I also have cats and low through filtered direct light. In my low light areas I have peperomia and a prayer plant and I am looking for a cast iron plant and a parlour palm. All of these are low-light and non-toxic to cats. I do mist the prayer plant and peperomia daily. Another low-light plant that does not show up on any of the 'toxic' lists, but which I can't confirm to be non-toxic is a money tree. Spider plants are also non-toxic and do well in moderate light (I don't know if you have this). Another non-toxic plant is wandering jew, although it can cause skin irritations in humans and requires bright light and misting. (I have both). Some of the plants mentioned: pothos, ZZ, snake plant, arrowhead vine, peace lily, umbrella trees, philodenderon, and chinese evergreen are all toxic to cats. I've heard that one should be especially careful with peace lilies (and lilies of all kinds) and philodenderon as they can both kill a cat in quantities cats are likely to ingest. I can't confirm where I heard that warning, although it may have been from my vet after my dh's cat ate a 4' dracaena leaving only the main stem (she was fine, just pukey for a few days). Some websites that helped me in this regard were: http://wilderquarterly.com/the-best-5-houseplants-for-beginners-low-light-apartments/ http://paulsplants.blogspot.ca/2011/12/low-light-houseplants.html http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants http://www.cfa.org/CatCare/HouseholdHazards/ToxicPlants.aspx

Ah... a couple of things... First, about the howea (parlor palm). Does it tend to require misting in a region and/or house that is pretty dry? (I'm thinking that palms are derived from tropical regions.) Second, I've got three Christmas cacti - one is in fairly bright but indirect light (at least many days of the year), the other two are in what I'd think of as true low-light conditions pretty well all year. All three are doing nicely in a fairly fast-draining soil (watered every four to seven days, with weak fertilizer solution in the water about every 14 days).

The first spot wouldn't really be ideal for anything, which I assume you already know. So let's not rule out a nice dried-flower arrangement or something. But, there are still some possibilities: Aspidistra elatior or A. lurida (cast-iron plant) isn't likely to grow a lot under these conditions, but it should be able to survive as long as temperatures stay above 50F. Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island pine), according to my reference book, are okay with temperatures down to about 40F, and will adapt to low light, though over time growth may get stretched and leggy; a strategy that should work very well would be to get two and have them trade places every couple weeks, where one could be in a warmer, brighter spot and the other one by the front door. Just be sure that the temperature in that spot isn't too cold, and remember that the wall itself, and the air near it, will be much colder than the rest of the hallway. One advantage of Araucaria is that they should be very easy to find right now, and could be decorated for the season. Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) is said to tolerate temperatures to 35F before suffering damage, though growth essentially stops below 55F. It would probably prefer better light than what you've got, though it's hard to be sure, and they're touchy about fluoride, boron, and sodium in water, so no tap water and no softened water -- you may or may not want to worry about buying distilled water just for the plant. (Haven't experienced fluoride damage myself, so you may be fine: just be aware that water quality is a big deal to these guys.) Hedera helix (English ivy) will still grow down to about 45F, and don't suffer damage until somewhere in the 10-20F range. They're not exactly low-light plants, but moderate is okay, so it might be workable. I like Hedera canariensis (Algerian ivy) much, much better, since English ivy is just too appealing to spider mites, but I don't know whether canariensis is as cold-tolerant as helix. So call these both a maybe. Howea fosteriana, the Kentia palm, can go to 50F or below. The down sides: mites like them too, they tend to be expensive for their size, and Howea, Chamaedorea, and Chrysalidocarpus all have a pretty similar look, and it'd be tough to be sure which one you're looking at. (Chrysalidocarpus can also handle some cold, but it needs relatively high light.) Spathiphyllum spp. (peace lily) are able to take more cold than you'd think: cold wind will cause leaves to go black, but cold by itself isn't a huge problem. At work, we've been getting some complaints about the cold from plants near the spath table (Aglaonema mostly), but the Spathiphyllums themselves are fine. Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant) are able to handle temperatures to 45F or so under most circumstances. They don't handle it well if they're wet, or getting a lot of fertilizer. On the plus side, I once had one that I had to keep in a cold spot over a winter (mid-30s F) that then flowered: I don't know whether the cold caused the flowering, but at the very least the plant didn't seem to object. Tolmiea menziesii (piggyback plant) is native to the U.S. west coast and does well with temperatures down to 40F, actually preferring cooler temperatures than most houseplants. It, like Chlorophytum, would prefer more light than what you have, but it will tolerate very little. I've had a tough time finding any for sale around here, though, so this may or may not be an option where you live. I'd go with: the rotating Araucaria idea, Sansevieria or Tolmiea, but any of the above should be workable. ----- Tall low-light plants for a normal interior: Dracaena deremensis or D. fragrans (Janet Craig, Lemon-Lime, Limelight, Warneckii, corn plant, Rikki, Michiko, etc.) are probably just about ideal for this case. They're all very easy plants and low light's not a problem, though they'd prefer bright indirect, like most plants. Dracaena marginata (dragon tree, marginata) is also a common choice, though I don't think it's as suitable. In my experience, they're touchier about being overwatered (specifically: they do not like it, and aren't shy about telling you so), and less willing to adapt to low light. People still manage to make it work, though, sometimes. Some Ficus species will also adapt to low light, grudgingly, but I don't recommend it. Rhapis excelsa (lady palm) is said to be very adaptable to low light, though they're also very slow-growing plants, and consequently expensive, so you'll have to pick one out that's the size you're looking for and then pay quite a lot for it. Sansevieria trifasciata again: they get a bad rap sometimes because they're so common, but they can be very nice plants if you grow them right. I'd go with: a Dracaena deremensis or fragrans. But it's not my house.

Yeah, I know about the "debate". As far as I'm concerned there isn't one. I haven't see a push in fail yet. I've been in several of the high tech electronics manufacturing companies locally that spec. the electrical down to the smallest detail - they used push ins on all the #12 in the building. I've installed thousands with no issues. I don't pre-twist, either As to the X-10 issues, most of the problems I see are cured by an incoming line filter, a line-to-line coupler, and, occasionally, a booster. If there's no noise that you can hear on a clear channel with a cheap AM radio there's probably nothing that's going to bother the X-10 power line carrier control functions, or the low power radio remotes and switches. That said, X-10 modules near switching power supplies and attached to/downstream of a GFCI sometimes have issues due to the fact these devices attenuate the signal to sometimes unusable levels. Unless a wire wasn't wrapped into the bundle of wires in the wire nut I've never found twisting one to improve X-10 issues, but I've only been using X-10 20+ years so maybe I've been missing something.