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#a standard fireplace and a tile fireplace colorful home

hometoursandotherstuff · 7 months

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This 1906 beauty in Summerville, South Carolina was redone on the TV show "American Rehab Charleston," and called the "perfect blend of history and modern." We will be the judges of that. 4bds, 3ba, $750K. Let's see what they did.

Open the door and we're seeing the standard light gray.

It's so new and bright, but I wish they would stop w/the light gray, already.

Immediately to the left is the kitchen. I wonder if it was one of the sitting rooms, and they relocated the kitchen here. I like the island they made out of a vintage cabinet.

Notice the backsplash tiles are not evenly flush against the wall. I guess that simulates old uneven tiles?

Off to the side of the kitchen is a dining room table with a banquette and refurbished built-ins. It's awkward that people will be leaning against the curtains, though. A cute shell chandelier is over the table.

What looks like the former back porch is an open foyer now.

Everyday kitchen dining. Cute.

The former sitting room is a comfortable living room. They saved the window seat, redid the fireplace and used molding to give the ceiling interest.

The upstairs hall with new wainscoting.

Looks like a TV room or library with either a bricked up fireplace or chimney and built-in shelving.

I like the upper floor b/c it's colorful. The primary bedroom has shiplap walls and a walk-in closet.

The primary en-suite with a double sink made from a vintage bureau.

Adorable little claw foot tub and a modern shower.

Lovely bedroom with a built-in feature wall.

The bath has a lovely vintage look tile floor. Two dressers flank a vintage sink. Nicely done.

Bedroom #3 shares a Jack & Jill bath with bedroom #2. Is that a trapdoor in the floor?

This rear hall is like a mudroom with a modern version of a Victorian hall stand.

Outside is a small porch and large covered patio.

It looks like it may have been a carport or an attached garage.

New 1 car garage.

They put up a basketball hoop.

.50 acre of land.

#victorian cottage #old house dreams #rehabbed home #houses #house tours #home tour

98 notes · View notes

under-and-over-the-moon · 2 years

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Lexicon | Felix

Minors DNI/DNF/Do not read!!

pairing: Felix x Reader

word count: 13.5k

genre: childhood best friends to lovers, gilded age!au, forbidden love, angst, fluff, smut

warnings: unprotected sex, oral (f recv), handjob (m recv), riding, dirty talk, implication that the pullout method works (it does not!), hurt/comfort, both are virgins, so sex is a lil clunky, afab reader, mention of periods, historical inaccuracies/general historical bootleggery, i basically watched one ep of ‘the gilded age’ and ran with the vibes, historical misogyny, alcohol mentioned, Felix gets slightly buzzed at one point, cheating (in an arranged marriage scenario), lots of poor choices, lots of angst

A/N: the real title of this is Lixicon but I stopped myself 😅 This is my entry into the global childhood bf2l felix headcanon, and WOOF was this a struggle to write

All characters are adults at all times in this fic.

Feedback is always appreciated!! 😊

~~~

[ I ]

“Tell me a story.”

“Which one?”

“One about you,” you reply.

The phone crackles, sputtering against your ears, brass in your palm. A new toy, for a new age. Of course you had to try it first with Felix, just as you do with everything else.

“You already know all my stories,” he replies.

“Not today’s,” you counter.

He chuckles low, the vibrations mixing with the static.

“No, not today’s,” he admits.

And so he offers you a story that he will forget and would never expect you to remember: He waited in line for cloth for his mother, talked to Mrs. Cho. She mentioned she has a daughter, now twenty. Probably a subtle hint at a marriage prospect. He spoke to the builders about where he could buy new roof tile after a few slipped off in the last storm. It’s a banal tale, by any standard.

But as always, you listen, and then, as always, he asks you to return the favor.

You had spent the morning organizing your father’s library, and so you describe: the leather book covers, tacky from the humidity, their scent somewhere between sickeningly musty and comfortingly familiar. The heavy velvet curtains, always slumping to the side no matter how many times you tried to adjust them. Another issue with your home’s foundation, probably.

How you had spent the morning arranging and rearranging the books, by size, then by color, then by size again. You thought it would look like a rainbow by color, but there were too many browns. It just looked as musty as it smelled.

You then jump to other parts of your home, pointing out what still needs attention. The fireplace covered in soot. The paint, peeling. The steps, crumbling. Did you already mentions the paint? Oh yes, you did.

The words tumble freely from you, unlinked, in sentences that sometimes are clipped, left unfinished as you veer to a different path. You have no goal, no finish line – you simply explore the space in your mind, holding his hand as you wander, down every trail, through the rivers of thought, the ocean of your mind. He lets the current carry him, closing his eyes and sinking into the gentle wash of your voice as you ramble. He feels little again, as young as when you first met, but it doesn’t feel infantilizing – it just feels good, safe, to be swaddled warm in your words.

“Oh, did you hear about that thing?” you ask, startling him from his daze.

“What thing?” he asks. You have already told him about every thing – he needs clarification.

“The industrialists that are arriving tomorrow, to construct the railroad outside town. They’re moving into the estate out the end of the road, the one that overlooks the sea.”

“Oh the ugly one?” Felix asks. “You would think with all that money…”

This time your chuckle is the one that mixes with the static.

“Right?”

And then things devolve – or evolve, he never knows which – and you are talking about the homes in the city, if there is a correlation between construction time and ultimate ugliness, which houses need repairs the most (both of yours, you agree), the new mayor’s plan for road repairs, the mayor’s new mustache, the mayor’s hat, the optimal height for a hat.

“Oh!” you exclaim, “I gotta go help with dinner! It’s so late, didn’t realize.”

He didn’t either – the sky is dark, his room now painted in shadows and moonlight and the flickers of a lantern from the hall. He holds his hand out to see its silhouette against the wooden floor.

“Night, Lix,” you say, “See you tomorrow?”

“Yes, as always.”

And then there’s a click as the connection is cut, and he is cooled by the silence.

~~~

Waiting at the end of the road the next day, you identify Felix by the feeling of a hand, brushing gently from your waist to your hip.

When you were children he used to run up behind you, his chest bouncing against your back, his arms stopping your momentum, holding you to him. He would squeeze you tight, burrow into your shoulder, say your name. Excited. You could see the exclamation point in your head.

But now you were older, and propriety stood between you, pushing his chest back, prying his elbows away. So you settled for this – it still leads to a raised eyebrow here and there, but the movement is so fast that it could just be an accident. And you needed something, or perhaps, it was the you knew that he did. When he was little and had the gift of assumed innocence, he had always wanted to touch, to hold, to nestle into what was comforting and familiar.

“Am I late?” he whispers, dropping his hand to step out from behind you, stopping at your side. He quickly throws glances along the squat gray buildings that line the street before following the trail of the cable car tracks up the hill to the horizon.

“No,” you said, gesturing to the empty road, baked dry by the sun but with the dust still settled, “No sign of anyone yet.”

But eventually it appears – a tiny prick of black that transforms into a carriage as it approaches, the dust a fluttering veil behind it. The horses come to a halt, the doors are pushed open, and four figures exit.

At first all you see are plumed hats, voluminous skirts, glossy fabrics – new fashions peeled straight from freshly-printed magazines, dyed in their still-drying ink. Styles that had never before bothered to make the trip to your sleepy town dusted gray with half-dead history. These people are the future, will be your future.

After a few moment your eyes adjust to the sartorial dazzle, and you begin to inspect: first, the older couple, distinguished, hair streaked gray, each pleat of their clothes perfectly pressed despite the long journey. And then there is a younger man – short, with a playful grin. He’s dapper, his clothes all sharp lines, but you can see the way his biceps strain at the shoulders. Boyish and manly all at once.

And then a woman, beautiful. Her hair is arranged artfully on top of her heard, hands delicately sheathed in white silk. She adjust her skirts and then turns to survey the crowd, her eyes sweeping across the crescent in front of her. And then she stops, a smile pulling at her lips.

You follow her gaze. She is looking at Felix. And he is smiling back.

~~~

The newcomers give hasty greetings before excusing themselves politely, saying they wish they could stay longer, but there is simply too much to unpack. They gesture to the carriages that pile up behind them, laden with trunks and suitcases.

As soon as they leave, riding uphill to their new home, the townspeople quickly descend on Mrs. Cho’s parlor, buzzing like a swarm of bees. The rest of the afternoon passes in a swirl of whispers and gossip that settles on your skin, making it itch, your initial wonder tightening into fact as you listen and try to figure out how these people will fit into your tiny town, your little world.

You come to know that the Parks – Jinyoung and Junghwa, and their children, Changbin and Dahyun – have been looking for the perfect place to expand their rail line and had settled on your town. It is underdeveloped, but well-located between the two major cities. The family will stay here during the construction, which should take a few years, but once the summer concludes Changbin will return to the city to handle business there.

But of course, the technological advancements that will reshape your town are ultimately of little interest when both children, it is whispered, are unmarried. Mothers brush dirt from theirs daughters’ skirts, correct the posture of their sons. You wonder if the newcomers can already smell the scent of plotting — too sweet, cloying, like berries left in the sun, at the edge of rotting.

And below the murmur of information is Felix’s voice, sputtering fast, the low rumble of his tone shaking your core.

“She’s so beautiful isn’t she?”

“She was smiling at me, right?”

“Did I imagine that?”

“Do you think she would marry someone from here?”

“Would she marry someone without money?”

“She must have enough of her own, right?”

His questions make your head pound, but you don’t blame him for asking you so many. These are just thoughts, equal to any of his others. So why wouldn’t he share these too?

“Do you think I would make a good husband for her?”

He looks to you expectantly, but you find yourself with no ready response to give, your mind just filled a nameless fog that pushes at your temples. So you pull the words from conversations you’ve heard, books you’ve read, pasting together a response that isn’t your own. The likeness of an enthusiasm that you can’t quite kindle in your own core.

“Yes, she would be lucky to have you as a husband, Lix.”

But, distracted, he doesn’t notice that anything is off. His head is turned towards the house on the hill, behind which the sun is just beginning to set over the sea.

~~~

Once the sun dips below the horizon, the townspeople begin to take their leave, thanking Mrs. Cho as they down their last cup of teas, adjusting their shawls around their shoulders as they step through the doors.

Felix accompanies you home as usual – he evolved from companion to chaperone naturally when you came of age, the role a change only in name. Your parents had never been concerned that Felix himself is a virile, unmarried man, exactly like those he is to protect you from – they see you still as the children you once were, not the scandal you could be. A temporary exception, a convenient blindness caused by nostalgia and familiarity, to be wiped away as soon as you are given to another man.

But, for now, your mother is glad to hand him this responsibility – without the servants that should inhabit the role, it would fall to her. Felix’s presence allows her to play at inhabiting a glorious past she didn’t quite inherit, lunching with other noble ladies and visiting the shops instead of guarding her daughter.

Felix is still rambling about Dahyun as you walk beneath the newly-installed string of streetlights, a gift from Dahyun’s family, as you had just learned at the parlor. Your eyes hurt under the glare, and you are relieved when you pass the city limits, the twinkly of electricity fading only to moonlight.

The path to both of your estates is unkempt, the dried grasses poking through stones, the whitewashed walls peeling where they aren’t yet crumbling. The tiles that once formed neat fish scales along the path lay on the ground, shattered.

You sigh when you imagine how things would have been if you had been born a century ago, when the gods were of blood, not steel. The palanquins, flocked by servants, that would have carried you down the pristinely manicured streets. The walls, freshly painted. The stones between your feet uncracked, fitting perfectly with one another.

You glance over to Felix, still lost in his own world. He would have been your husband, you know. Noble name for noble name, your fortunes joined under one roof.

But with no fortune left, there is nothing to share but your afternoons, your youthful daydreams, whatever words are fluttering through your minds.

But even these, you know, are finite. Your own body is the hourglass, each moment a grain of sand that had fallen down, filling out your hips, your bust. Now a woman, you are overdue, past time, only a few grains left to fall before everything is set. Before you move on, away, to a new cloistered life, that of course, could never include him – wives don’t speak freely with men who aren’t their husbands.

At first you had resented how your body had rushed you forward, the first sign of red marking the end of your carefree days. How time didn’t seem to claw at Felix in the same way – while you were learning about your wifely duties, the horrors of childbirth, the tight confines of a future where all of your choices are given away, he was still allowed to be young and untethered, not thinking past tomorrow. You resented him but then – he would smile at you in that way he always did, all genuine sunshine, bubbling with whatever his current obsession was, and you couldn’t be angry.

So you had decided these would be the only thoughts you would hold back, the only worries you wouldn’t share. You knew at some level he must know you stood at the edge of change, but you also knew he didn’t feel the full weight of it yet. That he thought, in his foolish youth, that he would be an exception to the inevitability of time. He would come to know the freedom between you was limited, too, at his own pace.

Perhaps your choice would protect him from this ache you now felt – maybe he would be far enough down his own path, immersed in a new life, before he ever thought to look back, before he registered a loss. By then, you hoped and feared, you would be nothing more than a fond memory. Nothing that tugged at his present, at anything still tender.

In this moment, you are simply glad that Felix is wrapped up safe in his dreams of Dahyun. A childish fantasy based on almost nothing and yet – she already is a more likely participant in his future than you would ever be. Maybe a soft place to land, a distraction, during the months that you knew were coming.

Felix then turns to you, his eyes alight as he asks you for your opinion on Dahyun’s parents, and your heart swells to aching. You are grateful in this moment that he is still asking for it, and you are still there to give it. To talk him through his new feelings, walk him through what he is only now discovering, before he disappears from view.

There is still time, you tell yourself. Not much, maybe, but still – you have time.

~~~

The next day you are out in the kitchen when you hear the phone ring.

You rush to the library, holding it to your ear. Felix’s voice.

“Can I come over?” he asks, breathless, “For the garden?”

The two of you had always loved spending time in your family’s garden – it was lush and sprawling with blooms of every color, shaded by willows, a personal fantasy land for your imagination to roam. When you were small, you would spend hours rolling around in the beds and climbing the trees until your mother had yelled at you, gesturing to your sullied clothes. But soon enough you reached the age where you ache for responsibility, still too young to know the terrifying permanency of it once it arrives, its never-ending hunger, and so you had taken it on yourself to weed and plant and water together.

You had quickly found that you loved it. To plant seeds together, nurse them until they were flowers, protect them from harm. You and Felix would look at your garden in pride, a perfect little corner of the earth you had tended together.

Your mother had thought it was cute – until you had become a woman. Then it was unbecoming, shameful. But by that point there were no funds to pay for a gardener, so shame was an inevitability – your mother only got to choose the type.

So the two of you had tacitly come to an agreement – you could continue, but only when she wasn’t there, only when she could pretend she didn’t know, since she hadn’t technically seen.

So you look quickly, left and right, before calling out for your mother. There is only silence.

“Yes, my mother’s out,” you respond.

“Perfect,” he replies, “And I- “

He pauses. It’s unlike him to stop, to leave something unsaid.

“Yes?” you prod.

“I – “ he said, “Nevermind, it can wait.”

You know this isn’t true – he means it has to wait. Whatever it is, it’s weighty enough that he doesn’t think it’s fair to tell you over the phone. He has to tell you in person.

You swallow hard. A panic bubbles up in you, forming around a new emptiness.

“Okay,” you say, “See you soon, Lix.”

There’s a click, and you gather your skirts to head towards the garden, your stomach swirling.

~~~

Felix arrives a few minutes later with hair mussed, the sleeves of his linen shirt rolled up to reveal where his veins pop against his new muscles, freckles lit up by the sun. Your favorite form of him.

He is smiling as always, but there’s a little extra spark of something behind his eyes. He is bursting with it, rushing forward so that you’re close enough to hear, close enough for him to finally release.

And when he does, his words come in a sputter, jumbled and marked with nervous laughter bubbling up from the place between embarrassment and elation.

Dahyun’s father had called, he reveals, to his family estate. She has taken an interest in him, wants to start a courtship. He can’t believe it, that she would want to be with someone like him who had nothing more than history to offer, now more footnote at the bottom of a weathered page than a true legacy.

“Do you think she just wants a noble name?” he asked biting his, lip, brows knit, “That must be it. Her parents probably told her it’s a good idea, to confer legitimacy to the new money. They probably know about our situation, that we need the funds, thought it would be a mutually beneficial exchange kind of thing, like business—”

You hold up a single finger, placing it to his lips. His eyes widen, taken aback for a moment. You don’t usually touch him.

You don’t know Dahyun, but you know that isn’t it. Part of it maybe – no love is ever fully unsullied by the realities of society – but not all of it, not the core of it. Looking at him now, illuminated in the sun – it couldn’t be just that.

“She doesn’t just like you for that,” you insist, letting your finger fall, his eyes following it before he looks back up at your eyes, “I saw the way she looked at you that day. That wasn’t business.”

You turn away for a moment, crouching among the zinnias, pulling at the weeds.

“And so what if it happens to be mutually beneficial?” you continue, “Sounds ideal to me. A perfect match.”

You turn back, pulling your expression into a smile before meeting his eyes. He’s beaming.

“So are you going to help me here?” you tease, yanking out another fistful of crabgrass, “Or just stand there lovestruck?”

“Helping!” he says, rushing to crouch beside you, “How much time do you think we have?”

“I think she went to call on Mrs. Banks,” you say, “So maybe two hours? We can weed this section, at least.”

He bumps his knee against yours, and you get to work.

~~~

You move swiftly for the rest of the afternoon, tossing dandelions and bindweed into the wheelbarrow behind you.

The whole time, Felix talks, and you listen. He walks you through his future as he builds it in his mind, tearing down the scaffolding and rebuilding in real time. He’ll live here, but he would probably visit the city often. Or perhaps they would spend summers here, winters in the city, where the furnaces were no doubt stronger, where there wasn’t a chill from the sea. He wonders how many children she wants, how she would want to raise them.

You give him the space to ramble, as he always has with you. And honestly, you are relieved for it – the pressure in your head has returned. It is easier to just listen.

When the sun begins to set you know it’s time to hide the evidence, if you want to uphold the charade. You know you mother is on her way home.

“I think that’s probably good for today,” you say, “Don’t want to cut it too close.”

He nods, dropping his rake, wiping sweat from his brow. You take a deep breath.

“…So when are you seeing her, then?”

“Tomorrow,” he confirms, “Tea at Mrs. Cho’s, I think. Many eyes, you know, to keep it proper. To make sure I’m not doing anything untoward.”

You nod. You know too well the limits that begin to descend as soon as courting begins.

Felix helps you empty the wheelbarrow over the lowest wall, the one that has crumbled the most, and brushes the dirt from his clothes before moving towards the gate. You follow him, to see him out as you always do.

“I’ll call you after,” he says, “To tell you how it went.”

He pauses for a moment, and then reaches out to place his hand on your waist. The touch is more of a grip than usual, sliding rather than brushing its way to your hip. You place your hand briefly on his, but pull it away before the moment is fully solid, while the touch is more possibility than true contact.

“Good luck,” you breathe, “She’ll love you, I’m sure.”

He doesn’t need the wishes, you know – she will love him.

~~~

Felix doesn’t call you after, but, still, you know you were right.

You see them hand in hand, walking down the street. Sitting on street corners, taking afternoon tea. Always smiling, always laughing. The way her gloved hand inches towards his, and his bare one towards hers. You can see the ache in the space between them.

His parents call on yours early on, and you lurk in the shadows, watching the garish display. They glow with self-satisfaction, seeing now how your families’ futures will now split. They speak in terms of joy for their son, but you know at the core is a boastful, haughty thing. With the dowry, your ancient sprawling estate is the only one that will continue to yield solely leaky funds and sagging roofs. You notice how your parents wince at their happiness.

The next day they ask you – won’t you consider a suitor? It is past time, can’t wait too long, or the best options will be gone.

You make a flimsy excuses before escaping out of the room, down the hall, to your garden. You watch the dandelion seeds float in the wind, snow in summer.

You will wait, a little more. Just a little bit. The rules are different for Felix than they would be for you – he can call on you, visit, without a second thought, if he wants. It’s a choice he fully has, as long as you have no husband to stop him. He’s just busy, wrapped up in his new love right now, you tell yourself, but there will be more time. Because you will make more time.

The days roll into a week, then two. You try not to feel too disappointed, too hurt that he doesn’t feel the need to share his new life with you. You store up all the things you want to tell him, all the questions you have, all the little observations that would immediately have flowed to him before. You carry them carefully as you walk through your life, like a too-full teacup, your hand always positioned to catch a spill. But still, even with your best efforts, you start to overflow, leaving drops on the floor as the days pass. You forgot the little things before they ever can reach his ears, accumulating until they’ve pooled into important things, the kind that’s impossible to recount in their entirety at once. That can only be told honestly in pieces, broken into their smallest components, each easy enough to say to construct the harder whole.

It scares you, to have thoughts lost before he can hold them too. The idea that your life now is only yours, that it doesn’t flow, naturally, to him too.

You keep yourself busy, cleaning up the soot, repainting, trying to keep up with the gardening by yourself. Each day you wake up at dawn with an unearned hope that today he will call, today he will want to talk as much as you do, that he feels this same pressure as you do, the need to pour his thoughts into you, the thirst to receive yours in return. But the hope of your mornings is always extinguished in the silence of afternoon, the emptiness of evening.

This is for the best, you tell yourself. This is what you wanted – to have him move swiftly into the fullness of a new life, one big enough to fill up the emptiness of your separation. But still, in the deepest corner of you, you, again, resent it. That he doesn’t need you, that you are pushing your own future forward to make space for whatever few sentences he still want to give you. It’s embarrassing, pathetic. And you resent yourself for that, and then him, again, for making yourself, the only friend you now have, impossible company.

But above all the bitterness, you just miss him. It is simple and raw, with no harsh edges, even when your mind bites at the memory of him out of spite and hurt. It never bites too hard – what you have left of him is precious.

As the weeks roll into a month, you find your resolve fading, the selfishness taking advantage of your exhaustion. You know you should let him be to move on happily alone, but still – you find your hands hovering over the phone. You take detours to his house, hoping to run into him, or at least hear a snippet of his voice. But you never do.

You call, finally, on the day that the dahlias that you planted together bloom. The had thrived unexpectedly, even squished among the weeds that had grown up their sides. You hadn’t been able to keep up with the garden alone.

“Oh, he’s out with Dahyun and her family,” his mother says, “So smitten, that one. Try calling again later dear?”

So you do. A second time.

Your mother asks you about a boy who lives up the hill, whose family owns a tannery. A good trade, and a kind boy, she hears. You say he isn’t for you.

A third time.

Or perhaps the heir to the local shipping company? Sturdy man, well-built, she says. You’d like that, right? No, you reply.

A fourth time. Felix is always busy.

But still you tell yourself, in an endless loop: there is still time, there is still time, there is still time…

~~~

A letter arrives in the mail, the ink still fresh, the envelope gilded in gold.

“I think you’ll want to see this,” your mother says.

Your heart starts pounding, but you take it from her, rip it open.

Please join us in celebrating the engagement of Felix Lee and Dahyun Park…

You drop it to the floor, retracting your hand fast. You still feel the aftershock of the burn in your hand, throbbing, as you spit out the expected celebratory remarks before retreating to your room, throwing yourself on your bed.

You take a few slow deep breaths. You don’t know how you feel – it’s almost anger but not quite. It’s heavier, with less fire, but still, it sears.

You can’t identify it with any word you know so you decide – it must be joy. Your plan worked, after all – you got what you wanted. Felix is in safe hands, soon to be in the arms of someone he adores, who loves him too. A smooth, painless transition into adulthood.

Over the next few days, you focus on the practicalities of the preparations, finding comfort in the solidness of the objects. You select pearls and diamonds from your collection, heirlooms from a century ago. You think first that you will wear the yellow dress you bought recently – it’s bright and new and sunny, reminding you of him – but you always go back to the green gown at the back of your closet. It’s of the old style, but it’s pretty, the emerald of the cloth scattering light. It feels right, but you can’t explain why.

The night of the party you sit in front of your mirror, your heart thumping against your chest as you tack the pearls to your ears, hang the diamonds from your neck. You are still jumbled, but you can identify at least one emotion among the mess inside you – excitement.

You are excited that you will see him, celebrate with him, talk to him. It’s appropriate, natural, that you would, to wish your childhood best friend all the best in his next chapter. Even if it’s just a few sentences, it will be enough for you. A final paragraph, at least, a conclusion to mark the end of your youth. Some kind of closure. It still counts as time.

And you still hold out hope, that once Felix settles into his new life, into his new emotions, there might even be more time. A few months, maybe, before you enter your own engagement and are forced to close the book for good, when you could still speak with him somewhat freely. An epilogue, perhaps.

As you adjust your dress, you try to gather the most important drops of memory from the last month from the sea that now swells inside you, waves breaking against the inside of your skin. It seems impossible to select just a few questions, a few moments to scoop up. But you do.

You flatten the green cloth one final time against your lap before taking a deep breath and rising to stand.

~~~

You gasp as soon as you enter the Park Estate.

The plainness of the exterior that Felix had poked fun at weeks ago gives way to a great hall rises in columns of white marble, intricate moldings etched around each support and each window, which reveal a stunning view of the bay at sunset. A crystal chandelier hangs above you, powered, of course, by electricity, scattering light against the brass banisters that rise along the spiral stairs. They sweep up from the floor, to a terrace above where guests mingle. Trees, brought in from the tropics, hang over your head. You wonder how long they will survive in this climate.

It is better than anything you could have hoped for him. Leaps and bounds better than your low, sagging ceilings, his cracked windows.

And then you hear a low voice, as if from a dream, and you turn your head to see Felix. The rest of your breath leaves you in a quick burst, and when you try to draw a new inhale, you find the room suddenly emptied of air.

He still wears the smile you remember, and perhaps a few extra freckles over the bridge of his nose. The mussed hair from the last time you saw him has been slicked back, parted. He is a man now, fully. But still, he is himself.

And then there is Dahyun to his left, dripping a dress of cobalt, the latest fashion from Paris. You see the way his gaze darts to her as she speaks, bouncing between her eyes to her lips. And then you see – his hand in hers, rubbing gently at the cloth at her palm.

You turn away quickly, grabbing a glass of wine.

You are patient the rest of the night, watching from afar as Felix smiles and laughs at the gaggle of well-wishers perpetually swarming him. You watch a surprise serenade by Dahyun’s father, in celebration of the union. You chat with the townspeople, your parents, Dahyun’s parents. And then finally Changbin, who tells you of his life in the city. You only half-listen, but it helps pass the time.

As the light of the moon begins to mix with that of the chandelier, the room begins to clear as the party-goers bid the happy couple good night. Dahyun follows a few guests out – family that had traveled far, you assume.

And then Felix is alone, finally. You step forward, calling his name.

His head snaps to you, and a smile spreads across his face, warm and genuine. You feel like you’ll overflow, but for the first time in weeks, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable – it just feels like your past merging finally with your present, your heart stretching to make space for both.

You begin to talk before you can think, the moments and questions pouring out in a jumble despite all your planning, all the preparation for this exchange.

And then you see Felix’s eyes dart behind you, and you stop talking, turning to follow his gaze. Dahyun has re-entered the room. She stands patiently at the doorway, hands clasped in front of her, smiling sweetly at her betrothed.

“Sorry, I have to go but – ” mutters Felix without a glance back towards you, already taking a step forward, “I’ll call you later though, okay? I promise.”

And so he strides past you, and you turn to watch as he reaches out his hand. Dahyun grasps it, beaming.

Something knots itself inside you and you know – no matter hard you pick at it, try to pull, it will never come undone. But, still, it doesn’t fully choke your hope. You go home and wait for his call. You hear its ghost it in the whistling of the kettle, the sizzle of the pan.

But only a different call comes. You finally answer.

~~~

[ II ]

The following day, Dahyun and Felix board a carriage, travel for hours across empty land, before stepping out onto a busy street. It is swarmed with carriages and horses and parasols, the screech of horns and whistles.

They are visiting the city for few weeks so that she can introduce him to the world she comes from, and so, in the following days she grasps his hand and leads him: up the stairs into her massive manor in the heart of the city, to the most expensive box at the opera, through parties of the elite, full of dignitaries and captains of industry, through department stores and art galleries, always flanked by her aunts and cousins and family business partners. She holds his hand the whole time, down all the paths that have suddenly unfurled before him from the place there their bodies join. The world has never seemed so big, so infinitely accessible. An endless array of new places for him to explore.

Tonight, he follows her down the grand staircase in her home, attending a party hosted by her grandparents. It is ostensibly just a mechanical function of this circle’s strict social calendar, a requirement of high society, but when he sees her grandparents beam when they catch Dahyun’s gaze on him, he knows it is more – it’s a welcome, a celebration of them.

As Dahyun reaches the bottom of the flight she looks back to smile at Felix, and his heart tumbles. He can’t believe, still, that Dahyun chose him. She is kind, smart, beautiful, poised – every good adjective, every single thing one would ever hope to find in a wife.

He is so lucky, he knows.

The evening passes in a buzz of conversation and fine spirits, music and city lights dancing on the apartment’s gilded interior. He speaks to various family members, a few local factory owners, but he mostly speaks with Dahyun – of the social events that still remain later in the calendar year, the horse she intends to buy at the next derby, Felix’s hometown, potential places they could visit the days after. They decide to visit the city’s new public park, planned by the city’s greatest landscape architects. Once their conversation concludes, they rejoin a group of aunts chatting near the fireplace. Felix grabs a flute of champagne as they walk over.

By the end of the night he is close to dizzy, his brain just a frizzled cloud, but his limbs feel tight even as hands edge into numbness. He isn’t sure if it’s from the alcohol, or the constant stream wealth and glamour that barrages him, exciting even as it frays his nerves. Regardless, he excuses himself politely, smiling to Dahyun before retiring to his chambers.

He lies in bed, the silks cooling against his heated skin. It itches, almost, and he takes a few deep breaths, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the buzz to subside, for his blood to settle in his limbs.

And when it does, he feels –

An ache in his core. Something unsettled in his gut – corners pushing into his tender flesh, a chill where there’s a gap, the wind blowing through.

It’s just adjustment, he thinks. So many changes – Dahyun, the new wealth, new places, new people – a thousand puzzle pieces he has suddenly been given that he must use to construct a new life. He just needs to figure out the pattern, put things together.

He lets out an exhale, pulling the sheets over his head, blocking out the city lights that stream through the window. For a moment, he’s back in his childhood bed. And then, he’s asleep.

~~~

As planned, they head out early the following morning the visit the city’s central park. With initial family visits concluded and the rules relaxed now that the engagement is set, he finally is able spend time alone with Dahyun. As long as they’re in public, they can go without a chaperone looking over his shoulder, or an aunt chattering in his ear about children. He is excited to have the chance to speak freely.

And so they talk of the city’s recent growth, the trends in architecture, a revolt of the fishing union a few weeks back.

The park entrance is flanked by blooming dahlias, in peach and coral and burgundy, and Dahyun exclaims at their beauty. Felix agrees quickly, then looks ahead to the path that splits before them, wondering where it will lead, what swaying willows and magical secluded havens it will lead them through in the city’s greatest, most acclaimed offering of nature.

At the fork, they turn right. They pass meticulously maintained flowerbeds sectioned by color, perfectly round ponds cut from the earth, pristine meadows marked with signs of “No entry! Grass is growing!” They come across another split in the road that leads towards where the trees huddle together, dense and mysterious, and Felix asks if they can change direction. So they veer off the main path, in search of something more wild, but after a few minutes the path ends, and they return to the main road.

They continue walking, past wrought iron benches spaced carefully at half-mile intervals, a pond with imported fish, fountains cast in marble. They spend a few minutes in a boat at the main reservoir, rowing in a lap before bumping against the edge. It is all pretty but – he finds himself always anticipating, waiting to come across something that he can’t quite define – maybe a gnarled tree, or a frog strayed into his path, some wildflowers spread across the meadow. A surprise.

And then they are back at the start. The path, it seems, was a loop.

~~~

After returning home, they sit for lunch.

Servants swarm them, laying down silver platters full of finger sandwiches, roast meats, teapots of fragrant teas. He picks one up, pouring into the fine china in front of him. The stream sputters, tiny flecks of leaves scattering across the surface as the pot empties, leaving his cup only half-full. He reaches for another.

They talk about a fight on the rail station, the news having quickly made its way uptown. He picks up a sandwich, placing it on his plate, and offers his own story of a fight he witnessed when he was young at his own hometown’s docks, a brawl over mackerel. Dahyun giggles at the absurdity of it.

They rest for the remainder of the day in the parlor, tired from their adventure earlier, the sun having left them listless and light-weary.

They speak again about the horse she hopes to buy the following weekend at the derby, a dappled stallion. She considers if she should bring it with her to the countryside when they return. A good idea, Felix agrees, there’s certainly space for it there.

Dinner begins promptly at six in the evening, as normal. Her aunt and uncle, who were to join them, have called to say they can’t make it – her aunt has a cough, probably nothing serious, but it’s best for her to rest. Dahyun’s grandparents are absent as well, attending an evening service.

So Felix and Dahyun dine alone, accompanied only by servants and butlers. She asks him if his hometown has always been as sleepy as it is now, and he says yes, but even more so before. He asks her if this social season is as busy as they always are and she confirms, saying that while there are a few events each week this year, in previous years there are often a dozen.

She goes on to describe the kinds of parties that are thrown, the people to attend. Felix asks questions at appropriate times, reacts at the peak of each of her small stories. But then, after a few minutes, she falters.

Did she already mention the horse she wishes to buy? she asks. Oh yes, she did.

There are a few more silent seconds as she stirs her soup, and Felix jumps in to ask – what shall we do during the rest of these visit?

She exhales quickly, almost inaudibly, before tacking to the list she had begun the night before – they could visit the river walk, see the new bridge that was constructed in the last year connecting the central island to its outer boroughs. Or perhaps the botanical garden.

Felix perks up. The botanical garden sounds nice, he replies.

And then for a moment he loses himself – he tells her about the garden he once helped care for. Of the year beetles invaded, like a biblical plague, eating through all the bulbs in his neighbor’s yard, so the spring rains had only yielded soggy dirt. How there had been an invasion of leaf miners the year following, leaving white trails along the leaves of all their ferns. But they had been young, inexperienced – they didn’t realize what it was, thought they had discovered a new species of plant. Had been so proud of themselves until they had rushed to his neighbor’s mother and she had said – no that was just a pest, a bug, painting on the leaves. Little artists, she had said.

When he finishes, Dahyun is smiling sweetly. “How nice,” she says.

She looks down at her plate again, poking at the sauce, drawing a pattern. When she starts speaking again she mentions how she when she was young, she always played with her horses, participating in dressage competitions. The horse she plans on buying this week is bred for that, she says.

Ah, he thinks, again. The horse.

And then suddenly he realizes – they are on another circle. The whole day she has been getting lost in his words, and him in hers, and they return always to their starting point for safety. Each time the try to stray, the periods in their sentences are trail markers, forcing them back to well-worn topics, back to their loop.

He reminds himself that they have only known each other for a short time, have only just started spending time alone. It takes time to speak freely, to get comfortable. They are just missing the right common ground on which they together can draw new paths to explore.

So for the rest of the dinner, he asks her every question he can think of. He asks her about her favorite things, shares his. Do you like to read? Do you like the city or the countryside? Are you and your brother close? Do you frequent the museums? Do you enjoy sports?

She responds, politely and warmly, but none of her responses lead naturally into one of his own. Placing his dessert fork down he promises himself – it’s okay, no problem, we’ll try again tomorrow.

His sleep is restless, unable to stop his brain from playing out scenarios, conversations, ways to act. He can study for this, prepare for this. Ensure everything goes smoothly.

~~~

The next morning, he starts again with gusto. He is more than ready, his brain now carrying a numbered list, penned in last night’s moonlight, and so he rifles though:

(1) Do you have a favorite artist?

(2) What is your favorite season?

(3) What are your favorite parts of the city?

For the rest of the day, he continues down the list, but with no luck. When he gets in bed that night, he feels that same ache as before, but it feels more solid now – perhaps there was something off with dinner, something his body can’t figure out how to digest. He tosses the whole night, unable to relieve the pressure, but still, he starts again the following day with equal fervor.

And then the day after that. The following weekend. The following week.

When he reaches the end of his first list of questions, he scrapes to find more – tacking them on:

(1023) Oh the weather is nice today, isn’t it?

(1024) That’s a pretty tree, right?

(1025) What a nice show, don’t you think?

He is patient, tries everything, but again and again – he finds no place from which to spring, and he can tell she can’t either. There is way for him to bounce easily off into his own thoughts. He is always having to prepare himself before she finishes her sentences – contracting all his muscles with a ready thought, ready to leap into some response. He must rely on all of his own momentum, none passing between them. At the end of each day, he is exhausted.

And, even then, with all his effort, they find themselves at the same starting point, again and again. He starts to hate that godforsaken horse.

Lying in bed at night, two weeks from their trip to the park, the jumble at his core has grown more painful, like a gallstone, poking at his stomach, making him nauseous. He rolls over, burying his head in the pillow, furious at himself, frustrated. He can’t figure out what’s wrong with him, what he needs to do differently. He’s missing some optimization, some trick, needs to be more interesting, better. He always knew he wasn’t enough for Dahyun. Should he read more, learn more about art, or architecture, or…horses?

He doesn’t understand what he’s doing wrong. Why it’s this hard to find a rhythm, a flow. How it could require this much work, when it had always been so natural with you, he –

And then, suddenly, it’s clear:

The mess inside him is the accumulation of every word he and Dahyun have exchanged. They are both too much and too little, all at wrong angles. He doesn’t need more time to sort them out, readjust to make them fit together correctly.

They never will, because none of them are yours.

~~~

[ III ]

He breaks the proposal next day.

He sees how Dahyun’s face falls, fighting against tears. He knows she felt something was off too, but still, she doesn’t deserve this. He never did deserve her.

When he goes back to his room to pack, he hurls his clothing in his suitcase with his head cast to the floor, avoiding mirrors. He doesn’t want to look at himself.

He is rushed quickly and unceremoniously into a carriage, spends the whole ride back to his hometown with his head buried in his hands. He knows it would have been crueler for him to stay, but he also knows that him leaving is self-preservation, the desperate need to relief the pressure in the center of his being. He can’t pretend it’s anything noble.

As they move past the city lights, to the untamed countryside, the jumble starts to dissipate. But there is no relief – it is immediately replaced by fear, the panicked sting of uncertainty. He has no plan. He doesn’t know what he’s allowed to ask from his future.

There’s an emptiness too, that opens, particular in its tastes, screaming to be filled. A new pressure emanating from the negative space.

When he arrives home, his parents don’t speak to him for a week. And then, when they do, they just say – What a shame. How could you do this to us?

He can’t explain the truth, so he stumbles over generic excuses – sometimes things just don’t work out, I wasn’t the right one for her, I tried my best to make it work but –

They just shake their heads and turn, walking past the smudged windows, under the decaying eaves, leaving him alone to explain to himself. This, somehow, is even worse.

He hides out in a dark corner of his bedroom, knowing the whole town is abuzz with the news, afraid to run into any member of Dahyun’s family. Of being asked for an explanation that he can’t give, a truth that can’t exist.

Sitting still, the guilt accumulates around him, haunting him. But there’s another ghost, far more terrifying, made of brass, howling his name. In the haze of his future, in the swirl where potential and missed opportunity mix he knows one thing – he aches to hear your voice.

Still, though, he finds himself stalling. Passing by the phone, never touching it. The blur of the last few months has finally slowed, and with all the time alone, his brain is finally able to grasp onto everything that has happened, to inspect it. And he realizes – he told you he’d call you, but never did. Twice. He didn’t mean to break his promise, but he was so stupid and inexperienced and foolish, caught up in a dream he had thought would be his reality that he had gotten lost in time, lost track of you.

But his intentions didn’t matter. He was sure you had felt abandoned. Among all the things he is sorry for – disappointing his parents, hurting Dahyun – he hates himself most for this. He thinks of all the little thoughts and tiny hurts you had to nurse by yourself, while he was blissfully, selfishly unaware.

And so he aches to call you, more than anything, but he is equally terrified. He doesn’t know how you’ve changed over the last few months, if you are angry, if you even want to talk to him.

But after a few more days, he finally finds himself seated next to the phone, his hand on the cold metal. He starts counting down from ten, tells himself he will call at zero. He doesn’t. He counts ten more. Another ten. And then, in a huff and a blaze of courage he picks up the receiver, jamming his finger in the dial, swirling it. And the he waits, terrified, the rings of the phone and the hammering of his heart joining in a percussion of anticipation.

And then he hears a click, your voice.

“Hello?” you ask, “To whom –“

“Hi it’s –”

“Felix,” you finish.

And then there is just the crackle of a briefly severed connection. Silence.

He doesn’t know what to say, knowing that he can’t say the truth – that he returned home because it didn’t feel right, despite all the good in it, because it wasn’t this and he doesn’t know what that means and is too scared to figure it out and he misses you and he’s so sorry and he prays that you’re not mad but understands if you are. He’s not asking for forgiveness, just to hear your voice and your thoughts and any words you’ll give him. He’s empty and desperate for them. Needs them, you.

So he settles for:

“How are you?”

You respond, flatly, simply:

“Well, and you?”

He winces. This isn’t you — it’s a script. Worse than silence, worse than not knowing what you had left to offer him.

And then –

“I was sorry to hear the news about your engagement ending. I hope you are both well.”

Another line pulled from an etiquette book. Panic bubbles, and before he can think he is apologizing profusely, explaining how he just lost track but he really, definitely, still should have called. He is so sorry, so so sorry, he repeats again and again. He hopes it will help mend any hurts, will ease the block between you. But you just brush him off, saying that you were busy too, that you understand. And then nothing more.

So he then tries to lead with the things you like to talk about, to pull more from you. The kind of things that used to have you uncorking yourself, pouring into him, at the whiff of a suggestion that he was listening. But you remain restrained – not rude, just a stranger.

And then there’s a rustle in the background, and Felix hears the quick tumble of your mother’s words. He strains to make out the meaning, and then he hears another voice. A man’s voice.

And then there’s a brief quiet. He knows you’re holding your hand against the receiver, blocking your voice from him as you speak to your mother and your visitor.

“Sorry, I have to go but,” you say when you remove it, “I’ll call you later, Felix, okay?”

And then the phone clicks and he is left holding the phone to his ear like a seashell, straining to hear depths. But there is only the sound of empty space, reverberating.

~~~

Over the next few days, Felix finds himself hovering near the phone, never outside hearing distance. He knows it’s futile, knows nothing will come, but he can’t help but have a little hope. And besides – it’s easier to focus on the possibility of your voice than the probability that your guest represents.

But after a few days Felix’s hope has diminished to just a sliver, and he finally, begrudgingly, starts to force himself into the outside world, back into attempting some semblance of normal life, but he still is always thinking of you. There are side glances and hushed whispers downtown, as expected, but this isn’t the worst of it – he sees now what he was missing, secluded in his home.

You and Changbin, waltzing down the street, accompanied by your mother. In Mrs. Cho’s parlor, eating tarts. Giggling together as you ride the newly refurbished trolley, funded by his family. You have begun a courtship.

When you run into one another you are polite, an appropriate level of lukewarm. Changbin is curt – because of his sister, Felix is sure – but there’s something else there too. The edge of a possessiveness, a warning for Felix to stay back, turn away. Your mother, your new chaperone, seems oblivious to it, so Changbin doesn’t fuss. But Felix can feel its quiet heat.

And he doesn’t know if it’s this new dynamic, or your own anger, or if you simply have no attachment to him anymore, but it’s clear – that afternoon in the garden was the last time you would ever pour yourselves into one another. You have nothing to give him, want nothing from him.

So he doesn’t bother you – he just watches you from afar, sitting alone. He can never hear exactly what you say, but he watches you mouth words quickly to Changbin, laughing, raising your eyebrows in reaction to his jokes. It breaks his heart.

Felix always knew that change would come, had seen the way it did for others, but he hadn’t fully realized its weight or scope until was already upon him, crushing him. He had somehow thought that even with the backdrop of your own separate marriages, you would still be able to maintain some freedom. He had been stupid, thinking he was some exception. He had thought you would always have more time, and so he had spent it all without knowing, fool’s gold. He aches for more, still.

And so he can’t help but to nurse a space inside himself to receive anything you might be willing to give, at any time. He struggles to pad the void with blades of time he still holds from your childhood, trying make himself feel less hollow. But they’re too light, dried out, crumbling. He aches for freshness, something he can tend to.

So he collects whatever clippings he can from a distance – a glance, a faint smile, a few words – gloriously green for a second, and then all too fast brown in his clutched hands.

They are not alive. They cannot give him what he wants.

~~~

And then in Mrs. Cho’s parlor he hears it – gossip, solidifying too quickly into fact, trapping him like a cast. A snippet from a conversation behind him:

“Changbin is finally going to propose tomorrow, I hear. Asked for permission from her parents and everything already. He’s heading to the city so he has to propose, if he wants to bring her with him.”

Felix chokes on his tea. He knew this was coming, but still, he isn’t ready.

“They’re not having an engagement party here?” another voice asks, “Just leaving?”

“No, Changbin has stronger ties to the city – he’ll want to celebrate there, with his friends and business partners. Wants to set up a life there as fast as possible.”

As fast as possible. The sentence jolts through his chest.

“He’s eager to get her accustomed to city life – and he’s smitten by her, besides. Wants to move things along, start a family, establish themselves as a force in the elite circle. I spoke with his parents last week, and they say he came to them, assuring them she was the one. Said to them, ‘…she’s just so eloquent you know? Never says too much, always precise. Has a point to everything. She’ll fit in well at any party, perfect for me.’”

“Sounds like a perfect match then,” remarks the other woman gleefully.

Felix forces himself out of his chair, unable to hear anymore. The women at the table turn to him as his chair scrapes, and he pays quickly, rushes out the door. Past the crumbling walls, the shattered scales of tile, the unkept grasses to his compound, the whole time his brain replaying their conversation.

And then it gets stuck, like the needle on a phonograph.

Never says too much, always precise. Has a point to everything.

It makes him boil, limbs on fire, fists clenching. Changbin wants you like the water that runs through his pipes – washing his hands, watering his garden, filling his glass. Controlled, portioned, calibrated to a purpose. Discarding the rest down the drain, without a second thought.

And, now, too, there is the question of what to do. He had expected that you would have some sort of sendoff, a way for him to see you for the last time before you were whisked away to your new life. A few more minutes of time guaranteed before you vanish. But now, suddenly, there is nothing left.

So he makes a decision, as selfish as it is self-sacrificing. He will visit your home one last time, for one final goodbye. To wish you the best, make sure you seem happy, to let you know he’s there if you ever need him. But also, to steal a few extra moments with you, a last chance to pad out the emptiness he has carved involuntarily inside himself.

~~~

That night he stands in front of your door, fist hovering a few inches from the wood. He starts counting down from ten, tells himself he will knock at zero. He doesn’t. He counts ten more. Another ten. And then his fist is against the wood, feeling as if his hand belongs to someone else.

Your mother opens the door, wearing an apron, clearly have just come from the kitchen. She breaks into a familiar smile.

“Oh Felix! It’s been a while, come in.”

And so he does, stepping past the threshold. He hears voices down the hall, laughter.

“What brings you here, dear?” your mother asks, shutting the door behind him.

Felix swallows hard, manages to mumble, “I heard the…happy news, about tomorrow. So just wanted to come by to wish her well in person before she leaves for the city. Uh, say, goodbye to my oldest friend, you know, and – “

“Oh! Yes…that’s sweet of you,” your mother says, “She’s in the library. Changbin and her father are in the parlor actually, and sent her back there to fetch a volume on history. She’s been there a while, you can go meet her there. Ask her to rejoin the parlor when you’re done, okay?”

Felix nods, assuring her that he’ll do just that, and moves quickly down the corridor. He is relieved and deeply grateful that just your mother answered the door, that she still has a blind spot after all of these years, allowed him this one final opportunity. Perhaps a final repayment, a few minutes of turning the other way for all the hours you had given her to focus on what she wanted. He knows that if Changin saw him instead, that he’d stop Felix, politely of course, but still.

So he passes the parlor as quickly as he can, catching only a glimpse of father and soon-to-be-son-in-law sitting with piles of books, Changbin’s hand splayed over one, his index finger pointing to a line. He continues down corridor after corridor until their distant laughter fades to silence.

~~~

The library is at the very end of the hall, facing the family garden.

When he enters, he first sees your family’s phone, deceptive in its inanimate innocence. And then he your silhouette, facing the bookshelf, illuminated by candles and moonlight. You are crouched on the floor, a tumble of books to your left and right, your hand between shelves, adjusting an old leather volume.

The worn floor creaks beneath Felix’s foot, and you turn, eyes wide as you see him.

“Felix…” you breathe.

“Your mother said you were here fetching a book,” he rushes to say, only a partial explanation for his presence. He has been thinking about what to say all day, craved a moment like this for weeks, but he feels awkward, unprepared. He’s not sure exactly what he wants to say, knowing it won’t be everything he wants to say.

So for a few moments he’s just silent, his eyes fixed on the books piled around you, the empty shelves in front of you. He wonders what exactly you’re doing rearranging the library with a guest – your future husband – waiting for you.

You must catch some confusion in his expression, because you explain:

“A while ago, I organized everything by size…”

“I remember,” Felix responds.

“…But it still didn’t seem quite right, so I’m trying it in alphabetical order.”

You don’t say anything else, don’t ask why he’s there, just continue slotting in books. He worries that he want him to leave, are just being polite, but you don’t seem bothered either. You just pick up a book at a time, examining the spine, before placing it next to its new neighbors. Unhurried, in no rush to get back to the parlor.

But he still worries, so he offers, “Don’t want to take up too much of your time, I know you probably want to get back to Changbin – “

“He and my father will be perfectly fine without me for a while,” you interrupt, your back to him as you adjust a dictionary, “He sees so much of my anyway, and he’ll have plenty of time to see more of me.”

Felix swallows down the jealousy, poison rising from his heart. He’ll have plenty of time.

“I just –,” Felix continues, “Wanted to come say goodbye, I guess. I…know about Changbin’s plans for tomorrow. We just spent so much time together, so it just seemed…wanted to wish you the best, before you head to the city. To say congratulations.”

“Thank you. But it’s not like I’m leaving forever, Lix,” you say, “I’ll come back to visit now and then.”

“It won’t be the same, though.”

“No,” you say, “It won’t.”

And then you pause, before confessing, “But it hasn’t been for while, either.” Your tone is just truthful, like you are stating an everyday fact, one that doesn’t require you to form any feeling about it -- the price of milk, the time of the sunset.

Felix drops his eyes to the floor, unable to hold your gaze.

“…I had to make a real future,” you say. Your tone still holds no emotion, but it’s softer, gentler than anything else you’ve said.

When he looks back up he sees: the curtains, slanted. The fireplace, covered in soot. The paint, peeling. All the things that now fell to you to somehow fix.

“I know,” he says, gentle, too.

And then, before he can think it through:

“I miss you.”

A moment passes.

“I miss you, too,” you respond.

It isn’t an opening. It’s just an acknowledgement of the way things are, the way they will continue to be. Closure, but with none of the relief.

And then you turn back to the shelf, slotting a book back in. You are quiet for a few seconds, and he wonders if they’re the start of the eternity he has been dreading.

“Thanks for stopping by, though. Nice of you,” you say.

And then true silence. Now permanent.

He knows this is the end. That, finally, definitively, time is up. He feels like he should say goodbye, farewell, something, but to do so seems too cavalier, almost sacrilegious. There is not a word that Felix knows that can capture the weight of this departure.

So, he steals just a few more seconds, watching you before he turns, and then he hears –

A sob. You are trying to choke it down, but it’s unmistakable.

His next move is all instinct, muscle memory moving him to you, his chest to your back, arms wrapped around you, head on your shoulder. Just as he did when you fell and scraped your knee as a child, or broke your favorite toy. He should have thought before acting, turned around and left, but his head is empty, his body full of a primal need to fix and soothe.

“Hey, hey, ” he coos, “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come…so sorry…”

You shake your head, drawing a broken inhale. And then you turn, locking eyes with him, and he recognizes your expression. It is the same one he sees every time he looks in the mirror.

And so his next movement is both a natural progression and a huge leap. His lips, placed gently on your shoulder. Then to your neck, upwards.

He pauses between each kiss to see if it’s too far, if you want to pull away, but you don’t. You just melt back into him, moving your hand back to grip in his hair, letting him explore you. But still - you’ve only ever walked him through your mind, never through your body. He needs to stop, to ask where he’s permitted.

“Is this okay?” he whispers into your neck, “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” you sigh, “No, please, don’t stop, please.”

He presses his lips again to your neck again, reassuring you that he won’t, before asking, “Okay, let me know if I go too far, though, promise?”

You nod, and so he moves to give you what you want – his lips on yours, down your neck, fingers caressing your curves, pulling at the fabric. There’s a burning fire in his hands that finds relief only in your skin, but this is a secondary need. He doesn’t know what any of this means, what’s going on inside your head, knows it can’t change things, but he now sees a glimpse of you, an opening. He wants to soothe all of you, see all of you, hear all of you, while he still can.

So he is panicked in his questions – he knows his time is short, the door already against his feet. There is therefore no organization, just plea after plea, all that he has been aching to know, all that he is just now learning to ask. Racing to jump first from his tongue.

“Can I touch you here?”

“Have you been okay?”

“Can I take this off?”

“Did you see those weird clouds a few weeks ago?”

“Will you be happy?”

“You’re sensitive there, huh?”

It’s comical, but he doesn’t care, and, apparently, neither do you. You just answer, giving back everything that he pours into you. He hovers over you, clouds to rain, rain to your sea, evaporating back up in his sunshine. Raining down again. The cycle is endless, as natural in you as it is to the earth.

And so, you respond as best you can between gasps, the ache of pleasure in your throat as his lips travel across your jaw, below your ear, his hands gently pulling off your clothing. You don’t respond to his last question, the moan answer enough as his lips suck at your sweet spot.

And then he pauses. There’s a new riddle he has to answer – something else from your throat, requiring just his tongue but no words. His hand slides down your front, between your legs.

“Can I kiss you here?”

You nod, and he drops to his knees, pushing up your skirts. The angle is awkward, but you are both too rushed to figure out a better position, desperate for the new contact. You lean against the table behind you for support.

He’s gentle as he pulls off your undergarments, his gaze always upwards, devoted, watching your reaction carefully as he kisses up your thigh. He just wants to make you feel good, to make up as much as he can in this little additional time he’s been given for all the pain he’s caused. He’s nervous, afraid he won’t be good enough, but you know he’s new to this – he had told you, late one night in a blushing haze, everything he had never tried but desperately wanted to, so you gently guide him as you discover your body together. He listens to every word you say, every direction, until there are no more suggestions, just moans tumbling from your lips.

And then just his name – over and over, laced with pleasure, the prettiest it has ever sounded – until you give one final cry, throwing your head back.

He then sits back in the desk chair, pulling you on top of him, cradling you against his chest as your breathing evens out, as you recover from your high. He gently your hair, kissing your forehead, asking gently, “Feeling okay?”

You nod against his chest, then scoot up, burying your head into his neck. He pulls you closer, fingertips ghosting over your back.

“Lix?” you whisper into his neck.

“Mhm...?” he hums, gazing down at you, wanting to inhabit this moment forever, hold you forever, so grateful for it.

“I want you to take me.”

His heart stops. He pulls you away from him for a moment, so he can look into your eyes. He needs to be sure.

“Do you mean…?”

“Yes.” you say. Your voice is firm, determined.

It’s too much for his brain to process. To have you once and then never again, especially this once – he knows it will haunt him, that he’ll never recover. If he does this, the damage is permanent. And he knows, too, as much as he wants it – he shouldn’t.

“I know we’ve…” he says, gesturing to their position, the obvious sin in it, “But that, that I shouldn’t take. That’s for – “

“Please,” you say, “I just want this. Just this one thing. Please. One choice.”

And then, the most devastating thing you could say:

“I want this to be ours, even if nothing else is after.”

And this time, he’s the one that has to bury his head into you, to steady himself, to comfort himself. Trying to grapple with how full this moment is, and how empty he’ll be after.

Ours. And then, abruptly, just his. But he knows, with certainty, he’ll give you anything you want. Pour his whole future into this moment so that you can carry into your own separate future. A parting gift.

“Okay,” he exhales, “How do you want me?”

You readjust your legs, straddling his lap, then lean in to press your lips to his. You kiss him slowly, tenderly, and he reciprocates, supple in your hands. Letting you take him as you want, anything you want.

“Just like this,” you say. He cups your face, nodding.

And then you reach for his belt, and he watches as you undo the buckle, unbutton his pants. He can’t believe it’s happening, wonders if it’s a hallucination – until you reach inside, gently grabbing his already hard length, tip weeping, and he feels how sensitive he is to your touch. He’s worried about how long he can last, if he’ll do a good enough job, that this will be a lousy gift, a lifelong disappointment to remember him by. This is, after all, his first time too.

You reposition yourself and move down slowly, his tip just brushing against your folds. They’re wet, swollen. He’s already fighting to keep his orgasm down.

And then you begin to sink down on his length, and he sees the way you bite your lip, your eyebrows knit together.

“Hey,” he says, lifting your chin so your eyes meet him, “What’s wrong?”

“Hurts…” you admit. He feels a flutter of panic – the last thing he wants is to hurt you more.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asks, rubbing circles into your cheek, “We can stop, whenever, if it’s too much.”

“No, I want this. I’m sure, ” you confirm.

“Okay,” he says, moving his other hand to cup your face, “Take all the time you need then.”

So you do. It’s a slow process, full of fits and starts, as you ease down his length. The whole time he kisses you, can’t step telling you how good you are, how well you’re taking him, how you’re almost there. And then when you finally reach the bottom, he leans in, kissing you hard, his hands gripping your waist, then moving down to your hips.

And then you start to move. It’s sloppy at first, but you find a rhythm quickly. His dick only grows harder inside you as he watches you bounce in his lap, something he never thought he’d see, never even dared to picture in his most secret fantasies. He thinks he could never feel better, and then you start to speak –

“Feel so full, Lix.”

“You fit so perfect inside, me.

“So good, making me feel so good.”

They’re the best words he’s ever heard, and he never wants you to stop, wants to store as many inside him as he can for the long winters ahead, so he begs:

“Please, let me hear you. Want to hear you, please.”

So you let him, brushing his hair from his forehead as you say how pretty he is, how wet he’s making you, how much you love riding him. He’s dizzy and throbbing and oh –

His hands are on your waist, stopping your motion, and you whine in protest.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes glued shut, “I was going to cum. You feel too good, I’m too excited, I’m sorry. And I can’t…not inside, not when – ”

You’re about to be engaged to someone else. Leaving tomorrow. He can give you anything but this.

You wince at the reminder, but then nod slowly. You ease yourself off him, and his cock slaps back against his stomach, red and rigid, wet with his arousal and yours. His eyes are still screwed shut, on the very edge of release. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“Can I touch you?” you ask gently. Felix nods. You place both of your hands on his cheeks.

“You still want to cum?” He nods again.

And then he feels one of your hands lace with his, the other wrapped around his cock. One, two pumps is all it takes, and he’s spilling all over himself. He knows he should feel embarrassed, exposed, but it just feels natural to have you be the first to see him come undone. Just another first in the long line of firsts that you’ve shared with him.

When he opens his eyes you are on your knees in front of him, gently wiping his release from his stomach, his softened cock. It feels good to have you tend to him like this – it feels familiar, just like when he was sick, or hurt. This is just a natural evolution, now that you’re grown. When you are done, he holds out his arms, beckoning you back to him.

And so you settle against his chest again, curling up in his arms. He checks on you again, asking if you are okay as he rubs your back.

But this time you pause before shaking your head, drawing one shuttering breath, burying your face in his shirt. He starts to panic – did he do something? Hurt you? Were you regretting this?

“Hey,” he says, “What’s wrong?”

You take another long, broken breath.

“Miss you already,” you say, “Don’t want to go, don’t want you to go, I…”

“It’s okay,” he coos, “I got you, I’m here now. I can stay for a little. We have time.”

He knows this is only partly true – your mother could change her mind at any moment, tell Changbin. But Felix will do anything to soothe you, to help your transition back to reality, even if that requires him to spin you a fantasy for a few minutes.

“I’m not ready,” you say, shaking your head against his shoulder, grasping at his shirt, “Thought I would be ready, been trying to get ready for this for years, for how hard this would be. Tried to stay away when you came back, focus on Changbin, my family, my future. Tried to want him. But I’m not ready to leave you and I don’t know what to do…”

You start to ramble, finally pouring your whole self into him, each of your thoughts immediately becoming his. Exactly what he has desperately wanted, but every one of your words hurts. And one more than all the others.

“Years?” Felix asks.

You nod your head against his chest.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it?”,he asks, lifting your face to his. It’s not accusatory, just sad, echoing with the hollowness of missed opportunity, of time already passed.

“Didn’t want you to be thinking about it too. Didn’t want you worrying if you didn’t realize the full reality yet. I just wanted you to move on, forget about me, start a new life with Dahyun…”

His heart drops as he realizes – you had been nursing this alone, been scared alone, to protect him. Manufacturing the illusion of time for him to play in, a dark deal to extend his childhood. Paying for his joy with your own loneliness and exhaustion. And he knows, then, that it’s his turn to be honest with you – of all the things he has collected for you only over the last couple of months, there is only one thing, simple, at the core of everything.

“I couldn’t,” he admits, “I wasn’t ready either. I tried, but I couldn’t imagine a life with her. Because she wasn’t you.”

You look up, eyes wide, fixing your gaze to his, as the truth settles on your shoulders – you have always been on the same page.

And then two sentences emerge from where they had always been lurking in the shadows of Felix’s mind, placing themselves precariously on the stack of every other word you have ever exchanged. He chokes on them – he has never tried to say anything this heavy.

Please don’t marry him. Marry me.

Caught, they already sting his throat, his mouth – he knows they will always be branded on his tongue, regardless of your answer. He has to say them before they burn through the muscle, silencing him, leaving those words forever unspoken.

But he hesitates, and in the that wasted moment, your eyes catch behind him. He turns to see what you’re looking at – the garden, overrun with weeds, the flowers dying. A thought forms, and then, as is natural between you, it is tumbling out of your mouth:

“We should water the garden more often, until it recovers.”

When you turn back towards him he is beaming, and you beam back.

You know his question. He knows your answer.

~~~

Photo by Zach Plank on Unsplash

769 notes · View notes

positronicdream · 10 months

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Fizzbin's Fabulous Cabin, part 1

My bard character Fizzbin just hit level 13 and picked up the spell Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion - or rather, Fizzbin's Fabulous Cabin! Finally I can add the finishing touches and unveil my big project:

I built it in the Sims 4 :)

The group has had the in-character tour, but there's a lot of OOC design stuff I want to ramble about, and I've decided to do that here.

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5)

✨

First up, I needed size parameters so I could work out a floor plan. The spell allows for 50 cubes measuring 10ft on a side, thus a footprint of 5000sqft (handwaving the height of the ceilings). Estimates of the length of a standard Sims floor tile vary from 2ft to a yard, but 2.5ft is a good middle ground and most convenient for my calculations. My budget would be 800 floor tiles.

I was able to fit in 5 individual bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a foyer, a small sitting room, a dining hall and a kitchen; and had space left over for a library, arboretum, and recreation room (and some balcony spaces - more on those later). I stacked these up on 3 floors plus a basement for the kitchen. Here's an early draft of the shell!

✨

Next, I had to work out the aesthetic. This is Fizzbin's mansion, so it has to be somewhere she would feel at home. Fizzbin's favorite colors are pastel purple, yellow, blue, green, and pink, and she likes fancy swirly shapes. Add a touch of cute & cozy gnomish farmhouse with lots of flowers and natural light, and you have the Fabulous Cabin aesthetic.

I used loads of stuff from the Realm of Magic DLC (actually, this project was half the reason I bought it). It provided almost all the windows and doors, multiple wallpapers, the swirly wooden furniture, the crystal lamps, and more! The lighting options came in real handy, because I wanted to avoid electric lights (where they couldn't be concealed, anyway).

The house has loads of fireplaces, because that's how you keep a house warm in fantasy medieval times. Each one has a different decoration attached because I thought it'd be cute.

I started building this when the platform feature was new & shiny, so there are a few places I used it just for fun: the stairs are all L-shaped, the arboretum is sunken down, the library steps up, and the rec room has a little stage. The round wall update came out after I had locked in the floor plan and modifying it would have been a nightmare, so the "round" rooms are still octagons. Then the ceiling update was very exciting! It looks so much cozier with warm wood ceilings!

✨

In the next part I'll go over all the exterior design. Warning: roof nightmares!

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5)

#the sims 4 #dnd art #magnificent mansion #the rising loons

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amythestfenix · 9 months

Note

Sorry to ask but are you interested in any chance in recolouring the next furniture of HelgaSims? ( Available in the sims 2 graveyard )

The armchair and sofa and couch of ModLiving in Yeti colors and vintage/retro fabrics, I love the mesh cause it reminds me of retro houses but the original recolor is.... awful!

The big cabinet ( or bookcase?) of Edem Living in woods. The mesh is quite nice and I don't mind if it contains clutter

The bookcase of Saga Living in more wood recolors

I think that's all? I know it's a lot but I think you may be interested on it, HelgaSims has some nice meshes like VitaSims but some of the recolors are... Ugh... Too ugly. But they, they can be quite nice for retro/vintage homes though.

I think you will love some Helgasims meshes like Vitasims but most of them needs a bit of a coat paint to fit better with today standards ( curious thing that back then a la photoshop/photorealistic retextures were very common)

Thanks in advance and have a nice weekend :)

Hi! I do like and have recolored some of Helga's furniture.

I looked at the Mod Living sofa and armchair and I really don't like the seat cushions with the spiky buttons, so I won't be recoloring them.

I did the Saga bookcase long, long ago and I can probably do something better with it now. I'll work on it.

The above pics show my re-do of the Edem set you mentioned.

A lot of the set (including the big cabinet) is not mapped well for directional wood grain and the top ornament of the cabinet has to be made invisible to be used with ceilings.

Curtain pelmets and the top of the fireplace columns will also be cut off by ceilings. When I did this set, I made the all the pieces repo that could be, changed the TXMTs and textures, quarter-tile enabled, and renamed the files.

If you would like this set, you can download it HERE.

#sims2 download #sims 2 cc

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jessicaschein · 1 year

Photo

Living Room - Home Bar Example of a large, modern, open-concept living room with a bar, gray walls, a tile fireplace, a standard fireplace, and a light-colored, beige floor. The room also has a wall-mounted television.

#lake house #vinyl plank flooring #lakefront #addition #living room #smart siding

0 notes

vancouverkitchenrenovation · 1 year

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Choosing Tile For Bathroom Floor Ideas

Choosing tiles for your bathroom is a personal choice, and there are many options to choose from. The options include white, mosaic, gray, and even cork and slate. Each has its own benefits and disadvantages, so make sure to choose the right one for you.

Grey

Adding grey tile to a bathroom can be a great way to create a clean, serene look. The color is a versatile one that works with virtually any style of furniture. It also goes well with bold wallpaper, and can be used to tone down vibrant colors.

If you have a large, open space, using large tiles can create the illusion of a more spacious bathroom. You can also combine different shapes and patterns. Using a herringbone pattern is one way to change the standard grey tile.

Adding wooden accents can also give a room a warmer, more calming look. Texture is also an important factor to consider in a bathroom with grey tile. You can add rugs, which will soften the room and allow you to experiment with color.

White

Whether you are decorating a master bathroom, or simply looking to update your bathroom, white bathroom tile ideas can add a touch of elegance. These tiles come in a variety of finishes, so you can choose the style that best suits your home’s decor.

Subway tile is a classic look for any bathroom. It can be used on the floor, as a backsplash, or even on the wall. It is also easy to install.

Another way to add drama to your bathroom is to use gray and white tiles. The color combination can be used to add balance to a brighter colour scheme. However, you need to choose the right shades, and also invest in the right accessories.

Mosaic

Adding a mosaic tile to your bathroom floor is a great way to add a pop of color and pattern. Mosaic tiles come in a wide variety of colors, patterns, and textures, making it easy to find something that matches your unique style.

Mosaic tiles are ideal for bathroom floors because they are water-resistant and easy to clean. They are also slip-resistant. You can install mosaic tile on your shower floor as well as your bathtub, backsplash, and back wall.

Mosaic tiles come in a variety of different colors, shapes, and sizes. They are also easy to install, making them a great choice for your bathroom.

Glass

Whether you’re designing a bathroom floor or remodeling an old one, glass tile can add a touch of whimsy to your space. The translucent quality of this material allows it to reflect light in a number of different colors.

Glass tile is an excellent choice for your bathroom floor because it is easy to clean, resistant to mold and mildew, and durable. It also adds a touch of sophistication to your home decor. Glass tiles are also available in a variety of colors and finishes, allowing you to customize your space.

Checkerboard

Using checkerboard tile for bathroom floors can be an exciting design option. You can choose from a variety of different color combinations, patterns, and styles. However, it’s important to consider the size of the tiles. If you have a small room, you will want to choose tiles that are smaller in scale. This will give a more balanced look. However, if you have a large room, you can choose larger tiles to add visual impact.

Checkerboard floors are a great choice for bathrooms because they can add a touch of traditional elegance. They are also a great way to create balance in your bathroom.

Slate

Using slate tile for bathroom floor ideas is a great way to add visual interest to your home. This natural stone is extremely durable and resistant to wear and tear, and it provides a unique aesthetic appeal.

Slate tile is available in a range of colors and textures, and it can be used in a variety of decorative styles. It can be used for floors, walls, and countertops. It is also popular for fireplace hearths and patios.

Slate tiles are brittle, and may crack or break if they are subjected to harsh impact. Some slate tiles are rough and textured, and some are smooth and polished. The best way to protect your slate tile is to use a protective sealer. The sealer closes tiny pores and prevents water from entering through the seams.

Cork

Unlike other materials, cork is naturally resistant to moisture and is a great choice for bathroom floors. Cork is made of a waxy substance called suberin, which helps it resist the growth of mold, mildew, insects, and bacteria. It also helps it resist the absorption of liquids.

Cork tiles come in a variety of styles and colors, with some offering integrated patterns. You can purchase them unfinished or prefinished. Some manufacturers even offer tiles that are printed and heterogeneous.

In order to prevent moisture from penetrating the floor, you’ll need to seal the cork tiles with a sealant. For cork flooring, this sealant should be water-based and VOC-free.

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Whether planning a bathroom renovation or simply updating your existing space, Vancouver Kitchen Renovation can help you create a bathroom that fits your style and budget. With years of experience working with homeowners across Vancouver, BC, we know how to transform bathrooms into spaces that fit your lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for a modern look or something more traditional, we can help you achieve the look you want. As a locally owned and operated company, we pride ourselves on providing quality products and exceptional customer service. When you choose VK Renovation, you can rest assured knowing that you’re choosing a company that cares about your satisfaction.

We understand that to be successful is to stay ahead of the curve. That means staying current with the latest technology and design trends. We always want to improve our products or services without breaking the bank. That’s why we stay connected to the latest technologies of NKBA, National Kitchen and Bath Association. In addition, at Vancouver Kitchen renovation, our primary focus is providing sustainable bathroom design and renovation packages, and we believe in sustainable living. Sustainable living is a way of life in harmony with nature. It is a lifestyle which focuses on the preservation of our environment. Sustainable living is a philosophy emphasizing respect for the environment and concern for its well-being. This means we should take care of the planet and treat it as if it were our home. We should try to preserve what we have and protect it from destruction. If we do this, we will enjoy the benefits of the earth’s resources for many generations. Whether you’re planning a major remodel or adding finishing touches to your current bathroom, we’d love to discuss your project. Book your showroom consultation online.

Main Areas of Service in British Columbia:

Vancouver

North Vancouver

West Vancouver

Burnaby

Coquitlam

Squamish

Whistler

Frequently Asked Questions

What will the bathroom decor trend be in 2023?

Bathroom decor trends can change all the time, but certain themes have been very popular since the beginning. These will be discussed below.

Minimalism – To eliminate clutter from your home, minimalism refers to removing all unnecessary items. It could also mean clearing out cupboards and shelves to remove unnecessary clutter and replace them with functional items. It is also about making things simple and easy to use.

Urban Living – Many people love living in cities. Modern urban dwellers desire to live in areas where they can still enjoy the natural world. They don’t want to lose sight of trees and green space when they move into the city. They moved back to smaller homes and apartments with smaller gardens.

Eco-Friendly – People are more aware of the environment. This has led to an increase in eco-friendly designs. Green design is all about designing spaces that are sustainable and healthy. There are lots of different ways that designers use to create eco-friendly homes. Designers can incorporate natural materials into their designs. Another option is to make sure that the home’s appearance doesn’t distract people from the surrounding environment.

Shabby Chic – Shabby chic is one of those styles that was born out of necessity and not fashion. During World War II, women were forced to reuse old clothes to prevent wasting resources. After the war ended they started to collect old pieces and repurpose them. Shabby chic has become a very popular design trend, with many applications, including furniture, accessories, and food.

Artistic Design: Artistic design has existed for centuries. Artists have always sought to express themselves through their work. Artistic design has evolved with the advancements in technology. Digital art and 3D printing can be combined to create unique objects that would not otherwise be possible.

Industrial Design: Industrial design isn’t new. It is a concept that dates back to hundreds of years. Industrial design special today is how much access we have to industries. Participation in industrial designing does not require that you be part of a large corporation. You can do almost anything with the internet.

Modernist Architecture- Modernist architecture derives its name from the way it looks at traditional design elements such symmetry, order, and balance. Instead, it focuses on asymmetry and irregularity. This allows architects to play around with shapes and sizes. Open floor plans are also available, with clean lines and blank walls.

Contemporary Design – This design combines both modern and traditional influences. This is a combination of all types of design. It gives you something original and new that will take your taste buds for a spin.

Nature Inspired – Nature-inspired design is all about bringing nature inside. Flowers and plants add life to any room. Fountains bring water in the space. Here are some examples of natural-inspired interior decorating ideas:

Rustic Interior Decoration – If rustic is your preference, you can use cedar siding or barn wood. These elements give rooms a farmhouse-like feel that is great for any setting.

French Country Interiors – If the country is your favorite, but you hate the cold, it’s worth adding a few touches of French country design. Simple colours and pastels are better than soft furnishings. Consider painting the walls a light color and adding some french provincial chairs to the room. This room is great for relaxing in the summer.

Bohemian Style: If you love the idea of living in a city but still want a little bit of country, then the bohemian design is for you. You can think of earthy tones and comfortable fabrics with low-key decoration.

How can my bathroom feel more modern?

Modernize your bathroom in many different ways. Incorporating sleek and simple lines into your design is a great way to achieve a modern look. Also, you can use colors like black, grey, or white. Modern fixtures like LED lighting and rainshowers will also make your space feel more modern. Finally, decluttering your bathroom and ensuring everything has its place will help to create a cleaner and more minimalistic look.

What is the cost of replacing a shower?

A complete renovation of a shower in Vancouver, British Columbia could cost as high as $10,000. This is for a complete project which would include:

Shower base (including drain)

Tiles (floor and wall)

Glass shower door or shower curtain

Fixtures (shower head, taps, soap dish, etc.)

Plumbing work

Waterproofing and tiling

Ventilation

Permits

What bathroom finishes will be in fashion?

The matte black finish was popular in 2022 and will continue in 2023. Brushed brass, bronze and other finishes will be very popular in 2023. These finishes can be luxurious and add a sense of luxury to any bathroom.

Bathroom finishes are often treated as an afterthought when designing bathrooms. However, they should always be carefully considered and planned for from the start because they significantly impact how the room looks and feels. They play a vital role in creating a tranquil and serene atmosphere.

The choice of materials used in the bathroom is another crucial factor to consider. The classic white tiled floor can be combined with a wooden tub and vanity unit. Or perhaps you’d opt for a different colour scheme, such as black and white, or a completely contrasting colour palette. Whatever your choice, make sure it fits in the overall design scheme of the house.

Bathroom finishes don’t necessarily have to be expensive. A simple coat of paint can transform any old bathroom into something special.

How do you update your bathroom in 2023

First, you need to know what you want in your bathroom.

What features are most important to you? What are your priorities?

Start looking for products that suit your needs.

You might not find exactly what your looking for but there are many options.

Here’s a list of things to think about:

Size – How big is your bathroom? You will need to make modifications to accommodate new fixtures.

Style – What is your preferred style? Contemporary, traditional, etc.? Style – There are many options for bathroom styles. The traditional style was popularized in Victorian times. It has natural stone floors. Modern bathrooms have sleek lines and glass finishes. They also feature open-plan layouts. Transitional designs combine elements of both traditional and modern styles.

Layout – Some people prefer smaller spaces, while others enjoy more space. How do want your bathroom to look?

Colour Scheme – What colours do you want in your bathroom?

Lighting – How much lighting do you require and from where?

Storage – Do you need more space in your bathroom? Are you able to store enough? What can you do if you don’t have enough storage?

Ventilation: Is your bathroom ventilated properly?

Features – Consider the features that you would like to have in your bathroom. Do you want a heated towel rail or a steamer? Do you need a spa tub or a Jacuzzi? Would you like a walk-in shower or a separate shower and bathtub combination?

Budget – Next, think about how much you can spend. This will help narrow down your options, and prevent you from overspending.

Warranty – Make sure to verify that any manufacturer offers a warranty on their products. This guarantees that the product will perform for a set period.

It’s time for you to start looking at products once you know what you want. You can browse online, in magazines, and in stores. Before you purchase anything, make sure to compare prices and review the product before making a purchase.

Which is the most popular color for a bathroom in 2023?

As part of its annual Colour Trends series, Benjamin Moore revealed its pick for the year’s colour in 2023. It’s called Raspberry Blush. This vibrant, red-orange shade makes us think bold, brightest, and boldest. This bold, unapologetic shade sets the scene for Colour Trends 2023. Colour Trends 2023 was inspired by the artist’s desire for colour and shape to communicate. It is designed to envelope you in vivid shades that make a statement. To celebrate this year’s selection, Benjamin Moore enlisted the electro-funk duo, Chromeo, to underscore the upbeat tone of the palette and to highlight the dynamic role colour plays in our daily lives.

PPG and Glidden polled 35 colour stylists across the globe about which colors they believe will be most influential in 2023. The answers varied from the obvious (like a return to earthy neutrs) to the surprising (like a revival of neon pink). They came to the conclusion that acceptance of change was the main theme of all responses.

PPG and Glidden named Vining Ivy their shared 2023 Color of the Year. ViningIvy is a bright blend of jewel tones, natural materials. It’s a bridge between present and future, a then and nows exploration of the colour choices made by PPG and Glidden in their market of DIY home painters.

Statistics

Keep in mind: they advise that, all told, your bathroom project should cost no more than 5 to 10 percent of your home’s value. (remodelista.com)

Outdoor showers can dramatically increase the value of your home—according to a 2018 report from Realtor.com, homes with outdoor showers tend to list for nearly double the asking price of other homes! (housebeautiful.com)

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had someone call and say they have an existing old tub (which, 99% of the time, is 60” wide once they’re pulled out) and want to convert the bathtub to a shower. (blog.innovatebuildingsolutions.com)

According to the EPA, a conventional toilet uses 1.6 gallons per flush, but that old pink one could use between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. (elemental.green)

Other sustainability instruments developed by Noken include an ‘Eco cartridge’ (its two-position switch makes it possible to use 50% less water and energy), and a water ‘flow rate limiter’ (that uses jets and air to reduce water consumption). (decoist.com)

2023 bathroom design trends: Heated floors were favoured by a substantial 75% of those who responded to the survey.(https://nkba.org)

2023 bathroom design trends: Bathroom faucet designs reflected wellness concerns, with 61% choosing accessible lever handles, 48% choosing motion and 36% going for the touch or tap options. (https://nkba.org)

2023 bathroom design trends: Large format tiles were favoured by 59% of those surveyed.mSlab surfaces were favoured by 40% of those surveyed. (https://nkba.org)

According to a 2019 remodelling report from the National Association of Realtors, 70 percent of consumers “have a greater desire to be home” after a bathroom renovation, so read on and soak up the secrets. (housebeautiful.com)

2023 bathroom design trends: Large format tile (59%) was the most popular material for tub and shower surrounds. Slab surfaces (40%) were the next most popular (https://nkba.org)

NKBA estimates that broken down, most of this cost comes from fixtures and plumbing (about 29 percent), followed by counters and surfaces (21 percent), labour (20 percent), and cabinetry and hardware (16 percent). (remodelista.com)

This article will reveal more about AntiBac surfaces and how Villeroy and Boch products have 99.9% fewer bacteria. (superbath.co.uk)

External Links

houzz.com

2020 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study

Storage niche and eclectic tile – Contemporary – Bathroom – Other – Katie Monkhouse Interior Design

bhg.com

How to paint bathroom cabinets and make a simple vanity upgrade

How To

How to hire an contractor for a bathroom renovation project

The bathroom remodelling process involves many steps, from finding the right contractor to selecting materials, hiring them, getting estimates, signing contracts, and finally starting the work. You don’t want any mistakes and you want to get the job done quickly. Here are some tips to help find the right contractor and hire them for your bathroom renovation project.

Start looking online. Bathroom remodels are not difficult to find. You can search through sites like Trustedpros or Houzz to find contractors. Most sites will allow you to enter your zip code and see which local contractors have received good reviews. Make sure to check their portfolio and google reviews.

Ask your friends and family. Most likely, your friends and family know someone who has recently renovated a bathroom. If they are open to sharing their experience, you might be able to recommend a contractor. You might be eligible to receive a referral fee if they refer you.

Online forums are a great place to start a conversation. On Facebook, you can post photos of your projects and ask for assistance. Reddit as well Pinterest are popular.

Do extensive research. Do your research before hiring anyone to do the job. Check their licenses, insurance, as well as any other pertinent information. Also, please take note of their past jobs. Are they experienced in doing bathrooms? Do they have experience in working with spaces of similar dimensions?

The post Choosing Tile For Bathroom Floor Ideas first appeared on Vancouver Kitchen Renovation.

source https://vancouverkitchenrenovation.com/bathrooms/choosing-tile-for-bathroom-floor-ideas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=choosing-tile-for-bathroom-floor-ideas

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hovmandkennedy · 2 years

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Put Persona For Your Room With This Particular Interior Design Suggestions

Would xây nhà like to increase your residence, but have no idea where to start? Does starting an interior design task get you to tense? Effectively, there is absolutely no much more have to feel nervous. Together with the following assistance, interior design will certainly be a snap. Prior to starting your decor undertaking, think about your financial budget. There are many different techniques of going about finishing one particular project, and once you know your financial budget, you will have a far better understanding of where to start. Consider the expense of items and work, and after that develop a spending budget that works for you. When picking colors for your interior design, stay away from choosing fads. Olive environmentally friendly surfaces might have been well-known as soon as upon an occasion, but it will make your property seem outdated. Select fairly neutral shades that could withstand the exam of energy. Like that, you will not seem like you must repaint each year. Before you start developing your home, make a decision on what type of frame of mind you want your room to possess. Your feelings may vary so you should make one within the room you are beautifying. Picking a disposition will help provide you with a complete standard for what you are likely to do inside the room. Use wall mirrors when redecorating your home. Mirrors are often very helpful, especially if you stay in a tiny space. A match on 1 or 2 wall space isn't just practical for dealing with your your hair on the go. They can also give the impression of more place. 1 tactically put match can perform magic for opening an area. Make imaginative consumption of bedroom pillows and rugs. These are economical and can alter the frame of mind of your space quickly. Fiddle with different textures, colours, and prints to see what fits you very best. The beauty of bedroom pillows and carpets is that you may shift these to an additional space if you want a different appear. Talk to family or friends before you take on the task. This can help you to acquire ideas that you may not think about, which you can integrate to your undertaking. Also, this really helps to lessen the possibilities of generating a mistake as somebody else just might spot it. It can be hard to embellish a basements since you could not possibly envision whatever you could do in this particular dim and gloomy spot. If you are using some happier colours and materials, you can turn your dim, damp, discouraging basement right into a location in which you will need to spend time with your loved ones. To improve the way in which your flooring appear for those who have rock, definite, or tiled floors, place in an area area rug. This can also cozy your feet. Be sure you rotate the rugs consistently to be able to uniformly minimize deterioration due to visitors. Quick rotates or altering the area will help your rugs consistently appearance new for a longer length of time. An area to focus on when redecorating can be your fire place location, when you have 1. A fireplace is often the focus of the room, and making it seem desirable is essential. The easiest way to do this is to ensure that physical objects about the mantle provide a balanced seem. In case the mantle is not well-balanced, you can expect to toss the look of the entire area away. Those who have felt anxious about the concept of pursuing home design should have experienced their anxieties happy through the previous report. At đá nhân tạo be aware of fundamentals of decor and also a solid foundation on which to start your very own design. Simply use the advice inside the article previously mentioned to help you become property appear more homey.

#thiết kế kiến trúc biệt thự

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duncanstage31 · 2 years

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If you need a fresh look for your house, consider feng shui and re-painting a room. This can give your property a brand new seem and cost under other pricey improvements. Liven up any area by adding fresh flowers or new window curtains. To present your home a greater feel, use this article's ideas.

A insane inclusion will prove to add some pizazz to your house. Probably you wish to add in the local library or perhaps a wine cellar. This will likely display you are distinctive and have an elegant spot to reside. Update your washroom to help make your residence feel like a property. Every single member of the family spends a substantial amount of period in this area, but we often overlook passing it on an upgrade during a upgrade. That you can do easy alterations by exchanging wallpapers, lighting, and cabinetry, to produce a new appear. Kids can readily climb away from house windows or doorways and harm on their own. Often, youngsters imagine approaches to escape from doors and crevices before you do. Be sure to make your kid harmless by the installation of home window and front door basic safety locks that only your or older children can available. Introducing an additional bathroom can definitely boost the need for your own home. All things deemed, two restrooms can be found in very helpful for people, notably if there is one upstairs then one downstairs. It is not unheard of for numerous individuals to want a restroom simultaneously. Increasing your home oneself in anyway can be quite a entertaining, satisfying expertise, but this can even be a disaster. Before you start any jobs, make sure you research what you're performing initial. Getting midway by means of any home improvement project only to discover you're carrying out a problem is actually a horror holding out to occur. By far the most irritating thing in your home is a stuck window. It is simple to correct your trouble with a small amount of silicon spray lubricant. Apply some lubricant onto a classic material or cloth and clean it over the moving monitors. The apply will assist lubricate the tracks which create your window simpler to open and close. Even when you don't make use of your fireplace much, it's vital that you get your chimney checked out and cleansed regularly from a skilled. Burning wooden could cause creosote to build-up, and this can lead to a chimney flame. Stay away from eliminating pitchy wooden like pine to help keep creosote in check after having a washing. After it is time to make significant changes to your residence, take part the services of a competent general contractor. Check around and then make careful comparisons. An effective and sincere, general service provider, can total renovations appropriately. A service provider may also perform redesigning operate cheaper than you can manage, by performing it your self. Prior to getting started on any undertaking, you have to very first know what you're stepping into. Entering a project with no knowledge of everything will lead to one half-completed set of kitchen cabinets and granite ceramic tiles without having grout in the seams. Go through the project very first and operate up a strategy before you begin upon it. Satisfy your flame extinguisher for the place where it is being used. Colour would be the same old reddish colored but blaze extinguishers are classed based on function. Course B's are most appropriate for the home but Course A's would possibly work effectively in the remainder of the residence. When experiencing new rug set up, make sure you aspect in the expense of new tack pieces. It will save you some money by eliminating the old rug oneself, but keep the tack strips undamaged, if at all possible, to lower the ultimate value of skilled rug set up. Installing restoration companies spokane wa around cement is a lot more pricey than setting them up more than wooden flooring surfaces. Never try to save time or funds by disregarding standard security guidelines. You may be thinking a hardhat is not required for a little house undertaking, but there are a lot of items that can harm your mind. Based on the form of function you're carrying out, you'll want to have goggles, hardhats, and even respirators completely ready in order to continue to be safe and healthier. In general, quit being concerned, straining, and convinced that do-it-your self redecorating is way from your get to. It won't take very long to do your own home development in the event you stick to the suggestions you merely study about how to try it for yourself. The ideas with this report have offered you a number of distinctive and fascinating alternatives for your residence. Better of luck for a successful redesigning trip!

#mold remediation spokane wa

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hometoursandotherstuff · 3 years

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Bear with me, if I repost something, but I really don’t remember when I see one of my favorites, if I posted it on my old, defunct, blog, or in the early days of this one. But, I love Lyudmila’s funky, colorful, unique Russian apt. with Jazz motifs. In Soviet times, all large apts. were turned into communal apts., and as a result of further redevelopment they were divided in two.

So, Lyudmila's current home is essentially a half-apartment with a corridor, two rooms, a kitchen with a bay window and a large bathroom. Her small kitchen is in purple & lime with whitewashed exposed brick and large wall-sized murals. She came up with the wonderful design for the space, herself.

Since the ceilings in the apartment are high, the furniture was made to order- the standard models would look too short here.

Home appliances and a gas water heater were hidden behind the profiles.

Lyudmila made a backsplash from cans of various brands of beer and cola.

The kitchen is separated from the living room by a work area.

The table and bookcase were custom made.

Lyudmila brought the painting over her work table from the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh City.

The trunk, which serves as a coffee table, was presented to Lyudmila by a friend who went to study in the USA.

The living room is bordered by the corridor and the bedroom. There are no doors between the rooms, and Lyudmila plans to make stained glass instead of the clear window openings.

She brought the Spanish settee in the living room from her previous apartment.

To make the furniture fit better with the new interior, the frame was painted with dark paint.

Strands of jewels descend from the ceiling.

The wall in the bedroom at the head of the bed, was covered with photo wallpaper. The bed was custom made, and the vintage bedside tables and wardrobe came from the previous owners.

The suitcases, which now sit on the closet, were brought by Lyudmila’s grandfather in the 1960s. In addition to decorative, they also perform a direct function- the suitcases contain many things that could not find another place in a small apartment.

Lyudmila brought the painting over the fireplace from Hong Kong, large round clock is from a boutique, lamps - Laura Ashley.

Authentic brickwork has also been preserved on the wall in the corridor. White figurines of angels are from a decor store in Metrograd.

The fireplace is tiled. They were removed from the fireplace in a neighboring house, which was just about to be demolished. The vintage cabinet under the clock remained after the previous owners.

The area of the bathroom was reduced by half, when the corridor was enlarged. Love her choice of mosaic tile and the color of the sink vanity.

https://www.the-village.ru/service-shopping/apartments/122877-kvartira-nedeli-kiev-dzhaz

#russian apt.#1/2 apt. reno #unique apt. decor #vintage & modern decor #long post

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verysaladobservation · 3 years

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REFLECT YOUR SUN SIGNS WITH THE INTERIOR DESIGN OF YOUR HOUSE - III

When you enter into a room and instantly feel at ease, something magical happens. It's something we all aim for in our own homes, but it's surprisingly tough to achieve. Picking the right paint color can be a difficult trial and error process. Fortunately, there's a simple way to speed up this process and zero in on not only the color wheel section that speaks to you but also the style of decor that best matches your inner design sensibility. Looking to the stars, according to astrologers, can reveal our favorite colors, finishes, and furnishings.

(This article includes – Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn)

Virgo The Virgin. A Grounded, Discerning Earth Sign.

Virgos are ruled by Mercury, they have active, clever minds that are meticulous in their attention to detail. Because too much stimulation can overwhelm them, Virgos go for clean, minimalist, and modern styles. This sleek aesthetics will aid their busy thoughts in concentrating on the numerous jobs they have assigned to them. Earth tones and peaceful settings calm their tensions, which they often have due to their perfectionist nature.

The Virgo season begins on August 23 and ends on September 22. After the revelry of Leo season, Virgo season returns our focus to the upkeep that existence necessitates. Virgo energy aids you in concentrating on the intricacies of your life, developing a healthy daily routine, and completing your to-do list. Consider consulting with an interior designer during this period of cleaning up your body, mind, and house to ensure that your home is the sanctuary that will promote efficiency and productivity in your life!

Libra, The Scales. A Charismatic, Peacemaker Air Sign.

Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and harmony, rules Libra. These people are lovely and social due to their Venusian sensitivities. Librans have a strong yearning for beauty and enjoy being in the company of beautiful people, landscape, and interior design.

Because these people are ruled by the scales, they seek equilibrium in their lives. When Libra considers one point of view, it can make them indecisive. Their innate desire is to analyze both sides of an argument. Libras have a natural sense of fairness and justice since they are continuously looking for logical ways to evaluate both perspectives. As a result, they are gifted mediators and peacemakers!

The Libra season will take place from September 22 to October 23. Allow this season to motivate you to nurture beauty in your daily life, spend time with your loved ones, and live in peace. Libras are drawn to harmony and beauty in their environment. Nothing should be out of place at any time. There is a system in place, and everything should follow it. appliances you'd like to keep close by but out of the way Libras seek harmony in all aspects of their lives. The symmetrical fireplace mantle has two tall candlesticks on the left and a lamp on the right. This appearance may appeal to some signs, but Librans will find it uneven and unbalanced. Integrating symmetrical lines where everything is the same is vital for Libra's style.

What might a Libra-inspired space look like in its entirety? Clean lines, lovely decor, neutral colors, and everything in its place would characterize the space. A Libra's sensibilities are based on organization and balance. There are lofty ceilings, neutral colors, symmetrical balance, and a gorgeous Libran aesthetic, as illustrated in the images. Because Libra is the sign that governs relationships, there's plenty of room around the table and on the couches for Libras to host their numerous friends and family members!

Scorpio, The Scorpion. An Intense, Powerful Water Sign.

Mars, the planet of action, assertiveness, and energy, rules Scorpio. These people are strong, and they are drawn to extremes in whatever they do. They are not lukewarm people, expressing devotion and intensity in whatever they do. Their dedication and commitment are unwavering. They prefer their environment to be as powerful and magnetic as they are, thanks to their Mars senses. They may be drawn to deep scarlet, romantic maroons, and bold accent pieces because they want their interior design environment to reflect the same power and intensity as they do.

Scorpio is the zodiac sign linked with rebirth and transition. Our homes are significant reflections of who we are, so if you're looking for a change, start with the environment you see every day. We encourage change into our lives simply by swapping things around. Scorpio is linked to the phoenix, which represents the act of rebirthing into something even more strong.

Scorpio style begins in the bathroom, as it is a water sign. Their powerful character is inspired by the rich colors of mahogany, cream, and mocha in this magnificent restroom. The patterned tile, like this mystery water sign, serves to visually break up the wall, making it more subtle and multidimensional.

Scorpio's secretive aura is drawn to aesthetics that suggest depth and refinement. Because Mars is the ruling planet of Scorpio, adding bursts of crimson and burgundy to the living room will reflect their passionate, amorous character. October 22nd to November 21st is Scorpio Season. Allow this season to motivate you to dig deep to uncover your inner passions and to celebrate your tenacity.

Sagittarius, the Archer. An Adventurous, Free-Spirited Fire Sign.

It's Sagittarius season, which means it's time for the zodiac's annual bash! Sagittarius is one of the zodiac's most fun-loving signs, always looking for new experiences and ways to expand. This sign is connected with all kinds of adventures and learning, whether on a safari or in a college classroom. They are truth-seekers who will always be honest with you – and as comedy is typically one of their strong suits, they will almost certainly communicate said truth entertainingly!

Because Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, people can't help but think big. These archers have a flair for seeing the broad picture. They aren't always the most meticulous, but they have the drive, motivation, and EXCITEMENT to motivate others to handle the commonplace.

Interior design for Sagittarius will be as bold and entertaining as they are. Expect bright flashes of color, foreign decor, and photos from one's travels across the world! International inspirations are perfectly blended into the room. A Sagittarius living room isn't complete without a big bookcase brimming with knowledge, as Sagittarius is associated with education.

Sagittarius is the OPTIMIST'S Zodiac sign, and the desire to live in a place as bright and cheery as they are! Bright colors and bold designs attract Sagittarians, who are known for their outgoing personality. November 22nd to December 22nd is Sagittarius Season. Allow this season to motivate you to broaden your horizons and welcome new adventures into your life.

Capricorn, the Horned Goat. An Ambitious, Realistic Earth Sign.

This sign is the zodiac CEO archetype, and they have a high level of excellence that they apply to everything. This Cardinal earth sign is pragmatic to the point of pessimism; they understand what it takes to succeed and is dedicated to it. This contributes to their exceptional work ethic, but it can also make them restless and unsatisfied. While Capricorns are recognized for their ambition and work ethic, they are also one of the wriest, sardonic, and humorous signs of the zodiac!

Saturn, the planet of time, regulations, and limitations, is Capricorn's ruler. This is where their attention to detail and desire for excellence comes into play! Saturn will not allow them to accept anything less than the greatest, and having a Capricorn in your life means they will not allow you to accept anything less than the finest. They won't coddle you, just as they wouldn't coddle themselves, but they will give you sound advice and a pep talk to help you be your best self

Interior design for Capricorns will be equally as elegant and timeless as they are.

Capricorns are drawn to high-quality decor that endures the test of time since they are unaffected by trends. Classic styles, neutral Earth tones, and stunning statement items are all on the menu, reflecting Capricornia's taste at its finest. Because Capricorn is a perfectionist in all ways, you can count on the decor to be flawless!

Because Capricorns are ambitious, their homes may be decorated to represent their numerous accolades and accomplishments, with degrees and plaques adorning the walls. Capricorn Season runs from December 22 to January 19. Allow this season to motivate you to be your best self and to let your standards of excellence shine through in all parts of your life.

#affordable interior design #apartment interior design #commercial interior design #residential interior design #luxury home interior #elegant home decor #home interior design

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wristscarf91 · 3 years

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Do it yourself Strategies for You

Home improvement means improving the features of the home, thereby growing its value, artistic and economic. House improvement is actually a major decision and could include sufficient funds alongside with high individual involvement. One has to contend along with suppliers, workers, and make on the particular spot decisions to be able to ensure smooth work. Attention to details and never changing programs midway, helps inside successful execution. House Improvement Areas can be considered for remodeling of the home There are many locations where home improvement will take place. Home Improvement place can be classified into categories Indoor and outdoor. A few of the possible indoor and backyard areas for home improvement are explained below Possible home improvement area within Indoor The floors could be of natural stone, marble, granite, variety, hardwood, ceramic tiles, laminates, or covered by carpet plus rugs. Ceilings could be of any shade; however, generally white color gives typically the best effect regarding contrasting with the walls. Fans may possibly be placed about the ceiling to give an efficient and a cheap alternative to air conditioners or even as being a standby in case air moisturizing hair product breaks down. Loved ones photo frames, painting, statues, or other antiques may become used to enhance the walls. Walls can also be kept bare to provide a sense of breadth to the room. Different colours and types regarding paint or wall picture may be utilized according to individual option. Doors & Glass windows may be changed to be able to ensure greater sun rays, air, and safety. The kitchen can certainly be improved to contain the best and newest cooking gadgets. Units could be changed in order to accommodate more products, jars, and bins. Countertops can be altered to give a far more modern perspective. Taps and fixtures may be changed to get both hot plus cold water supply. Dripping faucets may also need to change. Bathroom, toilets, tubs and time in the shower might be replaced in order to add more comfort and luxury. Sinks and fixtures might be changed. Basins may be replaced or repaired. Walls tiles may become changed to give a more modern appear. The breadth plus height of the particular mirrors could possibly be transformed to give the sense of area for the room. Most faucets, sinks, water lines could possibly be replaced in accordance to design. Leaking in pipes include to be blocked or if essential, the pipes may be changed. Ac units and fireplaces may be repaired or converted to improve heating and even cooling. Ladders and Scaffolding could possibly be finished if of real wood, or might be transformed to metal, stone or granite according to the interior dï¿½cor. Appropriate filtration and storage space of water may be reconsidered to increase water improvement. Fresh look furniture while per current craze may be arranged with modern styles. Carpets & Area rugs might be changed in accordance to individual flavor. Electrical fittings and even lights can produce a spectacular difference to some place. Proper lighting plans with dimmers may be considered. Fuses and plug details at appropriate spots can be placed with regard to TVs, computers, songs systems and additional appliances. Piped music through the threshold may also end up being considered. Doors, locks, bells, alarms, flames alarms, might be up-to-date as per modern standards. This arrangement will improve Safety & Security. Feasible home improvement place in Outdoor Roofs & Chimneys can be repaired, decorated, or tiled. Lighting can be established at strategic places to improve general visibility of yards and gardens. Backyards may be designed with specific themes just like Japanese rock back garden, etc. New kinds of plants and trees can always be planted. Swimming pools are usually outside the house but may also be indoors. Generally not much modify is undertaken here due to typically the cost factor. On the other hand, effective water changing system, and warming system can get updated. Diving planks can be replaced. Garages can be extended in order to accommodate more cars. Work sheds might be equipped using new tools. Driveways & Metal entrance can be repaired in addition to painted as needed by the home improvement p

#home improvement

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hannahmcne · 4 years

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I Know You (From Once Upon a Dream)

The biggest problem in Audrey's perfect relationship with Ben is the sporadic dreams that plague her of Ben living happily... with someone who isn't her. She's not used to being jealous and she's never felt so... overlooked. Her only consolation is that when she wakes up, everything is over and nothing is real. Ben is with her, life is perfect, and this Mal person doesn't exist.

In her dreams was a large apartment. The sort of thing that existed for families inside of large castles, with all the necessities to function in one small area. It was cozy. There was a kitchenette attached to a living room. A wicker basket filled with nice blankets. Lots of paintings on the walls. An electric fireplace with beautiful tile surrounding it.

Audrey wandered through the halls, peering first into a home office that was so neat she didn't see how it could have ever been used before and then into a bathroom. Dozens of hair and bath products – mostly for men – were set in metal hangers on the wall. She kept going and peeked into a bedroom.

She glanced over the comfortable suite and, upon realizing two people were fast asleep in their bed together, quickly turned to leave. She couldn't. She had no control over what she was viewing. It was as if she were watching a screen she couldn't look away from. She watched one of them – a man, judging by his hand – run his fingertips over the covers.

Her vision panned up until she was looking down on her boyfriend, Ben, who was shifting a little as he opened his eyes. The girl beside him was not her.

How dare he? She stared, dumbfounded. Then, she realized she couldn't look away. She couldn't even close her eyes.

Ben blinked a few times and then peered at the slumbering girl next to him. Audrey wasn't sure what she expected. She realized that this was probably just a funky dream, she had imagined that Ben, being the man of her dreams, would remain faithful even in her dreams. No matter the reality of the realm. Maybe he would jump up and demand who the other person was? Maybe he would ask where Audrey was?

He didn't do either of those things. Instead, he leaned up and traced his fingertips down the other person's cheek before he leaned over and kissed it. She stirred. He continued peppering her face with kisses and gently caressing her jaw and face until a smile crossed the girl's mouth and she opened an eye to peek at him. "Who are you?" She teased. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ben chuckled. "Good morning," he whispered with his mouth close against her forehead as he began to comb his fingers through her hair. "It's time to get up."

"Up?" The other girl moaned, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Why? You don't want to get up and neither do I. Let's just stay here."

Ben laughed and wrapped his arms around her before burying his nose into her shoulder. "Come on," he whispered. "We both have meetings."

"Says the man still trying to fall asleep on me." The girl released her pillow and rolled over to wrap her arms around his neck. Audrey felt like screaming, but she was disembodied and unable to do anything. As the girl wrapped her left arm around Audrey's boyfriend's neck and started running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, Audrey saw something sparkle and was momentarily blinded by the glint and an intense fit of rage.

This wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare.

"Hmm," Ben replied wordlessly. He kissed her jaw and then somehow managed to tangle his fingers in hers while her fingers were still messing up in his hair. Then, he raised their clasped hands together and turned their fingers around to watch the ring on her hand sparkle in the early morning light coming through the window. The girl laughed and let him play with her hand. Smiles were frozen on their faces.

The girl, Audrey decided to notice now, in favor of watching their infectious show, was an unreal mix of attributes Audrey didn't think could exist together on one person. She was much smaller and shorter than Audrey, with pale skin like she'd grown up in a cave. Vivid green eyes that caught the light in ways eyes were not supposed to and a thin mouth that was pink even without lipstick. And, most unbelievably, long purple hair that was spread out over the pillow behind her. The impossible standards did nothing to ease Audrey's jealousy. Why did her dreams have to conjure up someone so fake and yet flawless? Someone so unlike her?

Ben finally released the other girl's hand and climbed out of bed. "Come on," he called, heading into the attached bathroom.

The girl whined and buried her head underneath her pillow. "Goodnight!" She called.

"Mal!" Ben called, still in a teasing tone as he re-emerged from the bathroom, still in his pajamas. He pulled all the covers off her and then took hold of her foot and pulled her towards him. Mal yelped and tried to grab hold of the headboard before he could pull her away, but found herself being pulled off the bed nonetheless. Ben snatched her hand as soon as it was close enough and pulled her to a sitting position.

"Ben…" Mal began to whine, but he caught her jaw again and kissed her to cut her off.

'Wake up', Audrey told herself. 'Wake up right now.'

Mal sighed against Ben's mouth and then slowly got to her feet. "Okay," she sighed, putting her arms around his neck briefly. She leaned in to kiss him again but dodged his mouth so she could plant her lips on his neck. The filthy, slimy little wrench.

Audrey was too blinded by her rage to even notice as Ben and Mal disappeared into the bathroom together before re-emerging fully-dressed. Ben was still wearing button-downs and shined shoes, but Mal wore a t-shirt with rips around it. Audrey could see both skin and parts of a black undershirt that made her blood boil when she saw the way Ben's eyes clung to Mal's sides.

Ben put his watch on. It usually sat on the bedside table while he slept. Audrey knew that much from late-night and early-morning visits. He read the time quickly and then glanced over at Mal. "We have about an hour and a half," he told her.

"Why did you make us get up, then?" Mal demanded, picking a purple phone off the nightstand and putting it in her pocket. She then began tossing pillows from the bed onto the floor.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you at breakfast," Ben responded, picking up his phone and then starting some music before joining her in her endeavor to rid the mattress of all its accessories. Mal scoffed but didn't respond as they both yanked up the first sheet and then pulled it tight over the bed.

They were domestic. How cute.

Audrey wished she could throw up.

Mal procured a bottle of something brown from her nightstand and began to spray down the sheets. "I don't know why you like this stuff," she wrinkled her nose at the smell, which Audrey quickly realized was vanilla. "It all wears off after the first little bit."

"I like vanilla," Ben replied, reaching across the bed to take the bottle from her. "It smells nice."

Please let her wake up now. Please let her wake up now.

Mal snorted. "Whatever makes you happy, Ben."

"You," Ben replied without a moment of hesitation. Mal's face flushed. A pink color crept into her cheeks as she rolled her eyes and then helped Ben pull up the rest of the covers.

"You make me happy too," she promised as she began picking pillows up and replacing them in their proper positions. Ben gave her a goofy grin.

It was such a simple scene. Such a simple task. Something sweet and trivial and something she'd imagined herself doing with Ben oh-so-many times.

It made her blood boil to imagine this other… tart experiencing it with him.

________________________________________________________________

Let me get this straight," Ben snorted, swinging their hands together as they walked down a road not too far from Auroria's castle. "You're angry at me for something that I did in a dream?"

Audrey pulled her hand back and crossed her arms as she looked away and sulked. Ben began to laugh. Earnest, loud, and clear. He paused on the side of the road and Audrey stomped her foot against the ground. "It's not funny!" She whined.

"You're being silly," Ben rolled his eyes. "You don't have to get jealous of someone who doesn't exist."

"I know…" Audrey whined. She didn't protest when Ben reached for her hand again and then they took a detour onto a trail together. It was something they often did – go hiking through the Auroria woods together. She was wearing grey shorts and a pink shirt while he wore blue jeans and a yellow shirt. Ben had never been a big fan of shorts. Waterbottles were tucked into their backpacks and snacks for later were stowed away. Audrey had her phone in her pocket and Ben had his in his backpack. She wanted to take photos. He wanted to pretend he was far enough away no one could contact him.

"So, you were wandering through a house," Ben began, and Audrey's mood immediately soured. "You walked into a bedroom and I was lying down with someone else and that's when you flipped out?"

"No, I couldn't do anything," Audrey huffed. "And then you both got up and you were talking and laughing and touching-" She shuddered. "Oh, it made me so mad!"

"You know it's not real, right?" Ben gave her an easy, soft smile that made her heart forget it was angry. "I'm here, not there. There's no one else right now. I'm your boyfriend."

They heard the crashing of water up ahead and rounded a bend to reveal a little pond with several different tiny waterfalls rippling down a creek. Audrey hummed as she took a seat on a little wooden bench and then withdrew her water bottle from her backpack. "I know," she mumbled and took a long drink. "I just… feel a little insecure, is all."

"Insecure?" Ben burst into laughter again. "You? Audrey Rose? Insecure?"

Audrey grumbled and yanked back on her zipper as if to punish the poor article for her boyfriend's teasing. Ben dropped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. She leaned into his side a little and focused on the waterfall bubbling over the rocks in the creek.

"I know it's silly," she muttered in his ear. "I guess I just feel like… you could have anyone you wanted and just… anyone would be happy with you. You're just that person."

"Thank you," Ben laughed. "But that's not a reason to be insecure. I pick you, Audrey. It's you and I. Don't forget that."

#ben florian #mal bertha #disney descendants #descendants #ben x mal #audrey rose #princess audrey #prince ben #mal #ben #fanfic #once upon a dream #domestic fluff #fluff

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bhandarimarblekishangarh · 4 years

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Granite That Mesmerize your home

Each and every year, stone and tile trends change constantly in the architectural and design communities and can be difficult to keep up with. We at Contemporary Stone & Tile Design magazine wanted to get opinions from different architects and designers around the country to find out what they are seeing, and what they expect to see. Before getting into the trends they are seeing, let’s spend a little time getting to know those who are about to answer:

Lori Wiles— “I’m a true Midwesterner, born and raised in Missouri, now living in Iowa. Growing up, I spent lots of time in the working barns and classic farm houses in my rural area. My capable and creative mom gave me ample opportunity to draw, paint, sew and build things for fun. That led to a degree in interior design and a long career in the field. I’ve always been especially interested in interior architecture and how it impacts the people who use the spaces. My interior design firm specializes in planning new construction and re-modelling with the end user experience in mind.”

Ryan Thewes— “I grew up in Southern Indiana and graduated from Ball State University. After graduation, I was fortunate to get a job in Chicago, IL, working for a former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice –

Don Erickson. The incredible experience of working for Don introduced me to the theories of Wright’s organic architecture which, amon

g many other things, focused on the use of natural materials and the creation of space. I expanded on my education of organic

architecture by also working for Robert Green, a former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice in Atlanta, GA, and eventually an apprenticeship with Bart Prince in Albuquerque, NM. I am currently practicing out of Nashville, TN.”

Maxim Nasab— “I am the principal and founder of Apexx Architecture, a firm specializing in bridge architecture and recreational piers. Our firm is located in Tallahassee, FL. I am originally from Montréal, Canada. I got into architecture because it allowed me to pursue my love of science and technology, but also allowed my creativity to flourish. Architecture has the power to change cities for the better for generations. It is a profession that can truly make the world a better place and architects have the responsibility to ensure this through their designs.

I believe in designing for the people and the greater good rather than fame or recognition. I believe that great architecture is derived from honesty and transparency. Using local natural materials and allowing the structural system to express itself by integrating it within the design. Whenever I walked in buildings, and even today, I always tried to guess the materials that buildings were structurally supported by. It always made me a little sad when materials were not honest or true, or the structure was not evident. This is one reason why I went into bridge architecture. It is very hard to hide the structure of a bridge, and instead I always try to enhance its visibility, express its beauty and make it clear to the user as to how it is supported. Anyone should be able to walk in.”

Charmaine Wynter— “I am Jamaican Canadian, and an international multi-awarded interior designer with projects spanning the residential and hospitality sector. My natural design talent began to make its emergence in 1981, surprising family and friends, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that I took it seriously and enrolled in an interior design program at a recognized college. I founded my design firm in Toronto, Canada in 1996; and later transitioned to the Dallas, TX, location in 2016, where it is now headquartered. Now many decades post-graduation, as principle designer, I jet back and forth to work projects of interest on both sides of the Canadian and U.S. boarders — infusing each with my signature distinctive luxurious living design aesthetics.”

Dawn D. Totty— “I started 25 years ago and it was fast and furious in New York. When I transitioned from there to the south, I was 1,000 miles away. I had to start from scratch. I had to reinvent myself. That was challenging.”

Trends with stone

One of the first things I discussed with each of our participants were the trends they were seeing with stone in particular. Over the years, the popularity of engineered stone has fluctuated, while natural stone seems to be extremely popular with some people rather than others. According to Wiles, she is seeing more people interested in using stone in their homes and offices than even a few years ago. “From my perspective, it’s become easier than ever to find the perfect material for any project with all of the stones available,” she said. “I particularly like the uniformly colored stones at the extremes of light and dark palettes. These make a great statement and give some confidence that a color palette can change through the years without having to change the large areas of stone.”

Wiles isn’t the only one that sees the popularity in natural stone. Thewes, Nasab and Wynter all agree with her. “What I have been seeing is a lot of natural materials, natural colors and natural tones,” said Nasab. “Limestone is really popular along with granites that have that limestone look. Minimalism and honesty in materials is coming back strong and will be here to stay for a while. Clients and users are craving that real feeling when they touch materials, which is why a lot of the companies are working hard to mimic that look and feel. Some of them are getting really close, too.”

Thewes is seeing a lot more requests for stone as the popularity of “Mid-Century Modern” design continues to rise. “I think part of this is because people still want modern design, but are turned off by the cold sterile nature of some of it,” he said. “The use of natural materials like wood and stone help soften the design yet allow us to keep a strong modern aesthetic. Linear stacked stone complements these types of projects perfectly by emphasizing the horizontal line and providing a defined texture that works well in opposition to smooth surfaces like wood, glass and drywall. Depending on the budget, we have had some pretty good success with engineered stone. However, for the more discerning client, it is tough to beat natural stone. While the wide range of colors are still often used and will never go out of style, we are seeing more of a request for darker colors. Almost black in some cases.”

Wynter is seeing popularity with quartz surfacing because of its look and durability. “Quartz is extremely popular with clients seeking a marble look, but the durability only provided by engineered stones,” said Wynter. “Stone is such a luxe material with its many faceted sheens and textures that there are trends within a trend. However, in general, I’m using more cool-toned hues with larger veining and fissure movement within the stone than a few years ago.”

Totty sees it not only with natural stone but also with quartz, because of how they look. “Patterns, movement and more color is making its way into the realm of interior design with the usage of quartz and marble being the forerunners,” said Totty. “Stone pigments that are currently trending are soft greens, grays and neutrals that are a wonderful complement to today’s interior design trends.”

When it comes to application of stone, according to Wynter, it is being more of the norm with her clients. “What’s great is that as the use of luxury stones are becoming more the norm, my clients are relaxing and spaces are more often taking on a casual luxe style,” said Wynter. “I’m using stone on the flooring, countertops and backsplashes, fireplace facades, accent walls and in outdoor living rooms.”

“While fireplaces continue to be the place that people think of using stone first, I like to incorporate stone in lots of areas in a home like kitchens and bathroom,” said Wiles. “In commercial settings, a stone wall or columns are a fairly easily constructed feature that suggests stability and permanence. I’ll consider using it in any area that I think needs a great visual weight to help balance out the space.”

For Thewes, he is seeing the most common use for stone is in accent walls for both residential and commercial projects. “The ability to light the walls really accentuates the texture and draws attention to the feature,” said Thewes. “This is very effective in commercial projects where traditionally, more sterile and simple materials are used. The stone offers a good break from these materials while also providing a durable and maintenance-free surface.”

For Nasab, he is seeing stone used primarily for exterior paving, stairs and plazas. “It really enhances the site and gives it that extra touch of beauty, especially when it’s a natural stone,” he said.

Totty is utilizing marble and granite in big ways, such as installing it onto kitchen walls for a bold and elegant statement. “Kitchen larders, countertops, backsplashes and even floors are some of my favorite uses for granite, quartz and marble,” said Totty. “Both commercial and residential projects are now implementing stone surfaces to create a regal look with the benefit of durability.”

Tile Design Trends

When it comes to designing with tile, it seems that the material is a lot like stone, especially for Totty. “Floor-to-ceiling tiled walls in kitchens and bathrooms, and even laundry rooms, are very popular,” she said. “In many cases, the tile is the dominating focal point to a room’s decor.”

According to Nasab, whose area of expertise is not tile, he has noticed that tiles have continued to evolve and currently they are still hitting strong with mimicking the look of natural stone.

One thing that stands out to Thewes with tiles are the extremes they go to with size. “Tile size trends have continued to swing away from the standard 12- x 12-inch tile to either extreme,” said Thewes. “Either very small or very large, depending on the application. For our projects, we still focus on the more earthy and muted colors that are more simple and less busy. Black and white are timeless and can be adapted to any style or aesthetic so they are always popular.

“There has been a pretty significant rise in the popularly of the wood plank tiles that gives the look of a wood floor, but the durability of tile,” Thewes went onto say. “I tend to shy away from materials that pretend to be something they are not, but I have seen a quite a few of these fake wood products that are very well done.”

Wiles has also noticed the different types and feels of tile that are currently on the market. “I continue to be amazed at how many tile designs there are and excited about the tactile finishes they have now,” said Wiles. “We’re seeing our client’s willingness to use a variety of shapes like hexagons, octagons and circles increase. They’re now open to shapes that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. It also seems that tile manufacturers have become really in tune with current color palettes and color palette projections, which helps designers use their products more easily.”

“Tiles are dimensional and showing up in large formats,” said Wynter. “Pattern is back after a long rest so we are embracing lace, ethnic and graphic print on wall and floor tile. Keep your eyes peeled for hues of green and coral — especially this year.”

As far as applications go, according to Wiles, “Beautifully tiled bathrooms are the number one request from homeowners so we’re designing fully tiled showers, tub surrounds and backsplashes. The development of the really large-scaled and textural tiles that mimic other materials makes feature walls a big hit as well.”

Wynter said that tile will always be the strongest in commercial applications due to its durability and resilient nature, but it is making strong headway into the residential arena as the popularity for outdoor backyard oasis’ increase. Totty agrees with Wynter in the outdoor use of tile. “Outdoor kitchens are now showcasing tiled areas for durability, as well as aesthetics,” said Totty. “Tile is still the first choice for most home and commercial installations, in particular, shower walls and floors, laundry and mud rooms, as well as entryways for low maintenance and easy clean-up.”

“For tile, floors are still the main use,” said Thewes. “Occasionally, we will see an accent wall or something similar executed, but mainly floors and shower surrounds are most popular.”

Trends moving forward

Finally, we asked these architects and designers about the trends moving forward for both stone and tile.

Totty– “Tile with graphic, bold patterns and colors are quite favorable and are being used as statement makers in powder rooms, kitchen floors and laundry rooms to create that ‘wow’ factor in interior design. Granite and marble with movement are now used as art. Matching up patterned seams and placed vertically on walls in high-end hotel lobbies creates an amazing show stopping affect to any wall.”

Wynter— “Green is coming on strong as a trend color that has made it to classic status, so I predict we will see green marbles, green granites in all hues from glass to jade, as of green slates.”

Nasab— “I believe that natural colors will stay for a while, especially in stone. It is hard to beat natural stone, especially now that it has become much more affordable. What I am seeing in tile is black and whites coming back. That modern minimalistic design is coming back strong. There is no better material than stone in terms of natural beauty and bang for the buck. I would encourage designers and clients to find local quarries and start from there rather than hit the foreign stones right off the bat. It really is a beautiful thing to use materials that are locally sourced and they truly make the projects feel as if they belong in the site they are built on.”

Thewes— “Looking into the future, I don’t really see much of a change for tile other than possibly an increase in use due to its durability. It’s a battle between what the client desires more, warmth or durability. However, I do think that the use of stone will continue to rise as it provides both warmth and durability. As the quality of engineered stone improves, costs should go down and using stone in projects will no longer be a major drain on budgets. Durability and low maintenance are always important client requests and this material fits right in with that while also providing a major increase in quality and design. The addition of stone to any project increases its value and the perception of cost.”

Wiles— “I think we will continue to see natural and natural-looking hard surface materials in demand. These will be used in larger areas and combined with other materials that have more of an artisan vibe to create really durable, tactile and friendly environments. Tile and stone are really designer’s friend. Once you know how to best use them and have great craftspeople to install them, they can transform any space.”

Added by expert and export team of Bhandari Marble World…………………..

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