Borage's Profile

Display Name: Borage
Member Since: 5/23/12

Latest Comments...

I loved the video - but what is his solution (and so on)?


Shop Your Way to a Better World: 6 Steps to Socially Responsible Shopping
6/18/13 7:15 PM

I'm always quite dubious of these lists.


The Best & Worst U.S. Cities for Parks Design News 06.18.13
6/18/13 12:46 PM

I'm wondering if it was *really* solid wood. Seems like there's a veneer or two lurking there.


Before & After: Lindsay's Filthy to Fabulous Record Cabinet
6/18/13 12:35 PM

It's interesting to see people's different definitions of small. I would DIE for 775 SF!!! I live in less than 600. AT's recent contest's definition of small was much too large in my book, but they provided no real opportunity for discussion beyond the individual contestant's posts.

Many if not most apartment buildings have a storage unit in the basement. I find myself becoming a master of that unit just as much as my day to day living space. I could not survive without it. Among other things, it's where I keep my car (city speak for bicycle).


10 Bonus Benefits to Small Space Living
6/16/13 3:05 PM

Successful people. Creative? Yeah, ok. But I thought you were going to point out great artists, writers and scientists, not the people from Rich and Famous!


A Peek at the Creative Desks of Famously
Creative People

6/14/13 8:56 AM

You got that right, St Pauly Girl!!!

Good catch.

Hey, AT - can we have a "Poverty Living?"

Please?


Luxury Living: Drive-in Boathouses HomeLife
6/13/13 10:25 PM

The key question is will you be using this long-term.


Small Scale Landscaping: Reel Mowers
6/12/13 8:39 AM

Thank you. Good to know. Wish I had that kind of disposable income at the moment, and not on ebay. Oh well. It's nice that it exists because it is attractive and they get props just for having taste.


Tommy's Top of the Hill Small Cool Contest
6/3/13 5:05 PM

I too would LOVE to know where that light next to the bed came from, the one attached to the wall.

Please - an assist AT!


Tommy's Top of the Hill Small Cool Contest
6/3/13 8:36 AM

fixed arms - that is a definite con, and I'm surprised it was not included. You need to be able to adjust the arms so that the chair can pull up close to the table. If the arms are blocking that from happening, then that is not ergonomically supportive.

It seems the Steelcase would be the better chair, ergonomically.

Also, the stitching seems a bit sloppy on the underside.

Unless the chair is out of this world comfortable and the fixed arms already can slide underneath my table, there is no way I'd pay $350 for it. As always, cheaper alternatives exist at yard sales, church stores, and Craigslist. (Also, the side of the road.)


Working Happy: Poppin 5th Ave Task Chair Tech Test Lab Review
6/3/13 8:28 AM

AT's categorization of the apartments makes me lose faith that they really live in apartments. 324 SF is tiny. 440 SF is small. 550 SF is not tiny! 700 SF is not small either! 1000SF is PALATIAL.

Can't you re-do the categorization? To reflect the actual 'feel' of an apartment.


Hani & Andrew's Organic Modern Small Cool Contest
5/23/13 3:09 PM

"Living in a small splace doesn't always mean living with small furniture"

THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a million times thank you


Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
5/21/13 5:25 PM

Perhaps one of the best things about Jack Lemmon movies is to catch some great decor from the 50s and early 60s and from time to time some FANTABULOUS interior shots of great NYC architecture the way it used to be and the way it should always be. (Seriously, people in pre war buildings there now should not be allowed to remove ANY of the fixtures. Major sin. It kills me to see some of them advertised on Craigslist. The horror.) Anyway, the films JL appears in have those wonderful mid century modern furnishings, and they look SOOOOOOOO different than the photographed set ups of people's interiors now, going for the retro look, and I include in that the sets of Mad Men. Back in the real mid century, there were a lot of empty spaces that they did not feel self-conscious about. But today, I guess people feel they have to fill fill fill those spaces. So there's just this difference that I notice, and I wonder if those today going for the retro look realize the difference. I like the retro look too, but my point is, it is far from the way it really looked back in the mid century.


Guess the Decade: Lofted Sitting Room
5/20/13 11:20 PM

Very thoughtful piece. But, does it really reflect what goes on on AT? Or is it more of a, "yeah, we mostly push expensive stuff, but here's my thoughtful defense of that, that's kind of a disguise."? Meaning, it's not in fact an accurate reflection of what goes on on AT.

I love the site, don't get me wrong.

But let's get real: the percentage of Americans and probably internationals who can afford most of what AT advertises or features? Best guesstimate, 10 to 15% and that's being generous.


The High and Low Prices of Our Furniture Apartment Therapy On...
5/13/13 8:57 PM

Excellent. The furniture has such .... integrity. Good "bones," as I've heard others say, but I'll say it about the furniture. No cheap Ikea cr*$. Or so it all seems to me.

I guess - no sleeping in for you? But hey, lots of great light.


Alexander's Small Space, Big Challenges Small Cool Contest
5/8/13 5:01 PM

Yes, a variety of lighting can be good, but it won't be the difference maker like furniture can. After furniture, I think the walls are most important. Or at least tied with rugs. Rugs - just as if not more important than lighting. The trick is to find great ones that can take the traffic. They don't have to be expensive and since they will get used to the max, it's preferable that they not be.


Living in a Small Space: Three Things that Make a Big Difference
5/6/13 2:54 PM

In a small place, the furniture is used all. the. time. I'm not sure I would ever buy white furniture in my place. Now, if you have a separate room where you receive clean guests, that is another matter entirely. Seems to me that white upholstery is for the living room and maybe a den.


Living in a Small Space: Three Things that Make a Big Difference
5/6/13 2:52 PM

I dream of a 1000 SF living space. One thousand square feet is NOT small.


Small Cool 2013: Here We Go!
5/2/13 7:02 PM

Here in the city I live in, there's a big so-called "smart" movement. Let me just say I've lived in this city nearly all my life and I love it. But I do have some problems with "Smart Growth." Many of its advocates, first of all, are house-owning, car-owning people who preach the carless and micro-living gospel. The hypocrisy can be sooo tiresome. (And yeah? obvious)

The particular space I happen to live in is pretty small, and while I like not having a lot of .... stuff and space to maintain, I want a larger space to be able to ENTERtain better. No doubt about that.

There was an interesting editorial in our local examiner today about how our city really is into sending kids to school at a super early age, like 3! I laughed and thought, yeah, because many kids live in such tiny spaces. Might as well get out of the house. Kind of a joke, but kind of true.

This article raises lots of interesting questions about living and space. The huge majority of Americans have zero idea how to live like this. There's no doubt it can be done, and to some extent it should be done. But there's no modulation in the thinking about it, or I should say there's not much. We do NOT and should not have to go micro. That's for England and Japan, I'm sorry to say. And not even England lives like that. In fact, they can tell us how to use space so much better than we are now. There's even a development in the works (and yeah, developers RULE here) of micro apartments with NO WINDOWS. Why oh why do we want to encourage this barbarism?

The mistake the "Smart Growth" (trademark sign) movement makes is in NOT planning for families but going density full bore and without really thinking. Cities that do not plan for growth by families are cities that will die a consumerist death.


Raising a Baby in a NYC Apartment... Annals of Advertising
5/1/13 1:22 PM

Prison design. Only at Apartment Therapy.


Freedom Room: Prisoners Help Design a Better Small Space Good
4/27/13 2:40 PM