Posted by c_zimmerman724 on 2004-07-28 06:07:12
Post Subject: Painting Ideas For Rooms
I need some help!!!!
I have a kitchen, dining room, living room, den, bathroom, and 3 bedrooms to paint. Does anyone have any cool paint ideas or color schemes? The kitchen has a yellow-gold countertop and dark wood cupboards. I just bought this house (my 1st) and I am overwhelmed I guess.
Thanks!!
Posted by soapandwater on 2004-07-28 14:03:21
Post Subject:
Oh my GOSH! Do you have our kitchen? Ha ha. Actually, though, ours have lighter countertops, but the dark wood sounds about right.
We painted our kitchen a deep golden yellow with white trim. We're considering painting our cabinets white to sort of have an insanely cheerful kitchen. We then had our dining room/living room (which are really separated by a wall-bookshelf thing) painted a lighter shade of yellow, white trim. It goes well with our hardwood floors.
The bedrooms in my house were painted different colors, depending on the mood. My room is a deep salmon, and it looks great. It's not too much. If you can find a color like that, that may seem like it's too deep/bright, but you really like it, do a room in it and then use some curtains to make it more humane, if you can't handle the color.
I say, just have fun with it! The worst thing is that you might have to repaint, but really, color is better than no color, in my opinion.
Posted by mrs_stroozi on 2006-05-24 12:51:00
Post Subject:
In what part of the country/world are you looking? I am in So CA, in a very built-up older part of LA county, and we would have absolutely no problem selling a two-bedroom house, in part because the 3+ bedrooms in our neighborhood are insanely priced. Most people in my neighborhood who purchase the 2-bedrooms are doing a construction add-on of needed rooms. We who have been here for a while have NO idea how they're affording it. My house value has nearly tripled since I bought it in 1989; flip side is that I cannot afford to move into my own neighborhood if I tried to buy here now.
But if the house is perfect for you, then go for it. Do take into consideration, though, how long you want to be in this house, especially if you want to start a family there. How safe is the neighborhood? Is there a lot of traffic on the street? Young couples for potential friends and kid playmates on the block? What is the school district like. (This is a HUGE one in Los Angeles, and is a major deal maker/breaker.)
BTW, the thought of a lower house-payment than apt rental makes me gasp with disbelief. Where is this happening????
At any rate, it would be easier to give appropriate advice if we knew where you're looking.
AND you can arrange to pay your real estate taxes in your mortgage payment if you want. Talk to your loan or mortgage officer about it. Your utility bills will be separate, so will your repair bills. They may both be larger than you expect as well, as more space seems to take up more energy and resources...
Posted by Slinkster on 2005-12-02 16:44:59
Post Subject:
None of my babies had a nursery, exactly. When my oldest daughter was born she slept in a bassinet next to my bed or in my bed. When she outgrew the bassinet we set up a crib in the corner of our room. When my second daughter was born it was the same set up.
When my daughters were 2 and 5 months we set up a bed room that was just yellow with butterflies and repainted old dressers.
When my oldest son was born we had moved and our bedroom was once two bedrooms so we set up a crib and things in that side (again, bassinet next to my bed)
Now that #4 is here...can you guess where he is?
I think repurposing what you have is a great idea. I really don't like themes for baby rooms, or over doing it, either. The baby won't really appreciate a room until he is ...no longer a baby. We have moved and are down to two bedrooms. My oldest son is one and a half and he couldn't care less that he has a crib in the corner of my room. All he cares about is sleeping with mama and torturing his sisters.
Posted by peppermintsquare on 2005-01-19 08:28:09
Post Subject:
There are a lot of loft-type spaces downtown (most expensive probably) and tons of apartment complexes about town. Depending on the area, you could probably rent a one bedroom for anywhere between $500-$800 or so.
There are also one bedrooms for rent in neighborhoods. It will all depend on what you are looking for/ needing. I can tell you that if my little area of town is any indication, there are tons of places for rent right now.
If you visit on Thursday, you should come to our crafty meet-up: http://getcrafty.com/viewtopic.php?t=2144 There will be lots of gals (and guys) there who can talk about living spaces.
Posted by Miepshe11 on 2006-07-30 01:10:53
Post Subject:
If you take the kids to pick up trash, you might get some gloves from the drugstore (the disposable kind). You can explain to the kids that when someone litters someone else has to clean it up, and they have to use gloves which are wasteful but necessary because of germs. They will love wearing the gloves, even though they will be very big for their hands. You could have them bring plastic grocery sacks to collect litter in and talk about all the ways to reuse said sacks (lining the bathroom trash can etc.). What if they decorated paper grocery sacks and took them home to use as a trash can for their bedrooms? That way, they could keep their handiwork and it would reinforce the lesson. Good luck to you and have fun!
Posted by spiderlady on 2006-05-24 13:07:01
Post Subject:
If the property has room to add on, the easiest add-on is an extra bedroom or two. But, with the way the property market is going across the country, I think the old idea about two-bedrooms ain't necessarily so anymore.
Posted by Chelsea on 2005-10-13 18:43:47
Post Subject:
First, you might be surprised at how loud a radio can sound to someone next door ;) We normally have our TV and stereo off and we have to hear our neighbor's TV. It's the most irritating thing - especially if you're trying to read or work on something. I mean, it's why I turn off MY tv. Sounds like the teacher from Peanuts cartoons.
But leases have a thing where you have to tolerate "normal living noise" Like vacuums, cabinets closing, doors closing, etc. I don't even think loud music is okay in the middle of the day. But especially after 10. We had really bad neighbors a while ago. People across the STREET were complaining about them. They got evicted.
You may not be in the position to move, but just something I've noticed. If you ever try to get another apt, try your hardest to get a 2 bedroom, or more expensive apt. It's less likely that students will live there. With two bedrooms, you're likely to get families...who don't have parties like your neighbors. Ever since we've lived in a 2 bedroom we've only had one bad neighbor. At our old place, every single neighbor was annoying. :)
Posted by culinarymartyr on 2004-12-28 09:31:40
Post Subject:
Calendars and cards can make neat artwork. Right now calendars are going on sale, so you could probably get some for cheap.
I found a stack of really cool placemats at a discount home store near me, and turned them into throw pillows. If you don't have a sewing machine you could even just whipstitch them together - edges are already finished.
I use sheets a lot to change looks. They are cheaper than buying fabric for some things and are the right size for lots of projects. I've used them for:
Shower curtains (I found a twin flat sheet with a ruffle on one end. Hemmed the top to the appropriate length & made big button holes for the hooks)
Furniture covers (the lighter-weight fabric works best on light colored, minimal patterned furniture, because it's a bit see-through. But you can tuck, stitch or glue directly to the furniture if it's old or you don't care. If you want to make a full out cover though, I'd use real upholstery fabric)
Table cloths - I covered a 4 ft folding table (took the bottom part of the legs off to make it the right height) with a sheet and voila - coffee table. It's a big presence in the room and made a difference. Plus I can change the color and get a different feel.
Curtains - There are all kinds of no-sew options, from draping a sheet (or fabric if you find cheap stuff you like) like a scarf across the top of curtain rods, to tying it in knots or just cutting one in half and safety-pinning it over the rod. If you mess with cut edges, either hem or fabric glue them so they don't get all frayed.
I've heard of putting fabric on the walls using liquid starch. It supposedly comes right down whenever you want without damaging the walls. If you can't paint that might be an idea to cover the walls.
Sometimes just changing things around helps. My dad used to switch complete rooms when he felt the need for a change. We'd come home from school and the living room would be re-arranged completely, and our bedrooms had switched places. You could always switch out curtains and artwork from room to room, and rearrange the furniture.
Posted by FeegaRo on 2004-11-01 15:16:40
Post Subject:
Great stories ladies! I don't know if my experience was truly a ghost or not, but I'll share.
I was 13 or 14 at the time, and we lived in a house that really wasn't that old, I'd say built in late 70's. I used to have trouble sleeping, I would stay awake for hours at night after I went to bed, my mind racing.
On this particular night, everyone else in the house had already gone to bed, there was no noise. I slept with my bedroom door closed to keep my dog out because he used to climb up on my bed and sleep on my feet and it annoyed me. I was laying there in the dark, thinking of school and whatever else, alone in my room. All of a sudden I felt a TUG on the bottom right corner of my sheet (no comforters, it was summer time). I froze, wondering what the hell that was... nothing again. Went back to thinking about school, again a TUG on the sheet. Then a TUG TUG TUG, not hard, just insistent. I was PETRIFIED!! It took all my courage to sit up and pull on the fan light above my bed. I looked around the room, wide eyed. Nothing. I sat there a few minutes, staring at the end of my bed. I got out of bed, looked at all sides, under it. Again nothing. Opened my bedroom door and stuck my head out, both of the other bedrooms were directly across the hall from my door, the lights were out, I heard no noises.
So I shrugged to myself, figured I imagined it and went back to bed. Turned off the light and about five minutes later TUG TUG TUG again. I knew I was not imagining things now. I pulled the sheet up over my head, sqeezed my eyes shut and kept saying "Go away go away go away" in my head. And soon fell asleep. Nothing else ever happened in that house, we moved a few months after that.
On the bright side, I no longer have trouble falling asleep anymore because of racing thoughts!! :)
Posted by Sheena on 2005-04-08 20:14:29
Post Subject:
Good luck. I'm working on something like that as well...Deciding who of my girlfriends i'd get along with best in that kind of enviroment, finding a decent and yet inexpensive apartment, etc.
I've shared bedrooms and dorm rooms for over half of my life, and i've only really disliked one roommate. I tend to be a very mellow, quiet, and tidy-ish person, she was high-energy, loud, and...well, a slob. When you live in a dorm room, and you're on the opposite side from the door, it gets very annoying to pick a path every weekend through clothes, food wrappers, change, etc. every weekend. And i've had 6 roomates that were strangers when i met them.
Posted by CraftinFool on 2004-10-30 15:30:34
Post Subject:
I lived in an old farmhouse for a year during college in NH. Actually, the house is not too far from where I live now. The original part of the house dated back to the late 17th century, and there was a cemetary in the backyard where many previous inhabitants were buried.
After my 3 roomies signed the lease, we started hearing tales from other students who had lived there. Many had seen the ghost of a woman, who had been named "Miriam" at some point. She was always seen in a long gown and only in the original sections of the house (usually the living room or one of the bedrooms). Some girls we knew who'd lived there the year before claimed that Miriam threw their cassette tapes around if they played their music too loudly. They also said the ghost supposedly disliked our (annoying) landlord and had locked him in the basement when he was at the place working on the house and one of the girls had to let him out.
We didn't take it too seriously and used to play tricks to try to spook each other. We had no strange activity for a few months.
Until the first time a baby was in our house.
We had a party with some friends and family and one of our friends brought her newborn. That night, I was the last to go to bed. I said goodnight to the roomies in the next bedroom, turned off the hallway light, and went into my room. One of my roommates heard something about 10 min later in the doorway of their bedroom where I had just been. She saw a woman in a long gown, glowing. She said there were some faint colors, I think blue was one of them. She said she could see where a face shold be but couldn't really make out features. The woman began gliding toward Julie's bed. She quietly called out to her roomie but she buried herselrf in the covers, so we never had a second eyewintess. Julie said that when she called out her roomie's name, the ghostly figure disappeared through the ceiling.
I reaearched the house, trying to find out if anyone had died tragically, perhaps in childbirth. The only thing of note I could find out was that a woman who had lived there a long time ago, Mary, had been clapped in the stocks for a day or two for having missed church one Sunday. All I know is, Julie had never believed in ghosts before she saw one, and she's the least likely person I know to make things up.
I never saw "Miriam," but one Saturday night I was home alone, writing a paper in my bedroom. I had been in the living room and had accidentally left a candle burning there. The radio was on in the living room, and suddenly I heard it begin to change stations by itself. I was about ready to pee my pants, and I went into the living room, and there was no-one there, but I noticed the burning candle next to the radio. So I felt that possibly the ghost was trying to get my attnetion so I'd put the candle out. Who knows.
CraftyChica, I am sorry that you had scary experiences. Our experiences were either neutral, or positive. I think if I had a malevolent presence around I'd be a wreck!
Posted by spiderlady on 2006-04-19 16:28:24
Post Subject: Ex won't leave me alone! What to do?
I've been divorced for almost 6 years from a very controlling, abusive guy. And he still periodically comes over to my home to try to give me a hard time about things--not daily, but often enough to become bothersome. The thing is, he treats my place as if it were his own home--he comes in without knocking, gets into my fridge, walks into the bedrooms without knocking, that kind of stuff. And despite my telling him many, many times not to, he still does it. So, I have forbidden him to come inside my house. Only last Saturday, he came over trying to talk my daughter Miriam into attending a Church dance. I heard her say "goodnight, Dad," and then I heard a thunk. I came out of my bedroom, and he had his foot in the door and was pushing at it, trying to force his way in! I told him then that if he didn't leave I was going to call the police.
The thing I don't understand is, he's engaged to be married again, and he's still coming over to bug me about stuff! Makes me wonder if I'm ever going to get rid of him. Anyone else have this problem, and what did you do about it?
Posted by tiggycat on 2006-02-01 21:08:54
Post Subject:
Amen to the bleach suggestion. We had a really wet spring/summer last year and developed a bit of mold in a couple of our bedrooms. We actually had a mold expert guy we found in the phone book (like under industrial cleaning or maybe even under "mold"-- I can't remember) come out to look at it. He had this nifty little meter that could tell us what the humidity level in our house was, and he analyzed our walls, etc. He determined it was a pretty superficial problem and suggested we wipe it down with a bleach solution every once in a while. It worked! Even better, he didn't charge us for his time!
Posted by PamTheQueen on 2005-04-16 09:39:35
Post Subject: Dream Home + my own shop!
Please let me brag:
In a couple of hours, we are signing the papers (and handing over a big chunk of moola) for a big PINK (!!) Queen Anne built in the 1880's. At the beginning of the week I thought getting any large home was going to be impossible since we haven't saved enough for what we wanted to build (and get approved by a mortgage company). Then this opportunity fell in my lap.
How sweet is this:
- located on Main Street next to other big old beautiful homes in registered Historic District
- Just off the beautiful courthouse square of a small Indiana town
- The courthouse square has locally owned cafes, restaurants, boutiques, and an old retro movie theater.
- the house itself is listed on the National Historic Home Register (whatever it is called). There is plaque next to the front door.
- have I mentioned HOW very pink it is? 3 shades!
- it was a B&B and a Tea Room (they hosted a lot of scrapbook retreats and those Red Hat Ladies....)
- almost 5000 square feet !!! 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 3 stories, BIG beautiful windows, french doors, big pocket doors, 12 foot ceilings on 1st and 2nd floors, curving staircase, tons of woodwork, wrap around porch (including a swing!), two lots deep with a lot of parking, gardens, and much more!
One of the most exciting features for me is that the part of the inn that was a large two room guest suite opening up the tea room has a separate entrance and can be used as a boutique/shoppe. When they had the tea room, people would just stop in to buy gifts on the way out to the covered bridges. There is still a sign for the B&B/tea room out front that I can change. I am going to pee my pants, I am so excited!!
I was also told that the homeowner next door is a 30-something year old artist who teaches art classes to the town's kids in a studio above her garage. And yoga, too. I cannot wait to make friends!
The downside is that there will be A LOT of work to do. The wallpaper in the main rooms and most bedrooms need to be removed/replaced. Luckily, all the work is just cosmetic and we can live in it while we do it. One room at a time!
We got this at a STEAL. $50K below appraisal. The price would kill those of you who live on the coasts. My little sister lives in a small 1200 sq foot home in Florida that costs more. Gotta love BFI (I=Indiana). We are technically lease/optioning until we sell this current home, but the owners said that as far as they are concerned we are the owners to do as we please as soon as we have the keys May 1.
Posted by sewing stars on 2004-06-24 13:30:34
Post Subject:
Well, having just moved into a 2 bedroom apartment, my boyfriend and I (both being artists) decided to sleep in the living room, and use the bedrooms as studio spaces.
I painted my space a beautiful butter yellow, and tried to organize as I un-packed the insane amount of supplies I seem to own.
The trouble I find is that I am lazy, and I like looking at my supplies. So when I am making stuffed animals I tend to make piles of colors of fabrics/ furs while deciding which one I want to start with, and then not putting back the pile because I want to the make the next one I picked out too.
In the new place, however, I discovered that shelves are essential. (I didn't have them in out last apartment) I have my supplies in those plastic containers organized sort of generally by art supplies, sewing notions, threads, stationary, computer paper, etc. I have a place for my piles to hang out ontop of a plastic container until I am done.
I wish I could be a neat freak about it (and so does my boyfriend), but I think I might just be messy by nature. Not that I couldn't change my ways, but it is slow process!
Posted by sjkmaurice on 2005-06-11 14:50:10
Post Subject: Humidity Problems
I used to live in Florida where the humidity was like 100% all the time and it was muggy outside, but with the air conditioning inside the house was fine and not too humid. Now, I live in Canada where the humidity is around 60%, which is normal, but we don't have air conditioning and I have no desire to pay for a window unit in this rental because we're going to build a house soon and it's going to have central air.
Anyway, the point of all this is, inside the house is almost 90% humid! We live in a basement apartment - the bottoms of the windows are about chin height to me and my floors have become damp. Things that are on the floor (a fire extinguisher, my daughter's toys that she leaves around, my crochet tote, etc.) are leaving damp spots on the floor. The bedrooms, which are carpeted, are smelling a bit musty and my daughter's bed sits on the floor, so I'm worried about that, too. I have a couple of cardboard boxes with sheet music and books in them that I really don't want to get ruined, but I don't have anywhere high to set them.
Does anyone have any techniques to get rid of the humidity? Right now, I have a fan in the window that's blowing air in and a couple more windows are open with no fans.
Posted by delqc on 2006-01-16 12:22:11
Post Subject: starting major renovations this week ...
.. nothing else to post, really, other than I am super excited/terrified. The renovations will be to our cottage, which was built on the cheap in the 70s and is really a disaster. We are hoping to redo the entire top floor - at a minimum, the ceilings have to be properly insulated (Canadian Winter) and drywalled, but in the long-term we want to move a few walls, so it makes sense to do it all together, if we can. The top floor has a small kitchen, a tiny bathroom, one normal-sized bedroom, two teeny bedrooms, and a staircase from hell (super narrow and steep). After the renovations we plan, there will only be one bedroom upstairs, but it will be a sensible size, we will have a reasonable staircase (not a deathtrap) and a big kitchen and big bathroom. The boy and I love to cook, so the kitchen is really our focal point - and the bathroom is really "romance" central for us, so we want to really enjoy those rooms.
The scope of the work is so daunting to me - everything from figuring out how many light fixtures to what kind of tub/shower to where I want the kitchen lights to where the recycling will go ... utter pandemonium. But, I'm excited, too - at the end of all of this we will have our "dream" retreat - we bought the cottage very affordably last year, and have been waiting to make what we want out of it. It's been a place of happiness and solitude and centrality in our hectic relationship and crazy lives - and a way to have some solace from tne nuttiness of a tiny apartment in the city.
so - any renovation stories, warnings, suggestions? One of our biggest dilemmas is countertops. I think we will do ceramic tile, with big, 24" square tiles, to minimize grout, but any crafty countertop suggestions would be much appreciated!
Posted by delqc on 2006-01-30 10:51:03
Post Subject:
Thanks guys for the support - it really is very stressful. We're borrowing money to pay for this as it is and we really don't want to make any dumb financial decisions (who does?!?!)
Special thanks to pudding - yes, those are all very positive things that I super appreciate. It certainly doesn't hurt to be reminded of them!
THe "united front" is helping A LOT. Last night as we were going to bed, exhausted from having packed up 2 bedrooms and a kitchen, the Boy was all snuggled it to me and said, "I'm SO glad we agree on everything about the house." Me too. I don't think I could handle conflict with him, too! Everything else you said was smack-on, too. Thanks. ::blush::.
In any case, we stayed there with friends over the weekend and took a lot of decisions. We have decided the "scope" of what we can afford now - no new kitchen or bathroom (makes me VERY sad) BUT replaced insulated and properly drywalled ceilings (wired as per the Final Plan), a new, safer staircase and completed master bedroom, removal of the old Franklin woodstove downstairs (super inefficient), removal of the old fireplace upstairs (ineffecient and drafty and VERY unattractive) and installment of a double-sided fireplace that will shared between the master bedroom and the living room. And, later in the summer after we have saved some more, some foundation work (excavation and installing better drainage around the house), replacement of our water pump, and some work on the septic system which we need more than new cabinets.
I'm glad we finally have a plan that we can afford. As to our designer, well, we've managed to explain to her why we were so frustrated. She's upset that we have essentially cut her out of the deal, and at one point in a weak moment accused me of having "control issues" (well of course I have control issues!!! It's MY house and MY money!!!) but has now come to see that we did not get what we expected from her services. We've managed to house it as a "miscommunication" - i.e. what we requested and espected was contextrualized by our own non-knowledge of "design norms," and what she did was what might have felt appropriate for a designer, but was not what we actually wanted and was not in line with our expectations. Labelling it as a "miss-communication" seems to have taken the edge off of it, and we haven't belaboured the point that part of the proicess of hiring an "expert" is that "expert" has to guide you about the process and ensure that mandates and expectations are clearly aligned - that would just be cruel.
In any case, the guys are at our place right now with sledge hammers and the like - which is terrifying!
Posted by hodge on 2005-09-29 14:14:37
Post Subject:
my last livingroom was also dark and square, and painted a golden orange (and received the same compliments). for some reason i like that as a living room colour vs. a bedroom colour. i am always going for the cool colours for bedrooms, though, and i'm not sure why. perhaps it's time to mix it up?
Posted by PamTheQueen on 2005-04-20 19:07:17
Post Subject:
Thanks, thanks, and TONS thanks! I cannot wait until I can start moving in next week!!!! We just went through the home inspection today (it took 4+hours to do this big old home!). Nothing major - just old house stuff.
While the inspector was uhh..inspecting, I sat down to read the history of the home. The realtor/owner forgot to show it to me, though I saw some old photos.
I've never been a super duper history buff, but now I am all crazy to know all I can about the house and town. Here are some tidbits:
*The man who built the house was a prominent businessman who owned a 700 acre farm north of town and also the department store/dry goods store on the courthouse square.
*He had a young son named Billy who died in the house.
*His first wife also passed away in the house and her wake was held there.
*Based on the notes, others may have later passed away in the house during the early 1900's, but I cannot be sure. Either way, it is said that there is a friendly spirit living in one of the second floor bedrooms. Doesn't say which or what it does. (Not sure I believe ghosts or spirits, but i'll let you know the first time my husband has to fly to Miami for a week leaving me alone!!!!!*shudder*)
*One of the original owner's daughters was married at the house. There was a large beautiful garden with white columns and stonework (pictures were included). Other weddings took place, too.
*When the original owner died, he willed the house to his son. The will also gave money from the estate to build the Christian Church that is just down the road.
*The local bank president owned it during the First Worl War (after which, the tacky wallpaper went up). He willed it to the Bank President that followed him. I'm not sure if there is a relation like son-in-law or something.
*The pink and blue bathrooms were done in 1953.
*A doctor purchased the house in 1966. His last name was Kock. (I wonder if he was a urologist?)
*Mrs. Kock later used the house as a place to teach arts and crafts. This was probably mid-70's to the early 80's. I really want to research this fact!
*It was then an antique shop, followed by two B&B and the Tea Room. I've already found out today that most people in town refer to it as "the bed & breakfast". The older woman at the city clerk office told me how much she hates the pink color. :)
Also met the neighbors to the west of us who own another historic home in the italianate style. Very super nice! Yayee for good neighbors!
Posted by delqc on 2005-05-20 12:11:03
Post Subject:
Oh there are sooo many ...
1. knitting a scarf - I have about 60 rows left to go and then I'm done ... 90% done
2. Making a scissor fob - the sides are all embroidered but I have to attach the interfacing, get some emery or sand to stuff it with, and then sew it up and stuff it properly. Oh yeah, and make some twisted cord and a tassel to attach to it, and to use to attach it to my embroidery scissors. - 90% done
3. Making / embroidering a scissor case to match the scissor fob - kind of started ... - 2% done (fabric is cut ... )
4. Making a new pair of pants for myself - fabric is purchased and pattern is cut out, but fabric isn't cut yet. - 10% done
5. Embroidering a Christmas stocking for the special boy - maybe 10% done
6. Embroidering a large victorian style portrait - 85% done ... I have to finish the background and some backstitching
7. Making a tote bag for my snoeshoes. Fabric and accessories, like clip, zipper etc are purchased. Need to finalize design cut & sew up (10% done)
Posted by mommysalami on 2005-10-24 19:41:33
Post Subject: Very happy with my Viking
I had (just died last week) a Viking 960-nothing near as nice as the Platinum but I loved it. I cannot afford another at this time but if I could I would definitely consider another. My Vik was a hand me down from my mom-and it has lasted well over 20 years with no service problems whatsoever.
It is soooooooo easy to use and quiet. I borrowed a friend's machine to finish what I was sewing and boy howdy was that thing LOUD-and it is only a 5 year old high end Brother machine. I had to wait and sew when my kids were up because her machine was waking them up. With the Viking I could practically sew in their bedrooms while they slept without disturbing them.
I just went to a sewing shop to drool over the brand new Viks and tried a few out-they're even better than my old one.
Posted by breewell on 2004-11-03 18:22:15
Post Subject:
I just heard that in the states 1/3 of people call themselves "evangelical christians" and of the people who said that "moral issues" were important 80% voted for Bush. That is the scariest thing for me, these people are not voting logically, they hear Bush say god wants him to be presidant and they believe him. They are more concerned with butting into other people's lives, bedrooms and bodies than with real issues like jobs, the economy, education, healthcare, and safety.
It alrady feels like the news is getting more conservative! (I guess I'm just super-sensitive)
Posted by DJules on 2006-07-12 12:43:03
Post Subject:
It's absolutely acceptable to close and lock the doors of any rooms you don't want someone coming over to your house to see. You do have a right to some privacy, yes?
I consider our bedrooms to be personal and private areas of our house, and always shut those doors when we have people over.
Posted by mystril on 2004-11-25 17:35:02
Post Subject:
Actually one of my friends has a number of pets -- when I first met her, she had a very cranky dog, a very shy cat, and a very lovey-dovey cat.
Shy cat mostly stayed in the basement.
Lovey cat went between her bedroom, the hallway and the basement.
Cranky Dog stayed in the kitchen and upstairs tv watching area.
Cranky dog and lovey cat passed away. Her mother adopted a new dog who kept the same habits as the old dog. And my friend began caring for foster kittens, which she keeps in a kennel in her bedroom.
So, yes, it is possible to keep cats in certain areas of the house if you have the right kind of house. She has doors separating her kitchen/living area from a hallway where the bedrooms are.
Posted by melimade on 2006-04-24 17:41:32
Post Subject:
Can you switch bedrooms around, maybe turn an office into a living area, or take away the areas that are not being used well(for example, a desk that just gets piled up with crap or the corner you throw all your laundry into).
When I get sick of things, I move everything, CLEAN, and then move it all somewhere new/rearrange/reorganize. I recently took a tv stand and turned it into an end table, then moved things around so the TV was someplace completely new. It made the whole room different.
Posted by jennjitsu on 2005-08-14 23:35:09
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We JUST moved into our first house so everything is fresh in my mind! It's a scary thing, especially when you start signing the stacks of papers!
First you have to get preapproved with a mortgage company so you know how much you can spend. Get them to do the math with a bunch of different prices so you get an idea ahead of time what a monthly mortgage payment would be for a house (for example) that is $175,000 or whatever price. Always expect to pay more, that way if it comes out to be a lower monthly payment, it's more fun! Happened to us.
Ask about how fast houses go in that neighborhood. Our neighborhood is close to base, so to bid any lower than the asking price would have been shooting ourselves in the foot. If things don't stay on the market for more than a couple of weeks in that area, bite the bullet and don't try to make the bid too low. We jimmied a deal where we would pay exactly what they were asking if they would pay X amount in closing costs. They took it (even though it didn't happen like that in the end, but we still came out with a better deal).
I know they say the home inspection can be optional, but go ahead and fork out the money for one. And get a GOOD inspector, preferably someone with P.E. after their name. It means they have have a masters in engineering or something to do with being really good at the job. Until the past couple of years, any Joe off the street could take a seminar and become an "inspector", so you don't always get someone who takes the time and is thorough. Expect to pay anywhere from $200 and up for an inspection. The PE guys are a little pricier, but ours was so worth it. Ask specifically about the roof and foundation. They aren't experts at all of it (if you wanted to know more about the plumbing or electrical, you'd have to hire the appropriate people to come in and look at that seperately). Sometimes they can give you a decent idea about how much more life you can expect out of the roof.
Ask about neighborhood codes. Some neighborhoods are part of the homeowners association and you have to pay dues and such. Also, some neighborhoods have strict codes about what colour your house can be, what you can have in your yard, how tall your grass can get and even what colour your garbage cans are. Those are probably in the ritzy neighborhoods though.
Ummm...they will probably make sure there aren't any liens still on the house, but ask anyway. It would suck to have it whisked out from under you because the previous owner used it as collateral for something.
Aks tons of questions. My husband and I were super annoying when house hunting but we nixed several seemingly good choices because of some shady answers. Don't worry about offending anyone, this is a house that you are going to buy to live in for presumably a long time. If you wanna know what the hell that smell is in the basement and how to get rid of it, you have a right to know!
ALSO! Something we neglected to think about until after we closed was how your stuff will look and fit into the spaces. We are having to pare down on a lot of furniture and junk because we didn't take into account the much smaller livingroom and dining area. The bedrooms are also smaller. This turned out to be good for us anyway since we are military and move everyfew years. This should make our shipping weight better! There were several things we were holding onto "just in case" that we now must get rid of. Just try to visualize how much room you'll have after the furniture goes in.
Hope some of that was useful, now that I look back it just looks like a lot of babbling!
Posted by baltica on 2005-06-11 19:30:27
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$830 for a large 2 bedroom in a really lovely victorian house. That is actually a pretty good deal in this area; you can find 2 bedrooms for cheaper but they're in crappier areas/buildings.
Posted by JeraAndJune on 2005-06-13 11:43:00
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We pay 850 (utilities included) for a 1,000 square foot three bedroom, two bath in Madison, WI. For my area of town that is a good deal, most one bedrooms on my street run 1,000. It has off street parking and free laundry in the basement too.
And what area of town is that?
Posted by brdgt on 2005-06-13 16:23:48
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We pay 850 (utilities included) for a 1,000 square foot three bedroom, two bath in Madison, WI. For my area of town that is a good deal, most one bedrooms on my street run 1,000. It has off street parking and free laundry in the basement too.
And what area of town is that?
Posted by Marina-Trilobyte on 2005-06-12 11:30:52
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We own and we are paying about $1,300 a month for our mortgage on Cape Cod. Two bedrooms, one bath, very small single family house. It's part of a nice little subdivision that was built in the seventies and has a lot of established trees and quiet.
We have a relatively high mortage because it's a fifteen year mortgage. Most people nowadays are going for twenty or thirty year mortgages.
We could *probably* rent a comparable property for around $1,000+, but it wouldn't be in nearly as nice a neighborhood. And we wouldn't own it in another dozen years.
Posted by for_esme on 2005-06-11 00:28:04
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This topic has been sorely on my mind lately as I'm looking for a new place. What I'd really like is half of a duplex, so that we can have a small backyard and... it would just feel more like home. Sadly we can't afford anything nice like that right now, since we're both (boyfriend and I) students living on part-time, low pay jobs and parents' help.
We pay $655 for a 700 sq ft one bedroom, one bath, in denver. For the area it's an okay deal, but we could really use two bedrooms. We're in a highrise too, with noisy neighbors! Boo. This apartment hunt is exhausting.
Posted by brdgt on 2005-06-11 13:58:25
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We pay 850 (utilities included) for a 1,000 square foot three bedroom, two bath in Madison, WI. For my area of town that is a good deal, most one bedrooms on my street run 1,000. It has off street parking and free laundry in the basement too.
In Boston we paid 1,300 for a one bedroom with no parking. You also get paid more in Boston, but I think if I did the math our apartment now would take a lower percentage of our income than it did in Boston.
I know "they" say that rent is only supposed to be 1/3 of your monthly income, but I've never lived anywhere where that was even possible unless the neighborhood was unsafe and you had five roomates.
Posted by jennjitsu on 2005-06-13 20:54:57
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Rent is insane up here in Alaska, because they can make it insane. Since your choices are limited you kind of have to take what you find. We had the option of living on post, pretty much for free. However, the housing isn't very good and they are in the midst of tearing down old housing and rennovating what they have. We decided to live off post so that the families who don't make enough can live on post. Our rent comes to $1550 for a 70's split level with 3 bedrooms and two baths, but the condition is kind of down there on the charts. The military does give us an allowance though, thats the only reason we are able to swing it.
Now we are looking to buy a house. We are using "free" money to pay someone else's mortgage when we could be paying our own!
My brother lives in D.C. and prices are just as nuts (if not nuttier) over there.
Posted by moon_lemming on 2005-08-05 19:18:22
Post Subject: Re: How do you organize your books?
we just moved in eight months ago, we have basically four rooms (two bedrooms, kitchen, and living room), and I have no bookshelves; add in a book addiction and a packratty nature and you can imagine how disastrous this is. although I kind of like it -- it's the first time in my life I've had this many books and it's nice to see them all around the house. but my goal after we refinance is to get a few half-nice bookshelves (I can never find any in thrift stores or yard sales around here) from IKEA or something and get organized.
for now, though, I'm using an armoire/cabinet thing and a wicker shelf that's supposed to hold linens, I think. the wicker shelf, in the bedroom, is full of my newer to-be-read acquisitions. (I probly have around 100 right now, I've gone on a few book binges and joined a few book clubs since I actually have a place to put books now.)
the cabinet in the bedroom is full of the books we've brought in from storage, not really organized or anything because I'm too anal to be happy with the way it'll look since there's so little space. I generally know where everything's at, though.
I have a little drop-leaf table in front of our back door stacked high with the very newest books -- there are about fifty or so on there.
right now there's a stack of about twenty library books on the kitchen table because I have to find a new spot to put them; the dresser drawer I've been keeping library stuff in is full.
my cookbooks are all on a shelf in the living room (it's a small house, so they're still close to the kitchen), organized by . . . prettiness, I guess. I take them out so often there's no point in having them in order.
oh, and Rabbit's kiddie books (along with various old kid encyclopedias, nature books, and the like) are in her room on a crookedly shelved bookcase that needs to be replaced. there's no point in putting those in order.
when I organize properly, it's usually fic / non-fic / memoir / sci-fi / mythology / textbooks etc. most of those categories are then alphabetized. I like to keep hardbacks and softcovers separate, although that isn't always practical.
collections . . . vintage craft books -- oh, those are on my craft shelf, I forgot; a budding Nancy Drew collection; and some of the better Buffy stuff. I'm starting to collect vampire novels in general, they interest me for some weird reason, maybe Buffy related. oh, and I have a nice bunch of foodie writing, so I guess that could be a collection. (eta: I also have a hilariously crappy YA collection, with stuff like Alloy's "have a nice life" series, BSC stuff, LJ Smith's "dark" series, etc.)
I have no cool computer program to keep track of what I have, but I've started entering everything into a searchable TextEdit file, so at least that's a start.
crap, that was long, sorry . . . it's fun to read about what everyone else has been doing with their books -- y'all are all so organized and neat. And hot damn, picapica, thirteen bookcases full of books?! I'm so fricken jealous!
Posted by Mathias on 2004-05-18 14:36:49
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I'm Rhi. I was 'Mathias' at Glitter as well, but I mostly only lurked because it was a little overwhelming for me. I've been checking these forums out for several days now, and I can feel an addiction blooming. You guys seem to have a cozy community here.
I am 25, will have been married for 4 years next month, and am comfortably busy with my four cats and two dogs. I have been doing social work for about 3 1/2 years now and I think I am just beginning to get a grasp on how to leave my job at 4:30pm and not take its zaniness and sadness home with me.
I love just about everything involving writing from decorating stationery to making envelopes to writing thank you notes to buying stamps to my tiny column at Jaded Times.
I adore my sewing machine and my flower/herb gardens.
I am presently making marble magnets as thank you gifts for all the folks who donated to me for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (such an awesome experience) and I am getting itchy and excited about finally setting up my "craft room" in one of my spare bedrooms.
