PR, Privacy and Disclosure I've been battling with how to store our Lego for a long time. I've even blogged about it before, when I thought that I'd come up with our ultimate Lego storage solution! Since I wrote that post, quite a lot more Lego has come into the house. We have sets, mainly from the Lego City range, and a large box of bricks and other useful Lego pieces. I came very close to buying one large box and throwing it all in together, after I saw this solution at a friend's house and noticed how creatively Harry played with all the pieces. So when we bought them a new large box of Lego I began mixing it all together, only to find that Harry was becoming frustrated because he wanted to follow the instructions to build things and couldn't find the pieces that he needed. I realised that the way he currently plays with Lego means that he needs to be able to locate the bits that he needs, as well as using the extra pieces to build his own designs from scratch. So we've decided to keep all his actual sets separate.
They are stored in individual boxes safely on his bookshelf along with the instructions, so that when he wants to build a particular model he knows that he has everything he needs. He can get out a large tray and lay out all the pieces, then easily build the set. I found a photograph on-line of each, and then made a laminated label for the front of each box. Then we have a large box for plain flat and brick pieces, then a second large box for slanted pieces and 'interesting' pieces. I've also separated out a box of the things that are used to make vehicles, like wheels and windscreens, as we have a lot of those. I'm probably also going to attempt some further sorting of pieces, especially for the really tiny bits that are easy to lose. How do you store your Lego? I'm always looking for new ideas!Frank Sinatra designed it, the Rat Pack partied in it and now you too can “be a part of it” as a luxury penthouse once owned by Ol’ Blue Eyes’ goes on sale in New York, New York.
The four-bedroom, six-bathroom apartment at 530 East 72nd Street, with its views of Manhattan’s East River, can be yours for the bargain price of $4.995-million. It went unsold when it was last on the market for $7.7-million two years ago. The flat became a playground for America’s social elite, hosting President John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and the artist Andy Warhol — as well as Sinatra’s closest male friends, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. With 2,000 square feet of balconies, from which Davis is said to have enjoyed throwing champagne glasses, Warhol once described Penthouse B at The Edgewater as a “glittering grotto” thanks to its glassed-in party room with views over the city and beyond. Set over three levels, the 3,200 square feet apartment has since been updated to include mod cons and even an exact replica of the glass staircase in New York’s Apple store. The rooftop party room was later converted into a master bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Yet despite its history and makeover, the flat has not been immune from the malaise affecting New York’s property market in recent years. It is on sale for only slightly more than its current owner paid for it in 2008, at the height of the housing bubble, and it has already been reduced in price by more than 10%. Sinatra was the apartment’s first owner, buying it not long after his divorce from his second wife, the actress Ava Gardner, and moving in once construction was completed in 1961. His design input ensured that it became the ultimate bachelor pad — until his head was turned by young Mia Farrow in 1966. They lived in the penthouse during their two-year marriage — Farrow was in the middle of a day’s filming on the nearby set of Rosemary’s Baby when he served her with divorce papers — and Sinatra went on to sell it to his doctor, Denton Cox, in 1972. The penthouse remained the property of Dr Cox, whose other famous clients included Judy Garland and Warhol, until his death 2008 when it was sold by his estate to Penny Hart, a car insurance mogul for $4.5?million.
She never lived in it, apparently preferring another apartment she owns, and has been trying to sell it for the past two years. Earlier this week I shared my favorite paint supplies, which was all in preparation for today's post {and entertainment center reveal}. I know there are a lot of friends out there that are looking to makeover a piece of thrifted or outdated piece of furniture, and are just having a hard time taking the plunge. I think the first piece I ever painted, I did ALL wrong. Brush streaks and drips... but, I learned. I learned that the next time I better do my research, lol. And as much as I have done research on painting, I still feel like I grow a little more each time I do it. {If you are wondering how we painted our trim, cabinets and doors, you can check out that post here.} For this project, this crazy big lovely Craigslist find was my victim. We started out by taking everything off, removing shelves and cabinet doors... And finding dust, Legos and Lincoln logs under and behind the piece that has been sitting for a year without being moved...
Step one is to wipe everything down to ensure there is no dust on the piece. Because the piece itself was in great shape, I opted to skip the sanding step. However, if you have a piece that has rough patches or imperfections, sanding is a good step to include. I went straight to priming. I really like Zinsser Cover Stain Oil Based Primer {and no, I didn't get a dented can discount, I tried...}: I use inexpensive brushes with the oil based primers, since they aren't all that easy {or fun} to clean, and after a couple of uses, they typically end up being discarded. Thin, even coats are key. I start with the outside frame.... And then use a small foam roller for the larger, smooth surfaces: Don't panic when you prime and see brush marks. This is OK with primer. The photo above is a picture of our piece all finished up and drying the recommended time before we began coating with paint. A quick sanding with a fine grit wedge in-between coats will also help with any imperfections you find {not sure which grit to use?
This will help you}. For this project, I just ran to the local Ace Hardware and picked up some of their wall and trim paint: I like to paint furniture in a satin finish and always use a latex enamel. Again, just follow the instructions on the can as far as how often you can re-coat. Speaking of, I did two coats on this project. Nice, thin, even coats... Still streaky, but those streaks were completely M.I.A. after the second coat: When it came to the cabinet doors, I forgot to photograph that process, but I did it just like I did with our kitchen cabinets... Lay out drop cloths, place cabinet doors on 2x4's and prime, sand and paint just like you do the other parts of the furniture piece. Wait for the coats to cure before flipping and repeating on the other side. In the photo above, you could see how I used the painters tape to tape out the new blue backdrop, which took not one... But two coats as well. Don't forget you can wrap your brush in plastic wrap in-between coats!
To finish things off, three very thin coats of Minwax Polycrylic to protect all of that hard work! We always wait and wait {as hard as it is}, in between each coat of each step. This is important to allow everything to cure and be durable down the line. This whole project took me over a week from start to finish. I was SO excited to put it all back together! Here are a couple more up close views:They were scored on clearance from Anthro for $3 each. For the shelves, I actually had forgotten about them until half way through. To speed things up a smidge, I just used a spray paint primer, which seemed to work just as well, and gave a nice even coverage. Then two coats of paint just like the rest of the piece. As you can see, we also added a shelf above the TV, just using some left over trim and melamine board {also primed and painted}. Here it is all loaded up! The bins on the top shelf used to be brown... just given a quick coat of spray paint to freshen them up a bit!
Games got pared down to only ones we love, play and that have all pieces... Lego build buckets, a charging station for their DS's and their video games also live on the shelves. Speaking of video games, since two of the systems moved down stairs to the playroom, so did some of the games. To store them, I just removed the games from their original cases and popped them into slimmer jewel CD cases and into a media box. Easy for the kids to find things and maintain! In the cabinets below, we keep those larger, more awkward shaped toys {the dot bins were DIY'd here}. And the art is just some framed scrapbook paper and the freebie printable {which I downloaded here}: Even with all of the blues, as much as I love how "pretty" it's looking, it's a space for three boys, so I have a few more tricks up my sleeve to make it feel like home for both them and the adults of the house. For now, a glorious before and after! Who else has recently tackled a piece of furniture?