GBannis's Profile

People with the discipline to stick to two main colors and a third for "pop" in a room amaze me. I could never edit to that extent.

Note to whoever put mirror on the ceiling: men don't like to see their bald spots!

I think the challenge is the assymetry caused by the A/C units. My suggestion is to solve that first. Maybe place a cabinet the same height as the A/C in front of the other unit.

You can then use either blinds or curtains, although I would suggest a wall of curtains might look nice too. Of course, you can also build out a valance so the curtains cover the A/C.

"Cement production and transportation are very energy-intensive."

Please elaborate.
1. What's involved in production?
2. What's involved in transportation?
3. How does this compare with other countertop materials (e.g., I imagine all natural stone is also mined and transported)?

Does it matter what fatty beef is called if it tastes the same, or almost the same?

I've had American Wagyu beef and did not like it. Felt like I was eating a wad of butter. Not for me.

High and wide when I can but not when there are cove ceilings and window moldings that make high and wide unsuitable.

Martha has an odd definition of "naturalizing." She defines it as planting masses of daffodils.

If she were a more patient person, she would plant lots of daffodils and wait for them to multiply by themselves. Naturalizing, of course, refers to the return and multiplication of the daffodils each year as their bulbs multiply (on their own) and they seed themselves.

As a landlord, I hope you talk to your landlord before making any of these changes. S/he may very well be willing to do them, especially if you share the cost, since the landlord has responsibility for maintenance after the change.

Attaching things to walls and putting holes in walls is risky and may not be allowed in the lease. I already know there will be a lot of patching when my tenant moves, repainting if the touch-ups don't match the rest of the wall. If a tenant wanted a better towel rack, I would have been happy to put one in.

Some locales require the use of low-flow showerheads, especially in rental units. Again, I would check with the landlord first.

Replacing a faucet is also a major thing, especially if the landlord is a responsible person. If anything goes wrong, the fix and the cost of a plumber falls on the landlord. Again, I suggest asking the landlord to make the change for you. You can spring for the faucet as an incentive.

Is this article correct? It states that the materials mentioned are not recyclable. A cursory search online reveals that formica, for one, is recyclable.

BTW, granite (although abundant) and marble are considered non-renewable resources because of the time it takes to create them. I have a feeling that natural stone is probably as "recyclable" as manufactured stone, and less so than formica/Wilsonart.

What this means to me is that claims of sustainability, renewability, and recyclability need to be defined clearly before we toss them around.

At a high-end furniture store here in San Francisco, they're selling upholstered dressers done up in patchwork fabrics. They look pretty good, and they're so DIY-able.

For this IKEA dresser, I think I would have taken the easy way out and just painted the drawer fronts instead of upholstering them.