Art is one of life’s pleasures that is strictly a human trait. Landscape designers and architects learned this many, many centuries ago. Designs for human living have gone from a mound of dirt with holes for air and light to today’s high rise structures.

Art is self expression.  You may agree or disagree with someone’s self expression, but everyone has their own interpretation of what art is.  I enjoy art and trained in interior design for the pleasure of helping others enjoy their desire to enrich their surroundings. Aosom.com is one of the stores on my website that I enjoy visiting because the products they have excite me and make me want to be creative.

I love books as well.  Here is a website you may enjoy if you are into redecorating your current situation.  The books offered cover everything from designing on a budget to trolling yard sales and repurposing your finds to fit your own needs.  Some people call it “junk design”. This is usually what college students and new married couples do to create their first living space.
https://www.booksamillion.com  (Search Home Decor)

Most everyday people like you and me are not born with a silver spoon.  Although most press reports would like you to believe everyone else has this benefit, you just were not lucky. Oh, not true!  Most people in this country are hardworking people who make a life for themselves out of the tools they have to succeed, mainly the sweat of their brow, the work their hands produce and the use of the gray cells to better their lives.

Take the do-it-yourselfers, they get involved, read up on the subject, plan a project and get the job done.  The only thing out of their control is the cost of the materials for the project.

I recently needed to take out a wood burning stove from my house, because the smoke was causing my animals and my family members to have health issues.  In its place, I will install a gas stove. The area in the house had a pedestal for the wood burner, but it was just concrete and no design to the area what-so-ever.

I had moved to this location recently and had materials from my old house that I was going to throw away during the move, but decided to keep them, just in case. I figured the money was already spent and it may save me in a future project.

Using those materials, I decided to plan a project to tile the area where the new stove would go. It was a challenge, because I ended up using 5 different types of tile that were left over from other projects.  The only material costs were the adhesive to lay the tile and grout sealer.  I wish I had taken a before picture, but here are the end results.

I am rather proud of the finished job.  Of course, I can see my errors and definitely a professional can, but the overall improvement is pleasing.  I had one tile of one kind, some cove tile and pieces of a third tile left over.  That was all for the whole project.  The cost was a total of $184.70.  The time to wait for the adhesive to harden, grout to cure and 3 coats of sealer to dry to the longest time of the project.  My next project, I will make a point of taking before and after photo shots to show what a little elbow grease and a little ingenuity can do.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, I have another store on Todaywayshop.com website that will be of interest. It is called Woodcraft, https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101147304-13831593 and their selection of products is amazing. If you turn wood, you can order wood blocks of different sizes and different kinds of wood that are exquisite.  I can browse this site for hours making lists of items for future projects. This site has everything from common construction grade lumber, to antique hardware, to designer hinges, to plans you can purchase for furniture, toys, Christmas outdoor displays, to ornate scroll design patterns. It can really get the creative juices flowing.

As I stated earlier, art is human expression.  Most people who enjoy the rich talent of designing and making things are happy people who believe in themselves and have a purpose.  Enjoy your form of art, whether it is basket weaving, jewelry, painting or making hot rods. Art is for enjoyment.