We have been renting since October 07. We had neighbors offer for our home as they knew we would be building soon. We sold them our house and moved next door into the home they had been renting. It was a little strange, and sooner than we wanted to move but we were concerned about the real estate market so we went ahead and sold. It was also hard to leave a home we loved for a rental vs moving on to our dream home. Our plans were not even complete at that point. We broke ground on May 28, '08. We had a rental on our property and just as we were getting started our tenants moved out of the mobile home near the building site. Since we knew we would be doing alot of work on the house after drywall we decided it made sense to live on site, no more rent was great too. :) We did some renovating of the mobile and moved in last July. So we have been renting/living in the mobile for about 17 months and it will likely be 21 total by the time we move into the new house. We have had our share of 'ick' and challenges through this process (like yesterday when the water heater in this 30 year old mobile home exploded!), but we are glad we sold when we did and the positives have far outweighed the negatives. Good Luck to you!

I also went back and forth on choosing patio furniture. Liked the slinged back cloth furniture just because of it's drying abilities. (We live in the Pacific Northwest.) But was afraid it probably had a five year shelf life. Then the question becomes does it cost as much to re-cloth as it would just to purchase new? So I was going to buy just an inexpensive set, but apparently everyone else had the same idea. Because the set I ordered was shipped damaged and they ran out of stock. So I went to a patio store and found a gorgeous Hammett aluminum set. The manufacturer apparently really controls the sell of the product and the dealer wasn't really wanting to deal. So I left my name in case they had a sale (or whatever) and left. I actually ended up with a Thomasville set from Home Depot. It's aluminum so I don't have to deal with covering it in the winter. And it did come with cushions which I coated with a Marine waterproofer. No it's not as thick of an aluminum as the Hammett. Obviously the welding, etc. is more high end on the Hammett. But still the same five year warranty. I believe both the Thomasville and the Hammett are being made in China. However the Thomasville was on clearance. So the Hammett set would have cost me another $1500. And this doesn't include the price of purchasing cushions for the Hammett set. The set I bought had to be picked-up and assembled. Not hard to do, just time consuming, especially removing all the sticky labels. The high end sets you get white glove delivery service. Another thing Hammett demands of it's dealers. Since for us it's a late June through the start of September season it just seemed like a more reasonable thing to do. (Actually had the heater on the first of July! Tomorrow it looks like I'll have to turn on the air conditioner.) If I was using it all year round I would probably spring for the more expensive set. Cushions and sun usually don't have a long shelf life. The Sunbrella products are suppose to hold up longer, but you will pay for that material.

Bringing this back from the dead with the promised review/impressions of the new Miele G6595SCVi K2O that was installed in late November. Overall we like the new machine, though it's not perfect. Like: Things get really clean! We're using the full Miele consumables range - detergent tabs, salt, and rinse aid. Things that I used to think were clean clearly weren't. Does a great job on range filters and grates, as well as wine glasses (and things in between). Interior lights are great. Thought they'd be a gimmick, but we both like them. 3rd rack is very helpful. Without it, the machine would be too small. With it, I think we're getting more items loaded than in the old Bosch, despite Miele being slightly smaller overall. Dishes actually get dry! The Bosch required all plastics and some glassware to be towel dried. Miele has things nearly touch dry when the door opens. Let it run when you go to bed, and in the morning everything is bone dry. Could be better: Loading flexibility is marginal at best. Yes, there are fold down cup racks and the configurable 3rd rack is good. But tines are either up or down, and only a few of them do that. In the old Bosch, I could create two completely flat racks if I wanted (all tines fold). Not so here. Cycle times seem long. Typically 2.5 hours or so. Dislike: Noise. The old Bosch was rated at 46dB. The new Miele is clearly and noticeably louder despite a theoretical 44dB rating (and the "Extra quiet" cycle rated at 40dB is no quieter than any other). Primarily water noise (spray hitting the door), and occasional dish noise from lighter plastics moving around from the spray. Some pump and motor noise, but not too much of that. Running the machine with the TV on in the next room is ok, but if there's no other ambient noise, the dishwasher is loud enough to be distracting. Our kitchen is completely open to the living area, with wood floors, so this is a tough environment. But Bosch was clearly better, even with the 12 year old version. Ease / Accuracy of installation. This is mostly the installer's fault more than the machine, but still. They installed it with the stainless door misaligned to the cabinetry so much that I noticed, and my wife was ready to tear the whole thing out. Would be better if there were some written instructions to go along with the pictograms. I would think this wouldn't be an issue for an experienced installer, and the guy we used does all of the Miele installs in the area, but I still had to correct them a couple of times (and it still went in crooked) I removed and reinstalled, and it's much better now, but I can still tell it's not perfect. In conclusion, we're happy with our choice. If Bosch cleans as well today as this Miele, though, I would switch back to recover some noise. Obviously too early to comment on durability, but things seem pretty solid so far.

I like those sleepers too; here we call them "clickers" or "click-clacks." They are hard to find, and most links take you to futons which are not the same thing. I have one in my vacation rental cabin. For your space, I would prefer a small scale sectional on the two wall sunder the windows. No curtains, but top down/bottom up shades where you can block roof top views or electric lines or all of it. Add a large storage coffee table. I like this one myself and it comes in a blonde finish too that might be better for the beach. Get a pair of floor lamps (not dated torchieres) for each end of the sectional. Then I would center the TV/FP on its wall and add one or two swivel chairs perpendicular to it. In the corner where you have the kitchen chairs, you might try a game table with a pair of chairs for checkers, chess, scrabble or monopoly. How about a new, more beachy wall color like Sea Salt to work with your sandy beach carpet? Last of all, upgrade your art and wall hangings. Here's info on the paint color. https://pizzazzerie.com/lifestyle/sherwin-williams-sea-salt-paint-color/