A Dancer Girl

 The girl was dancing a traditional dance beautifully. She's so talented. I saw her performance at a show at the Kencana Park in my city (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia) last Sunday. The costume was awesome. I think the dance is a modernized one.

Monday Mellow Yellows

Ready to Sail

 This boat belongs to people who live close to the lake. Captured two months ago, when we're visiting my husband's hometown.

Location: the Petuguran Lake, Bumiayu, Central Java, Indonesia

The Weekend in Black and White

How to Buy Containers for Shipping Container Homes

Green architecture. Alternative housing. Cargotecture. Whatever one calls it, using old shipping containers to construct homes has become a remarkably viable option for a lot of people. They are affordable, adaptable, and easily sturdy as living spaces. Moreover, they keep construction time to a minimum because, essentially, building will be reduced to using modules. But make no mistake, building shipping container homes is far from being a walk in the park.

If you have been considering these impressive steel boxes for building your very own home, you will need to consider several factors to guarantee a structure that is not just suitable for living but also quite impressive to look at from any angle.

The first step is to decide on the architecture, the floor plan — the overall design of your house. Finalise this before you go looking for shipping containers to buy. Do you prefer a multi-level home with a contemporary design? Are you more interested in a rustic cabin-type house? Will you need a lot of space to meet your growing family’s needs? By deciding on the type of architecture for your home, you can easily determine the size and number of shipping containers you are going to need.

Aside from the size and number of shipping containers, your house’s final blueprint will determine what kind of modifications you will need. Are some of the panels going to be removed to make way for floor-to-ceiling windows? Would you want to install solar panels, soy-based insulation, and other eco-friendly amenities? Naturally, the less modifications you want, the easier it will be on your construction budget.

The next step is to completely and thoroughly examine the shipping containers you will be buying. You have two options: old and new shipping containers. With second-hand shipping containers, always ask the seller about its history. Find out what it was used for and for how long. You also want to make sure that the container has been certified for vermin proofing and weatherproofing. Also, inspect shipping containers in daylight so you can see whether there are pinholes and other damages.

If you want to save money, you can also ask the shipping container seller about doing the modifications you require. You might be able to get a package or discount.

Finally, try and buy your shipping containers from sellers that can deliver to your location. This service is especially crucial if your site happens to be quite a ways off. You not only save yourself the stress of finding a suitable service to pickup and deliver your shipping containers, but you may also be assured of proper handling since the seller will have done such deliveries hundreds of times.

Container homes allow you to be creative and unique. With proper design and a little bit of artistic touch, you could get to have a wonderful shipping container home. The best part is that it is cheaper than building out of pure concrete, but it is very sturdy and built tough to last long.

About the Author: Kenneth Lawrence is a “handyman”. His craft involves DIY home concepts and he shares his ideas, guidelines and tips about home improvement through blogging. Kenneth shares that http://containersfirst.com/ is the best place online to find quality ISO standard shipping containers at the least possible price.

Choosing the Right Canvas Art for Your Home

Are you still searching for great but affordable home decoration ideas? When appropriately done, home decoration can be simple, as easy as adding art piece like oil paintings into a room. Whatever the kind is, artwork is always becoming an important part of decorating a home.

Wall is like the life of your home. Too empty or even too cluttered walls will decrease your home’s look and value. Thus you should be careful when decorating your wall; right chosen hanging art will create walls that able to show your personality, creativity and artistic taste. I’ve ever read that a canvas art on a wall is like a small escape window to one’s inner soul. To reach this value, home owners should choose paintings that not only they love but also art that matches their souls. You may listen to other’s opinion, but buying art should be your personal decision.

Wall art mustn’t be costly and force you to break your wallet. If you have planned to ornament walls with hand painted paintings, you may depend on the finest beauty and quality of oil painting reproductions that provided by reliable online art galleries.  Unfortunately, when buying a painting for your home, choose one that you like isn’t enough. The right art should also have the right color and size that suits your home décor. The right painting will cheer up and beautify the room at once!