'Dream home' archive

Flowers in the garden

Two months ago, I posted photos of some of the herbs and fruit trees in the garden. Those photos show the herbs still in pots and troughs. We have since replanted them, interspersing them with the ornamental plants to give the garden a more pulled together look.
When the herbs were replanted, we had to [...]

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Garden steps

Back in the old house, the front and back garden had steps made of cast concrete slabs with embedded pebbles. This variety of garden steps is the most common and they are available in different shapes and sizes. We didn’t exactly choose this kind of steps, it came with the landscaping job.

I have two issues [...]

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The problem with bamboo / matchstick / grass blinds

Ever since we saw this house and decided to buy it, I always dreamed of hanging bamboo blinds on the living room and dining room windows. I also thought that bamboo blinds would look great in my office/study. Bamboo blinds are elegant, environment-friendly and they come in so many designs and shades. Little did I [...]

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Looking for a small flowering plant that likes a lot of water

One of the posts of the gate that leads to the garden was designed with a planter on top. It’s empty right now.

A similar planter is on the post of the second floor veranda.

Of course, I don’t want them to stay empty. The thing is, these planters have no drainage. So, I can only plant [...]

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Should I replace my granite kitchen countertops?

When news reports about the alleged dangers of granite countertops (link points to a New York Times article — you may need to register for a FREE account to view it) in the kitchen came out several weeks ago, I knew it would be followed by press releases from the kitchen manufacturers claiming the exact [...]

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Condiment saucers

As far as I know, condiment saucers are very Asian. We Asians have this penchant for dipping sauces like patis (fish sauce), the mixture of soy sauce and kalamansi, bagoong (shrimp sauce) and a dozen other different things which we do not like to get mixed in with the food on our plates until we’re [...]

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Solid wood dining table and chairs

Flashback: the magazine page with a photo of the dining chairs I wanted.

Thirty days later, the dining set was delivered together with the living room furniture and bar stools.

Why not a design with cushioned backrests? Ventilation, of course. This is the tropics where people sweat nine months out of every year. The cushioned seats are [...]

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Environment-friendly placemats

Apart from the decor of the dining room, the table linen, the china, the glassware and the flatware set the dining mood as well. I have had an assortment of table cloths and placemats for as long as I can remember. I even had a Christmas set with appliqued poinsettias from The House of Ramie [...]

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Horsetail on concrete flower planters

Loved them the first time I saw them and I didn’t even know what they were called.

Horsetail, I learned later. Or, to be more precise, Equisetum hyemale, one of the many varieties of horsetail. They thrive on watery areas and propagate without too much work. I wanted horsetail on two tall pots in the entryway [...]

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Bamboo mats

I wanted a shallow glazed pot with miniature bamboo for the coffee table. I haven’t found the pot of my dreams yet so, for the meantime, Sam’s collection of cacti has that place of honor. Three small pots look good together but they needed something to define them as a group. Last week, I found [...]

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