Bathrooms.

So, Big Jim, Seattle's Favorite Plumber, and David Bethlahmy, owner of The Periodic Table (a construction firm so nice he has letterpress business cards, for the love of God!) came to Chateau Falling Apart (my house) today. They walked through all the plumbing fixes we need in the basement, plus looked at our two bathrooms that desperately need repair.

David told me I could easily spend $40k on my upstairs bathroom.

That's more than my kitchen! No way. I just refuse to believe this. I mean, I am sure I could spend that much, but I have no plans to do so.

Anyway... here we go again. We have to do something to that bathroom, just not $40k of something. (I mean, we need that money to buy potatoes and other supplies for the great depression.) So, I need to figure out what exactly I want to do and get more people in here for bids. 

So, here are inspriation photos I am parking here to show my better half. If you have ideas, thoughts, rants, loves/hates about bathrooms, let's hear 'em. Did you recently remodel? Any tips or tricks? Did you do it yourself? Do you have any bathroom pet peeves? 

You know how I love an all-white room.

Too craftsman-y for me. But I do like the sinks. 

During the kitchen update, I got a lot of push from people to do a tile border. I don't like unnecessarily complicating tile. But if I had to go fussy, this would work. Pretty. Still not me, though. Although I may go marble again for the counters because marble makes me h-a-p-p-y.

Love the floor tile. Although my bathroom is not roomy enough for this get-up. 

Still.. love the white-room-ish-ness of it all. 

Thought I liked the floor tile, but I think I just changed my mind. 

That chair + that table = pure porn. 

We're ripping out that godforsaken tub and putting a shower in where the toilet was. We're going to have to do some sort of glass shower-door action. Maybe like this, kinda sorta. But what do you guys think of these showers? What are these called? Rain showers? I do not like. It just feels like God is peeing on your head. Water drips down your face, etc etc. Yuck. Let me know what you guys think. 

Those floors! The tub! Pure joy. 

Note to self: Do not uplight the toilet. Just don't.

Sexy paint color, yes. Sexy copper plumbing, yes. Hipster light, not so much. 

Awesome floors, check. This is a happening bathroom. 

I think I need wood floors in my bathroom.

This is a mirror story, right here. If we bump out the door-side wall as David the Letterpress Business Card Contractor suggests, I can get more counterspace, which is a good thing, and I can have sink in a cabinet (vs the pedestal I have now) and I can hide my tampons and whatnot underneath and then I won't need a medicine cabinet and then I can have a real mirror, maybe an antique mirror, and that would be lovely. 

This sink is sick. Love it. 

Awnings.

I need an awning or something over our door. We had one, before we moved in, but it was in such bad shape our real estate agent tore it off. We are now left with this mess.

So - thoughts? I considered growing something up and over arbor-like, but we have enough rodents in our attic as it is, I don't need to add to the problem by growing something that will encourage the critters to nest there.

I was just quoted about $675 for a basic wedge awning for this door. That is insane. Is this what other people have paid?






UPDATE:
A lot of you hate awnings. Wow. Good to know. One of you sent me this photo. Love it. Several of you seem to think I need to build, you know, a thingy, and skip the awning business. Shit. More expensive, but worth considering. And consider it I will.

Country Living

I am still a little heartbroken about the loss of Cottage Living. But I wonder if the April 7 debut of the new & improved Country Living will reflect a little more bungalow style and a little less rooster chic? Hopefully.

Two features I will be checking out when the issue hits:

Interior designer Annie Kelly's fearless attitude towards pairing fine antiques with discount-store finds will inspire readers to create their own mix of high and low.

The Instant Garden – How fabric designer Michael Devine turned his tiny yard into a thriving kitchen garden in three months flat. Plus, the ultimate outdoor retreat for under $1,000.

Yes.

Minus the columns with the urns, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

I am still toying with the gravel idea for my backyard.

From HERE.

My man likes really, really good music. All kinds of music. The soundtrack to our life is rich and varied.

The Midnight Organ Fight
is his new favorite. I am just letting you know that I think he may be on to something. I think it sounds like Adam Duritz and Coldplay had an acoustic-loving baby, then raised it on Marlboro Reds in the seedy darkness of a Glasgow pub. And that may not be a bad thing, really. Everyone needs a little Euphoria Rock* these days, right?


*His term, not mine.

Erin's decorating dilemma.

Erin writes:

I’m about ready now to redecorate (or rather, decorate…forget the re-) the second bedroom in my condo.  About 18 months ago, I left a one-bedroom apartment behind in Cincinnati and moved into a two-bedroom condo here in Kirkland (moving up in the world…ha).  At the time, I didn’t have much to put in that second bedroom and was a bit house poor at first thanks to a Seattle-sized mortgage (which, compared to my rent in Cincinnati, was a huge change).  I finally feel like I’ve saved enough that I can take aside some money to do something with this room. 

I need it to serve a few different purposes:
1) Office – still my primary use of the room. 
2) Closet spillover/”dressing” area – This closet contains my shoes and accessories  so I often finish getting ready in this room. 
3) Guest room – I’d like to have a better guest sleeping arrangement than the current option, which is an air mattress on the floor.  (Seattle is a lot cooler than the midwest, so I have guests pretty frequently.) 
 
Everything in this room is a mishmash of childhood bedroom/hand-me-down.  As you can see, there's no style coming through.  This is my most-neglected room in my place, and I really haven't tried yet. 
 
But here's what I like: flea-market-y but with clean lines, modern touches but not spartan, pops of color, and a bit of quirk....
I have some vague ideas of what I want for the room...start with bluish-grey on the walls (Valspar Woodlawn Silver Brook..not painted yet), maybe bring in some white/neutral via bigger pieces like furniture and shelving, and add in some really bright pops of color – like blood orange and magenta – as accents.  And I could scratch all this if there are better ideas.
I also have two very specific decorating dilemma questions:

1)       Room layout is pretty difficult because I’ve got a four-foot long baseboard heater on one wall, and I’m not sure what I can safely put in front of it.  The heater is also directly under my window, so I’m not sure if I can safely hang curtains to the floor (currently I just have builder blinds).  If I can’t put anything in front of this, then what can I do with this corner of the room, and what are some layout ideas that would really just be utilizing the other three walls (one of which is pretty much taken up by the closet)?  See the layout photo…it’s the wall with the window in between “ski stuff” and “desk.”  (In case you were worried, I didn’t make this layout just for your giveaway. :)  It’s supposed to be for my blog, eventually, if I would stop being a slacker!)

2)       Seating / guest sleeping – Currently, the ONLY seating in my room is the desk chair.  I’d like to have something comfortable in here for reading/lounging, but I also would like something that would work for a guest to sleep.  I don’t really like, or have the space for, a futon.  So, my only idea was some sort of big chair that converts to a twin sleeper.  The only options I’ve found are from Ballard Designs (not a fan of their overstuffed rolled-arm look) and CB2 (the Vince Sleeper which Nick Olsen posted about awhile ago).  Are there any other ideas out there for me?  I don’t think I can fit anything as big as a chaise, daybed, futon, etc. 

OK, so here’s the thing:  I have a lot of ideas, but I haven't really DONE much.  All I’ve really done so far is a bunch of de-cluttering over the course of a few months.  See my blog posts on this situation HERE.

…and notice that I have not mentioned this room since January 28th, 2009….hence the swift kick needed! 

Thanks, Decorno! 

Erin
P.S. If you don't already, I think you should Twitter. That is all.

Winners!

Last week I hosted a giveaway of THIS book. I traded your decorating dilemma war stories for the book.

The winners are:
Michelle
Carmen
Erin T
Sarah Gib.
Jenny H.

You'll all be getting your book soon.

I've posted the about Michelle and Carmen already. Erin, Sarah, and Jenny to come.

Thanks everyone!

This one is for SGM.

Everything about THIS makes me laugh my ass off.

And Jack Zerby now on my Free Pass Five list.

HERE. Thoughts?

Favorite comment so far:

Anonymous said...
So he scored a few touchdowns, but his team lost the game. No trips to Disneyland for any of you.

Reader dilemma: Weird space next to kitchen.

Hi Decorno:

We've just purchased our first house, which we love (mostly). We'll be moving in in less than a month and are putting together our list of projects (in a house binder thanks to your suggestion;-) Aside from having a microscopic kitchen, it has this strange hallway/room off the kitchen (first pix), The previous owner stuck an extra piece of cabinet in there (pix 2), but it looks awkward. I wanted to just tear down the partial wall between, but there's too much electrical and such running through to make it feasible right now. So what to do with this weird space that will also extend the storage or working area of the kitchen? Help!

Thanks,
Michelle




This is a quality problem. Although the wiring considerations make it impractical to tear that bit of wall out now, I think you could make it a kind of cool butler's pantry where you can store things close but still out of your way in the kitchen. I think you guys should tear the cabinet out and replace it with something you like more than that cabinet. What you will actually store in that space will help you make the right choice about what to put back in there. Open shelves are popular, but a lot of people don't have the time and energy to keep "styling" their home to make it all look right, so you may just want updated cabinets. Or an updated cabinet on the bottom and open shelves on top.

Readers? Ideas?

Let's solve this thing.

I got so many great emails today from readers with their own decorating dilemmas!

First up is Carmen. I just love what she wrote:

Hey Decorno,
I've attached my best decorating dilemma. This is my hall bathroom...where do I begin?

It has carpet.
It has wallpaper borders.
It's a depressing brownish-prison color.
It has no vibe.

I haven't touched it since moving in, still stumped as to what exactly to do and what colors to use.

Carmen, I don't think you have it so bad. (You did see MY bathroom, right? I post humilating photos so that you can be grateful for, say, carpet and borders and brownish-prison colors. This is the service I provide.)

Anyway, before you get to color, I think you should booze up, get a friend in there with you and start tearing off the border. That's #1. That will commit you to doing something. (Or could lead to you looking at torn-off chunks in your wall for years, as I did with my kitchen...)

Then make a plan for the carpet. I am not sure what's under there, but I am guessing you want it gone. Can you tile? Have you ever tiled? Can you poke around the web and see if it's something you want to tackle on your own? If your check-writing arm is ready, you may just want to call in a pro. I bet you can negotiate a good deal on that right now.

Next, consider the light fixture and the faucets. Can you update those? That might be an area where you can get a new look with a quick swap.

And then maybe consider the color. Because you are getting a free copy of the House Beautiful book, my friend.


What else does everyone think Carmen should do?

Book giveaway.

House Beautiful Colors for Your Home: 300 Designer Favorites (House Beautiful Series)

I am so bad with color. I mean... really bad. Some of you may recall that my fiance's kid called the color I painted the living room "Cat Lady Yellow." (And I thought it was buttery goodness. I was wrong.)

Lucky for me, I got my hands on a copy of the book above and it's been a lifesaver. No more trying to pretend I am good at color. Just pages and pages in this small-ish (small enough to take with you to the paint store, which is a good thing) book with hundreds and hundreds of swatches and thoughts from fancy-pants decorators on which colors they love and where. Thrown in are lots of lovely House Beautiful photos to give you an idea how this colors work in various rooms.

The nice people at House Beautiful have 5 free copies of this book for you. They seem to think no one deserves to live with Cat Lady Yellow.

If you'd like a copy, please email me your best decorating question or dilemma *with* a photo of your room... and also include your name and shipping address. 5 winners will be chosen by end of day tomorrow. Extra special bonus is that your decorating dilemma will be posted on Decorno for all to solve.

(Click on the email link in the upper right section of this page to submit.)

I dream of window seats.

I really do.


From HERE.

What is this?

An awesome playhouse for the kids? An office? A mother-in-law apartment?

Nope. It's a chicken coop.

I found it at diggingfood.com, a Seattle-based blog about growing your own food, cooking with it, and generally remembering that your plot of land in the city can be put to good use. She's one of the featured home-gardeners in this month's Sunset magazine.

I have been obsessed with gardening lately. Haven't, uh, done much, but I am trying to get my act together. I was delighted to learn that my mint and chives returned after a weird winter. I just bought a few kinds of lettuce, some peas, and more mint. I recently sat on a a plane to NYC and made use of the 5 1/2 hour flight to read THIS and Vegetable Gardening Simple Steps To Success
and made a list of what I want to plant and when.

I have a lot to do in addition to this. I bought 2 cone compost bins from a co-worker and now I need to figure out how to actually install them (I need to bury part of it in the ground). I have been reading thecompostbin.com, too. We have a lot of food waste (as most people do) which is something I am trying to figure out and reduce, and then also just make better use of the scraps. I wish I could say all of this is motivated by my inner hippie, but honestly, I just hate how quickly the trash piles up at our house and I hate lugging bags of compost to the backyard.


To help with this new composting program, yesterday I parked THIS in the new kitchen. I just need to remember to actually use it. Tossing eggs and coffee grounds into the garbage will be quite a habit to break, I am afraid.

Is anyone gardening yet? Planted anything yet? Growing anything yet? Are any of you going to grow anything for the first time this year? I would like to hear about it. Oh, and send good garden blogs my way, please.

House Beautiful

With the kitchen nearly done, the upstairs bathroom is next.

Guess which bathroom is mine?


We closed the door to it 4 years ago when we bought the house and have barely opened it since. We had so many other horrifying rooms in our house, that this was an easy one to just ignore for a long while. But, now that we are emboldened by our kitchen progress, this room is next, in addition to finally tearing out the carpet upstairs, getting the icky popcorn stuff off of the ceilings, and redoing the bedrooms. Remember the magical BINDER? I just started one for the bathroom project. Yay.

I have to brace myself, though. We're going to find a lot of expensive problems as soon as we start this. We need to replace most of the pumbling in the house.

The upstairs toilet is lounging in our tub for a reason. A bad reason. About a year ago, I noticed that the ceiling above our downstairs toilet was kind of bowing. I didn't want to think the unthinkable, which was that not only was the horrifying bathroom upstairs a cosmetic mess, it had actually problems. Plumbing problems. Scary leaky problems. Tear up walls & ceilings problems. Sure enough. After Big Jim the plumber removed the toilet to inspect things and confirm our suspicions, we all just decided to leave the toilet in the tub and close the door and only think about it again when we were ready to fix the entire problem.

That time is upon us. I am excited and terrified. And ready to sign my paychecks over to Big Jim and a new contractor.

God help me.

Is this the new 1st Dibs?

HERE.

Hope so. 1st Dibs needs some competition. Oh, 1st Dibs, land of the lady-blogger love and the $4000 white pierced porcelain lamp. Come on, now.

Dear Decorno:

Deeeeeeear Decorno -

I'm a twenty-something college student moving into a new apartment in May, and thought I might ask for your (and your readers') advice. I seem to have trouble balancing my wall decor - that is to say, being an apartment dweller, I have an urge to brighten up my white walls, but I also worry about cluttering them and things looking tacky. How in the hell do I strike a balance between real art and posters and thrift store finds and chachkis without it looking like a horrible pretentious hipster explosion?! Help!

Jess



Jess, I just got up, the dog is tearing at the sofa, my hair is sidewides and my armpits smell. In other words, I need to get ready for work and hustle out the door, but in the meantime let me give you some quicky advice and let the commenters have at it:


1. No posters. I can explain more about this later, but for now, avoid. Too Etsy.

2. Do you like your white walls? If so, great. (I love me some white.) But don't be afraid to paint, either. Doesn't matter if your landlord doesn't approve. Just be lawless and paint anyway, just paint well and promise to return it to the original color.

3. Don't put things on your walls because you feel like you must. What do you like? Velvet Elvis paintings? Contemporary photography? Name the thing you actually want to look at and then start shopping for something special. But a thing or two at a time.

4. Don't spread everything out. Put things up in interesting groups and leave some blank space, even an entirely blank wall.

5. Mirrors are magic. Don't forget to buy a mirror or two that you love. It's actually a good investment now, because they are easy to move and you can make them work from apartment to apartment and house to house as you get older.

Readers - thoughts?

A bold decorating move.

“The closet command-chair Trekkies have come out of the closet,” said Keith Marshall, 45, an unemployed phlebotomist, emergency medical technician, corrections officer and firefighter whose uncompleted chair, currently sitting in his brother’s garage, is slated for his own living room in Bonney Lake, Wash. “For a lot of people in the last few years,” Mr. Marshall added, “the pieces have come together.”

HERE.

Oh, House Beautiful.

Every issue gets better and better. You kill me.

I adore this sofa, and I am usually no fan of hippie dippy fabrics. HB can get any style right, that's all I am sayin'.

The current issue is all about getting "cozy" right. Who can't use an extra helping of cozy these days? I was happy to see slipcovered sofas in this issue. As you know, I am pro dogs-on-couch, so it as nice to see something washable in a magazine.

Stoves?

From the mail bag:

Hi.

Did you get a new one? If so, what did you get? If not, what do you have and do you love it? Thanks and keep up the awesomeness.

Dana



Dear Dana,

I have a pretty basic stove. I don't love it. It's one of those stoves with the electric top... where it's all one glass or ceramic top. Hate it. It's never very clean. If I could have my way I would have gotten gas, but we're really not big cooks so the cost didn't seem worth it.

I'll do a post on stoves and ask people what they think. A handful will surely respond, "Oh, gas! Viking! Spend $5k!" And then hopefully the regular folk will chime in and let us know what is really good at a real price, you know?


Excellent, can't wait to see the responses. I currently have the smooth ceramic top too, hate it!

Dana


Readers - - what say you?

Awwww.

SOMEONE loves her home state.

Jackie's kitchen.

Love.

Party on?

From the New York Times:

As for how he and his fellow Wall Streeters could still afford such afternoons, he said: “We all made so much money in the past five years, it doesn’t matter.”

A 29-year-old man who works for a large investment management firm and was at Bagatelle’s brunch one recent Saturday and at Merkato 55’s the next, put it another way: “If you’d asked me in October, I’d say it’d be a different situation, and I don’t think I’d be here. Then the government gave us $10 billion.”

Your weekly Kiva:

Ama:

HERE.

(UPDATE: Good news, Ama's loan is now 100% funded. Check out Mireyda below - - she still needs funding.)

And Mireyda:

HERE.


I am intrigued by this statement about Mireyda on her loan profile:

She feels very happy as a customer of AFODENIC (the local Kiva partner that arrange and disperses the loans to community members), because she has always made her payments on time and she is sorry that some teachers are organized in the group called "Movement of No Payment", because they are affecting her credit rating and bringing shame to honest teachers. What is that about?

In related news, IKROM got enough money and the lending group has passed along his loan money so that he can start investing in more cattle.

Cheap thrills.

Photographer Maura McEvoy reminds us how to distract ourselves from gloomy news and now-empty wallets.

Take naps. Lots of them.

Skinny dip. Sneak into other people's pools. 

Pack a 6-pack of PBR and head to the river.

Get a hammock. Take even more naps. 

Hang out with your dog.

Dogs know how to relax.

Pack candles, hurricanes, bottle of wine. 

Head to beach. Pretend you're on vacation. 

Need advice?

My friend writes and advice column, and I think you need to check it out.

Says friend "I'm guessing your dysfunctional gays, and design obsessed milfs may need a little advice from the master." Ha! She's crass, foul, and funny as hell.

HERE.

I've officially become a flats person.

Ras Women's RA29-927FA2S Dress Flat with Bow

Along with my sudden interest in gardening, I think it's just another sign that I am getting old. Oh well.

UPDATE: That clip is dead. You should click HERE to watch the interiew via Hulu.


From the New York Times today:

“Listen, you knew what the banks were doing, yet were touting it for months and months, the entire network was,” the Democratic Senator from Comedy Central said. “For now to pretend that this was some sort of crazy, once-in-a-lifetime tsunami that nobody could have seen coming is disingenuous at best and criminal at worst.”

Mr. Stewart made his feelings clear. “I understand you want to make finance entertaining,” he told Mr. Cramer. “But it’s not a game,” he said, using an additional adjective that was bleeped out. “When I watch that I can’t tell you how angry that makes me.”

A message for our time.

Ha! Love it. From HERE (thanks Leah).

Eric Piasecki.

Good stuff HERE.

What do you think?

...of these $300 makeovers?

Full story HERE.





And if you were told to spend $300 on your place to give it an update, what would you do? How would you stretch those dollars?

Reader Decorating Dilemma: Matching sofas?

Hey Decorno,
You are the best thing that I read every morning while drinking coffee and contemplating working. I have a question for you because I trust you in all things decor. I have a large living room (20 x 22 feet) that i am trying to make into something that is great for when we have lots of family and or friends over. I am wanting to get 2 couches for the room. Where do you stand on getting 2 couches that are exactly the same? I am one for symmetry, so it naturally appeals to me BUT i am thinking that it may look too much like " I wandered into a big box decorating store and bought the display".

Where do you stand on matching couches?

Thanks
K.
Halifax, NS

I think the more the merrier. If you love the sofa, why not get two if you have the space. I think the key is to mix up other elements like the lamps and end tables.

But what do I know? I am no decorator.

What does everyone else think?

Ikrom needs a cow.

I think one of you here mentioned KIVA before. I finally checked it out and felt compelled to loan Ikrom some money for a cow.

The internet is bananas. We live in amazing, glorious times. We really do.

Shifting gears:

If you are tired of economy talk, don't go HERE. If you want a continuation of the recent economy post, then definitely go there.


I thought I was the one to host the comment dust-ups around here. Whew. I am glad Jamie is finally doing her fair share of stirring shit up. It's about time, dammit. I can't do everything, you know. Sheesh.

Almost.

Yeah, we lived with that disaster yellow kitchen for 4 years. If you are late to the party, you can read more about the horrible old kitchen and my paint-peeling party HERE in my love/hate letter to home ownership.

It's not a super deluxe remodel or anything. We didn't move any walls. We didn't reconfigure the space. It's just cosmetic, but we sure as hell needed it.




(Update: A few Seattle people have emailed to ask about the cabinets. I got them from BUILDER'S SHOWROOM. The cabinets are manufactured by a local company, CANYON CREEK.)

Roam.

I am taking a month off this summer.

I find this really mind blowing. I have been with my company over 6 years now and I figured that before I turned 7 there, I might want to take more than just a week off at a time.

When I requested the time off many months ago, it seemed pretty distant and I didn't start planning anything for fear the whole thing might blow up. But no. It's coming. So now the questions. When? Where?

I want to go to Italy, Greece and Turkey. A part of my wants to take a boat of some kind from southern Italy to Tunisia just to place a foot on that continent. But then I think I should go to Croatia and Montenegro. Who knows. Somewhere sunny and beachy and not here.



But a larger part of me is tired of getting on planes for work and kinda wants to get in the car with no predetermined plan, and just drive. Away. To California. Through Arizona. On over to Austin, Texas. Keep going through the south.

Decisions, decisions.

My big anxiety now is this: don't squander the time. Do something memorable. And relaxing. And get a bitchin' tan while I'm at it.

I am open to your suggestions. Especially if you've taken a chunk of time off and done something similar. Did you take the trip of a lifetime? When? And to where? Did you love it?

Love this.

Bunks. Good for basement remodels (think sleepovers) and when building dream house on Orcas Island. You can stash all your people in the wall. Nighty-night!

You likey?

How's it going?

Checking in on you and the economy. How are things? Better? Worse? Same? (We last checked in on this topic HERE.)

I was reading nytimes.com last night and starting to kind of panic. I had to close the laptop and take a little time out. So far, I still have my job so my day to day is the same as a year or two ago. But the news, man. Its knocks the wind out of me. Are others finding the same thing? That the news is what causes your panic, but your day-to-day is the same as it was a year ago?

What about those who have been laid off? How are things going? How is your state's unemployment insurance? I hear this varies widely from state to state.

Let's go outside.

Phoning it in today.

Watch THIS. You really have to watch the whole thing. He's a crack up.

And THIS.

And let's talk about Rihanna. The Daily Best posted THIS:



The director of the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline said, "The most common reaction is, 'Why does she stay? Why does she take that?' But the question should be, 'Why would someone be abusive to their partner?'"

Um, no. That was LAST week's question. This week the question absolutely should be, what the fuck is she doing staying with him? We've seen this movie before (thanks Ike and Tina). It's one thing if you live in a trailer, he's got your stash of Oxycontin, and he's threatening to hurt your kids. I can understand being trapped. But for god's sake, Rihanna, you have resources. And Jay-Z! Jigga Man could put a hit on him for you, no problem. No excuses, little buttercup. Time to put "Better Be Good To Me" on repeat and dump his ass.

**UPDATE** Do we believe this? Someone left a comment that she's not with him and it's just a rumor. Yikes. Either way, the message is the same - Rihanna, you're too good for him.

I really deserve a pool.

Which is a ridiculous thing to say in general, and especially ridiculous to say in Seattle where you only have pool-appropriate weather about 20 days out of the year, but come on, people. I mean, my ANKLES ARE FUSING TOGETHER. Isn't a pool theraputic or something? I think the answer is YES, which means I deserve one. Let's get on this, people.

Seriously, how much does it cost to have one put in? And how much should one budget to spend on heating it, etc (in a mild climate)?

Oh, dear god.

I am in NY for work again. I was visiting Duane Reade, as I always do, buying the things I forgot to pack like deodorant and toothpaste, and I saw THIS.

Seriously. I don't have time to make the carpet match the curtains. I am too old for this shit. In fact, here's the deal: I have so many other things to fix on my body before I get to this level of detail. (See THIS conversation as prior evidence of the same point). Oy.

Has anyone used this? Would you? Do any of you really have grey bits? IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME? I am not ready for aging, although I know it's coming on like a freight train.

Discuss.