Texture is always good, perhaps some metals? Not sure where the building is or what you are going for. For the interior I have some art I have recently completed that would look awesome and make a nice statement. I also do commission work. I have recently completed some that would look great. All are original acrylic paintings on heavy gallery wrapped canvas. Please contact me at julie@jul313.com for further info or check out my website at www.jul313.com.

Hello Penny and Mosaic and jacqueline... I'm a homeowner but very handy and just finished building my own pool. I live in Florida, so also have horrible humidity with algae as a real thing to deal with. I decided to go with travertine deck but regretted the decision only a couple days after the pavers were installed. I too hate the holes and didn't realize before then, how much of an algae trap they would be encouraging mildew and mold and growth. so I decided to fill them. I did this already just to half of my patio cuz I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but so far it's been great and I'm planning to do the other half this weekend. Here's what I've done so far: From Lowe's I bought high quality UNsanded grout. I tested out sanded grout as well but definitely like unsanded best. I have Ivory travertine so I used the Mapei Keracolor U, in the Linen shade. It matches absolutely perfectly. I tried about six different shades and this is by far the best for ivory travertine. Note, if you have a different color travertine, always use a lighter grout not a darker grout or even the same color as your travertine.. I mixed that with MAPEI Grout MAXimizer instead of water so there are some natural sealant properties to the grout. Note that unsanded grout will produce a much finer-looking texture that will blend in significantly better with the travertine, then sanded grout will. At the same time though unsanded grout isn't as durable as sanded grouts and over time will chip out from the lines where the pavers meet due to micro shifts. I haven't had any problems with grout coming out of the field holes though. Generally speaking I added more liquid to the mix then the directions called for so I had more of a liquid slurry than a paste, and I literally covered the entire deck filling in every little tiny hole and big hole, using a squeegee. This allowed a perfectly level application and filled everything perfectly. It is extremely tedious and time consuming but works great. After it's dried about 30 minutes to come back with a towel or rag and have to buff off the residue from the grout. And then it needs one more final buff another 30 minutes or 45 minutes later. Also note that while it covers perfectly level at first, when the grout dries it does shrink a little bit so what was once a leveled paver ends up with small divots when dry. However those divots are far better than the massive holes that were there in the past. And I would assume if you wanted to you could do a second coat of grout to make it really flat and level. Then the next day I hosed it off and buffed it again to make sure there was no dust left, and then the following day I sealed the grout with a product called Deco 20. then the next day I hosed it off and buffed it again to make sure there was no dust left, and then the following day I sealed the grout with a product called Deco 20. en the next day I hosed it off and buffed it again to make sure there was no dust left, and then the following day I sealed the grout with a product called Deco 20. The travertine is slightly more slippery than it was before, but it looks infinitely better and the sealant should prevent mold from growing, or certainly from growing badly. In the 2.5 months that have had the deck now, there is zero mold on the section that I grouted and sealed. And there's a lot of mold on certain pavers that haven't been sealed yet. In the 4 months that have had the deck now, there is zero mold on the section that I grouted and sealed. And there's a lot of mold on certain pavers that haven't been sealed yet.that have had the deck now, there is zero mold on the section that I grouted and sealed. And there's a lot of mold on certain pavers that haven't been sealed yet. I plan on pressure washing all of that this weekend and grouting the rest of the deck. Here's a link to a video I did while filling the travertine. I need to get some after pictures but don't have any handy. Someone reminds me later I'll take a picture of the deck and post it out. https://youtu.be/hwxW97S4Hro

I read that some people use Round-Up on poison ivy. I just want to caution that, if you burn poison ivy, even when it is dead, it can put off fumes. Breathing the fumes can give you the rash in your mouth and throat. So don't burn it, dead or alive. Wear protective clothing, including gloves and a mask, when clearing out poison ivy. Pack in trash bags and secure well. Some areas have people that will come out (for pay, of course) and clear your poison ivy. I have also used Round-Up on it; although am reconsidering that now.

I had a garden for years but not the last two, due to low plant production. I believe my soil was the issue. Well now the “garden” is a bunch of weeds... so I do not want to plant there unless I put down some sort of barrier (Im going with a raised bed garden so I can more easily control soil quality). I want everything to be organic and heard landscaping fabric is not. I know some gardeners use food grade plastic but I haven’t found any in small quantities and it seems to cost over $50 - not every budget friendly! My questions are: 1) how deep should my bed be (typically grow peppers, cud’s, zucchini, beans and tomatoes) - easiest build is 10.5 inches but heard I should go with 12”? suggestions on what to put under my bed if building over previous garden? another option I heard of is to place raised bed over existing grass which will break down and be beneficial. Do you agree? Just afraid of getting lots of weeds again! Thanks for your help!