LiliZ's Profile

1. Astroturf, Be Gone!

No grass--too much work, but the perimeter might be nice with a bit of creeping thyme or moss or other easy care groundcover that likes shadier spots.

2. Be Neighborly: When we lived in BK, our elderly neighbors were a wonderful source of gardening help. Not only did they share gardening tips appropriate for the climate, etc., but their grandson often brought his granny "as-is" plants from the nearby garden center where he worked, and his sweet granny often shared plants with us. The upshot? Talk to your neighbors. Seriously.

3. Simple is good. You want to spend most of your time enjoying the space, not maintaining it. Think of the center of the garden as your outdoor room, and build an easy patio, either using Ikea's wooden slatted patio squares, or brick. Easy tutorial for sand-based patio here: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/outdoor/patios/how-to-build-a-sand-based-patio/

4. Small is beautiful: Decorate your outdoor room by focusing mostly on container gardening. You can even plant black bamboo in containers (though never, ever in the ground--too invasive, as are mint and ivy). If you put taller growing plants in containers in a row, they'll create a screen for privacy; plus bamboo sounds lovely in the wind, and will soften the street noise in your little oasis. You can plant a mini herb garden in one container, cutting flowers in another, even certain vegetables. Then, if one plant doesn't thrive, you can either replace or move it to a sunnier/shadier spot, etc. When they're in the ground, this is a wee bit harder to do. Since you're a novice and on a tight budget, decorate with lanterns, and during the summer, find a pretty, inexpensive bedspread or other textile, tie the corners to bamboo poles and push into the ground as a canopy. Look for sturdy furniture you can spray paint the same color to coordinate, etc. (Rustoleum even makes paint that will adhere to plastic--so even if your chairs are mismatched shapes, it will look nice). Look on stoops and sidewalks late Sunday afternoon for stoop sale leftovers--all kinds of things can work in the garden. If you drill drainage holes into just about any container, you can plant in it.

5. Throw a party (a container planting party): Ask friends to bring one small plant (make suggestions--herbs and succulents are great, and you can find small pots even in bodegas or at Trader Joe's for under $5). You supply the pizza and beer and everyone comes over to help plant. Then you all hang out and enjoy your new space.

6. Don't worry about the results too much. Gardening is all about trying new things. Some work and others, not so much.

7. Have fun and good luck!

What the post hints at, but doesn't say outright, is the commodification (and to a great extent, "Disneyfication") of products for children. I'm 4th of 5 siblings, and when my oldest brother's kids were born 16 and 18 years ago, we found plenty of fun, non-gender specific, playful clothing, decor and toy options for them. My sister, in her thirties, a year younger than I am, had her first baby, a girl, last year. Now, I've discovered that every store I enter looking for things for my new niece provides very limited offerings for kids, aesthetically speaking, especially in terms of gender.

There's more going on here than just manufacturers choosing "what sells." I'm an artist, as is my sister, and we've been DIY-ing nearly everything for my niece. Even if you don't have the skills to make your kids' clothing, bedding and toys, you can choose not to participate. The best way to address these issues is simply not to buy products from manufacturers whose aesthetic and gender vision you don't like. And if you're lucky enough to have the skills, create alternative products and share.

Trying this tonight. For those who fear mushy defrosted scallions, we keep them in the freezer and never suffer, using this method: as soon as you bring them home, wash and dry scallions thoroughly. Snip or chop. Pour into freezer bag. Force out extra air and roll the bag from the bottom, leaving bag open a tad to "burp" before sealing. Freeze. The key is to make sure everything's dry and remove air from the freezer bag. Cheers!

Gray and cream would be lovely--but a cool gray rather than warm will bring out the wood and brick best. You could also go with a watery paler blue--not too intensely pigmented--which would also contrast nicely with the wood. I would be careful with green, since green can be tricky and the wrong green can make everyone look sickly. If you can remove the red and green paint from the beams, do. Otherwise, see how it looks once the walls are repainted and decide if you want to pain the beams (preferably in a neutral hue that will blend with the rest of the wood). Absolutely gorgeous space. Congratulations on your new home.

@Edgaroso, your kitchen transformation is inspiring for those of us who want to make our homes beautiful and functional, regardless of our bank balances. Ignore the naysayers (whose focus on the financial aspects of this post seems rather odd given the often very pricey objets, architecture and furniture featured in most AT posts). You've brought your grandmother's kitchen into the 21st century while preserving the feel of the original, and on a very limited budget. Kudos! As an artist with very limited financial resources who made over an equally problematic kitchen for around the same price, I admire your vision and thrift. No need to defend anything--you've done a marvelous job.

@Cally--the point of this post is that if you had a large budget, you might consider some of these pieces. The title of the post is "Big Budget Finds"--which may seem confusing, but the word "budget" doesn't mean "on the cheap," but rather, just a specific allotment of money for a specific purpose. In other words, rich people can have household budgets just like the rest of us; their budgets are just much larger.

It might have been more interesting for this post to have included a high/low, get-the-look comparison, since inspiration is good, but knowing how to recreate the look is more helpful to most.

Oh, and I third Ferdinand for the bull. Definitely.

So lush and glamorous, wonderful colors and textures. And that banquette and tufted wall...when I can afford it, I'm calling Patrick (the other one). Love that you took just enough risks (the banquette wall, the hot pink burnout velvet upholstery) to make this sing without looking too precious. Really lovely.

Perfect timing! I was trying to find a place to store the large white flokati that covers our bed in winter in our small NYC apartment. Instead of trying to stuff it into the back of the already too full (and only) closet, draped it over the Karim Rashid Oh Chair in the bedroom. Voila! Instant makeover.

We just finally got our landlord to deal with our very serious mold problem (black and powdery white mold in the bedroom, around the front door and in the living room). Basically, what I did was write an email to him using a pleasant, but firm tone, mentioning that although I appreciated his previous efforts to get rid of the mold, it was "legally problematic" as well as a health risk not to address it fully and immediately. Within 5 minutes, he called and said that a mold abatement team would be coming the next day. When they opened the walls, they found 60% water and all kinds of scary stuff throughout the apartment. We had to vacate for the day, but they did a great job--opened the walls and removed all of the mold, re-sheetrocked and even painted (with the color of my choice in the bedroom). Problem solved. You should not be responsible for addressing this issue--it's your landlord's job to ensure a truly habitable home. It sounds like you really like the place, so keep the tone friendly, but do not continue to risk your health by trying to clean up recurring mold yourself. Also, your landlord might be persuaded to hire a professional if you explain that left unchecked, the problem will get even more expensive to fix. Good luck!

I agree that the chalk dust could get messy, but this post made me smile. A childhood friend's parents gave the kids (then 7 and 9) free reign in the half-bath off their kitchen while the parents came up with a design plan for a remodel. For almost a year, the kids (and their very happy friends) were allowed to scrawl, draw anything we wanted on the walls with markers, without parental censorship. Needless to say, my friend's little brother mostly wrote words he wasn't permitted to use in polite company. It was incredibly freeing. Later, they covered the walls with wallpaper, so it would be hilarious if the new owners took it down and found our "poetry."

As for the idea of chalkboards in the bathroom, I'd suggest whiteboard instead. Much less icky.