apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Best perk of shacking up? The pets, of course!

I'd also have to say the CD and DVD collection. And, the bf has great taste in bedding (!).

When I moved out of my last place with a roommate b/c her bf now fiance moved in, I got a LOT of stuff:

many many throw pillows
a wonderful cat
a television
West Elm interlocking squares headboard and bed
bedside table


current roommate has a Kitchenaid....love!

and I always have my own bathroom

my s.o. is from India and came with all the essential utensils, cookery, appliances, and best of all authentic spices and ingredients for Indian cooking. Stuff that can be very challenging to find over here. Oddly enough I've become a much better at cooking it all than him, but with a lot of help from his supplies.

Men tend to come with electronics I'd never ever spend the money on myself.

I had a succession of roommates finish grad school and move far away. This is how I acquired lots of my favorite furniture. I got stuck cleaning the house after they left, but there were always enough things I wanted to make up for it. The nice stuff I made certain to offer to pay for, but it's still like getting things you already know you like, at craigslist prices, but without having to haul it home!

In my first apartment, my roommate's parents provided all the furniture--dining table, chairs, sofa, lounge chair. When my roommate moved out, she left all the furniture behind. It was all ugly, but at that point in my life, I wasn't turning down free furniture! All of my subsequent roommates left something behind, so I accumulated a lot of housewares that way.

Never got anything good from any roommate I've ever had (they were always excited about my stuff). The joys of living alone greatly outweigh any material good a roommate/SO might bring to the abode.

right now, just about every piece of furniture and decor in my apartment has been provided by me, (I had been living alone and had thus acquired all the basics). while it's kind of nice that I've been able to dictate the style, it's frustrating that my four roommates now assume that they don't need to pitch in. we could still use a few things and if I bring it up, I'm met with blank stares...

My roommate and I are the same size so I doubled my wardrobe...it's pretty sweet.

I had a boyfriend who moved in with me and brought just one thing with him, his record player and speakers. When we broke up he took his clothing but the record player and speakers stayed. It is certainly the best thing that came of the relationship.

The current roommate has a Wii (although sadly that was inherited from a recent breakup) and has an extra bedroom set that I can use until I can afford to buy my own.

My partner and I call who brings what to the cohabitating a "healthy division of labor." For example, I care how the bed gets made, he cares about speaker quality. So we have a tidy bedroom and excellent Bose sound.

i provide a house full of everything and do all the cleaning. roommate provides awkward silent treatment, messes, and a check once a month. i'm looking forward to paying off my student loan and getting a raise.

My SO has a nice collection of British comedy DVDs and a sexy accent.

My boyfriend brought with him a huge book collection that dwarfed my own. It's nice to still find new books to read after 3 years! Not to mention all the books we've collected since getting together.

Other than that, all the stuff he brought (furniture wise) was crappy and we've slowly switched it out for better quality and awesome craiglist finds. The only thing we've kept is his bedroom set because I didn't have a bedframe or night tables. We hate it, but it's better than sleeping on the floor!

Once we have a room for a spare room, we'll put the current bed in the spare room and then buy a bigger bed and pick a new frame and tables.

I lived with an amazing painter and silk screen artist who worked on large scale paintings (5'x5' at least). So instead of being stuck with boring white walls we weren't allowed to paint we had a mini gallery in every room.

Unfortunatly she was a nightmare to live with so my dream of having a home filled with art was dashed as I ran for the door.

I used to steal my roommates chocolate chip cookies when she went home on the weekends in college, does that count? I did replace them (repeatedly as I have a weakness for cookies) before she noticed, if that redeems me at all.

I've also left things behind when I've moved because it was going to be a beeyatch to move them. I left a working 27" tv and an armoir and a nice fridge.

Oh I agree with adamwa. The Harman Kardon stereo system my boyfriend brought wth him is wonderful. Its like having Ibrahim Ferrer in my living room -just gives me chills.