textiles's Profile
| Display Name: | textiles |
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| Member Since: | 5/6/09 |
Latest Comments...
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I'm looking into getting a steam cleaner for such floors and grout. New apartment has some sort of stone tiles in bath, they've needed a good cleaning since I've moved in, but I've been afraid to damage them. Time to steam clean my upholstered stuff, too, after years. I'll have to see if AT has any posts on them. Homekeeping Hints: How To Clean, Fix & Maintain Tile Floors |
6/19/13 3:52 AM |
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I assume since you are selling in a few years, and don't want to spend a lot, that you are primarily going for resale value. In that case, do not change the cabinets, appliances, counters or floor. Here's why. If I'm a buyer that likes wood cupboards, I'm not going to appreciate your painting them. If I am a buyer who wants painted cupboards, I'm likely not going to want the color you painted, and that's just one more layer of paint on them that I'd rather not be there. (If I don't like your wall paint color, well, that is more easily changed, and needs repainting periodically anyway. Cupboards aren't easy to paint, and never need painting if you don't ever paint them.) If I'm going to rip out and do a remodel, then I also won't appreciate your spending the time or money to paint at all. For this reason, don't spend to add higher cupboards either. Ditto with counters - I won't like what you use, most likely, I'll perversely want something else, and so won't value any change if I'm doing a remodel. Ditto floors. And if you replace with stainless steel appliances, you likely won't put in ones as expensive as I want. Or if I'm remodeling, I may want different sizes of appliances. See, you shouldn't redo those expensive things if looking toward resale. Or even some of them - I hate new counters on most old cupboards, and I hate new appliances with many old cupboards. In my opinion, these things should be replaced together, when replaced. How Do I Get Expensive Looking Kitchen Upgrades on a Budget? Good Questions |
6/19/13 1:29 AM |
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Agree it is Prairie, not Mediterranean, that dictates the overall style here. The general style of the home depot doors suggested is in that era, but they seem like a cheap interpretation of the style, and that interpretation will clash with your house's details, and thus would not do this house justice. If you don't go period salvage (your best bet, I'd say) or custom carpentery (second best), at least order a more expensive, better designed door than the home depot models. Front Door Suggestions for 1920's Home? Good Questions |
6/19/13 12:13 AM |
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It totally depends on how much you want to spend. I haven't read the reviews of that sofa, but no cheap upsholtered furniture is going to have great reviews over time, it just isn't. It doesn't wear well over time. If you want something that will last, you have to spend more. If you want something cheaper that looks good for now, that's another strategy, just don't expect to look good for long, or last over time. That said, world market stuff looks pretty good for the price range, as does pier one. I wouldn't go walmart, west elm, or most of cb2 (some cb2 looks sturdier, depending on the model). Ikea is a mix of good and crappy stuff, you have to choose well, but good ikea is better than most or all of west elm, in my experience. Room and board seems good for the price on most sofas, as does crate and barrel. There is something about this sofa's design though, with its pillows resting against a low back, that makes me think the design wouldn't hold up well with use over time, unless it was made by someone very high end, like roche bobois high end...gus modern looks like good quality to me. Recommendations for a Small Sectional Sofa? Good Questions |
6/19/13 12:06 AM |
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If you don't like the oriental rugs look, look at gabbehs. You'll find a lot of colorful shades of red, blue, gold and green. These are the rugs I used (already had them) to make my brown rooms look good in my last place. One was mainly blue, with some red and gold, the sofabed I got for the guest room just happened to be the same shade of tomato red. And voila, brown room transformed. The two pieces of brown antique oak furniture then looked fine, whereas before they looked too brown with the walls. Another room had a gorgeous green gabbeh. So, with my old blue couch, and old natural cherry furniture, I had a great study. Even though I never got around to framing and putting up the colorful caribbean paintings I bought on the beach down there, specifically to contrast with the brown walls. Would have looked spectacular if I had....I may even paint that horrid brown somewhere else myself once I do frame them, since I discovered it is a great background color for displaying colorful artwork. But really, you can find rugs in tons of colors and styles, just like artwork. Woven rugs on walls, if you like that look, can add color, too. If you get stuff you really like, you'll be able to use it when you move on, too. Don't be afraid of color - especially if you are renting. When you can't choose the wall or carpet color, you CAN add color with your own furnishings. How To Decorate Beige & Brown Rental? Good Questions |
6/18/13 11:53 PM |
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Just don't add more beige or brown. Seriously. You don't say whether you have furniture already, or not, or are open to getting rid of (beige and brown) furniturne and starting over. How To Decorate Beige & Brown Rental? Good Questions |
6/18/13 11:32 PM |
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Here's what I'd do. I'd move the chairs out of the way as much as I could, and then try the couch in each of the four potential places in the living room - 1. where it is now, 2. in front of the patio doors, with space to walk behind it space to get outside easily, 3. diagonally facing the fireplace, and 4. on that long wall in the living room. (I suppose there are a few other diagonal placements that are possible, but as you push the couch around, you'll find out if they are workable positions. You can even place the couch right in front of the fireplace diagonally if you don't intend to use it - I know plenty of people who do this with wood-burning fireplaces, often to keep the crawlers and toddlers from going in there and opening the damper, which they would, you know it.) Then, in each position, try to figure out where the tv and one or two other chairs will go (you probably won't be able to fit all three, as recliners need a hell of a lot of room.) See what you like as you push stuff around. This is the only way I can do it in my own places. Layout for This Busy Living Room? Good Questions |
6/18/13 10:28 PM |
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I think it would be really cute, depending on your decor. It could be your take off for your style - a sort of slightly untidy classical british upper-crust thing, where the fine things are in a state of decay (and I mean that in a good way.) And I wouldn't line them up evenly at all...spoils the effect. I'd only apply them by sewing them, like I used to sew them on the elbows of my shetland wool sweaters in college. What Do You Think of Leather Patches on Fabric Upholstery? Good Questions |
6/18/13 9:35 PM |
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Easy. See that wall in the living room furthest from the window? Make that his office area, with the desk chair either facing the wall, or facing the windows. It can be in front of the closet a bit, if you still need to use the closet for closet stuff, and can't use the closet for the office, as suggested above. Then put some sort of room divider in front of it - like translucent panels that are designed to be room dividers, if you want to get spendy, or bookshelves or another wide piece of furniture facing the living room if you want to hide the office and a lot of light is not needed there (though some light will come in over the top of tre furniture and around it if the room is sunny), or open shelving like the ubiquitous expedit if you only want to half separate it. The "entrance" to his office area will be across from the bathroom door - you can live with that. Quadruple-Monitor Stand Arrangement That's Not an Eyesore? Good Questions |
6/18/13 9:30 PM |
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I think many of us are talking apples and oranges here. References to putting stuff in the attic, garage or basement, or machine room, make that clear. Apartment dwellers live differently. We have none of the above (unless our apartment comes with a storage room, or we pay to rent one, but I say why pay to store junk, I'd rather get rid of the excess, but then it is challenging to have the time and desire to do so.) Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families |
6/18/13 9:07 PM |
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I'd add: you can just say no, you don't have the space, to family and friends who want to be houseguests that you don't want to have as houseguests Forget not having them stay a day or two...you can more easily have them not stay at all! 10 Bonus Benefits to Small Space Living |
6/16/13 12:26 AM |
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Of course you are worried about security with a mostly glass door - but you have large windows right next to it. How do you secure those windows? Do you have them on alarms? Would you be comfortable with a glass door on alarms, or do you want a more sturdy door? Because it seems to me that one could just as easily come in through a window as a door (though they might be a bit more obvious to passers by as housebreakers, so I can see why a more secure door would be wanted. Though I'd also secure those windows with something more than locks. Front Door Style Suggestions for 1920's Home? Good Questions |
6/14/13 9:18 AM |
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Love the chair, love the fabric - not sure I like them together though. Before & After: Erin's Chair Refresh on a Budget |
6/14/13 9:09 AM |
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Depends on what sort of person you are, and how you want to live in the space. If you the sort who would leave the bed open almost all the time, and just close it up when you have company, or want to use the space differently yourself, then I wouldn't get a murphy bed - I'd get a sofabed instead. Murphys are really expensive, and comfortable sofabeds can be gotten much more cheaply. Also, a sofabed (especially one that can be taken apart when you move) will have much more applicability in your next places, if that matters to you. Besides being expensive, a murphy must be securely fastened to the wall, which can present other problems (getting it done well to begin with; fixing the wall back when you move), and may not fit well onto a wall in your next place. To Murphy or Not To Murphy? Good Questions |
6/13/13 5:19 PM |
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If you like them together, use them. Can I Mix Different Leathers in One Room? Good Questions |
6/13/13 4:59 PM |
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Yes, it sounds like you rented it furnished, but I'd never sleep even a night in that small space. It will never feel anything but claustrophobic to you, if it feels claustrophobic to you now. Sure, there are people on here who don't find it so, but you aren't them, or you wouldn't be writing this post. Sleep below. How Can I Make This Lofted Bed Cozy, Not Claustrophobic? Good Questions |
6/13/13 4:55 PM |
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I know nothing about this bed, but without looking it up, I'd suggest that the 16" footboard measurement is 16 inches total height from the floor, so that it wouldn't hide much of your mattress at all. What Is the Maximum Mattress Thickness for IKEA Nyvoll Bed? Good Questions |
6/9/13 8:37 PM |
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I get the anxiety thing, as I'm one who has gotten messier as I get older, as my life got considerably more stressful. I also think that it is harder to keep neat as you age and (usually) collect way more stuff. When I had little stuff, it was easy to keep it neat. In my poorer college years and twenties, I could always have people over for dinner spur of the moment in a neat home, with just 10 or 15 minutes to tidy up first. The Messy Myth: Is Being Organized Really Always Best? |
6/9/13 8:00 PM |
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I think you are making the mistake of trying to change one small thing to get a different look to your room, without first taking into account the entire room and starting from there. (Unless the room's old fashioned look doesn't really bother you, but that was just a justification for painting the chairs, just because you want to paint the chairs, in which case, have at 'em.) What Color Should I Paint My Windsor Chairs? Good Questions |
6/9/13 7:10 PM |
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I think you will have to go with furniture that you assemble, or that comes apart easily, because even a slim sofa like the chloe, or slim danish modern one, if it fits through your second floor hallway, will have a tough time angling into the third floor, with that slanted wall just at the top of the stairs, and the wood wall next to the stairs. You could demolish that half-wall to get furniture up (as people often do with similar walls or railings to fit furniture down basement stairs), but it is likely not worth the effort here, since you will be bringing the furniture back down again when you remodel the top floor. Inexpensive Furniture Ideas for Hang Out Room? Good Questions |
6/5/13 8:14 PM |