Borage's Profile

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

Latest Comments...

"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

A birth certificate.


What Do You Look for in a Hometown?
4/17/13 1:53 PM

Exactly.


Shopping Tips: How & When to Haggle
4/12/13 11:32 AM

Now I put in many of my ads (not all) - no bargaining. It might cut down on replies or it might cut down on cheesey replies. But I'm pretty firm, and *I* am willing to walk away from someone if they ever said "I'm $20 short, is that ok?" Lord, how cheesy can you get?!

No it is not ok. I never overprice my stuff and anything near the borderline, I don't say that in the ad about no bargaining. I sell a lot on CL, so I've started setting up some parameters along the way.


Shopping Tips: How & When to Haggle
4/12/13 11:25 AM

Just a note about haggling on Craigslist. For many items I sell, the price is already extremely low, often because it has a scratch or is not in perfect working order. So I put in the ad "for this reason, the item is being sold at" such and such price. This is to block those who will respond, "because there's a scratch, can I get it for less?" Duh. Because there's a scratch it is being OFFERED for less. That really bugs me. Once someone offered a ridiculously low amount for something, I went back to the ad, and raised the price by $20, then they emailed me back asking if it was still available at the original price.


Shopping Tips: How & When to Haggle
4/12/13 11:11 AM

There's a group of people who attempt to manage a public park where I live (because the public agency that manages parks is useless) who think all you gotta do is mulch and edge. Edging has its place in the fundamentals of gardening. Usually it's last.


Ode to A Half-Moon Edger The Gardenist
4/10/13 7:42 PM

Would I live there?

Oh hell no.

(Judgment does not have an e after the g in the US)


Michael Wolf's Architecture Of Density:
Would You Live Here?

4/8/13 11:18 PM

"if you're not outside or on a piece of equipment, you really don't need to be wearing shoes."

Although experience tells me, the rubber soles can often muffle noise better than a heel bone (calcaneus)!

Mariah - fantastic job. How often as individuals we forget that an apartment building is actually a community. Would you treat your bro, sis, parents, children any worse?

Back to the questioner: What about the hallway? Possible?

Increase the start time and never on weekends.

Have a friend on the first floor?


Indoor Exercise in Apartments: Tips for Reducing the Noisy Nuisance?
4/4/13 5:28 PM

So much for the local movements. This is a town killer.


Google Launches Same-Day Delivery Service in San Francisco Design News 03.29.13
3/29/13 9:49 PM

Yard sales in cities must be so much better than the yard sales people are having that are writing here! Plus, multiperson yard sales are so much more effective, fun, and profitable.


Selling vs. Donating:
What Do You Do with Your Old Stuff?

3/20/13 10:48 AM

Someone said to donate everything that didn't sell at the yard sale. Great idea. Another idea is, about one hour before you are going to pack up the yard sale, and if you are able to do this, put a curb alert notice on Craigslist telling people to come by and pick up lots of great free stuff. A lot of your remnants will go very fast. Also, try the Yahoo freecycle list too. And/or keep a box marked "FREE" on it, throughout your sale.


Selling vs. Donating:
What Do You Do with Your Old Stuff?

3/20/13 10:30 AM

People make thousands selling on Craigslist. Don't listen to those pooh-poohing it. It absolutely can be done. With a full-time job. Part-time job. No job. It's really very easy.


Selling vs. Donating:
What Do You Do with Your Old Stuff?

3/20/13 10:25 AM