I bought a very nice concrete bench a few years ago. There is a man near here who make all types of concrete statuary, fountains, benches, etc. This year we built a new pergula and I plan to move the bench under it and do a mosaic top. I hav alread begun collecting my tesserae. This is a stand alone pergula quite some distance from the house. I have been thinking about doing some mosaic work on the wood frame? Does anyone know if it would within stand temperatures below freezing? We don't get a lot of really cold weather but it does dip into the teens or 20s each year. I plan to visit the "House of Shards" the first weekend in April, perhaps I will get a chance to discuss this with that wonderful artist.

OH it is gorgeous!!! Can hardly wait to see it in person!!! Gonna bring my camera and take a TON of pics!!! Who needs to go to Mexico...sheesh!ha! I hung out with Cindy/Klinger today and we went to the stained glass store....where I bought a pc of fancy 2ft glass for over $60!!! Just to inspire myself to finish the seahorse! Man, it's gonna be one very expensive seahorse as it has all uroburos glass on it, probably $180 worth! Whatcha gonna plant in this beauty?!!

No need to be terrified - what do you have to lose - fear keeps us from enjoying soooooo much. Not a master - just an old lady who loves what she does, and does what she loves. Yes, homemade or ready mix mortar, and yes on the diamond lath. I didn't use rebar in Cleo, a longer bench needs reinforcement, and I won't go into it here, but Riana showed us a new technique to avoid having to use rebar in benches. If you take her class, she'll show you, so I'll let her do the teaching. If you are making a long bench, let me know, and I'll give you a quick teaching note. It w/be long, so it might be better to do it via e-mail. I'm hankering to make another bench for my back area, so we might be able to build one together, and you can see what I do step by step. Let me know if you're interested. Like I said b/f, KLINGER, CALAM and I w/be happy answer any questions as you go forward. Can't wait to see your first WIP pics.

Penny-tile could get very busy in a larger bath. And too much grout to clean! A simple, grid-laid floor of the right solid-color tile would be appropriate for your home -- no need to lay basket-weave or herringbone or any other pattern. Possibly 4x4s or 6x6s on the floor, with matching rectangular tile in a running-bond pattern for the wainscot. We used Seneca Tiled handmold series for our powder room and will probably use it again for another bath remodel. It's a simple, but very rich look, very much like the local art-pottery tiles from the turn of the century, with lots of variation in the surface and glaze -- definitely not mass-produced. Good trim pieces, too. And the tile is nice and thick, for good durability. Pewabic is also still in business, making reproduction tile. Our 1927 former home had Pewabic in all the main baths, all simple 3x3 or 4x4 squares in a grid pattern. There were some impressed accent tiles, but they were used sparingly. I'm sure there are other small potteries out there with their own lines of reproduction tiles. Here is a link that might be useful: Seneca site -- look at the handmold tile