abigailb's Profile

Design Crisis had a good post on this topic earlier this year: http://design-crisis.com/?p=517

i like your vanity and i think it would work well with the spa style you are going for. it's hard to tell from the photo whether it would be better to leave it entirely as is or refinish it. i do agree with a previous commenter about rethinking the hex tile - i think that's more traditional than the look you are going for. good luck!

ooh, thanks for the sources - that book is now on my wish list! love the color combination, too.

I was also surprised not to see Redfin mentioned until the end. We did not use Redfin as our realtor, but the site is a great source for MLS listings because of the interface - lots or search options, mapping, etc. It can be a quick way to get a snapshot of a neighborhood and the properties available. Much better than other sites we scanned when we were looking almost 18 months ago.

Since you're looking at a condo, I'd recommend finding out as much as possible about the building neighbors. You'll need to work with them on building issues (and yard, if you're lucky enough to have one!), not to mention that you'll be sharing walls, floors, ceilings. Repeat visits will increase the chance of meeting them, and interactions with condo trustees will come up if you get serious about a place and want condo docs etc.

Condo docs can be helpful for figuring out how people work together. We looked at one place that we liked, but the docs had a no-pet policy. It turned out that almost every unit (of maybe 15) had a cat or dog but no one could be bothered to change the docs. We passed.

Good luck!

Great tip about the velcro - I am about to do something similar around my laundry sink.

Good luck picking out fabric - perhaps two choices so that you hang one when the other is in the wash? ;)

Congrats on your Brookline condo - we love ours!

I would live with it for a while before deciding to take the wall out because

1. You already have a kitchen that's open to the dining room
2. You already have a pretty wide opening between the dining room and living room
3. You'll lose out on some wall space for art and/or shelving
4. You could be looking at a lot of expense and should be sure it's the right decision!

And I always try to wait a good while while before deciding to remove an original feature or fixture; once it's gone, it's gone. I'd bet quite a lot of $$ that you used to have a walk-through pantry between your kitchen and dining room before someone renovated that kitchen.

Also, I'd consider what size sectional you really want/need without regard to fit at first - you may find that the size you want would work in your current space. The bigger it is, the less flexibility you have once you own it - for rearranging, adding other pieces, etc., whether you keep the wall or take it down.

i think your furniture placement works great - it's like having a built in console table at the perfect height behind the sofa! and presumably some more hidden storage below, which is always a plus.

i second the electric blanket and laptop comments

roman shades kept down during the colder and/or windy hours

insulating curtains behind the pretty curtains in our bedroom

weatherstrip and repair original windows

tea, cider, cats, fuzzy throw blankets