Laurie 11201's Profile

We installed the 1st gen Nest when they first came out and we absolutely love it. We had a programmable Honeywell previously and it did the job, but nearly as well or as conveniently as the Nest does. The issue for us is that neither my husband or I have conventional or predictable schedules, so setting a static schedule on the Honeywell was functional, but not always practical. We were always changing the schedule or just ignoring the schedule and manually adjusting it all the time. That's fine when the weather is mild, like in the fall or spring, but in the dead of winter or heat of summer, it means we often came home to an apartment that was either freezing or sweltering. With the Nest, that's no longer an issue. We can check the temp and adjust the Nest when we're on our way home so that by the time we walk in, it's exactly where we want it. Because of our unpredictable schedules, the "learning" aspect isn't much use to us. But we did test it for a few weeks and I was pretty impressed with how well it responded on days that were "typical." Ultimately we disabled the learning feature, set a bare-bones schedule for early mornings and late nights as well as our preferred "away" range so that it never gets too cold or too hot when we're away and it's still pretty comfortable when we come in, even if we haven't adjusted it remotely in advance. It's definitely lowered our electricity bill as well since we no longer have to come home on a freezing cold or sweltering hot day or night and immediately crank up the heat or A/C and wait 30 minutes for it to be barely comfortable. It just maintains a reasonable temp all day and we can adjust it up or down as we see fit and it brings the room up or down to temp within just a few minutes.

The auto-away feature os my favorite. I don't have to remember to adjust the thermostat when I leave. It senses when I am gone and kicks into auto-away and adjusts the temp accordingly.

For some reason, the Nest has also made our HVAC quieter when the compressor switches on or off. It used to make a hard, loud sound and now it's a pretty subtle switch. Added bonus :)

As for installation? We have a maintenance contract with our HVAC company so we had them install it during one of their routine check-up visits. They had no problems and they were really excited by the product.

The Ikea Manstad sofa bed is by far the best sleeper sofa I've ever owned. It's a great, sturdy couch with great storage under the chaise and the trundle-bed style pull-out/pop-up makes the bed aspect super-easy and convenient. It's also the most comfortable sofa bed I've ever had -- firm, comfy and supportive. It also only costs a fraction of the pricey high-end sofa beds I've had over the past 20 years of my adult life, which is a bonus.

Anyone have any recent residential window cleaner recommendations? None of the companies I've used in the past seem to be around anymore and the listings here on AT are pretty old.

Looking not just for our own apartment but for the whole coop (40 unit building in cobble hill) as most of our neighbors have expressed interest in having theirs done too, so I'm heading up the project to get everyone taken care of at once (or over the course of a few days)

If you have someone to recommend, please advise on their rates. We've never paid more than $15 per window (as of 18mos ago) and even now I wouldn't expect to pay more than $20 per window for just one apartment. I'd obviously assume we'd be getting a better rate for contracting a company for all or or most of the building's windows to be cleaned at the same time.

My fav soundtrack (at the moment, it changes often) is American Beauty.

We own our place now, but when we last rented, we had a 1BR railroad apartment on the 5th floor of a walkup in Chelsea (W. 20th bet 7th & 8th) for just under $1500/month. That same apartment is now almost $3000/month.

I have to agree with melanie. I am a smoker. My husband is not. Before I finally caved and stopped smoking inside the apartment (I go downstairs to smoke now), we tried every smoke-eating gadget under the sun. The problem with a smokeless ashtray is that it's only effective if the cigarette stays resting directly under/on it. That means every drag you take and every exhale still blows smoke into the room. While an ionizer can certainly help with that issue, it doesn't help much - kinda like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. That little thing and 4 AA batteries are not going to do a damn thing in the average sized room (even our tiny NYC rooms!).

If you insist on continuing to smoke (and I do, go figure), just do everyone a favor and take it outside. And don't forget to wash your hands and brush your teeth or use a mint when you come back in!

jmg920 - i'm curious what it is you dislike about the Patrik?

I was going to suggest the Patrik as well. We use 2 of them (in red) as desk chairs at home (and a DWR Tivola glass table, which I bought super-cheap from someone who needed to move in a hurry, as a desk) and love them. They come in Red and dark gray. They used to come in navy blue as well but I don't see themthose on the site anymore. We've had ours for almost 3 years and they are still in terrific shape and look great, considering we each spend 6 hours a day in them,. They are very comfortable, while still promoting good posture. Here's a link to the Patrik: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70074950

I'd love one!

Tossing my hat, along with all the rest of the things I need to purge and/or organize, into the ring ;)