allisonharris's Profile

I hate to be 'that commenter' but none of those bathrooms are from Young House Love. Dig a little deeper and give that bathroom the credit it deserves!

If you want a nice, minimal car mount I would recommend the Steelie:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1747436902/steelie-mobile-device-holder

My husband has one and he loves it. It's the sleekest mount he could find and he researches the heck out of his tech purchases.

Ditto to C about the lingerie bag for baby socks. Someone gave one to me at my baby shower and now I give one to every expecting mom I know. Bonus: you can put bibs in them and not worry about the velcro eating other fabric.

That salad spinner idea is genius!

Obviously you should align (well-enough) on big things like finances, politics, religion, etc...

I found it's easier to get along with my spouse than all my other roommates, and not just because we love each other. With a roommate, people tend to let little things go unsaid, then things get passive-aggressive, just to avoid a confrontation. Whereas, with my spouse, I'll just say what's bugging me and he does the same. Yes, it leads to the occasional nag fight, but in the end everything's out in the open.

Also, best piece of advice for co-habitating (whether romantic or platonic): if it's important to you, DO IT. If you want the bills handled a certain way, you pay the bills. If you couldn't bother to load the dishwasher often, maybe that's the other person's chore. You'll save yourself time and headache by not nagging the other person to do it your way. And yes, I struggle to practice this, too :)

I wouldn't do anything permanent, for several reasons:
- If you chop up the living room it will look and feel awkward.
- It's not worth the hassle (and major expense) of shuffling bathrooms around - leave the plumbing where it is.
- I wouldn't omit any closets or bathrooms - you could possibly repurpose a closet, but leave it as is otherwise you kill your resale.
- I strongly advise against doing any partitioning that creates a third, windowless bedroom. Bedrooms without windows are unpleasant and, more than likely, against building/fire codes.

If you really want to explore this, hire an architect. (S)he can advise you how to do this safely.

However, I think you're better off with the sofa bed, hotel or giving them your bed. Lots of people get away without a guest room, and creating one would practically ruin your apartment.

My mom did this 2 Christmases ago and it was a big hit! She collected recipes from the whole family and included old stand-by recipes, like my great-grandmother's Christmas cookies, to new favorites, like my husband's tomato bisque. It's great to have all the favorites in one place, and it's a great keepsake.

This seems to be a common disagreement. I don't typically link to my blog in comment sections, but I wrote a post about this very topic a few years ago.
http://gimmeakisss.blogspot.com/2010/03/im-having-tom-cruise-moment.html

Long story short, hubby wanted something super comfortable, I wanted a mid-century couch with clean lines and sleek upholstery - no overstuffed furniture for me! We settled on a couch from Z Gallerie, which is no longer available, but you could find something similar at places like Crate & Barrel, Ikea, etc. Just get something with clean lines, but enough padding to still be comfortable. I promise a compromise is possible!

Thank you CKAL! That is one of my pet peeves as well. Hearing about "cement" projects drives me batty!

Allison here - I got it at a yardsale in Holly Springs - near Raleigh, NC.

I'm not a big fan of taxidermy in general but it certainly doesn't offend me. I'm from the South so I guess I'm used to it. That being said, the (exotic to me) specimen in the photo is quite striking in such a stark space.

Also, I agree that it is tacky to display taxidermy if it's not something you killed and ate yourself. Exception given to thrift store / estate sale finds.