durhamite's Profile

This seems very dependent on your office culture.

In the places that I've worked it would have been very odd to receive a personalized or handmade gift.

I don't expect any gifts at the office but do appreciate it if whoever is in charge makes a thank you gesture (regardless of the time of year). Taking the staff to lunch or ordering-in lunch is a thoughtful gesture that people can opt out of if not interested.

@jess13 Are YOU really serious when you say "How is open green space bad for the environment?" While lawns can certainly be the easiest landscaping to maintain, they have significant issues with the inputs/resources they consume. Look into:

Lawns as the US's biggest "crop"
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050516/16lawn.htm

Water Use - Nationally, outdoor irrigation accounts for 30% of residential water use. http://www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor/landscaping.html

Fertilizer Use - Homeowners are likely to over fertilize and this fertilizer pollutes the streams/rivers/lakes downstream. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-fertilizers-harm-earth

Air Quality - Gas powered lawn mowers cause air quality problems. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/19-yard.pdf

Grass Clipping - While many communities don't allow grass clipping to go in the trash, some do and there are still education efforts to get people to stop doing this! http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2718&q=325364

Awesome!

Question Taylor and John- I'm interested in making similar shelves - what brand of hanging standards/brackets did you use? I'm having trouble finding brackets to attach to my own wood.

Nice job building in storage and making a space that works. Could you share the overall dimensions of your bathroom and the dimension of the shower? I'm currently planning a remodel and it helps me visualize!

To weigh in on the save the pink bathrooms thread: I can see both sides of this.

I'm a reader of Retro Renovation, and in general I favor saving the pink (or other vintage) bath. I've grown to love my pink bathroom and I am sad when I see remodels just because someone doesn't like the color. That said, as a homeowner I am about to demolish a pink bathroom (pink tile and pink soapdishes etc; white sink/toilet; replacement bland flooring). I've wrestled with saving the pink - it has character and I love me some preservation.

BUT...My bathroom is over 50 years old and has significant plumbing problems that need to be addressed. The tile itself is in okay shape - I wouldn't do anything if I didn't need to do the other work. But, the grout is dirty and stained and a number of tiles are cracked or chipped - this isn't obvious in a before picture but is obvious in person. I could spend chunk of cash to match the tiles that will be damaged by the plumbing work and to regrout the rest. That is...if there is no water damage discovered.

Or, I could live up to the tradition of what Pam on Retro Renovation calls "Mid-Century Modest": I live in a small house with basic, middle-of the road (not premium) finishes from the mid-century. I am going to replace the pink tiles with basic white hex and subway tile. It will retain the character of my modest house, it will make it easier for me to clean my little bathroom, and will be better for resale value. Because people who live in modest houses have to think about that!

To summarize my mega post: I'm going to demo a pink bathroom, but I've considered other options and made the best choice for my home.

My parents taught me a lot, but I wish they'd taught me to know when to bring in an expert. Both my parents are super handy and frugal, so they DIY everything - electrical, plumbing, appliance repair, gardening, car repair, tree trimming, bathroom reno, floor installation, cooking (no eating out), all cleaning, investing, etc.

I grew up assuming I would do the same, but I learned that I can't do everything. Sometimes the most cost effective thing is to hire an expert rather than buy special tools, learn skills, and try and fail several times. And sometimes, hiring someone to finish a task in a timely way is better for relationship harmony!

Ack! I just saw this post. I bought a home with fake brick throughout the kitchen. Rather than repainting to change the look of the kitchen, I'm going to have to rip this stuff off and hang new drywall. If you want interesting walls, spare the future homeowner and use something that is easy to remove.