so you wannabee a Domestik Goddess?

If you’ve been following along with “Educator” Dan’s home renovation adventures, you’ll know why I keep threatening to drag him out east here and put him to work at my house: This man knows his way around a sheet of drywall — and now, as it turns out, he’s got a bit of a decorating streak in him too! But we’ll let Dan tell the story. Enjoy! ~ Jen

Colour Coordination – Enter The Rug

How important is a rug on top of wood flooring? Does it really make a difference in the ambiance and aesthetics of the room? Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?

During the summer of 2007, we purchased a 20-year-old house with the intention of undergoing major renovations in every part of the home, family room included. We previously wrote an article entitled Home Renovation Tip – Color / Colour Coordination – Critical in which we described the renovation of our family room, as well as providing before and after pictures of the renovation.

The renovation saw the replacement of old light blue carpet with dark hardwood flooring, installation of recessed lighting in the ceiling, covering of the top portion of the floor to ceiling fireplace with fire-retardant drywall, the painting of the fireplace’s remaining brick with a medium beige to complement the cabinetry in the adjoining kitchen, and a complete repainting of the room in an earth forest green.

These colours brought the forest adjacent to the back of the home into the house, visually speaking of course, through the 5-foot-tall windows on the south wall of the family room.

Here is a picture of the renovated family room.

But, what about the flooring?

For some people’s tastes, so much dark hardwood is too much without a rug somewhere on the floor to break up and even enhance the look of the flooring.

For us, the issue was more about the television.

My wife goes to bed much earlier than I. During those times when I am not on the computer writing on our blog about our continuing home renovation experiences I am likely to be in the family room watching a comedy or action movie, both of which can get pretty loud. So, placing a rug somewhere on the hardwood floor would, in theory, act as a noise dampener.

But, what about the aesthetics? What type of rug would one acquire? Should it be complementary or contrasting to the existing colours in the room? And, what about the price?

Below is what the renovated family room now looks like with the rug.

We went with a complementary colour scheme for the rug. Notice how it appears to be the same or very similar shade to the paint used on the remaining brick of the fireplace with hints of darker brown to complement the hardwood flooring.

As well, it looks like the rug is centered in the room, right? Nope. Actually, it is placed 4 to 5 inches more to the left of the fireplace than to its right. However, by placing the run under the front of the couch and having the coffee table on top of the rug corner beside the couch, it gives the appearance that the rug is actually centered.

Which appearance to you prefer? Why? Would you have gone with the same or similar complementary colour or would you have gone with a contrasting colour?

As far as the price? Well, the rug’s dimensions approximate 10 feet by 6 ½ feet. Would you believe all of $89.99. From where? Would you believe….Costco! And, would you believe that it is an indoor / outdoor rug! Talk about bringing the outside into the house.

For more of Dan’s ongoing home renovation experiences, including the increasing efforts to reduce his home’s consumption of non-renewable resources as part of our home renovation efforts, simply visit Dan’s web site, Daily Home Renovation Tips.

When Scramblejam dropped a comment about partying at a Napoleonic island fortress near Portsmouth, UK, of course I urged him to tell us more — and he’s doing it here today, with the recipe for his decadent Chocolate Traybake given up to tempt your tastebuds and blow your diet. Enjoy! ~ Jen

Getting Fat on the Fort

I am a very lucky man in lots of ways — fabulous girlfriend, great job, divine gift for baking (for a man) — but those times that make me feel most lucky, and most grateful, are when all my favorite things come together. When you combine cold beer, great friends, diabetes-inducing chocolatey goodness and a fort — you end up with a recipe for a cracking evening.

Spitbank Fort is an amazing place to visit, and I am lucky enough to know the owners — I have had some wonderful times out there.

One of my favorite times out there, probably one of my all-time favourite memories, was when a group of us shipped out late after work one Friday. The journey out was a little hairy, with a storm coming in swift and sure, but we made it there with our cargo intact (”cargo” being beer and Chocolate Traybake).

The apartment where we ensconced ourselves is right on top of the fort, and has 360-degree views across the Solent (the sea between England and the Isle of Wight).

The views that we were witness to that night, as the storm broke around us, were truly out of this world — nature at its most glorious and ferocious. It puts you in perspective when you;re half a mile out to sea, actually in a storm not just watching one from afar.

Fortunately we had the triple comforts of cold beer, stout walls and my fantastic chocolate traybake to take the edge off.

I love sharing things with my friends — great experiences, good times and tasty food. That night I was lucky enough to be able to share all of them.

Despite all the lures of theme parks, loud bands and expensive restaurants — some of the best experiences we can have are through staying at home, or being in nature and sharing the best of life with your friends. Chocolate and beer are optional.

For those DGs who want to try this awesome traybake here is the recipe.

Chocolate Traybake

Ingredients:
100g Butter
200g Milk Chocolate
3 Tablespoons of Golden Syrup
225g Finely crushed Digestive biscuits
225g Maltesers (or Mini Creme eggs)

Directions:
Thoroughly melt the chocolate (ideally using a double-boiler) in a bowl
Mix in and melt in the golden syrup and butter — beat till you get a delicious stodgy goo.
Mix in the crushed biscuit and beat it till you get a gooey crumbly mixture
Add the Maltesers, stir together quickly, and spread into a lined square baking tin
Chill it in the fridge until the traybake has set (takes an hour or so), cut it up and serve with smiles


Lee Greenwood (aka Scramblejam) is a personal development author, speaker and storyteller currently writing at the Scramblejam Blog. His site aims to help you inject inspiration, motivation and creative new ideas into your personal development adventures.

Technorati Tags: cooking, recipe, Spitbank Fort, guest post

Game Design: Exploring Creativity with Children

Monopoly Rules

I remember playing Monopoly with my dad.

He taught me many things about wheeling and dealing.

Whenever he purchased Boardwalk, he would ceremoniously place the card into his shirt pocket, symbolically telling me that I would NEVER get it. Mostly, I remember that he would nearly always win.

Yet, my fondest memories are of his creation of a game called Card Monopoly.

He made it with a deck of cards and two record album covers slit open and taped together. The rules were simple, requiring only a second deck of cards, two dice and a couple of tokens. We played quite a few games of Card Monopoly.

I remember thinking that my dad was a genius to be able to invent a game.

Zillions of Games

Dad went on to create many more games, including a computer word game! He instilled in me a love for making games. He also tempered my competitive nature.

Now, as a father, it’s my turn.

With five children, the fun is amplified. We have made up games as one group. We have made games for each other as Christmas presents. We have done solo efforts and used each other as play testers…

So, how did all this come about?

Come take a trip back in time, when the children were young and impressionable…

(more…)