traderdi's Profile

I love your garden! I live in a townhome near Washington Park in Denver and my neighbors and I are getting close to having a maintenance free garden area in our central courtyard. I love your plant choices for this drought-prone environment (although you wouldn't know we've been in a drought for the past 2-3 weeks). I'd love to plant some similar xeriscape-friendly plants here.

I will definitely check out High Country Gardens and Timberline. Thanks for the tip!

P.S. Blueleaf, I can't even keep houseplants alive, so I feel your brown-thumb pain!

I agree with suzy8track - it would be hot if the guy came with it.

You did a fabulous job and your chairs are gorgeous!

What color stain did you use on the wood? I'm refinishing a 1950's desk with atomic legs. I bought a walnut stain and want the color to be same as your chairs. Do you mind sharing what color stain you used?

My home is one of nine 2 and 3-story townhome units, with the two units created from a Victorian-era house built by a wealthy banker in 1890. In the early 1980's, an architect and developer got together and coverted the home into 2 units, built 6 more units in the same style as the 3 story home around what had been the back yard, and renovated the carriage house, creating a charming small enclave of 9 units in the city with large 100 year old trees in the courtyard.

Several years later, my townhome unit was owned by a sportswriter for the local newspaper who was busted for cocaine possession and very publicly fired from her job with the paper. She and her husband (also a sportswriter) moved to Connecticut to work for a golf magazine. They put what is now my home on the market, where it sat unoccupied for over a year until I bought it for an amazingly low price.

#4 is my favorite too. Although the purple door works, it would look better in red.

I don't think Freecyle is for the needy only. The only rule is that the items offered must be free. I've had no-shows, but usually you only have to move to the next person on the list to get rid of the item.

My first Freecycle experience: I was browsing through the messages and saw a post from someone needing a briefcase. I happened to have 3 leather briefcases I no longer used, so I emailed the poster to let her know I had one (or two or three) she could have. She emailed me back for my address, and added that she was trying to rejoin the workforce after a divorce, and had very little money to spend on clothing and other business attire. I mentioned I had an entire closet of business suits I no longer wore, since I'd lost a lot of weight and found they were her size. I loaded up a bag with a leather briefcase, some shoes I'd never worn, a few purses, and 12-15 business skirt and pant suits (some still had price tags on them). When she picked up the items, she had tears in her eyes, she was so happy. She would never have been able to afford the clothing I gave her, and I got to give some clothes I no longer wore that were taking up a lot of space to someone I knew would get good use out of them and she didn't have to pay $20-$30 each for them at Goodwill.

I bought a similar 1950's desk on Craigslist a couple months ago for $50. It was painted white, but was easy to strip, and the underlying wood is mahogany. A gorgeous piece for about a $70 investment (including paint stripper, stain, brushes and polyurethane finish). I love the atomic legs!

Personally, I think the brushed finish would look better with your stainless steel appliances. But, if you want to go with a polished chrome faucet, then definitely use polished chrome cabinet hardware. In a loft space, it would add just enough sparkle to catch your eye from other living areas and would make your appliances more background than focal point.

I LOVE your console. Where did you get it?

I'd go with a color in the veins of the marble - either a brown or dark gray.

By the way, what color are your walls painted? It's the exact neutral I've been looking for - not too cold, not too warm, not too dark, not too light! I'd love to know the brand/color.