Xarcady's Profile

Is this a clawfoot tub with the shower curtain ring suspended from the ceiling? Depending on where the tub is placed in the room, do you really need two decorative shower curtains, or just the one, plus two of the vinyl liners?

I had a studio that was about 400 sq. ft. once. The saving grace of that place was that the kitchen and bathroom were down a small hallway off the main room. Not having the kitchen right there in the living space made it seem a lot bigger and a lot less as if everything was crammed into one room.

Not that the kitchen was huge--it had a tiny stove and refrigerator on one wall and on the opposite wall there were three wall cabinets and an old sink with an attached drainboard. No counter whatsoever, no lower cabinets. I had a collection of wood crates below the sink for storage. But it did have a big window!

And the bathroom had a clawfoot tub. And a previous tenant had put shelves everywhere, even up near the ceiling in the tiny hallway, so there was a lot more storage than the 2.5 ft. wide closet.

The old woman who lived on the first floor acted as a sort of neighborhood watch, and she also signed for packages and made muffins for the building. I could walk to work, to the library, to the supermarket and to the subway station. The laundramat was one block away. The sun streamed in the two big windows in the morning.

It was tiny, but it was the perfect place to live at the time.

Flat sheets really aren't long enough to tuck in at both the head and foot of the bed. I grew up in the 60s, before fitted sheets were common, and it was a pain in the neck--you basically had to remake the entire bed every morning.

I've got a set of the "clothesline crisp" sheets from The Vermont Country Store in the smaller size and I like them. They are soft, but they are not the slippery sateen feel that you get with the higher thread count sheets (which is why I like them). I think they are a 250 thread count.

If you remember your books best by color, arrange them by color. If you remember them best by author, arrange them by author.

Color-coding wouldn't work for me; my books are arranged by genre, then author or date of publication (the fate of working in too many libraries). But I do sometimes look for that "small red copy of Hamlet" or the "big brown dictionary," so I can see how colors might work better for some people.

If you like something and it brings you pleasure and it's not hurting anyone else, what's wrong with it?

Without seeing the entire kitchen, it's hard to know if it would fit, but the first thing I'd do is get some sort of kitchen island and put it where the carpet meets the wood floor, to create a separation between the kitchen and the rest of the space, and to help hide some of the kitchen mess that happens whether you want it to or not.

Then I'd tuck a dining table and chairs into the corner by the refrigerator, so you can look out the windows when you eat.

Float a sofa in the room with its back to the dining table and put the TV on the wall in front of it, in the alcove created by the knee wall. You can put a credenza along the knee wall, or a bench for more seating. There should be room enough for a coffee table in front of the sofa and at least one chair, which you can put at right angles to the sofa.

Along with the tape trick, try Ook picture hangers. I'm dealing with 120 year old plaster walls in my current rental and the Ook hangers work great. I have no idea what's so special about them, but they don't make the plaster crumble and chip.

If you have any kind of crown molding, you can put picture hooks in that, and hang art from fishing line if you want to go invisible, or colorful cording if that's the look you prefer. We had to do this in my college dorms, and some people used the fishing line to hang three or four pictures from one hook, stacked one above the other.

In fact, if you have crown molding, you could also hang fabric from it, completely covering up the walls.

What you do with the tiles should be based on how difficult it will be to return the tiles to their original state when you leave. Based on Lindsclou's comments, it doesn't sound like an easy job to remove the refinishing. While I'm all for making a rental feel like home and adding your own personal touches, I don't think that you should permanently alter things without your landlord's permission.

Better to follow Angelinethebaker's suggestion and paint in a color that works better with the tiles.

At least the tiles are fairly neutral. I mean, they aren't seafoam green or raspberry pink.

Somewhere out there, there's a company that makes a cabinet just for this situation--it has cutouts for the pipes and just slides right under the sink. However, I can't seem to find it by googling today.

A drastic alternative would be to remove this sink and install a sink/vanity combo that fits your space.

You might be able to cut down a stock vanity to fit.

Or, you could make the sink look like a vessel sink. Build not just a cabinet under the sink, but a cabinet that extends out on both sides of the sink, making it look as though the sink is sitting on a counter top. That would give you a larger cabinet and more storage space. That might even be easier than building a cabinet to fit under the sink--you could run a sheet of plywood under the entire sink, with cutouts for the pipes, and not have to measure and fit for the small space under the sink.

I hate to sound pedantic, but I think the writer meant to say that drop cloths are hemmed before you buy them, not seamed.

Hems turn under raw edges and cover them. Seams join two pieces of material.

And while some larger drop cloths might indeed be seamed, many are not.

How long will you be in this rental? My suggestions would be different if it's only a few months vs. a year.

But first, inject some of your own personality into the space. Things that you like. Some artwork on the walls, a throw, some pillows, books, interesting objects that you find on walks, etc. A live plant or two can really warm up a room. Get a bookcase and fill it with books that you love. Put up some photos of your old city, or home or state. Or a big world map. Add in some pictures of people you miss.

For replacing the carpet, tables, etc., ask around about local markets, second-hand stores, etc. Exploring these will give you a chance to learn about your new city, and also to find some bargains with which to decorate your home. Get some cheap fabric and make curtains.