New Christmas decorations

Just love my bargain new Christmas decorations bought in the sales! All ready for Christmas 2016 as Christmas 2015 will be spent in Germany visiting one of my brothers.

Alfresco tiles

Some of you are aware of the issues that I am having with the tiles on our alfresco slab, in fact some of you have had to enjoy a relaxing dinner surrounded by a sea of dirt which then gets trodden into the house. You may even have apologized for the mess you are making even though you have no control over it.
I clean regularly with 30 Seconds, scrubbing brush and a high pressure cleaner and it is STILL dirty.
If you too are struggling to keep your tiles clean, it may be because you have a textured or structured tile surface. When you think of ‘texture’ you tend to think of a very rough surface, but sometimes the texture can be so fine that it doesn’t look ‘textured’. In this case, you might not even realise that the texture of your tiles are causing the problem! The main giveaway for these tiles is that they mark very easily, and are very hard to clean. Textured tiles provide grip as you walk on them, but as a result the surface will rapidly accumulate dirt and become visibly dirty. However, the tile is doing what it was designed for – making sure it’s impossible for you to slip on it. This was not mentioned ONCE by the sales team at Di Lorenzo - grrr. It was suggested to purchase the outdoor version of our selected tile to prevent slipping.
In my recent actions with DiLorenzo to try and address the issue, they ALL seem to know the issues surrounding this type of tile. How frustrating. On my last visit, I purchased a product to help me clean it up for Christmas guests (NanoScrub) and I was given the business card of a company that will be able to help me problem solve (obviously at cost)

www.slique.com.au

I found this on their website.....

“I can’t keep my tiles clean!”

No matter how often you clean them, or what you clean them with, you just can’t keep your tiles clean. They might even pick up dirt from the soles of your shoes when you walk across, or they might just stay generally grimy, even if you’ve scrubbed them on your hands and knees.
There are a number of reasons why you might not be able to keep your tiles clean:

1. There could be a build-up of cleaning chemicals (see "Sticky tiles" problem page)
2. Your tiles could be textured, so they ‘hold on’ to dirt and grime (see "Textured tiles hold dirt" problem page)
3. They could just be showing signs of age (see "Dirty tiles" problem page)
4. The grout might be dirty, which makes the whole floor look dirty (see "Dirty grout" problem page)
5. The colour might be fading from the tiles (see "Fading tiles" problem page)

The mob at Slique will be visiting our home in the new year for a free consultation to see what can be done - resurfacing I think is the answer.

More new furniture

 Over the past few months more furniture has been arriving. I have been waiting until it is completely finished before posting but I think that time may be some time away. So here are some almost finished rooms.

A new rug to break up the tiles

Excuse the fitball - another 6 weeks until my chair arrives

A daybed come foldout guest bed

We will add a floating shelf above the desk early next year

LOVE the cushions

LOVE my new coffee table

A plant would go nicely in this corner

Some nice artwork over the lounge