Goodness, it's been way too long since I have looked at this and it's so yesterday. We have come a long way and here are more photos of what we have been doing with all the bamboo growing around here.
The lights are all powered by solar batteries. All the light fixtures are inset LED lights. We have solar plugs to operate my PC, lights, and fans for the long 4-hour electrical blackouts lately.
 |
| The carpenters didn't want to use the crooked bamboo...but I told them to make a railing with them and I think it turned out quite well. |
 |
The wrap around deck is 10'(ft) wide also from our bamboo. You can see one of the living bamboo clusters in the back of the deck by the marble table. That's sugar cane growing in back of it. It will be made into a healthy juice the canes can be made into BBQ sticks. When grilled with meat stuck through them, they caramelize and give the meat lots of flavor.
|
 |
| I used to sit on this spot before we built anything, listening to the birds chirping and the winds blow through the trees and bamboo. It's so nice to have an idea and a dream come true. I always thought it was such a perfect place for a deck and was I ever right. The sun rises over a little knoll every morning, you can even see the dew glistening on the bamboo poles and leaves. |
 |
| This is what the deck looks from the side view. I love all the dancing crooked bamboo. Normally they would burn the crooked stuff. They learned a lesson that you can make something beautiful with them. It was so nice to give the carpenters my ideas and have them execute them so well. |
 |
| Originally the deck wrapped around but with a roof; I found that I missed a nice place to hang out and look at the stars, so I had them kick the deck out in back so I'd have a little slice of the sky at night. |
 |
| To cap off the bamboo poles so that water would not accumulate, I had the carpenters sand and polish some of the coconut shells we have around, for making coconut milk for various dishes we cook with. |
 |
| This leads to the upstairs which hasn't been finished as we are still working on the downstairs! |
 |
| The glass doors to the left open to my office. I have a view of both sides of the property which I like best. My husband Dave likes to work outside, so that is the corner of his desk, front left. |
 |
| The glass doors left and back lead to the extension which holds the kitchenette, showers, and commode. Dave has always liked to work outside when he can. |
 |
| The bamboo cabinet to the left of Dave is my new broom closet. The glass doors on the right, my office. |
 |
| This is my kitchenette. Mainly a coffee and snack center. We do the main cooking in our original building. It forces me to get off my butt and move. I had them make the wall to the patio, in the back of the tea kettle, out of solid bamboo poles; it has a removable screen in a frame. The cabinetry, all bamboo with space for air to move so things don't get moldy here in the tropics. |
 |
| I had the carpenters make a custom shelf for the microwave, and shelving for my herbs and spices. The glass door far back right leads to the patio deck. |
All of our light bulbs are LED mounted into the drop ceiling. During the summer, we always have them switched to solar energy. It's really helped with the electric bill and the ubiquitous power outages on this island.
 |
| Even the tub and shower area has bamboo. I had this bamboo towel holder made after I saw the prices of stainless ones' at the hardware store. The glass bricks in the wall make it bright enough to shower without turning on any light bulbs. |
We have solar panels for our lighting and solar electrical plugs. When there is an electrical blackout, which is almost for 3 hours every day recently, I can still run my PC, three fans and all the lights are LED so we run those all the time.
Comments