Jo -- great job! Beautiful colors, beautiful home! Do you mind sharing what part of the city you're in? I live in University City and have been doing some experimentation with color in my own house...

Looks like Starbucks is in for trouble.

Butcher block is my favorite. I love the warm, natural feel it brings to our kitchen. I'm with serrakat -- stainless steel, concrete, and laminate are all more appealing to me than granite or marbl...

Second that, mfpants!

What you've got in your favor are neutrals against which you can begin to add color and interest. I'd suggest first figuring out your color scheme, using a poster, print, natural object, rug, whate...

1. Whatever it would take to make the house "off the grid" 2. Sunroom 3. A profession cat-hair remover who would de-hair the house as needed (i.e. daily), unobtrusively. 4. Exciti...

I am delighted to share a solution I just stumbled upon last week for (a) the what-to-do-with-the-phone-book problem, and (b) how do I add more "brown" to my compost pile ... rip those big yellow t...

This is a great post. My husband and I have guests over far too infrequently. Why? The post above is really helpful in getting at the reasons -- not feeling prepared enough, not having a really wel...

Nice job with the door!!! (not to mention the rest of the house)...

I agree with the positive comments above, and would like to add that I love the hand-drawn artwork by Paul's nieces and nephews in the kitchen. I think they're the pieces that won me over the the w...

Agree with above, and wonder about replacing the lamp shade as well. That could be relatively inexpensive, especially if you get something from a garage sale or thrift store ...

In addition to the good ideas above, consider re-doing the seat cushions on the two dining room type chairs. The nice thing about your situation is that you are beginning from a very n...

I like the paintings my 18 month old daughter has done at her daycare. The colors are very vivid, since she's basically plunking down thick blobs of paint on the page, and they're abstract since sh...

I really like this house! I haven't exactly figured out precisely why yet, as it doesn't fit into the categories I tend to go for. Some favorite aspects: unexpected (and well done!) use of Asian ru...

Great question! I just tried to grow a very large spider plant up on my fridge and the plant totally didn't go for it (now in plant heaven). So I'm looking for new ideas, too. Perhaps a sturdier pl...

If you want to get rid of it without paying someone, you could always try putting in on Freecycle or on Craigslist for "free" ... meaning that the price is that the taker has to move it him/herself...

I love natural light, but without central air, am forced to deal with the unfortunate summer-time side effect of light -- heat. My struggle is between enjoying natural light and preventing the hous...

Wow -- this is a great post! Nothing says consumerism like an American wedding. I congratulate you two on doing something different. Way to go!

I like the planters. Very nice.

How much does professional re-upholstery cost? Just a ballpark figure for the chair pictured here, for instance, with a standard (non designer -- inexpensive) fabric. Thanks!