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| At Home Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
RENT IT Just because it's a rental doesn't mean you can't put your personal stamp on it. Just ask interior designer Margaret Carter, who found a rental house in Arlington and made it her own. Along with a fresh coat of paint, buffed floors and new light fixtures, she remodeled the bathroom by painting walls melon, installing a modern medicine cabinet, repainting the claw-foot tub and adding a glass doorknob from Anthropologie. The chain is one of her favorite sources for glassware and bedding for girls' rooms. Framed oversize botanicals make a big splash in Carter's interiors. She's also partial to real plants and most Saturdays, she buys of armloads of ferns and flowering plants like coral begonias -- they're inexpensive and long-lasting -- at Johnson's Florist & Garden Center. Continue reading "Rental rehab" for more information on how Carter transformed her rental. – Jura Koncius • Margaret Carter joins Jura Koncius for the weekly Q&A CHAT ABOUT IT Every Thursday at 11 a.m. the Home Front takes readers' questions. Here's a highlight from last week's discussion with professional organizer Nicole Anzia of Neatik: Charlottesville, Va.: I am starting to do my tax info for 2009. But I started to clean out a file and I have been spending hours just getting rid of stuff from the 90's! What's a thumbnail idea of what in the world we need to keep paperwise? Nicole Anzia: Congratulations on getting an early start on your taxes AND for getting rid of all those old papers! The Container Store has a great guide on their website for what to keep and what to toss. GROW IT Tip of the week House plants generally go into a dormancy during the winter because of low light conditions, and they need a reduced watering regimen to avoid root rot. Wait until the top inch of soil is dry to the touch before watering again, and use lukewarm water. The pot must drain. Don't feed plants until they begin active growth again in the spring. • A holly that doesn't lose its luster in the winter HOW TO DO IT Q: We moved recently into a house built in 1948. It has a charming bathroom, with pink square tiles 1 1/2 inches long. Some are cracked, and we would like to replace them. We could (1) redo the floor, (2) replace the cracked tiles with the ones under the cabinet, or (3) locate a store that might sell old tiles. What makes the most sense? A: Your second option might work, but if the tiles under the cabinet are still tightly bonded to the floor, it might be difficult to get them up and free of grout without breaking them. You might be better off simply mending the cracks, especially if only a few tiles are damaged. Use a clear, two-part epoxy, such as Loctite Instant-Mix Epoxy or Devcon 5 Minute Epoxy. A toothpick makes a good applicator. For more how-to advice, continue reading Jeanne Huber's column this week. – Jeanne Huber  | |||||||||
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Home: Rental Rehab, Fixing Cracked Bathroom Tiles
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