On sale for $194.65
I didn’t like the image of the bed frame by itself, but in this room it actually looks pretty hot. It is about 4 bucks cheaper than the wood bed frame that I liked before. The wood bed frame is 9 inches from the ground. This narrow leg bed frame is 14 inches from the ground, offering possible storage underneath the bed and it helps keep bed sheets/blankets off the ground better also.
Here we have an item that appeals to me conceptually, though I would never actually incorporate it in my own home decor.
I feel mildly dizzy.
Conversely, I could get VERY accustomed to this book shelf. I’d like nothing more than to fill it up and make myself a nice little hideaway.
With a comfy chair, blankets and good lighting…I don’t think I’d ever come out.
It was a scene right out of Mad Men. Celebrated mom’s birthday at an old cantonese restaurant called Manhill located at Pasir Panjang and drove nearby to Logan’s where she was delighted to see furniture that defined her era. We bought a rocking chair with an upholstery we couldn’t resist.
I drove the mini, listened to Everly Brother’s Let it be me on radio with the chair in the car. Mom was probably amused.
Rocking Chair
Rocking Chair
Happy Together
Group shot
The University has run out of accommodation. It’s a problem all around Al Ain that people in Dubai and Abu Dhabi can no longer afford the soaring rents and have started to commute from Al Ain. Rents are soaring here now because there is a shortage of houses. All the new Faculty that arrived with me last weekend are going to have to live in the Hilton until October. This might appear a tempting proposition for some however in my opinion it’s been great that H and I can stay in the house that he’s been living in up to now. We’d been thinking of moving into the University accommodation which we imagined would be newer and larger, with garden. Our strong advice from the University Housing Dept is to consider staying where we are because these dreams of ours are certainly not going to be fulfilled.
Therefore this last week H and I have been turning a house that up to now H has existed in, (and stuffed things into drawers at random in), into a home.
And I’ll have of that ‘woman’s touch’ stuff, thank you. H has had neither time nor inclination to invest much into an apartment that he might not have stayed in. He has acquired a lot of groovy furniture. It just needed rearranging a bit. A lot. And the drawers needed unstuffing and re-organising. And his clothes needed sorting into Order. And throws thrown and pictures actually hung up. OK – it was a woman’s touch. Or at least The Hand of Rachel.
The house is really an apartment on the first floor; we share the car port and grand staircase with a family that has the other apartment on the right hand side of first floor. Underneath there is a long thin flat with an entrance on the other side of our building; we see nothing of the Indian family who live there. Apart from their wayward, annoying and LOUD children who once managed to get up onto the roof. The roof is divided into two, one part for H and I and the other for our neighbours (who are from Middlesborough) and has private access for us only.
The roof houses a multiplicity of antennae, a large quantity of pigeons, the air conditioning gas cylinders and the water tanks. At midday in the summer the water from the cold tap is not just hotter than the water from the hot tap, it is too hot to touch. The water from the hot tap is only warm; the water heater tanks are switched off and inside but in non air conditioned bathrooms. We might turn the hot water on a few weeks in winter but for now it gives the coldest shower available. Mr Montblanc on the other hand has a refrigerated swimming pool that he likes to jump in.
The house is large. There is 6m x 6m entrance lobby, a 10m x 7m living room; a 6m x 6m dining room with balcony, a 10m by 7m bedroom with ensuite and balcony, a further two bedrooms one 6m x 6m and the other 8m x 8m, a further two bathrooms and a kitchen as big as a bedroom. And a large hallway connecting it all together. The ceilings are about 5 m tall. The landlord told me that it’s built to an English architectural plan. Does anyone know any rich people whose house might have been copied? This amount of space would cost a fortune in Britain, even outside London.
The snags are the maintenance, the bathrooms (imagine a 1970s aubergine turquoise and avocado tiled affair that’s had its fittings changed quite a lot), the pigeons, the kitchen (imagine 1970s plastic cupboards and tiles browned with grease), the plumbing, the wiring, the air conditioning and the water supply. Oh and the curtains. We can replace those. The other requires the attention of the land lord and the foot of the University in his behind. That’s the plan. To ask the University to take over H’s hospital deal with the land lord and use their maintenance people.
The other snag is that all this space needs filling up. Luckily people leave the country so there’s a second hand market in furniture and we have an allowance for furniture. That’s the £6,000 that’s in my bank account.
So on Friday we went SHOPPING. And this means I am sat on a Sunday morning listening to the Archers omnibus through the interweb and a brand new sound system. It meant that last night H and I were enthralled at the precision colours of The Blue Planet played through a rather lovely 37 inch LCD flat screen DVD/TV/CD/digital radio surround sound gadget, and on Thursday I take receipt of a computer table and a desk. I’m writing this sat at a newly installed and cleaned (by me) 1970s solid wooden 8 seater dining table drinking a cup of tea made with water boiled in a kettle and Sameira, the cleaner from the Philippines, is smiling away at her new iron. The Hand of Rachel is not doing H’s laundry thank you very much.
I’ve just had an email from D the Dean. Apparently the new campus has run out of space for all its Departments. Maybe I could work from my roomy home?
How To Make A Great Recycled Message Board Or Chalk Board
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Diane_Palmer]Diane Palmer
Twice a year in my community, they have a “large garbage” pick up day. That is my favorite day!. I drag my family along, and we drive up and down the streets looking for buried treasure!
I found this great large white frame on top of a pile of appliances, I took it home and cleaned it up. It was solid wood, there was no picture or mirror, just the frame. My husband wanted to know.. what was I going to do with it?.. He visioned it ending up in his garage!
I cleaned it up, painted it white, and then I purchased a cheap piece of hardboard from my local lumber store, and it just happened to fit the frame, but they will cut it for you for a small fee if you can’t cut it yourself. My frame was 2.5 x 4 feet.
I inserted it into my frame, and I then glued a piece of flat trim I had kicking around the house (I am a pack rat!) about 1/4 of the way down to give the appearance of a separate section. I painted the largest section with blackboard paint (Its probably best to do this before inserting it into the frame) I used 3 coats and make sure its good and dry, I then created a painting in the top section. My passion is painting, but if you don’t like to paint, you could frame a cross stitch in there, or decoupage photo copies of pictures, family vacations, or you could rubber stamp a design… your imagination is your limit.
I hung this in my kitchen and its a great way to keep in touch with your growing kids!, they can just quick scribble in chalk on the board where they will be or phone numbers etc. If you don’t like the idea of a chalk board, then you could get a roll of cork from the hardware store or cork tiles and glue them to the hardwood and use pins for messages..
This was a great way to use a good wooden frame that just needed some TLC, that would have otherwise ended up in the dump. Recycling is good for the earth, its good for your creative soul, and its good for a craft business.. as every piece is unique. Also watch out for cupboard doors, they can make great pieces of art, as there tends to be trim on them that makes them look framed, you can use crackle paint to make it look even older, or old jewelry boxes, cutlery boxes, stools, its amazing what you can find out there. That saying “one persons trash is another persons treasure” is so true! [http://www.make-crafts-for-cash.com/chalkboard.html]make a message board
Article written by Diane Palmer, who has over 15 years in the crafts business.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diane_Palmer http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Make-A-Great-Recycled-Message-Board-Or-Chalk-Board&id=723425
