kimdog's Profile

My mom the house I grew up in when I was 19... so "home" immediately became where ever I was living. I think it made me much more conscious about creating a "real" home for myself, even as a college student.

Conversely, my partner's parents lived in the same NYC apartment for 40 years. And we ended up moving in when both of them passed away within two years of each other. That was an interesting process... figuring out how to make his childhood home, with decades of memories, OUR home. Luckily, the whole place had to undergo a major renovation due to water damage... every room had to be repainted. And as we started putting the place back together, we started rethinking the space. We figured out how to use the nicest of his parents stuff to best advantage...often repurposing or moving things to different rooms. Then we integrated our own things. There was some hesitancy at first from my partner... but after I put together one room (the guest room) in a way that he found to be totally comfortable and charming, he was happy to rethink the whole place. It still has plenty of reminders of this childhood... but is not a shrine to a parent's home.

My partner and I watch AR every week, and our ongoing gripe is that EVERY show has some sort of carved horn or tusk. Which we find incredibly dull. Every time one comes on, we roll our eyes, and make a bathroom/drink/snack run. As soon as I saw the headline about and item breaking the value record, I instinctively knew it was some sort of ugly carved horn. Le sigh.

I also am sans headboard. Primarily because I thought my bf was anti-headboard, but in a recent conversation, it turns out that he's not. So now I am keeping my eyes open.

The piece I've often gone without by choice is a coffee table. I just preferred a more open floor plan. Have one now because we inherited an MCM coffee/occasional table set from the in-laws

I get nostalgic for Norfolk Island pines. We had several of them in the house I grew up in during the 70's and 80's.
http://www.evergrowing.com/tips/araucaria.htm

These are the aha! design moments that keep me coming back to Apartment Therapy. This is an elegant solution to a problem. Not a current problem for me, but we are starting a house hunt next year!

I am a huge fan of magic erasers. They have made an amazing difference in my pre-war bathroom with original tub and sink. Over the past 6 months of using them on our previously-neglected, dingy white porcelain, they've gradually rubbed out deep stains and brought back a subtle luster. I know you have to be careful using them on certain kinds of surfaces, but boy, have they been amazing in the bathroom.

My boyfriend has been lusting over this for a long time.

$1175 for 700 sqft 1BR in Washington Heights NYC

$1275 for 380 sqft studio in Chelsea (rent stabilized)

$1900 for a 2000 sq ft 4br on UWS. (rent control)

Still, I am dying to take a buyout, move back to the south, and buy a house.

Moved in with my bf last year. My 8 yr old Mitchell-Gold sofa would not fit in the recently renovated elevator (they lowered the ceiling to add recessed lighting). I abandoned the couch, because the movers wanted $500 to carry it up 12 flights of stairs, and it was badly in need of a new slip cover which was going to cost me $600 anyway. I'd rather put that towards a new couch.

Flash forward 6 months. We measure the elevator. We measure the new couch. By god, it should fit! But there was some weird angle issue, and it just wouldn't go. I'm standing there on the verge of a breakdown. The delivery guys offer to carry it upstairs for a fee. At that point I probably would have paid $500, but they did it for $160 (I tipped another $40). It took them about 10 minutes to take it up 12 flights. Amazing.

But now we are worried about the elevator issue. Most of the big furniture was moved into the building before the elevator was renovated (lowering the ceiling by about 6 or 7 inches). What if it won't fit when we move out?

I'm seconding PB Teen. Even though they are a lower thread count than the normal PB line, I find that they are nicely made, wear well, and are durable. I've gotten them at pretty deep discount on eBay.