Randi in BK's Profile

Zoee is completely right: the rug above is polyacrylic and totally different than what the other commenters are talking about. I actually have this exact rug (I bought it from Ballard Designs at around the same price) and I strongly recommend NOT getting it. It doesn't smell strange and it feels like a regular rug, but it gets insanely dirty.

I bought this rug especially for the "cleanable" factor (I have a dog and it gets high traffic), and it's basically so dingy after 6 months that I'm looking to replace it. The white of the chains, specifically, gets very dirty.

The cornflower Corningwear! Oh, man, did that just hit me with a shot of nostalgia.

And yes, the collectible glasses from Burger King. That's exactly what I was going to say, kara57!

I was out all day and came home to find my apartment posted! Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments, I'm thrilled to get such good feedback from this great community.

To answer a few questions:

The artwork in the living room is by Jen Dunlap, a friend and wonderful artist. Visit her at www.funlap.com.

I bought the couch at Two Jakes in Williamsburg. If you are a MCM fan, I can't recommend it enough. They have reasonable prices and a great selection. This particular couch actually came from the Time Life building from the '60s.

The bedside lamp is a Jonathan Adler base.

Yes, it is a Brasilia dresser! It's always fun seeing the other pieces in that collection. I got it at Repop in Fort Greene.

As for art school--no, although I wish I had the means to go back to school for interior design. Maybe someday! I am a writer with an expertise in jewelry, hence the Tiara book. And there is an animal in the pics, but she's actually a dog (albeit a tiny one).

My fiance's mom bought this exact chandelier for him as a Christmas present two years ago, no joke. (We were not yet living together, fyi.) She thought it was funny and kitschy, while we were literally rendered speechless. That doll chandelier will live on as a joke as to my mother-in-law's wacky taste for eternity, so for that reason it's priceless.

me likey.

Absolutely stunning! It's been a while since I've been compelled to post, but this space manages to be magazine-ready and completely personal at the same time. Kudos.

I bought my couch here and absolutely love it. The prices are totally fair (much more so than other vintage stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn) and the staff is great.

I second Jay East, as aaron said. They have great price points, lovely pieces and very fun accessories. Even if you don't find the console you're looking for, I pretty much guarantee that you'll find something worth picking up in an Asian style.

OK, here's my pitch:

I'm a freelance journalist who works from home, and I currently have no printer at all. It's not a good thing. First I'll tell you why I have no printer, and then I'll tell you how I deal with this ridiculous problem.

About a year-and-a-half ago I lived in a great loft in not-so-great Downtown Brooklyn. The space: Great. The leaky windows: Very, very bad. When the rain and the wind were at the right angle, our entire place would flood. Our landlords, nice as they were, didn't really tell us about this lilttle problem before we moved in. And that's why we didn't move our huge, fancy, expensive printer from the floor where it was waiting to be set up. You can imagine how this scenario ended up.

Now, I live in a lovely studio in Brooklyn Heights. It doesn't flood. But I also haven't gotten a printer because I have been waiting to move to the one-bedroom I recently scored so I can get a nice, big, fancy one again. One just like the Lexmark.

Please, please do my friends and family a favor and let me test-drive this baby. Currently, when I need something printed, I send it to either my friend in the neighborhood (where I schlep 10 blocks to pick it up and annoy her in the process) or I haul to Kinkos. In the most ridiculous instance involving a printer, I recently emailed a bunch of stuff to my parents' house in Maryland to be printed there because I was going home for a weekend visit. That's just sad.

Wow--thanks for the very passionate feedback!

Let me speak to a few things:

1. I do absolutely love the desk. I'm pretty picky about my space so I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't like how it looks.

2. The problem does partially come from what's around it--I have relatively dark cork floors (which I love) and a lot of walnut mid-century furniture. There's a lot of brown. I'm not even sure that I want to do anything to the desk, but I wanted to ask the AT forum if there was a preferred technique should I decide to make a change.

3. hejiranyc, Imblebee and bklyngal, it's good to know I might have some buyers if I ever want to sell. bklyngal, I have to say I really disagree with you about owning retro. Following your logic, it's crazy that people reupholster old chairs and repaint the trim. Is that really blasphemy? Sometimes the bones of something are amazing but need a little updating to suit the taste of the owner.

Thanks to everyone who piped up with some great out-of-the-box ideas. If I decide to do anything, I'll definitely update AT with a pic!