S Park's Profile

I've actually been on both sides of this. I suspect your situation is similar to my current apartment which is the poor construction and lack of soundproofing of your building. Like your neighbors I hear everything. It's so bad that even a pin dropping to the floor upstairs sounds more like a bowling ball being dropped. Essentially, every sound is magnified. I've spoken to my landlord and others about this and was told the only thing that could effectively block neighbor noise was to tear about the building and rebuild with thicker walls and floors. That's the best way to add mass which you need to block sound transmission. Fyi, wood floors are pretty good sound conductors.

I know you spent $200 on rugs, but I'll be honest for $200 the rugs you purchased are most likely inadequate (that is too thin to be effective) unless you got the deal of the century. You need the thickest area rug you can find which will cost more than $200. Also, you will need to purchase a very thick rug pad which again will cost you money - the thicker the more money. (What I did at my own personal cost was purchase and install with the help of friends interlocking cork floors which I can easily remove and take with me when I leave my rental for good. I also then added rugs on top of cork. Fyi, my downstairs neighbors love to play their music and tv at the highest volume possible.)

I recommend that you speak to your landlord about the situation and see if you, the landlord and downstairs neighbors can have a discussion. I doubt that your landlord is unaware how bad the soundproofing is. Perhaps your landlord can share the cost of a solution. Don't take the advice of others to ignore and dismiss your neighbors or to seek retribution by being obnoxious. I agree that your neighbors might be a touch too sensitive, but having lived in a building where there is no soundproofing, I can sympathize with those who live in such buildings, especially on the lower floors. It's hell, but it's made me more mindful of my noise and how poorly constructed some buildings are. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell until you move in. By then you're stuck with a lease.

I forgot to add you can use regular vinegar and omit the salt and scallion. I would suggest that if you do use salt and sugar in the mixture, to taste and adjust to your preference.

Have you tried Taskrabbit?

Two years ago at the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie for Dinner I had a leafy greens and herbs salad with a citrus dressing which I have yet to be able to recreate or encounter at another restaurant I wish I had asked the chef Nate Smith for the recipe for the dressing. I still think about that salad. It was bright, refreshing, light and flavorful. I'm hoping he publishes a cookbook with the recipe. It was wonderful.

Thanks to you both for the comments.

Linda_U - I'll love to share recipes, though at this point I've been collecting them randomly. Now that I know to avoid the cordial recipes with cloves, I'm going to try and attempt making a black currant cordial next week. I guess I will post in this comment section the recipe I used and whether it worked or not. (Sorry, I'm relatively new to this website and I don't know if there's a way to forward recipes and comments directly to another op. Posting here seems to be the most logical.)

Hmm.... I don't know if you saw this, but check out the house tour that was posted today. It's for a Lauren and Carly's loft. It basically shows what most people were suggesting in regards to white curtains, nearly white or pale furniture, etc. It seems that a few of their walls are a beige shade and they utilize color in a few places to break up the monotony of white.

Beautiful home. I was wondering but does anyone know where the owner purchased the furniture/thing the television was mounted on? I really liked that the tv was mounted on something other than on the wall.

Apartment Therapy - is it possible to ask the owner, Peter?