ev's Profile

I worked with a carpenter who constructed the furniture we customed-designed for our itty bitty apartment in between his large projects. Unbelievably, the total cost with delivery and installation for two rooms of furniture came out to be less than the nearest equivalent furniture/storage from Ikea and of much better quality. He was happy because he kept his guys busy for the odd days here and there and we were ecstatic with the results and the price.

As a former contractor, I used to give discounts for customers with small jobs who could accommodate our schedule. Ask around, you might be able to work something out in this soft economy.

I decluttered a lot of our books, DVDs, and CDs (6 boxes worth) by sending them to our guys and gals in the military who were serving abroad. And it didn't cost a lot of $$ at all. Using this link:
http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/
I searched "books" to find a unit that wanted books, then I chose a unit with a lot of people (over 75). The US Postal Service has a rate called "Media Mail" that is dirt cheap. You can pack up books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs using this rate. It cost about $12/box. If you do this now, these boxes will be received in Afghanistan, etc. by Christmas. The thank you notes alone are worth it. And you'll feel great knowing that your old books found a wonderful new home.

My husband and I live in 380 sq.ft. in NYC. We too have mostly built-ins and a lot of our space is also used for books. Book people are book people, what can I say? (And yes, we've got lots of books on the kindle too.)

Personally, I find this kitchen academic and depressing - no warmth whatsoever. And that unfinished and very sharp edge to the kitchen counter is just plain wrong.