I am a renter and I love my 1920’s duplex but am tired of staring at these bare bulbs in my bedroom every night. Any ideas for covering it with something pretty but would not require me to do any rewiring? Thank you! — Thien

Rather than guess about the electrical stuff, we thought we’d ask our pal, handywoman Arianne Cohen, for her thoughts on this. This is what she had to say:

I would just ignore the sockets, and hang the hanging lamp so that it mostly blocks the fixture. I’m doing a “block it and pretend its not there” routine. I think it would actually look kinda cool with the two empty sockets sticking out on either side.

To install, I’d use the bulb that comes with the hanging lamp, and hang it from that pointy thing that sticks out in the middle of the fixture. She could also install two little plant hooks on either side of the fixture and hang it that way.

If she wants to do no work whatsoever, she could take this photo down to Just Bulbs (or her local funky bulb shop) and find the coolest Size A-base bulbs that they have, like something with a funky shape and color that will make the fixture look nifty. I’ve seen some pretty weird ones.

Alternatively, if she wants an actual ceiling lamp, I think to distract from the two empty bulb sockets sticking out on either side, you’d have to do something over the top, so I might hang a light like this one: (If she doesn’t mind a hanging cord, she wouldn’t need to rewire.)

For a cheap fix, she could also probably get away with one of these, which I would imagine would look kind of cool with the two empty bulb sockets sticking out on either side.

If I didn’t want to do much work, I’d just buy a ceiling lamp cover and stick it over it,
like so.

Do you have suggestions for Thien’s double-bare bulb delimma? Let her know and leave a comment!

So, as of this weekend, we are officially in-contract on the little house by the Hudson, our very own River Cottage. If all goes according to plan we should be closing the first week in August. I thought I’d offer a little update on what we’ve learned since the inspection last month. First off, all your advice was so incredibly smart ! Our man on the job, David turned out to be amazingly thorough and helpful. He left no stone unturned, made everything seem clear and manageable, and ultimately confirmed our hunch that the house has a ton of potential. It felt like we were living in an episode of This Old House as he walked around poking at the joist boards (which are very important I now know), climbing up on the roof, and crawling into spaces that looked too small for a grown man. We did find a few problems, including a roof that needs to be repaired over the bedroom (before winter!) and some old termite damage to the foundation that was never properly repaired. With this in mind we are definitely taking on a project. The house is small, only 900 square feet with one bedroom and ultimately we hope we will add on to it. With the findings from the inspection, we negotiated with the buyer and received some credit off the price. But, boy, are we gonna have a busy fall! Some of the things we checked during the inspection:

* Septic inspection — this happened on a separate day from the main house inspection. In order to inspect the tank, it had to be pumped. The current owner (who’s been there four years) never had it pumped, so we were a little worried it would turn something up. But, we got a clean bill of health — though we were a little surprised to find out where the tank is (by the side of the house, rather in large yard).

* Water testing — the house has a well, and even though the water smells a little funky out of the tap (a tinge of sulfur to it) it tested fine.

* Radon testing — there’s only one floor, so tested in the bedroom, rather in than in the half the basement. This was fine too.

* Land Survey — we’re actually doing this now, before the close. The owner is really vague about the property lines (”Oh it goes to that tree, and up that way”) and we just don’t feel comfortable not knowing what it is we’re buying exactly. This is pricey ($1500) but ultimately if we discover something shocking (say, that the garage isn’t really on our land) at least it will be before we close. And presuming all goes well, we’ll have a clear blueprint of what we have when planning future expansion.

There’s so much more to tell, but this post is getting a little long in the tooth so I’ll wrap it up. I’ll write more later about the other BIG THING happening, which is that we’re hoping to get married this fall in or very near to the house! It’s a tad overwhelming, but exciting and fun at the same time. Stay tuned! — Angela M.

Next time your eyeing that $20 flea market chair, don’t hesitate! Pick it up and give it a facelift. We’ve seen lots of how-tos on reupholstering a chair with a simple seat, but this one from The Nest is just about the prettiest yet. The flower painted on the back is a bit much for our taste, but the white paint with colorful floral fabric is spot on. Click on over to the thenest.com to see their clear and easy to follow how-to.

I’ve been writing all this week about our lovely vacation, but I have some (potentially) big news looming that I’m quite nervous about: We put an offer in on a little house upstate, and this weekend is the inspection. Now, after being an apartment dweller for the past fifteen years, I have NO IDEA how a house runs. When something breaks here in our city pad, we call the super. I am aware of how crucial the house inspection is (thanks in part to this great book that Chad got me, called The Virgin Homemaker), but I must admit I’m mildly terrified. It’s so much more fun to think about beds and chandeliers than septic tanks. What if they find something majorly wrong? What if I don’t understand everything? How much wiggle room will I have after the inspection? I know that some of you are homeowners and have been through this yourself….any advice or wisdom or calming thoughts would be greatly appreciated. What’s the most important thing you learned from your house inspection? — Angela M.

P.S. The really big news? Chad & I got engaged. Yippee!

I pried, with a screwdriver head, three different generations of linoleum from my miniscule kitchen floor last week. It must have been at least 40 years worth, if not more. It was gross. I put baking soda on the dank sticky wood to dry it out. What to do? Luckily, my friend Jimmy had some extra knotty pine planks on the set of his HGTV show Hammered. With tools in hand he came over on Thursday. The wood floor was in place in less than two hours. I am contemplating using one of the stains from BioShield Paint. I’ve seen them on knotty pine floors and love the affect. The cost of the project? A nice meal at Esashi the neighborhood Japanese restaurant. The little kitchen looks amazing! It seems bigger too. By the way, Jimmy’s a genius. He can build anything. Last week we were hanging out, he showed me a picture on his phone of a king size bed made out of birch branches he had made that morning! I routinely shake my head in astonishment at him. Check out Season II of Hammered on HGTV every Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. — Allison R

We recently redid our basement (Hurray for comfy, carpeted space!) and one of the highlights for me is the West Elm-inspired shelving designed and built by our talented friend Seth Keller. As the rec room was framing up, I envisioned built-ins that would be an eye-catching focal point while also serving a need for storage. In less than a week, Seth drew up a plan and pulled it off! Then I played with the set-up. I filled a mix of cloth storage bins from Target with toys, blankets, and magazines; and planted my laptop in the lower middle cube with the outlet. But the display is constantly changing—even my little Mia takes a turn! — Megan K.

Click through for a basement before shot, plus more on Seth. (more…)

Our friends Tim and Eileen need some shopping advice. They have a fire-screen with a broken mesh sliding curtain. The curtain can probably be repaired, but even so, they’re in the market for something new. Their home is simple and modern, with a few classic touches. Ideally they’d like a screen that is that way, too. But here’s the catch: They’re expecting their first baby and are wondering if there’s such a thing as a baby-proof fireplace screen? If not baby-proof, than slightly more baby-safe? This one is similar to what they have now, at fireplacedoorsonline.com and we are liking this one from Brookstone which seems like a good buy — it’s half off right now, marked down from $200 to $100. Ideally it will have doors (Tim likes to poke at the fire) and be mountable. We’ve seen this kind of thing that looks like a fence you put around the fireplace to keep tykes out. Safe, but not so pretty. If you have any kids-and-fireplaces wisdom to share, please let us know. This is new terrain for us!

While we’ve become pretty much numb to the reports of swag dished out to celebs during Oscar Weekend in Los Angeles, here’s one thing that shook us out of our jaded-stupor: One company was giving away $5500 Toto toilets. Now, just the thought of say, Will Smith (who supposedly has one) using one of these gets us chuckling, but how do you take home a swag toilet? Put it in the back of your Hummer? What makes a toilet worth that much money? Over at Toto’s website, we found the Neorest 600, which boasts an integrated washlet for front and rear water washing, and an automatic air dryer and deodorizer. But we’re not sure: Do they mean that the toilet cleans itself… or does it clean YOU? It also is equipped with “Sanagloss,” an ion barrier that cleans the toilet with each flush and supposedly refills in a second, with no noise. Has anyone ever had the chance to test drive one of these deluxe commodes? We’re dying to hear how these babies really work, firsthand.

What to Look for When You Buy a Humidifier

Here at Shelterrific HQ, it’s drafty and we’re slathering on lotion around the clock. Our resident fix-it expert Arianne Cohen gives us the lowdown on humidifiers.

Humidifiers literally launch moisture into your air, which prevents your wood floors and furniture from drying out–as well as your skin, nose and throat. We’re now in the heart of humidifier season, and marketers know that this week is EXACTLY when everyone decides they really need one. The trouble is that a slightly dirty humidifier spews molds and bacteria into your air. This is really bad. So follow the cleaning instructions religiously, and try these purchasing tips:

- Pick a dishwasher safe model. Ideally, much like your coffee maker, you can take the pieces apart and dump it in the dishwasher, particularly the opening where the steam is released from.

- Buy a low-change filter. Though the price tag might be friendly, many humidifiers require pricey filter changes–and you really have to do it. Try a once-a-year filter model. The one shown here is from Dynamism. It is cute and looks like it would do a great job, too. $260.

Click through to the next page to read the rest of Arianne’s tips (more…)

Our friend Mary T. needs your help! (You may remember her recent DWR sale adventure.) What should she do about the floors in this Seattle rental?

These are two photos of the living/dining area of the WONDERFUL ’50s modern my husband managed to find us to rent in Seattle. We’re allowed to do whatever we want to it, and though it looks okay in the photos, apparently the carpet is quite gross in person: dirty, buckling, just old.

I was wondering anyone has suggestions of what we could do if we removed it. The catch is that FLOR is kinda expensive since we’re just renting (only for a year’s lease then the property is being sold), and under the carpeting is plywood. We’re all for painting it and using throw rugs (we have a nice oatmeal-colored shag), but what colors? If there are any other suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Our furniture is two black sofas (one vinyl, one leather), a neutral side chair, and my favorite two orange Panton chairs! — Mary T.

(Seriously, isn’t the house a find, though? We even have a view of Lake Washington.)