alahoop's Profile

Yes. We just put up curtains in our dining room after living here for three years. I don't know why I didn't at least put up sheers on tension rods, or something, while I looked for panels, but I didn't. I knew the room needed something, but I never found quite the right thing (that wasn't going to cost a fortune)--there are five windows, and a radiator under the three on the front of the house. I finally bought, and hung, some curtains a few weeks ago, and it made a HUGE, HUGE difference. I knew it would, and I wanted curtains, but it still surprised me how much cozier and put together the room looks now.

The curtains on the windows with the radiator will never close properly, but all of the windows have sheers. I made sure that the panels are wide enough though, so they don't look cheap.

I have a picture hung between two windows, similar to the one in number eight. It's our sunroom, and there are windows on three sides and a large arch into the living room on the fourth, which leaves very little wall space for hanging things. The windows are curtained two-thirds of the way up, so the picture hangs in front of the curtained area. I think it would bother me otherwise.

I know that one of the previous owners of our house died in bed--probably in our bedroom. It doesn't bother me in the least. The house was built in the 1920's, so it's very likely that others have died here as well.

Our old house was built in the 1890's. I never heard anything about the history, aside from things about the owners just before us, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if something terrible happened there. Some areas of that house were beyond creepy, and there were a few too many unexplained things that happened.

I fell in love with a sofa from Room and Board a few years ago when we were couch shopping for our old house. Our living room was small, and tricky to work with, but the loveseat version would have just fit where we needed it to go. The problem? $2,000+ price tag. Although we could have bought it, I ultimately decided that I was not comfortable spending that much on a couch at that time, no matter how much I loved it. Because of the size constraints, we were extremely limited in options, and we ended up with a loveseat from Ikea which was over $1500 cheaper.

We moved a few years after we bought that couch, to a much larger house. The scale of the loveseat was too small to work in our living room or in our den (although we did use it in both rooms while we shopped for new furniture). Now, the Ikea couch sits in a back porch, where, once again, it is the perfect size for the only spot where a couch would work. It's in a room with windows on four sides and is subjected to intense western sunlight on a daily basis. I'd never put the pricy Room and Board sofa back there, but the Ikea? Who cares if it fades.

I also have three thrifted couches between my living room and den. Did I consider the full sized Room and Board sofa after we moved? I did. We have kids, dogs and cats (and just today, one of the dogs had an upset stomach on one of the couches). I don't regret for a second deciding against my dream couch and "settling" for cheaper furniture. I've moved around enough to realize that, much as I love our house, we may not stay here forever. Would that couch even fit in a different living room? Who knows. We can never foresee what the future will bring.

And for whatever it's worth, the stuff I bought in my twenties that I thought I'd love and have forever? So over it.

The point is, some of us can't get Ikea products. I am not a huge fan of Ikea furniture, but we have an Expedit, and although ugly, it is sturdy and holds a ton of stuff. I'd like a larger one for my laundry room, but we don't live anywhere near an Ikea, and even if we felt like making the 6 hour round trip drive, we couldn't fit it in our cars.

I wonder if anybody has any experience with the Way Basics? I have been looking for something similar to the Expedit, but everything I find is way more expensive, and seems flimsy and cheap.

My family and my in-laws all love our house. I've heard "it's not my style, but..." more times than I can count, but I don't really care what anybody thinks about the decor. I'm just happy that they all feel comfortable here and like to visit!

This is adorable, and I think my kids would love them, considering that they are sensitive to artificial dyes, so we haven't dyed eggs in a few years (I haven't worked up the motivation to try natural dyes yet).

Wasn't this room a Room for Color entry a few years ago? I loved it then (unless I am thinking of a different room), but it looks even better now!

I love these stairs. All of the woodwork on the lower level of our 1920's house is unpainted, but the upstairs woodwork is white. I'm always going back and forth with myself on whether to paint the stair risers (and maybe the spindles, or whatever they are called). It seems like a lot of work, but I really like how the ones pictured look.

I love all of these, but especially the first one. I've always loved Jenny Lind style beds.