Bannef's Profile

This thread was interesting - I don't spend a lot of time on design sites, so I had to look up a lot of the pet peeves, hahaha. When I do look at these types of sites, I typically spend a good bit of time shaking my head in confusion, not because of pet peeves, but just because a lot of posters are in very different points of their lives than I am, and are no doubt much more neat and graceful as well.

Pretty much all white furniture makes me wonder. Do they never spill? A family friend would only let guests drink white wine on their (gorgeous!) white couch and carpet, and that always seemed really odd and needlessly anxiety-inducing. And a lot of craft spaces are white - do people take pictures of it before it's used, or clean up and retouch meticulously, or just somehow never ever spill or drip the smallest amount of paint?

On a similar note, glass tables. They're a pain to keep clean, and I'm way too close to college to consider something that is so easily broken in one drunken adventure. (A friend in college had a couple glass coffee table frames with no actual glass - I have no idea why, but it was pretty funny to see people try and navigate it after a couple beers.) When my roommate was looking for a coffee table my criteria was that it needs to hold my weight if they expect me to continue being the resident bug killer (the trick is a solid base of attack).

Anyway, I like these websites because they're beautiful and interesting, and when I have a difficult space it can be really helpful to see how other people used it - for instance I might move into an apartment with a lofted platform for the bed, and have found a lot of really useful inspiration here. But I'm clearly not yet at the point in my life where it's all going to be relevant, particularly since many of our furnishings are second or third hand that were originally bought at Ikea. Nothing against secondhand and nothing against Ikea, but that is not a winning combination.

She might have been trained to do that - it reminds me of when people are finished cleaning hotel bathrooms they leave the toilet paper folded in a point. It's just a little "note" saying that the cleaner was there and gave attention to that area.

Honestly, even if your view is just of a parking lot or a construction site (I have had both of those lovely views!), it's really nice to read near them. Natural light is wonderful, and I think having a "long" view can be really restful for the eyes, particularly if you've been focusing on something very close for a while, like a book or laptop. I grew up in NYC, where most views are only as long as across the block, and while there's a lot I miss about NY I think I really like being able to see "far" from my desk chair.

Most people I know are either in their last years of college or just got out, so I'm definitely seeing a different transition than the one described in this article. But at my school most older students live in apartments off campus, and some of what is written here still makes sense - a big difference is the sense of permanence, or investment in a space.

The example about extra linens really rang true for me, and I don't mean the luxury of having an extra matching set. For us it was quite honestly the difference between having an extra blanket and pillow for a friend who is staying with us, and having to take one off of someone's bed. My roommates and I all have to fly to get to college, so bringing extra blankets was a luxury we weren't going to do, and didn't until our space started feeling like home. Same thing with towels - this is our first time having more than two towels per person. We even have towels to dry your hands on now! Pretty fancy...

The big sign for me is pictures - grownups have framed pictures, kids just tack/tape them to the wall. *Grins.* We are trying to take baby steps towards this in our new place, and my first step is getting a framed picture of the "family" (people who are currently living in the apartment).