salamanderart's Profile

Another academic family here. We have white Billy bookcases with glass doors filling an entire wall in the living room and another in the breakfast nook. The glass doors cut down dust and cleaning time and help them look nice rather than just cheap. Fiction is organized by author last name and others by subject. Billy was, by far, the cheapest shelving system we could find for a large number of books. We were able to fit an extra shelf in each until to add a little more space, too, but it depends on the size of your books. If you don't live close to an Ikea, they will ship from the store. We had trouble with pieces being damaged when we did this, but they did replace the damaged pieces- just took a while. Billy bookcases are particle board which doesn't stand up well to repeated moving, so if you plan to move soon and often, you may need to leave some books in boxes and invest in wood shelves slowly (or make your own?). Congrats on your new job, too.

Wonderful alternative to poinsettias, especially considering the dangerous allergic reaction some people are now having to poinsettias. (I know several people who are allergic to latex who are now so allergic to poinsettias that they cannot enter any store or doctor's office that has a single poinsettia plant because their throat closes up.)

Light gray or light blue. Keep the hardware on the dresser, but spray paint it (orange?). Then a throw or pillow in the chair to work with the color of the dresser.

What about a stainless steel tiffin carrier (available at Indian markets as well as places like World Market) when your lunch doesn't need to be heated and plastic bento boxes if you need to microwave it?

We use Anchor Hocking with plastic lids for leftovers. They do nest nicely.

Gray and cream with a little sage green thrown in.

I won't paint wood in good condition either. My suggestion is one step at a time as budget and sales allow.

Get a huge light colored rug (since replacing flooring can get expensive)- maybe paint a piece of canvas?

Appliances are often on sale around Mothers' Day. Replace in order of energy usage (think the fridge would have to be the first to go).

If you can do it yourself or have the budget, replace the counter top and backsplash.

Take a few of the doors off the top cabinets and paint the back wall a light color to match the backsplash. Light green and cream look good with wood. Replace hardware on remaining cabinets.

A white island would be great, especially if it's not an eat-in kitchen.

Enjoy your new home!

Pine needles and eggs to make a nest? Turn them into a terrarium with moss? Fill with paper mache painted eggs (look up Kashmiri painted eggs)?

I made one with my 10 year old son. Very easy. Here's a link:
http://salamanderart.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/calder-mobile/
You could use thin balsa wood for the flat pieces and bamboo for the cross pieces for a lovely natural look. I may have to try that.