Metheuse's Profile

Very proud of my home state and our incredibly diverse landscapes, from moss-drippy oaks over ferns to mesquite-peppered rock-scapes. Please do come visit, but stop moving here. Really.

Love this. Your styling and many of your furnishings made me stop and wonder -- wait, is this 1969 or 2009? Thank you for sharing a creative home that looks assembled over time and with thought and personality. Too many homes on AT appear to sport furniture and decor purchased online in a single evening. Yours was refreshingly tantalizing.

Oh, and I have your cat's twin.

That pink bathroom has some features worth saving, but I'd strip out all the 1970s stuff (brass, wallpaper) that makes it so tacky. Definitely those sliding doors must go. They aren't even sanitary.

Sometimes it's worth putting money into a rental if you plan to stay a long time, and if certain aesthetics bother you enough. Of course, make any changes only with permission.

My father was a multi-property landlord, and I recall many weekends helping him and Mom clean up after just the nastiest people. Probably because I'm sympathetic to landlords, I was always a conscientious renter (I own now). But... I also routinely asked prospective landlords about what they would/wouldn't let me do, and frequently their responses would be a deal-breaker for me (I was interviewing them, too, after all). I never rented from companies, only from individuals, so I was able to avoid being subject to an impersonal set of rules.

For 20 years I improved every last place I rented. I painted walls of course, but I also replaced tile and cabinets and sinks, removed wallpaper and hideous faux-wood paneling. I even tore out walls in one house and opened the kitchen to the common area. All of this was always done with permission. Sometimes I even got rent rebates or discounts for making the changes. Frequently I negotiated a trade: Landlords always have a mental list of what they want to improve or fix. Often it's the case that if you do the work for them, they'll allow you to customize something else a bit in return. Or give you a discount. Those are always things worth asking BEFORE you sign the lease.