Gaidig's Profile

The absolue #1 is to take care of the mold you mentioned and any issues that look like they need fixing, for example, if the stove looks like a real problem.

The fact that a table has clutter on it doesn't mean get rid of the table, it means get rid of the clutter. It is useful to have end tables and night tables as a place to set a glass, book, my knitting, a lamp, or an alarm clock. A good table can also be a useful place for permanent storage. For me, the key is to pare down the extraneous stuff to be stored before paring down extraneous storage locations. (I wish I could convince my man to pare down his tchotchkes and random extraneous stuff...)

@Ecandles96, as a person who didn't grow up watching much TV, I didn't develop that ability that I have seen in many others to simply ignore the TV when it is on. It's distracting, and I can't help watching it, even if I'm not really interested in what's on. For this reason, I find that I enjoyed my life much better when I lived in a home which intentionally lacked a TV, because I was able to focus more on the things I wanted, rather than falling victim to a lack of self-control and vegging in front of the TV. It's like not buying a bag of chips because you know that if they're in your house, you'll eat the whole thing. Doesn't mean you don't like them. It means you're taking control of your life to make it easier to achieve your ultimate goals.

@AND_SCENE, if you're watching TV on your laptop, then you only have one thing that serves multiple purposes, and takes up less space, etc. You don't need a credenza, cable box, DVD player DRV, or anything else associated with a TV. Isn't that the point of this post, not whether or not you watch TV shows? Additionally, I find that it significantly impacts and reduces TV watching habits.

My point is that there's no moral authority in watching or not watching TV. All of you who are putting down people who don't have TVs are being just as self-righteous as the people you are railing against.

The people I know who seem to be most successful at maintaining the balance are the ones who make it easy to put things away, by having plenty of closed storage on hand, and creating a space to store things near where they are used.

It's a little difficult to tell what your options are without knowing the overall size of the room, and therefor whether or not it would be an option to use your expedit as a room divider. Anyway, I think the key lies in the fact that none of your furniture really needs to go against a wall. Your TV, on the other hand, really should. Your expedit shouldn't block your windows, though. Obviously, you have the big 5x5 expedit, not one you can lay on its side and use as a low bookcase. I think the expedit, complete with TV, should go on the long wall, opposite the fireplace. The sofa should go at a right angle between them, facing neither, with chairs opposite, creating a conversation area. Assuming the room isn't much bigger than pictured, and the wall with the door to your dining room is to the back/left of the picture, then the couch should have its back to the windows, and the chair have their backs to the dining room. This would give you a more open flow to the dining room.

As a spinner, I would like to correct some misconceptions you have about linen. The fiber is a bast fiber which means that it is literally part of the flax stem. Other bast fibers include hemp and bamboo. The process for harvesting linen includes a step called retting, in which breaks down the stem so that the fiber can be harvested. Traditionally, this is done with water or dew, but they have also developed enzymes to do so. They do use machines to separate and clean the fibers once the retting process is complete. However, these machines pretty much only exist in Europe, and therefor, high quality linens are generally imported from Europe. Hence the price. The reason linen is becoming more widely available may be that in the past couple of years they have started processing it in Eastern Europe and China too.

In a 250 sf space in Manhattan, you don't have to worry about a family with kids, which is the only group that really *needs* a tub. A normal tub-shower combo will be less luxurious than a shower that takes the same amount of space.
I'm a woman, but I haven't taken more than five baths in the last ten years. A tub certainly isn't necessary for me. We live in a three bedroom home, so I don't think it would be a good idea to get rid of the tub in one of the two bathrooms, but for your 250 sf condo, why not? It will be more luxurious with a nice shower, and a more luxurious bathroom will help you sell for more. If you can put in a bench, all the better.

Beautiful! It's amazing that the wood beneath the veneer is so beautiful.

While I am slightly superstitious, I have to say that I think that the horror movie industry is the main source of your hesitation over buying this house. You did not feel bad about it when you first visited, so the likelihood that there will be any issues is low. Do a ritual cleaning/blessing, such as sage burning, honor her spirit and move on. We cannot let fear of the past paralyze us in the face of our future.

I completely disagree with bangs. Don't buy your machine from Target, buy your machine from somewhere that you can try it, such as a sewing machine specific shop or a local fabric shop. Not only do they have return policies, too, but they will give you knowledgeable assistance, will usually give you a free lesson on the machine, and they will be able to service your machine.
A new, bottom of the line Singer is not the same quality as other brands you could buy for the same amount of money. Old Singers are high quality, though. I'm not much of a fan of Brother either -- mine just doesn't sew as smoothly as other brands, and I couldn't wait to get a new one. My Jenome is fabulous, and I've heard great things about Bernina and Pfaff. Don't get something you'll want to replace immediately.

I do agree that you don't need many features, especially when you're starting out. With a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch, you can tackle anything. On the other hand, a few more features don't drive the machine price up much, and they could mean that you won't want to buy another one a soon as you get comfortable with it. Try different machines in the store. You'll feel the differences in quality, and ask the sales person which features they use most to help you decide which machine to get.