aleirey's Profile

I tried everything under the sun to get my white grout clean and the only thing that worked was Magic Erasers and Grout Cleaner. Not the most green option but it worked. Note: I did have to use several because they do have a tendency to shred when you use them on grout.
As far as the concerns about the toxicity of the Magic Erasers check out this site:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp

I would love to put in a a urinal if we had space in our bathroom! While my husband never leaves the seat up, he is 6'5" and it would be a lot easier for him to use than the toilet (cleaner too). They also save a ton of water. I would rather clean a urinal than deal with the issues of pee and tall men. I am not sure why people think it is so gross.

It kind of reminds me of my heath dinnerware, taupe with orange/red!

I love the look of popcorn and cranberry garland and think that these are lovely too. However, I am always a little afraid to use them for the fear of attracting mice or other pests!

Thanks for the great ideas. I don't know if a door knocker would be loud enough to hear throughout the house but I might have to give it a try.

I was able to find very reasonabley priced curtains at JcPenny. It isn't the most glamorous place to shop, but they have great sales and a reasonable selection!

As someone with foot issues, I do sometimes prefer to wear shoes inside. I would never require my guests to remove their shoes unless they felt comfortable doing so. While it does mean that I have to wash the floors more often, I would hate to make my guests feel uncomfortable.

I take offense at the Middle America comment. Just because someone chooses not to live on a coast doesn't make us less interested in design or unimaginative. Horrible design is certainly not limited to one portion of the country. I would agree that most staging is pretty horrible and the examples shown are no exception. When done well, it can be very effective, however, most of the time it isn't...