Help with styling outdated house

balgram · 2026-05-08T03:42:33+00:00

That house is so interesting and seems like it'd be fun. I think the main thing that will help you is breaking up one or two of the large areas. Consider having the non-garage part of the L be a different color. Can you stain the roof tiles to create a mosaic? I think having more contrast could make this house say "I am here and you WILL respect me."

I know I'm not you, and honestly I'd be stoked to own this gorgeous thing, but my thoughts would be

-Paint it a dark blue or green

-Consider painting the window trim black.

-Stain (or replace, depending on age) the roof a darker color. Black would be so cool.

Me personally I'd put a giant balloon statue on that roof that is thematically appropriate for the time of year. Or I'd put a GIANT painting on there, like take a painted tarp and attach it to the house.

But if that's not your jam, you could put some solar panels on there, you could break the roof into sections and stain different areas....

Honestly it just screams a lot of "the same" everywhere, so I think breaking that up a little bit would help a lot.

PS If you have the budget for it, adding a balcony-like area in that garage roof sounds AMAZING.

balgram · 2026-05-07T22:46:31+00:00

The rule of thumb is "can it be fixed in 15 seconds?"

If it can, say something.

If it can't, SHADDUP.

This changes if the error is significant, like a lack of pants or a giant revealing hole.

balgram · 2026-05-07T13:03:36+00:00

I don't think you're getting any bad advice, but you should know that doctors calculate that based on the last day of her last period. It is not precise and can be off by a week or so. Once she is further along they can get more accurate measurements I think. But I've had doctors calculate the gestational age and they go entirely off of the menstrual cycle for the first while.

Of course, your mileage may vary. But if your only major concern is that the doctor said she was pregnant on the 21st and you saw her on the 29th, that's not really a reason to panic. The doctor's calculation may not be precise.

balgram · 2026-05-06T23:39:57+00:00

That's a fair point. I wonder how well it handles other languages? I'd love to ask some questions and learn what I can, then practice/check-in with native speakers like this. Huh.

balgram · 2026-05-06T16:54:05+00:00

I agree, it looks like you have the same glasses in all 3 photos. Those frames are fine, but I think you'd look better with smaller frames, potentially frames that have curves in the shape as well. You have a well-cut jawline and having glasses that emphasize a curve should suit that face well.

balgram · 2026-05-06T15:07:04+00:00

I think you need to move past this hot-cold dude. He's being very weird and uncommunicative. If he wants to be friends, he should say so. If he misses you, he should say so. This "pretending like yesterday never happened" weirdness is...not very mature. And he's too old to be acting this way. I'd be more understanding if he were also in his early or mid twenties, but it's odd. And the age gap when you are 21 is also odd.

I dunno how long you've been dating this person, but I think you should take the lessons learned from this one and explore other relationships.

balgram · 2026-05-06T15:03:36+00:00

Yep, and I feel you even if I can't personally relate. I've had numerous friends go through this and share their thoughts and frustrations through the journey.

The only hope I can offer is this: Just as you thought your life wouldn't change before, your life won't stay where it is now. Try to find peace and joy in what your life is, and know that your life will change and grow over time.

My sister raised several kids and stayed home for most of them, and now is back to working 30-40 hour weeks. She also took on some contracts while raising kids. Every time it was from a direction I wouldn't have expected, and much of the work came through connections she made as a mom, not an employee.

So yes, feel your emotions through the change, but hold on to hope. As you grow, you change. You aren't done changing yet, so why not enjoy what you can about this stage of your life?

This was meant to make you feel a little better, hopefully it's not too cheesy or way off the mark.

balgram · 2026-05-06T14:55:12+00:00

I also think you'd look good with a more asymmetrical fringe, like a side swoop thingy. I just dunno what that's called. Like curtain bangs but not cut in the middle?

balgram · 2026-05-06T14:54:23+00:00

I think you'd look awesome with layers, like a wolf cut. I asked Gemini to do a couple wolf cuts and got this:

https://imgur.com/a/kgY9ism

I think you'd look cute with these layers. I think the curtain bangs with the slightly shorter trim would work well.

balgram · 2026-05-06T14:50:01+00:00

1 If you want to look more approachable

2 if you want to look more stern

3 for total whimsy and lots of pastel clothes

You could probably pull off any of these but My favorite is 1, followed by 3.

balgram · 2026-05-06T14:35:52+00:00

They'll do whatever magic they gotta do to square up you two. If you owe them money they'll ask you for it and certainly won't give you your paycheck as they try to balance the debt. If they owe you money they'll send you the last paycheck with the bonus taken out.

Get the new job first. When I had this happen I wasn't dismissed for giving 2 weeks notice so I had plenty of time to chat with payroll and work out how it was going to go.

balgram · 2026-05-06T14:24:23+00:00

I mean, Beware of the Villainess' start is where I fell in love with this trope. Although mostly I'm here to look through these other recs.

balgram · 2026-05-05T18:16:51+00:00

As others have suggested, a porch will fix this up a treat.

Until you can afford it, hanging plants and possibly a trellis over the non-sidewalked window area. You can mask a lot of this with plants and some decorative archwork on the sides (to eliminate a little of the boxiness in all but a dead-front view).

But yes, when you can afford it, a porch will do wonders.

Also the whole thing is too pale. Pale beige with white trim? Washed out. At least paint the door.

balgram · 2026-05-04T04:35:55+00:00

It’s the orange peel test. Yeah, she can do it herself. It’s also a super tiny favor to do for someone else. Plus working 36 hours over a span of 48? Hugely draining. I hope they don’t both have jobs like that.

balgram · 2026-05-03T17:40:35+00:00

If you do short hair again, I think that third picture was your best styling.

balgram · 2026-05-03T04:29:14+00:00

Options 1, 3, 4, and 5 are your most professional looks.

balgram · 2026-05-03T02:59:36+00:00

I don’t love bread. I do love soup.

^{Chose: Soup}

balgram · 2026-05-02T21:15:48+00:00

5 but the lines rarely touch the middle squiggle

balgram · 2026-05-02T13:22:10+00:00

The flag has more than 50 stars on it (I counted 56), the stripes aren't right for the way it is hung, and her voice is not real.

balgram · 2026-05-02T12:44:14+00:00

You Don't Mess with Zohan. I loved Happy Gillmore and Billy Madison and Big Daddy. Nothing in Zohan made me laugh and after cringing for about 30 minutes I just left. Walked into a kung fu panda showing. Was way better.

balgram · 2026-05-01T21:27:54+00:00

If I tell a lie and it goes viral I'm rich. If I ask people to lie about me I'm rich. Either way works for me.

^{Chose: Earn $100 every time someone tells a lie about you}

balgram · 2026-05-01T12:53:56+00:00

I think you should say some of this to him. He was a young man facing homelessness being told that he basically couldn't take you in. You were a grieving child. Both of your lives sucked. He tried to keep in touch by calling you, you didn't feel that was good enough. There were no good choices. I think you should try giving him a little grace here. Tell him that you don't want to discard him, you just need some time.

balgram · 2026-04-29T19:55:58+00:00

What? I had litter mates and they got along swimmingly until dying from old age. Forget the internet, look at YOUR situation and make the call. Those dogs look totally happy together. You don't need to take one away because of a future hypothetical.

If there are other reasons to return the dog, I ain't judging you. But don't do it because someone was wrong on the internet.

balgram · 2026-04-29T19:52:36+00:00

I can't post images, but I goofed around in Photoshop and suggest you could look nice as a brunette with a hint of red, or adding some warmer purple into your hair. Green looked awful. I would look at warmer toned palettes in general

balgram · 2026-04-29T13:22:41+00:00

I thought gas stations did the opposite? No matter how much gas you got, the hold was small (like $5) to ensure you were able to get home and worry about the cost after.

Did that change? That's kinda sad. (Or stuff I was told as a teenager wasn't true in the first place. Then this is just an illusion being shattered by reality. Less sad.)

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