qfiffle's Profile

Agreeing that this is the norm in Australia, which horrifies me here in Canberra where the temperatures get well below freezing in winter. I looked into replacing our (gas) water heater with an on-demand one, but that would work out significantly more expensively for us. Our heater only holds enough water for two five minute showers (even with our water-saving head), which is still well above the recommended shower length in this country of water shortages. But if we had on-demand, I am very sure we would find it impossible to restrict ourselves to such short showers, especially in winter.

Also, consumer reports suggest that they may not be cost-effective even if you don't take into account possible increased water usage http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/water-heaters/tankless-water-heaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm

I LOVE light floors. I had them in my apartment in Denmark, and they were kind of whitewashed wood. I had to use a special milky soap on them once a week that dried to a chalky white. They were beautiful and I always thought I'd try to recreate that when I owned my own home.

Lo and behold, once I bought a house and started bringing wood samples home, I found the really dark ones just looked much righter in this place. They went better with the furniture, the curtains, the transitions to the tiled areas, and meant we wouldn't have to paint the lovely dark wooden trim white. I still dream of another house with pale floors for future me, though.

I'm in Canberra, Australia, and I don't think there is any accommodation available at all below about $1000 a month, and that would be a 1-bedroom or studio with rats, cockroaches, or loud neighbours on the far outskirts of town. I wouldn't expect to find somewhere inhabitable under $1600, and the max I would pay is $2000 a month (which is what our place was heading towards with multiple rent increases when we finally bit the bullet and bought instead.

I think it's cute. Especially the X-rays. If anyone's interested, I think the Swedish labels say "Swallowed key inside bear", "Mouse with broken back" and "Swallowed apple rabbit"!

Yeah, I'm in Australia too, and had never heard of dryer sheets before reading Apartment Therapy. When you posted recently about using them to clean shower doors I looked in our local supermarket. It took me a while to locate them, but there were two brands, both scented, neither of which promised anti-static properties, so I don't even know if they are the same as what you are talking about.

I didn't buy them, because I don't actually own a dryer. We dry on the line in good weather and inside on a drying rack otherwise.

I'm in Australia and the lack of ability to ever get landlords to repaint or do any basic maintenance was one of the major factors contributing to me finally buying my own place. I would have happily rented forever if the culture had been a little different. One landlord did recarpet and repaint, but then immediately turned around and sold the place and kicked us out, since she realised how a fresh look had put the place in perfect condition to get the best price.

Another repainted at the end of our lease, as we asked for this in exchange for signing for another year. Then he used it as ammunition to raise the rent by $50 a week.

Others just refused entirely, and were not willing for us to do it even if we paid for all the materials and DIYed. The biggest problem is that here the landlord/property manager does 3 monthly inspections at first, and six monthly inspections after the first year you have rented from them, where they check that everything is in order, and fine you or refuse to write references in the future if you have changed things, done any unagreed work on the property, or even put up picture hooks in the walls. So you can't just return the place to the way it used to be when you move out - they'll see it every 3-6 months.

When I used to live in NZ, at least the inspections weren't a regular part of the rental culture - but that was 15 years ago, so maybe they are now.

We recently installed laminate in our place, and I was surprised to see on the installation instructions that came with the laminate that they claimed you could install it over carpet. I would have used a moisture barrier, though. And I don't know if they were promising the carpet would be in great condition when you removed the laminate later.

We did the same thing with our lounge - the previous owner liked yellow and the whole house was painted in it (including kitchen cupboards!). Here's our lounge before and after painting. (Ignore the tinfoil on the potted plants: that was because we had a new kitten who thought plants were extra litterboxes.) We put in new floors too, so actually the real "after" photo is this one. But it's from a different angle. And of course the place is constantly evolving, so it doesn't look anything like that anymore. There's now a proper coffee table and a rug and some art on the walls!

I took this photo of blue velvet armchairs in a hotel lobby recently because I loved the look so much.