Hi Pondmaster, I don't know what kind of pre-formed pond you have, but what I did was (ask my bf to) dig a hole to fit the pre-formed and dropped it in. I don't have built-in plant shelves, so I didn't have to concern myself with matching the hole to the shelves, but if yours does have the shelves, that's something that I believe is important to do and backfill with sand for support. If the pond is going to be above ground, I believe you have to support the plant shelves with dirt or sand to - make a rock / brick /cement block / wood enclosure and fill with sand or dirt and dig out the hole to fit the pond. There are pictures of ponds done this way on the forum. I'm not sure where they are. Digging the hole: Pre-formed placed in hole: Backfilled around pre-form: I don't have a stream yet to the new location, but here's a picture of what I did in the old one. I had built up the dirt on the back side of the pond so the stream was slanted down a little bit: I just lapped about 4" of the stream liner over the edge of the pre-formed. One thing I did to prevent water from leaking out around where the stream empties into the pond was to bring the sides of the stream liner up under rocks 2 rocks either side of the stream. If you look to the right of the spillway, you can make out the edge of the liner showing under the rocks. This picture was taken before I trimmed it while the upper part of the stream was once again under construction. I rebuilt the waterfall and stream about 10 times before I liked it, then the day after I was happy with EVERYTHING, I was told I had to move it because the stairs to the deck were going to be rebuilt!!!! I used waterfall foam to stick the lapped-over stream liner to the side of the pond and on the backsides of the rocks on the edge of the pond to make sure the water went over the spillway rock instead of under the other rocks. I hope all this makes sense. If not, let me know and I'll word it differently. Good luck. Anne

Hi jeri, I have not talked with the installer yet on my decision in no longer gluing the floor but floating it. My neighbor has a floated 5"" wide Merbau hardwood floor and I like the way it feels when I walk on it. It has no hollow sound and feels solid but has a tiny bit if cushion so it does not feel like I am walking on my hard tiles in my two foyer areas. My other neighbor's very dark 5" wide plank floor feels very hard to walk on since it was glued. I am hoping my installer agrees with me and feels it is OK to float the 5" wide Triangulo Engineered 1/2" thick with a 3 MM sawn cut veneer of Brazilian Cherry on top floor ( have a concrete floor and installing a sub-floor would cause problems in my door ways and raise my floor much higher than my Porcelain Tile foyers so I decided to go with an engineered wood floor that has a sawn cut veneer). I just hope I can refinish it if I ever need to since BR-111 says you can refinish the floor a few times and I am hoping the floating installation does not affect this.

My island is 9' X 5' all counter height I love it. Sorry, I do not know how to post photos. But others' photos give you the picture. I have seating on one 9' side, and the sink on the other. I have plenty of walk space all around and it is open to the family room. The TV is visible from the sink. It is the hub of my home. The disposal switch is inside the sink cabinet. Yes, the kids tend to throw everything on the island and it is the landing spot for groceries, so I have to be diligent about making sure it stays tidy. It is a gorgeous showstopper so I wouldn't change a thing.

I think your best bet would be a very narrow table against the wall, with a couple of chairs. I’d do some searches like ‘eating table small room’ ... ‘eating area small apartment’ ... etc. Apartment Therapy might have some helpful articles, too. I like your thinking ... wanting to turn a challenging space into something usable. My first apartment was a “studio apartment” — I had only a tiny corner in the living room for an eating area. No window, just looking at an ugly wall. I think it could be a nice, charming space. And yes, I think a bistro set would work fine, too. Once you get whatever you decide, then see how/where a reading chair might fit in.