deep6's Profile

I constantly forget to bring my cell phone with me. I remember my Kindle though. Strange, that. A landing strip is exactly what I need to stow my phone on so I'll grab it before I walk out the door. Unfortunately, there's barely space for my torso in my superlongandnarrow front hall, nevermind a console.

Someday . . . (le sigh)

If you live in a place that gets snow, just don't put it down anywhere you might actually need to shovel, to get out to a walkway or driveway. Shoveling that stuff is evil.

I'm interested to know what your budget is, and if you plan to sell the house in the near future. . . .

Before you put a penny into updates, I would ask if you're using the space as efficiently as you could. For example, get household appliances and other stuff off the counters. To that end I would recommend mounting your paper towel holder under the cabinets or on the interior of a cabinet door, moving the blender into a cabinet, and moving large bowls or decorative kitchenware on top of the cabinets. Whatever you can move on top of the cabinets that you don't often use or isn't rusty/ugly -- do. From the pic I think that's just open space up there, and that can always be used. Do your pot holders get splattered with food? I would think so, considering they're right over your stove. To visually declutter that space, I'd also mount a hanger to the interior of a cabinet door and hang them there.

Then I'd get rid of the ornamental wood over the sink and change the blinds over the window, replacing them with a non-beige set mounted high, that when closed display an image.

Your biggest problem is the backsplash. Depending on budget/your DIY ability, I'd remove that tile, sand down the area and paint with a color other than off-white or beige. :) And changing the cabinet pulls is an easy, obvious fix. Long-term you could put tin tile there and above the cabinets to add interest and draw the eye.

I'm also wondering whose furniture that is.

As long as there's no chance your basement will get flooded, I'd change the lighting first, then get rid of that strange interior shingle-style look and give everything a fresh coat of semi-gloss white paint. Or you could do vertical stripes with two neutrals. You could try dyeing the carpet.

The question is how much time you want to spend putting work into this space. Are you going to entertain down here, or is this going to be mostly a storage or exercise room?

When you're ready to renovate, I'd do something about the ceiling.

This apartment has a great feel to it: very warm and erudite.

What is that plaque above the french doors? The one with the black background and tan -- Greek, maybe? -- people and horses? I wish there were a close-up. It looks fantastic.

This is absolutely the most idea-steal-worthy, crack-for-my-design-brain apartment I have ever seen on this site. The brick walls and high ceilings that could lend to a too-industrial mill feeling are brought such warmth with the tile floor, barrel ceiling and huge windows. I love the columns in the living room, though did I see a mix of corinthian and ionic? Overall, the mix of gothic and classical is really well done. I'm not sure what kind of French furniture is scattered throughout, but I love it, and think it's very UNcluttered.

Can I move in? :)

HowardWiggins3 -- patronizing, much?

I heartily agree with the recommendation to speak to your landlord. Unless this is a brand new property for the LL to manage, I can't believe s/he wasn't aware of the heating problems. This seems abusive of you as a tenant and is likely illegal.

I would immediately contact a tenants' rights organization. If they confirm your temperature must meet a standard it's not meeting, start putting your rent in escrow and inform the LL that it will not be released until the heating issues and insulation are taken care of.

Not providing proper heat isn't just irresponsible, like not providing a new dishwasher when the current one breaks down -- it's dangerous. In the meantime, if you have the cash to spend, for sure buy whatever kind of thick carpet you can find, put up plastic sheets around the windows to prevent heat loss, and I'd tack/staple a couple layers of thick fabric to the ceiling and drape them down across the walls.

I can't say I like any of these pics. Gold leaf looks great on contoured or uneven surfaces -- especially when there's a light source nearby to show reflections -- but on a flat surface it tends to just look like badly done, dull DIY. There are other ways to do metallic or glitz that look classier.

Wall sconces, mirrors, finials, headboards, molding, baseboards, really ornate small furniture . . . fine! Give me leaf! Flat table surface? Eh . . .

My boyfriend and I have been together five years, cohabitating for four. We were fortunate in that when we initially moved in together, items I lacked were items he had, and vice versa.

It wasn't until the first few months went by, when I wanted to make new curtains for the kitchen that he started "reviewing" my purchases. I was fine with this initially, as it's half his apartment, but I quickly realized his opposition to anything I tried to do to the apartment was more based on cost concerns than real design concerns - although our taste is in no way complementary or similar.

For him, the bigger the furniture, the better, and he has a lot of heavy, ugly wood pieces with no real style. Think cheap hunting lodge. And everything not wooden is navy blue. (Yes, everything.)

I'm more industrial chic meets art deco fun with a splash of eco-modern. But we live in a Philadelphia style rental with a federalist-feel interior/moldings, etc. and nothing seems to fit at all. My bf's stuff is too low and long for the tight, boxy, high-ceilinged rooms, and my things are too modern looking.

Anyway, we've been saving for a house for several years, what with the metro-Boston real estate prices being expensive even for wealthy couples such as us. Because of that, my bf refuses to spend a penny on any furniture for inside or outside the house. If I want something, like chairs for around the patio table, I have to buy it all myself. New bathmat? All me. He doesn't care how old or ratty our stuff looks, or if it doesn't fit the space or if it doesn't work for our lifestyle. He won't buy anything and he won't get rid of anything. Why? Money could have gone into the "house fund." I'm not sure he'll be any more design-conscious or even agreeable if we do buy a house.

I love him, but it's kind of a nightmare. Beware.

Maybe Boston ranks 94th in percentage of households with children not because it is a family-UNfriendly city, but because there is a disproportionately large number of single college students here, compared to many of the other 99 cities?

I live just outside Boston and find it to be a great city, if you don't mind rough winters and antiquated infrastructure. I don't think the goal should be to make Boston more family-friendly, but more *transit-friendly*. Get newspaper stands an parking signs off the sidewalks to free up space, help people with strollers or disabilities more efficiently get on and off public transit, set up bike lanes, expand commuter rail service into New Hampshire . . . . There are lots of things that could be done to benefit the public at large, rather than to cater to the demographic du jour: bourgeois white urbanite mommies and daddies.