For many people living in apartments across the UAE, balconies have become a lifeline over the past few months, offering a slither of outdoor space when coronavirus restrictions required us to stay inside.
As such, many people have taken the opportunity to give their balconies a spruce up, and one Dubai household has achieved an incredible makeover – and for less than Dh500.
Samantha Hall, with her two flatmates, managed to revamp the balcony of their JBR apartment building on a shoestring budget, creating a Pinterest-worthy space for a total of Dh467.
“During lockdown when we were stuck at home – we spent more time out on the balcony but realised how uncomfortable and un-homely it was,” said Hall, who works as an office manager at a law firm.
They started to look on Instagram and Pinterest for ideas to make the most of the space, and liked the look of some seating made from recycled wooden that they came across.
“I posted on Facebook to try source the crate seat and received a lot of responses but they were all far too expensive as we were on a very low budget,” she said.
But after doing a little more research, Hall stumbled across the website Dubaipallets.com, where she was able to source recycled pallets for only Dh20 each, with free collection from its warehouse, or Dh50 for delivery.
They ordered three pallets – two for the base and one for the back of the seat – and set to work sanding them down ready to paint them white. The chair was assembled by using a drill to secure the pallets in place.
“Then we started to bargain hunt for the accessories,” she said. “The hardest part was the base cushion [for the chair], a lot of people were saying you need to have it custom made and that was looking to be Dh850 plus. We came up with the idea to find a crib mattress or futon which we would cover. We went to Carrefour to look for this and luckily we found a sponge futon mattress, which was really easy to cut to size.”
Once the sponge mattress was the right size, they covered it with an old grey bed sheet to match their chosen grey and white theme, and set about finding the finishing touches to create their dream balcony.
Most of the accessories Hall and her flatmates were able to source second hand, either from Dubizzle or from Facebook marketplace. They also used e-commerce website Shein to order a few finishing touches.
Here is the full cost breakdown of everything used:
Pallets, Dubai Pallets: Dh20 per pallet (three used)
Paint, 1 litre Ivory colour, Ace Hardware: Dh25
Sand paper, Ace Hardware: Dh10
Base cushion, Carrefour (Ibn Battuta): Dh69
Old bed sheet: Free
Decorative cushions, bought from seller on Facebook: Dh100 for all
Rug, Shein: Dh59
Hanging bulb lights, Shein: Dh27
Fake hanging plant, Shein: Dh10
Dreamcatcher, second-hand: Dh20
Hanging plant pot, Home Centre: Dh30
Small cream lantern, Daiso: Dh7
Pouffe, Dubizzle: Dh50
Total: Dh467
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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