Tropical Style

Fantastic Design Plant: 'Little Henry' Sweetspire

by Busucher January 9, 2019

There’s no room in my backyard for prima donnas. Everything has to perform well without fussing or particular fertilizer, deal with herds of deer and thick clay dirt, and look great in the procedure. ‘Little Henry’ sweetspire is a unassuming deciduous shrub that quickly earned a place as one of my favorites.

U. of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Garden

Botanical name: Itea virginica ‘Little Henry’
Common title: ‘Little Henry’ sweetspire
USDA zones: 5 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Typical to moist
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade
Mature dimension: 2-3 feet tall and wide
Benefits and tolerances: Attracts butterflies but not deer; tolerates wet soil, although once established it will deal with drier conditions
Seasonal interest: Spring, summer, fall
When to plant: Anytime

U. of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Garden

Distinguishing traits. If you’re searching for an easy-care tree using a five-star rating, this is it.
Figurines: Masses of pendulous racemes of lightly fragrant white flowers cover this shrub in spring. Foliage: Healthy medium green leaves turn up the heat in fall using a fiery display to equal the omnipresent burning bush (Euonymus alatus, zones 4 to 9). Form: A neat, weed-smothering moundSize: Contrary to its big brother ‘Henry’s Garnet’, ‘Little Henry’ is only 2 to 3 feet tall and wide — perfect for smaller households. Soil: Joyful with wet feet. Clay soil? No issue.

U. of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Garden

How to use it. I’ve this shrub massed along a stream bank, where the clay land and saturated winter states are a bonus as opposed to a problem.

The modest size of ‘Little Henry’ makes it convenient for the front of the border or perhaps lining a woodland walk, where it combines beautifully with ferns and Japanese maples.

Personal Garden Coach

To me personally the fall color is its best feature, so be sure to plant this where you can enjoy it at that time of year. Complete sunlight brings out the very intense fall color; mix it with other sun-loving shrubs and grasses to draw focus to this attribute.

This picture shows how the rosy tints of ‘My Monet’ weigela (Weigela florida‘My Monet’, zones 4 to 6) make an attractive color echo, whereas ‘Blue Dune’ lyme grass (Elymus arenarius ‘Blue Dune’, zones 4 to 9) cools things down in an exciting screen.

Personal Garden Coach

Planting notes. Think in multiples. 1 shrub is pretty, but a bulk of five or even more is magnificent.

No particular treatment is required when planting. Just tease out the roots and water in well. Some gardeners prefer to add fertilizer to backyard shrubs in spring, but I prefer to just use compost as a yearly increase to improve general health and vigor whilst also helping to keep soil moisture.

It’s improbable that pruning will be essential, but it can be done immediately after flowering if needed.

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Coastal Style

A Venetian Courtyard Shows Mastery from the Details

by Busucher January 6, 2019

From the early 1960s architect Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978) helped transform the ground floor and courtyard of This 16th-century Palazzo Querini Stampalia to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a museum and cultural Association between St. Mark’s Basilica and the Rialto Bridge in the heart of Venice, Italy. In previous years the base had occupied the building, but flood of the earth floor meant the spaces that there could not be used to their entire scope. Scarpa’s interventions helped maintain the building usable and also an important cultural complex in town.

About three excursions to Venice, I have seen the building three times, but the latest trip was the first once the courtyard was available. This ideabook files my trip to the ground floor, the courtyard and other parts of the building. Scarpa has been a master of producing magnificent details, as you’ll see.

John Hill

Being in canal-rich Venice, the Querini Stampalia base is accessed by bridge. (In recent decades, the entry shifted from a Scarpa-designed bridge to a different one on the opposite side of the building). A glance from across the canal reveals the major spaces in Scarpa’s transformation: the entry space behind the gates, the exhibition hall outside and the courtyard in the rear.

John Hill

Access from the bridge means that people move through the entrance sequence differently now. The distance from where this picture was taken was formerly a dead end — an exhibition space that has been permitted to flood throughout the greatest waters. Now it is the primary access from the ticketing booth and the bookstore to Scarpa’s ground-floor spaces and the upstairs library and museum.

John Hill

Scarpa’s treatment of the room behind the two gates is genuinely remarkable. Does his layout nevertheless allow water within the building (not uncommon in Venice), but it celebrates the water by means of a succession of steps at several heights and also a cantilevered border on the raised walkway. The walkway’s surface actually contrasts with the high-water line.

John Hill

Marking the transition between the entry hall and the exhibition space beyond is a glass wall emphasized by an enclosure. The complex articulation of the stone panels makes the enclosure seem to be for something particular, but in fact it simply covers a radiator.

John Hill

A closer look in the enclosure — awaiting the courtyard in the distance — provides a glimpse of the black radiator that functions the exhibition space. The entry hall is an interior space, inside the confines of the building but available to the elements, so this transition is in fact very important. In this regard, giving a lot of attention to the radiator enclosure makes much sense; it marks an important change within the realm of the ground floor.

John Hill

The exhibition hall appears fairly simple, but it consists of concrete, stone, metal and glass in an asymmetrical grid. The lines on the floor and the glass bits in the wall give the distance a rhythm toward the courtyard.

John Hill

A detail view of the wall illustrates how much attention Scarpa gave to the materials. The elegant travertine stone panels on the wall comparison with the rough concrete on the floor. The brass railing separating the 2 groups of travertine was created as a service for lighting fixtures; it certainly doesn’t seem as pragmatic as its objective.

John Hill

At 1 corner of the exhibition hall, a door opens to a distance that leads to the staircase. The form of the door recalls the radiator enclosure, meaning that Scarpa produced a world of details that he repeated to give consistency to the project. As we will see, that does happen again, but the tactic did not limit his saying.

John Hill

The courtyard is a beautiful space characterized partially by two neighbors, a brick wall covered in ivy. In this space Scarpa added a concrete wall to help define smaller areas (behind it is what’s now a café) and also to install distinct components inside the grassy courtyard.

John Hill

One of these elements is a tiny square pool with lily pads. It may seem odd to add water attributes to a courtyard in Venice, but given how Scarpa celebrated the canal’s water, so it is not surprising that he created this aquatic anchor from the backyard.

John Hill

From the cement walls, Scarpa also added a receptacle that collects rainwater. I see it also as a vase for flowers or for carrying other things. The mosaic line that goes across the cement wall is just another detail that Scarpa reiterated; it is observable around the swimming pool in the previous photograph, and we are going to see it later back inside.

John Hill

Yet another water element is found in the courtyard: a linear trough that visitors experience immediately when walking outside. The fountain is perpendicular to the concrete stripes in the hallway, the canal and also the entry walkway. While the overall motion is from front to rear — canal to courtyard — these perpendicular pieces make the motion more meandering than direct. Like the square pool, the fountain is covered in lily pads, but instead of a metallic enclosure it is all concrete.

John Hill

The head of the fountain is a lovely carved stone piece that makes the water trace a circuitous path before it goes on its own way.

John Hill

In the opposite end of the fountain, a scupper deposits the water into a round basin. This detail recalls Japanese gardens with no derivative. While barely repeating design themes from other parts of the building, the dividing of the stone still seems to fit in with the whole.

I love to believe that the predominant motif is a L-shape profile — a balance of both different types of motion in the design — that are available regardless of formal details. Look at the first photograph in this ideabook to see an L-shape profile in the decorative patterning about the metal gates.

John Hill

One such L-shape profile occurs on a wall panel in what was traditionally the main entrance on the ground floor. Although this space has lost its importance in the general fluidity of the building’s promenade, details such as the board, the mosaic floor and the way the walkway is held back from the walls are still present and part of the encounter.

John Hill

The old principal entrance leads to the staircase and to access to the library and the museum upstairs.

The rebuilt portal exhibits Scarpa’s sensitivity together with older buildings. (He seemed to possess specialized in changing older buildings to new uses, given projects like this and Castelvecchio, a castle in Verona, Italy, transformed into a museum)

The architect did not mimic the old details, but he respected them in how he handled the finishes and the way he used the portal site as a transition to the upstairs areas.

John Hill

The last group of photographs focuses on details in the staircase. In this photo we can see three of them: the handrail supports, the opening for the light in the landing and the stairs.

The first two will be discussed soon, but notice the way the risers have a gap in the center. This may seem frivolous, but they draw attention to the fact that the treads and the risers sit on top of and facing the old stone staircase. The 20th-century stone pieces shield the 400-year-old steps.

John Hill

The steel handrail supports are still an intriguing detail, one that I believe is related to the treads. Instead of bringing down them, potentially landing on the new treads, Scarpa gave them a more Z shape (or can it be two L shapes?) To avert this. Hence the handrail is positioned over the tread, but the service is rooted in the old measure, calling attention to the gap between old and new. Similarly, the new wall panels stop short of the treads, revealing the older walls.

John Hill

In the landing, marking the entry to the library, is a round light fixture. Below it is a ceiling using a double-circle cutout, a layout that resembles a single mobile mutating, as though the light has begun to divide into 2.

John Hill

Halfway up to the library is just another light fixture, square rather than round yet picking up on an identical paired theme.

John Hill

This last detail is a view of the landing as the stair turns 90 degrees. This flip is celebrated via the round notch that occurs in the junction of the borders of the tread and the landing. The detail is a version on the square top found from the radiator enclosure. Many people probably wouldn’t notice this stair depth (I did not notice it before going back down the staircase), but it reveals how no detail was too small for Scarpa; they were significant.

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Coastal Style

A Melbourne Gem Harnesses Feng Shui

by Busucher January 3, 2019

When bed linen designer Tracie Ellis bought her home in Melbourne, she knew that it was special. The home immediately stuck out, a midcentury stone in a neighborhood filled with Victorians, Edwardians, California bungalows and recently developed constructions. Ellis also lists of a number of different features that endear her light-filled residence: “Unlike other houses on the block, our home faces our neighbors rather than the road. In addition, we have loads of outdoor space, a lovely kitchen and a small collection of art to which I’ve grown quite a attachment,” says Ellis.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Tracie and David Ellis and their dog, Max
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 2,000 square feet
That’s interesting: The house’s first architects were John and Phyllis Murphy, known for designing the 1956 Melbourne Olympic pool, one of Australia’s most defining modernist structures.

Sharyn Cairns

Ellis eliminated two French doors from the living room space and replaced them with big sliding glass doors, bringing the living space and the outdoor deck space together as one big space.

“The leading deck contested us. The wisteria tree introduced a few problems, and we made sure to not damage any of its origins. It was planted in 1954, and that I still have this image of this being a tiny shrub,” she states.

Sharyn Cairns

The flooring, a mild wood out in the front deck and also a darker completed blot from the living room, makes a subtle differentiation and transition from indoor to outdoor space.

Although Ellis opened the front living areas, she and her husband requested for hidden sliding doors to close off rooms and make intimate areas throughout the home. “I enjoy a open floor plan, however that I also enjoy the ambiance of spaces that are defined,” she states.

Light pendant: Nelson Bubble Lamp, Y Lighting; chair: Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair with Seat Pad, Design Within Reach

Sharyn Cairns

Ellis and her husband met with a feng shui expert until they moved into their property. “She informed us that the place had a fantastic feeling, that it was a happy location. But she pointed out the changes we needed to create, such as changing door-opening directions and moving doorways, so that we can keep the fantastic energy,” says Ellis.

Sectional: Bosko, Jardan Sofa; pouf: Fez, Morroco

Sharyn Cairns

Any scratches on the floor are probably from Max’, as Ellis and her husband normally have a shoes-off policy in the home. The walls are clad in Aalto’s Inherent White, Ellis’ tried and trusted shade of inside white paint.

Coffee table: Barcelona by Harry Bertoia, Design Within Reach

Sharyn Cairns

Sharyn Cairns

The kitchen is your hardest-working room in the home. Ellis, a passionate cook, evaluations out various recipes and delights in entertaining her family in the heart center of the home.

“My husband and I spend hours and hours discussing new ideas for our home decoration company, Aura, in the kitchen. We are always reading through books and magazines, using the island as a location to house the clutter,” says Ellis.

A regret? Failing to install undersurface and built in electric outlets for their laptops.

Bar stool: Charles Ghost Stool by Philippe Starck, Space Furniture

Sharyn Cairns

“For good feng shui, we added the walnut wood cabinets and dining table so there’s a grounding, natural component in the kitchen and dining room. Our last home was very minimal and all white, so that I love that the kitchen is not totally white,” says Ellis.

Sharyn Cairns

Like many homeowners, Ellis admits that she cleaned up for the inside shots of her house. “Right now our home office is filled with tear sheets and disposition boards for our country house in Kyneton, Victoria, so we’ve had to relocate control fundamental to the kitchen,” she states.

The couple also stores their big group of magazines and travel books in the home office. “We are constantly dreaming of our next adventure,” says Ellis.

A abstract painting by Ellis’ mother, Robyn Donovan, gives the white and black space some color and feel.

Sharyn Cairns

One of the designer’s treasured pieces of artwork is by Mitjili Napurrula, a gorgeous red and white canvas with “amazing depth and rich red hues,” Ellis says. Her husband bought it on their first wedding anniversary.

Sharyn Cairns

Floating his and hers sinks create this master bath chic, functional and space efficient.

Sharyn Cairns

For someone who layouts bed linens for a dwelling, Ellis has an unexpectedly casual approach into the bedroom. Pendants dangle from the ceiling and take the area of desk lamps, drawing the eyes up. An Eames chair creates a fashionable substitute for a bedside table, because its mould has more depth for stacked novels, the day’s clothes and other loose items.

Sharyn Cairns

“I really like a mattress that is put together nicely and layered, but my own linens are not fitted or crisp. I relish in the lived-in look. I really don’t iron my linen,” says Ellis.

Here, the couple’s beloved pooch adds that lived-in appeal into a energizing ruby-red guest room.

Bed linens: Aura

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Coastal Style

A Maine Beach Cottage Evokes the Sea

by Busucher December 31, 2018

Interior designer Tyler Karu and her husband, Brendan, are year-rounders in a tiny coastal community peppered with summertime visitors — and Karu, a Maine native, would not have it any other way. “Our house seems really Maine to me. Believe it or not, walking across the beach by our house gets me feel Maine in my spirit,” she says. The designer expresses her connectedness to the place by sprinkling her home with components from her and her husband’s history — and of course, filling each room in the house with nautical tokens that evoke the rhythms of the sea.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Tyler Karu, Brendan Ready and their dog, Haddock
Location: Prouts Neck, Scarborough, Maine
Size: 1,700 square feet

Landing Design

A vintage life preserver and a fishing escape hang on a post by the dining area, a symbol of the way the homeowners’ lives are attached to the goings-on by the docks. Dinners are punctuated by the crashing of the waves surrounding.

“The brutal winters make the summer and drop that much more enjoyable for us year-rounders who live here,” says Karu.

Landing Design

In the living room, Karu tempered the formality of a gray tufted sectional by layering in splashy throws, pillow cloths and a striped custom-upholstered wingback chair. The bamboo dividers and chevron-pattern jute rug add heat into this light-filled location.

Sectional: Bludot; rug: Serena & Lily; lamps: Portland Architectural Salvage; wingback: Hudson’s Bay

Landing Design

The corner reading corner theme is Maine nautical matches ’70s glam — a fantastic example of Karu’s penchant for unique pairings. The designer uttered the rocking chair in the family home; the glass ball is a vintage fishing float, a nod to the house’s coastal context and her husband’s seafood enterprise.

Fishing float: Portland Architectural Salvage

Landing Design

A vintage cabinet in the dining room homes serving pieces. Some are family heirlooms; a few are collected from flea markets as well as from Target. The white skull, by artist John White, was a present from an aunt.

Landing Design

The kitchen island is made of an old railway cart. Karu added the pub extension after bringing the cart indoors, so the whole block no longer fits through some of the doors.

A look through the kitchen window reveals a garden within walking distance of the beach. “It’s always a wonderful sight to see friends and family relaxing in the living room or totally wiped out in the guest room after a complete day at the beach,” says Karu.

Landing Design

A portrait of the family’s beloved Brussels Griffon, Haddock, with a Maine Art College student hangs above the muse and version within an antique settee.

Art: Laura Alexander

Landing Design

The guest room, dubbed “Haddock’s Room,” strikes a nautical note using its navy blue partitions. “This chamber is where Haddock hangs out. He sits on the bed or side chair and watches folks come and go from the window,” says Karu.

Landing Design

Leon Levonstein, Karu’s great-uncle, was a urban photographer. “Some of these framed photographs are his, such as the small one of my father as a young boy,” says Karu.

Other framed photographs are from Karu and her husband’s wedding. The print is by illustrator Hugo Guinness.

Landing Design

The couple’s bed frame is a piece from Karu’s childhood; the wood detail on the bed resembles both a compass rose and a ship’s wheel. Even though the bed frame and the throw pillow evoke a nautical theme, plantation shutters, an antique Persian rug and vintage bedside tables lend the room an eclectic touch.

Art: Gary Copeland; seat: Calypso Home; side tables: eBay; wall paint: Ice Cube Silver, Benjamin Moore

Landing Design

A captain’s mirror above a refurbished vanity which has been abandoned in the garage pulls the eye — but look closer in the master bath and you’ll see a less obvious piece that conjures up that boat-on-the-dock texture: cleats from a marine supply shop that Karu utilizes to hold her bangles.

Wall paint: Smoke Embers, Benjamin Moore

Landing Design

The next guest room stays flexible with twin beds out of Karu’s husband’s childhood.

Wall paint: Steep Cliff Gray, Benjamin Moore

Landing Design

The designer called Manhattan home; she pays homage to the Big Apple with a framed subway map print by Triboro Design that leans against the wall. She dressed her home office table using an old Williams Sonoma duvet cover.

“Although I feel more productive in my Portland office [about 7 kilometers off], I am a lot more creative in this room in your home,” says Karu.

Landing Design

After Karu and her husband moved into their beach cottage, they set the goal of restoring its original appearance and texture. “We inherited a home that has been reeling from a few dated renovations, and we have been chipping away at it gradually ever since,” says Karu.

More:
Dip a Toe Into Modern Nautical Style

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Fireplaces

Help! What Colour Should I Paint My House Exterior?

by Busucher December 29, 2018

The Discussions section is filled with homeowner after homeowner pleading for help choosing exterior paint colours. Help is on the way for three these homeowners, whose homes have been featured here and a few suggestions for exterior paint palettes. But first, three general hints for selecting an attractive exterior paint palette.

3 Tips for Choosing Your House Color

Contemplate your neighbors. Before you start taking a look at the endless array of paint swatches in the regional paint or home improvement store, look around your area to see whether there is a frequent palette. That is not to say you need to paint your house the specific same color as your neighbor. In fact, do not do that! Nothing looks more cookie cutter than row after row of houses painted exactly the same or very similar colours. But if you discover that the majority of the houses on your street are painted very neutral shades of white, brown and gray, you may not want to paint your house, say lavender. If you reside in a “Painted Lady” Victorian in San Francisco or an art deco style–townhouse in Miami, then you can most likely get away with a daring palette.

Conrado – Home Builders

Consider the style of your home. Along with the age. Some architectural styles — the formerly mentioned Victorian being one of them — have complex details that look fantastic painted at a stand-out colour. Other styles, such as this stuccoed Spanish colonial revival, tend to look best with a more controlled paint palette. Do a bit of research and see what colours a house like yours traditionally was painted.

Ana Williamson Architect

Contemplate going daring. Having said all that, you should not feel bound to paint your house in accord with everyone else in your area or use colours considered de rigueur for your manner of your home. If you’re itching to include more peculiar, eye-catching colours, I say do it! But maybe limit the bold hues to accents — on your front door, the fascia, the door and window trim, and so on.

3 Homes, 6 Palettes

These three homeowners needed some help with a new exterior paint palette to dress their house. Which of the following suggestions do you believe fits best?

Homeowner No. 1. user M E requested for help choosing a paint scheme for a 1964 split-level home. The questions: how to tie into the tan brick and the gray roof, if to provide the columns along with the window trim an accent color, and what daring color (orange? turquoise?) To paint the front door.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 1. Clockwise from top left, this palette comes with a turquoise shade for front door, a pale gray (that has a touch of green in it) for the columns and trim, along with a pleasant, light taupe-gray color for your siding. The homeowner wanted to move away from the current “vanilla” color of the siding, but I’d avoid going too dim. There seem to be a good number of trees close to the house, casting shadows, as well as the tan brick at the bottom of the house is quite dark. This palette is light and bright with no too sweet.

All colours from Sherwin-Williams. Clockwise from top left: Reflecting Pool SW6486, Nuance SW7049 and Mindful Gray SW7016.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 2. The siding color (bottom swatch) is comparable to what the homeowner now has, yet this colour has green and less yellow in it. I believe it would work nicely with the tan, and in addition, it functions as a terrific background for a dramatic orange front doorway. The light tan color, in the top right, is your pillar and trim shade.

All colours from Sherwin-Williams. Clockwise from top left: Marigold SW6664, Nacre SW6154 and Rice Grain SW6155.

Homeowner No. 2. Amanda Leigh submitted a photograph of her house and asked for ideas to spruce up the exterior siding and brick.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 1. It is tough see from the photograph, but Leigh states that the previous homeowners had painted the brick. I’m usually not a fan of painting brick unless you just can not work with the first color or (as is the case here) it has been painted. I believe this brick ought to be painted a grounding color, such as the rich taupe brown shade shown in the bottom swatch. I’d remove the front door door (or substitute it with a retractable screen door) and paint the front door a deep red color. The walls have the darkest taupe color, and the siding gets the lightest tan shade.

All colours from Benjamin Moore. Clockwise from top left: Cottage Red, Midsummer Night 2134-20, Maritime White 963 and Texas Leather AC-3.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 2. Here is a cooler shoot on the palette. Clockwise from top left: The front door gets a gorgeous French blue color, the walls remain dim — with a profound greenish-gray shade, the siding stays light using a soft gray and the brick gets painted a medium greenish-gray colour.

All colours from Benjamin Moore. Clockwise from top left: Province Blue 2135-40, Mohegan Sage 2138-30, Gray Lake 2138-70 and Carolina Gull 2138-40.

Homeowner No. 3. Tamizami wondered if she ought to paint her house, which is in the streamline moderne (art moderne) style, one color or divide the single colour with accent colours.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 1. You could do some interesting things with color on this style of house. I’d paint the entire body of the house the lightest shade in the swatch, then paint the flat swaths (that the balconies) with the darker shade in the bottom of the swatch. I’d then use one of the two darker accent colours for your garage door, and, if feeling especially daring, use another accent color to set off the ribbing detail.

All colours from Glidden. Clockwise from top left: Sweet Tea GLO28, Bronzed Ivy GLN23, Elegant Lace and Prairie Sage GLG22.

Jennifer Ott Design

Option 2. Here I’d use one of the darker grays as the main house color and apply the remaining colors as accents for your garage door, the balcony columns along with the ribbing detail.

All colours from Glidden. Clockwise from top left: Dove White GLC37, Deep Garnet GLR29, Pebble Grey GLN50 and Granite Grey GLN59

Keep in mind that you are able to use color as a tool to either improve or conceal architectural information. If you want something to be noticed, paint it a contrasting colour from whatever surrounds it. Conversely, paint any attributes of your house that you want to conceal or deemphasize the same colour as whatever is surrounding them. They will blend in.

Inform us What are the tips for picking the proper colors for the outside of your house?

More: Great Color Palettes for Bold Front Doors

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Tropical Style

Southeast Gardener's August Checklist

by Busucher December 24, 2018

August air is thick. Walking through the garden in the morning is like stepping into a sauna. While dawn is the coolest part of the day, it is still sultry. August gardening in the Southeast is not for the faint at heart. Some even give up and pray that September comes premature.

Effectively, gardening during August requires a program change, if you don’t relish punishment. I happen to tolerate an August garden since the wildlife keeps me interested, but admittedly, the anticipation of this meteorological fall, which often occurs towards the end of the month, is among my favourite times in the gardening season. I press in August and enjoy the South in all its glory that is psychedelic.

Gardening with Confidence®

Harvest vegetable gardens as necessary. Most of what you have growing in your own vegetable garden are annuals. By August, they’re searching a little wrung out. As plants finish their production cycle, remove them in the garden; otherwise, they may attract insects and disease to the crops that are still productive.

Gardening with Confidence®

Deadhead flowers. Keep your flowers flowering longer by removing faded blossoms from the cannas, roses, daisies and more.

Gardening with Confidence®

Fertilizer dos and performn’ts. As August arrives, some crops will benefit from a program of fertilizer. For other crops, it might do more damage than good.

Do fertilize:
Summer fruits like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant continue to produce when fertilized regularly. Use a product that contains 5% nitrogen.Fall vegetable cropsFall-blooming perennial and annual flowersChrysanthemums and dahliasCannasReblooming iris would gain from a mild applicationWarm season lawns (Bermuda and Zoysia) can be fertilizedRemember to water any use of fertilizer well into the soil to supply nutrients for the roots of the plants.

Don’t fertilize:
Azaleas and camellias, since the compost will disturb bud formation.Summer-flowering shrubs shouldn’t require pruning for exactly the exact same reason.

Gardening with Confidence®

Water your container crops well. From hanging baskets to veggies to the deck, the majority of us possess some sort of container planting. August can be hot, so be sure to keep your container plantings well hydrated.

Gardening with Confidence®

Propagate roses. Roses could be propagated by layering as late as mid-August. Long, flexible canes are the easiest to propagate since they’re easiest to bend into place. Use a clean knife to remove two thorns near the top of the stem and then bend it toward the ground. Make a couple of small cuts into the bark involving in which the thorns were. This is called “wounding the cane.” Hold the wounded region in touch with the dirt with landscape pins and cover with dirt, leaving the growing tip of the stem discovered. It’s also a fantastic idea to put a brick or stone over the covered and wounded cane to give it extra grip.

Next spring, you should see new growth emerge. Once you see new leaves around the rooted stem, carefully remove the entire stem from the parent plant, and recut the stem just under the new root mass. Now you are ready to plant your new rose bush.

Gardening with Confidence®

Pests. See these in your own pines? They’re the Pine Sawfly larvae. Pick them off and drop them in a bucket of soapy water.

Gardening with Confidence®

Bulbs. Select and preorder your own spring-blooming bulbs now while supplies are plentiful. Don’t put off today what’ll be gone tomorrow. The peculiar bulbs sell out. I can say this now since I have already put in my order. Try something interesting like the species tulip Tulipa clusiana.

Gardening with Confidence®

Cut blossoms. Recall those zinnias you seeded in July? Seed more in August, and be sure to cut some to appreciate indoors!

More:
Guides to gardening in the Southeast

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Eclectic

Give Rooms Intrigue Using a 'Clash Course'

by Busucher December 19, 2018

The unexpected ignites design for me. Whenever someone walks into an area, I want hearts to conquer, eyes to roam along with the mind to participate. The things we surround ourselves should make us feel alive and inspired, and one of the best ways to inject this power in your area is by introducing pressure.

Creating stress is reached by placing opposites in the exact same area, and it is integral to smart, interesting design. Light and dark, soft and tough — these are foundational elements, but it is the great tongue-in-cheek pressure between “nasty” and “beautiful” in interiors that is the epitome of sudden. Needless to say, what “ugly” or “beautiful” involves is entirely subjective.

It is about bringing in a “wart” to your area — something that shouldn’t be there but ends up making the entire space work.

Lankford Design Group

This kitchen is an ideal illustration of the type of tension made when opposites attract to create genuinely eclectic spaces. Antique cabinets and practical stainless steel workspaces are united under the elaborate chandelier.

sarah & bendrix

If committing to big pieces of furniture seems daunting, kitschy art — some with dark themes, such as this print of a skull (top right) — works to provide a space a mysterious charm that would be missing in the event the art all fell within the exact same motif as the rest of the room.

Jamie Laubhan-Oliver

Accessories are undoubtedly the best method to add some strangeness to a beautiful space. Creating tension doesn’t mean introducing something unattractive — it means ensuring the design doesn’t operate in the exact same direction. This oversized and jagged piece keeps the brain busy and engaged.

Design Within Reach

So you have purchased a giant oil painting in the estate sale and brought it home into your contemporary, neutral and balanced living room. Kick the principles aside and hang it high and off-center to maintain eyes moving.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

Imagine this kitchen. With this odd piece, we get an idea about the men and women who reside here. It is the mischievous sparkle in an otherwise well-mannered kid’s eyes.

Over-the-top vintage neon fights perfectly together with the sleek, natural nature of this credenza below.

Integrated

The Lindsey Adelman chandelier itself is a work of tension. The smooth, round globes juxtaposed against the dark, stiff stalks produce a superb balance. Hung within an austere table and bench with picture yet conventional wing seats, this chamber whispers, screams, sleeps and dances all at one time.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

In my own kitchen I’ve hung a skull found in my parents’ farm and placed a cheap religious print located in the basement on the shelf over. They are incongruous, but they make me grin daily.

Have you found a spot to incorporate a “wart” in your own house? Inform us about it below!

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Ceilings

Barrel Vault Ceiling

by Busucher December 16, 2018

A barrel vault ceiling is a architecturally sound continuous arch, often used in cellars and long hallways. Using rock, brick or wood structure, the rise of the barrel may be a soft arch, a half-round or elliptical.

Visbeen Architects

This kitchen has a rock barrel vault ceiling that is elliptical.

Kristi Spouse Interiors

White painted wood makes this barrel vault ceiling a framework and panel half-round.

RLH Studio

Above the background this room uses wall board to create a gentle arch barrel vault ceiling.

California Cabinets

Brick and wood beams make this arch a traditional-style barrel vault ceiling.

Oceanside Glasstile

This kitchen is an example of a barrel vault ceiling that is half-round, and the surface is tiled.

New Mood Design LLC

With so many surfaces to choose from, this tongue-and-groove soft arch is ideal for the rustic look of the wine cellar.

Brown’s Interior Design

There was A concrete half-round barrel vault ceiling chosen for this passageway.

Battle Associates

Above the view that is beautiful and this bath is a half-round barrel vault ceiling with beadboard.

Read more photos of barrel vault ceilings

More:
The Space Above: Beautiful Barrel-Vaulted Ceilings

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Tropical Style

Rocky Mountain Gardener: Things to Do in June

by Busucher December 12, 2018

June reigns as queen at the garden world. Even at higher elevations, winter has loosened its arctic grip, along with the lush greens of new foliage shimmer in the sun’s warmth. Insert the jewellike glow of abundant blossoms and June is, indeed, a month to behold. This can be a busy time in the garden, with plenty of options to keep you active and involved until the heat of summer arrives. The important thing is setting your objectives and prioritizing your time so that you don’t run yourself ragged. Summertime should be enjoyable time, right?

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Plant edibles. Growing delicious foods and seasonings to your table is just one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. If one of your goals this month is to get on the grow-your-own bandwagon, then make sure you prioritize your planting schedule to accommodate your time-sensitive requirements of your favourite plants; many rely on a particular number of days from planting until they’re mature enough to harvest.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Placing out small plants rather than starting from seeds is a fantastic means to jumpstart the process. After the final frost date has passed and the soil has warmed, you may safely plant warm-season crops, like cucumbers, summer squash, pumpkins, beans, peppers, eggplant, corn and tomatoes. Keep a lightweight freeze blanket useful and protect plants when nighttime temperatures are forecast to dip under 55 degrees.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Mix it up. Herbs and veggies incorporate nicely with decorative plants in mixed borders. Artichoke, Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, curl-leaf parsley, culinary sage, red cabbage and dill are just a couple of instances of summer hardy edibles with lovely texture and color.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Plant them into well-amended soil in areas that receive regular watering — I tuck mine to small spaces that border the edge of the yard, where they are easy to track and harvest.
Check with your county extension service for up-to-date info and plant recommendations for your particular site.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Plant annuals and perennials. Flowers offer much to entertain: color, form, texture and odor. As a food source they attract butterflies, birds and myriad other winged creatures. If your target is to bring some flower power to your backyard, then this really is the ideal time to see the regional garden centre for the best selection. Container gardens can be a terrific way to bring the beauty of crops to the place where they are most needed. Consider including a cluster of colorful pots to a place that’s hard to garden , like an area with shallow, rocky land or dense tree roots.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Plant trees and shrubs. Shrubs and trees would be the permanent characteristics in your landscape, the crops which create rooms and mitigate harsh environmental factors like wind and sunlight. They add color and texture to the garden even during the long months of winter.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

If your target is to bring some structure to your backyard, then June is the ideal time to purchase woody crops, particularly broadleaf evergreens. Early summer planting gives them a fantastic start on creating new root growth and getting established prior to winter. Oregon grape holly (Mahonia aquifolium), Chidftan manzanita (Arctostaphylos x coloradensis‘Chieftan’), Bright Edge yucca (Yucca flaccida‘Bright Edge’) and Coral Beauty cotoneaster (Cotoneaster dammeri‘Coral Beauty’) are ranked for elevations up to 7,500 feet.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Shop for success. The best range of garden plants is now available at the regional garden centre. Sometimes so many options can be overwhelming. Keep these factors in mind:
Match the growing conditions of your website — sun, soil type and water availability — to the cultural needs of this plant. For example, a plant which needs a moist, shady setting won’t survive in a hot, glowing”hell strip.” Match the size of your garden area to the ultimate size of this plant. Spacing plants appropriately enables the natural type of the plant grow to its entire potential. Select new plants which will make an aesthetic contribution to your backyard. Is your backyard lacking in bold foliage textures or needing a shot of crimson? Insert those attributes to your record.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Primp. Eliminate the spent blossoms from spring-blooming plants. Deadheading the plant won’t just make it look much better, but it will keep it from forming seed. Your plants’ power will be better spent on developing healthy foliage and root systems. Some crops may also form another pair of flower buds and bloom once more. Deadhead by snipping the blossom and a little bit of the stem off; create your cut just above a leaf node.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

For perennials that bloom on stalks or scapes which come from a foliage mass in ground level, like lilies (Lilium spp.) Or bearded iris (Iris germanica), cut the stalks all the way down to the bottom of this plant. For those masses of blossoms on perennials like candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), purple stone cress (Aubrieta deltoides) and basket of golden (Aurinia saxatilis), it is best to shear the whole plant down by about half.

Mulch. In June, as the soil warms and your crops are growing, it is a fantastic time to make sure you have a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch during your planting beds. Mulch will help conserve moisture, stabilize temperatures, decrease soil erosion, reduce soil compaction and protect against weed growth. Local organic substances like pine needles, pine bark, shredded cedar and aspen chips are best for this function. An inorganic mulch of river stone or crushed stone could be preferable in areas where high winds or forest fires are a threat.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Visit. June is currently the month for garden tours. There’s no better way to get inspired by great layout, find new furnishings or plants or just reinvigorate your love of gardening than simply by attending a garden tour.

Some tours focus on landscapes which have been masterfully designed and installed by landscape professionals; many others revel in the private creativity of dedicated amateurs.

Garden tours tend to be fund raising events together with the profits benefiting a community organization. Nationally, the Garden Conservancy sponsors open days during the summer at some of their possessions across the USA.

Happy gardening!

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Fireplaces

Glass Lamps: The Supreme Neutral Lighting Fixtures

by Busucher December 10, 2018

Picking a desk lamp is much harder than it looks. If you’ve let your lighting become an afterthought, there’s a lot to keep in mind. If you feel like adding a lamp for your vignette is going to take it out of cute to cluttered, your response might very well be a glass lamp base. These sleek, elegant and classic fixtures provide functional lighting without compromising visual distance.

Annette English

Glass lamps are fantastic for rooms with neutral palettes. The glass keeps the softness of the grays, whites and taupes within this area.

If you’re cringing at the idea of table lamps distracting from artwork over your bed, a glass layout will offer necessary reading lighting without stealing the show. The focal point remains on the artwork, but you are going to be able to browse comfortably.

Toby Zack Designs

The identical concept applies for artwork above bedside tables. The color might have to disrupt your artwork, however, the glass base will continue to keep the eye tilted back into the artwork rather than drifting to the lamp.

Joel Kelly Design

Here’s another powerful instance of glass lamps providing purpose whilst letting the artwork possess the limelight.

Dillard Pierce Design Associates

If you want a styled table to be the main focal point in a space, avoid a hefty lamp that will divert focus. Instead, opt for a delicate glass lamp that’ll produce a more appropriate balance.

This eye-catching striped vest stands without competition yet is appropriately functional when accessorized with a little glass lamp.

Use this lamp layout to enhance elements of your own tabletop. In case you’ve got a glass table, utilize a glass lamp to make a smooth connection between the two pieces.

Rachel Reider Interiors

Looking for more lighting in your area? Rather than letting a desk lamp to divert from your window view, pick a layout that allows the light glow.

If you’re working with a surface, don’t visually overload it; consider a glass lamp at a narrow layout. The obvious presence removes visual bulk, while the narrow layout leaves room for a clock or a publication.

Tracery Interiors

Is your vignette missing something? Add some colour to your imperceptible lamp. The orange color on this lamp provides a punch of colour that complements the artwork and plants, yet its slim, clear layout does not detract from the vignette as a whole.

Talking of vignettes, glass lamps make wonderful accessories to these artful arrangements. Turn on the light through the night so your knickknacks and collectibles glow without competing with the lamp itself.

Robeson Design

Glass lamps work just as well in rooms chock-full of colour and texture. Choose a simple lamp using a classic color to balance the appearance rather than placing it on the edge.

Chris Kauffman

Certain fittings, like chandeliers, deserve all of the attention. But, you might still possess a dark corner that needs a light. A glass lamp provides ample light without fighting with the principal fixture overhead.

If you have an unusual offering at the end table that will not encourage a normal lamp, light your sofa in subtle yet chic style using a status glass lamp. This versatile piece gets the job done while leaving your eyes focused in your complex space.

Eager to groom your home with glass lamps? Have a look at these wonderful possibilities.

Greige

Square Glass Lamps – $390

These square foot glass lamps by Greige will solve your problem of accessorizing little surface regions.

Lamps Plus

Harriet Clear Glass Table Lamp – $193.91

The Harriet glass table lamp from Lamps Plus combines a traditional base shape using a contemporary color.

stores.advancedinteriordesigns.com

Fillmore Smoke Glass Lamp With Dusty Blue Shade – $420

Glass lamps can be a terrific way to sneak in subtle texture. If you’re searching for something beyond smooth glass, then select a design such as the Fillmore Smoke out of AllModern.

Seventh Avenue

Glass Table Lamp – $69.95

This piece from Seventh Avenue accomplishes an extra level of design with its unique form and silver base.

More:
15 Creative Lamp Bases
Vintage Lighting Shines

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Roofs

Jamb

by Busucher December 5, 2018

The jamb is made from the two wood, metal or fiberglass vertical members which make the frame for a doorway. One side holds the hinges, the other has a recess that holds the strike plate and locking mechanism, or latch.

Friehauf Architects Inc..

Since this door does not have any trim, the doorjamb is easily visible. It’s the timber that lines the doorway opening.

The wood trim of the double door hides the doorjamb, but the hinges on both doors attach to it.

Winslow Architecture & Urban Design

This unique doorway has the doorjamb in the same location as always, with hinges on one side and the recess at which the bolt will rest when the door is shut on the other.

Visbeen Architects

Even an arched door has a doorjamb. The curved part is not structural into the doorway; it’s the vertical members that must be flat for the door to swing properly.

Designs for Living

This barn door slides across and negates the requirement for a solid doorjamb.

Browse more jamb photographs

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Traditional Architecture

Architecture Shows a Portal Frame of Mind

by Busucher December 2, 2018

As I navigate through the thousands of photographs on , I tend to detect certain formal trends. One in the modernist vein is what I’m calling portals. These are exterior elements — walls, floors, roofs — which stretch past the exterior wall to create profound frames. The reasons for this saying are diverse, but they come down to a couple aims: framing a particular perspective, providing shade and cover or making a statement.

QUADRANTE Arquitectura

This portal site for this villa in Portugal serves as a patio in front of a louvered glass wall. The superminimal saying of the whole design means the portal reads as a dark rectangle among the white walls.

PAUL CREMOUX studio

This beach house in Mexico uses a portal site on the upper floor; the cantilevered volume produces a covered terrace under it.

PAUL CREMOUX studio

The notch that is cut to the side wall generates a panoramic view from the interior, rather than a more directional view that would arise from wholly solid walls.

Make Architecture

Here is a portal site that is inserted into an existing house as a portion of its redesign. The central place and its materials make it stand out.

Make Architecture

Up close we can observe that it serves the dining area. A sliding glass wall nicely extends this space to the exterior.

Make Architecture

From indoors, looking vertical to the portal, the timber walls seem to cut most of the way throughout the house, notched for passage and perspectives. The substance stands out indoors as well as outside, marking a significant area in the house.

DuChateau Floors

This example comprises two portals vertical to each other: a big, one small, every facing the pool.

DuChateau Floors

The little portal serves as the bedroom and can be perfectly matched with the water. The sides are solid, and the opening is totally transparent — a sliding glass wall bisected at the center.

DuChateau Floors

The huge portal (the length is big enough to require an extra column) serves the living area. A sliding glass wall unites the indoors and the patio overlooking the pool. 1 side comprising a fireplace is cut,.

DuChateau Floors

This shot shows the greatest appeal of eyeglasses in general: exterior spaces which are embracing, shaded and elastic. It’s simple to observe the patio utilized for dining and other uses.

More:
Daring Cantilevers: Architecture Takes Flight

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Decorating Guides

Professional Chat: Infuse Your Kitchen With Art

by Busucher November 28, 2018

I live in a little flat with a great deal of artwork, so my entire living room has turned into a sort of well-curated (I trust) gallery. It’s therefore not a surprise that I prefer to consider kitchen partitions as an perfect spot to showcase intriguing works of art. Below are some designers who appear to concur with my own philosophy.

Andre Rothblatt Architecture

Fill in the blanks. “My customers have a large and eclectic art collection, and that I selected this piece from the other room in their house for its color, content and mild wood frame. I felt it actually shines the kitchen,” explains Andre Rothblatt of Andre Rothblatt Architecture.

“Another design decision I made was not to place cabinets on both sides of the exhaust hood. I wanted to inject some negative distance there and offer more prominence and visual attention to the stove. So it followed that artwork ought to be hung on those purposefully blank walls”

The Sky is the Limit Style

Use artwork as your inspiration. This oil painting by artist Barbra Edwards was the first inspiration for the colors and textures across the kitchen in her house. “The house is on a little island in British Columbia overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and it’s surrounded by evergreens and arbutus trees,” says Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design.

“When we selected the stuff, I was really mindful of her favorite color scheme: golds and browns, with flecks of moss. Rift-cut oak stained in 3 distinct earthy hues was used for an assortment of cabinetry, which is offset by a lacquered soft gray-green specialty cabinet. The custom-made concrete bar relates to the mountains and rocks outside, as does the oyster slate we utilized on the ground.”

Andre laurent

Add heat to a room. With this all-white kitchen, “we chose the artwork to bring some well-deserved colour into the design,” says Andre Laurent, of Creative Space Architectural Design in New Zealand. “The 3 pieces break up the image into a more interesting format”

Aidan Design

Complement the design. “This distance was designed to permit for artwork, and we needed something that was a singular piece, says Nadia N. Subaran of Aidan Design. “The palette to your home’s pool kitchen was motivated by the exterior stone, and also we needed the transition from outside to inside to be as easy as possible.

When I saw the painting of this horse, I knew it was fantastic. I loved the scale, texture, colors as well as the fact that it’s unframed. It brings a simplicity to the piece that operates with the kitchen modern and minimal specifics”

Du Bois Design Ltd

Add interest and flexibility. “I find bringing in bright artwork is a simple and effective method to add interest to some neutral colour scheme,” says Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Design. “It affords a degree of flexibility not possible with another more permanent and fixed elements in a kitchen. A painting may quite easily be swapped out from time to time to give the kitchen a completely different appearance. I noticed this particular work elsewhere in the house and thought it would be a wonderful way to introduce some additional warmth and colour to the kitchen.”

Du Bois Design Ltd

Inspire your cooking. This is another kitchen designed by Natalie Du Bois. “Because of the central position of the slim, elongated island, we had a large white wall for hanging artwork,” she states. “It serves as a perfect canvas for this striking piece that produces a bold background for the owners to enjoy whether they’re preparing meals.”

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

Juxtapose modern and traditional elements. “The kitchen in this house doubles as the dining room, so we made a deliberate effort to downplay the kitchen aspects of the room,” explains Pi Smith of Smith & Vansant Architects. “You will find not any upper cabinets, plenty of windows, and storage has been handled with a built-in hutch that’s tucked away under the stairs.

The artwork reflects my customer’s diverse collection of works. I don’t believe she viewed the kitchen as needing to be handled in a special manner. Instead she selected pieces she enjoyed and wanted to live with this both fit the available space and added a rich, modern counterpoint to the charm and historical quality of the building. Her artwork and lighting choices, specifically, speak to how this endeavor isn’t locked in time, but very much a product of modern life.”

Joan Heaton Architects

Showcase neighborhood artists. This Vermont cabin owned and designed by Joan Heaton of Joan Heaton Architects previously belonged to artist Janet Chill. “I thought it fitting to showcase her artwork,” says Heaton. “The painting, oil on oaktag, depicts a closeup of hosta and other plants. I thought that the flat element, colors and scale of the job looked great from the kitchen”

Kitchens & Baths, Linda Burkhardt

Reference your environment. “My customer truly loves artwork, and over the years he has acquired a significant selection of great pieces,” says kitchen and bathroom designer Linda Burkhardt. “I love this original serigraph, “Driftwood,” by Nicola Simbari and thought its positioning was a perfect complement to this gorgeous beachfront kitchen”

Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, Inc. (CKD, CBD, CR)

Don’t forget the ceiling. Before being remodeled with Ken Kelly of Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, this kitchen features a vaulted cathedral ceiling with industrial-looking track lighting. Kelly made the space cozier by converting the vault to a horizontal 9-foot ceiling with a tray design within the island to boost the elevation and add volume to the room. The ceiling mural is hand-painted and “captures the family’s personality, creative spirit, and their love of peacock feathers” says Kelly.

“The room’s other details include a mosaic tile floor and backsplash comprising 22 distinct colors,” he adds. “The pattern made a quilted-rug effect in the glass tile floor. For the backsplash by the stove, we added colour and feel with bubble glass and ceramic tile using recycled bottle caps, buttons, beads and broken pieces of china”

Browse thousands of art prints from the Products section

More:
10 Design Strategies for Art Lovers

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Gardening and Landscaping

Formal Parterre Gardens Rule the Landscape

by Busucher November 25, 2018

A kept-to-perfection backyard is beautiful and can’t help but add to the charm and desirability of a home. And the formal parterre garden, made by 16th-century French garden designer Claude Mollett, is a classic, gorgeous look for anyone with a green thumb (or a full-time gardener). Its paths, green boundaries and vegetation are a timeless look for any century also, luckily, are easily applicable to today’s lifestyle. Here are a few fabulous translations of the classic design for the 21st century.

Harold Leidner Landscape Architects

English gardens were originally made to be pleasant to those passing on foot, however the French designer Claude Mollett reimagined them to be mostly appreciated from a greater story or a balcony. This lawn looks gorgeous in the stories that are higher or about the exact same level while lounging in a chaise.

Deborah Cerbone Associates, Inc..

While little herbs and flowering plants were the norm in English gardens prior to the parterre, Mollett chose boxwoods to edge the designs so that the design was more prominent from above. Adding both boxwoods and small flowers and herbs to the interior landscape is a superb idea since they smell sweet, look beautiful from feet away and also make seasoning dinner a cinch.

Garrett Churchill Inc..

Nowadays, parterre gardens frequently involve a combination of boxwoods and holly bushes, since the boxwoods are exceptional boundaries and hollies add height. A parterre with this mixture is frequently used as a dividing line between two properties once the owner doesn’t want a fence.

Lenkin Design Inc: Garden and Landscape Design

Tightly clipped shrubbery and gravel pathways were both chief requirements of the first parterres, but their use expanded to include flowers, which add to the elegance and beauty of the design.

Troy Rhone Garden Design

Louis XIII was a huge proponent of parterre gardens, plus they peaked in fame under his reign at the Palace of Versailles. His mind gardener, Jacques Boyceau, was instrumental in further defining the “rules” for developing a parterre. Now, incorporating seating areas makes the formal garden more attractive.

Frank & Grossman Landscape Contractors, Inc..

Formal parterre gardens traditionally comprised some sort of focal point or fundamental feature around which the remainder of the backyard was designed. This statue is amazing and seems like the focus of the yard. Fountains or other water characteristics are also fantastic anchors to the backyard, and, for extra credit, incorporating a creature form makes them even more authentic.

Cross River Design, Inc..

Compartments, pathways and repeating geometric patterns (also referred to as arabesques) are three of the components of a parterre garden which make them so beautiful from above and below.

AMS Landscape Design Studios, Inc..

Nowadays, the formal parterre garden could be modified to match any design scheme. We love how this case contains many traditional components but is comfortable for lounging and contains modern touches which match with the design scheme of the remainder of the house.

More:
Lay of the Landscape: Traditional Garden Design

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Eclectic Homes

On Trend: Smart Solutions for Cords

by Busucher November 23, 2018

The strings in my house appear to propagate instantly, with their tangly tentacles peeking out from under my bed, peering around my desk and nearly enveloping my tv stand. Rather than trying to beat them back with a broom, I checked in on the most recent inventions for more sensible solutions. From organization to power efficiency, these new layouts should help you wrangle your strings without difficulty.

Mocha

The Mark Brothers Cable Labels – GBP 7.50

Label it. There’s nothing more frustrating than attempting to discern the black cable of this cable box from precisely the same black cable of the Internet router, all of them shoved into a very small crevice between the walls and the media stand. Get to the ideal appliance immediately with the help of those little men. They make tagging each electronic gadget a snap, and they are cute to boot.

Bracketron

Mushroom GreenZero Wall Travel Charger – $34.95

Save . Unplugging the mobile phone charger after use is one of these things I have every intention of doing but very rarely really remember to perform.

This useful plugin needs no reminding, though. It will automatically stop sucking electricity when your apparatus is billed and will remain off if there is nothing plugged . Take that, electric bill!

IKEA

Kvissle Cable Management Box – $9.99

Hide it. This sleek new cable box from Ikea makes quick job of hiding a bundle of wires that are unsightly. For skinny desks with little to no hiding area in rear, this bit is really a lifesaver.

Scheer & Co..

Or follow contributor Killy Sheer’s lead by mounting power strips and cables under the desk with zip ties and eye hooks. They are not visible from above, and you’ll never again get your toes caught up in wayward strings.

taniadacruz.portfoliobox.net

Florafil

Embellish it. When all else fails, turn lemons into lemonade with this rubber cord cover. Since a winding vine seems so much better than an unruly cable, wouldn’t you say?

More methods to conceal those messy wires

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Decorating Guides

Decorate With Intention: Small Budget, Great Vision

by Busucher November 19, 2018

Among the questions that I get asked most often is the way to decorate a home you love on a strict budget. In the end, it is one thing to make a vision for your home and quite another to deliver this vision to life without entering your budget.

Join us this week as we explore ways to work in your budget, from creating a strategy to vintage-hunting tips and the best pieces to save cash. We’ve got a lot to cover, so grab a cup of something yummy and let’s begin!

Kate Riley – Centsational Girl

Pick your approach. There are three standard ways to approach decorating on a budget:

1. Splurge on a single piece at one time. Even if if means living with a sparsely supplied pad for a while, you’ll feel great that you enjoy everything in your home.
2. Get it all done at once using cheap basics and DIY projects. This is an excellent solution for anyone starting from scratch.
3. Mix it up. If this is your approach, you will likely want to splurge on a couple of special pieces and fill the gaps with significantly less costly new and vintage finds.

SFGIRLBYBAY

“Filler” pieces may still be chic. Even fancy decorators nowadays often throw in a couple budget pieces from Ikea or West Elm. The key is to look for timeless designs with fresh lines. Parsons-style tables, bookcases and modern chairs in white may fit into any strategy and look pricier than they really are.

Restyled Home

The PS Maskros pendant lighting is a fantastic example of a wallet-friendly discover that exudes fashion. I have seen this hanging in interior design studios and chic boutiques, and featured in stylish magazine spreads, nevertheless it comes out of Ikea and prices less than $100.

SFGIRLBYBAY

Learn to locate vintage treasures. Victoria of sfgirlbybay has mastered the art of thrift, and that I believe we could all pick up a tip or two from her. Her San Francisco flat is filled with an inspirational mix of flea market finds, iconic modern pieces and affordable basics.

Educate yourself concerning the styles that you love and you’ll have the ability to home in on what you want more quickly. Create a list of keywords describing what you’re searching for (for instance, midcentury, Danish, teak) and use this to search sites such as Craigslist, eBay and Etsy.

Jonnie Andersen

Vintage hunting in person may be a satisfying pastime, and you never know what treasures you’ll come home with. If you decide to have a day trip to research a flea market or antiques honest, it pays to be prepared.

Listed below are a couple of things that you may want to bring together:
Small laptop with measurements and paint swatches out of your homeTape measureSunhat, snacks and waterHand truck or wagon for hauling your loot back to the carCash. A Growing Number of fairs are accepting credit cards, however you are more likely to stay on budget with great old greenbacks

Vintage Renewal

When shopping for classic furniture, then pay more attention to a fantastic shape than condition of upholstery. Having an armchair or sofa reupholstered is pricey but may still be less than purchasing new. Besides, you can pick any fabric you prefer.

If reupholstering is not in the budget, it’s possible to simply coating fabrics over worn areas for a quick update.

Maintain a open mind. Occasionally the most eye-catching décor comes from having a regular item in a brand new manner. Important retailers now offer apothecary-style closets and”aged” wood furniture at a steep markup from the original classic versions. Why not be ahead of the curve and make your own style statement using a classic find?

Listed below are some ideas to get you started:

• Utilize a group of classic doorknobs or drawer pulls as coat hooks.
• Lean a classic wooden ladder against the wall to maintain tea towels from the kitchen.
• A classic garden gate can become a one-of-a-kind headboard.
• Pile twinkle lighting right into an antique birdcage and suspend from the ceiling for a quirky light fixture.

Bosworth Hoedemaker

Know when to splurge and should save. There are a few basics which look great at any price point, so there’s absolutely no reason to invest more.

Save your pennies and scoop these up basics from mass retailers:
Bamboo blindsSeagrass, sisal and coir rugsBlack newspaper lampshadesWhite dishes

Leslie Goodwin Photography

Use paint to make a rich look for less. There’s a reason numerous magazine articles and books cite paint as an affordable means to change the look of a room. It works! Warm gray is an easy option because it goes with almost as many items as white but seems so much more sophisticated and”finished.”

Kate Riley – Centsational Girl

Don’t overlook the chance of repainting furniture too. Even in the event that you’ve never tackled a DIY job before, it is completely achievable to paint a little dresser or a pair of dining chairs in one weekend. Want even less of a time commitment? Just paint the inside of a bookcase, the trim on a cabinet or the legs of a seat.

sarah & bendrix

Cultivate a feeling of wealth. Shift your thinking: Instead of focusing on what you can’t consume, move your attention to what you love about your home and the life you lead inside.

Zero in on activities that cause you to feel comfy and happy in your home, whether it’s studying in your favourite chair or having friends over for an impromptu dinner, and intention to do these things more often. It could take time to make a space that fits with your eyesight, however you can begin enjoying your home now.

Tell us: Which are your favorite tricks for decorating on a shoestring budget?

More:
Vintage Modern: What Does It Mean?
11 Inventive Headboards
Instant Repair: Refresh Your Furniture With A Few Punchy Paint

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Tropical Style

Arbor Day Applause: Iconic Los Angeles Trees

by Busucher November 17, 2018

The trees which line our roads and color our outdoor living spaces function as a subtle yet defining feature of our communities. As arborists and tree lovers everywhere celebrate the significant contributions of trees on this past Friday in April, I can’t help but focus my adoration on those native to my hometown of Los Angeles.

The trees of Los Angeles are seen in enough shows to have earned their own celebrities. The palm trees lining the streets of Beverly Hills are, perhaps, most famously associated with the Southland. Local colleagues compose poetic pieces concerning the flourishing of purple Jacaranda each calendar year, also Santa Monica has designated a Morton Bay Fig as a landmark. As much as I love this veritable arboretum of trees, those I find most lovely are our natives. It takes something special to help our indigenous fauna flourish in our difficult soils. All these lovelies have that X factor.

Las Pilitas Nursery

The rambling structure of the Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) defines the city of Pasadena. Its compact canopy can span more than 100 feet — a fantastic advantage in warmer climates. Its expansive duplex will be matched by the Coast Live Oak’s root structure. It is slow growing, and its delights will depend on your recognition that it requires lots of space.

Las Pilitas Nursery

Should you need a little color and quickly, California’s white oaks (Quercus lobata) really are a superb choice. They are among the shade trees. Their unique 1- to 2-inch-long, chestnut brown acorns tend to drop more than usual, making the tree a valuable habitat for birds and wildlife.

Las Pilitas Nursery

One of the rewards of a happy Coast Live Oak: the beautiful male catkins.

Las Pilitas Nursery

California’s state tree, the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), has very wide-spreading roots. They add a stately beauty to park spaces and massive estates.

Las Pilitas Nursery

The Knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) can grow to 20 feet tall. It thrives at higher elevations, but it isn’t the hardiest of our trees. It likes fertile soil and regular water.

Las Pilitas Nursery

Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) can reach 30 feet. Its aromatic and clean foliage adds a crispness to any landscape. It’s hardy and manages diverse soils and moisture levels. With its compact needles, it makes for an effective windbreak.

Las Pilitas Nursery

The California bay (Umbellularia californica) includes a fantastic fragrance. Native to California and Oregon, the bay will like more water compared to some of the other trees shown here.

Las Pilitas Nursery

If you like the California bay, as I do, but reside in an area without the 30 inches a year of rain it requires, planting in color where the roots will stay cool all year can help. It is going to also work well in a container, where you can offer the extra hydration it needs.

Las Pilitas Nursery

Should you need a tree suitable for a small backyard or perhaps a tight area, Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) is best. Not only does this provide an wonderful array of colour transitions throughout the year, but its delicate stem construction is lovely when it is bare.

Las Pilitas Nursery

Obviously, the redbud’s lovely blossoms attract butterflies.

More blossoms that attract butterflies

Las Pilitas Nursery

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), otherwise known as Christmas berry, provides a splash of colour to landscapes too. It likes full sun and usually increases to 6 to 8 feet high, although it can reach 20 feet under the right conditions. It thrives in California’s tough sandy- and – clay-based soils and only requires 4 to 5 feet of space at its base. The colorful berries may be used to make an earthy, lemony tea.

Great design trees:
Bald Cypress | Chinese Witch Hazel | Dove Tree | Japanese Maple | Manzanita | Persian Ironwood | Smoke Tree | Texas Mountain Laurel | Tree Aloe

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Gardening and Landscaping

Renovation Detail: The Ribbon Driveway

by Busucher November 15, 2018

This week my husband and I will be presenting our ribbon driveway plans to our township zoning board. This timeless driveway layout includes green grass running between two parallel strips of pavement. Dating back to the 1920s, the layout was created before the days of paving. After extended periods of parking the vehicle ruts shaped, leaving only a patch of grass down the center. Eventually the ruts were filled in with concrete, and the ribbon driveway was created.

Nowadays the layout is making a comeback because of its environmental advantages and nostalgic appeal. Environmentalists are drawn to the layout for many reasons: It demands less impervious substance, features added greenery and means much less water runoff.

In Fullerton, California, the town’s preservation principles say that citizens are invited to have a ribbon drive to break up the expanse of paving and to provide increased landscaping. I enjoy the way you think, Fullerton!

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

Ribbon drives have the capacity to shape to property limitations, natural obstacles or homes, as shown here.

Madson Design

With individual concrete pads, this modern spin on the ribbon drive has an increased amount of green space and eases water drainage.

Gast Architects

Rather than the standard concrete and grass ribbon, this California drive includes pavers, slate and greenery in a grid layout.

Brooks Ballard

This house’s driveway pays homage to the ribbon’s Craftsman roots. Additional historical characteristics include the house’s gable dormer, brick porch pedestals and prairie-style window muntins.

Without the landscaped portion of this ribbon drive, water runoff would be a major concern for all these property owners. However, the grass aids in relieving water toward the home.

Engineered green grass is great for climates that do not need Commercial Snow Removal New Haven removal, such as this La Jolla, California, home.

Avondale Custom Homes

Encouraged by The Beatles, I can’t help but inhale “the long and winding ribbon” while admiring this drive.

FGY Architects

Opening up onto a carport and parking pad, the landscaped center portion of this ribbon driveway breaks up what would otherwise be a large, impervious area.

Brooks Ballard

Leading to a two-car garage, this ribbon drive includes extensive landscaping, an environmental plus.

More:
Great Garages: Parking, Reconsidered
Patio Pavers Rock Out

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Patios

Gravel Driveways: Crunching the Advantages and Disadvantages

by Busucher November 11, 2018

The driveway is the first thing we encounter when coming at a house and the very last thing we see if we leave. There are several substances to choose from when laying the path for an enduring impression — most commonly asphalt, concrete, pavers and gravel. Today I’ll cover the fundamentals of gravel driveways, plus the advantages and disadvantages.

Noel Cross+Architects

Gravel Driveway Basics

Cost: $1 to $5 per square foot, although setup costs vary widely based on where you live and the type of base required

Durability: Lifetime, with proper maintenance

Sort of gravel: This depends upon your region, but angular contours are preferred over around.

Care: Weed control and top-dressing (replenishing surface gravel); grading as needed and keeping the stones from the lawn and garage

Siemasko + Verbridge

Now that you have a fast rundown of things to expect from gravel, let’s talk about the fun part: aesthetics. Given the natural tones of the pebbles that make up a gravel driveway, it is very likely to be a fantastic alternative beside a warm- or neutral-color outdoor.

Aneka Interiors Inc..

The very long gravel path leading up to the beautiful house enhances the rustic charm of this exterior. Like a fantastic carpet, it ties together, and also the landscape transitions effortlessly into the house.

Summerset Gardens/Joe Weuste

This gravel driveway meanders along the border of what feels like a house in the French countryside. While substances like pavers can give a similar vibe, the gravel matches this landscape quite nicely.

Frederick + Frederick Architects

These crimson garage doors are absolutely striking against a backdrop of soft-tone gravel. They would not be quite as glowing in the event the driveway was put in black asphalt.

Poor House Interior Design

The laid-back gravel driveway makes this modern exterior casually inviting. Concrete might have made it feeling stiff and rigid, and pavers would have been overly busy.

Abby Design and Construction

With this point, I’m developing a bit jealous of all of these magnificent cave driveways. Let’s cover the advantages and disadvantages of these.

Advantages

1. It is easy on your budget. Enormous driveways are a lot more affordable to outfit in gravel compared to any other substance, though you do have to top-dress every couple of years to keep gravel looking fine.

Company & Woodburn Landscape Architecture

2. It’s easy to maintain. Adding gravel occasionally is faster than sealing an asphalt driveway and doesn’t need special tools. If you have a trailer to haul it in, along with a couple of hours, a spade and a rake, you are all set.

One thing to think about with gravel is that weeds will probably creep up through the stones, so to keep your driveway looking fine, you’ll have to pull frequently or use a weed killer (sparingly, and not where it can run off into a water source).

Jeffrey Dungan Architects

3. It satisfies many different house styles. It may bring out the natural beauty of a house over many other substances can.

Witt Construction

4. It is permeable. When gravel is installed properly, rainwater will penetrate right into the earth, replenishing groundwater.

McKEE CARSON

Cons

1. Snow removal. For people who reside in temperate climates, removing snow removal commercial Dover from a rocky surface is a hassle, and removing the stones that get pushed into the lawn after shoveling or plowing is a much bigger hassle.

Frederick + Frederick Architects

2. Ruts and sinkholes. Gravel will shift over time, forming grooves where water can puddle. Grooves are also a nuisance to push on, unless you are in the idea of a driveway full with your very own speed bumps. Fortunately, these may be leveled out with more gravel.

Ana Williamson Architect

3. Dust and dirt. Keep in mind that driving gravel can create more dust than any other type of material.

Inform us : Can you have a gravel drive? Share the advantages and disadvantages with us under!

More:
The Ribbon Driveway

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Coastal Style

Master Gold and Silver's Metallic Mix

by Busucher November 9, 2018

Metallics are all the rage at the moment, which means silver and gold alike are topping the décor charts. If both hit your fancy and you’re worried you are going to have to select one or the other, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Gone is yesterday’s perception that silver and gold do not belong at the same ensemble; in actuality, mixing them is supported.

Metallics are dynamic by nature, and the mix of silver and gold in particular lends not just an intriguing contrast but also a feeling of visual measurement and feel. With the right balance of the two, your house can feel equally tasteful and eclectic.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by this venture, keep reading for several recommendations to begin making the look work for you. Happy mixing!

For People design

Don’t feel like you need to go wild off the bat. Rather, build your confidence by beginning small. It might be as simple as introducing a chair with silver elements into a space with gold accessories.

Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc..

Or pull gold accessories right into a room with silver hardware. By starting with smaller quantities of both gold and silver, you can get a sense for how the 2 metallics play off each other without worrying about too permanent a commitment.

Amoroso Design

Play with vignettes. Don’t feel like they have to be complicated: Transferring a silver chair under a gold-framed image will give you a feeling of how each component acts within the space.

Jamie Laubhan-Oliver

Add more silver and gold accessories for your vignette to see how different colors of every interact. Try many different objects until you get the balance right. Knowing how to attack equilibrium in smaller sections will give you more confidence to pull off the colors across the space, if that is what you’re aiming to ultimately do.

CIH Design

Instead of accessories or frames, see how gold or silver furnishings work inside a vignette. Being both silver and gold, this piece does double duty: it is silver backsplash produces a balanced contrast against the gold lamppost and image frame.

For People design

Once you’re feeling more sure of yourself, you can pull silver and gold further into the area. In case you have gold near the top of the area, such as in a light fixture, pull down the color by including a rug with gold accents. Pepper the space in between, for example table surfaces, with silver accessories to achieve that feeling of balance.

Nina Jizhar

Step away and look at the big image. Have you ever chosen curtains with a gold hue in your dining area? Center your desk in front of the chimney and hang on a silver ceiling fixture; even once you walk in the space, you are going to see just how one complements the other.

Heather Garrett Design

This is another case of looking at the big image. In case you’ve got several gold pieces in your walls, think about balancing the look with a silver coffee table or even silver accessories beneath your current coffee table.

Susan Jay Design

Be daring with your contrasts. Finish a silver vanity counter in the toilet with a gold sink and tap.

Sindahl

Consider how you see to your walls. 1 option is to pick wallpaper with metallic features, then fill the space with silver and gold accessories to play off the wallpaper.

Chic Decor & Design, Margarida Oliveira

Or think about translating among those colors into a relaxing shade with paint. Think buttery gold or silver grayish silver. These can mix with both silver and gold accents without stealing the show.

Martha O’Hara Interiors

In case you’ve got a large space, look at creating a separation of places by concentrating more gold in 1 space and more silver in a different. In this bedroom, the sitting area features more colors of silver while the mattress itself is heavier in golds, creating distinction in every space. On the other hand, the entire area as a whole feels cohesive as the drapes and paint pull in both colors.

Jerry Jacobs Design, Inc..

Look at going big with a single colour and settling for accents with the other. This set of Japanese silver screens invigorates this space with an eclectic punch; gold accessories onto the coffee table provide just the ideal subtle variation.

Panache Interiors

Or if gold is more your colour, make a splash with a ceiling painted in the shade. A mattress frame in silver complements the daring paint option so it will not seem overwhelming. Who could not help but feel glamorous beneath this stunning ceiling?

More:
With Metallics to Brighten Up Any Space
Adding Shine to Your Home With Metal and Metallics
Sparkly and Heating: Decorating With Gold

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Tropical Style

Dry Riverbeds Solve Water Runoff

by Busucher November 7, 2018

With spring here, you may be wondering how to control runoff from snow removal cost Dover or rain hitting lands. Sudden or mismanaged water is not just inconvenient; in certain areas it is really dangerous. In my native Los Angeles, too much water can cause slope destabilization, slides and ocean pollution as runoff overwhelms storm methods. These are nasty troubles, but one of the potential solutions is extremely beautiful!

Dry riverbeds are a visually striking way to participate and manage the water on a house, whether you expect flash flooding or just aspire to ensure that you command and direct the water that enters your site as quickly as possible.

Landscape Architects, Golden Associates

While dry riverbeds are all workhorse features, don’t underestimate their capability to make a positive visual impact. In arid landscapes, the mixture of river rock and other permeable materials like this contrasting, colorful gravel could be dramatic and aesthetically pleasing.

Celine Fisk

While it may or might not be true in this backyard, it is possible to track water to feed water features like this small fountain.

Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping

While the sense of power and energy created by the dry riverbed above is enhanced by the contrast in colour between the river rock and surrounding stone, riverbeds surrounded by materials of more similar materials, like the decomposed granite still convey richness and energy.

Note: A rain string visible on the left of this photo allows water to permeate into the ground and feed back into the groundwater table. An infiltration pit could help move excess water off the house.

While infiltration is favored, dry riverbeds can also help extra water percolate onsite before efficiently leaving the house after it has saturated the soil.

Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping

While generally associated with more xeriscaped seems, as desert gardens live or die in their ability to efficiently handle sudden and low water, dry riverbeds can match a vast array of aesthetics.

Field Outdoor Spaces

A dry riverbed will help stabilize a slope by providing a place for water to escape, also a significant factor in preventing slides. This specific river may also feed an infiltration pit.

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group

Dry riverbeds will help route water away from the base of a structure. This is important, so many structures are made without a firm understanding of the natural water flow on a house.

River Valley Orchids

This riverbed appears to feed a biological pond, a gorgeous and effective way to store water onsite while permitting some water to percolate and infiltrate the groundwater table.

Dry riverbeds are just 1 strategy for managing and directing extra water. Watch for forthcoming more ideabooks on associated subjects and test out Erin Lang Norris’ post on rain chains.

More:
Easy-Care Landscaping With Rocks and Boulders
Great Design Plant: Slipper Plant
Steeply Beautiful Slope Retention

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Color

Colorfully Collected at Austin

by Busucher November 3, 2018

“Take the time to collect pieces that reveal you, and take care of them,” says designer Esther LaVonne. “They will look great in almost any area you reside in.” She comes across the very same challenges as other homeowners, but does her best to employ her personal style philosophy within her modern tri-level at the heart of downtown Austin. “Mix it up” She states. “It’s all about creating different layers within the space through various styles of furniture, bold color palettes and one-of-a-kind pieces”

at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Esther LaVonne and her Boston terrier Jovie
Location: Five blocks from downtown Austin and Town Lake. “I love that I can jog in the mornings and wander into concerts in the evenings,” she states.
Size: 1,300 square feet, 1 bedroom, 1 bath
Designer/Builder: Dean Van Landuyt

Kara Mosher

The living space has a very open design, with windows on all three walls lending views of downtown Austin. LaVonne’s aesthetic is brilliant and funky, very similar to her favourite designer, Los Angeles-based Kelly Wearstler, whose style is classic, edgy and hot all at one time.

LaVonne has always known she wanted to own a design firm. She states, “I literally called a lady that owned her own firm 12 times right when I graduated so that I could begin working for her and learning the ropes. Three decades after I was prepared to begin my own firm.”

Browse more modern living rooms

Kara Mosher

The contemporary black cone alloy ottomans from the corner are from outlet decor stores. The ottomans were originally green and blue and LaVonne gave them a coat of green paint to match her decor. Her color placement is crucial in creating the space.

If LaVonne can change anything about the home it is to bring a balcony. “The big windows from the living space are fantastic, but it could be so good to slide them open as a way to work outside once in awhile”

Kara Mosher

Kara Mosher

Since LaVonne occasionally works out of home, having a coordinated and comfortable workspace is vital. One of her main design problems when moving in was figuring out which corner of the room could be her office area. “I wanted to get a opinion when I worked and I also wanted customers to have the ability to socialize with me if they stopped by,” she states.

The black-and-white Marilyn Monroe art print was updated with a red terry fabric mat when LaVonne transferred into her new home. Formerly, the crimson was hot pink.

The black leather upholstery for the Louis XVII seat for her desk is one of LaVonne’s biggest splurges for her home. Her dream piece for the house: “Certainly a daring, thick silk black-and-white striped Madeline Winerib 8-by-10 area carpeting. Those are the kind of rugs you maintain forever and move on to your kids. They’re beautiful handmade masterpieces.”

Kara Mosher

Kara Mosher

The coffee table in the living room holds many interesting pieces, giving guests a glimpse to LaVonne’s taste. “My personal style is influenced by bright colors, graphic patterns, ferocious lines and anything one-of-a-kind or unique,” she states. The red coffee table is from LaVonne’s Electric Expression line and the “Live,” “Work, “Produce,” prints are also LaVonne originals.

On choosing her color palette she states, “I have always loved red but I especially love the tones of colours in fashion recently are extremely intense. This can be exemplified in the color-blocking styles you see on road attire. The red I selected is a bright cherry vintage red and works nicely with all of the graphic black bits I have.”

Kara Mosher

Kara Mosher

LaVonne shares her space with Boston terrier Jovie. Jovie is as warm and welcoming as the home. The open area and light wood floors are perfect for a dog his size.

The golden yellow velvet loveseat is a Craigslist treasure LaVonne located in San Antonio. Its bold primary color and diamond tufting design serves as a focal point and sets the tone for the space.

Kara Mosher

The dining room is clean and inviting. The seats were a Craigslist find.

If LaVonne were to have any four people over for dinner she would have: Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Hillary Clinton and Iyanla Vanzant. This creative and unique group reflects the basis of her property.

Lamp, dining tabe, storage containers: Ikea

Kara Mosher

The next floor of LaVonne’s residence includes her bedroom and bath, and feels like a studio area. The big leaning mirror beside the sink keeps a clean and modern feel.

Kara Mosher

Although LaVonne loves her home, the one space she would revamp is the bedroom, which now serves as both a sleeping and music space. “I need a hot headboard and enjoyable nightstands. I’m working on a separate music space,” she states. “I want my bedroom to sense more amorous than just a place to generate music.”

Bedding and pillow covers: Ikea

Kara Mosher

The black armchair alongside LaVonne’s colorful closet fits the leather upholstered seat utilized as her desk chair on the next floor.

Kara Mosher

LaVonne’s kitchen cabinetry matches the light-colored wood tones from the hardwood floors throughout the space. Lots of natural light streams through the area, with windows on all sides offering views of downtown Austin.

Kara Mosher

This is LaVonne’s modern exterior. Even though she’s settled into her home, she states, “I shall really should change some of the artwork and pillows soon as my design eye becomes accustomed to details very fast. I need new fun pieces around me to inspire and maintain my job living!”

More:
Modern Home, Full of Character

Eclectic and Colorful at Colorado

Modern Meets Conventional in Eclectic Loft

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Eclectic Homes

Twist on Tradition: Blue and White Porcelain

by Busucher October 31, 2018

There is a place for antique blue-and-white ceramic in virtually every room in any fashion home. Whether in a huge collection or a couple of well-placed pieces, this popular colour blend isn’t hard to incorporate, whether it’s dressed up or dressed down.

Whenever it’s commonly thought that using blue ribbon on white porcelain was a method that originated from China, the method really began in the Middle East from the 9th century. The Chinese were not far behind, however. Cobalt-blue pigment was excavated from Iran and exported to China as early as the 9th century also.

Antique pieces are particularly special, but the look of blue-and-white china is not difficult to come by these days. Mass-produced pieces could be inexpensive, easy-to-find alternatives for people who don’t have access to old pieces. Below are some terrific examples of how and where to use these pieces all over the house now.

Browse layouts using blue-and-white porcelain

Sroka Design, Inc..

Create a strong statement in the entryway. Try putting a grouping like this in a hallway or nook that is especially difficult to fill.

A pair of ginger jars like the one on the ideal side of this table is just one of my favorite things to give for a wedding. The sweet pea vines symbolize”eternally” and”many kids,” while the most important decoration is a shuang xi personality which is the emblem for”wedded bliss” It is a terrific way to think outside the registry.

Tracy Murdock Allied ASID

Dedicate to a collection. If you’re going to get it done, why don’t you commit? I love a statement wall like this where a beautiful collection could be displayed. When these pieces fit, I enjoy it equally as well once you can tell the curator stumbled upon each bit over time and each bit has a story.

Add symmetry to a room with a pair of blue-and-white urns. Filling ceramic with something fresh helps to make the look applicable to all seasons and all holidays. I’d place greenery or flowers from these to really make an impression.

Summerour Architects

Convert urns or lemon jars to lamps. Lamps are a good way to add a touch of blue and white that isn’t too overpowering. There is no reason to search the globe for a matching pair; if you stumble across pieces you love, it’s really easy to have them converted to lamps. I did it a couple of years ago with a pair of ginger jars, and they look fantastic.

Wm Ohs Inc..

Put your collection to work. It is hard to see in this picture, but this kitchen comprises a number of blue-and-white porcelain pieces as practical pieces. Why don’t you use ginger jars as canisters for an unexpected twist?

Yellow is a stunning colour to match with this palette; fill a blue-and-white fruit bowl with lemons and bananas.

Dine like George Washington. Blue-and-white porcelain was the location setting of choice at Mount Vernon. Colorful china gives the table an eye-catching pop involving foods.

These place settings match, however a blue-and-white collection that does not can be fantastic, too. Stories about where you found each piece make for a perfect conversation starter during a dinner.

Kathleen Burke Design

Replace that silver set with blue-and-white porcelain. Once it comes to blue and white, this dining area is flawlessly done. The ceramic provides a punch of colour in an area that is usually earmarked for a silver tea set.

Studio Marcelo Brito

Take your collection to the coast. A seaside home is among my favorite areas to utilize blue-and-white porcelain, as it ties in beautifully with a nautical colour palette.

To keep it from appearing too formal, I’d use the porcelain pieces on a mantel and fill them with wild sea oats, starfish or even seashells for a nice contrast.

Oscar de la Renta’s Dominican Republic home is filled with blue-and-white china. If it’s good enough for Oscar, it’s good enough for me!

Carla Aston | Interior Designer

Think of an unexpected twist. If you enjoy the idea of using blue-and-white ceramic but are not wild about its more traditional uses, a sink like this is a terrific way to think outside the box. It adds a fun new dimension, particularly in a small powder room. Even better, a sink like this is relatively affordable and easily available on the web.

More:
Demijohns Round the House

Directly from the Runway: The Blues to Use at Home

So Your Design Is: Conventional

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Fireplaces

Company Coming? 8 Fast Decorating Fixes

by Busucher October 28, 2018

Sometimes you don’t have much time to prepare for company — particularly around the holidays when a lot of different things are consuming your time. Your home could use some sprucing up, but fast! Here are simple suggestions to add personality, a fresh feel and function.

Dewson Construction Company

1. Check your bulbs. Lighting can make or break a room. 1 burned-out bulb can ruin the mood, whether it is a ‘large and in charge’ chandelier or a straightforward recessed light. If you know company is coming, do a fast walk-through of your home with pen and paper, turning on every light. Take note of any bulbs that you need and you will only have to create one trip for replacements.

LLC, Cristi Holcombe Interiors

2. Cut tags from throw pillows. A great deal of decorative throw pillows come with bothersome plastic tags. These tags can be frustrating to work with when you’re setting pillows on your couch: the pillows must be placed just so and then you have to tuck the tag under so it does not show. Whatever you do, don’t rip off those tags: you might tear the seam. Rather, use a pair of scissors and cut as near the seam as you can. I have a buddy hold the pillow and also stretch the tag, pulling it out as much as possible so that I can cut near the seam.

Pear Interiors

3. Keep an extra roll on hand. An inviting toilet definitely contains an extra roll of toilet paper. Shop it from site, or try setting it in a jar for a more casual feel.

More ways to stash the TP

4. Make port covers, switch plates and outlet covers vanish. Walls painted in a deep rich color could be beautiful, but any vents, outlets and light switches on that wall can really stick out. Help them mix by painting them. Simply unscrew the covers and then dust them off using a clean cloth. For switch and socket covers, spray using a bonding primer like XIM, then paint. For port covers, gently rub steel wool (therefore the paint can adhere) and paint.

Hint: Never paint the actual switch or socket. It could be dangerous and interfere with the role of the electrical mechanism.

Witt Construction

5. Reorganize your own bookshelves. Bookcases can become cluttered. Turn on your favorite music and devote one hour. Consider turning a few novels in their sides and using small accents throughout to bring in personality and keep the shelves from feeling crowded.

6. Produce a showstopping wall. Pull a wall together with all the lonely framed art and photographs you have around the house. The frames do not have to match. Hang them close together. Recently I added three additional framed photographs to two which were already hung to a wall. It filled the wall out nicely and I love it.

To work out how I am going to hang my art, I love to lay out the pieces on the ground in front of the wall, create my layout (use a tape measurer to make sure that the length and height work with all the wall), then snap a photo to use as my guide for hanging them.

Cristi Holcombe Interiors, LLC

7. Add ‘Wow’ to your dining set. To up the drama, add new thoughts chairs to your dining set. In case your other chairs are timber, attempt two upholstered chairs to give them significance.

When you have the time, consider reupholstering the chairs of your chairs. If you are a DIYer you might have the ability to unscrew the chairs and secure new cloth on the chairs using a staple gun. Or go to your regional upholsterer for the job. Recovering just the chairs is an economical method to refresh your chairs, since you don’t need a good deal of fabric.

Shirley Meisels

8. No window treatments; no problem! Produce a statement in minutes using plates, platters and bowls. Hang them on both sides of a door or window. You’ll have to buy plate holders out of a home improvement store. I had a customer who didn’t want window treatments in her dining area since her son had allergies, so we wrapped a plate holder on both sides of her window, also utilized brightly finished plates.

Tutorial: How to Hang a Plate Collection

More: 10 Holiday Home FixesGet Your Living Room Ready for a Party
How to Arrange Your Room for Entertaining
The Way to Make Your Kitchen Party-Ready

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Eclectic Homes

Guest Picks: Business is Coming!

by Busucher October 26, 2018

‘Tis the season when friends and family from out of town come to remain. The ideal host is prepared and offers a warm welcome from the doorstep all the way through the next morning. — Maggie from Maggie Stephens Interiors

Ballard Designs

Francesco 4-Poster Bed – $1,499

If you have the space, a four-poster bed creates the greatest sense of luxury. I really like this bed is flexible enough to accommodate any style using a quick change of bedding.

Crate&Barrel

Circles Rubber Doormat – $16.95

The weather may be turning for the worse, but your guests will not monitor in leaves or mud with this pretty mat at your doorstep. It is such a beautiful way to say “Welcome!”

West Elm

Offset Bench – $349

This is the best chair to welcome your guests when they arrive. Offer it as a place to sit, take off their muddy boots and set their bag down on the horizontal tabletop. The pillow comes in various colors, so you’ll be certain to coordinate it with the remainder of your entrance.

Wisteria

Carved Stool – $259

Instead of a normal luggage rack, how about this elegant little stool? When business leaves, it is still possible to use it as a side table, extra seating or just a pretty pop of blue.

Crate&Barrel

Miles Side Chair – $299

Even those who get stuck at the kiddie table will appreciate these clean-lined and comfy chairs. I’d use these for routine seating paired with two bigger host seats which have arms.

West Elm

Alphabet Candles – $10

These candles are a pretty way to show your guests where to sit, and the flickering candlelight will be lovely on the table. Additionally, they make adorable favors for if your visitors go home.

MoMA Store

Frank Lloyd Wright Blue Butterfly Tumbler – $8.95

When it’s time for after-dinner drinks, impress your guests with those Frank Lloyd Wright–motivated tumblers.

Jayson Home

Barrymore Cabinet – $2,250

This armoire is a super elegant spot to store linens, hold extra books or screen wedding china. You can’t go wrong with it!

Pottery Barn

Raleigh Upholstered Daybed with Trundle – $1,499

A daybed is an excellent option if your guest room doubles as a workplace. This one even has a trundle to sleep longer than 1 guest. Line the back with cushions for lounging.

Restoration Hardware

Italian Vintage-Washed 600-Thread-Count Sheets – $289

Splurge on nice sheets for your visitors — unless you’d rather keep their visit short! In that situation, maybe you can get a set for your own bed.

Pottery Barn

Vintage Ticking Stripe Duvet Cover & Sham, Blue – $39.50

Ticking stripes are a timeless pattern, and I understand my guests will be happy sleeping under this simple and pretty duvet. You can even mix it with florals for a feminine appearance.

Layla Grayce

Cosy Relax Chair – $862

Make sure your guest area has a spot that isn’t the bed where they can sit, lay out an outfit or put on shoes. I adore the tufting and nailhead trim with this beauty.

Layla Grayce

Elizabeth 2 Drawer Writing Desk – $1,300

It is wonderful to have a spot for visitors to sit and write, or to set their notebook (particularly if they will be in town for several days). This miniature desk has loads of charm and two drawers for stashing touch pencils and paper.

Crate&Barrel

Samar Oval Basket – $39.95

Fill a jar with all the necessities your visitors may have forgotten in the home: cotton balls, lotion, pain relievers, a bottle of water, etc.. Leave it into their own room and they will know they’re well looked after.

Jayson Home

Brass Tyrol Horn Bowl – $28

This is a smart little dish for your guests to place keys and loose change. I’d place it on the nightstand or dresser.

Pottery Barn

Barrel Mirror – $299

Do not make your visitors sneak out to the restroom simply to check their morning bedhead. This mirror will go with any style design.

Traditional Bath And Spa Accessories – $300

If money is no object, your visitors will swoon (like I did) over these horn bathtub accessories to get their makeup and jewelry.

Anthropologie

Rivulets Quilt – $288

It is always good to have an extra blanket stashed for chilly nights. I really like the blue color in this.

Anthropologie

Clothbound Penguin Classics – $20

Do not forget to bring some reading stuff! The covers of these are quite enough to use as decor if your guests aren’t big contributors.

One Sydney Road

Today is a Good Day Tea Towel – $20

If your guests are the kind to pitch in after breakfast (mine are), don’t hand them the old ratty dishtowel! Hand them this cheery one, or skip the chores and framework it rather.

Next: More ways to spruce up a guest bedroom

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