LeslieM's Profile

I love the look of a dark floor with light walls. As others have said, it grounds a small space and gives it weight. But I also totally love the Swedish bleached-floor look. My least favorite is actually the medium oak tone, which is what I have in my prewar rental. Ah well, someday...

I love my Saturday naps, and so does my cat. Twenty minutes is all I need or want. I can't nap on a bed, though, or I oversleep. The sofa, with the TV on (golf is especially conducive), and a blanket over me.

I learned to catnap when I was in Navy officer candidate school years ago. We only got about 5 hours of sleep a night but had to stay awake in classes all day, a particular challenge after a typical cafeteria gut bomb for lunch. We got demerits for falling asleep during class, but on breaks it was okay. So as the smokers filed out, the rest of us plunked our heads down on our desks. The sound of the smokers coming back in woke us up. Just that little ten-minute snooze reset my brain for the rest of the day.

I am powerless over IKEA. I was a student in Sweden many years ago when I first fell for it, and I've been there for all kinds of things I couldn't afford anywhere else. When I first moved into my present apartment, for instance, I had donated many items before moving across the country, leaving lots of functions to fill, like shelving for books and display (Broder, which looks nicely industrial/rustic with wood plank shelving and cost me a song for 9 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling storage), kitchen work surface (Varde), pantry unit (Pax), TV stand, wood blinds, and dresser (Hemnes). The key quality-wise is to search out the pieces that are solid wood; I have avoided their upholstered furniture, though my mattress is great (Sultan Hansbo, I think). And I love the food section, which I visit every couple of months to stock up on my favorite Swedish condiments and such. Now that my apartment is pretty well set, I am better at curbing my impulse buys. I only go early on Saturday to Paramus and set myself a time limit to be done in an hour, to avoid the crowds.

I think there's a fine line between a room that's designed to be simple and one that just looks unfinished. I've been paring down my bedroom as much as possible, so it's interesting to see these and figure out what works IMHO (#3, #6, #7) and what doesn't (everything else). Some of it has to do with scale: a bed, which is a pretty large object, looks out of balance with puny, spindly art above it. Better nothing at all or a large painting or hanging, or a bolder color behind it, than a wimpy lamp or too-small frame.

I love the simplicity, the color choices, the art, and the sofa. Not sure I could ever live quite this pared down, but I appreciate those who can! I think there's a spectrum of "busyness," and for me something this bare would feel like a nice office but a little too stark for comfort. But it's artfully done and it suits him, which is really all that matters!

I really miss Metropolitan Home--it was one of the best. I have to check out some of the recommendations from other AT readers.

Love this! It's persuading me to go a similar direction with my bedroom. Clean and serene.

These have been so fun to read! Cats rule! (Dogs too.)

Finian, my big 8-year-old orange tabby, loves company and runs to the door to greet guests when the doorbell rings or when I come home from work. He jumps up on you with his paws on your hips (stretched out, he's nearly three feet long!), just like a dog. If I have several people over, he will spend a little time curled up with each of them, a perfect host.

He likes mostly "found" toys, but LOVES the laser pointer. He can hear me pick it up from three rooms away in the middle of a nap and is there like a shot.

I have had to accept the ragged arms of my sofa--he scorns a scratching post. Those double-sticky tapes work to keep him from scratching, but look almost as bad as the thread scraggles. Mostly he likes to scratch the IKEA jute mats, which fortunately are indestructible.

He reaches out and taps me on the face with his paw--always the left paw--when he wants my attention, when I've stopped petting him too soon, or when he thinks I'm sleeping too late. Then as soon as I'm up he goes back to the bed.

He's a veteran traveler and is totally mellow in his carrier. He's made long drives and cross-country airline trips of 12 hours door-to-door without messing his Sherpa bag or meowing. In a new place, he'll spend 10 minutes exploring and then come find me and be perfectly at home. He's the joy of my life and the best cat I've ever known--and I've had some really wonderful cats.

When I was last looking, I saw a number of nice units in one building but ruled them out because the building super was creepy, with Hustler photos plastered all over his walls in the basement office. Not someone I want to have a key to my door!

Spectacular job! It always amazes me, when I watch HGTV, how little imagination typical home buyers have in visualizing potential. You two have both imagination AND the skills to bring it to life.