Careen's Profile

There is nothing in these pictures that even remotely suggest "farmhouse," and trying to make the space compatible with "farmhouse" just isn't going to work. But that doesn't mean I don't like the furniture you have. Going with the color block rug and picking colors from it would be a good start. If you're not certain about art and accessories, take baby steps, buy from flea markets, print out art from your computer, have it enlarged or tape pieces together and use masking tape to put them up on your wall to see if your like the general style before you buy anything, then buy what you can afford. After you've determined your style in the main spaces, then rethink the kitchen in that style.

I prefer the visual impact of a large rectangle over the grouping of several (or many) small pieces...groupings fill up the space, but detract from the art itself. I think these photos were chosen for the shapes, rather than the color or content.

I am sorry that your apartment didn't make it to the grand prize. I have been voting in the contest since the second year and I think yours is one of the very top entries of all time. I actually shed a few tears when I saw the results. This year it looks like the folks are voting for "how much brightly colored stuff can we accumulate in a small space?" I do hope that Maxwell features you in his next book!

Can those washed linen sheets go in the dryer? My apartment laundry dryer doesn't have a "no heat" option and I don't have room to dry sheets anywhere in my apartment.

It's a wrap.....winner!

I have nothing against tours of small homes, but it seems that we have recently been seeing mostly house tours and fewer and fewer apartment tours.

How about faux ostrich?

I love seasonal changes and have a spring/summer and a fall/winter change of accessories/artwork/rugs/bedding.
For the holidays I have seasonal artwork, a shower curtain with slogans such as HoHoHo and Season's Greetings, holiday dishes and glassware, and a collection of snowmen placed around my apartment. I also have a collection of Christmans and New Years postcards which get clipped to "lines" strung around. I put my tree on the deck and decorate for the birds with strings of popcorn and cranberries. All the lights indoors and out are white and I don't use any holiday scents except cedar. Because everything except the postcards are not
specifically Christmas designs, I usually leave them all up until the end of January.

I printed out the receipes for the risotto and they look good, but I live alone and wonder what I would do with the leftovers. Is it any good the next day? Can it be frozen?

I think you'll always be ok if the style on your balcony or patio is a match to your style inside. In the summer, I move some of my balcony plants/decor just inside the sliding glass door and in the winter I move some of the inside decor out onto the balcony. It expands the look of the space to include whatever is outside. And I'm talking the frozen Midwest, not the more temperate zones.