fixitchick's Profile

this is such a wonderful article. makes me misty. I love that the space feels like "home" as opposed to feeling like an antiseptic facility. More nursing homes should have designers available to new residents. it is a traumatic move for many, something like this would really help. kudos to the designer and AT for bringing more attention to this.

i love the rubbermaid bins from home depot. high sides mean less litter out. and they are cheap, i throw them out regularly. arm and hammer clumping litter works like a charm. bathmats get washed regularly. a visitor once asked if the cat knew where the litter was since he was amazed at the lack of smell. I'd love recommendations for food, 14 years on science diet and suddenly he's gassy with loose stool. my vet retired and i didnt like the one i just took him to. i will have take him elsewhere soon.

amazing job. kudos

if you stay in a midrange or better hotel, many of them will hold luggage for you, and accept deliveries. so if you go to asia and have clothes made in bangkok while you're traveling elsewhere, you can pick it up on your way home. doesnt work as well for furniture. if you are purchasing quantities of furniture abroad, you can arrange with a company before your trip for a section of a shipping container - make sure your items are very well labeled - and then you go pick it up in port a few months later. i have not done the second one, but i have cousins who have.

foibles of resurfacing are well covered above. you can purchase multiple shower curtains and do the circus tent thing using compression rods as hangars. try for an asian spa thing with cheap bamboo fencing, $25 for a 6' x 16' roll at Home Depot tacked up and textiles to go with and indoor out door carpet on floor if the floor tiles are as bad as the ones on the wall. or same thing with bead board [pricier and harder to install]. or embrace what you have and go for 'bordello chic' with a lot of tarty artwork - though perhaps the least appropriate/hardest to explain to a child.

anyone have a good resource for a captains bed? we're looking for something at least 2 drawers high, we'd go up to 2' from floor to deck. no headboard is preferable.

for ant colonies, boil at least one kettle, if not 2 or 3. take a shovel and scoop out the top of the nest. pour the boiling water down it. also works for fire ants, but i'd recommend you wear heavy duty boots/jeans etc so you dont get bit. look in the surrounding area for where the ants are coming out, as nests often have 5-7 [or more] exits. flag them, and repeat.

for cut worms, snails and slugs, and for tomatoes in general [they like the calcium], save your eggshells and scatter around the base of the plants. snails also like beer. put in a dish low enough for them to crawl into, deep enough to drown. i have heard diatomacious earth works well too.

strong smelling herbs & hot chili's are good for keeping most rodents away. i still have issues with the squirrels though.

we've started seeing something new. a bug that looks like a lightening bug, but has red markings on the wings and a red body underneath them. any advice on repelling. they dont seem to do damage, but they swarm and it is kind of gross.

huge caution against do it yourselfwiring - make sure any lamps/fixtures draw the correct amperage. talk to your landlord, please - fire hazard particularly in old buildings.

ugly floors - especially in the bathroom, indoor outdoor carpeting usually cuts down well. world market has a nice selection, affordably priced. another idea for the bath is bamboo rugs or roll shade, fill in the blank areas with flat river rock for an asian spa feel.

ugly kitchen cabinets can be covered with artwork. affordable vinyl art can be temporarily glued on with a spray cornstarch - be willing to spend a lot of time scrubbing when it comes off. think tryptych or something huge you order on line can be cut down. large swathes of wall can be covered either with art or textiles.

we have the ragan meadow also. but it needs washable covers. i dont feel like going to the bother of sewing cushion covers, so i may go with fabric paint, jackson pollack style so no worries about coverage and dark spots. any thoughts?

gorgeous. another ann saks story. hate them. once ordered over $15k work of their tile for a client and had same delivery issues [except it was a lot more] AND close to half the shipment was broken which took forever to be replaced. never again, no matter how gorgeous their stuff is.