Design Advice Needed: Keep cat off stair ledge
pjewles
7 years ago
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Debbie Downer
7 years agoRelated Discussions
I need advice on how to ward off crazy tomato-stealing squirrels!
Comments (13)raitch, I made your tag red because I am seeing red this summer - squirrels!!!! Those monsters decimated my corn plants when they were only 4 feet tall and not a cob in sight! They came back and snatched approximately 80-90% of my raw green tomatoes most of the toms were small about the size of golf/tennis balls. I got really upset because I have a relatively small garden mostly in containers. I tried red hot pepper wax spray and it worked for about 3-4 days but during that time the squirrels bit into more and more tomatoes looking for some without pepper. I made a brew of water, 1/2 cup powdered red hot pepper and 1/2 cup red pepper flakes -- I put this in a small pot and simmered it for about 30 minutes and then added 1 teaspoon of canola oil. I let the mixture cool and strained it into my pump sprayer with a double dose of spreader sticker (Coco-wet) in gallon water. I sprayed this on everything. I also got large wood rat traps. I was still upset so went to farm store and got bobcat urine. Another gardener told me fox urine worked for him so I got some of that also. I put the urine in an old ketchup bottle and sprinkled it on the ground, fence ledge, fence post and all wood which squirrels use to 'run'. So far so good. You can not put the urine on your plants or in the pot with your plants but you can sprinkle it around the area. It stinks but after an hour you can not smell it anymore -BUT- the squirrels smell it. BTW - I only put the rat traps out when I could monitor them - did not want to catch any neighbor's cats. Did it work?? Let us just say that for the past 2 weeks squirrels don't live here anymore. I'm generally an animal lover - I leave them be as long as they leave me alone - but this was just too much. Dollar store has red pepper powder - don't get the more expensive stuff from your grocer. DL...See MoreI need HELP with decorating ledge/shelves: Advice Please! pics
Comments (27)After hearing so many of your suggestions, I now know that my concerns about the dreaded wall in my living room were legitimate. I really appreciate all the comments, ideas and helpful suggestions. This site is like having your own private staff of decorators at your disposal. Parma is right, the space was supposed to be for a fireplace, but we decided that we wanted the fireplace in the family room in the basement. Couldn't afford both. Probably was a mistake. I read your suggestions and looked again at my pictures and could see exactly what each of you meant. Things I had never noticed before. 1. The backs of the shelves do need color to make the display pop. Right now everything just fades into the background. 2. There's no cohesiveness to what's on the shelves and there is way too many things. 3. I have already taken down the two small prints on the sides of the mirror. What was I thinking? 4. The jobots are too long. I had never noticed that. Do they need to go to bottom of the window trim? 5. The mirror does not do justice to the space. It may be too small, wrong shape, something's not right. First of all, I really want the upper ledge gone. The problem is talking my DH into letting me find someone to close it in. I love the idea of finishing out the shelves as a bookcase. I think that would look wonderful. Do you think old books would look better in the space rather than newer books? I am a book collector and have many shelves full of novels in various areas of the house. Les917: I really like your idea of the Sunburst Pediment and would like to find a way to incorporate it into the redesign of the space. Any other suggestions or pics would still be appreciated because this project will take place slowly in the spring. Thanks so much in advance....See MoreTalk me off the pickled cabinet ledge...
Comments (32)Here's my old kitchen Our upstairs bathrooms still have these cabinets. Believe it or not, I selected these cabinets w/the gray countertops when we built in '95. I actually still kind of like them...something light but not white. However, I much prefer my new cherry cabinets....we couldn't afford cherry cabinets back in '95 so this was the next best thing (I'm not a fan of the lighter woods/stains). They were cheap builder's grade (AristroKraft) cabinets and didn't hold up very well over the years. (What you can't see is the drawers no longer working properly, sagging drawer fronts, doors not staying shut...we had to replace several hinges over the last few years.) BTW...All that clutter...will NOT be happening w/the new kitchen. I've already put my DH & kids on notice that "cleaning up the kitchen" means putting away dishes, condiments, etc! Bottom line...if you love the rest of the house, don't let something so changeable like cabinet color keep you from buying it! If the cabinets are still solid I would not hesitate to paint them and "work" with them for a while. Paint the walls. Add some live plants. Add decorative touches that are "you". There are so many things you can do to change the look of a room...even a kitchen! [Not that you are, but don't launch into a full-blown remodel until you've lived at least one year with the kitchen to get to know it...what works, what doesn't. Luckily, the layout/design doesn't look too bad.] HTH and Good Luck!...See MoreTalk me off the ledge regarding using Amish/Mennonite Cabinet makers.
Comments (116)I live in Ohio and just purchased an Amish made dining set. Great quality. I looked at Costco and our local large furniture stores. Quality was just not there. Also looked at comparably priced Canadel dining sets. Looked nice but reviews pushed me away. What I learned is that most of the Costco Asian made furniture, as well as large furniture stores, are made with rubber wood. Malaysian oak is rubber wood. It is significantly inferior and explains why so many Costco reviewers complain about loose screws. Screws pull out of this inferior wood. Also, reading about rubberwood furniture explains why so many people complain about strong smells from their furniture. Rubberwood is loaded with insects and must be heavily fumigated. It takes several years for the gases to be released. Rubberwood has a great marketing campaign, and misleading blogs to enhance the image. Hope this is useful to someone....See Morepjewles
7 years agoDebbie Downer
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoglaserberl
7 years agoannztoo
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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