apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

My husband's decorating 'style' was very indicative of who he was at the time,a 29 year old guy who had spent the previous 3 years (after college) in the following situations:

1. Ski resort employee
2. Forest Service employee in New Mexico
3. one of three guys in a roommate situation
4. a new homeowner who traveled for work

Poor guy - he had a 2 bedroom house, and his furniture consisted of a lazyboy, 2 ugly lamps, a stereo, a tv, a bed, an antique dresser he'd refinished, and clean/unused 5 gallon waste disposal drums standing in as end tables.

I was still in college, and had yet to determine a style beyond that, so we were able to take a bungalow with white walls, blue carpet and a nightmare kitchen, and together turn it into a
place with hardwood floors, colour on the walls, and a gorgeous kitchen. It also sold for almost 50% than we paid for it, so that works.

He's still figuring out his style, as I'm still figuring out mine, so that is what works for us. We work together. THere's no dictating one manner or another. We love to work together on interior design and architectural projects on our house, and because we're not 'professionals' we aren't afraid to try things together. :)

I think only a very certain, special sort of lady would be into this, but when he finds the right one, he'll likely get laid, I'm sure.

Otherwise, it will be a LOOOOONG dry spell.

She broke up with this dude? Can't imagine why.

I can't wait for some of the folks from Paige's thread to beam themselves over here and praise him for being a pioneer. ; )

i see the ladies of AT are quick with the hostility to this design effort -- which i bet is exactly the kind of imagined reaction that spurred him to this aesthetic.

many people design for their fantasy lives -- there is a certain je ne sais quoi in designing one's apt as a loud riposte to all that one desires.

This apartment is the deal-breaker of all deal-breakers. But I guess it gets back to the question: Is the purpose of your apartment decor to get laid?

Oh my god, hilarious!

So, my comment above came off a bit harsh. I would like to add that he seems very nice and I admire anyone who turns distress into motivation. (When I break up with someone, I can only channel my energy as far as the couch.) Also, great execution.

But does it have a transporter and holodeck?

avocado- the purpose of EVERYTHING is to get laid.

anon -- precisely what i admire about this apt is that it defies your aphorism.

and i say this as someone whose apt has been described by unkind observers as looking a bit too ready and willing.

I'm sorry I missed the display of your bed of peonies.

Would she have to say "beem" me up, captain?

If he can convince the ladies that he's actually Patric Stewart, I can see this working.

I think this is pretty cool. I'm not a Trekkie; so, this wouldn't be the best fit for me. But I've often thought how cool it would be to live in a space that approximated the interiors from A Clockwork Orange, Logan's Run or Blade.

Some of us like theme rooms in which to "get busy".

He'll have traffic if he ever decides to switch "galaxies."

Please, hold all "Uranus" jokes.

Someone say..... Clockwork Orange

Damn forgot the link...

http://www.phinnweb.org/livingroom/ILikeToWatch/allenjones/

I'm with rasil on this one...

I think a sci-fi interior designer is somewhat interesting, I mean there are set designers out there doing this kind of thing everyday. There's a market for everything, and god knows, there are a lot of Trekkies, Sci-fi channel addicts and gamers out there that may really be into this sort of thing. Why shouldn't one be allowed to live in their fantasy taste?

Like Maxwell said, "Go wild."

I appreciate AT for posting all styles, even ones that I may not be drawn towards myself - they still inspire me. There's a lot to learn from such innovative thinking!

Holly

Wow, Fritz. You scare me. Amazed that you were able to find that link so quickly!

I like that this guy did the NEWER Enterprise.
The old one would have just been sad. :)

rasil--
I sooo want details about an apartment that looks "too ready and willing"!!!

There are plenty of people in the science fiction community (ie: people who go to sci-cons) that would delightedly freak out over this. If the concern that this guy gets no action, I can verify that there are women in this world who have Major Things for Vulcans and Klingons as well as Cylons, Swamp-Things and Tribbles. Honestly, I think the execution of his obsession looks pretty good and I'm guessing a good party could be thrown here complete with goofy dry-ice smoking drinks. You don't have to want to live in the Weird to appreciate the Weird.

this is awesome. i'd never live there, but i'd go to all his parties.

This project sets a new standard for, "We're not really going to be negotiating shared control of this space, are we, hon?"

All he needs is a female Trekker who would have decorated her own home this way if she'd known how. Trust me, they exist. And if his home is being featured in Trek fan media (as it apparently is), she'll find him.

I'm DAMN IMPRESSED. Did he custom make all the pieces? WOW.

I LIKE IT!!! IN A STRANGE WAY.
WELL MAYBE JUST FOR ONE ROOM ONLY.
VERY ORIGINAL!!!
AMY

I would love to hear from our ladies, what they DO think is "sexy" in a batchelor's apartment decor.

Flowers, books, baseball glove.

Oh. My. Gawd.

I would SOOOO do this in one of my rooms. Note: One. It wouldn't be a main living space, but maybe a game room, or a tv room, or for us in the development community, dare i say an office?

Were there partner desks on the Enterprise?

These comments about getting laid - you people are sooooo one-track. ...though anything that makes me think of Scott Bakula on a regular basis could do nothing but improve my libido. =)

I can't imagine living here, but more power to him. He definitely knows what he likes.

If I could emulate a set, it would have to be Barbarella (although my hair and wardrobe could never live up to that) or Ian McClellan's house in Gods and Monsters.

In response to:

I would love to hear from our ladies, what they DO think is "sexy" in a batchelor's apartment decor.

Posted by Windwolf at 04/27/06 7:31 PM

I think "Jamie's Date Ready Pad" is very sexy. The wood and the white textiles make it very comfortable and it is clear that he is trying hard, but in a somewhat considerate way, which is nice. It's much better than most men's apartments. On the other hand, with such a good design sense, I would worry that perhaps he is in the closet.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2006-entries/23-jaimes-date-ready-pad-007112

Fiona!

Gods and Monsters house.. THE BEST!!!

that's "perhaps in the closet"?!

vanessa, dear... such "innocence" (?) might be a slight...impediment to a satisfying social life, i think.

p2, have you ever seen blood and sand?

Hey Rasil. I didn't mean to offend the straight men out there who ARE in fact great designers. It's just that most of the straight men that I know are horrible at interior design (plastic milk crates as coffee tables, cinder blocks and 2x4s, etc.) But, now that I mention it, my current boyfriend actually has quite good taste. :)

Vanessa, during Smallest Coolest, Jaime made it clear that his targets of seduction were not persons of the female gender. So no closets seem to be involved -- and isn't lack of closet space just so appropriate to Smallest, Coolest?

heya,
admitted, i am a moron -- i didn't read that. my response was to a hypothetical situation (my appreciation of a swanky, styling bachelor pad). i used his as an example because it's a beautiful apartment. my joke was that no straight guy would have such a nice place (and it turns out that i'm right). i really didn't mean to offend.
:)

And Jaime's place has to be some kind of success when both genders contain substantial numbers of people who think it's sexy.

I was so glad to get a husband who had only eight really awful pieces of furniture and no emotional attachment to them. Very tabula rasa, though exceedingly uncomfortable in the stages of dating that involved substantial time at his place without a free hand to redecorate.

Wende - "Stages of dating that involved substantial time at his place without a free hand to redecorate."

I admire your restraint. Did it last long? =)

Doesn't that mean both hands were "busy"? ;)

Windwolf - To answer your post, "I would love to hear from our ladies, what they DO think is "sexy" in a bachelor's apartment decor." Here's my
take on this subject. Prepare for a book. I type very fast so I'll sum it up in 10 minutes or less...

When I was dating my husband, I was impressed by his space for these reasons.

1) He selected a pre-war building to rent an apartment in, dated from the late 1800s. It impressed me that he wanted an apt with architectural details, strong bones... Soaring ceilings, huge windows. At that time, he lived in Germany so we were only talking on the phone. He would describe his place to me and the way he talked about it, from how he cared for his plants to the way he arranged his furniture, impressed me. This man has class, I thought. He actually had an opinion about his decor. Wow.

2) When I visited him in Germany for the first time, I stopped dead in my tracks the moment I entered his apartment. For one, it was spotless. When I peeked behind his entertainment unit, I saw cords neatly wrapped and secured with bands. His bathroom shined. He displayed his after-shave and misc. things nicely on a glass shelf. His tea collection and wine had it's own space in his kitchen (he actually had wine delivered to his home monthly from a vineyard south of his city). His windows were spotless. He cared for his plants. He had art. Candles. Everything was displayed with care, attention to detail, lovingly. His apartment felt like a home where I could move in and leave everything behind in Boston without a second thought. It was that comfortable.

3) I was impressed that his closet was organized according to item and that everything was neat and carefully folded. He only purchased well-made clothing. He didn't have tons and tons of clothes piled everywhere in his closet (like me). His clothing was something he took pride in for himself, not to pick up women or impress others. His wardrobe contained beautiful pressed clothes on wood hangers. Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hussein Chalayan, D&G, Diesel, John Varvatos. Not tons of clothes, but what he had was perfection. His shoes shined. He was determined that, whenever he purchased something new, he needed to 'edit' his closet and take something out. He still does this.

4) Clutter-free environment.

5) Tiny kitchen that was clean and organized. His apartment was only 2 rooms, but it was big in other ways. Big on style, for one. Very big on warmth.

6) I loved his orange curtains. What man has orange curtains? They were lovely.

7) He selected his apartment in a section of town that was closest to the forest so he could exercise there daily. (He's big into biking) He always talked about the forest, the way the dirt smells, the freshness, the green haven that he escaped to daily... I was touched that he felt so connected to nature. When he was selecting an apt, he would only view those that were close to the forest. His apt was 2 blocks from the forest entrance, 2 blocks from the subway, and 4 stops from city centre. Everything was close by. He was practical and desired convenience. He thought of everything. Even more impressive.

8) His CD collection, organized alphabetically. Nek and Laura Pausini to Sasha and electronica. When he listened to his CDs, he would light all the candles, enjoy wine, and read. I liked how big was on creating an atmosphere. It's something he does to this day. He knows how to relax and enjoy simple pleasures.

I could go on and on... And thankfully, we fell in love and got married and soon to celebrate our 5th year of marriage. He still edits his closet and we decorate together because our space is OUR space. I am not the leader in this, nor would I want to be. We have differing opinions, but we always figure out something that makes us both happy. We clean together, cook together, and most of all, he never lost touch with who he was as a single man just because 'he got the girl'. He still takes pride in himself, his home and respects himself immensely.

Overall, if a man respects himself and has pride in who he is, his space will reflect that. You can fill a home with all the fancy high end furniture in the world, but if the man living in that space only has it to impress others or 'hook up', then it shows in ways that are very emotional and an intuitive woman that knows and respects herself will pick up on that instantly and run many miles away. Respecting oneself and maintaining a clean, healthy environment, THAT IS SEXY.

Holly

Fiona... Barbarella, yes!

Holly-

What you wrote is beautiful.

Wow, holly, your husband's lucky to have a woman who appreciates him so well.

As for our apartment in question---I want to know if the doors open automatically as you approach them! A computer you can talk to that dims the lights would be another option...

"This man has class, I thought. He actually had an opinion about his decor."

A common fallacy.

Holly, that was very nice.

Henrietta, that was very funny, nevertheless.

Since I don't see that anyone else has mentioned this, I will.

NPR, oddly enough, is a little late on this one. This guy was featured in the sequel to the "Trekkies" movie, aptly titled "Trekkies II" which featured non-US Star Trek fans. Denise Crosby (aka Tasha Yar) interviewed him and did a rather nice walkthrough of the place. I think the most interesting part of the spot, for me, was hearing him talk about how he made certain things like the transporter console, get the sound effects just-so, etc. If I recall, he did point out that he, essentially, has no bathroom since it's been assimilated into the shrine. Hopefully, he'll consider converting the former bathroom into a sonic shower, a la Voyager.

As for whether this flat will get him laid -- my guess is, it probably will, eventually. But not because he's a Star Trek geek or even because of the novelty value ("Hey, I just did it on a transporter pad!"). I daresay, he'll get laid because it's quite easy to see how passionate this guy is about SOMETHING, and he's willing to do what it takes to make it real. Or as real as it can be. Would that we could all be this passionate, motivated, and tenacious.

Not that I'm not pea-green with envy that Holly's husband is so fastidious.

My husband, a very good-natured man, looks stricken any time I approach the subject of interior design.

i think what any woman finds sexy is, at its most basic, a man who knows how to take care of himself and indicates some desire to control and personalize his environment. it appeals to a woman's nesting impulse, like seeing a man with a baby.

a badly but meticulously decorated apartment could be, if the guy is right, totally charming and adorable.

but, men get points for:
-basic tidiness (made bed, not too many dishes in the sink)
-furniture purchased since college, chosen with some discretion.
-coordination (or well-edited miscellany) of said furniture
-warmth: fabrics, pillows, carpets, curtains. it doesn't have to be victoriana, it just shouldn't be so minimal and sterile that it looks like the inside of a new refrigerator.
-photos of friends and family are always a great touch.

liz, you forgot one thing:

Toilet seat DOWN. (Oh, and please flush. Gah.)

I love this place. I'm not a trekkie, but I loved and still miss Star Trek Voyager, which had a female captain. I felt very warm and fuzzy about the ship's interior, because I liked the show so much. I'd like to visit a holodeck and make food in a replicator. I carry my own tricorder (but I call it a Palm Pilot.) I can't wait till medicine catches up with what the doctor can do on the Voyager. People are now walking around with gadgets practically implanted on their heads like Seven of Nine.

I love that someone wants to live on the set of his fantasy turned into a home.

But, I think that Maxwell would say that this place needs some warm touches.

I would say that liz's criteria apply all the more so the older the man is. It's okay if a man has his college furniture a year or so post-college, when he's still working an entry level job, but if he's still hanging on to it a decade later, it seems a lot worse.

I think a man's home is more appealing when it actually looks like he lives there, not just a half-empty space where he occasionally stops off to shower and sleep.

And decor8 holly, that was a beautiful ode to your husband.

Is this an example of form over function?

Or taste over comfort?

What I find appealing in a man has less to do with how he lives (within reason) and more to do with how he treats me. That said, the Trekkie approach does not appeal to me, and the guy would have to be really amazing in other ways.

Windwolf, I'm afraid your question is too generalized. There are not two women (as I'm sure, not two men) who subscribe to exact set of criteria that feels intuitively right for the other.

For instance, I would run away instantly after the first look into Decor Holly's husband's apartment; all the details she admired would speak "pedant with control issue", which is not particularly appealing to me (no offense, Holly, we're all differnt-that's why he's your huband and not mine).

Plethora of family photos,on the other hand, would issue a warning that I would have to constantly compete for the guy's attention; there are guys of course who are worthy of that, and then some...

Henrietta there is a smart way to make sure the toilet seat stays down..ALL the time. Install one of these
http://www.keidel.com/design/select/urinals.htm

It also makes the bathroom alot cleaner

I guess my standards as a single woman were low. I was just pleased if there was no awful-looking black leather furniture (there is great-looking black leather furniture, but I think we all know the type I mean) and the apartment was basically clean. It was also a thrill if there were books and the TV was not overly huge and looming.

Thank you for your comments - I really appreciate them all.

:)

Holly

Windwolf:

Have to agree with Tat. Here's my list (I don't even know why I am bothering with this - this June, my husband and I will celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary - but hey, one can dream right?!):

I'd say the guy's place should be clean (not necessarily tidy - a few shirts here and there would be ok, but no dustballs the size of my head), have lots of books and maybe a musical instrument. Clean kitchen, clean bathroom. Need not be *decorated* in any way or form.

I hope all you ladies are living up to the standards you expect of your menfolk.

P(too), we're just answering the question.

Any guys who want to chime in about what they expect of women?

Think of the "games" you could play here:
OK, you be Seven of Nine, I'll be the captain.
No way, you were the captain last time!

Ha! Deepa-- I accidentally read "muscled instrument" and thought, now THAT'S my kind of criteria!

:)

Pixie--
Or Six of Nine, as it were.

Depends on which captain.

I think guys would generally admire the same things a woman does: relatively clean and tidy space that looks lived in and has some personality.

What I think men would NOT like or find sexy in the least is an overwhelmingly little-girly type space, with a plethora of stuffed animals/mini cushions on the bed, flowered and pink everything, and framed Anne Geddes posters.

Fritz,

Thank you for your interesting suggestion. I need some time to come around on this one.

What is sexy? In apartment decor? Uh...a reflection of who he is...inside. No two people are alike. I do like books, so I'd like to see lots of those. Can tell a lot about a person from their books. What they like, or where they've been.

***walking over to my bookshelves***

Abnormal Psychology next to SM 101
Beyond Altruism next to The Worldy Philosophers
Marcus Aurelius Mediations next to DSM-IV Guidebook
Lots of design/decorating books. Cat books. Auto books. Philosophy, religion, ethics, medicine.

Oodles of books that start with "Theories of..." because nobody really knows what does what so they just make it up as they go along, or so it seems.

My decor is like the assortment of books, a jumble. Everything is interesting.

And entering someone else's apartment, if they were "one-subject-only" people, I'd be terribly bored and it wouldn't be sexy at all. If the room screams "I only like this" and there's no variation.

No, I'm not a total perv either, my undergrad major was Psychology and minor was Human Sexuality.

This means, of course, that I now know all people are weird and I'll never have sex again.

P2, you're a riot!:))

I personally think the design is awesome! And yes, Im a lady- I'm so glad AT put this up I love sci fi! My husband and i are thinking about doing the sci fi design in his office (the second bedroom serves as his office)

Andree,

Your bookshelf reads like mine. If you substitute dog books for the cat books, and add large format photo books with titles that people find very interesting or very uncomfortable, and everything Michael Manning has every published.

I however, *am* a total perv.

I SOOOOOO want to see Patrick's gettin' busy theme room - my imagination's running wild.

Apt. turn-ons:
Clean.
Good art, music and DVDs.
Flattering lighting.
Made bed.
Cool furniture that isn't wobbly, from college or salvaged from dead Aunt Tillie's house.
Framed pix that show friends and family.

Apt. turn-offs:
Dustballs, insects, and bathroom hairs.
Pictures of mom or ex-girlfriends anywhere near bed.
Bad smells.
Piles of anything.

re: the family photos, i didn't mean a shrine to mama, just some acknowledgment of the human bonds he's created in his life. it could be just some small pictures grouped in the hallway, for example.

i agree with someone's point about books: at least one full bookcase should be a requirement.

andree has a good point, too. a one-note home suggests a one-note person. boring!

Sexy in a guy's decor...

Clean. I shouldn't be afraid to touch anything or use the bathroom or walk around in bare feet.

It should look like he put some thought into the place. The dump-the-surfboard-behind-the-ratty-old-couch look is a real turn-off.

Then there are the personal touches. Guys who are into cooking and have well-organized kitchens are cool. I knew a guy once who had a collection of Hanna-Barbera cartoon cells framed and up on the wall in his hallway---very cool, they made me smile every time I saw them. Books are good. Pets are also good---they show caring and responsibility.

Very interesting - all of you. Especially Decor8Holly - you seem like a class act. Sounds like you have a lucky husband. My query was vague on purpose - just to get some good discussion started. Obviously, what is "sexy" to one, may be totally "icky" and repulsive to another. I happen to be a latent "trekkie" - but I would never even want to do what this guy has done. It has no appeal to me at all. I don't find it the least bit "sexy". Interseting and kind of cool, but I don't want it. "To each - his own". Incidentually, Roundabout, you're wrong about the "girly space". And stuffed animals are far superior to moose heads on the wall!!!

Max, I had to look up Michael Manning, and there's a bunch of them. I'm guessing it's the comic book/spider garden thing? Not the wedding photographer, no?

Liz, I'm not big on family photos. Probably because I don't like my own. One old boyfriend's parent's home (a long time ago) was a dadgum family ancestral tree of photos.

I did see a couple good old pictures at the Goodwill once, and wish I'd had enough money to get them both (nope, didn't have eight bucks to spare). I don't know who they were, they just looked like interesting people. I don't know who any of the people in my mom's old photos are either. They don't mean anything to me.

Again, all individuals, what's important to one isn't at all important to the other.

P.S. My bed isn't made and I might go jump back in at any moment.

My, goodness! My fingers can't type today!

Andree,

Yes, it's the Spider Garden Manning. I love his work, I actually have comissioned a few pieces by him. Those are in my bedroom space, they're a bit too much to have out there when general company shows up.

Windwolf - really? You'd find an uber-girly space sexy?

Maybe it steps into some kind of "intruding on private space" fantasy, being in an overtly feminine space — like making out in your high school girl's bedroom while her parents are downstairs!

In response to:

I would love to hear from our ladies, what they DO think is "sexy" in a batchelor's apartment decor.


I'm a big fan of my boyfriend's apartment - New York Intellectual style. You know, walls lined with shelves overflowing with books, old LPs, and dvds; mismatched, threadbare, overstuffed couches; a stone fireplace; a French oak dining table; lots of paintings of ships and framed vintage movie posters; a battered, ancient sea chest for a coffee table. That kind of place.

I'm sitting her cracking up roundabout. Your reference to anne geddes prints made my chai latte nearly squirt out of my nose. Talk about sexy.

Holly

By the way, I haven't seen this much action on the NY boards since we discussed the whole 'leaving shoes at the door' thing.

I say we get this string over 100 posts and make AT proud!

It's funny, mention shoes and sex and we all chime in. :)

Holly

I guess the turn-around question would be what do guys like to see in a single woman's apartment. Anne Geddes prints would make me run for the hills.

Aside from the usual no-clutter/clean/no scary roommate I'd hope for:

- Not too many frills
- Hard liquor in an actual bar area (the whole "I only drink wine" thing is a joke, and please don't put the bottles on top of the fridge)
- No posters. If I see one more Chat Noire or Tattinger poster I'm going to freak out.
- A minimum of photos of high school friends. Unless they were all cheerleaders, and wearing their uniforms. In which case that's cool, and maybe you still have their numbers and they'd like to come over and sample that nice bottle of bourbon I saw on your bar cart?

Max, you gotta be young or like 'em young. "Photos of high school friends" is the giveaway. I'd be very scared going into a person's home if they had high school friend pictures and they were in their 30's and up.

Some people don't drink. Liquor. Drinking is, of course, necessary, water, etc.

Hey, the Chat Noire was FREE. And it's smaller than the average sized Chat Noire. And I LIKE the colors.

Paul has an orgy in his studio, everyeone can see it, not that it's recognizable as such in his SCC pictures. But I like the colors in it too. That was what drew me to the picture itself, the colors. Check it out here:
http://tinyurl.com/jo8la

Oh, and those feet. Those are sexy feet. Anyplace feet like that are, is a sexy place. Only if they're washed in golden light, though, like the clouds parting, the angels singing, and heaven is blessing Paul's feet. Well, that kind of ties in with his SCC entry title.

Jojo, "Piles of anything"...that cracks me up for some reason.

How about those "Bad Smells" though? How important is scent to people here in an apartment?

And to those of us in open studio spaces...how about cooking odor? Yeah, it's great when you're hungry and it's your food that's cooking. Not great when it's time to go to bed, or you're full, or your neighbor is cooking severed human heads and rotted eggs.

What scents do you like in apartments? And how to you add scent? I use the Rose and the Lilac Yankee Candle oil refills at Bed Bath and Beyond. Those are great. But nobody makes the other scents I would LOVE to have, like leather, wood, honey.

There's an Australian company that makes the honey room fragrance spritz. And I can use Cedar Fresh for a woodsy scent. but I'd like it all the time. Does anyone know of any kind of leather scent? Or feather scent, like new feather pillows or down comforters (other than buying new products all the time)?

Andree,

I'm not so young, but let's just say the first sex scene in "A History of Violence" did it for me. Thankfully it does it for my wife as well. But that's my point. High school fried picturs are terrifying at any point after college.

I live in an open loft space, and scents are tough. I solve it by neutralizing things with a Venta airwasher. I'm not big on artificial scents. Airwasher + flowers is enough. If you're looking for leather scents The Stockroom used to sell a leather scented candle, though I don't know if they still do. For the easily squicked, don't google The Stockroom for apartment items unless you've got SM 101 on your shelf.

First I have to look up Venta Airwasher. I'd love to hear what kinds of air cleaners/purifiers, etc, people use and have had success with. I've had a couple of the HEPA filter type things, and they are virtually worthless.

I'm not so sure I'd need/want the humidifying aspect, I'm near the coast in S.F. and there is enough mold to be problematic in some of the apartments. I haven't had a problem in MY space, but I don't want to push my luck running a humidifier all the time.

I did send in the leather candle idea to Martha Stewart. Along with the wood scents (not pine, thanks) and honey, although she does make a honey at K-Mart, it's not strong enough.

Ohhh, did find the leather candles! Cooool. They have a larger one and a 12-pack of votives. Have you smelled them yourself? Do they really smell that much like leather?

And a true vanilla would be splendid. Most things labelled as "vanilla" end up smelling like coconut to me. Yuck.

I'll see if I can find a local place that carries the Venta item, and check it out. Maybe getting a smaller unit would help with odors while not making the room overly humid and ripe for mold growth.

Anyone else with scent or air cleaner tips? Whatcha using?

Qapla' !

dIANE, I sure have given the Metacrawler search engine a workout throughout this thread. I was thinking, since you posted it right after I asked about air cleaners, that it was another brand.

After looking it up, I guess not. However:
http://tinyurl.com/bzid

""There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak," said the county's purchasing administrator, Franna Hathaway.
County officials said that obligates them to respond with a Klingon-English interpreter,..."

Maybe the pay is good?

By the way, how many people read the link JenPDX posted in Open Thread 193?

The House in Good Taste
by Elsie De Wolfe
Home Alone
A Review by Terry Castle

Way down in the article...
"I know there are times when we plan our houses as much for the pleasure of our friends as for ourselves, because we wish for their enjoyment, and rely on their appreciation and praise -- especially their praise. Thankfully that stage of my life has passed!"

So if the person who has the home likes Star Trek or found objects or Anne Geddes or Michael Manning, why NOT decorate in what gives the most pleasure?

Do we have to rely on that praise? Do we need to be validated for our choices?

And what of compromise? Those who've been here have seen dear Jonathan's endless renovation battle, fought with contractors and his spouse (a good reason third-parties should be allowed to initiate divorce proceedings). She likes this, he doesn't, he likes this, she doesn't. She calls him an idiot for the choice and it disappears. I haven't heard of it working the other way, yet. I'd love to hear her side of the story sometime, though.

So you've fallen madly in love/lust with someone, and after many dates you're going to their place for the first time...and it looks like one of any of the mentioned "no-no's".

A couple glasses of wine later and he's trying to put Vulcan ears on you. Shut you up with a ball gag. She's talking about babies while wistfully staring at Anne Geddes pictures.

Okay, that's extreme. Less extreme? Having the entire collection of (insert tv series here) and watching it incessantly. Trying to convince you that you'd really like fish brains and chicken feet if you only tried them.

Do you or your decor have to meet anyone's expectations? Whose? Why?

Andree, for a honey scent, you should be able to get the effect you want by putting a small pot of water on stove with a good dollop of honey in it. Simmer, making sure the liquid doesn't boil off.

This method also works with cinnamon, ginger, and similar "baking" spices that release scent when heated. If you want a true vanilla scent, I'd try it with a vanilla pod or two.

Thanks Wende~! Good idea! I ran out of simmering liquid of choice and tried using the kind of scent for candles, it's a concentrated liquid. They do have it in honey, but the one I tried in the simmering thing was grapefruit. It smelled like grapefruit, until it went in the water. Short time later...WHAT IS THAT SMELL?

I have honey lotions, honey shampoo, honey oil, honey bubble bath, honey soap, honey mist. Beeswax candles are good, but pricey. And I'm cheap. Thrifty? How about just poor.

How about you, Wende? Do you have any favorite home scents you use? Or ways of getting rid of hideous odors you don't want? Please don't tell me that stuffed loons solve the problem.

Hey Andree,

The cool thing about the venta is that it's not a force humidifier. Because it works on natural evaporation you're not putting more moisture into the air than would naturally be picked up near a body of water. It's pretty much self regulating.

Max...Hmmm, maybe that wouldn't be a problem after all then. I have a lot of plants, and they transpire, as well as moisture evaporating from the earth in their pots. I have dishes of water for the cats, which is also supposed to help the plants (the moisture). I have a recirculating fountain that I have to work on (it was leaking, pump might be on too high).

It's just when it said that the Venta AirWasher "humidifies" the space, I have the vision of billowing steam coming out of it, like my regular humidifier from Vicks.

The other thing I saw last year that doesn't really qualify as a "air cleaner" to the same degree as yours, was a box fan that was set up to hold a regular HVAC filter in the 20"x20" size on the back. I thought that might be good to use AT the door, so that the air being sucked in isn't pushing all that aforementioned pollen from outside all over the interior. That alone would probably help, and would be much more in my budget (it was $30.00 on sale last year).

It's unfortunate that solutions for problems are often related to finances, and if you can't afford the solution, one must suffer from the problems.

Andree, stuffed loons may absorb odors, but I've never put it to the test.

Cat box issues have been solved by temporarily plugging in one of those Lysol oil thingies, but leaving it on for more than 15 minutes is nauseating.

I usually just heat cinnamon in water on the stove. But we live in an odiferous neighborhood, so I suspect I'm tolerant of a potent melange of curry and lemon grass. (Heating lemon is disappointing; heating honey turns out to be very subtle. I should give up and bake something.)

OK,
I'll chime in in what I as I guy find good / bad in a womens apartment.

What's bad? In a word: Excess.

Specifically:

Too many frills, ruffles, and any excess of pink. Ladies, I know some of you think pink is a nice colour , but most men think it's awful. A room done in pink/salmon... it's like hell.

Too many knicknacks, Pictures of X, candles, plants, throw pillows, souvenirs .. and ... CATS - I like cats, 2 is
_PLENTY_)

Massive amounts of clothes (even neatly put away) - I know women seem to require more clothes than men - but ...

Too clean: hey! I like clean but when there's not a hair out of place, not a speck of dust ANYWHERE - I suspect mental illness, or an utter lack of better things to do.

Too dirty - Women tend to be cleaner than men, thank goodness, so a women who is messier than me is kind of wierd.

Unused kitchen: You can't cook? At all? Same advice as to male bachelors: Learn, it's not hard.

Matchy-matchy: I'm all for coodinated decorating, but if you can't live with _a_ nice teak modern design piece in your shabby chic look living room, or everything is variations of shades of green and you think cream coloured curtains clash, and all the art frames and art have exactly the same look ... ok then.

Scented things: I have yet to meet a guy who thinks scented candles are, generically, a good thing, ditto for any other (Artificial) product that makes the house smell of "forest at midnight", "orange grove" or any fruit or spice you care to name. I get the occasional exception, but if I walk into your place and it SMELLS of LAVENDER this week and APPLE SPICE next week, ugh.
Pot pourri... SIGH. If you must.

Hope that helps.