Hi There, Not sure if you are still looking for art/canvas for your space, but I'd thought id share my work with you. I'm a contemporary Aboriginal Artist located in Newcastle NSW. My works have been commissioned for a number of personal and commercial spaces including John Hunter Hospital, OPSM (Luxottica) Australia, St Vincents Hospital Sydney and Taronga Zoo, to name a few. My artworks have also won a number of prizes including Singleton Art Prize, OneSight Global Ray-Ban Wayfarer Indigenous design which saw my artwork produced on Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Wild at Taronga where I painted a full size rhino. The following artwork is a 2 panel piece and tells the story of our nations’ journey and the coming together and sharing of culture. Large red meeting circles, central within the design, are connected reflecting unity and reconciliation across cultural diversity. The continuous unbroken smaller circles woven throughout the piece are symbolic of community, Government and Corporate and the commitment to work together around shared vision to create better futures for our children. Linked to together the circles are also representative of the inevitable flow of future generations and a passing on of the baton to our youth. Size: 600 x 1200 x 2 http://www.saretta.com.au/collections/online-gallery/products/cross-cultures-series-2 I also have a number of other artworks at www.saretta.com.au. All the best with your design. Saretta

An outdoor room is like any other room. First decide what you want to use it for. For example, my back yard has a couple of rooms. The "dining room" is a table and 4 chairs under an inexpensive ($150) 12 ' X 12' Home Depot gazebo . The gazebo gives a pleasant feeling of enclosure and privacy when we sit at the table, and it also keeps the table clean and dry. We have a big hydrangea shrub right at the edge of this area to mark its edge. It's pleasant to sit so close to something blooming. The "living room" is 2 comfortable chairs and a love seat around a coffee table. We entertain there and pull the dining room chairs over if there are more than 4 of us. We also sit there to read in the evening. There's a smallish tree right beside it so it's pleasantly shady. The "kitchen" is the grill and a small table to set things on, and is closest to the kitchen door. Once you have decided how you want to use the space, you'll need to decide whether you want a new "floor". We have a low L-shaped deck that has the three rooms. Or you may decide on a concrete or slab patio for all or part of it. Farther from the house is some grass, and then more big shrubs (evergreen and blooming - little maintenance). And a little raspberry patch because it's fun to eat them right from the bush. The landscaping really comes last, once you have decided on the functions of the area. Don't start planting without a room plan. You may want, for example, to put one of your rooms right against the fence or wall, and if you've already planted shrubs or made beds then they will be in the way. You want to plant trees and larger shrubs so they are useful as the walls and roof of your rooms. Be sure to check the mature size of your plantings (it's on the tags) so you don't end up with branches hanging over your roof or over your neighbor's property. Don't make the mistake of putting in so many beds or plantings that you don't have time to sit and enjoy. A few low-maintenance shrubs that are planted close to where you sit are just as enjoyable as big swaths of flower beds that need weeding, annual bedding plants and maintenance (unless gardening is a hobby that you enjoy spending time at.) Enjoy your new home!

The taupe countertops are nice. Have you seen all the new choices of backsplash tiles that are available currently? There are so many beautiful ones, there isn't a need to settle on white subway tiles. Venture out to the big box stores or flooring showrooms and take a look... There are tile caps of all sizes to finish off the ends. A nice one is called a tile liner, and it's about 1/2"-wide. There's also metal strips that can be laid in to finish the tile, it looks very nice. They are called: Schluter Systems 0.375-in W x 98.5-in L Aluminum Commercial/Residential Tile Edge Trim and can be found at Lowe's. They come in different colors.

I couldn’t buy it. I was dependent on 3 other people to pay the rent, and have just $15,000 in Kiwisaver. Every Big Wednesday I think “If I win, I’m gonna find out who’s got it, and offer them whatever it takes to get it off them”. It might not be a good deal, but it’s my home. I could write a whole essay on how perfect that spot is. My whole life revolved around living in THAT EXACT SPOT. I twice told the landlord and the agent together that I want the house, but can’t afford it. The second time I said “If there’s any helper person that can buy the house for me, that’s what I want to do”. Alas no. That might sound laughable, like the ultimate in dreaming, but of course I was gonna ask. It has an RV of $500,000 ($440,000 land, and $60,000 house). It sold for $508,000. To renovate it would be almost building new: at most you’d keep the perimeter wall, what isn’t rotten of the framing and weatherboards, and everything else would have to be new. So you’re getting up near a million no matter what you do. Re: Deserving a medal for living there for 12+ years: There were spots you couldn’t stand on the floor. The floor wasn’t remotely level – people got a kick out of how it ramped up and down. The bathroom ceiling was covered in mould (though I’m sure I killed it). Weeds and ivy grew through the walls into the interior. Termites and clothes moths had eaten it. Every windy day when I got home form work, I was scared to look at the roof, thinking “Is it still there?” Of course Healthy Homes killed it as a rental. Staying so long was my way of staking claim to it in whatever little way I could ‘cause I couldn't let go of the spot. I ate at my computer desk, with is the kind of desk I had in primary school. I liked to jump down those two steps leading to the toilet. I did pick up speed like you guessed, and had to put the breaks on myself each time. Yes, that bedroom is the noisy one. I had that one. I go to sleep at 6PM to get up at 2AM, and it was near impossible to get sleep in that room. Though the 90's house I'm flatting in at the moment has cheaper walls even worse for keeping the sound out.