kristina's Profile

Display Name:	kristina
Member Since:	11/26/12

Latest Comments...

My boyfriend and I lived on the first floor of a large, old house with four young women living in the second floor apt. above us with various work shifts/school schedules. It was like living under a sorority house, but once we had a conversation and they did what they could (no shoes in the house/wooden floors, watching noise at certain hours, etc.), we had to understand and accept that it is what it is... Sounds like your neighbors need to be a little more realistic. Let them know everything that you're doing but you shouldn't have to live uncomfortably in your own place. First floor apts. have their issues and the renters beneath you need to understand that - it's a simple fact of life.

How Do I Deal with Neighbor's Excessive Noise Complaints? Good Questions

2/20/13 1:35 PM

oh man i wish we had read this a couple days ago! great advice.
this year my boyfriend and i hosted 16 people in our 850 sq foot open floor plan apartment... what we learned:
1. stress early. we got all the stress of rearranging out two days in advance (giving us time to cool off from arguments - we're both designers - and rearrange as needed after moving through the apartment)
2. put the bar where you want guests to congregate. for us this was on the opposite side of the room in the "living room" portion, furthest away from the kitchen.
3. put hors d'oeuvres in a completely different area than either the bar or kitchen. this keeps guests circulating.
4. mix and match reusables and disposables. cloth napkins were not going to work this year... neither were reusable wine/drinking glasses, but i could stand washing reusable utensils and plates. bring out the paper plates and plastic forks for dessert.
5. not everyone could fit at our makeshift 5' x 8' table so i had to concede to people sitting in the living room. make sure there are surfaces for glasses. otherwise there's sure to be a spill.

happy holidays + happy hosting!

Strategies for (Very) Big Holiday Gatherings In a Small (ish) Home

11/26/12 6:40 PM