@futurebird @clarablackink btw: I find myself for the first time in my life in an apartment that I actually own, and am still figuring a lot of stuff out. INCLUDING dealing with the HOA equivalent. (In which I somehow ended up being a member of the board, so I can nip the most egregious things in the bud. So people are allowed to put solar panels on their balconies now without any undue hassle)

@jollyorc @clarablackink

Being on the co-op board is important community service and the only way to keep busy bodies at bay.

I used to be on mine and probably am due to show up and make everyone uncomfortable again. (We want solar too. And for the common spaces to stay open more. )

I suppose I'm a type of busy body in a way. But if not me then who?

@futurebird Never Too Small is an Australian YT channel that focuses on apartment design. Simple Dwelling often has profiles on apartments too. Living Big in Tiny House focuses on Tiny Homes, but has great ideas for small space configurations. I used to read a lot of Apartment Therapy, but haven't for a while now, so I don't know what they are like post-AI.
NB. Having recently gone through a kitchen/bathroom renovation in an apartment, agree that it was very hard to get advice, or even find a company willing to do it. (We did eventually find an amazing company that were pretty much flawless, and specialised in apartment renos - but unless you are in Australia, probably not terribly helpful.)

@futurebird

My favorite thing about owning has been the ability to go hard with customizations. Here is the desk I made in a little unused nook next to the kitchen:

George B (@gbargoud@pixelfed.social)

Old picture, new account. Here's the desk I built into my apartment that I built and finished weeks before I pretty much entirely stopped working from home. Above it are 4 shelves, one has a computer built into it and the other 3 are used for books that are too big to fit on the regular bookshelves and below it is firewood storage. I still need to figure out how to protect the desktop from dust, it's still just sitting in the open right now almost a year and a half after those pictures were taken.

Pixelfed (pixelfed.social)

@gbargoud

That's a nice quality of plywood. I love the build. You might try sanding it a bit and then doing layers of minwax wipe on poly.

Wipe on poly can allow you to slowly make the surface more glossy and it will be easier to clean and less prone to staining. (right now some red kool-aid could ruin your day. )

@futurebird

If you scroll through to the last picture you'll see that I painted it white to match the walls.

I finished that like a week before my kid was born so I am very aware of what stains it could get

@gbargoud

I can only see the first photo.

@futurebird

There are 5 on the post but you need to scroll through to see the others if it opened on pixelfed's site instead of directly in your mastodon app

@gbargoud

There is no way to scroll?

@futurebird

I have it on a phone so it's swiping on the pictures, there might be arrows on the edge if you click there

It's clearly a very Instagram coded UI and there's a reason I only really made 2 posts there before mostly abandoning the account

Note the 5 dots on the bottom of the picture that hint at the existence of more

@gbargoud

Ah. I can swipe with my mouse. IDK if I'd figure that out even on a phone.

I'm getting old. Damn.