Summer’s coming on strong, and what better way to get ready for it than to celebrate the season with an open air shower? Showering outside in the fresh air is invigorating and refreshing, as you may already know from camping or spa experiences. If you’ve got the type of property that lends itself to creating your own private open air shower, now is a perfect time to bring the possibility alive for enjoyment this summer, and all the summers to come.

If you saw Sex and the City (the movie), you probably noticed the lush, tropical-feeling open air shower in that scene on the beach in Malibu. Another source of inspiration is Dwell, which has a slide show of open air showers that features a variety of takes on the theme, ranging from doable-in-an-urban-area to a few that are only suited for the wide open spaces of an abundance of personal land.

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Photo credit: Emily C.

Should I provide lunch or dinner for the contractor? Well it certainly is a nice bonus and like any business, sometimes these perks have a way of coming back and benefiting the customer. After all, you’re saving them time and money by providing a free meal. I’m sure any contractor worth his or her salt will look at this thoughtful gesture and perhaps try to balance things out with a reduction in costs or labor. And even if that’s not part of the scenario, providing a lunch once in awhile is still okay. What you don’t want to develop is a misconception that it’s an everyday meal ticket. One nice lunch shouldn’t turn into a daily expectation. Cost in groceries alone is enough to deter me from becoming the chuck wagon express. Nope, we don’t want to go there. (more…)

Avoid being TOO unique.

Photo credit: ctylerconk
I’ll admit right here, right now - I am a Taurus, and a stubborn one at that. I am generally not content to take someone’s word that a concept I have won’t work. Convincing me not to do something usually means letting me do it by trial and error and then me admitting that I won’t do it … again. Decorating and styling my home is no different. So take it from me, there are certain things that just don’t work.

Several years ago I was granted a spare bedroom as my office and given free reign to design and decorate it any way I wanted. I was dying to try a faux finish and sponge-painting seemed easy enough. And it was. It was simple and quick and it looked very cool. The problem was that when the time came to redecorate the room as a nursery for our first child, short of sand-blasting the walls, there was no way to get rid of the very distinct texture that the sponging made on the walls (apparently, I am a very thick sponger). My advice: if you feel the need to sponge-paint, be sure to use a minimum of paint in your sponge so that you achieve the look you desire without the added texture, which is very difficult to overcome in future designs.

I have very unique taste when it comes to colors and patterns. I don’t tend to follow the trends, which is good, but I can go off the deep end in trying to display my uniqueness, too, which is bad. I fell in love with a sofa and loveseat combo that was very vivid. We brought them home (and note: my husband did NOT love them as I did, but he gave in, anyway, if you’re a Taurus, too, you understand why) and they were very comfy. But in just a few short years my tastes changed and the pieces became a sight of torture and ridicule - they were too vivid and too unique to match other changes I wanted to make to our living room. My advice: choose furniture that is easy to match or adapt, everyone’s tastes grow and change. When you want to show your unique style, do it in the accent pieces or accessories and/or other pieces that are easily/cheaply replaced or changed. (more…)