apteryx's Profile

I saw 'gold paint pen' and winced but this is amazing. Beautifully done, I love the stain color against the gold.

I'm with BruceS63 here - It's not illegal for you to use your home - outdoor areas included - in legal ways as you do. However, as an asthmatic, having someone's cigarette smoke entering my home would make my life pretty miserable. I think you should go and talk to your neighbors preemptively, ask if your smoking bothers them and if they say yes, work out some solution like a smokeless ashtray / fan ideas / not chain smoking when their windows are open, things the other ATers suggested to ensure they know you're trying to be considerate. Mention the dog while you're at it - that's not ok either.
Living in urban areas requires tolerance and consideration on both sides but I applaud you for being considerate enough to try and limit your impact on others.

Wow - one of my favorites for a long time. This is so elegant and serene and beautiful. The birds are Trove wallpaper, am I right?

ditto bee for brian's comment. I imagine that first one opening into my pristine, cool and silent wine cellar where my little heart would pop with pure joy.
Love the Pantone and Parisian chaotic beauty too. My favourite post in days!

My Grandma was totally into The Clash too! Ha!
I like the simple aesthetic of this place, nice use of color in the furniture and a very personal and tranquil space. I like the retro feel but am itching to move the artwork from the single line arrangement. And the bed could use a good straighten and a small bonfire for the bed skirt.

I have to emphasize those points:
Don't ignore council tax when setting your budget which adds a lot to your rent bill and was a nasty surprise to this foreigner.
Don't use Foxton's. Just don't.
Don't expect to get your full deposit back without a fight (although this got a whole lot better with the deposit scheme - so don't touch any landlord who doesn't comply). If there's a line in your contract insisting you have the place professionally cleaned on exit, then ensure you make this dependent on proof that it was done prior to moving in. In probably 10 flats I lived in in London, I ALWAYS paid this stupid fee on moving out and not one of those flats was clean when I moved in.
London is a big huge city too, and it takes a long time to get across town. Pick your location very carefully, the killer to life in that fun town is the 1hr trek home after a night out (which can be from relatively central west london to relatively central East London....).
I guess like anywhere, read your contract carefully.

I've been thinking about the original post a lot and read every comment too. It's a huge issue but the thing is, it's so specific to each household, each individual, each relationship and so every situation will be different. I'm with Carrie8 - I consider myself a real feminist and fiercely independent but I moved country when I married and haven't started working here yet. I earn nothing and yep, do most of the housework. Trust me, not a position I EVER thought would be in but for now it's cool. The key is: Do you resent what you're doing (or the amount the other party is NOT doing)? If so, it's an issue. If not, you're fine, even if your set up seems like some downtrodden domestic slave situation on paper. It probably helps that I do less now than in some of the scummy shared flats I have lived in or probably even as a kid with 3 messy siblings who, unlike me, didn't ask for a better family vacuum cleaner for her 12th birthday. The best bit of this is that I cannot stop laughing at my imagined reaction of AnnaMaria's partner to this level of response. The poor man is probably scared to walk out the door in fear of a mob of ATers beating him in the street for that original uber-tactless comment about his earning prowess... that, right there, should make him never mention such things ever again.

Personally, I couldn't do it anymore, I need to love my neighbourhood and feel happy when I approach my home. However one apartment I lived in was a beautiful old building that was totally neglected by the (3 other) neighbours who were all ok, but very 'not my job' about maintenance. After a while, it got me down so I attacked the front yard with a broom and shovel, clearing the entranceway, scrubbed the front door and steps, vacuumed and cleaned the stairwell myself, bought a wastepaper basket for the mail shelf (so they'd stop chucking junk mail on the floor!!). I did it cheerfully, smiled and waved at the neighbours when they snooped at me and from then on, they were so much more respectful. It mostly fell to me to maintain it, but 30mins a month made a huge difference to how much I loved that place.

I love train travel but the 'chic' in the title made me laugh! I instantly recalled sleeping in an 8 berth platskartny-class train in Russia with 6 drunk, snoring Russian soldiers.... tres chic indeed.....

For a really basic but awesome little machine (also super cheap) I have the Brother CS-6000i. It looks like it might have some great tricks to show me but unfortunately think my skill level stops well before the limits of the machine...