I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

Anyone who would ask this advice on the internet needs to be spanked thoroughly. Then they need to go hire a local architect and structural engineer. If you are foolish enough to take any online structural advice, I only hope the building collapse doesn't kill someone.

The most important study for you will be the tide levels study & the type of soil that is present on the site. Steel will be the last option if you have no budget constraints but it have to be treated well to survive the water corrosion. You should go for concrete stilts or stone masonry piers but designed in such a manner that the water flow is not obstructed(minimum obstruction) so that the structure you build faces minimum obstruction from the natural habitat(water flow) around. Do keep in mind that such structure can be highly vulnerable for water flooding so be intelligent with the design criteria.

Hi Karuna, Here are a few pros and cons of using large tiles on walls - Pros - 1] They have lesser joints to fill and hence give the space a larger look and feel. 2] They look like stone cladding if installed properly. Cons - 1] They are costly as far as their rate/square foot and labour cost is concerned. 2] They require epoxy grout / adhesive instead of the regular cement grout which usually adds to the cost. 3] Since they are huge in size, they are not suitable for small areas due to the hassle of cutting the tiles manually to fir the size. 4] There is a high possibility of warp age in the tiles due to their size and because of this either their joints wont match or the surface may look undulated. Hence, it is recommended that large tiles be used for floors instead of walls. We would suggest to go in for the smaller sized tiles like 2'x2' or less for a more aesthetic look. Just apply tiles between the kitchen cabinets and avoid doing so near the peninsula. It would make the kitchen look lighter and brighter and not like a bathroom. Also for the back splash you may go for any of the following tile options - 1] Mosaic 2] Ceramic tiles/ Vitrified tiles 3] Natural stone such as granite All the best! Regards, RnD Atelier Nagpur