craftybeaver's Profile

No. My parents did a lot of beige, with some slate blue and rust red thrown in. My house colors come from the Crayola 8-pack.

I do a restaurant-style chalkboard menu on the wall in our kitchen. That way my husband always knows what this week's dinner options are (and doesn't inadvertently eat a key ingredient for one of the meals I've planned). It also helps me remember what I planned when I get home tired from work before I resort to cereal for dinner.

I would do a bright jewel tone turquoise with that mustard yellow color in the flowers. But that's me.

It depends so much on the child's readiness. I started kindergarden at 5 and was one of the younger kids in my class. I had learned how to read at home and was already bored with all the dumb stuff we were supposed to learn in kindergarden - I can't even imagine how bored I would have been if I had been held back until I was 6. If the kid is intellectually ready for school, their age relative to their peers should not matter.

I also prefer an 8" chefs knife, but the salesman at the kitchen store seemed sure I'd want a 6" to match my small stature. Not so at all! As long as the handle fits my hand, I get better leverage with a bigger knife.

We have a similar couch that my dad built in the mid-1970s. The foam inside the cushions is breaking down - aside from being uncomfortable, it leaves foam-dust under the couch. I'd love to hear ideas for how to make new ones (the originals were DIY) or where to inquire about having new cushions professionally made.

PLEASE STOP USING GIFT AS A VERB!!!!!

We have a pedestal-style sink (no storage) but 14" between the sink and the wall, which will nicely fit a shelf tower (yay storage!). However the only outlet in the bathroom is on that wall - so to give access to the outlet we have to use open shelving. I'm planning to use baskets on each shelf to hide/contain toiletries.

I put my corks through the dishwasher in the silverware bin. They expand a bit but the smell is gone. The expansion helps to make them a uniform size (eliminating the taper into the bottle) so they fit together better.

The biggest hurdle in taking up gardening is having a location to do so. I'm 33, and until last year, it was not even an option - I had always lived in apartments without balconies or window boxes. Last year we got a coveted spot in a community garden (3 miles from our condo). This year we bought a house. And I'm now making up for lost gardening time :)