favabean's Profile

The doorknobs are phenomenal, but a big part of why they work is the contrast of scale with the larger metal disks (where do people find such cool stuff?? At our local salvage yard, the door knobs would still cost a fortune even when broken, and I've never seen anything like the metal disks).

We had to replace our chimney caps a few years ago (open topped caps were letting rain into the house). The tradesman managed to save one of the old caps for me (the other one cracked when they cut it off). It's essentially a concrete box (with a bit of a flare at the bottom), but it makes an awesome open-bottomed planter because it's well-weathered and covered with moss and lichen, and gives some interesting height to a flat planting bed.

Sometimes the internet gives you just enough information to get you into trouble (overconfident but lacking the full complement of skills to complete things, esp big, complicated projects).

For the larger projects, I'm a big fan of my local library. We completely gutted and renovated our bathroom, and learned everything we needed to do it, from setting tile to hanging & finishing drywall, from library books.

I used to bring my pillow with me, until I became aware of the bedbug problem. Now I take nothing that can't be put through the washer the instant we get through the door (suitcases don't even come upstairs to our living space, just in case something hitched a ride).

@mediocrates, thanks so much for all the info on how you did the corner sink cabinet - really appreciate it!

One thing to keep in mind if you use strategy #2, using the complementary colour of existing tiles/fixtures (the opposite colour on the wheel) is that it will make the colour of the existing fixtures look even stronger - complementary colours bring out the most in each other. So if you really hate the colour of your tile, a complementary scheme will intensify it and may make you dislike it even more.

Using an analogous colour scheme, to blend the existing colours with colours immediately on either side, can help tone down tile or fixtures you may not be crazy about (so if your existing fixtures are yellow, add yellow green and yellow orange to the mix). My personal view is that this usually works best if you also pay attention to the value or intensity of the colour (so if your tile is pastel, you'd want to choose pastel versions of the analogous colours as well, or if there's lots of grey undertones, choose companions that also have grey undertones, or if it's strong and saturated, keep your companions saturated). YMMV, but this helps me keep my colour schemes harmonious.

Though it can seem counter-intuitive, a monochromatic colour scheme can also help tone down offending tile/fixtures. Even though, for example, deep mustard isn't doing anything for you, mixing it with other yellows can make it look intentional and blended (and a monochromatic scheme allows you to easily mix a variety of intensities - pale yellow to pure gold to deep browny mustard - without risk of throwing the harmony off).

I had a neighbour on one side (duplex so every little sound traveled through the walls) who fancied himself a musician, but was way too stoned all the time to play very well - he'd practice his electric guitar (turned all the way up) for hours every night. Only every time he made a mistake, he'd have to start again from the beginning. Hours and hours of the first 5 or 10 notes of the same song. Over. and. over. and. over. All night long. In the 2 years he lived there, I don't think he ever got through a song to the end.

The neighbour on the other side had a business selling at the swap meet. His van would beep while in reverse, and was a little too long to back out into the alley in one move, so at 6am every weekend, he'd back out and pull forward, back out a little more and pull forward, 3 or 4 times until he could clear his driveway (which was right under my bedroom window) and be on his way. Beep beep beep... beep beep beep... beep beep beep. As soon as he left, his dogs would whine and bark and cry for hours.

Between the 2 of them, there were a couple of years where I had almost no sleep.

iam_kayak, we once lived in a rental with no outlet in the bathroom, which was really inconvenient (I need a hairdryer in my climate). We were told by the guy at the hardware store we could replace the light switch with a combo light switch and socket box. It didn't require any fancy new wiring, just connecting the existing wiring to the new outlet/switch box, so my husband was able to install it, but I think it would be relatively inexpensive to hire an electrician or handyman with electrical knowledge to wire it. Though the location of the outlet at the doorway was a little inconvenient, it was totally worthwhile since it added so much functionality.

I love Japanese anemone too - it just blooms and blooms and blooms in my garden. I've read it can be invasive in some environments but I've never had a problem with it getting out of hand (have grown it for 10 years in the PNW).

I also love 'Rozanne' hardy geranium - it blooms all summer and doesn't need to be deadheaded so it always looks neat and never flops. I put it in spots where I can't easily reach for regular maintenance and it always looks great in spite of the neglect.

Living in a construction zone for an extended period of time can really contribute to that sense of moribund inertia when it comes to daily cleaning chores, regardless of the size of the space (though with a larger space, the size of the mess can get much bigger). I find that, even after I clean a room, if things are still torn up and in disarray from the reno (or if things are just worn out awaiting the savings to build up to pay for the next reno), there's no positive reinforcement from cleaning - the place still feels like a disaster no matter how much you clean, whereas when you clean up a pristine, finished space, your surroundings look great and you really get a payoff from the cleaning that makes you want to keep up on it.

We've been in the midst of a (painfully) slow DIY reno process, and I've sometimes had trouble staying on top of those day to day tasks (why bother mopping when the floor still looks awful afterwards, or why tidy up the clutter when the plaster is all torn up and the room still feels cluttery and chaotic, for example). Completing the reno is still the best motivation to keep up on the cleaning, but in the interim, I've relied on making lists and checking them off (sometimes the act of crossing something off the list is the best reinforcement I'll get out the process), and breaking it down into smaller, manageable chunks (sometimes I need to set a timer so I know that there's a limit on how long I have to go on with a seemingly pointless task). Having a deadline (it may be inviting a friend over for coffee or just knowing the plumber's coming) is also good incentive to catch up on daily tasks, so I'll invite someone over if things have gotten out of hand for too long.

I look at the reposting of popular topics as being similar to cable tv channels that repeat the same program several times during the week - yeah it can be boring if you've already seen the episode earlier in the week, but if you missed it the first time around, you have another opportunity to catch it later.

I don't have time to read AT every day or to scroll back too many days if I've been away for more than a couple of days. I'm sure I can't be alone on this. Re-posting the more popular posts means folks like me have a chance to discover it the 2nd time around. If I come across a post I've already seen before, it's easy enough to scroll past it.

Back to the topic at hand - I like the deep teal colour. It's not overwhelming in the space because it's used sparingly, it complements the colours of the display items and ties in beautifully to the furniture that's visible in the next room, which gives continuity to the space as a whole.