avowedvirago's Profile

I have only once been hosted by someone who gave me & my partner their bed and they slept on a futon in the living room. The only reason I felt okay about it was that they were going to be out late and leaving early, and had multiple roommates with varied schedules, so we would have been *more* in peoples' way if we hadn't. But I wouldn't feel comfortable in most situations with taking over my host's bedroom.

My two bedroom apartment is probably about 1,000 sq ft, so not tiny, but we don't have a formal guest room because we have a roommate. We turned what could be either a dining room or living room into a 2nd living room/office space, which is what we use for guests because it has french doors we've added curtains to in order to give it some privacy.

We host people fairly often, and I generally really enjoy it. Clean sheets and towels are a must, and I always let people know where extra blankets, towels, toothbrushes, etc. can be found. We are generally pretty straightforward with guests that unless they are visiting on a vacation specifically to visit us, we'll do our best to make time for them, but to make themselves at home and we'll catch up when our schedules allow it. I hate to feel like I put someone out when I'm visiting, so I try to be clear that what "totally welcome!" means in our home is that they will be comfortable and aren't a burden.

We also have multiple spare sets of keys on hand, a couple of extra subway cards (we live in a city with reduced fares on the reusable cards, so it saves them some money, and there tends to be a balance left over from the last guest), plus a Not-For-Tourists guide so that people are equipped to be self-sufficient. (If you haven't used NFT guides, I'd highly recommend them - even if you've lived in your city for years you might find it useful, certainly your guests will. They are compact enough to fit in a small bag, include neighborhood-specific info about everything from sightseeing to banks & post offices, and have great street & transit maps.)

People always say that they really enjoy staying in our little guest suite, and it's not at all inconvenient for us.

I'd offer that in addition to the suggestion to check with local firms about summer interns, put the word out amongst your friends and networks before advertising on craigslist. They may have a friend, cousin, friend's child, etc. who's looking for a place. I'm assuming you don't have roommates, because you didn't mention them, but talk to your landlord about checking in a couple times while you are away - you'll both benefit.

I think everyone else's suggestions about getting a security deposit is really great, and make sure that the landlord won't hold you liable for either damage or withheld rent. (It's safest for the subletter to sign an agreement with your landlord, probably, if the landlord is willing to do so. This will probably also mean that they need to approve, but will keep you safer.)

To fill a similarly large space on a small budget, I bought a large canvas and paint in some bright colors that play off of some of the existing shades in my apartment, and painted a really simple linear piece.

really it's just thick lines - think something like this: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/striped-slade-roberts.html.

I didn't frame it, just got a wrapped canvas and painted the edge of the canvas, but you could go either way.

It was really easy, and I definitely am not particularly artistic - and it could perhaps just serve as a filler until you find or can save for a piece that you really love.

I second foog foog's comment - pull out the red in your prints. It's warm and bright without being such an unsual color that it would clash with your neutral and traditional palette.

Considering the rug you just bought, I'd suggest pulling in a bit more of the tans and browns, too.

Maybe a pillow like this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/58750709/louise-stripe-poppy-decorative-cushion?ref=sr_gallery_38&ga_search_query=red%2Bthrow%2Bpillow&ga_search_type=handmade

Or brighter red pillows with a luxuriously soft brown or tan throw on the couch.

I'd also keep an eye out for other red accent items that you could place on a shelf or table.

A bud vase, perhaps?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/49075540/porcelain-red-bud-vase?ref=sr_gallery_20&ga_shopname=carlossantiago&ga_search_query=red%2Bbud%2Bvase&ga_search_type=handmade

LOVE your home!

I've been looking for grey color inspiration, and I've definitely found it. I'm in a similar apartment in JP (a little bigger, but the layout feels very familiar), but it's currently painted in very warm beige/sand/dusty rose colors - which just feels too southwestern for our neighborhood. So it's really great to see how warm your house looks in shades of grey, I'm inspired to start painting swatches of the colors you used!

Thanks for sharing, from one neighbor to another.

My first winter on my own in a cold climate (I grew up in Southern California, moved to Ohio), I turned off my heat in February because I was going to be out of the house for 6 days and I wanted to save energy. (It wasn't even a money thing! Heat was included in my rent.) So I turned the heat totally off, went to work, and then promptly got stuck in a huge snowstorm on my way to my boyfriend's house in another city.

When I told my mother my great idea for saving energy, she nearly had a heart attack.

I had no idea that a) pipes could freeze or that b) they are more likely to freeze when you're in a studio guesthouse with no interior walls - so all of your pipes run through the exterior walls.

Thank God I had friends nearby who stopped by to turn off the water and open the faucets, so my apartment wouldn't flood. But I'm pretty sure I lost money and energy on the repairs to replace the broken pipes.

That being said, nowadays we keep our apartment at around 62F - 65F in the winter, a little higher when guests are here. It's a little chilly for my SoCal blood (my partner is from Minnesota, and doesn't mind a bit), but we use space heaters in the bedroom, plastic the windows, and we just got thermal curtains for this winter.

I love your choices in paint colors. I've been wanting to repaint our apartment for a while now, and have been looking everywhere for inspiration, and this totally did it for me.

I LOVE the sage green and marigold/ochre combo in the office.

Source question: what is the grey you used in your kitchen?

Thanks!

@kcasper, chicphillychick, lauraTO (and anyone else interested) -

This kind of building CAN be done in colder and wetter climates. In dryer climates, you can build frameless straw bale structures, but in cold & wet climates, you need a frame (and a roof before you start with the bales), and the bales are in-fill in the walls. Aesthetically, I actually prefer framed straw bale structures. As you can see, the contrast of the soft plaster with an exposed frame is just gorgeous.

If you're interested, there is a fabulous natural building company, New Frameworks Natural Building, based in VT, that specializes in straw bale building & natural plasters in the North East's cold & wet climate. http://www.newframeworks.com

(Full disclosure - New Frameworks is co-owned by good friends of mine.)

Also - favorite house tour yet. Just beautiful! Props to Beth & Bill.

I bought this hanging wall-mount magazine organizer from the container store, and made small labels for me, my partner, and our housemate. That's the drop-spot for mail, plus any other miscellaneous papers that end up in public spaces. When I need to quickly clean off surfaces (often of my stuff), I do a fast sort into 5 piles: hers, mine, housemate's, magazines, and recycling/trash. Each pile has a slot in the hanging organizer, recycling & trash go directly there.

I go through my slot in the hanging organizer every week or so - they go through theirs at their leisure.

My partner and I each have a desk, and I try not to over-neaten her desk when company are coming over, plus she knows that I like the piles to be relatively straight, so does it herself before I get to it.

It works relatively well, because it allows us to sort and organize things into manageable piles that can also be stored in a slightly-less-unsightly manner.