marie516's Profile

Very pale aqua, like Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Blue-- here's an example of how it looks: http://us.farrow-ball.com/bedrooms/content/fcp-content. I think yellow would be nice in a general sense but in that small of a space, with all that warm wood and light, you're going to feel like you're living inside a piece of toast unless you go with a very light shade, and in that case it's basically beige, which you already have. Plus you don't like the yellow bathroom, so that would be a lot of yellow. And +1 for switching the couch and TV walls, definitely. And if you like yellow, I would get a nice yellow lamp to put next to the couch (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Yellow-Ginger-Jar-Lamp-Oriental-Asian-Mid-Century-Modern-Light-Ceramic-/170838287684?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item27c6c16544), or a you could get something more neutral with a fun shade like this: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/shopsale-decorative/S23766108.jsp. Lamps instantly make any room look better and more grown-up. :)

Hmm, I buy a lot of items on eBay and Etsy and sometimes... stuff just doesn't make it. I've had multiple items arrive broken or crushed, necessitating a claim with the seller/shipper, at least one package that just never came (fortunately the seller did send me a refund and it didn't get unpleasant), and my favorite, a package that arrived with a hole in it where the item had either fallen out or been cut out by a clever thief! (That was not fun to explain to the seller, but she was lovely about it and sent a replacement). Unfortunately based on my experience I do think that most "item not received/received damaged" claims are probably legitimate rather than scams. It's just a normal risk of doing business through the mail for both buyer and seller.

Hm, actually, Mari Eastman paints child soldiers. Which may make you more taken aback, actually, but personally I think it's a fascinating art choice for a child's room.

My mom and I call it "in one hand, out the other," and vice versa. Alas, we find it works in reverse as well though-- a cash windfall always guarantees an unexpected bill such as the dentist or a car repair! ;) Life balances out, mostly. And really, people, if you are going to make comments about materialism, refugee camps, etc., don't read Apartment Therapy. It's a home decor site, posts about "obsessing" about furniture are perfectly appropriate. We can be mindful of consumerism and still love beautiful objects.

It makes me sad that so many people don't decorate! I love holidays, especially Christmas (although I hope you're not picturing light-up snowmen or anything)-- and it was a big part of breaking away from our parents and establishing ourselves as a married couple to do our "own" Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. I think I'll finally feel like a bona fide adult when I have a neatly labeled and packed box for each holiday like my mother! I've got Christmas under control and am working on Halloween this year... for the rest of the holidays we usually just do flowers, coordinating dishes and lines, etc., if we're having a party, but I'd like to have some dedicated Thanksgiving things I suppose, although it's my least favorite holiday (not a fan of football OR turkey)!

Traditional garlic/onion baskets: http://www.etsy.com/shop/basketrybotanica?ref=seller_info

We had a beautiful delicate pale pink bedroom in a San Francisco Edwardian that I spent a fortune having professionally painted with a custom-blended Farrow & Ball paint (the crazy trim was too much for me to work around). The light was amazing, it was like being in the middle of a sunrise, everyone looked gorgeous in that room. Even my husband, not a pink fan (and very skeptical initially) liked it. Sadly we ended up moving out after only a year due to deciding to move back to Los Angeles. The owners of the (condo) unit moved back in and got to enjoy the beautiful paint job throughout the apartment (all Farrow & Ball throughout, we had thought we would be there at least five years and it would be worth it-- mostly greys and creams). I was too afraid to ask what they thought of the bedroom though! I really hope they appreciate it since I still think of it longingly.

LA native with parents from Chicago here... they moved out (to Echo Park) in the 60s, my mom tasted her first(!) avocado, and they never looked back. Many of the posters have already said that without knowing whether you have a job/at least knowing your industry it's hard to advise, and given traffic those are major issues. I have to say that if you want to make it in *the* industry... I am concerned! ;p I also agree, DO NOT let kitties go outside, they will be dinner. Re: your personal safety, you'll be fine as long as you remember it is the big bad city and don't do anything stupid (this includes stupid driving-- I am so serious, I would worry much more about accidents than crime!).

All that said, a few words of encouragement-- I adore LA, have never had to deal with all these "awful people" everyone talks about (maybe if you only know awful people that says more about you...?), and I think people are friendlier/more accepting here than nearly anywhere else. The great thing/scary thing about LA is that... no one cares. You can do/be whatever you want... but there's not a readymade community with people who are interested in you/eager to help you that you can access, you have to find your own way.

The Westside is a bit soulless and West Hollywood gets old fast, so I would consider mid city, Silverlake, Echo Park, Los Feliz... there are nice parts of Hollywood too. We live in a 1 bedroom bottom of a Spanish 30's duplex in East Hollywood (near the bottom of Los Feliz/side of Silverlake, $1350) with a huge shared garden, and our building manager actually takes care of our cats for us when we are out of town! Look up people you went to school with/family friends etc. and meet up with them, they may suck but you can meet more people that way and eventually grow a circle of friends. I really think you should take the plunge though, I lived in SF for 2 years and *hated* it, but it was a good, um, "character building" experience, so even worst case I think you will get something out of some time on the left coast! If you do move let AT know, I'm sure people would have more concrete advice/assistance to offer.

Wonderful! Some of us enjoy living with strong juju. I was raised Catholic and am now Buddhist and so feel very comfortable with both paintings of saints and statues of Buddha in my home. I also collect African tribal pieces and am familiar with the ceremonial functions of many of them-- far from making it feel "nice to leave," many of my choices served a protective function and I think (and guests often comment) that they create a very positive energy. I wish people would assume homeowners choose pieces because they find them meaningful, rather than leaping to conclude it's just for design impact. It's at least as likely and far more polite than the reverse.

I don't think that Bamileke headdresses will be the next "Keep Calm" poster-- they are far too expensive and not all that amenable to being printed on tea towels, mugs, etc. :) I wouldn't mind at all if they were though, they're beautiful.

John, I love the horn mirror, but think it might have more impact with white space around it rather than the photo wall. I also agree with the poster who though the bar stools weren't quite right. Love love love the hand on the wall and the look generally though, especially the bedroom!

Meh. We have a plain, comfortable, practical couch that my fiance acquired. We've had it for years, it has years left in it... and I hate it and would kill for an elegant, impractical Chesterfield. And hey, maybe if the couch weren't so comfortable our bed would get more use!