jenradish's Profile

Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions! We will check them out and post back with a decision :)

Now I keep a spare key buried somewhere in my yard, but when I lived in an apartment I kept one in a magnetic box attached to my car. Parking on the street I figure no one knows what car goes to what house.

Hi Matt,

I should start by saying that I am an architect, and so that makes me a little biased, but in my opinion, you definitely want to consult an architect or designer to work on the house. There are so many things that we see go wrong from people trying to do a home on their own and come to us to have fixed, which in the end, adds time, money and major headaches.

A well informed architect will be able to help with permits, be able to bring out the best in the design, often find higher quality and less costly materials, and as the biggest bonus, a set of construction documents serve as another form of contracts that hold the contractors to a building standard (even just the list of general conditions that are on a standard set of drawings go a long way in protecting the client). I would suggest that you get some ideas in mind, and then make appointments at a few firms to see who you enjoy working with. It can be a long process and it is always better for both the client and the architect when we are able to work collaboratively to come up with the best design for you.

All that said, the process of becoming an architect is really long and there are many people who never take the actual exams yet have been in the design field a long time, and so you can quite often find a designer who is doing freelance work and has someone else stamp their drawings. You still get a full set of stamped drawings and the cost is often less. Of course, planning for absolute worst case, if things do go wrong in the end, there is not the insured architecture firm to back up the drawings and it would be harder to recoup any losses.

Hope that helps!

simple, clean, and cozy

I just moved and really need hangers, please pick me!

Ten in all, and I try to move some so there are less, but the desk is just the best location for everything!!

computer
modem
wireless router
i-pod
speakers
printer
digital camera
cell phone
2 lamps

Name: Jennifer Radicella

Wall Decals:
Mod in Cotton Candy
Chandelier in Black
Bamboo in Tan

My sister just had a baby and since they didn't know the sex, the nursery just doesn't look like a little girl's room, and surprise! That is what they had. I would love to use the Mod in Cotton Candy to spruce up the female factor in that room. The other two, the chandelier and bamboo, would be used in my apartment that I just moved into with my boyfriend. It is the first time we have lived together and were very excited about being able to have furniture that isn't hand-me-downs and decorate it how we would like. However, since we can't paint, getting the apartment as beautiful as I know it can be has been hard! Please help me create a beautiful nursery for my first niece and spruce up my very first 'grown-up' apartment!

You can see pictures of all the spaces at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13043860@N04/

Thank you!!

I had had the West Elm tall wood bed frame for about a year and it is great, works well, and I love all the storage space underneath. The price is definitely a bonus!

I have heard rumors about the West Elm falling apart, but when I looked into it more, it seems that was a different bed frame, and this one has not had the same problems.