Day 110: A Visit to Home Depot

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 110: A Visit to Home Depot

Now that spring has finally sprung in Toronto, Dieter and I took a trip to Home Depot to buy flowers for the balcony. It’s a trip that I love, although it’s also a bit frustrating. There are so many flowers to choose from, but that I can’t have because many them are toxic to cats. Since I put safety before beauty I stick to petunias.

The petunias were on special actually with a sign that said ‘2 for $11’. I couldn’t believe my luck, two whole trays for $11! As it turned out, the sign was a bit misleading. It wasn’t two trays for $11, it was two baskets for $11 and each tray contained three baskets.

In addition, we also bought two hanging baskets with petunias, a basil plant (because I love, love, love basil), two tomato plants and potting soil.

Total cost: $135.

Before leaving Home Depot we also looked at a new chandelier for the dining room. The chandelier we have in the dining room now is beautiful, but a big pain in the you know where. It’s one of those crystal chandeliers with lots and lots of bells and cleaning them takes hours and hours.

First, the chandelier has to be disassembled, then I wash the bells in hot water with detergent, then to give the bells their shine I rub each individual one with lemon juice, and then the chandelier has to be assembled again. Like I said, it’s a pain, so we decided to look for something else.

While Home Depot had a number of nice chandeliers on display, none of them actually stood out. A few of them were very nice but were made up of crystal bells, and I’m not falling for those again.

Next, we wanted to look at ceramic tiles for the kitchen and balcony. Dieter found some very nice tiles for a reasonable price, but before buying, he would have to measure both areas to know how many square meters we need to cover.

While in the tile section, we also looked at backsplash tiles for the kitchen and that’s where I got into a spot of trouble. I saw some beautiful white and blue glass subway style tiles and got all excited because the price was a mere $5,99. I was all ready to put the tiles in the trolley when Dieter took a closer look. The price of the tiles was not $5,99 per box, but $5,99 per tile. Oh, well that changed things a bit.

It got better though, before leaving Home Depot, I went to look at the kitchen displays. With the first one I saw it was love at first sight: beautiful white cabinets, a generous granite sink, drawers that smoothly opened and closed, it was a dream. I looked at the price tag and saw $2,000. Hm, a bit expensive for six cabinets and a sink.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” I turned to Dieter.

“It is,” he nodded, “but way out of our price range.

“$2,000 isn’t that bad,” I said. “It looks like really good quality.”

“$2,000? Mom put your glasses on,” he said. “This kitchen isn’t $2,000, it’s $20,000!”

Since I couldn’t believe that this kitchen could cost that much I dug into my bag for my glasses and had another look … Dieter was right, these six cabinets and sink were indeed $20,000. OMG!

A cab took us home, we lugged the flowers and soil upstairs and placed everything on the balcony. The soil on the ground, the trays with petunias on the ledge and the baskets on hooks in the ceiling.

And would you believe it, Halley was scared of the baskets. More than just scared, she was petrified. She was fine with the soil and immediately rolled around on the bag. She didn’t mind the trays with petunias, whom she sniffed. But the baskets … oh no, she wanted nothing to do with those.

Dieter picked her up to let her get acquainted with the flowers and … oh no, she struggled to get out of his grip. 

Fortunately, her fear didn’t last long. After only a few days she realized that those flowers meant her no harm and now she quite okay again to go out on the balcony and enjoy the sun. She loves to roll around on the floor and would you believe it, her white coat stays spotless. You try doing that in a white outfit …

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 53: Updating your Bathroom

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 53: Updating your Bathroom

Bathroom Tile Designs

Nothing gives a tired looking bathroom a face lift faster than new tiles, whether they are ceramic tiles on the walls or the back splash behind the sink. Before choosing a color and style, there are a few things to consider.

Tile Size

The size of the tile you choose can be a personal preference or a matter of aesthetic appeal. Big bathrooms will look better with large square or rectangular tiles, while smaller tiles might be better suited for smaller sized bathrooms. Keep in mind that the smaller the tile, the more precise the installation.  Smaller tiles might also work out to be more expensive.

Tile Weight

When choosing ceramic tiles, you might be wondering if wall tiles can be used as floor tiles. In general, this is not a good idea. Ceramic tiles designed to decorate walls don’t have the same components as floor tiles and over time might crack under walking weight. By the same token, even though heavy floor tiles can be used for a backsplash, this is not recommended as the wall paneling might not be strong enough to hold a heavy tile. Pay attention to tile thickness and weight before choosing where you want to place them.

Tile Color

With a wide variety of designs and colors to choose from, personal preference takes over. However, there are design tips to keep in mind. Dark colors make a small bathroom look even smaller, while white or pastels give the impression of open space and create a fresh and clean look. Keep the resale value of your house or condo in mind when redecorating a bathroom. White and beige tiles are neutral, while pink, blue or green are not for everyone and could turn away potential buyers.

Tile Style

A mosaic design gives a classic feel, while a subway design is more retro. For extra accent, pay attention to the grout. Grout comes in a variety of colors and can dramatically change the look of a floor or backsplash. When using light colored tiles, black or dark grey grout creates a sharp contrast with the tile, while white or sand color grout will create more of a harmonious look. The opposite will be true for dark colored tiles.

Glazed or Non-Glazed

The glaze on ceramic tiles prevents moisture absorption and acts as a protector for the tiles. The most important aspect to remember about glazed floor tiles is that they are very slippery when wet. While they are suitable for a backsplash, they should be avoided as floor tiles in a bathroom to prevent slip and fall accidents.

Tile Sealing

After the floor has been put into place and the grouting is spread and dried, it’s important to seal all areas in the bathroom that are in contact with the floor. Areas around the bathtub, around the toilet and around the vanity cabinet or basin pedestal will need to be sealed to prevent moisture from seeping under the tiles.

Before choosing floor tiles, have a look at a few interior decorating magazines or websites. In addition to bathroom styles and color designs, you might pick up on some do-it-yourself tips for installation.

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I'm baaaaaaack !

Happy New Year to all my readers. I wish you all a pleasant, healthy and fulfilling year.

Did you think I lost interest in my blog? Far from it. I am aware that my last entry dates back to November 2015, but in my defense … I have been very busy writing guides for eBay.

Some of the guides I produced are:

Best tile for shower walls

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Tile-for-Shower-Walls-/10000000206370563/g.html

Best outdoor window cleaners

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Outdoor-Window-Cleaners-/10000000206327831/g.html

Best ice cleats

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Ice-Cleats-/10000000206302225/g.html

These guides are not to be underestimated. There’s extensive research involved, writing the guide, looking for suitable images to accompany the various paragraphs, adding links to make a shopping experience easier, and publishing the guide.

In future, I will share more of these guides as they become available as they might be helpful to some people. I will write the introduction, provide the link and then it’s up to you to click the link, be taken to eBay and hopefully learn something new or be guided in your shopping.

$2,000 faucets

It started so innocently.  My son saw beautiful faucets in Home Depot that were on special … $59 down from $99.  Unable to resist a bargain he bought them and brought them home.  Little did he know those faucets were about to cost us close to $2,000.

The first problem arose when the new faucets didn’t fit the current vanity table in the bathroom.  Oh well, the table was old and in need of replacing, so why not go for a new cabinet?

Off we went to Canadian Tire to have a look around.  We saw reasonably priced vanity tables, complete with a sink, but … they were rather small and I didn’t particularly like the design.  

So, we went for a separate vanity table.

Of course, now that we had a new table, we really should go for a sink as well, so … off we went to look at sinks.

It didn’t stop with the sink of course, we also bought new lighting and a new mirror.

When the vanity table and the sink got installed in the bathroom yesterday, we hit a snag … the piping didn’t fit.  Since neither of us are qualified plumbers we had to rely on a professional.  $210 later, the pipes were connected.

Everything look great.  The new vanity table, the sink, the lights, the mirror … except, now that everything looked new and improved we really should finish the job and go for a new floor.

Off we went again to Canadian Tire to look at floors.  I liked simple, square white tiles, but could have those.  According to the sales person they were not suitable for a bathroom, because their shiny finish would make them slippery when wet.  To cut a long story short, we found a nice tile that wouldn't have us slipping and sliding all over the place.

Of course, now that we had chosen a floor tile, we needed cement and grout, a bucket to mix the cement in and tools to spread the cement, a tile cutter, spacers and a sponge.

Were we done?  Yes, we had everything.

At the checkout point something caught my eye … a washing machine.  It looked so cute and was so reasonably priced.  We needed it, it was a nice deal, so … what the heck, why not?

So, all in all … if Dieter hadn’t gone for the faucets, we wouldn’t have needed the new vanity table and sink.  If we hadn’t gone for the new table and sink, we wouldn’t have gone for lighting and a mirror.  Neither would we have needed a new floor.  If I hadn’t seen the floor, I wouldn’t have seen the washing machine.

$59 faucets that turned into $2,000 faucets … oh well, the bathroom needed renovating anyway.