Susan R's Profile

I loved this place. It is such a wonderful mix of color and texture. I, like many Apartment Therapy fans, so enjoy seeing the creativity and personality that one can build into a small place. I have downsized to a smaller home, about 950 square feet, and I plan to incorporate some of the wonderful solutions Judy has developed. I also happen to really like mid-century modern and lots of cool texture! I will also be checking out some of Judy's textiles.

I had been looking for some nesting cookware as I sadly realized my classic Mauviel copper cookware was taking up way too much room in my 75 square foot kitchen. There was no appropriate place for a pot rack either. I read about the Natural Home nesting cookware and it looked lovely, but when I got it, I learned all of the lids are venting lids, so there was no way to steam vegetables, etc. I had to send it back.

Then I found Magma nesting stainless steel cookware. I bought a basic set on Amazon and bought an additional saucepan lid and detachable handle. The pans are working out very nicely. They fit in one 15" section of my cabinets! I love to cook. All of the items were around $200. I would recommend it to anyone who has a tiny kitchen and likes to cook.

Wow, I am amazed at the wide range of responses. I, like so many of the writers, love to entertain. I enjoy cooking, planning, trying new recipes, and even cleaning the house especially well in advance of a party. However, like so many of you have had often really poor responses when I invite people to our house, by phone, e-mail or snail mail. I even write on the invitation, please let me know if you're coming and how many so I make sure I have enough food and beverages!

So now I do open houses and try to guestimate how many people will come. I did have an episode of extra people showing up once, so I pretty much emptied my refrigerator of brunch type food, did some more cooking and served the extra guests.

I do think it is inconsiderate of people not to rsvp. It's not about trying to impress anyone. It's about gathering some of our friends together and enjoying some conversation, a few laughs and some food. So with some folks who don't rsvp or have said they would come and then did not, and they did this a few times, I decided well, they don't like to plan, so I'll visit with them in other ways.

I work long days and have lots of obligations, too, and I do rsvp when I am invited to parties, so being busy is just not an acceptable excuse. Everyone I know is very busy!
And for those of you who had to chase people to get rsvp's for your wedding! Oh, that's terrible! Certainly emergencies do come up, and I am very understanding about that.

With some people, I have stopped asking. Courtesy is important.
Susan R

I have the Karlstad sofa and the Poang chair with an ottoman that I bought for my husband some years ago. I bought replacement covers. It has held up well, is very comfortable, and has even survived a couple of cat hairball events. When we downsized from a 1500 square foot house to a house just under 1000 square feet, I bought the Karlstad. We've had it for a year. I love it. My husband loves it. A friend of mine comfortably slept on it for 4 nights, and I love to take naps on it. So, both the Poang chair and Karlstad couch have been really good choices for us.