ReadHead's Profile

How refreshing, after seeing so many overly-curated and too-carefully purchased on-trend homes, to see an honest-to-goodness comfortable, lovely, character home with just as much character filling it.

I agree that volunteering is one of the better ways to make new friends. If you're into the arts, arts organizations everywhere are very dependant upon vollies. When I moved away from Vancouver, BC, then returned 3 years later, I vollied for every arts organization I could find. So many of my friends had left town or moved on, so I knew very few people to go have fun with. Now, in my 40s, I've found myself reassessing some long-term friendships and I've whittled down to a handful of great sincere friends, but I'd still like to meet more people. Meeting people is one way to keep life interesting. It does get harder, especially if you're single and don't have kids, and you're over 35 years old. People can be very insular and self-protective.

Someone above mentioned Vancouver being similar to Seattle, and in fact a study was recently completed on just how lonely and insular Vancouverites have become. The study attributes it to being a city of neighbourhoods (as is Seattle), where people relate on a small-town scale in their little pockets and cliques. The study also showed that the loneliest people are the Gen-Ys. Fascinating, since that's not what's presented in their 'sell'.

What I think this means is, including how many here are relating to the topic, we're all a lot more lonely than we tend to admit. Articles like this and the NYTimes one resonate because they articulate something we didn't really know we were 'allowed' to feel.

So, how to minimize this? Engage. A bad 'chatting' instance on a bus shouldn't shut you down, or cause you to recoil. It's one instance. Try again. Smile. Say, 'No that seat is not taken' when someone asks. Not everyone 'wants something'. I've travelled a lot, and I find it interesting how people in my hometown (Vancouver) are so reticent with strangers compared to most of the cities I've travelled to. I'm not sure if it's a North American thing or not, though; I've never tried to make long-term friends with people there.

I just have to say one last thing about the Made in America thing: it's also there for those of us who don't live in the US and need to determine duty fees for when we bring product back to Canada (and presumably Mexico; it's a NAFTA thing). We don't have to pay duty on products that are made in the US. So, there is value in labelling items 'made in America', even for those living outside of the US.

Perhaps some of the folks here don't realize that 'made in America' is fast-becoming 'made in American prisons' with woefully cheap and sometimes free labour. The practice is actually putting small businesses (and one could argue non-criminal) folks out of work: http://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-prison-labor-is-forcing-small-businesses-to-close-factories-2012-9

Whether it's "Made in America" or "Made in Canada" does not presuppose it is "made ethically."

Paul, I want to see more! I live in a similar era condo in Vancouver that's about the same size, and would love to see how you've styled it. Mine has a large patio, so the inside space is weensy bit smaller, but essentially it's the classic older Van condo, with that long wall that's so difficult to figure how to break up and look interesting. Your kitchen, however, seems completely reno'd. One day mine will be too. Along with my very dated bath...

Nice place. Hope you do a tour!

I think this is a great transformation. And a good solution to the lead paint problem. Goodness, sometimes folks really don't read the intros clearly. Alysha wrote she wanted added workspace, so a round table and chairs wasn't doing what she needed the space to do. The rectangle table with bench is a great solution, and great looking. It's hard to tell, though: is the wood on the wall stained or protected? (I'd be nervous about flying project goo, mucky fingers and scuffs. I'm currently considering a corner nook in my dining area. It has a round table, but then, it's just for eating and socializing. It's the wall I'm worried about.)

I'm intrigued how the b&w tile matches the counter, judging by the first photo. I like the mix of industrial, wood and retro. But then I'm a fan of eclectic/retro styles. Looking forward to seeing what the whole kitchen looks like.

I love that I'm not alone in being a license-less, car-free citizen :) I live in a city with fairly decent transportation options, and driving just looks to be more of a hassle than it's worth in this town, so I never bothered to get my license. Besides, it's just one 20-minute bus to work; 10-20-minutes to most places I want to go; 40 to the outer reaches of the city. A car in this traffic would save me 20% in time and I'd get much less reading done.

What I especially miss, however, other than what you've so eloquently noted, is being able to wear un-sensible shoes! I have a closet full of shoes I would never be able to wear running for a bus, or hauling groceries and paperwork home. I can get a way with some pretty great casual/semi-casual options on a daily basis, but I dress around my shoes. So the fancy-cute ones get star treatment a few times a year for events with taxis/chauffeur (as in friend-with-car).

Will I ever get my license? I sometimes think I'll be Maude's (as in Harold and Maude) age by the time I get around to it :)

In defense of Sally (whom I clearly have a crush on! Lol)... that she 'got it wrong' about the name of one of the most important (read: overused) design styles of the decade makes me like her all the more. What's so appealing about the house, and I suspect what many are responding so positively to, is how unpretentious and yet current and stylish she's managed to be with her decor. Part of that lack of pretension, as evidenced in the high-LARE-ious answers to the questionnaire, is getting things 'rightly wrong.' Sometimes decorators, professional or not, take ourselves a tad too seriously, or try too hard. I love the balance and wonky-ness of this place, and the two responsible for it.

(Now I'm going to have to start watching Parks & Rec... That's a lot of NetFlixing to do...)

So many great ideas here. Simple enough for even the most DIY-challenged (me). Thanks!

I was initially going to write: "the 'after' looks like it will be someone's 'before' picture in a couple years" then I noticed the link above and discovered it's already a two-year-old kitchen. It also looks twice as large in the other photos.

Nevertheless, it's a tad too dark and crammed for my taste, and lacking in personality. Moreover, there doesn't seem to be much creative use of space here, considering it was done by an architect/designer. It rather looks like something a non-professional could have come up with. But it is a 'brand new kitchen', so coveted in our gotta-have world.