Rural and rueful's Profile

That Atonement cover gets five Stars. Also check out The Black Sheep (though it has nothing to do with the events in the book) and The Tin Drum covers on the Web site.

Could someone explain why my posts are disappearing?

I have some large rooms on the north side of my house, with window walls. I think north light is beautiful, even though many think it problematic. I have found that saturated colors do best in small rooms with such light, but for larger ones I have gone with so-called whites with a lot of yellow in them. One room is done in a Benjamin Moore historic color -- Hawthorne Yellow. Another is BM Seashell, which appears nearly white on the wall but actually has a lot of yellow-orange in it. The trick is to stay away from gray undertones.

Some of these suggestions are awfully ambitious. Since you are doing so much inside, you probably don't have a huge budget for outside. Unify the color all the way across the house, do a contrasting window frame and fascia board color, replace the awning with a shed roof or similar, paint the door a kicky color. Then put your energy and money into front- yard landscaping. I see loads of possibility there.

Your home is not "ugly". It simply has a funny paint scheme. I believe home colors should play well with the look of the neighborhood. It appears you neighbors' homes are white or very pale gray...conservative. How about a deep teal, like the Ralph Lauren interior color featured on AT's "Teal" post today? Do a creamy white for the trim and fascia. Paint the door a saffron orange-yellow. Put in some plants with variegated foliage and bright berries or blooms. I don't know your setback restrictions, but you might look into doing a small enclosed courtyard in front of the left (as viewed from outside) side of your home. But that's another question...

That last room is awesome. There are so many overstayed kids' rooms featured here on AT. Some of them are downright gloomy. Leif must have fun parents.

So jealous. Wish I could go.

Um, Andrea...someone who doesn't love an item posted here is not a "hater". The Bee Charmer seems to have a bee up the whatever about these guys, but it's okay to dislike a design.

Jeeze, it seems the answer is "hire someone". If that's your perfect home in the photo, I assume you already have maid service, no? My advice is to pick your favorite child (you already have) and concentrate on that. Keep your condo as spare as you can stand to. Treat it like a hotel. That way it doesn't occupy your mind.

If you are the sole occupant of your house, you might consider taking a quiet boarder in a spare room, for security and daily oversight of the property. Rent can be adjusted against tasks like grocery shopping, watering plants, taking out the garbage cans, etc. it's not a huge expense to create a separate, keyed entry to a downstairs room. I know lots of people who have managed part-time properties in this way.

The whole esthetic of "buying new wood and making it look old" ( from their site) is something I don't get. But beyond personal taste, the console proportions are wrong. It's just too massive, too deep.

The red counter is scrumptious! But the CPU ter chairs are entirely too tall. No room for legs to fit under the counter...which is a pet peeve of mine.

I have been looking high and low for comfortable, attractive counter chairs that swivel and are the correct height. Hard to find.