Eclectic Art Stairwells
I love love love ecelctic art stairwells. I’m not sure why but the idea of wandering up the stairs and seeing art picked up at flea-markets and craft shows here and there just makes me happy inside. I’m particularly a fan of anything architectural or scientific but I also love prints and paintings of pretty girls in pretty dresses doing pretty things like sitting in the park or playing on a piano. I have 2 full flights of stairway in this house to art-i-fy and I’m going to have fun with it!
The Kitchen is coming together!
We ordered cabinets for the kitchen this weekend! We went with Schuyler Cabinets from Lowes. We went with them for several reasons. The main being that we found a door-style we liked. Another added benifit of the Schuyler, is that the paint colors are standard Valspar colors. The colors in Kraftsmaid and some of the other brands are very hard to match because the whites are plasticized and not actually paint. The Schuyler uses Valspar gloss paint so getting touch up paint and paint for the molding which we are doing ourselves is easy.
The door style is a simple raised panel design: Princeton
We are going with slab drawerheads instead of the 5 piece. I want cup drawer pulls and I don’t like how larger pulls sit on the 5 piece drawerfronts.
The color is white icing:
We are doing a 30inch cabinet with a glass-door 18″ cabinet on top. Similar to this:
We went with this because I’m going for a more farm-house look and I’d like to keep my white appliances. I’m also thinking about painting the ceiling a slightly blue-gray which will really warm up the cabinets. Something like this but I’m still not sure:
The walls opposite the cabinets will be a sage-y green and the floors are dark. The countertops are ikea beech countertops:
and the floor is Bruce Cappacino Maple:
My pulls and faucets are oil rubbed bronze. The sink faucet is:
The Sink is a white cast iron Kohler enameled two basin sink. I really like asymmetrical sinks so I decided not to do the apron front farmhouse sink. This has a similar feel but is more practical for me. It allows you to keep the sink from being centered under the window which helps with cabinet design. I think with a farmhouse sink, being centered would be more important.
We are also doing a pot-filler cause I think they are cool and will be very useful for filling the coffee maker. Strange reason, I know. This is the one we are going with:
I can’t wait to show you pictures of the kitchen all done! I’m also planning on doing a budget breakdown post because I always like to read those. They are hard to write without sounding money-centric though. I’m a shopper and I spend a long time looking for exactly what I want and how to get it for the best price but I am still spending lots of money on this house remodel. I want to share those numbers because seeing other budgets is very helpful but I also don’t want to shock my friends and family with numbers. In general, it’s no-one’s business how much or how little we spend but at the same time, I want to help others going through this same process so I’m hoping to go with an open approach.
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Kitchen Design | diysarah
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Kitchen Design | DIY Sarah | Craft, Decor, Art, Garden, and Dessert
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Shed Designs
We are going to need a back shed soon, we want to get one from the sheds in albury wodonga. There is nowhere to put the snowblower or lawn mower besides hauling it up and down the basement steps. The shed is a late-summer, low priority project at this point as a tarp on the back deck protects the machinery at the moment.
Here is some inspiration! Let me know your thoughts
SOURCE: better Homes and Gardens
I love the landscaped “front yard” of the shed. The side windows and the large, wide door is very functional. Cute but not over the top.
SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens
This one is super cute with the picket fence. I do think a better path is important in our case. I also don’t think we can have a potting bench inside with room for all the equipment. Perhaps a “porch” on the shed could have a cute potting bench.
SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens
This one is nice and simple. Door, 2 windows, window boxes. I think we need more of a barn-style door to give plenty of room for the equipment.
SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens
This is a kit shed. Cute but again, I think we need more of a storage shed and less of a garden shed.
SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens
This is more like what I’m thinking. One window, barn door with ramp, simple landscaping. Love the shutters, from Nu-Style roller shutters. I also think it needs 2 more windows on the sides of the building to let it a bit more light. Our shed won’t be electrified so natural light is important. Also, love the weather-vane. Perfect spot for one! I love that this shed looks like it’s been there forever. The windows could easily be reclaimed from the main house and the barn door is just a sheet of plywood. I think a metal roof may really make this design stand out, but it would have to be done by the best roofing contractors in order to be perfect .
There isn’t room for a potting bench but the roof line could be extended to the left with a bench set underneath the overhang.
You can always reach an expert to help you out in the construction, decoration or renovation of your roof and if you are in Tennessee visit Franklin TN Roofing Pros.
SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens
This one is also good. A different layout with the main entrance being on the side of the building. I love the trellis and the window box. That could definitely be added to any shed design. I like the look of the good path. It makes the shed look like a destination and may make the flow of the backyard a bit better. I also like the double doors. That may be better for wrangling that giant snowblower out.
Lots of ideas. I just need to figure out what all needs to be stored in the shed and where it is going to be placed. Long term ideas though.
Sarah
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Think about what will go in the shed. You could have a covered lean-to thing on one side with a table underneath to use as potting shed. Keep soil, etc under table. Do you remember behind the garden shed here. Corrugated metal sloped roof off the back. It would get hot inside the shed to use it to pot up plants etc. Maybe have a small area on one side to house seedlings etc. snowblower, lawnmower, wheelbarrow?, hedge trimmers, rake, fertilizer, ant killer, left over bricks. Brain storm everything that might go in it. Kids yard toys.
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The biggest thing is the snowblower. It is about 2.5 ft by about 4 feet and the lawnmower. We don’t really have enough room on the side to have a shed or we’d do that. I wasn’t planning on having a potting bench inside. It will get way too hot for that for sure. I like the idea of a corrugated metal roof. They last forever and are cheap and low maintenance. They also have a good shed-look. I’ve been trying to draw it out so that I have enough room to get to everything without having to take the snowblower out every time I need something. That’s really the big thing. It’s tempting to just put shelving all around and have the snowblower in the middle of the shed so it’s easy to get out. Then again, Stefan and I can get the snowblower in and out of the basement it just isn’t practical to do that every time it snows but perhaps we can do that every spring/fall. For a potting bench, I was thinking something like this:
A drop-leaf table mounted on the outside of the shed. I can keep potting soil in trashcans set on castors and roll them out to where I need them.
Garden Plans – Balancing bedding, hardscape, and lawn
The weather has been beautiful here in Boston and it is making me garden-crazy. The new house has a sizable backyard ( 50’x54′) and I’m just not sure what to do with it. I know I have plenty of time to make it awesome and dont have to worry much as Haul Road Managment is taking care of the driveway along the house and in the neighbouring block. I hate mowing so I’m thinking cutting back on the amount of lawn and increasing the amount of entertainment space is the way to go. One thing is for sure, I’d like to extend the driveway into the back yard. We are going to have 3 cars and it will be nice to get the most-used ones closest to the kitchen entrance which is up across the deck and into the kitchen. The driveway extension will have parking for the minimal-use vehicles: the pickup in particular.
Even if you have a big garage door, thieves can break in within six minutes. How? By using a coat hanger to reach the emergency release handle. There are ways to prevent yourself from a break-in by using something so simple and cheap as a zip tie. Watch a tutorial to learn how to use that zip tie hook to keep intruders out of your garage. Consider installing one of these great automatic garage door openers for extra safety so you can keep your items safe.
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I’d love to get a fire pit type thing going but I don’t want to make anything permanent. I”m thinking either a wood-burning or a propane pit. The tank is generally on a hose and can be stashed in the bushes or under a bench.
A
side of the basic function of the so-called retaining walls itself there are different types of it. The different types of the wall itself is needed to deal with different conditions of the areas needed the wall. Furthermore the basic things that are differentiated by the different types are the strength of the wall and also the shape of the wall itself.
Gravity, cantilevered, anchored, bored pile, and sheet piling are among the types of this wall commonly used worldwide. They have different construction surely in which they promote different strength as well. Furthermore aside of using this wall type there are also different alternatives to replace the retaining wall Wilson that includes soil nailing, mechanical stabilization, gabion meshes, and also soil-strengthened which could work depending on the actual occasions and conditions of the soil itself.
The other features I’m looking for – outdoor kitchen area and vegetable garden. I’d also love some architectural elements to block the view of the house behind us. I don’t want to do big trees and block all the sun but some distracting arches would make the view much better.
Here is image number one. I think it’s my favorite plan but I have a couple just to mull over.
Along the top of the image, you can see a glimps of the driveway, the deck, and the kitchen. The driveway extension can be emptied to act as a patio, mulling area for guests or can be a large table, seating area and while it is not in use, these patio covers could be useful. The shed is in the back corner of the lot, blocking the view to the back of the neighbor’s garage. To add some interest a wide path curves around a tree back to the shed. I am going to have Tree surgeon north east come out and trim some of the trees. The path must be wide enough to accommodate the lawn mower and/or snow blower. To square out the grass-cutting, ground-cover and shaded bedding plants fill in around the path shown in the dark green.
From the deck stairs down into the back yard, there is a grill station to the left, before the driveway patio. I did a Exterior House Wash with a pressure washer to make it look cleaner. To the right is another patio, hidden from immediate sight by raised planter boxes shown in purple. This private nook houses the flower pit and benches. The fire pit can be replaced with a round table as needed. Another bank of raised planter boxes shown in purple filter the view of the neighbor’s yard, lending a bit of privacy. These planters are larger and could house trellises for vining plants or taller evergreens. Get wholesale planters here. They are made of high quality premium materials.
Between the kitchen and the fire pit is a bed shown in dark green with perrenials such as my current obsessions, sunflowers and Zinnas. I’d like to have something growing that I can see from my kitchen window. Behind the firepit nook is a garden encased in a white picket fence and partialy covered by rectractable awning. In my mind, it is a white picket fence but it may end up being a series of raised beds with brick pathways. The cottage look doesn’t fit in with the rest of what I’m going for here. I’m going for english garden with contemporary flair. Wood-tones, not white. Structure but with some open green-space.
The lawn is good-sized with plenty of room for a swing set when the time comes. There are already some huge rose-bushes in the backyard that I’d love to save. I’ve allocated the back fence of the garden to roses and berries. of course, when I have kids I may re-evaluate by I love roses and kids will learn fast that pretty flowers and yummy berries mean thorny stems and scratched hands.
Image number two was designed in an effort to prevent what may be an awkward path down the steps of the deck. There is a patio to the left and to the right but the path just ends into lawn.
In image number 2, the stairs from the deck lead strait to the firepit. Instead of 2 different patios, there is one large one. Also, this may infringe on the chef’s grill space and may require a bit more refining to make it passable. I like that the garden is more visible to the kitchen window but I do miss my cozy fire pit.
Image number 3 addresses some of these concerns but may be a little boxed in.
Here we still have the cozy nook and the shed is moved closer to the house making snowblowing easier. The problem is that there is no clear path to the lawn. We could split the vegetable garden in 2 with a path down the center put that seems forced. I think this plan would make the backyard feel cramped, like it ended at the end of the driveway extension. Nothing draws people back, into the lawn.
What do you think? Option 1 with the cozy nook and potentially awkward stair placement (borrowed from the blog of Los Angeles outdoor space designer), Option 2 with the forfeited nook, or Option 3 with everything conveniently close but potentially cramped floorplan?
Love to see what you think!
Sarah
Reference: http://www.garagerepairfl.com/garage-door-repair/.
sheila
3/23/2012 | 6:46 am Permalink
Great place for kids art too.
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