Xarcady's Profile

I think the amount of separation between the bedroom and the living space is just right. Usually, I'm not a fan of trying to physically separate the areas in a studio, because it can make the space look smaller and more cluttered and darker than it really is. But this low, open bookcase defines the areas without closing the rest of the apartment off from the light from the window.

I just don't know how you can make the bed with it squashed between the wall and the bookcase. Kudos to you for managing that!

I'm going to start off with my thoughts on TVs and living rooms. I grew up with parents who tried to hide the TV and make it not the focal point of whatever room it ended up in. This led to us watching TV while freezing in unheated attics and basements, mostly.

So I think that if you watch TV or play games on it, acknowledge that fact and acknowledge that the TV will be a focal point in the room. Accept the reality and work with it. Don't try to hide the TV or pretend it isn't there.

Just about any project can benefit by starting out with a good de-cluttering. I'd suggest trying to find some games or gaming equipment that could be sold or consigned. The money could be used to start a fund to buy a nice media console or other storage piece, which I think is seriously needed here.

Also, things are best stored where they are used. I'd look at the contents of the bookcases and cabinets and make sure they are used in the living room. If they aren't, find places in the rooms where they are used to store them. That would definitely free up space in the living room.

The free, no-cost part of this solution is to move the furniture. Most conversational groupings are in an "L" shape, i.e. a sofa and loveseat at right angles; or a "U" shape, i.e. a sofa with a chair at a right angle at both ends; or two parallel lines, i.e. two sofas facing each other. The later arrangement mostly doesn't work for gaming. A "U" shape would be hard to pull off with the given furniture and space. So work with an "L" shape, using the sofa and the loveseat. I'd suggest putting the chair into storage, or in another room, for the time being. There's really too much furniture in that small room. (Unless you can move one of the bookcases or the cabinet elsewhere, then you might have enough room for the chair.)

Then put the TV across from the couch. Then he doesn't have to sit on the floor to see the screen.

Phase two is getting a better stand for the TV. It looks large, but I think that is just because the stand it is on is too small. You don't have to get a dedicated media stand. There are a ton of old dressers and consoles that would work well in your room, not cost too much, and offer you tons more storage (for media and anything else) than what you have now. If the stand you end up with isn't high enough, then wall-mount the TV to get it to a better height.

Phase three would be getting a larger TV. I've never heard anyone complain about their TV being too big. Too small, yes. Too large, no.

My niece and nephew love to play Simon Says on their parachute. It was designed for kids to play with, so it has various colored "pie pieces." So, in addition to the usual "Simon says pat your tummy/stand on one foot/jump up and down" we add in "Simon say hop to a red slice/put your left hand on a green slice."

It's also great for making tents, and putting on the ground to lie back and look at stars.

I moved across the street once. The building I had been living in was up for sale. The people who bought it were the ones who did the following while they were looking at my apartment: opened my dresser drawers in front of me and the agent, turned on my computer, commented negatively on the number of books I owned and made comments about not allowing so many if they owned the place, and opened the medicine cabinet and commented on the contents.

My feeling was that they would have no qualms about entering the apartment without warning and while the tenants weren't there, and snooping around to their hearts' content. Despite the fact that would be against the law.

Started looking for a new place the moment I heard they offered on the building and just happened to find a much nicer place directly across the street.

I'm childless, but I like children. What bothers me at parties where kids are invited is that some parents do not watch their own children. I seem to be something of a kid magnet, and kids gravitate to me. And I do enjoy talking with them and playing with them--up to a point.

That point is when I've been watching three small children for an hour with no sight of their parents. Those children are so very much not my responsibility and so very much not the reason I came to the party.

Please don't be upset when I hove into sight with your small child and deposit him/her back into your arms. I've just been a free babysitter for the last hour. It's time you started to watch your own kid. Telling me, "Oh, but he likes you so much! I thought you'd like to spend time with him!" just means I have to grit my teeth harder as I attempt to refrain from telling you what I really think of your parenting. And don't think I didn't hear what you said when you arrived, "Go find Auntie Xarc. I'm sure she'll love playing with you."

You are attending a party with your kid. That does not mean the other guests become your unpaid babysitters.

And kudos to the many parents who keep a close eye on their own children at parties. I think from the bottom of my heart. And if you need me to watch your kid for a few minutes while you do something else, I will gladly do so, because I know you won't accidentally "forget" you brought the child to the party and leave me with her for an hour while you hide.

Love the colors and the photo wall!

I lived in a ballroom once. It was part of the 1820s addition to a 1776 coaching inn. One huge room, 40 feet by 20 feet, with a 16 foot barrel vaulted ceiling. A separate galley kitchen and bath on one long wall. Two fireplaces, massive crown molding, honey-colored hemlock floors. Two walls of windows. Deep windowsills perfect for cats to curl up on. Storage spaces in odd little nooks. A quiet little courtyard in the L of the building to sit and sip a cup of tea.

I had a massively stressful job, and it was pure relief to walk into the courtyard every evening and then up the stairs to my haven. In the morning, the sun would come in the windows on the east wall and the light would travel 40 feet to the west wall and light up the room.

On the downside, the floor had been specially made to be springy for dancing, and over 100 years later, the springiness was gone. Instead, every footstep caused loud creaks and squeaks. I always felt sorry for the people in the downstairs apartment.

This room has a fearless use of color and a definite sense of personal style. Makes me want to get to know the residents, who seem like they would be cheerful people. Like this a lot.

What would you suggest for a mixed household, where one person swears by PCs and the other Macs? And one person feels the need to constantly make snide remarks about the other's tech?

This was not something that emerged in the honeymoon phase of the relationship. And to add insult to injury, the snide remarker owns at least one piece of the "despised" tech.

Yes, I've painted without permission. In Boston, with landlords who were barely a step above slumlords. No one with any authority ever came into the apartment; the maintenance people didn't care.

One place, when I moved in, had a Wedgewood blue living right next to a burnt orange dining room. I painted both rooms off-white and when I moved out, the landlord thanked me.