stephaniemw's Profile

I had similar issues with one of my first apartments. A simple way to cover a nasty floor (I did it for two kitchens as well) is to buy a roll of inexpensive b&w vinyl flooring at any home improvement store and cut it to size (which is the hardest part). I used a low-temp hot glue gun to stick down the edges. When it's time to remove it, you just peel the vinyl up - the hot glue is only strong enough to keep the flooring in place, but won't pull the underlying tile loose or do any damage. For any bits of glue still stuck to the tile, you can easily scrape it up with a paint scraper, or use a blow dryer on its hottest setting to melt and wipe away the final bits of residue (this is why the low-temp hot glue is important). Good luck!

I work from home, but often need to have more than one document open on screen at a time, and a little laptop screen just doesn't cut it, so I'm pretty well married to my desk. But I think that's also probably best for me, because even though I also use my computer for personal stuff, it still feels like a work space that's a bit separate from the rest of my life - despite being right in the middle of an open plan kitchen/lounge/dining.

Wow, kingtiny you read my mind. It's a bit distracting, isn't it?

I have a Mac but cannot stand iPhoto. Just a tip for people wanting to avoid the way iPhoto 'thinks' it knows how to group your photos, you can always click on an individual photo within the iPhoto program, then click on 'file' and 'reveal in finder'. This will show you where your actual photo files are stored (otherwise, they're hidden).

Then you can copy, rename and arrange your files in folders and such to your own liking!

I have a light Corian in my apartment. It's white with some black and grey speckles and it looks gorgeous. It was also relatively inexpensive (1/3 the price of Caesarstone), is more forgiving than stone surfaces when you drop glass or dishes on it (helpful for a klutz like me), doesn't have any visible seams (they literally fuse the pieces together and you can't even see where they meet), it doesn't stain and any chips can be easily and seamlessly repaired (although we have none yet after 4 years of hard use).

I know it's a bit out of favour, as everything these days is "stone, stone, stone" but we have been happy with our decision every single day.

To AMANDASG - as a transplanted American living in Australia, I can tell you that those wall AC/heating units are definitely NOT better than the central AC units we have in the States. Typically, there's only one in the ENTIRE house. As you can imagine, it's hard to get that warmer/cooler air to flow into the adjoining rooms. Don't even get me started on rooms further away from the unit (in my apartment, it's the master bathroom, two doorways away from the heat/AC unit and freezing in winter, stifling in summer).

Never underestimate the power of ducted heating/AC until you've had to live without it!

I don't think that 'authenticity' in itself is a trend, but I do think that quite a few of the hallmarks of the style have become a bit tired and cliched.

Antlers (both cardboard and vintage) - check.
Birds and owls on everything - check.
Union jack pillows and furniture - check.

Unless you really do have a particular affinity for woodland creatures, or a special fondness for Britain, these things end up lacking 'authenticity' because the meaning is lost, not because of how/where they're made.

lulu77 - that linked post was hilarious. could not stop laughing.