AliceNYC's Profile

Wouldn't it be better to spend the money actually improving the livability of these buildings (Sprucing up the lobbies, improving the laundry rooms, fixing the elevators...) I don't see how a day-glo paint job improves NYC's notoriously ugly public housing.

If you take the base off the table, it will lose the one thing it's got going for it - sturdiness. I would pick out a solid colored rug to go under the table, and then paint the table the same color as the rug to blend it in to its surroundings. Then I would have a nice piece of durable leather (or other durable fabric, if you're a veggie) cut to cover the top. Choose a slightly lighter color for the cover, to draw the eye away from the table's base. Then you can still put your feet up, but the table will look much more unique and polished.

I've lived without air conditioning twice. Once, my roommate and I voluntarily turned it off for an entire summer in Houston TX. We were pretty hot! However, we found a crazy joy in the whole experience. We learned to shut the apartment up completely during the day, and then open it back up again at night. We used numerous window unit fans and ceiling fans. We took cold showers. We kept as many cold beverages on hand as possible. However, we still drank hot coffee in the morning and insisted that it had some weird counter-intuitive cooling effect. Who knows? We saved a few hundred bucks, and enjoyed numerous laughs. More recently, I removed the window-unit AC from my NYC bedroom and put it on the curb. I wanted a better view out the window, and didn't want to store the old AC during the winter. I haven't regretted my decision yet. My bedroom looks much sleeker without the ugly AC and I haven't experienced any discomfort. Last summer was fairly mild, and I got by easily with fans. I'm considering investing in a ceiling fan this summer.

My roommate and I once went a summer in Houston without AC. It ROCKED...no actually...it was incredibly hot and uncomfortable. However, it would have been easier in a dryer part of Texas (the Hill Country?). This camp is lovely, and I would happily spend a summer in it. Provided that I was completely covered in bug spray at all times. Also: I would have to be madly in love with my co-camper.