Althestane's Profile

That tile application is amazing, and i want to learn how it's done / if it can be done on one's own! I remember there being reverse paper as well where it turned white where the sun hit it and left everything blue or brown where something cast a shadow. It'd be interesting to see those applied to tile as well.

@redbellybutton
As an architect that does both new construction and renovation projects, often in historic districts, I don't think you're completely correct there. "Code" is there for mainly health and safety reasons; yes it doesn't cover decorative issues, but a stair handrail qualifies as more than just decoration. Renovating older homes that don't meet current code is a case-by-case issue, but allowing non-code elements is usually tied to preservation. This project clearly isn't trying to preserve an old stair, clearly removes code-compliant elements that were already in place, and clearly has the space and capacity for compliant handrails. It most certainly DOES need to meet code, and any realtor worth their salt would make them amend it for sale.

All that said, there's no reason that handrails have to be ugly, like the ones they removed.

I support CFL's, LED's and all manner of energy saving bulbs. BUT, i have yet to see anything other than an incandescent bulb "dim" in any realistic kind of way. (And don't refer to dimmable CFL's, those things are just a bad joke - they're only "dim" when it takes 3 minutes for them to warm up.) Until that happens, I shall happily waste energy on the few fixtures that provide periodic atmosphere to my house, thankyouverymuch.

There are two ways that sound gets through walls. The first is where the wall doesn't do a good enough job absorbing the sound and lets the waves pass through the materials. The second is impact or transmission noise, where the wall is acting like a conduit for the sound. (think of a thumping speaker making the wall vibrate, or hearing someone's footsteps on the floor above you)

Solid wood does a good enough job absorbing sound, though a pretty poor job of preventing impact noises. Unless the cracks and checking in the columns go all the way through and leave openings between your two rooms, it's probably not the timbers. What is most likely happening is that the wall separating you from your neighbors has little or no insulation in it. It's probably just studs and drywall, and that does practically nothing to absorb sound or prevent transmission. It's also why adding a layer of drywall helped a little, but not much. Sound may also be coming through the upper portion of the wall, where it looks like the rafters and subfloor above continue into the other apartment.

Short of tearing off the drywall and re-insulating your wall, try filling up any cracks between wood and plaster with a foam spray, and locate any major holes/cracks in the beam that you could "seal up" without ruining the weathered look of the beams.

I hate to break it to the ladies-only-club that apparently endorsed this article, but you gals have some pretty weird and dorky ideas too that certainly qualify as "design ephemera that only a girl could love."

You may have meant to be funny, but really you made a very subjective design criticism and created some categorical stereotypes there. The link and the designs promoted by it deserve a far more credit than that.

Also, i'm not quite sure what qualifies as "sexy" in that ballerina floor portrait? It looks like...every other ballerina out there? And it could be very appropriate for, say, a dance studio or performing arts center. Just because you think it's an odd design doesn't mean that only a "dude" could have come up with it.

I'll attest to the smell thing. My master bedroom is a basically a loft up in a wonderful cathedral ceiling. It's quite a comfortable room, with plenty of light and perceived isolation, but because it's so open, the smell of last nights dinner persists up there. I have stopped cooking anything that requires frying because the bedroom smells like burnt oil for days after.

I second the automotive upholstery suggestion. I did some research into it a while back for similar reasons to yours, and it seems like they have a paint/stain/finish (not spray) for vinyl materials since it's a common upholstery material for cars.

I didn't go through with it on my vinyl chair though (it's still a far too vibrant orange), so i don't know how it really turns out, but good luck!

Looks great! One thing i would add, though it goes beyond painting, would be to remove the paneling at the risers of each step and put in a solid piece of wood that matches the floor. It's a subtle thing but it might extend the room into that entry area a bit, making the room feel a little bigger and less like you're stepping through a hole in the wall.

Dear Miss Gaga,
Please go away.
Sincerely,
Culture.

Honestly though, I can't tell if the woman is a brilliant satirist that is pulling off an elaborate social experiment / performance art piece that is aimed at displaying how vapid and meaningless pop-culture and it's fanbase have become, or if she's just another pop-starlet who thinks she's actually a good and significant musician.

I must also ask, "why no tissues?" If there's any place in the house where a box of tissues goes, it's by the bed. Why would I tear off all the sheets and covers and go stumbling about half asleep and half blind in the dark looking for a tissue?

Is that what women automatically think? that tissues by the bed are semen receptacles? Goodness, you girls have some smutty minds! haha.

And I think i might be scared out of my wits coming upon a giant panther in a dimly lit bedroom!