Big Impact - Little Cash!

Once again, I heard last week "but that person has a lot of money to do xyz". I said you too can do those things. First of all if you have an idea of something really cool to do - say tile a bathroom with some out of the ordinary patterns - remember that your bathroom is probably somewhere between 40 and 80 square feet. Even a $6.00/sf tile is only $240-480 for the floor. But you can use inexpensive tiles and use the more expensive tiles as an accent. The key is to shop craigslist and garage sales, close outs at tile stores, etc and lay out your tile on a flat surface so you can see what pattern is possible. Say on 40/sf (5x8 old school "GI" bathroom) you might find a "subway tile" - 2"x6-8" - but they say only have 60 of them @ $1.00/ea. That could become a border tile. Then get the $1.99 18"x18" tile from your local big box home store and you have essentially a complete floor for about less than $100. It is very possible to do. This works too for that very cool expensive tile where only use a little will create a big impact - such as a trim around a shower. Even broken tiles collected from a jobsite can be layed out in a mosiac pattern for a border.

An important fact to remember is to lay them out as much as possible first before you open the thin set.

A note as to what looks good to your eye : a big tile will create a feeling of spaciousness BUT also too big a tile in a small space will get lost. Always remember Fibonacci theory and the golden ratio when designing.

But it can't be a DROUGHT?

Here in Puna, we get lots and lots of rain so when we do have a drought for 6-8 weeks, it wrecks havoc on our landscaping and gardens. One of the ways to help solve this problem is to hang a rain chain from the roof and catch rain water for drought periods. One inch of rain = 623 gallons.

The general ingredients are a long enough chain to go from the roof to the near the ground, a bucket, pot, or any container with a wide top that will hold water. If you are already using catchment for household water, find an area where the water is running off the roof and not into a drain to the catchment. Hook the chain just below the roof line and drop it into the bucket or pot. That's it! It can be simple or elaborate like these rain chains

Spring time is coming and people's thoughts turn to remodeling now that taxes almost done! What makes good use of a tax refund but updating and revamping your home?

Simple things could be a fresh coat of paint - interior or exterior. One of the funny things that happen is that once you paint - then the old sofa looks worse, or the dining room table looks bad.

One show from HGTV called Sensible Chic used magazine photos and recreated a room for much less than the photographed room. Look through many design mags until you find something you like and begin to redecorate with that in mind. I had a page clipped out from a magazine that feautured fairly bright colors. I was lucky enough to find a great comforter at the Hilo Farmer's Market for $125 for a king size bed. I recreated the curtains with a find from Ross'. I added bits and pieces from around my house - stealing this and that out of other rooms until I got the look I wanted. It does not look exactly like the room in the magazine - I incorporated my treasures into it but it gave me a jumping off point. Once I had the ground work (the lively comforter) - I could go from there. The whole room make over for me ran less than $250. It can for you too!