lorint's Profile

Cute redo but I would not use that as a step stool. It won't balance your weight if you lean the wrong way while standing on it.

I might steal the idea of using a cylindrical vase to store tp, very cute. I will not however be doing the mommy cow/baby cow rug combo. The big ones freak me out enough as it is, but the little one is unnerving.

I would put a sofa against the wall that's shared with the bedroom. Then put a couple chairs on the angled wall and angle them in to the middle of the room. If you want to use it as dining space maybe you can get a table and chairs that can be folded away when not in use. Or get something small and round.

This is cuter than the electric tape I have on mine, but I wonder if this would be safe. The thing is my cat actually chewed through it, leaving little holes along the length of the cord. Drives me nuts. But also the electric tape does pull up in spots leaving the sticky part exposed which is full of cat hair. Darn cat.

There are certain rules of thumb I think are good ideas when furnishing a space that I've gone by as I've been furnishing my new home which I bought earlier this year.

• Know when to splurge and when to save. You don't have to spend a ton of money to get quality furniture, but if the piece that really makes you happy that you find more comfy is the more expensive option, it's probably worth it. Otherwise you might end up replacing it sooner instead of later which ends up costing more anyway.

• Keep larger more expensive pieces in classic timeless styles in relatively neutral colors. If you want to go bold or trendy keep it to things like vases and throws and pillows. You can swap them out or cover or paint them when you get sick of them. Same rule for painting. Remember putting up that accent wall seems like a good idea now when you're painting anyway, but once you decide to change it and have to move all your furniture to do it, you might end up hating yourself. A funky piece of art is easy to just take down and swap out.

• Design your home for you. Do you spend all your time in the kitchen? Do you love TV or never watch? That can affect how you want to treat the space. Forget making it look like a home out of a magazine and make it functional to your needs. If you plan on starting a family or have a clumsy dog, don't go for the geometric glass coffee table that's all corners and can break if you sneeze funny.

• Take a minute. I too wanted my apartment done and completely decorated from the word go. And I made some mistakes. Now I give myself time and let myself explore. It's more fun, less stressful, and I make way less returns.

• When buying furniture know the policies of the store and check reviews online. Too many people going "they screwed up the shipping," run the other way. Again, I made that mistake. I ended up yelling at them and getting about $300 back but I wouldn't have taken my business there if I had done my homework up front. You can also find reviews on contractors, electricians, etc online. Basically, if it exists, there's a review somewhere.

My last piece of advice is more personal preference but it has a lot of meaning to me- look for products made in America!

Price/location on that last one??

World's Best is really good and they have a few new scents (I tried the lavender one, not too bad) and I also recently discovered a new one by Tidy Cat called Pure Nature. You can really smell the pine and cedar. I actually quite like it and it hides the odors in my tiny apartment bathroom without smelling perfumey or making my cat smell like a french whore.

It's still a bedroom even if it's not used as one. It won't affect the value of your home at all.

When I saw this post I thought "I hope they included Stormville!" It's the stuff of legends. If you live in NYC rent a car and go. It's huge and you can find everything.

I haven't had cable in many years and let me tell you, I don't miss it. I do however need to get a better antenna as my living room looks over a courtyard which seems to make it tough to get some channels. Any shows I watch that I'd need cable for (which there are very few of) I watch online. Then the biggest issue is not having friends give anything away.