apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi ATers!
Does anyone have any advice or intel on renting an apartment in the city while purchasing a vacation home in a cheaper real estate market? We were thinking of doing this in San Francisco, and have heard it's popular in the NY market as well.
Thanks,
Rebecca

Check the tax codes or your accountant - in order to get the tax benefit of the purchase (meaning, in order to deduct the mortgage interest from your taxes), I think you need to reside in the house for a certain amount of time per year. Or not rent it out. Or something.

But that's all I've got. It makes sense, if you can get the deductions.

Sources for seagrass and hemp rugs anyone?

ok, I know people are always posting these "how much does it cost" questions, but as a life-long renter I am pretty clueless about home renovation costs. I am moving into a new place and finally realized how horrifying the bathroom floor is in the new place. However, the bathroom is *really* tiny. Would it be ridiculously expensive to have the floor tiled? And by that I mean by an expert (not DIY)? My dream would be simple penny tiles... my budget is low, but for something I'd be willing to put my bare feet on, I'd consider a small splurge...

At the very least I could get new linoleum.. would any contractor even be willing to take on such a small job?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Aquarabbit:
I saw some great inexpensive penny tiles at Latch tile in the Bayview. They might be able to recommend an installer as well. Also, Best Tile has great prices. The great thing about small is that you can afford better stuff than if it were big!

I am no expert either, but I did DIY penny tile my bathroom floor. It is a nightmare, the toilot has to come out, so does the sink, I new subfloor usually needs to go in. I doubt it will be cheap, perhaps a 1000 plus materials?

You could do linoleum yourself right over the top of the old. I did black and white checkers from Home Depot in my last place, looked great and cost about 40 bucks. Good luck!

you can always get estimates for the floor. if you decide on a tiler/contractor, look at examples of their work or at least check references... also, buy all the materials you can because contractors will mark them up 10-15%.

darciekd is right, you will need to take up the toilet, sink/vanity and lay down cement backer board to do the project right.

good luck!

thanks meredith, I did contact one contractor and they said they would come out to give me an estimate for $100. So just getting an estimate really cuts into my budget already! I'm thinking new linoleum may have to be the way to go.

hi all:
I just moved into a railroad apartment and desperately need some decorating advice. My apartment has a lot of wood- wood cabinets in the kitchen, wood storage compartments in the hall and tons of wood paneling all along the hallway. The wall space above the paneling is painted white. We don't have hardwood floors- the carpet is loop pile and a mixture of brown and beige. My biggest problem is the wood paneling. I can't think of anything creative to do in that hallway space! I have tons of black and white photographs I could hang but that seems boring.
The living room is another eyesore because it has the same carpeting (no paneling though, just white walls).
I don't think I'll stay in this apartment for more than a year or two so I don't want to invest a lot of money in getting rid of the carpet and paneling.

thanks for your help!

Can anyone give me the source of this bed?

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/052307AlysiaDavid/harlem34

chloe123 ---

I used to have lots of wood furnishings and got really bored with the whole scene.

I now balance them out by seeking metal/iron pieces:
-metal side table that used to be a hospital stand
-round (another) side table that used to be a wrought iron garden patio table
-retro modern steel side chair

you get the picture. find these old metal things and use them for some other purpose than intended.

callbob-

Yea, sounds like metal pieces might be the way to go. Thanks for your suggestions!