WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008 News WWW.KANSAN.COM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Weekend Project: Tips to decorate for move-in time
Rebekah Scaperlanda/KANSAN
It is almost August and that means it's move-in time, and it's always a challenge to decide how to mix and match decorations with your room-mates. But even if you're not switching homes, it's nice to give your living room a makeover for the start of a new school year. Elvira Angeletti, interior decorator who owns local Elvira Angeletti Interiors, offered some great tips on how to decorate and create a fun and fresh living room.
1. Slipcover your couch
College students pretty much take any couch they can get, even grandma's old floral beauty. This may be good enough if you're into that disheveled look, but for others, a new slipcover will do the trick. Pick a neutral tone so the couch can blend with any accent colors you choose or may already have.
"I am very much in favor of slip covers," Angeletti said. "Patterns hide more imperfections in a lumpy couch, but if the furniture is in pretty decent shape then choose a solid slipcover. A solid cover with textured strips also help ease over imperfections."
2. Put up Curtains
Add curtains with a splash of color. For example, if you choose a chocolate brown slipcover, choose curtains that match, but spice it up a bit with a metallic gold. Yellow-based curtains can also brighten a room.
"With curtains, you have to take the room in totality," Angeletti said "Make sure it complements the sofa. You could use contrasting fabric or plain fabric with a border. Curtains add texture to the room."
3. Add throw pillows
Now that you have a new couch color, you need pillows to go with it. If you're in the mood to throw your money around on throw pillows, head to the store and find ones that complement your color scheme.
"When I want to add a lot of color and texture in pillows, I use the discount stores. You can buy pillows for $10 or $15." Angeletti said "Pillows are an accent, if you have a brown sofa, you can use a lot of color in your pillows. You have to decide what your style is going to be, modern, eclectic, etc, and go from there."
Or, follow the same decorating rules, but opt to buy fabric and to make pillow covers for pillows you already own. Simply cut the fabric into a little more than double the size of your pillow. Fold the fabric piece in half with the color on the inside of the fold. Pin the sides of the fabric
close to the sides of the pillow. Make sure you have straight edges. After it's pinned, sew two sides, stuff the pillow inside and hand stitch the last side. If you're not up for all that hand sowing, try Velcro. Stick Velcro on the last side and viola you have a new pillow.
4. Put up wall decorations
An easy and inexpensive way to decorate the walls of your apartment is by using your own photos as decoration. Instead of having a bulletin board or a collage of pictures, choose a few specific photos that you love, and blow them up to 8x10. Scenic photos in black and white set in a simple frame make classic accents to any living room. Arrange them symmetrically on the wall.
Food: Zesty Vermont BBQ is best overall
— Rebekah Scaperlanda
Vermont Street BBQ, 728 Massachusetts St., does not serve the best barbecue in town, but it does provide the best combination of barbecue and location in Lawrence.
Vermont Street is a good restaurant experience. The wait staff is helpful, friendly and efficient. The restaurant is clean and is not over priced.More importantly the food is outstanding.
I ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which I prefer over brisket, and it totally lived up to my expectations. Every shed of pork was cooked perfectly, so I didn't have a bunch of burnt edges or excess fat sitting on the side of my plate, and the best part of all was the hickory barbecue sauce.
I was concerned at first because I had never had Vermont Street's sauce, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had a perfect blend of taste and tang, so I didn't have to resort to the spicy sauce for extra flavor.
Similar to the sauce, Vermont Street puts a zesty seasoning on its
fries, which were perfectly cooked to the point where they were crispy, but not burnt.
I would not say that Vermont Street is hands down better than Bigg's BBQ, 2429 Iowa St., because I think the food is equal, but the fact that Vermont Street is in the middle of Seventh and Eighth and Massachusetts streets gives it a decisive advantage.
Mike Nolan
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