poweltonian's Profile

To me it's about comfort and style. Not all MCM is perfect, but it was designed for and around the human body. MCM furniture is pure...very little excess ornamentation. And it looks great in modern, traditional and eclectic homes.

English Ivy is not good for a house, as others have mentioned. I'll admit, I have some growing on a non-structural brick wall in my backyard dividing the properties. It looks nice, and is evergreen, so it provides color all winter.

Virginia Creeper is deciduous, but less destructive. It will, however, leave little footprints on the house when it gets removed, but it is less likely to bore through mortar joints.

Thanks for the kind words! I really don't have a solution for the mosquitos. I can control the standing water on our own property, but I can't control the water on the adjacent 4 properties within 10 feet of our patio. The shade also apparently does not help, because water takes longer to evaporate. I definitely have come to enjoy the spring months before the mosquito situation gets out of control.

The idea that lawns promote community seems absurd to me. There are two sides to a story. I live in an urban environment where people have stoops and porches and that promotes just as much community spirit as a lawn ever would. Instead of mowing our lawns, we sweep our sidewalks. None of us have traditional lawns and yet we know everyone on the block. And I understand that children love to play in grass. But we have a park away where the children play with a sizeable expanse of grass. Instead of 50 households having each their own lawn, we have one lawn that is shared by the community. I'm not going to fault families for living in the burbs and having lawns, but to claim that they are bettering their kids' lives because of it is just flat our wrong.

I understand that people get different things out of art, but what annoys me the most about this concept is how temporary the art becomes. The art becomes part of a trend, so when the trend goes out of style the art becomes meaningless. I'll admit that not every piece I own has a deep meaning, but at the very least I don't envision having to discard it because I want to paint my walls a different color.

A great post. But it takes a nice rug, usually predominantly red, to pull this look off. These rugs stand the test of time, which I think is key. Is there anything more inviting than a room filled with books, artwork, a persian rug and a comfortable couch?

I hate trendy rugs that use the "latest colors." Nice persian rugs will look good for eternity. Thats a lesson we could all learn from.

Thank you AT for finally calling Restoration Hardware out on their ridiculous approach. I used to love RH, but they have become comically absurd. Their furniture just wreaks of false pretention. You know, for people who have more money than brains. Do people realize they can get beautiful legitimate antiques for far less than RH? And what is with their entire collection being beige and antiqued? 10 years from now this furniture is going to look really dated. On the other hand I do still like their classic bathroom fixtures.

Wow...This place is such an inspiration for me. As someone with a home of similar vintage, I am definitely going to keep this in my design files. Following up on those who object to the stair; I like the stair itself, but wonder if the original stair was torn out to make way. To me, original staircases are like original windows on a facade...they should always be cherished and preserved! On second look...it appears these photos do not include the parlor level, so perhaps the orginal stair does still exist. I'd love to see a floor plan!

Has anyone else noticed that Restoration Hardware has really gone off the deep end in the past year? Perhaps my sense of aesthetics have changed, but I keep finding myself appalled by the objects they are selling. On the one hand they are wildly overpriced, but on the other they are just plain ugly. I used to like RH for their classic style, but they seem to have lost their way.

Yes, Apartment Therapy needs to give Philadelphia some more love!