along so slowly when you’re waiting on a baby), a feeling of disenchantment crept in. Had I made the right choices? Were these the right cushions for the seats? Why aren’t these lines more perfectly aligned? It was my friend <a href="http://ericuhlir.com/">Eric Uhlir</a> who pointed out that it was cool that they were handmade, that the lines <em>weren’t</em> perfect.</p>
<p id="oBzsE7">I had forgotten about the luxury of handmade things. Humans had shaped this upholstery. And no, I didn’t pay a million dollars for them, and they weren’t machine made, and not only was that okay—it was great. Duh, that’s why I love the Japanese concept of <a href="https://amzn.to/2x44CPV" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">wabi sabi</a>, an aesthetic ethos of impermanence that centers imperfection. </p>
<p id="id5h3D">The sofa cushions have gotten slightly dirty (we have a dog! Also, LA is dusty), and we should probably vacuum them more than we have. But they can be washed with soap and water, or removed and gently cleaned. I still wonder if I made the right decision on the foam firmness, but thankfully those foams can be changed out eventually—just as everything must change, like my growing little family.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
https://archive.curbed.com/2020/3/2/21161090/budget-reupholstering-sofa-tips-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2020-02-18T09:30:00-05:002020-02-18T09:30:00-05:00The candle quagmire
<figure>
<img alt="A mustard-colored chair sits in the corner of a room next to a tall, skinny lamp. To the right is a bookshelf, to the left is a small bedside reading lamp, a stack of books, and a candle in a glass jar." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tOFS5gwkE0A9md_vo3K7eUrReRY=/94x0:2761x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66328911/House_Calls_McKendree_Sorensen_Jolnik_Brooklyn_NY_bedroom_detail.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>A <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.coilanddrift.com/" target="_blank">Coil + Drift</a> candle in <a class="ql-link" href="https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/16/16863930/new-york-home-tour-coil-drift" target="_blank">the home of the company’s founder</a>, John Sorensen-Jolink. | Photo by <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.readmckendree.com/interiors-i" target="_blank">Read McKendree</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve sniffed out some tough truths about burning smell-goods at home</p> <div id="IlMnoz"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6"><em>Turns out not every aspect of the self-care movement is actually good for you. I’ve sniffed out some tough truths about burning smell-goods at home—though truly, it’s all relative—and have a few recommendations for your inside air. Oh and, come see me talk at Modernism Week this Friday! Info below. —Mercedes</em></h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Burn one?</h3>
<p id="zDQNG8">I recently had occasion to talk to an anesthesiologist about weed. Very quickly this doctor emphasized the superiority of edibles, noting that anything you smoke (even if you’re not incinerating it) is doing damage to your lungs. Product side note: I usually prefer <em>not</em> to incinerate, and I use my <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pax.com%2Fproducts%2Fpax-2%3Fvariant%3D13409044332659&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F2%2F18%2F21141799%2Fharmful-candles-home-fragrance-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Pax II</a>—in special-edition rose gold—for that, since it cooks dry marijuana flowers at a high temperature without burning. Yes, it is technically vaping, but I hate vape culture, so I refuse to own the term. (Also, I live in California, so it’s totally legal for me to tell you all this.)</p>
<p id="s9bS4A">After the anesthesiologist conversation, I remembered advice about not burning things in the house during my pregnancy nor with a baby. <em>What was this all about? Had my years of home vibe cultivation vis-a-vis palo santo been doing more damage than I thought?</em>, I wondered in a Carrie Bradshaw manner.</p>
<p id="xNTgtX">So I did what we all do: I googled it—and took my editor’s eye to a bevy of links. I hate to break it to you, but it turns out that yes, <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/burning-incense-sage-health-risks/">burning literally anything indoors is bad for your lungs</a>. </p>
<p id="eonbCO">But depending on what you burn, and how often and under what conditions you burn it, the damage done could also be negligible (<a href="https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a25656783/candles-bad-for-you/">CTRL+F birthday cake</a>). Of course, we’re talking about putting particulate matter in your lungs, so you could argue that <em>anything</em> is too much, especially for those with <a href="https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a25656783/candles-bad-for-you/">asthma and environmental allergies</a>. </p>
<p id="xHJkh9">For context, many of us live in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/19/climate/us-air-pollution-trump.html">places where the outdoor air quality</a> is still unhealthy, and in fact the mere act of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-hidden-air-pollution-in-our-homes">making Thanksgiving dinner</a> can put volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into our home’s air. (FYI: That <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-hidden-air-pollution-in-our-homes"><em>New Yorker</em> article</a> is my top reading rec on indoor air quality.) What is an information-hungry lover of home vibes to do?</p>
<p id="zMRV2k">As with other far-too-complex topics where there is almost no scientific research, I have not really made a clear decision on my path forward, though I have started avoiding burning my palo santo. And I’m grateful for my air purifier—more on that later.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Two skinny white candles are positioned on each side of a vase of flowers in front of a stone wall." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GEaxaXZwVC9vKAFCSnjmP6zYFuc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19726515/House_Calls_Highland__NY_Orne_Mottalini_dining_table_detail_MG_3838.jpg">
<cite>Photo by <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.mottalini.com/" target="_blank">Chris Mottalini</a></cite>
<figcaption>Tapered candles in a <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.curbed.com/2017/10/23/16490552/upstate-new-york-home-tour-kate-orne" target="_blank">House Calls tour</a> of an upstate New York home.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Gz53wk"><strong>Not all wax is created equal—or is it?</strong></p>
<p id="sHBGNo">Let’s talk candles. Another hard truth I’m gonna lay on you is that paraffin—the cheapest and most commonly used candle wax—is a petroleum byproduct. Am I saying that you may be burning, in your house, a byproduct of the thing that, when burned (in say, cars) is wreaking havoc on our planet? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/nov/27/lucy-siegle-candle-wax-ethical">I am saying that, yes</a>.</p>
<p id="oJuquC">The National Candle Association <a href="https://candles.org/4-common-candle-myths-debunked/">claims</a> there’s no difference between paraffin and other waxes, but <a href="http://www.scsu.edu/news_article.aspx?news_id=832">this university research</a> revealed that paraffin emits “alkans, alkenes and toluene, all reported to cause harmful effects to humans.” Note that this oft-cited research was done in a small, enclosed environment—and it’s the only one available on the internet. If you are burning paraffin candles in your house every day, without good ventilation, probably stop doing that. Same goes for burning <a href="https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/can-incense-be-toxic/">incense</a>. </p>
<p id="pzyPj3">The only recommendation the candle association folks <em>do</em> give to reduce soot from candles is to trim your wicks properly. Which, that is real—do trim your wicks (cotton is arguably the best material for them) to 1/4 or 1/8 inch, and <a href="https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/can-incense-be-toxic/">keep your candles away from drafty windows</a>. The other optimal conditions for burning anything in your house are: do it infrequently, and ensure you have good ventilation. </p>
<p id="h8KsIv">Beeswax is generally cited to be the best wax for air quality, though I cannot find a single scientific resource to prove that; this self-described <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/how-to-pick-a-healthier-candle/slide/3/">toxic exposure expert</a> is as close as I’ve come. I’ve been acting for years like that is verified information, though, and have bought and liked <a href="https://amzn.to/2HAkITw" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">these tapers from Amazon</a>, $30 for a dozen, though I’m newly interested in what Philly’s beeswax-only <a href="https://www.mithrascandle.com/">Mithras Candle</a> is doing. I love their <a href="https://www.mithrascandle.com/shop/halcyon">drippy pillars</a> ($36-$68, “preferred by scribes and dwarves of the mountain”—hell yeah), but I’m leaning toward the more design-forward <a href="https://www.mithrascandle.com/shop/pyramids">Seshet pyramid candle</a> ($16-$21). </p>
<p id="7ufCoC">Okay, so maybe skip paraffin. And beeswax is best, maybe. But what about scented soy, which is what many of the on-trend candles these days are made with? </p>
<p id="7HJ5TT">People may have a myriad of issues with soy, including that it might be grown using pesticides, or that it might be genetically modified. Or that the market for soy is messing up local economies, or that it’s grown in place of trees in a rainforest. The world is complex, and I don’t even know how we’d find a clear path here. Considering it’s vegetable-based, it does seem like a soy candle is probably fine to burn (maybe better than paraffin), especially, again, in the optimal conditions. So that you know, the next soy candle I buy will be from Richmond, Virginia-based <a href="https://shopnanin.com/collections/candles">Na Nin</a>. </p>
<p id="4AJdcO"><strong>50 scents: Smell rich or die trying</strong></p>
<p id="1wPYDQ">Regarding scents, the whole-living crowd says that synthetic fragrances are worse (in all situations, not just candle situations) and essential oils (read: plant-derived) are better. Yet again, the science isn’t clear on this.</p>
<p id="ifSRAH">A note on status candles: They exist, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/garden/waxing-extravagant.html">have for a while</a>—and I’ll direct you to <a href="https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-candles-according-to-status.html">the Strategist</a> for intel on the latest crop. Unrelated: These <a href="https://www.ponsont.com/">incense papers</a> seem very cool, and I’ve been told they’re very nice.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Several small items are positioned on top of a glass surface, including a mail holder, a pair of sunglasses, a candle in a brown jar, two wooden sticks, a spray bottle, and two matchboxes." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8n-4Ug-H2b2I1xpfPYVckiATPQY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19726521/Scent_section.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>We’ve really slowed down on buying things that burn, but, left to right: incense I won’t name because it’s only okay; however, <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.shoyeido.com/" target="_blank">Shoyeido</a> has a lowkey cult following—and a line of <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.shoyeido.com/product/honoka-silhouette-low-smoke-incense/shoyeido-low-smoke-incense" target="_blank">low-smoke incense</a>, $19 for 150 sticks; <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/2V6xy3T" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Luna Sundara palo santo</a>, $13 for eight to 15 sticks; P.F. Candle Co. candle in <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/2SSUMaP" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Los Angeles</a>, $20 (it’s a bit perfumey for me; I prefer <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/3bJMcDT" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Golden Coast</a>, $20); Root and Resin <a class="ql-link" href="https://rootandresin.com/products/clearing-smudge-mist" target="_blank">Clearing Smudge Mist</a>, $25 for a 2-ounce. bottle.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="DL5gVS">Clearing the air</h3>
<p id="JRaxIL">News about the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement">hugely positive impact of air filters</a> installed in some Los Angeles schools caught my attention recently. That article linked to another, which linked to multiple studies connecting <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/11/20996968/air-pollution-cognitive-impact">higher cognition with better air quality</a>. So that has given the whole particulate matter matter new significance for me.</p>
<p id="kgpwX9">That’s partly why I feel so lucky that we were given a great air purifier (by <a href="https://heratylaw.com/">a very wise friend</a>) last fall when local wildfires made the air in Los Angeles really bad. Here’s a <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/air-purifiers-clean-healthy-home/slide/3/">roundup of eight air purifiers</a>—ours is the Coway purifier on this list, which is also the <a href="https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/">Wirecutter’s top pick</a>. It’s quiet, it’s minimal, and Judd can pull up on it without hurting himself.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="GjERWK">Cross-country shameless plugs</h3>
<p id="VoQi5K">Hey, are you going to Modernism Week? Cool, me too. I’m speaking about the connection between midcentury legend Alexander Girard and (you won’t see this coming) the Museum of Ice Cream. Will I talk about restaurant interiors? Immersion and designed environments? Gathering in public—and Stonehenge? Yes! <a href="https://tickets.modernismweek.com/f/mw20/mercedes">Info and tickets here</a>. If you attend, come say hi.</p>
<p id="Kot9nw">”Where we choose to live matters, and it’s possible to find a home, and contribute to a community, while being conscious of our own roles in building more equitable cities. We’re here to show you how.” This week, Curbed editors across the country weighed in on <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2020/2/11/21077662/best-places-to-live-cities-united-states">where to live in 2020</a>.</p>
<p id="yeYuLy">In New York, we’ve just launched <a href="https://voxmediaevents.com/theneighborhood/newsletter">The Neighborhood</a>, a three-part event series that explores the power, problems, and potential of New York City real estate today. The first event is sold out, so run, don’t walk, for tickets to the second (on the outsized impact of megadevelopments) and third (on what it means to build a more equitable city). <a href="https://voxmediaevents.com/theneighborhood/newsletter">They’re available on Tuesday</a>.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AwhW4SsOKSAv4420aMXwwTLqa8Y=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19726523/Neighborhood_Banner.jpg">
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="wys0nY"><em>A few headlines that didn’t make the cut: Burning in, not down, the house. Burn, baby, burn—wait, don’t, though. Call me Duncan Sheik because I am barely breathing. Up in smoke. Where there’s smoke, there’s—it’s not great. The truth about candles and dogs. (Don’t) let me stand next to your fire.</em></p>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
<p id="aRoaEe"></p>
https://archive.curbed.com/2020/2/18/21141799/harmful-candles-home-fragrance-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2020-02-03T09:30:00-05:002020-02-03T09:30:00-05:00Vacation (thrifting) all I ever wanted
<figure>
<img alt="An array of copper masks are displayed on top of a red surface." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mJe-mqYvX9RRA0vAUUy-a15Z2k0=/1x0:3024x2267/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66238883/64F90B93_51FB_45D3_BB8E_94ACF4BD4912.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The joy of buying home goods when you travel</p> <div id="IlMnoz"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6"><em>This week I consulted another of my thrifting genius friends, who revealed a feeling that I had experienced but not articulated: the joy of thrifting on vacation. Plus, more secondhand tips, and thrift store recs in D.C., Chicago, and Maine. —Mercedes </em></h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Thrifting towards Bethlehem</h3>
<p id="zMRV2k"><a href="https://twitter.com/phoebedoris">Phoebe Connelly</a> not only maintains a demanding job at the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/phoebe-connelly/"><em>Washington Post</em></a>, but somehow also reads an astounding number of books every year. She sews, cooks fancy French food, gardens, and travels to boot. Goals, anyone? Phoebe is a longtime secondhand shopper and friend, so I asked her to share a few of her best tips. She writes:</p>
<p id="MAM4M0">“I’ve been thrifting for as long as I can remember—my mama loved secondhand shopping, and instilled in me that you could find quality way beyond your budget if you went with secondhand. </p>
<p id="tacmgy">“I held on to a dream for a long time that I’d thrift a full china set, but I’ve yet to find one that speaks to me. Now, I buy dinner plates, but only in pairs. It brings some discipline to my chaotic tablescape. I’m also perpetually on the hunt for serving dishes—pitchers, mid-size bowls, serving plates. My current favorite is a hexagon-shaped covered dish I found at a thrift in Melbourne.</p>
<p id="dAAWaa">“Buying home goods when you travel is such a nice gift to your future self because every time you use the object, you remember a vacation. My creamer is from a Goodwill in West Virginia, where my husband and I spent New Year’s, and my makeup is in a basket thrifted when I was in Arizona for a friend’s wedding.</p>
<p id="UWbLEF">“I place a lot of value on how something feels in my hands—if I like the heft, or the way the handle fits in my hand, it will stay in rotation. Oh, and I stock up on vases: farmers market flowers + a thrifted vase is a lovely housewarming or hostess gift.</p>
<p id="MtCUrx">“D.C. tips: I will always have a soft spot for the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/mhE68q2EzyZx3RoaA">Georgia Ave Thrift</a>, which I could get to via public transit when I first moved here. The double-wide Maryland thrift has consistently been good to me: it’s a <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/PWoYVgH1Z2Le58N76">Unique</a> and a <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/hXfkDhneAHQMhB9v9">Value Village</a> right next to each other on the other side of the Beltway on New Hampshire Ave. </p>
<p id="DvRm14">“In Chicago, I’m a <a href="http://www.villagediscountoutlet.com/">Village Discount Outlet</a> woman forever—the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/JQkgitks4riH1svc9">VDO at Milwaukee and Western</a> gave me a deranged, beautiful framed embroidery altar cloth where Jesus appears to turn into a goat from the waist down.”</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="About seven table runners in various colors and patterns are piled on top of each other." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z7GNdltuj_dMYea5VVU_zeWfcjo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19663471/E1A4CE0D_4C3D_4EF4_8F03_26828FB18015.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>Both this photo and the one at top of the newsletter were taken at the Monastiraki Flea Market in Athens, Greece. On vacation in 2017, I thrifted a hand-embroidered table runner from this pile of textiles.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="CJSbzn"><strong>The Maine route</strong></p>
<p id="HrE2rG">Finding a good thrift store is like finding a good swimming hole: There’s only a certain amount of recon that you can do online before you need to either ask a local or visit for yourself. One tip for striking gold: Go where the retirees are. These are folks who have downsized, or are downsizing, and whose lifestyles are likely not wearing out their goods. So when your vacation destination is also a retiree town (think Palm Springs), you’re likely to get a great score that will serve as a symbol of your trip for years to come. I am fully with Phoebe on this one. </p>
<p id="gJfw4w">One such vacation-slash-retiree town is Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I visited my friend and master strategist <a href="http://www.jeannesbrooks.com/">Jeanne Brooks</a> when she lived across the river in Kittery, Maine, and she took me on a legit, pleasantly short (less than 15 miles) thrift trip up the state’s Route 1, ending at the town of Ogunquit’s beautiful beach. </p>
<p id="fdOJvR">Here’s our route: We started out at <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/9N1CmvHK6ATtYgZ37">Fair Tide</a> in Kittery—where I bought a set of pink, white, and gold espresso cups. A bit up the road was my favorite stop, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/EeWRy5W2zpe5gCb96">Hidden Treasures</a>, filled with a true miscellany of objects, some cheap and some pricier, including a <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2018/2/20/17032838/black-panther-wakanda-throne-peacock-chair">peacock chair</a> and some Dansk cookware that I skipped. I bought a few things, but my two favorites were a pitcher that I like to describe as “psychedelic colonial” and a 1970s/’80s green telephone that I solely use as an objet. Next up was nearby <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/eg7K8syj6s3uRwhf9">Leeward Charitable Foundation</a>, and further up the road was <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/3a2qVUuTBTFWiWzf6">YCSA Thrift Shop</a>, but I didn’t buy anything at either. Our final stop was at <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/CEu41BAgHKxAFpeZA">Family Tree Antiques</a>, where I bought what is now a centerpiece of my dinner parties: a set of six bulbous indigo blue tumblers and matching pitcher. I think I paid $60, which probably felt like too much at the time, but considering how much I love them, and how much I use them, now feels fully worth it.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="F1bkLG">Identifying lost causes and potential</h3>
<p id="AHgODD">So, there is finding the thrift store, and then there is shopping at it. Some items are ready to use, some need repairs, and some are lost causes. How to identify which is which? </p>
<p id="osssmG">Let’s start with the lost causes. Unless you know someone who has successfully had one of the following repaired <em>in your area</em>, I do not recommend you fool yourself into thinking you will fix these things: </p>
<ul>
<li id="OvBng6">Frames with broken glass: You will not get new glass.</li>
<li id="Mjw2cy">Anything metal that has been bent: It can be very tough to straighten out again.</li>
<li id="MUtTsg">Caned chairs with holes or warping: You will probably not get these repaired.</li>
<li id="tJaLUQ">Anything else woven, from rattan baskets to macrame plant holders: If the weave is broken, it is likely you will not easily repair it.</li>
<li id="D4qogr">Mirrors: You might be able to clean these yourself, and there are lots of suggestions online about how to try. However, I recommend you not get any mirror that needs re-silvering (meaning, you can tell that the problem is not just the glass). You probably will not do this. And, per feng shui, mirrors that do not clearly and accurately reflect are bad to have around.</li>
</ul>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Two wooden chairs with woven bottoms are placed next to each other in a room that has light blue walls, two white doors, and wooden floors." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BjHCTmsNVmuoJ6ZJl8UM4lqaBcQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19663473/F01CB4CC_423A_43A1_A7C1_BCAB0DCF177D.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>Despite my hesitation with woven furniture (so difficult to repair), I bought these two caned chairs—and a third that I use as <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/12/3/20977747/shaker-style-ladder-back-chair-cane-seat" target="_blank">a “closet” chair</a>—somewhere in southern Massachusetts. They were filthy, but only $25 for all three. So I bought some <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/3b68FLg" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Murphy’s Oil Soap</a> and cleaned the hell out of them.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A close-up of a wooden chair, where you can better see the joints that hold it together." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JhpPD5hkLY3vt6flSC0vpiAFs60=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19663474/4578D47A_61F5_4C11_80E3_B1D034CB4D0C.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>I knew the chairs were well-made because all of the joints were high-quality (except one, where there’s a little glue keeping it together). I also identified a few thoughtful touches, like the wooden screw covers seen here, which can be good indicators that a person paid attention to the piece and made sure it was well-made.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="DikgzZ">Things that you can fix: </p>
<ul>
<li id="kGp14L">Furniture! Turn the piece upside down. Look under the top, at the joints, legs, and hardware—and if it’s got one, the skirt (also known as <a href="https://www.countrysideamishfurniture.com/help/faq/what-is-an-apron">an apron</a>, it’s the thing that runs under the table or chair surface, connecting the legs to the top). If all the basic components are in good order, proceed. Next, make sure all the joints are stable and connected; if they’re not, does it seem like some wood glue might do the job? If not, or if you’re looking at metal or another material, proceed with caution. Joints can be tough to fix. If your parts and joints are good, check out the hardware—it should be in working order and not rusted, but honestly, furniture hardware (things like <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rockler.com%2Fsurface-mount-corner-brackets-for-table-aprons&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F2%2F3%2F21117994%2Fhome-goods-vacation-thrifting-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">this table bracket</a>) can be relatively easily replaced—you’ll just need a basic drill.</li>
<li id="ElHxRt">Specifically, chairs with bad upholstery: Don’t be dissuaded by dirt. Most chairs are easily cleaned, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ac9YBylm_o">re-upholstery can be simple</a> if the cushion is still in pretty good condition. If it’s not—if it’s uncomfortable to sit on—know that you’ll need a few extra supplies (cotton batting, or foam) to make a new one. Here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x-8f2JMupM">a good video</a> to help you get there. But anyway, a basic reupholstery may only require a staple gun (this <a href="https://fave.co/2OjKH5h" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">light-duty baby</a> is similar to the one I have) and some new fabric—perhaps that you bought on the cheap from an estate sale? Otherwise, get thee to <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joann.com%2F&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F2%2F3%2F21117994%2Fhome-goods-vacation-thrifting-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Jo-Ann</a>, where something is always on sale.</li>
<li id="oULvDg">Rugs: I know I said no to woven things, but I have in fact repaired two small rugs whose fringes were in trouble. Meaning, the fringe was too short, and the rug was not secured and starting to come apart. If you have some thick thread and some time (I tied knots while binge-watching a TV show), you can also do this. I used embroidery thread, aka what you use to make friendship bracelets, and in fact the knots you make are a lot like friendship bracelet knots, in that you pull together a few strands of fringe and tie them together, and then move on to the next few. Here are a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDldLNTiCFE">few</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFvwld90bp8">videos</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwuIC6sRSsw">show you</a> how it’s done.</li>
<li id="5BssyX">Scuffed, cloudy, or scratched acrylic pieces: Not all plastics can be revived or repaired, but acrylic can. Apartment Therapy has a <a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/cleaning-acrylic-261360">good, quick guide</a> on how to do it.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Three vintage books sit on top of a wooden surface. One book has a few white houses on its cover, another has a green mug on top of a plate." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s1_jlJTKg3wD2961ahgit9X7MmE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19663475/1F2577A7_5168_4C85_8A98_448EE7A23705.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>I love vintage home and design books not only for their aesthetic value, but also because I can learn more about nuanced design history for cheap. I learned about acrylic furniture from <em>Classic Plastics</em>. I bought <em>American Vernacular</em>, which I love, at a thrift shop in Palm Springs, and I snagged Terence Conran’s <em>New House Book</em> from @PressSF—more on that below.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="XX5aPo"> Double-cherry on top</h3>
<p id="7liQfY">At the intersection of secondhand shopping, aesthetic inspiration, and design history lies <a href="https://www.instagram.com/press_sf/">@PressSF</a>, one of my favorite Instagram accounts. It’s basically a digital bookshop for art and design books—including lots of home interiors books. I have only been able to snag one book so far—they go fast!—but I save posts to my “Home” collection on Instagram regularly. The secondhand books featured on this account inspire and inform my IRL secondhand shopping. </p>
<p id="CeIH2h">Is your rent too damn high? Wouldn’t building more housing make it go down? Curbed’s own Diana Budds lays out <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21115351/upzoning-definition-affordable-housing-gentrification">what, exactly, upzoning is</a>, and why everyone’s talking about it. Come for the news context (why did California lawmakers reject that density bill this week?), stay for the connection between communism and the proliferation of single-family homes—and ponder whether housing should be considered a human right.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
https://archive.curbed.com/2020/2/3/21117994/home-goods-vacation-thrifting-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2020-01-21T09:30:00-05:002020-01-21T09:30:00-05:00Secondhand is my first choice
<figure>
<img alt="A big rectangular, underground pool is surrounded by tall trees. You can see a mountain peak in the distance." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5RCmxX0EX8Ukn-BxWhLw7e1cREg=/1x0:3024x2267/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66137008/65F9AADE_5366_4F3B_9EC4_AE70278EEC2E.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Estate sales, flea markets, and the art of haggling</p> <div id="IlMnoz"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6">
<em>I told someone the other day that I hated shopping, when in fact that’s a total lie. I love shopping—I just don’t like buying new. Originally I bought secondhand because I wanted things that no one else would have. I’ve since doubled down: Buying used is one of the best choices for the planet. Here are a few top strategies from my two decades of experience, though </em><a href="mailto:mercedes@curbed.com"><em>I’d really like to hear your tips, too</em></a><em>! —Mercedes</em>
</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Use me up</h3>
<p id="zMRV2k">In my normal Los Angeles routine (read: pre-baby), I hit at least one estate sale or one flea market each weekend—often, two. That’s thanks in part to my secondhand sage, <a href="https://www.annfriedman.com/">Ann Friedman</a>, a writer, podcaster, expert Angeleno, and friend. Before we move forward, you must know that I have picked up crucial LA estate sale and flea intel from her. Last year for Curbed, Ann wrote about <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/5/1/18523209/estate-sales-la-cynthia-abernethy">the magic of estate sales</a>; I highly recommend it for all you secondhand heads. (The pool photo above was taken at an estate sale we visited last year. Exploring new homes every weekend is the cherry on top.)</p>
<p id="pr5LVf">This week in shopping <em>used</em>, I’ll cover strategy, estate sales (with a quick note on LA flea markets), and haggling. More in a future edition!</p>
<p id="s1SOrl"><strong>General strategy</strong></p>
<p id="aArDr8">You can definitely go into any secondhand situation without a goal and just enjoy the ride, but if you’re looking to buy and don’t have any constraints—budget, a person to buy for, or even general priorities—it’s terribly easy to get sidetracked. So try to pick a method, but don’t be strict about it: Feel the place out for a few minutes first. </p>
<p id="5IARBl">For instance, maybe I’ll realize that I hate all of the textiles at this place and will set about scouring the glassware. Beyond prioritizing your favorite <em>types</em> of goods, you can also turn on your style lens to sort through it all. For the past year, I’ve been focusing on retro futuristic design (any interpretation of that phrase) and Mexican dishware or table linens (bountiful here).</p>
<p id="Ivdtva">Having a <em>category you’re into</em> makes it easier to make decisions, but try not to go too far down that path: An item that’s too specific may be unattainable. For example, your locale might mostly have one prevailing style of something, and so you may never find even a similar version. </p>
<p id="qXhYn6">When shopping, the absolute best advice I can give you is: See the tree, not the forest. Just because a home—or a market booth, or a store—has a style that feels tacky or janky to you doesn’t mean that everything in it is tacky or janky. If you can remove an item from its context, you can spot some real gems.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A hand holds a ceramic, painted plate with a blue bird in the middle. In the background is a three-shelf cabinet holding a stack of white plates, wooden bowls, red coffee mugs, and various other kitchenware." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tgTub9gzsVT1khlXU879lEvaHDo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19610395/7EB35244_A8EE_402D_A4A6_305A552AD8F3.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>I bought this shallow dish at an estate sale last weekend for $5. Nearly everything on my shelves, except my dinnerware set (<a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/2sFwkke" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Bennett from Crate & Barrel</a>), is secondhand; the other exception is on the far right, bottom: the Pedro mug from Of A Kind (RIP) by artist <a class="ql-link" href="https://store.debbiecarlos.com/ceramics" target="_blank">Debbie Carlos</a>, a gift from Ann, in fact. (Eep, I might have to buy Debbie’s <a class="ql-link" href="https://store.debbiecarlos.com/ceramics/squiggle-soap-dish" target="_blank">squiggle soap dish</a> now.)</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="OJrBZY">Estate sales</h3>
<p id="PbG5Zb">My hottest tip is also my most basic: <a href="https://www.estatesales.net/">estatesales.net</a>. There is also an app! In LA, I am on two estate-sale company mailing lists, but I ALWAYS check the app because it gives me something the emails don’t: photos. That’s right, folks, you can pre-shop estate sales to see if you think they’re worth your time. You’re welcome!! Note that you can sort sales by date, and that there is a description of each sale that generally notes if it is cash-only or if it takes cards. </p>
<p id="laufsI">Go early—early!—if you know there’s something you really want, because there will likely be a line when doors open. Sometimes there’s even a line after doors open because the place is small. </p>
<p id="Ku0KkB">My best hack is for deal-scroungers: Many estate sales are half-off after lunchtime (usually 1 p.m.). </p>
<p id="HP9cwv"><strong>What to buy that’s unique to estate sales</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="6HapQX">Hobby items: Art supplies, sewing supplies, sports balls—whatever tickles your fancy.</li>
<li id="ewcZQ2">Home basics like pillows—yes! Where else can you buy gently used pillows and feel good about it? You’ve seen the home, you’ve gotten the vibe; more than likely you can imagine that these folks were your grandparents’ pals. And anyway, most estate sale companies have reputations to maintain and won’t sell stuff that is gross.</li>
<li id="NvkJ6s">Yard/garden-maintenance stuff: Why buy a new shovel when you can buy a used one that’s just as good? Other garage-located items: camping gear.</li>
<li id="ZdyZ5D">Potted plants: This is my favorite. Though they are sometimes less beautiful than what you’d get at a nursery, a plant with a pot included is likely to be half the price—or less—than what you’d pay new. </li>
<li id="jMEVaf">Furniture: Remember the decontextualizing tip: You can find some great things if you ignore their surroundings. For example, this <a href="https://www.estatesales.net/CA/Los-Angeles/90026/2447613">Silver Lake sale this weekend</a> is <em>a vibe</em>, but I would go snag this Pietro Costantini chair (you have to CTRL+F “Costantini”) and just have the cushions re-covered.</li>
<li id="mNdjHO">Kitchen gadgets: I was once seeking a vintage ice cream scoop—one that’s one piece of metal—and easily snagged one. Also, things like garlic presses and spatulas. I’ve found these at thrift stores too, but they’re consistently at estate sales.</li>
<li id="hK13oO">This is a home, so people’s home things will be there: blankets, unopened boxes of Q-tips, printers, you name it. This sort of miscellany is why it would be good to keep a list of misc shopping needs.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="zVcPhc">Los Angeles flea markets</h3>
<p id="R6V9aq">I have admittedly largely given up on flea markets, in part because they are so exhausting, and often more expensive than estate sales, but I will occasionally hit the <a href="https://pasadena.edu/community/flea-market/">Pasadena City College flea</a> on the first Sunday of every month. It’s free (parking is $2), unlike the nearby, very popular <a href="https://www.rgcshows.com/rose-bowl/">Rose Bowl flea</a>, which is more expensive the earlier you go. Y’all, if you go at 5 a.m., it’s $25! That is not for the faint of heart. Ann has also said the <a href="https://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/">Long Beach flea</a> is good (third Sunday), and items from the same vendors at the Rose Bowl go for cheaper there, but I haven’t been because I’d have to drive across all of Los Angeles. </p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A four-tiered white cabinet holds a collection of colored glass in shades of purple, orange, yellow, green, red, blue, and white." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o--B-AnxLhank0dP9GK4CdYi_5o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19610397/C15400BF_BB68_46CA_94D7_6EB851A6F4E5.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>I have a thing for colored glass, and almost all of it is secondhand. I bought those red glass tumblers at <a class="ql-link" href="https://goo.gl/maps/8pUtUVsPAy3sKa3JA" target="_blank">Angel View Thrift</a> in Palm Springs and those long-stemmed wine glasses from the <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.rgcshows.com/rose-bowl/" target="_blank">Rose Bowl Flea</a>. But my favorite are the bulbous blue tumblers (with matching pitcher!) that I scored from a shop called <a class="ql-link" href="https://goo.gl/maps/CEu41BAgHKxAFpeZA" target="_blank">Family Tree Antiques</a> in Maine.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Four wooden chairs with tall backs surround a long wooden dining table. In the background is four photos displayed in black frames." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r9-0Pv8zA7HL5256ZBsWIsPH9lk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19610400/E803829A_296C_46EC_A03A_8D854AA5B5FF.jpg">
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></cite>
<figcaption>I paid $200 for this dining table (with two leaves) and eight chairs, including delivery (!), at the Pasadena City College flea. The set is a bit more Jennifer Furniture, but it fulfilled my Mission-style desires well enough. The red chest of drawers is <a class="ql-link" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ikea.com%2Fau%2Fen%2Fcatalog%2Fproducts%2F80451499%2F&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F1%2F21%2F21071647%2Fhow-to-shop-estate-sales-flea-markets-mercedes-kraus" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Nikkeby from Ikea</a>; the sombrero is from an estate sale, and the lucite chandelier is from Chairish. </figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="oXTnH4">On haggling</h3>
<p id="oj6OLt">I love negotiating, but I know it’s not for everyone. My proudest, most absurd win was the time I bought a vintage Versace rug from Betsey Johnson’s yard sale: the man repping the family asked for $1,500, and I got him down to $1,000, but then said that was still too much. I went back the next day and told him I had $500 and could take it away right now. And I did. You, too, can do this! But read the room. For instance, it was clear to me that Johnson’s rep had a lot of stuff still to clear out on day two, so I went hard. </p>
<p id="9G3J2e">I once heard that you have to get right at the edge of offending someone to negotiate the absolute best deal, and if the seller isn’t even a little annoyed once you’ve closed the deal, you could’ve gotten the thing for less. I live by this.</p>
<p id="x3BqqL">The absolute easiest way to negotiate is on a group of items. I learned this from my mom; if they total your picks at $33, ask, “Would $30 work?” If it’s a lower-end sale (like a yard sale), you can push harder—to say, $25. But the general rule: Round down to the nearest five dollars—or 10, if you’re feeling confident. I’ve also candidly told the vendor or check-out person that I only have $20 cash, so I’m trying to make that work. A few times people have voluntarily offered to let me have that extra $3 to $5 item. This invitation-style negotiation makes for a more gentle approach.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="1s7Jpq">You tell me</h3>
<p id="3d9Mmc">What I’m saving for a future edition: Shopping for used home goods <em>online</em>, what’s worth buying that you can fix or save, and my old fave—thrift stores. What are your questions, and your tips, on these matters?</p>
<p id="YiQLIK">And, what are your local tips on estate sales or fleas? I’m all ears. Reply in the comments or <a href="mailto:mercedes@curbed.com">email me</a> so I can share your wisdom with your fellow readers.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
https://archive.curbed.com/2020/1/21/21071647/how-to-shop-estate-sales-flea-markets-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2020-01-06T09:30:00-05:002020-01-06T09:30:00-05:00Making it up as I go along
<figure>
<img alt="A toddler boy crawls across a wood floor. To his left is a large bookcase against a light blue-painted wall. To his right, a striped couch." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LI9ECnmIBDlXyIgIU-fanzTwlso=/0x5:3011x2263/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66030635/_Lead_wall_bookshelf.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/merxaus/?hl=en" target="_blank">Mercedes Kraus</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How an $1,100 milking stool inspired a DIY paint job</p> <div id="9zo4HE"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6"><em>I know I’m not the only one who loves artists’ homes, and in that spirit, I found (invented??) a way to watercolorize my walls. I did it in a couple hours and for under $20—and you can, too! That small DIY is perhaps one way I’m trying to participate in the great experiment that is Los Angeles—a place that probably should not exist (no water! fire!) but does, that is making it up as it goes along. This city would put Jane Jacobs on her head, and I’ve been thinking about who among us is clever enough to show us the way from the inside. I have some ideas. —Mercedes </em></h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Wash this way</h3>
<p id="KcxTLQ">When we decided on our first Los Angeles house, I was disappointed. Not because it’s a duplex or because the exterior trim is painted a not-for-me Tiffany blue, but because—in a city of great homes—it’s not much of a charmer. Not a Spanish-style with enchanting arches, nor a darling bungalow with built-ins, nor a midcentury treasure with exposed beams. It’s just a very plain home, a box of white boxes built in 1954.</p>
<p id="mEajoc">But we had run out of time to house-hunt, and the place was in dreamy Atwater Village, so we took it. I set out to make it work by painting some walls. </p>
<p id="9Ju4S6">In retrospect, I can see that I’d been building references: Primarily, this <a href="https://fave.co/39EHXs3" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$1,100 ceramic milking stool</a> that I’d seen at Coming Soon before we left New York. I loved it immediately, in part because the color is precisely that of a <a href="https://sewlindsaysew.com/2011/08/29/the-evolution-of-a-favorite-color/">cerulean Crayola crayon</a>. Then there was this <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/pee-wees-playhouse-esque-home-for-two-grown-men.html">wonderfully bonzers situation</a>, the home of artist Misha Kahn and <em>Interview</em> editor Nick Haramis with wall paint that recklessly stops short of the ceiling.</p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A bunch of bananas sit on top of a white-and-blue striped stool." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rfusrvtRJHMmwas0DRm0A-qtkiw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576795/COMING_SOON_42875_825x1100_crop_center.jpg">
<figcaption>The <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/39EHXs3" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">ceramic milking stool</a>. Photo via Coming Soon.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A long white-and-blue piece of fabric with tassels lies on top of a wooden table. On top of the piece of fabric is a small red bowl with two ball-like sculptures inside of it." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jafmFNQPtpxHAg5htzJvhtK1-tE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576796/color_story_inspo.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>A Greek table runner I picked up around the same time.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="zn3NXF">I wanted to do a painterly wash—something obviously handmade and watercolor-like—to make my living room look like that milking stool, but the internet came up short on instructions. Everything I found was geared toward textured walls and took a hell of a lot more paint than I wanted to use. So I decided to figure it out on my own. </p>
<p id="Gf9N1m">First, I scooped up almost everything in one Home Depot visit for under $20:</p>
<ul>
<li id="kpjq5u">Sponge, <a href="https://fave.co/2QlGjUB" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$3.48</a> for two, but I only used one</li>
<li id="jGB7Cl">Eight ounces of paint, <a href="https://fave.co/2Fjv5tE" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$4.98</a> (I had around half left over after one layer of wash on about 14 feet of wall, 8 feet tall)</li>
<li id="JmqjBQ">Painters tape, <a href="https://fave.co/2ZQhrYA" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$6.58</a>
</li>
<li id="fX6qor">Plastic tray, <a href="https://fave.co/2QjRGMS" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$1.68</a>, plus a second plastic tray (just in case), <a href="https://fave.co/2MQPFWA" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">$1.87</a>
</li>
<li id="tXBQLm">A 16-ounce yogurt container (read: something wide and shallow), free-ish</li>
<li id="hKX8o6">Water, free-ish</li>
</ul>
<p id="cY4Blm">To match the milking stool, I went with <a href="https://fave.co/2Fjv5tE" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Behr Marquee in Celebration Blue</a>. I got it with an eggshell finish—just barely shinier than matte—because Curbed’s editor-in-chief and materfamilias Kelsey Keith taught me that matte walls absorb every mark and are difficult to clean. (I later painted Judd’s nursery with the same technique, and for that I used <a href="https://fave.co/2ZNmngE" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Behr Marquee in Lavender Wash</a>.) </p>
<p id="vO1t8G">I knew I wanted <em>a wash</em>, so I put some paint in one of the plastic trays and added water (kept nearby in the yogurt container). I dipped in the sponge and got to it—yes, just on the walls as they were; no, I didn’t even clean them. What I found is that more water in the sponge meant more of a watercolor effect, but more drips; less, and the strokes were bolder, but less drippy. I pretty much made it up as I went along, mixing paint and water as they felt right, trying to embrace serendipity. </p>
<p id="UdsHvX">I knew I probably couldn’t make smooth strokes like on the milking stool, so I just followed my hand: What came out was this noodly look, which I like a lot, in fact. But I bet you could do lines or zigzags or something else, too. </p>
<p id="bMZ41O">Note: My walls were a matte finish when we moved in (cute, but a pain; see above), so if you are starting with something glossier, be mindful that you might need to use less water on your slick surface in order to achieve your ideal level of drip. Please also learn from me, and be extra rigorous with your taping. Water is, well, very wet.</p>
<div class="c-wide-block"><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A light blue wall featuring large painted strokes surrounds a plain white door." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fvAS3gPzvNVIa9of52hD9Uo5_Ps=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576801/wall_with_edges.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The blue wash in my living room. The ragged edges were inspired by <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/pee-wees-playhouse-esque-home-for-two-grown-men.html" target="_blank">artist Misha Kahn’s New York apartment</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A wooden crib sits in the corner of a room with lavender walls featuring clouds." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FWikpIw0Xvu0GTf_f7D4bggqWPE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576802/Judd_room.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The baby’s room, mid-baby prep: I washed on the lavender after painting clouds.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="0uenDm">What is a milking stool, anyway?</h3>
<p id="mGpflw">That ceramic stool of my dreams is merely an interpretation of a milking stool. While it has three (<a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/8/7/20756886/round-chunky-cozy-furniture-design-trends">chubby</a>) legs like a traditional milking stool, at 18 inches high, it’s simply too tall. Milking stools are traditionally around 7 to 12 inches in height so that shorty, you can get low—and milk those teats. Why three legs? When dealing with a large, moving creature like a cow or goat, three legs allow for a nimbleness that four, though more steady, do not.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A man in a black pinstriped suit stands in the middle of a grassy field, facing another man who is seated on a stool. The man on the stool is wearing all white and is milking a cow." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ygvg4IJSud4DqFaYfg5qM3sIMa0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576806/GettyImages_555284263.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Kurt Hutton, Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>English reverend John Godwin Wright (left) talking to a farm hand sitting on a three-legged milking stool, October 1948. </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="1AqYeZ">Milking stools are quite cute and can be a clutch furniture item—used for slightly elevating plants off the floor, hosting a pile of books next to a low-slung couch, or as a step stool or—ha, yes—a seat. I’ve rounded up a few options for you below, but first I have to mention this <a href="https://fave.co/39BTNn0" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">5-inch unfinished bb</a>: For only $13, it’s ideal for a DIYer. (Etsy, to no one’s surprise, has a lot of affordable options.) Someone will email me if I don’t mention the beloved Senufo stools (cf <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chairish.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DAfrican%2BSenufo%2BWood%2BKids%2BMilk%2BStool%2BI%2B.%2BCoast%2B17%2522%2BW%2Bby%2B7%2522%2BH&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F1%2F6%2F21051464%2Fdiy-painting-watercolor-ideas-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">these on Chairish</a>), but I’m not including them here because they were <a href="https://indegoafrica.org/blogs/blog/the-senufo-stool">not intended for milking</a>—and anyway, they’re curved and thus less than ideal for storage.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A collection of stools in various shapes and textures." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D9ZPq_JZto9ic4B2GKWOJCKWoGw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576807/Milk_stools_1.jpg">
<figcaption>Left to right: These <a class="ql-link" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.1stdibs.com%2Ffurniture%2Fseating%2Fstools%2F19th-century-milking-stools%2Fid-f_8291463%2F%3Fgclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIra_LhODm5gIVAtlkCh305QnLEAQYASABEgI4-_D_BwE%26gclsrc%3Daw.ds&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2020%2F1%2F6%2F21051464%2Fdiy-painting-watercolor-ideas-mercedes-kraus" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">antique milking stools</a> from 1stdibs are $255 to $550 each, and no, I have no idea why they are styled that way. This <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/35htsHq" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">milking stool from Etsy</a> is not only appropriately billed as a plant stand, but it comes in five height options (6 to 14 inches) that range from $43 to $60—or you can get <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/39EInyD" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">a set of three for $99</a>—though I’d personally skip the white and ask for the clear satin finish only. This 9-inch number by Candlewood Furniture is $49, and you can order it from either <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/2ZPLmA7" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Etsy</a> or <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/2ZOY0iB" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Amazon</a>. (Candlewood also makes a cute, <a class="ql-link" href="https://amzn.to/2FuUUqV" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">more chub stool for $59</a>, but it’s got four legs.)</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Another collection of stools in various shapes and textures." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eFfyz1nVGJ9utP4B-87ua1Hlr-c=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576808/Milk_stools_2.jpg">
<figcaption>And because you may want a higher stool that you can actually sit on—left to right: Clocking in at 16 inches tall, the <a class="ql-link" href="https://camodernhome.com/products/lax-series-milking-stool-standard" target="_blank">LAX Series Milking Stool</a> by MASH Studios goes for $275, whereas this <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/2MUgXuX" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">modern plywood stool</a> (45 centimeters, or 18-ish inches tall) starts at a mere $28 on Etsy. The <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.danishdesignstore.com/products/sika-design-roger-stool" target="_blank">Roger Stool by Sika-Design</a> is 20 inches tall and $220, but it’s easily my favorite shape of all the three-legged stools I found.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="PupWKQ">Dispatch from Los Angeles</h3>
<p id="3SnjRD">“In New York, we take urbanity for granted, whereas in Los Angeles, we are still learning its vernacular.” Yes! That such a gigantic city could be so elusive is one of the things that compels me most about LA. My favorite attempt yet to learn and articulate that vernacular is the source of that quote, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sidewalking-Coming-Terms-Los-Angeles/dp/0520273729?tag=curbed-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles</em></a> by David Ulin, which I’ve just finished. It’s also short, unlike, say, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/City-Quartz-Excavating-Future-Angeles/dp/1844675688?tag=curbed-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>City of Quartz</em></a>.</p>
<p id="CMpVSZ">Ulin covers a huge swath of the city in transition—from the <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2019/12/18/21026595/downtown-development-los-angeles-skyline-comparison">downtown revival</a> to the expansions of <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2019/4/8/18300919/lacma-redesign-peter-zumthor-wilshire">LACMA</a> and <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2019/12/5/20995582/los-angeles-rail-map-2019-comparison">Metro</a> to the artificial “street life” of <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2017/11/15/16637682/the-grove-los-angeles-mall-restaurants">the Grove</a>, an indoor-outdoor mall that, he posits (though I’m not sure I agree), might teach Angelenos how to embrace, and maybe even co-create, more civic space. Cool, yes! But I know I’m not alone in wondering how that jives with the other thing I love most about Los Angeles: that it’s a city of <a href="https://la.curbed.com/la-architecture">domestic architecture</a>, of houses.</p>
<p id="ky1ZDs">Ulin quotes writer <a href="https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-me-carolyn-see-snap-story.html">Carolyn See</a> in Topanga Canyon in 1991: “In Southern California, you don’t go down to the cafe and drink a lot of coffee and talk about intellectual concepts the way you might in Prague. You get in the car, drive for an hour, have a long, leisurely lunch in a beautiful yard, and get the same material covered. There’s a kind of daytime quality to a lot of literary life here—not a suburban quality, but a domestic one.”</p>
<p id="cqGzwK">This beautiful way of Angeleno life remains—to some degree, anyway—because the people who have lived here have not wanted to share it. Have said no to density, even around transit. And today we find ourselves in a severe housing shortage and acute homelessness crisis. “Densify or die!” read a poster by <a href="http://laforum.org/about/">the LA Forum</a> that I tried to buy at a fundraising auction earlier this year. </p>
<p id="kmAsM7">To get any sense of what life here is like—and what it <em>should be </em>like—let the astute and passionate <a href="https://twitter.com/awalkerinLA">Alissa Walker</a> be your guide. She’s the one who recommended I read <em>Sidewalking</em>, and she’s the one whose poster I tried to buy. And yes, she’s the <a href="https://www.curbed.com/authors/alissa-walker">Curbed urbanism editor</a> and may very well be our present-day, Angeleno-style Jane Jacobs. This my shameless, and in fact very proud, plug!</p>
<div class="c-wide-block"><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A tall palm tree is situated in front of a tall, light-pink building with many windows." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Vc3cmPKIYFXHlgHzxeGGRtVA1-U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576815/Los_Altos.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>Los Altos Apartments on Wilshire.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A short building with an angular white roof." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/g5p6UbDhhEouI2AmSLpTLDe4rX0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576812/LACMA.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The Resnick Pavilion by Renzo Piano at LACMA.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Two bridges overlook a river and a grassy area surrounded by a fence." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IPazkdp1u1xed7lY0b1sFybBmpw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576817/LA_River_Bridges.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The North Broadway and Spring Street bridges over the Los Angeles River.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An all-white building featuring a large set of black doors and a large water fountain feature in the front." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xBbB9ln1NHoebGqXVXIreEhjcaA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19576811/SaMo_city_hall.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>Santa Monica City Hall.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
https://archive.curbed.com/2020/1/6/21051464/diy-painting-watercolor-ideas-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2019-12-16T14:00:00-05:002019-12-16T14:00:00-05:00This Texan’s Marfa recs
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6S5vekyghXstl0natQGkmt8U6iU=/0x0:4032x3024/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65916347/125E6D78_8102_4167_B6D0_8A4BA82FF5E8.7.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Curbed’s interim EIC Mercedes Kraus shares inside tips on her favorite region of her home state</p> <div id="B3ak8E"><center><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18276155/EditorsNotesBranding.0.png"></center></div>
<h3 id="T7qpt6"><em>Hello! I’m writing from a few weeks ago, right around the time I stepped away for maternity leave. Past Me would like you, dear reader, to extend a warm welcome and sincere scroll depth to Mercedes Kraus, Curbed’s interim EIC for the next few months. Mercedes has helped lead Curbed since 2015, and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband and 7-month-old son. You’re lucky to be getting a slice of her creative mind and Texan heart, so let’s pass that baton without further ado! —Kelsey </em></h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="RJS9Lu">Hey y’all. It was 2008 when I left the great state of Texas, and each year since, I’ve wondered when I might return in glory (lol) as its prodigal daughter. But after roadtripping across Texas at the end of October—with a 7-month-old—some of the (lone) stars fell from my eyes. </p>
<p id="kh40Mn">To be brutally honest, I think it’s because Los Angeles is so beautiful and so endlessly compelling—and California’s natural features so grand—that in just two years here, the Texas places in my mind have begun to pale in comparison. One area of the state, though, only gets better with time. </p>
<p id="r2vDp4">Far West Texas, particularly the three-town triangle of Alpine, Marfa, and Fort Davis, and the entire area south to Mexico—that is to say, throughout Big Bend—inspires in me too much romantic waxing for one newsletter. Here’s trying.</p>
<p id="o4pc56">(Don’t worry, I’ve also got tips—I know you’re here for the meaty stuff. And for a future edition, I plan to sniff out, literally, the best fancy candles: The only <em>waxing </em>involved there will be the smell-good kind.)</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="4XR8F5">Marfa Stewart</h3>
<p id="cuoRoM">Out in that semiarid desert grassland, the rainy season hits in August, which means we were treated to lushness in October. We missed Marfa’s <a href="https://chinati.org/programs/cw2019/">Chinati Weekend</a> by a couple weeks, when <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3j9TBtAvt9/?igshid=hbz99e60atr6">Martha Stewart</a> and others of the moneyed set flew in on private jets for the programming- and fundraising-heavy gathering. (Normal people drove in or took a bus.)</p>
<p id="Dq50Fn">In fact, the first time I visited Marfa was for this weekend in 2006, when nearly all of the works at <a href="https://www.chinati.org/">Chinati Foundation</a> are open to the public and the tiny town booms. I got to walk by myself through the two “sheds” that house Donald Judd’s <a href="https://www.chinati.org/collection/donaldjudd">100 untitled works in milled aluminum</a> and remember them feeling <em>symphonic</em>. That evening, the main street of Marfa was shut down for a public dinner party, and a mariachi band played for us on a small stage as the clear sky turned dusty purple. </p>
<p id="XcqbDf">I would later name my son Judd.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nnM2U8TehMSb4lIKST6Fy761d70=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533714/125E6D78_8102_4167_B6D0_8A4BA82FF5E8.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The Chinati Foundation building on Marfa’s main street, Highland Avenue, houses several works by sculptor John Chamberlain and can be visited on the foundation’s comprehensive tour. </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="T3iupo">Donald Judd is not actually the reason Marfa is what it is today—you can thank <a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-k/">Tim a</a><a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/the-buzz-about-marfa-is-just-crazy/">n</a><a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-k/">d Lynn Crowley</a> for that—but what he made while he lived there, and the two foundations that maintain his legacy (Chinati and Judd), have remained potent to the town’s identity and its draw.</p>
<p id="FVRiJm">Two Judd items of note: One, the man was incredibly holistic—and specific—in his idea of environment. You see that play out at <a href="https://juddfoundation.org/spaces/101-spring-street/">101 Spring Street</a> in New York City, but in a bigger way in Marfa. Two, Judd’s object-first ethos (just don’t call him a minimalist) included functional furniture, and as of 2017, you can actually buy <a href="https://judd.furniture/">reproductions</a> online. It’s expensive. You can see it all in person, though: Anyone interested in environment/space(s) must absolutely make time—and book ahead—for both tours at the <a href="https://juddfoundation.org/visit/marfa/">Judd Foundation</a>.</p>
<p id="QdlUZe">In 2013 I was lucky enough to have <a href="https://juddfoundation.org/foundation/about/">Caitlin Murray</a>, director of archives and programs at the Judd Foundation, be my guide on these tours of Judd’s home, studio, and personal gallery spaces. She and I loosely knew each other in Austin, so she let me and a couple others join the private tour she was giving to Texas-famous singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore. (Start with his <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3fJvfOTkkgGlU9CUPOrq83?si=67hJubNFSqyc_6OY1Bvtbg">1991</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3fJvfOTkkgGlU9CUPOrq83?si=67hJubNFSqyc_6OY1Bvtbg">1989</a> albums.) You could say I was smitten once again: My husband Ryan and I have since built bookshelves modeled on Judd’s personal library. </p>
<p id="a216bD">Caitlin has edited many a book on Donald Judd, including the most recent <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Donald-Judd-Interviews-Caitlin-Murray/dp/164423016X?tag=curbed-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>Interviews</em></a>, which I bought at Marfa Book Co., along with a <a href="http://www.marfabookco.com/shop/west-texas-cloud-appreciation-society-t-shirt">West Texas Cloud Appreciation Society</a> tee. The bookstore-gallery-publisher-venue rivals anything you’ll find in New York or LA; Caitlin and her partner Tim are its owners. </p>
<p id="UumhGh">The store is inside the circa-2016 Saint George, a widely publicized and stylish hotel that is, in fact, completely skippable. (Other things to skip? Prada Marfa and the Marfa Lights.) That’s especially true now that <a href="https://www.thesentinelmarfa.com/">The Sentinel</a> has opened. Another multihyphenate—this time a coffee shop-bar-taco stand-lifestyle store—it’s owned by <a href="https://bigbendsentinel.com/">the regional newspaper</a>, an exercise in “<a href="https://www.thesentinelmarfa.com/">exploring the future of community supported journalism</a>.” A laudable mission, and an excellent establishment any time of day. </p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AdiZQWbDJMPg24SbtjgSDXrs7gk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533739/KKNL3.jpeg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The exterior of the Sentinel, which opened in June, shares a logo with its owner, the regional newspaper.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BP7vjkRvFYD_Lc26GodCC240Ef0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533733/552FD083_02BE_4E18_A870_7FC7B43C56AE.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>Leather and wood Mexican Equipale chairs (in the foreground) are a mainstay here—just 60 miles from the Mexico border.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="kIYN7T"><em>Note: The following is NOT a comprehensive list; there are plenty of other great food spots and hotels and shops in Marfa—these are merely my top top faves. </em></p>
<p id="87coUK"><strong>Other spots in Marfa I love:</strong></p>
<p id="Fmkvjw">For art:<strong> </strong>Don’t let anyone tell you to skip <a href="https://chinati.org/visit/visiting">Chinati</a>. I recommend either the full tour ($25) or all three self-guided tours ($30). The self-guided are “the sheds” (where I experienced a visual symphony), the Dan Flavin buildings (for your Instagram fulfillment), and the new Robert Irwin—an artwork and experience that is in fact an entire building. The thing that I think you, a fan of this newsletter, would really miss if you don’t do the full tour is <a href="https://chinati.org/collection/donaldjudd3">the arena</a>. If you are unable to take the Judd Foundation tour (see above), you must do the full Chinati tour so that you can experience the arena. (Pro tip: get to know your docent—locals in Marfa are super friendly, will give you great tips, and might even invite you to a local party or happening.)</p>
<p id="PoVSvw">For dinner: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stellinamarfa/">Stellina</a> is the best restaurant in town. It is the spot you do not want to miss. Wait for your table while watching the sun set on the Presidio County Courthouse at the north end of Highland Avenue. </p>
<p id="u8mjER">For a drink:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/t-magazine/food/capri-restaurant-marfa-rocky-barnette.html">Capri</a> has a fantastic bar (order a sotol for me) and a delightful garden with fire pits. </p>
<p id="kaLK7S">For a hang, or a stay: <a href="https://hotelpaisano.com/">The Paisano</a>. Regional architects <a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-g/">Tro</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trost_%26_Trost">s</a><a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-g/">t & Trost</a> designed the historic Spanish Revival hotel along with others nearby, including the <a href="http://thehollandhoteltexas.com/">Holland Hotel</a> in Alpine and the <a href="http://gagehotel.com/">Gage Hotel</a> in nearby Marathon (pronounced <em>Mair</em>-a-thin.) Famous for hosting the cast of <em>Giant</em>, it’s got sweet, quaint rooms—some with balconies—and a warm fireplace in the lobby for the cold season.</p>
<p id="BWzMrH">For groceries:<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.thegetgomarfa.com/">The Get Go</a>. Satisfy your organic or otherwise “good” food needs—and grab <a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-yk/">a tote</a>.</p>
<p id="EE7tBZ">For browsing and buying: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wrongmarfa/">Wrong Marfa</a> is an extremely cool store and gallery (they actually have a brilliant list of <a href="http://www.wrongmarfa.com/marfa-recs/">Marfa recs</a>) and the <a href="https://www.moonlightgemstones.com/">rock shop</a>. And again, <a href="http://www.marfabookco.com/">Marfa Book Co.</a></p>
<p id="2riWN3">For a late night: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lost_horse_saloon_marfa/?hl=en">The Lost Horse Saloon</a>, if for no other reason than to chew the fat with the proprietor, an eyepatched cowboy.</p>
<p id="QbfV0c">For a follow:<em><strong> </strong></em>My friend <a href="https://www.instagram.com/weirdo.forest/">Travis Klunick</a> is a poet and flora/fauna obsessive whose Instagram shows what lies beneath the average West Texas visit, and may inspire you to actually make the trek out.</p>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NjCWviBVZfFSnwGLbWA3A93e4AE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533755/4EEC4763_37AB_4F24_9BF4_9D81F94AA979.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>A sitting area in the historic Hotel Paisano.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GhC7vOG64KAIIgOb2TkRPsqB2gk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533756/1A8D49D8_F05D_4695_B5A9_B1ED87AB3792.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>A dining area in the stylish but skippable Hotel Saint George.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="dRag1b">Note that Marfa is a truly small town, and nearly everything is open only part of the week—and then, only sometimes half of the day. Roll with it (or plan ahead). Smallness also means that you can and should walk—everywhere. </p>
<p id="OORUhO">There are some cool houses in Marfa. Some you’ll spot easily, some are hidden—in October, I nearly walked by <a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-tl/">this house we profiled</a> without noticing—and some, of the kind featured in books like <a href="https://amzn.to/2suqXns" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>Marfa Modern</em></a>, are made of adobe. Well, to get more state money out of those homes, adobe—one of the world’s cheapest building materials—is now getting taxed in Marfa. It’s not just the fancy homes, either: Longtime residents in humbler adobe abodes are having to cough up—sometimes paying three times as much in taxes. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/arts/design/marfa-texas-adobe-taxes.html">Here’s your required reading on the subject</a>.</p>
<p id="d90cb2">That’s enough about <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2014/10/22/10033194/marfa-texas-donald-judd-interior-design-modernism">Marfa</a> for now, though <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2014/10/22/10033194/marfa-texas-donald-judd-interior-design-modernism">we love a design destination</a>. What really makes my heart flipflop is the West Texas landscape—the grassy hills, the absolute flat, the incomprehensibly wide sky. And of course, hiking down in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm">Big Bend National Park</a> is an experience in spacetime. It’s one of the few places I’ve looked out on a vastness that feels prehistoric, like I might watch a distant dinosaur amble across the dry, grassy basin. </p>
<p id="xUaxnJ">On my radar for the next time I’m out in West Texas: I’d like to stay in Fort Davis at the recently restored pueblo-style <a href="http://texascccparks.org/parks/indian-lodge/">Indian Lodge</a> (ugh, the name but wow, the view) and go back to the <a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-th/">McDonald Obser</a><a href="https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors">v</a><a href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-th/">atory</a> for a star party. I’d also like to spend more time in Big Bend—finally visit the ghost town of <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.outsideonline.com%2F1922521%2Fmurder-terlingua-texas&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2019%2F12%2F16%2F21024255%2Fmarfa-texas-travel-tips-mercedes-kraus" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Terlingua</a> and swim in the Rio Grande.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WqV_xWNvcyp0gNOa99HCDAYo9U4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533764/A533D91B_7999_4A8F_A89F_BEF4E05A9488.jpg">
<cite>Mercedes Kraus</cite>
<figcaption>The road—Texas Highway 118—into Big Bend National Park on New Year’s Day 2018.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="btQJ8Y">This week in tabs</h3>
<ul>
<li id="tRZZGy">I only scrolled quickly through <em>T Magazine</em>’s list of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/t-magazine/25-rooms-influence-design.html">25 rooms that influence the way we design</a>. I was impressed with the inclusion of an ancient room and appreciated the overall discussion about <em>what makes a room</em>, but otherwise I was kind of bored. Am I a bad design geek for admitting that?</li>
<li id="ujTrUl">This <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/opinion/recycling-myths.html">succinct video on the myth of recycling</a> has a maybe-obvious spoiler: Most of your recycling is not actually being recycled. The only thing they recommend you do? Stop pretending it is. (We actually have <a href="https://www.curbed.com/a/how-to-live-sustainably">101 things</a> you can do to live sustainably. Because you’re not totally powerless, even if <em>it is</em> companies and governments that need to make the biggest changes.)</li>
<li id="ydoBVN">That video prompted me to finishing reading (yes, the tab was still open) Alissa Walker’s plea to public officials <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/11/25/20976495/flight-shaming-airports-climate-change">to stop funding billion-dollar airport expansions</a>, considering the huge, and rising, toll of air travel on the planet. (Though as she would say, emissions from cars are still the worst.)</li>
<li id="E5a0sh">I watched Jenny Slate’s new <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81027753"><em>Stage Fright</em></a> special last weekend and was struck by the level of vulnerability it offered, not just in the knowing way she talks about her neuroses, but how she gently interacts with her family: Mixed into the live standup performance is a visit to Slate’s childhood home in Massachusetts—a charmingly traditional two-story, with Laura Ashley wallpaper lining Slate’s bedroom. It reminded me of the home tour <a href="https://video.vogue.com/watch/73-questions-with-kim-kardashian-west/">Kim Kardashian gave <em>Vogue</em></a> and how, despite how awkward and contrived it felt, there was something genuine in the whole family hanging out on the bed. Home! The heart! It’s there!</li>
<li id="MjGUyR">This is probably more of a shameless plug, but I’ve been reading all of our <a href="https://www.curbed.com/best-of-2010s-decade-review">decade look-backs and predictions</a> this week, gathered under the punny title “On The 10s.”</li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="PWTbiV">An aside on side tables, and 2020</h3>
<div><div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4nGGhBnsleAafMdv5qasKFEOKyc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533518/KKNL8.jpg">
<figcaption>Vintage <a class="ql-link" href="https://fave.co/36IQgRk" target="_blank" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">Kartell-ish side table</a>—and the image—are from Etsy. (Not exactly, though; the ones I got don’t have detachable legs.)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/edtGw0Xwvjj9f6xaIx1pwi7TIuU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19533519/KKNL9.png">
<figcaption>The two-unit Componibili I passed up. Image via <a class="ql-link" href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-ih/" target="_blank">Hive M</a><a class="ql-link" href="https://hivemodern.com/pages/product397/componibili-2-level-storage-module-anna-castelli-ferrieri-kartell" target="_blank">o</a><a class="ql-link" href="https://curbed.createsend1.com/t/d-l-xkrlrdd-l-ih/" target="_blank">dern</a>. </figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div></div>
<p id="MjxTbg">I just bought some Kartell-style yellow plastic side tables on Etsy for our bedroom, passing up the darling, if eensy, actual Kartell <a href="https://hivemodern.com/pages/product397/componibili-2-level-storage-module-anna-castelli-ferrieri-kartell">Componibili Storage Modules from Hive Modern</a> when they were on sale for $100 (from $140) over Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Why? Honestly I generally winnow the shopping down to my faves and then let Ryan make the final call. </p>
<p id="itkasO">It’s my 2020 home resolution (well, the main one anyway) is to <em>finally </em>round out our bedroom, and the side tables were a big step. Next up is lamps. Ryan suggested the H. T. Huang-designed <a href="https://fave.co/2EoVtBO" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Toucan Lamps</a>, which I also love. But they’re about $100 each on Etsy, which feels like more than I want to spend. I’m going to sit on it for a while and maybe even set an Ebay alert (where <em>designed</em> things tend to go for cheaper). I’ll keep y’all posted on what we pick.</p>
<p id="vkzR3C">In the mean time, what are <em>your</em> home resolutions for 2020? <a href="mailto:mercedes@curbed.com">Send me an email</a>—I’d sincerely like to know. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IIl1YLd43VvCLSjM-hWvwXfQDhE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16389236/EditorsNote_Rule.jpg">
</figure>
<h3 id="hVq1Qp">
<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/2500687A2CCDDECD">Sign up now</a> to get Editor’s Notes directly in your inbox before everyone else. Every other week, you’ll hear from Curbed interim Editor-in-Chief Mercedes Kraus as she shares her latest observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations.</h3>
<div id="lyaKIM">
<form id="subForm" class="js-cm-form" action="https://www.createsend.com/t/subscribeerror?description=" method="post" data-id="92D4C54F0FEC16E5ADC2B1904DE9ED1A0FF8E19D000032EA15F068B03CFC6E4B0EB815CDBA0AF167F0748FF436456B1F327ADFF253322068EFF3B327A4A87B47">
<p>
<label for="fieldEmail">Your email address</label>
<br>
<input id="fieldEmail" name="cm-ydgirk-ydgirk" type="email" class="js-cm-email-input" required="">
</p>
<p>
<button class="js-cm-submit-button" type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</p>
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.createsend1.com/javascript/copypastesubscribeformlogic.js"></script>
</div>
<p id="HJ0Q5K"></p>
https://archive.curbed.com/2019/12/16/21024255/marfa-texas-travel-tips-mercedes-krausMercedes Kraus2017-06-22T14:30:02-04:002017-06-22T14:30:02-04:00Sign up for Curbed’s Weekend Reads newsletter!
<figure>
<img alt="Conversation pit by Saarinen and Girard" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6INx8a_RLIbQ5AwFkskodIL86R0=/0x108:6564x5031/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55394315/05_Girard_DesignersUniverse_high_2.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo via Vitra Design Museum</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Deep dives, direct to your inbox</p> <p id="GOeiFd">Each week, Curbed’s <a href="https://www.curbed.com/cities-directory">15 sites</a> cover a lot of ground—physically and metaphorically—across America. In addition to the up-to-the-minute news and trends we cover, we also put out a slew of ambitious stories: <a href="https://www.curbed.com/longform">long reads</a> with just-for-Curbed <a href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/12/7/13823266/austin-texas-gentrification-transportation-parks-preservation">illustrations</a>, <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15838436/robert-moses-jones-beach-history-new-york-city">original photo essays</a>, in-depth <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/13/15788960/brewing-economic-development-craft-beer">reports</a>, <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2016/9/19/12947604/national-museum-african-american-history-culture">architectural criticism</a>, and entire groups of stories around your favorite subjects, like <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/8/15729452/frank-lloyd-wright-guide-legacy">Frank Lloyd Wright</a>.</p>
<p id="EFx3qy">Sign up for our redesigned Weekend Reads newsletter—sent on Saturdays, and now optimized for mobile!—so you don’t miss these deep dives on cities, architecture, design, real estate, and urban planning.</p>
<aside id="4qIiFy"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"curbed_weekend_reads"}'></div></aside><p id="McRNpm"><em>If you can’t see the above signup form, </em><a href="https://www.curbed.com/pages/newsletters"><em>click here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p id="ZVFBS5">Can’t get enough of Curbed? Check out <a href="https://www.curbed.com/pages/newsletters">our other newsletters</a> for more email goodness:</p>
<ul>
<li id="xHf0aX">
<strong>Curbed’s daily newsletter:</strong><strong> </strong>Sent every weekday, a dose of design and real estate news, intel, and eye candy</li>
<li id="awgVj3">
<strong>Homes of the Week: </strong>A handpicked selection of the best homes from around the country, sent on Sundays</li>
</ul>
<p id="NQzjVZ"><a href="https://www.curbed.com/pages/newsletters">And newsletters from all 14 local city sites</a>!</p>
<p id="P5uJzg"></p>
<p id="Xs1eUC"></p>
<p id="24z1ca"></p>
https://archive.curbed.com/2017/6/22/15854958/curbed-longform-newsletter-subscribe-weekend-readsMercedes Kraus2016-07-19T10:08:17-04:002016-07-19T10:08:17-04:00Quiz: Which iconic chair are you?
<figure>
<img alt="iconic chairs collage" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J-uNrydKYtZHnmI71hf7SiwQ29g=/600x0:4200x2700/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50145645/_Iconic_20chair_20quiz_composite.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>You are where you sit</p> <p id="wpW5E2">We spend a good chunk of our lives sitting down. At home, at work, in the car or at the movies, our butts are in seats. So it would make sense that when we started work on <a href="http://www.curbed.com/furniture-week">Furniture Week</a>, our first thought went to chairs. And our second, to personality quizzes (we like to have fun).</p>
<p id="oC7yOx">But not any chairs would do: As design obsessives, we wanted to pull together a list of icons that spanned time and country of origin. We thought of everything from the papasan and the pouffe to modern classics by the likes of the Eames and Arne Jacobson. We considered an ancient Roman chair (the curule), a Victorian courting bench, a whole slew of armchairs, and the bean bag chair.</p>
<p>None of those made the cut, but we think you'll see yourself—your personality, rather—in one of the eight we chose. Have fun, and leave your results in the comments!</p>
<div id="93UutV">
<div data-analytics-viewport="autotune" data-analytics-label="curbed-which-iconic-chair-are-you-wop:2930" id="curbed-which-iconic-chair-are-you-wop__graphic"></div>
</div>
<div id="93UutV">
<script type="text/javascript"><!--
(function() { var l = function() { new pym.Parent( 'curbed-which-iconic-chair-are-you-wop__graphic', 'https://apps.voxmedia.com/at/curbed-which-iconic-chair-are-you-wop/'); }; if(typeof(pym) === 'undefined') { var h = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0], s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = 'https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/pym/0.4.5/pym.js'; s.onload = l; h.appendChild(s); } else { l(); } })();
// --></script>
<a style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 20px;" href="http://www.curbed.com/furniture-week"> <img alt="furniture week" src="https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6804701/furniture-week-logo.0.jpg"></a>
</div>
<div>
<i>Photo credits: Majesty palm picture via Instagram user @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGVF3T7OWTf/?taken-by=plantlife_nyc" target="_blank">plantlife_nyc</a>; Philodendron picture via Instagram user @</i><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BH4qKYzgdVv/" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">tomhammond</a><i>; House Calls pictures credited from left to right, top to bottom: </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/5/12031422/home-tour-new-england-rhode-island-watch-hill" style="font-style: italic;">Kelly Shea of Vancrafted Studios</a><i>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/5/23/11738016/brooklyn-greenpoint-house-tour-serge-drouin-jean-prouve">Gieves Anderson</a>, </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/11/12118148/home-tour-brooklyn-new-york-apartment-carlo-geraci"><i>Gieves Anderson</i></a><i>, </i><a style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/4/22/11475448/house-calls-home-tours-st-charles-missouri-carmen-troesser">Carmen Troesser</a><i>, </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/11/12118148/home-tour-brooklyn-new-york-apartment-carlo-geraci"><i>Gieves Anderson</i></a><i>, </i><a style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/3/30/11327106/house-calls-home-tour-st-paul-mandi-smethells">Wing Ta</a><i>, </i><a style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/5/31/11774648/los-angeles-house-home-tour-escher-gunewardena">Sam Frost</a><i>, </i><a href="http://www.curbed.com/2016/4/22/11475448/house-calls-home-tours-st-charles-missouri-carmen-troesser" target="_blank"><i>Carmen Troesser</i></a><i>; Nathalie du Pasquier pattern via Instagram user @</i><a style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/andre_civi/">andre_civi</a><i>. </i>
</div>
https://archive.curbed.com/2016/7/19/12198886/quiz-which-iconic-chair-are-youMercedes KrausRobert KhederianMadeleine Roodberg2016-03-01T08:41:49-05:002016-03-01T08:41:49-05:00Desus Nice and Kid Mero on growing up in the Bronx
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Rdw__90Wy6V9W7JSxjqtQa5PSQ0=/254x0:1694x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48963481/CRB_HSH_007_Desus_Mero_COLOR_1.0.0.png" />
<figcaption>Vox Studios</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Bodega Boys talk about growing up in the Bronx</p> <p>
<style>
.readmore-button {
font-family: 'Acto',Helvetica, sans-serif;
text-align: center;
padding: 10px;
color: #ffffff;
background-color: #eb4c41;
margin-top: 20px;
display: inline-block;
margin-bottom: 10px;
font-size: 18px;
}
.readmore-button:hover {
background-color: #e12518;
color: #ffffff;
}
.c-rock-list__items li:nth-child(3),
.c-rock-list__items li:nth-child(4),
.c-rock-list__items li:nth-child(5),
.c-rock-newsletter {
display: none;
}
</style>
</p>
<p>Bronx natives Desus Nice and The Kid Mero established themselves as comedic duo The Bodega Boys with their first podcast and web series, <i>Desus vs. Mero</i>, which debuted on <a href="http://www.complex.com/tag/desus-vs-mero-show">Complex TV</a> at the end of 2013. The show's set evoked a true Bronx bodega (cardboard, crates, bottles of fruit barrel juice), and the podcast accelerated the popularity of the two, who had each established cult internet followings, primarily on Twitter.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Before the podcast, Desus worked as a financial writer and and Mero as a teaching aide. Desus parlayed his Twitter into a<a href="http://www.thefader.com/2015/01/05/this-vine-of-desus-nice-trolling-tv-news-is-perfect"> headline-grabbing</a> account with devoted followers, and Mero transitioned his signature blogging style (ALL CAPS) into a regular gig for Vice's music vertical, Noisey.</p>
<p dir="ltr">These days, the two are cast members on MTV2's <i>Guy Code</i> and <i>Uncommon Sense</i>, and their latest podcast (referred to as "art" both by themselves and their fans) is aptly titled <i>The Bodega Boys</i>, and includes the same riffing on life in New York, Black Twitter, knowledge darts, and "<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=caucacity">caucasity</a>" as their first podcast.</p>
<p>As part of Home Sweet Home, Desus and Mero take us on a tour of the Bronx, with stops at a few of their early childhood homes, where Mero introduces us to the idea of Spanish cousins, Desus explains why you don't need an intercom in the Bronx (you just yell up, "Heyo!") and what a "Bronx tear" is (hint, it has nothing to do with crying).</p>
<p><i>For Home Sweet Home, Curbed talked to 30 engaging personalities across a range of industries to learn about where they grew up and what home means to them. Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/desusnice">Desus</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/THEKIDMERO">Mero</a> on Twitter, and listen to the <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fbodega-sushi&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.curbed.com%2F2016%2F3%2F1%2F11134796%2Fdesus-nice-kid-mero-home-bronx" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">latest episodes of the Bodega Boys on Soundcloud</a>.</i></p>
<p><a class="readmore-button" data-analytics-link="hsh-back-to-home" href="http://curbed.com/2016/3/1/11049934/home-sweet-home#_TOC">More Home Sweet Home</a></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr">
<p class="caption"><em>Video Production by: Sarah Bishop, Ben Carey, Sara Intrator, Sara Masetti, Max Mellman, Anthony Morgan, Danush Parvaneh, Mark Olsen, Ryan Simmons</em></p>
https://archive.curbed.com/2016/3/1/11134796/desus-nice-kid-mero-home-bronxMercedes Kraus2016-03-01T08:39:10-05:002016-03-01T08:39:10-05:00Joy Cho on growing into adulthood
<figure>
<img alt="Joy Cho of Oh Joy! in her studio" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_Yff6FnQ_jNTYziA2cRgHnWUREI=/209x0:3542x2500/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48959487/header_joy-home-8.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Joy Cho of Oh Joy! in her studio</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The founder of blog empire <a href="http://ohjoy.blogs.com/">Oh Joy!</a> on finding her entrepreneurial spirit and growing into adulthood</p> <p id="KgOfY6"><style>.readmore-button {font-family: 'Acto',Helvetica, sans-serif;text-align: center;padding: 10px;color: #ffffff;background-color: #eb4c41;margin-top: 20px;display: inline-block;margin-bottom: 10px;font-size: 18px;}.readmore-button:hover {background-color: #e12518;color: #ffffff;}</style></p>
<p id="NUvInZ"><strong>What was the first apartment you had as an "adult"? </strong></p>
<p id="dViE9P">I lived in a 400-square-foot studio apartment in Brooklyn Heights which I lived in soon after graduating college. Half of my check check went to my rent, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. This is back in 2001 when Brooklyn was up-and-coming but nowhere near what it is now. I just thought of it as where the Huxtables used to live! Since I came to New York after being college for four years, I was totally content living on my own. And after having four roommates in one big house, I was happy to have a place (even if tiny) to myself.</p>
<p id="HCYMGF"><strong> What was it like to move from New York to Philly to Los Angeles? Which place resonates most with you? </strong></p>
<p id="bhtmIg">I love big cities, so each one is great in its own way. You can’t try and compare cities or try and find that "Brooklyn" neighborhood in Philly or a "Center City Philly" vibe in LA. New York is the perfect place to be when you’re young and want to be stimulated 24/7. Philly’s my hometown, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Plus, it’s the best food town, in my opinion. And LA, where I now live with my husband and two daughters, is where I’ve grown into my adulthood and parenthood. There is so much to do here year-round that it satiates both my love of food and culture as well as my need for sunshine!</p>
<p id="pFW0Px"><strong> Do you have a meaningful getaway location? </strong></p>
<p id="MtNDxF">My bed…to sleep!</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oh Joy! Joy Cho living room" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fb2Pe5Uz6ioAXYfbE_zzHlQ8aGU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6119703/joy-studio-24.0.jpg">
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oh Joy! Joy Cho dining room" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n_wVYJGQobD4pHlGmrOT6idfNWY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6119707/oh_joy_studio_shelves_dining_table.0.jpg">
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oh Joy! Joy Cho kitchen" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oCHG5dT4xjClmV9BdhPSMLURIR4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6119713/joy-studio_21.0.jpg">
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oh Joy! Joy Cho decor details" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ted2rXQMjPM3czovhD6jyFiaO4o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6119715/oh_joy_wallpaper_details_OK.0.jpg">
</figure>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wqOFYc">
<p id="8RTRVm"><em> For Home Sweet Home, Curbed talked to 30 engaging personalities across a range of industries to learn about where they grew up and what home means to them. Follow Oh Joy! on </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ohjoy/?hl=en"><em>Instagram</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ohjoystudio?lang=en"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p id="9G5I0g"><a href="http://curbed.com/2016/3/1/11049934/home-sweet-home#_TOC" data-analytics-link="hsh-back-to-home" class="readmore-button">More Home Sweet Home</a></p>
https://archive.curbed.com/2016/3/1/11132276/oh-joy-cho-homeMercedes Kraus