Maurs's Profile

Display Name: Maurs
Personal URL: http://www.kotalk.com
Member Since: 7/5/09

Latest Comments...

Great house tour. Love to see family homes with a more realistic square footage, especially for urban living.

Your guest room is lovely, very nicely staged and ready to go. I'd be chuffed to bit's if I could offer that kind of welcome.


Justine & Angus Cook Up Some Style
in Toronto House Tour
10/29/12 6:38 AM

I'd love to have seen her kitchen up close and I'm still figuring out where the day bed is put 'away' in some of the pictures. It's a little confusing, but I like what I can see


Kit's Super Space Efficient Studio
10/20/12 4:41 AM

I've got one big chest of photo's that I find really difficult to purge. The invention of the digital camera has made a huge difference in my 'clutter' pile. From no longer adding to my photo album to posting stuff on line to sell or freecycle with such ease...


A Little Mess: Making Peace With Our Stuff
10/20/12 4:19 AM

A classic Jameson whiskey mixer here in Ireland is a 'Jamie & Red'. That is, red lemonade. I know.!!, It's the way you know an Irish person is new in town is when they call lemonade 'White lemonade'.


Perfect for Pizza Night: Jameson and Ginger Cocktail Recipe The 10-Minute Happy Hour
10/15/12 4:55 PM

James!! Don't tell me you made it to Galway Ireland??? That picture of the Diving tower is Blackrock, Salthill, Galway... No?? Did you jump off it yourself and act like a right local?

Three Generations of my Family have swam there (it's my home town).


James' Seattle Apartment With NYC Style House Tour
10/15/12 4:41 PM

Goodness, it's not Ireland being ripped off..... for a change.


The Cheapest (& Most Expensive) Places Around the World to Buy Ikea Furniture Idealo UK
8/13/12 1:24 PM

volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.


Finding Friendship at Every Stage
of Your Life
8/11/12 7:54 AM

@Chavelle, I don't know if you've got the beginning of 'hoarding' developing in your life. It can be triggered by a bereavement or a traumatic life experience. I found that I'm inclined to have a junk room or corner in my home, however, I know I'm not a hoarder. I hate waste, I believe everyone should try not to add to the local landfill/ dump and I was broke for years so I kept things due to 'Value'. How did I deal with this? Well...

1) I began attending car boot sales, (dunno know the equivalent in America, but you guys have Yard Sales and better weather!) and organizing them for Charity when I couldn't find any locally.

2) I Started using Free-cycle

3) I began asking my mates on Facebook to do swap parties (you know, bring your half used 'but still good' stuff that you couldn't ask money for or freecycle to a stranger) Like unwanted toiletries, clothes & accessories etc.

Turns out my junk made me Money (not much), friends and raised money for good causes. that really helped with 'letting go'.


How Not to Be a Hoarder
6/17/12 4:41 AM

I've watched the American TV program Hoarders and I have to admit, it's a bit of a rush job. One always feels like they've just given the shoot-time a month and nothing has really been resolved. I believe the journey of recovery hasn't really happened and it's all a bit hopeless. I found, on the other hand, programs on channel 4 (British TV), take a lot more time on the person's journey and have better resolution.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-hoarder-next-door

Another great program was 'Get your House in Order' that makes shopaholics that are turning into hoarders look at all the crap they've bought and the money they've wasted.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/get-your-house-in-order/4od


How Not to Be a Hoarder
6/16/12 7:21 AM

I would add 'Lamp's to that list.


Ideas for Decorating Dorm Room on a Budget? Good Questions
6/12/12 4:48 PM

@olderworker, apparently a few denture tablets down the loo and left over night can do the trick. It certianly works for cleaning the inside of bottles, decanters, etc.

I think I'll try Sarita's trick with oxyclean;)


How To Keep Your Bathroom Clean In 5 Minutes A Day
5/23/12 4:59 PM

I know some of you think the 525sq ft is a misprint but small apartments are the norm all over Europe. 525 sq meters is a castle!! 1000-1200 sq ft houses are normal for a family, but if you want to live in the city, you're talking less than 800 sq ft, and thats for two bedrooms or more.


Julie's Vermeer-Worthy Apartment in Paris House Tour
5/6/12 5:55 PM

Great place, love the patina on may of your pieces. Again, would love a floor plan but I've got an idea that the kitchen, dining area and living room (with stove) are all the one space. It took a second for the penny to drop on that one thanks to the shot through the door with the bookcase.


Greg & Deirdre's Guest House
House Tour
3/29/12 7:00 AM

Holy Mary!! The lamp in Pic 4 looks like a death ray!!


Out of Sight: Five Space-Saving Desks
3/29/12 6:48 AM

Hilarious when all the minimalists gasp at the clutter. Guess what?? Some folk don't like minimalism!!!

I love the small 'family' home tours because, to be honest, when the Children come along, that's when the pressure to go bigger really kicks in. We could really do with the inspiration that home's like this give us. I'd love to have seen a floor plan for this home because it's square footage is the size of an average two bedroom flat on this side of the pond and I was curious about the layout.


Faith's Magical Bohemian Treehouse House Tour
3/29/12 5:58 AM

Lovely, lovely home. I don't feel I got the full sense of it though, there were an awful lot of pics of the same thing (the living room) and not enough of others (the bathroom looked very promising but I didn't see enough). I'd have also loved a little sketch of the layout.

I could learn a lot from your editing of stuff!!


Cory and Kristine's Marriage of Classic and Graphic
House Tour
2/23/12 1:58 PM

.... Hold on, could it possibly be a childs' bedroom off the main room? Then this isn't a studio, but bloody Nora, it's proof you can have a family comfortably and stylishly in a small apartment!!


Loft with a View: Small Style At Its Best
The Diversion Project
2/8/12 4:27 PM

That tiled stove!!!! beautiful. The steps to the bed, fixable. For the life of me, I can't figure out where photo '4' fit's in the apartment.


Loft with a View: Small Style At Its Best
The Diversion Project
2/8/12 4:25 PM

Natalie, I really appreciate that you took the time to write little captions for your pictures in your house tour. I rarely see it so I assume it's a lot of work (???)

I love studio house tours and yours is no exception, it's beautiful.

Thanks to Apartment therapy for breaking house tours down by studio/ apartment/ house. Now we just need you to break it down by square footage ;)


Natalie's Beach-Girl-Meets-Book-Nerd Nest
House Tour
2/8/12 4:17 PM

For those who struggle with book clutter (I did), remember the following

1) Certain books get read and re-read, eg. Cook books, dictionaries and thesaurus', poetry, design books. Some don't, like novels. I can only remember three novels I've ever read more than once.

2) Visit your library just once, just once and see what you're missing. It really is a real gold mine.

3) The re-sale price of books is dreadful. Unless it's a first, limited, hardback, signed edition you're fooling yourself.

4) You are not your possessions!!

5) Books aren't design /intellectual currency.... unless you've read them.


Living Lighter in 2011: Inspirational Clutter-Free Rooms
1/31/12 12:09 PM