[thirtiesgirl]

Thirties: I like that couch a lot. I wonder if it's comfortable? I like a "spongy" feeling couch rather than "springy," it appears to be that. JUst wondering whether you actually checked it out the store or what. I like a couch that is short, or sits low, retro.

I did check it out in the store and remember it being pretty comfortable (room enough for me to stretch all the way out on it), but it's a little more solid than my current couch. I'll probably check it out a few more times before I make my final decision. It's going to be a few months before I buy it as it is. I just had an expensive vet bill to pay, so I don't have any spare cash to play with at the moment.

[pollystyrene]

You're welcome! Probably a good idea to have it professionally installed, especially if you're doing a big area.

The mop I use is made by Casabella, it's basically this one, but mine is red instead of blue. The pad is terry cloth and you can just machine wash and dry it (no fabric softener, though- it will decrease the absorbency.) You can buy more pads, too.

[freckleface7]

ok, we've decided to let home depot install the flooring for us as we'll be putting the house on the market again in another 3.5 years or so when the mr retires, and in regards to that,it'll be cheaper in the long run to have it done 100% right the first time.
we had them come out this afternoon to measure for the laminate & also the upstairs to replace the carpeting up there too, but that's not real high priority to me for awhile but it was cheaper to have them measure everything at the same time to save $.

polly- your information on spills and care is Priceless. I seriously cannot thank you enough for the time you gave me to type all that out. you rock sistergirl! (((((((polly))))))

[pollystyrene]

If liquid gets in between the boards, it will warp the board- I've seen it happen to floors at a friend's house- the liquid was just there about a 1/2 hour and it warped them. You'd have to pull out all the flooring up through that board, switch that one out and re-do it all. I would never, ever put this stuff in a kitchen or bathroom, even though they tell you it's okay. Don't leave any drinks sitting around when you're not there, don't over-water houseplants so they leak...what else could leak? Hmm.....

I think a wet swiffer probably has too much moisture and I don't use them on my laminate. I made a mix of white vinegar, water and alcohol (helps it dry faster) in a spray bottle. I have a flat mop-like thing with a terry cloth pad (I'll check on the brand at home- poke me if I forget to tell you!) that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond. I spray an area of the floor, then mop to pick up the dirt and most of the spray. Done. Really easy.

Advice on installation. *Sigh* I don't know the mechanics of the DuPont stuff- we used the Costco brand, called Harmonics. It's the same as Quick-Step, just sold under a different name. We had issues at first, then we got it worked out. There's a guy's personal blog whose comments has sort of turned into the Harmonics Message Board. I'm comments #127 and #132 in there. Without knowing the mechanics of your flooring, I can't really give you any advice, other than be patient, measure twice, cut once and if you're cutting the boards in the house, expect a lot of dust. Expect a lot of dust in the house no matter where you're cutting, really- it's just unavoidable. Probably best to clear the areas as much as possible and put up plastic sheeting to prevent it from spreading too much. It was definitely one of those times when I wish we had a garage.

Also, we put thick felt pads on the bottom of all of our furniture, even stuff that doesn't get moved, like the entertainment center and bookshelves. You can buy them at Home Despot- they're about 1/4 inch thick and you just stick them on all the feet.

Once you know the rules, it's really easy to take care of, so much better than carpeting, warmer than tile. I love it!

[freckleface7]

yes we/he are doing it ourselves, and no, I didn't know that about spills!
seems like a fairly important thing to know as it otherwise seems somewhat indestructible.

do you have it in your place polly?

is the care (besides spills) really as easy as they make it seem? like w/ a damp mop cloth (swiffer) ?

thanks so much!

ps: what happens if a spill sits for awhile?

[pollystyrene]

Do all you can to prevent any water damage. If it does get wet, wipe it up immediately. Are you having it installed or doing it yourself?

[freckleface7]

for American Busties: Linens N Things is Going Out of Business; their physical stores didn't have much as far as clearance, but online things are 30-70%- right now; I got a 5 place setting of Fiesta Ware for $26.99 each (I ordered turquoise & shamrock). I think it's lnt.com maybe?

the mr & I bought laminate flooring to install here at the casa. - does anyone have any expereince or what Not to do's in regards to it?
we wanted real hardwoods, but w/ the 2 huge puppies were advised that it's a bad choice for the scratches.
they also had Bamboo for like $3** a sq ft- about 1/2 of what it was about a year ago. unfortunately, they only had 1 pattern that we didn't care for.
this is what we got, it's the Classic Light Maple plank by DuPont :
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...3&langId=-1

[i_am_jan]

Thirties: I like that couch a lot. I wonder if it's comfortable? I like a "spongy" feeling couch rather than "springy," it appears to be that. JUst wondering whether you actually checked it out the store or what. I like a couch that is short, or sits low, retro.

mouse: cute apt.

[thirtiesgirl]

Woo, I am *loving* the new couch, mouse! I'm in love with the color, too. (I like anything that's kind of peacock blue.) I'm actually in the market for a new couch, too. I bought my old one at Ikea and have had it for several years. I absolutely love it. It's covered in brown/grey nubby tweed fabric, with dark brown wood 'feet' and looks like something you'd see in a dentist's office circe 1964 (or so I hope). I have a muted olive green couch cover on it, though, because my cats really tore up the couch arms. Over the years, one of the 'feet' has come slightly loose and it's not the most stable couch in the world (I can't just throw myself down on it any more), so it's time for a new one. I just dread trying to find someone to haul out my old couch, though. The last time I tried to get the Salvation Army to come by and haul something away (a perfectly good, although old, iceberg dining table), they wouldn't do it, so I can't trust that they'd take my couch.

That's the only thing stopping me right now from finding a new one. Otherwise, I think I'd go for this Ikea sofa, which they call a 'loveseat,' although it's as big as a sofa, imho. And I'd probably get the off-white fabric covering on it, rather than stark white. With some colorful decorative pillows, I think it could work.

[olivarria]

This is my new bedspread - i totally splurged, because I had been looking for weeks and this was absolutely perfect. I love all things turquoise, and I'm decorating my room in a 1920's Paris theme. Lots of framed photos and paintings of flappers and the Eiffel Tower, and velvet pillows. I also got two Asian peacock scrolls for either side of my window. Next thing on the list: candle sconces and curtains. I'm thinking velvet???

I really wanted the Max Peacock Comforter but the price was ridiculous.

[coela]

Your new sofa is lovely, mouse. The fabric is very nice and sunny too, although I quite liked the blue, actually, I think it made the greens & yellows stronger. It also looks veeery soft, you just want to stroke it.

I bought four Bavarian coffee cups from the local charity shop. 1920s or 1930s perhaps? I think the flower is supposed to be a pink poppy, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I adore them!

[mouse]

i got a new couch! my old couch was a stupid black faux-leather lump that i had gotten free with the apartment. it was comfortable but it was really ugly and it looked like the kind of thing a frat boy would have in his dorm room (and in fact i ended up giving it away to a couple of usc students). it had scratches and it was sticky to sit on in hot weather with bare skin and it was UGLY. i've been mooning over a couple of ikea couches and some overstock stuff but they were all really pricey so when i saw a lovely blue cushioned mid-century-modern-esque wood frame couch on craigslist for $100 i could not resist, and VOILA:

new couch! (for some reason image tags are screwy right now so i'm just linking to it)

i am thrilled! i eventually want to re-cover the cushions, i'm eyeing this orange and white stripe fabric. i think it would match well with my color scheme and be simple enough to be a backdrop but bold enough to keep me interested. i like bright colors and pattern mixing so...

[rubberdollz]

Yeah unfortunately I've tried that. We went with white since our tile in our tub and the floor is turquoise, bright freaking turquoise and it's these small little tiles with supposedly white grout that will NOT come clean. I've tried everything to get them clean so my floor always looks dirty. I've got a really cool glass sink that I love but the tile does nothing for it.... got new rugs and a new shower curtiain but you just can't get away from that turquoise. ARGH!!!

[ululah]

I hated the tile in my bathroom, too, but I decided that it was too much trouble to replace. Instead, I changed all the fixtures, painted the walls so that they coordinated with the existing tile, and bought a new rug and shower curtain. It made a huge difference. I'm glad I didn't replace the tile now!

[rubberdollz]

Unfortunately I looked into a company that specializes in the tub surrounds and the estimate was $3k, I almost had a heart attack. What the f*?!?!?! Then I check out HD and they want $500 bucks for a tub surround and then you do it yourself. I'm already figuring that we will change out the shower head and knobs because they are shitty looking and old as hell!

I will check out the kvetch thread and see what she has to say. Always nice to hear experiences people have had.

[pollystyrene]

Yeah, she went through quite a saga with them a few weeks ago that she talked about in the kvetch thread. They lost the parts, the customer service was rude to non-existent, the contractors that HD set up for them were sexist and condescending.

I think she's happy with the end result, but it may not have been worth the stress and hassle.

I think a tub surround and tile is pretty easy. If you couldn't do it yourself, you may be better off finding a contractor who's not part of HD.

[treehugger]

Actually...now that I think about it, you might not need to remove the showerhead...at least I didn't, cause the surround was lower than the showerhead was. I guess it depends on your particular installation.

[rubberdollz]

No Treehugger you are correct by what I asked! I was thinking about doing the surrounding in our bathtub and I've checked them out at Home Depot and thanks to your post you made it sound pretty easy so thank you! I was worried it is going to be difficult but mainly what I'm worried about is the wall behind the tile. I have a feeling that we will have to do repair to the wall before putting up the surrounding.

Also PS thanks for the tip to talk to SG. Did she post something up on one of the forum's about HD's installation service??? I was thinking about using them to install a new front door!

[treehugger]

Ok I have a question... has anyone redone their bathroom? My husband and I just bought a house late last year and I have this horrible bathroom! It looked good prior to us buying it but now every day I walk into it, I hate it. The tile is this fantastic color of teal which matches the floor. It's really quite... ugly!

I was thinking about removing the tile in the tub and then getting one of those already built shower covers or whatever they are called? I know Home Depot sells them but I'm not sure if anyone has had any luck with them?

What about re-tiling the floor? The chic who lived here before us tiled the kitchen and there is a ton left and I know it will be more than enough for us to do the floor. I was thinking about taking a class to do the floor ourselves, anyone done this either?

You mean a tub surround? I've installed one..it's not too difficult. You need to have a smooth wall behind it. The one I got came in three pieces, each end and then a center section. The instructions for mine was to put the center section up first using construction adhesive, and then the two ends overlapped with some clear silicone. Caulk the tub and you're all set. You need to remove the faucet handles and the spigot and the showerhead too, and trim openings for them.

Or am I not reading your post correctly and you want something different?

[pollystyrene]

Ha! Talk to sassygrrl about Home Despot's installation services. She'll give you the 411.