Showing all posts in Fireplaces

Thuja, also called arborvitae (Thuja spp.) Is a family of evergreen plants used frequently for hedges, accents and foundation plantings. The divisions are composed of sprays of flattened, scalelike leaves, accented by small, oblong cones. 1 well-known member of this group is oriental arborvitae (Thuja orientalis), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 11, depending on variety. Though generally trouble-free, thuja may sometimes be subject to branch browning. Brown branches don’t necessarily mean the tree is dead.

Health Assessment

Prior to taking any action, identify if the branch or branches are dead or not. If the branch is dead, then it will snap off on your hands when you bend it. A living branch is flexible. Once you have ascertained if the departments or division in question are living or dead, start looking for other clues. In case lots of the branches at various places on the plant snap off, the thuja is probably dying or dead. If the problem is only in 1 part of this plant and most of the divisions are flexible, it is possible the thuja can be stored.

Climate-Related Problems

Hot, dry summers can cause thuja divisions to “flag” or turn brownish. Spreading a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch around the roots and increasing watering until dry and hot conditions subside should help keep the rest of the branches green. Winter temperatures can be a problem too. If the winter is cold, leaf may turn bronze, brown or dark in reaction. Usually no action is necessary and the discolored leaf will turn green again as temperatures rise in spring.

Root Problems

Root problems may create parts of this thuja to turn brown. If the root ball’s shirt is well below the edge of the surrounding ground at planting time, then the thuja may fail because it is planted too deep. Similarly, if the young tree is root-bound at planting period, together with roots girdling the dirt ball, the tree will start to turn brown within its first year. Slice through circling roots and spread the roots out gently prior to planting to avoid this problem. Eliminate any burlap or twine from around the thuja’s root ball at planting or they may also prevent root development.

Thuja Treatments

A thuja that’s completely brown and dead should be eliminated and its root ball assessed for signs of problems. A soil test may help determine if soil variables were to blame. If death was caused by compacted dirt, a buildup of fertilizer, soil pH that is too low or root weevils, those conditions must be treated before you plant a replacement. If a herbicide was implemented nearby, and you think that may have murdered the thuja, wait until the following year to replant. If browned branches are caused by a treatable condition, prune them away, apply the right therapy and track the thuja closely for signs of recurrence. When pruning, use shears that have been wiped with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. This helps prevent the spread of infection.

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The real problems you face when repurposing furniture would be the dimensions of your toilet, your imagination with, the thing you need to work, and the thickness of your skills. Homeowners have repurposed items to be used elsewhere but recently they have turned to classic, vintage or even cast-off contemporary furniture as alternatives to the bathroom vanities from off the shelf. Units may often hold a couple of toilet sinks, while concealing the plumbing and supplying extra storage. You can spend money on two or this Luxurious sink when you examine an old piece of furniture for a few bucks at the flea market, yard sale or a thrift shop you wanted.

Dresser to Bathroom Vanity

An outdated dresser with antique glass knobs functions well in a toilet with a new sink. Basically are holes cut to accept the drain piping and plumbing of the sink, and a portion of the rear cut to align with all the plumbing that comes from the wall. Simply clean out the dresser and coating it with a polyurethane finish that is protective or abandon it as-is for a look in your bathroom’s decor.

Console Table

A table with a shelf at the bottom presents an bathroom vanity. Choose a metal P-trap because you will have the ability to see it to go beneath the sink; white or black PVC piping will not look fine. Cut a hole to drop in a sink using a lip that keeps it. You have to cut holes for the faucet and handles, like with a vanity. Store towels on the shelf beneath the sink and add a basket to home often-used toilet supplies. Refinish the table in your stain and complete, or abandon it as-is based on your design scheme.

Vintage Mirrored Dresser

A classic mirror dresser has new life breathed into it when it is used in the toilet as a vanity. Since the mirror is connected to the dresser, you do not have to hang out a mirror, and the dresser offers ample storage. Paint the dresser utilizing painting methods that are classic, make it as-is for a look, or paint it black and employ a transparent shiny finish to utilize in a home that is modern.

Transformational Buffet

When you have the table which goes with this inherited dining buffet or sideboard, turn it to some bathroom vanity that is repurposed. You may need to cut the legs a bit down if it is too tall for your master toilet, but adding two vessel sinks atop only requires access for plumbing. Cut the holes for the sink drains, faucets and handles, and open its rear to accommodate the plumbing up. The drawers in the centre provide needed toilet storage, while supplying under-the-sink storage and the two cupboards on either side hide the plumbing.

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Set a pretty table with silk flower napkin rings themed to the room, holiday or the color of your decor. Preserve your budget to get a wonderful linen tablecloth and matching napkins. Then wave your DIY wand above a couple of craft supplies and festive floral napkin rings seem as if by magic. Choose either of two procedures to make the place setting decor; both homemade napkin ring styles are easy and sturdy enough to soften often.

Stretch Napkin Ring

Cut one or two silk flowers in their stalks, very near the base of the flower, for each napkin ring. Push a threaded needle through the flower bases, singly or 2 at a time.

Select one wide, fabric-covered hair elastic for each napkin ring and position the silk flower on the elastic. Sew the flower securely to this elastic band.

Knot the thread, then cut it off and slip the floral ring over a rolled or gathered napkin.

Green Napkin Ring

Cut the stalk of one silk flower, leaving just enough of this wired stem to wrap around a plastic shower curtain ring.

Wrap the stem and the base of the flower in green florist’s tape. Continue winding the tape across the curtain ring, overlapping each new layer of tape to completely conceal the ring.

Cut the tape after the whole ring is covered in the blossom is fixed to the ring. Squeeze the end of the tape to the covered ring so it is indistinguishable. Slide the ring over a rolled napkin or the narrow end of a folded and fanned napkin.

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When most individuals visit a area covered at boldly colored flowers, they see beauty. Insects cruising over that area see and smell lunch. The stems and leaves may be the workhorses of the plant world because they make and store food, but it’s the flowers that set out the pest buffet and utilize a number of tricks to attract eager pollinators.

Flowers

Flowers are the marketing signs that draw insect pollinators into the sexual organs of plants. Although they can differ, all flowers have the same essential structures. The stamens are the male parts that carry pollen. The pistil is the female component. The pistil’s top is the stigma, a sticky pad where pollen is gathered, and the pistil’s bottom is the ovule, the location where seeds kind. All of these parts are surrounded by petals of various sizes and shapes.

Scent and Nectar

Moths and butterflies are among the insects attracted by a flower’s fragrance. Scent detectors, or organs known as the labial palpi, are about the insects’ minds. When an insect lands on a flower, it automatically goes for the nectar, which usually pools round the base of the petals. The nectar’s fragrance leads the pest in the ideal direction. Since the insect passes the stamens, a little bit of pollen brushes on the insect’s body. A number of that pollen may have moved into that flower’s posture, but most of it’s transported to the next flower the pest visits. Whichever way it happens, the flower is pollinated when pollen transfers to the stigma. The feces makes its way downward into the ovule, the flower petals wilt and drop off and the ovule produces seeds. Based on the plant species, the seeds could be within a fruit, a nut or without a covering.

Hue and Kind

Flowers’ colours and shapes attract different pollinators. For instance, butterflies prefer yellow and red flowers. Butterflies have a long, curly proboscis that unwinds, developing a flexible “straw” to suck nectar from tube-shaped blossoms, additionally they favor. One flowering plant that attracts butterflies is the trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), that can be hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 10 and slightly toxic to mammals, like people, when ingested and causes skin redness and some swelling on contact. Moths have a feeding tube comparable that of butterflies, but moths favor white- or alternative light-colored flowers since they feed at night and those colours are more visible than others then.

Ultraviolet Color Spectrum

Many insects can view colours at the ultraviolet light spectrum. A white flower is no more than a white flower to people. To a bee, that flower has lines that may act as “landing lights .” These lines are sometimes known as “bee purple” since they’re visible to mammals. Sometimes a flower’s stamens and pistils are barely discernible under normal mild to humans. To an insect, they may look like dark-blue threads to a light background.

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You can use dish detergent instead of insecticidal soap to treat aphids on roses (Rosa spp.) . For homemade aphid sprays, use liquid dish soap intended for hand washing dishes, not detergents formulated for grease removal, citrus-based or scented soaps, nor dishwasher or washing detergents, as these may damage rose bushes. Always analyze homemade spray on a small part of a rose bush and check for damage the next day prior to applying a soap you’ve not used before to a whole rose bush.

Aphids on Roses

All types of aphids like roses, including the main rose-attacking aphids, rose aphids. Aphids suck the sap out of their rose tissues and they excrete a sweet substance, called honeydew, that attracts ants and ants protect aphids from a few of their natural predators. The honeydew promotes dark mould on roses bushes. Although a healthy rose bush can withstand a reasonable number of aphids, they reproduce fast and extensive infestations can cause substantial damage. In warm climates, aphids may copy year-round. Roses grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, based on variety.

The Way Soap Sprays Work

Soap may kill aphids by removing the waxy protective layer that holds in the body moisture. While homemade sprays mean fewer unpleasant substances, you need to employ them carefully. The aphids need to be covered with the spray in order for it to workwith. Regular dish soap does not harm beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs. Ladybugs eat aphids and control their inhabitants. Commercial insecticidal soaps are safer for crops than dish soap because they’ve been designed not to remove the plant’s waxy cuticle the manner dish soaps may, notes horticulturist Jeff Gillman in his book “The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why .” Rose bushes have a waxy surface that protects them from dehydration. If the rose leaves look dull after they’re rinsed and dried, then the soap may lead to dehydration.

The fundamental Recipe

The typical concentration of soap is about 2 percent, that will be 5 tablespoons of soap in 1 gallon of water. For best results, plan to use your soap spray on the roses early in the morning or in the evening. This reduces dehydrating qualities of this solution and enables it the time to perform on the aphids. This exact same soap spray helps control additional soft-bodied garden insects, such as spider mites, psyllids and mealybugs.

Going in to the Attack

Put on a heavy, long-sleeved shirt and leather gloves to protect yourself from thorns. If you’re going to be spraying rose bushes that are taller than you are, put on a hat utilize a step stool. If your spray bottle contains a flexible spray, set it for a broad spray, not a narrow stream. Although a narrow spray may knock a few aphids from the plant, for the soap to perform on them you need to wet them with it. On roses, aphids often congregate on the undersides of leaves, so concentrate on those areas. Spray the aphids from inside 12 inches, starting from the bottom point in which you see aphids and working your way up the rose bush. Use the soap spray each five to seven days until the aphids are gone.

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Spray works effectively to eliminate odors and kill some bacteria that are common. However, Lysol spray, even though a disinfectant, doesn’t thoroughly sanitize a carpet. Use it as a touch or spot treatment in contrast to the cleaner that is primary, and always assess the rug’s care tag to determine the best cleaning system. Prevent using spray heirloom or Oriental rugs; the dyes and fibers do not stand up to harsh chemicals.

Classic Lysol Disinfectant Spray

Offered in a broad range of scents, surfaces that are soft and hard refreshes , which makes it appropriate for use on carpets. But it just disinfects surfaces, including counters, bathroom fixtures and flooring that is hard. In these programs, Lysol spray kills a variety of germs and viruses , including influenza and Escherichia coli as well as mold and mildew. The exact same cannot be said when used on carpets and other surfaces. In the beginning, it kills some germs and eliminates odors.

Lysol Neutra Air Fabric Mist

For killing bacteria and freshening rugs, Lysol Neutra Air fabric mist leaves behind a odor and applies easily. Unlike disinfectant spray, this item simply kills two forms of bacteria: staphylococcus and enterobacter aerogenes. Although it only gets rid of a bacteria, it cleanses rugs to get rid of smoke and pet odors.

Usage Tips

The two Lysol Neutra Air and Lysol Disinfectant require precleaning to reach the best outcomes. Diluted detergent along with vacuum rugs to eliminate loose dirt and debris then shampoo the carpet; brush or a carpet shampooer work efficiently on a variety of materials. Once the carpet is dry, freshen it by lightly spritzing with either product until damp. To disinfect injury or a spill, apply Neutra Air into an area of the carpet no bigger than 2-by-2 inches. Spray product that is enough so the spot remains wet to the touch for five minutes let it air dry. Drying times vary based on airflow and humidity levels in the room, but open window or a fan speeds the process up.

Alternative Methods

To get a deep clean that kills bacteria and viruses, elect for steam cleaning. With hot water that is enough, steam cleaning kills germs and norovirus more effectively than spray by itself. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly and place the steam cleaner into the temperature potential. After five minutes, a steam cleaner kills germs In 170 degrees Fahrenheit . If desired to freshen the carpeting, follow this with a light spritz of Lysol spray. Permit the carpet before it walks over to dry or place furniture on top; if the fibers remain damp for a long time, you risk the growth of mold and mold.

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The huge doors of the excellent cathedrals in Europe were deliberately made as humbling structures. That is because door size and therapy in design are strategies to shift scale with very little effort. By contrast, residential building has historically employed essentially one size door: 3 ft wide and 7 feet tall, drawn in the rough proportions of its own inhabitants.

With average ceiling peaks in the 8 to 9-foot selection, these doors behave as apertures in wall airplanes — framed openings, touching neither the ceiling or adjoining walls. Although this size of door functions nicely, enabling us to bring in our groceries, keep cool and warm atmosphere inside or out, and have both openness and privacy — doorways could be so much more.

Dick Clark + Associates

Subtly shifting our thinking about doorways as just apertures or openings to thinking about them as wall elements that pivot or slide can create myriad layout possibilities. These possibilities can transform the proportions of spaces and much more seamlessly integrate the humble door into the design of a room.

Onyx fills a thick steel frame that spans the whole entryway here, challenging the notion of what a door could be. Pivoting hardware sets the door in the floor and ceiling, which suggests passing through a secret wall. An individual can imagine that when closed, the door acts as an elegant, luminous art item.

Andrew Snow Photography

The door here reaches touch the ceiling. It’s clearly bigger than it must be functionally, and thus is playing with a different set of principles.

Notice it matches exactly the ratio of the glazed opening. I particularly like the strong mass of the island contrasts the glazed opening, while the open walkway contributes to the solid door. These reversals and contrasts are complex and engaging experiences enhanced by the fearless door choice.

Andrew Snow Photography

Large sliding doors span floor to ceiling and move entirely clear of the opening to make a smooth connection between indoors and out. The color and frame size of the doors fit the window system above. It’s difficult to differentiate what’s wall, what’s door and what’s window, as each is treated as part of a compositional whole.

By raising the height of the door to match the ceiling height, the architect has hidden the sliding an eye on the door elegantly within the ground thickness above, effectively trapping the boundary between inside and out. Many types of spaces can benefit from thinking about the elements of buildings as part of a bigger system. Doors specifically tailored to room measurements are strong statements of intent in layout.

John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA

By contrasting the frame of the door with the entrance hall it presides over, the architect has represented this as a significant threshold linking inside and out. The scale denotes “front entrance” and, even more important, sets up the experience of the space beyond. (The job is suitably called Sunset Overlook.)

The entrance door becomes a frame for those perspectives that unfold upon entrance. In a house full of layered axial perspectives and transitions, front door sets the stage with this particular adventure.

Andrew Snow Photography

Relatable size and substance tie these elements together. The designer has handled this passage door similar to the cabinetry as a fine furniture piece. Whether open or closed, this door feels like part of the overall composition of the shelving unit.

Integrating passage doors into walls of cabinetry establishes a frequent terminology between elements. This can be an advantage in areas where lots of disparate elements are tightly positioned.

Moroso Construction

This door becomes a different planar component in the room’s makeup. Notice how everything in this space supports this remedy: The cabinetry crosses wall, floating above the ground; the mirror fills the alcove; the plane of the floor is a contrasting material. Each component is treated as a plane which extends into an adjacent plane. These gestures, while easy, all work to fortify one another.

The floor-to-ceiling pocket doors effortlessly alter the essence of a room. When they’re open, space and light flow freely between chambers. When they’re closed, the large pane of etched glass offers privacy when staying luminous.

AT6 Architecture : Design Build

Straightforward cabinet doors conceal clutter and storage. However, because they’ve been extended from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, and have no trim, they shape clean planes that fit together with the aesthetic of the room. When closed the doors turned into a warm, wood accent wall. Small spaces, where each surface carries more weight, can benefit enormously from this therapy.

Michael Abraham Architecture

Here’s another example of a sliding door working as a wall. The architect created a conscious decision to hide the sliding path in the ceiling to permit the proportions of the room and the adjoining stone wall to dictate the panel size, rather than the opening its meant to hide.

So the wall panel has come to be another tonal component in the architectural substance palette, together with the wood floor and stone wall. It’s left here in wood, but a sliding door like this could be almost any substance — cast glass, perforated metal, etched stone — and be either a sliding art item and a door.

Architecture Workshop PC

A transformer loft illustrates the degree to which a space could be manipulated and altered by the use of doorways as sliding walls which separate room. The door trail, hardly visible in the ceiling, enables this large room-dividing door to make a personal sleeping area inside the larger living quantity.

Architecture Workshop PC

The living room side of the same panel is painted to match the adjoining white walls, whereas the bedroom side receives the warmer wood tone to match the bed alcove.

Charlie Barnett Associates

The arrangement here ordered the scale of the pivoting door. A door sized to the ratio of a individual would’ve meant more branches in the wall and also much more separation between inside and out in this layout, which is based rather on breaking down those barriers. Care has been taken to match the size of the stone threshold into the size and reach of the pivoting door, giving the open board a natural stage of repose.

Glen Irani Architects

The sliding entry door panel here matches the ratio of the outside wall openings, reinforcing the translucent, light-filled toilet. When closed it finishes an all-glass wall which divides the bath in the room, while windows separate it from the outside.

Robert Nebolon Architects

Commercial and industrial door systems are great devices for altering perception of scale. Inside this shower wall, small mullion divisions stack to make this space seem taller than it is. Bringing an exterior door and window system inside has produced an interesting people counterpoint to a very personal space. The door this is one part in a bigger ordering system, and also the system itself brings a refined industrial flair into the space.

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They may be found across the country. You might have seen them in older neighborhoods close to the city centre, or you might have seen them in semirural areas on large plots of land. They maintain a distinct identity. You may be fortunate enough to have grown up in a single or own one now.

These will be the Tudors. Not the popular television show set in the 16th century, but those wonderful American houses inspired by late-medieval English architecture that exude as much personality and produce an unforgettable feeling.

These American antiques of the first Tudor homes started appearing in the U.S. from the late 1880s and peaked in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Many have been lovingly cared for or revived, and also the detail contained in them may be marvelously implemented. Key features include steep gable roofs, tall and narrow casement or double-hung multipane windows, leaded or stained glass, fictitious thatched roofs, parapet gables, notable brick chimneys and elaborately patterned brick veneer. The design faithfully reproduces, and even tracts occasionally mimic it.

Steven Corley Randel, Architect

Though the style attracts less focus now, its freely formed masses and mixtures of materials enchant; American Tudor homes are warm, inviting and charming. Infinite versions of those forms and materials allow an unusually intricate mixture of components under a single fashion umbrella, as you’ll see in this particular tour of examples from across the U.S.

Los Angeles. This superbly scaled and comfy Los Angeles area house exhibits several key attributes common to American Tudors. The redbrick lower flooring combines with a visually milder second level half coated in fictitious timber; stucco fills the voids.

Notice that the complexity of the roofline. Steep gables unite in varying eave heights with a shed roof shape within the centered entrance. A shed roof dormer contrasts using the lower-level window set on the left. More attention occurs in the small overhang above the entry and also the use of herringbone brickwork across the two stained glass windows.

Peabody Architects

Washington, D.C. Several distinctive Tudor characteristics combine in this new D.C.-area home. Though it’s branded English cabin, the impressive stone and brick chimney illustrates a touch of several ancient grand Tudor examples.

Notice the way the stucco can help to highlight the richness and complexity of the chimney and beautiful slate roof. A curved gable extending to make an entry porch and a notable forward-facing gable that is a story and a half indicate that the recognizable Tudor form.

REFINED LLC

Minneapolis. This handsome Minneapolis house feels balanced and snug on its narrow lot. False half timber wraps the house, while the stone-detailed entry provides an intimate welcome. Notice the small overhang of the second floor and the oriel window to the right. These well-executed details validate its style. A hip roof, another variation on the theme, covers the primary body of the house.

CARNEMARK design + build

Washington, D.C. Variations of Tudor details differentiate this comfy D.C.-area example. Lacking the typical forward-facing gable, the stylish roof helps to highlight the splendid brick patterns put in half timber on the primary second-level elevation.

Notice also that it slightly overhangs the lower level, detailed with wood mounts. A neutral paint color and grey slate roof unify the variants in window shapes and dimensions and dormer configurations.

Cramer Kreski Designs

Omaha, Nebraska. The low-descending gable roof shape on this Omaha residence is another uncommon and one of a kind feature of the design. This play in roofline conveys familiarity in an otherwise overwhelming and tall form. Many Tudors were created like this, with a second level tucked beneath the primary side.

Steven Corley Randel, Architect

Los Angeles. This Los Angeles area house has a faux thatch roof variation; it’s found in just a couple of American Tudor examples. Appearing complicated, the shingles are just rolled around to the fascia boards in the eaves, leading to a softened profile.

This exquisitely detailed house includes many of the previously mentioned characteristics, and is distinguished further by aluminum finish details in the chimney and bay window. These kinds of houses are sometimes referred to as storybook, for their resemblance to examples found in early-20th-century kids’s books. Notice that the clipped gable at the highest ridge ends.

JB Architecture Group, Inc..

Chicago. With a different thatched roof interpretation, this Chicago house rambles and is layered upon itself in an asymmetrical and whimsical fashion. Charming characteristics combine to present a intricate elevation in a mixture of half timber, stucco, brick and stone. The gable and hip roof kinds are accented with curved and shed dormers, and smaller retractable entry roofs.

Steven Corley Randel, Architect

Long Beach, California. Notice the absence of half timber details. Elegant layering of stone, brick, stucco and clapboard siding specify specific portions of the facade. Even the brick of the chimney contrasts with the brick of this lower degree. Substantial and significant cases of the late 1800s were often masonry structures. Advances in building techniques allowed the building of brick veneer over a wood frame that is so typical of several 20th-century houses.

Fusch Architects, Inc..

Dallas. This significant late-20th-century Dallas example alludes more specifically into the English Elizabethan and Jacobean periods that established English Tudor architecture. Several notable forward-facing parapet gables (the roof finish abuts the higher-reaching gable wall) extend out of the bigger side gable sort of the house. Renaissance-inspired details accentuate the doors and windows across the entire front elevation. Stone veneer covers the walls from base to peak, contrasting with comprehensive redbrick chimneys. Also observe the oriel window above the entry and the division of windows by the cast stone, which are characteristics of higher-style examples past and present.

Dennis Mayer – Photographer

San Francisco Bay Area. Dominant half timbering defines this Northern California house. The nearly symmetrical front is odd, although closer inspection reveals that the symmetry lies in the middle section. Inset gable dormers align with lower doors and windows and supply personality. Notice the overhanging second levels, which provide cover to your bay windows on the 2 sides. Leaded glass details provide even more personality.

Rice Residential Design

Houston. This newer Texas house clearly draws inspiration from first American Tudor style. A mixture of stone, brick and brick designs exuberantly adorns the front of this house. Notice the absence of half timber or other wooden details, which generally lighten the general appearance.

Tudor remains an indelible American design, although its current popularity primarily resides with people wishing to restore early cases, or people with the capacity to custom build within an high-style fashion. Its appeal lies in the flexibility innate to the design and the romantic scale it accomplishes. Whether or not a modest cabin or a billionaire’s mansion, the distinguished American Tudor makes a strong impression.

More photos: Browse more photos of Tudor-style homes

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When Gay Silvestri and Ted Kadet bought their 1960s house on Seattle’s Lake Washington, it cried pink from top to bottom. Pink tiles conducted underfoot, and the previous homeowners had painted the ceiling beams pink to match. Gay asked her longtime friend James Spicuzza, a salvage artist and thought consultant, to assist with remodeling.

The first thing Spicuzza did was rip out the pink flooring and replace it with remnants of utility-grade maple floors. He then sanded the first beams and painted them a contemporary charcoal gray. The few enjoys an open-plan great room, refurbished structural elements and an updated color palette, all while shooting in a stunning view of the lake.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Gay Silvestri, her husband Ted Kadet, along with boy Colin Silvestri
Location: Seattle
Size: 2,800 square feet
That is interesting: The wall panels in the upper toilet are surplus fluted, titanium-impregnated elevator panels.

Louise Lakier

The open program welcomes beautiful views of Lake Washington. A yellow chandelier found at a garage sale brightens the stairway. The milk glass world over the exterior deck is out of REStore.

Louise Lakier: Where’s your favorite spot or room in the house?

Gay Silvestri: My favourite spot is the entrance walkway with the waterfall and koi. Favourite room? The upstairs-downstairs wall of windows into the water. The opinion is always different and a surprise to see and revel in through all kinds of seasons and weather — even the superb humid or gloomy days.

Ted Kadet: My absolute favourite spot is the great room overlooking the windows in Lake Washington.

Louise Lakier

The remodeling team eliminated an entrance cupboard blocking the opinion, reconfigured the staircase and altered front doorway to align with the entrance walkway. Spicuzza installed and designed the light utilizing copper pipe so that it disappears against the timber ceiling out of Pacific Iron & Metal.

LL: What is your next home project?

GS: No fresh ones, thank you … only to complete the present ones. Both decks, for certain, are first.

TK: Yes, another home project is to complete the new deck rail on the upper deck.

Louise Lakier

A drop ceiling has been eliminated in the hall that contributes to a bedroom beyond, showing beautiful wood beams and ceilings. Superior Custom Cabinets constructed the cabinetry, along with the corrugated glass on the island pub is out of Earthwise. The classic bar stools are garage sale finds.

Louise Lakier

The narrow space between the staircase and outside window glass introduced a furnishing challenge, however an elongated oval dining table and chairs proved to be the best answer. Spicuzza constructed the standing lamp from the background out of three salvaged table lamps from Goodwill. A closed clothing stand from Nordstrom, also found at Goodwill, got a second life as a TV stand.

Louise Lakier

The hanging wall shelf and image display on the rear wall are created from repurposed Ikea bed stretchers. The downstairs walls were sandblasted to reveal original concrete; the present brick fireplace has been sandblasted as well. The sandstone mantel and fireplace screen came from Secondly Utilization.

Louise Lakier

Salvaged glass walls from Second Utilization form horizontal wall panels in the guest toilet. The shower tile is also from Secondly Utilization.

Louise Lakier

Surplus titanium-impregnated elevator panels out of Forms & Surfaces cover the walls of Colin’s toilet. A aluminum and glass commercial entrance door doubles as a shower partition. The quartzite stone flooring, fluorescent tube mirror light, toilet paper holder, salvaged spray head and robe hook are from Secondly Utilization.

Louise Lakier

Pacific Iron and Metal provided the 8-inch galvanized duct to the double bath exhaust fan on the upper floor. Spicuzza made the custom made grill.

Louise Lakier

Colin is an avid climber. Rope knots on surface of the stair wall and include a colorful sculptural element.

Louise Lakier

Spicuzza also creates art from found objects, along with his sculptures appear throughout Gay and Ted’s home. This “Cat 5 Slideshow” is produced from a slide, an espresso machine grate along with a low-voltage LED light mounted on a wooden base.

Parts and bits: 3R and Goodwill

Louise Lakier

Spicuzza created this “Walking Slide Show” from items found in Goodwill: alloy slide trays, wood sneakers, a curling iron tray and a Plexiglas disk.

LL: Which one of those discovered art bits is your favorite?

GS: The first art piece [Spicuzza] hung above our fireplace the day we began the remodel. He bought it at Goodwill for $1! He introduced it to us our home would feel like a house, even though all was being hammered. The day before we moved in, 1 year after, we carefully cleaned it off and rehung it by ceremonial acclaim along with a little bit of vino as well. It remains very unique.

TK: The piece made from slide projector trays and shoehorns. It’s just whimsical.

Louise Lakier

Spicuzza constructed this vinyl rocket ship out of elements found at Secondly Utilization and Goodwill. It’s made from a vinyl record turntable, a dim sum steamer tray, marbles, two recycled glass pendant shades, a copper plant holder along with recycled bearings.

Louise Lakier

Humpty Dumpty, a garage sale find, sits on a wall in the entrance to the main hallway.

Louise Lakier

At the end of a cantilevered counter stands a leg support. Gay wanted a leg so James discovered this for her in a garage sale.

Louise Lakier

“Pick Up Sticks,” a relief sculpture, is made from salvaged materials, including detachable wood window dividers, a hollow-core doorway, gray landscape cloth and 1970s chandelier glass.

LL: Do you have a favourite designer or artist?

TK: My favourite artist is local sculptor Gerard Tsutakawa.

Louise Lakier

A landscape and pool architect put in this enchanting courtyard. The fluted glass sidelight by front door came out of REstore, and the transom glass is first.

Louise Lakier

Upon walking up to the inviting front entrance gate, guests are greeted with the sound of trickling, bubbling water and amazing filtered light on the way to the front doorway.

LL: What is the first thing you’d grab if your house was on fire?

TK: Assuming all people, for example cat Bocelli, are outside, I would catch the Bill Cumming football picture along with my wallet.

GS: After taking a head check to include our cat, I’d grab my purse, telephone and address book, so as to not lose touch with buddies.

Louise Lakier

James replicated the first column detailing when refurbishing the eave rafter tails across the sides of the home.

LL: What do you love most about your city or your neighborhood?

GS: I love that we live in a “secret pocket” of Seattle with great views.

TK: The area: the diversity of people and that it is near the airport.

Louise Lakier

Gay and James like a moment in their courtyard garden.

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Summer is in full swing, and outside parties are in their peak. Every night as I descend upon my outside patio, I thank my lucky stars for string lights which whimsically resemble… well, blessed stars. The easy, cost-effective and nonpermanent outdoor lighting method has transformed my garden also can transform yours too! Whether strung in trees, on the exterior of your home, from sticks or on an arbor, they make an ordinary garden look magical. Offered in a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations, they are a fantastic means to scatter a small light onto your outside evening party.

Vivid Design Group

Hung in a grid layout, outdoor string lighting can create the illusion of a courtyard.

Easton Michael Smith

A screened-in porch is an excellent setting for string lights with a paper color, because you don’t have to worry about them getting wet. The Paper Lantern Store offers allure identical to the black shades shown here.

Third Nature Studio

Rows of clear globe string lights are secured onto a modern backyard arbor in Templeton, California, ready to light up a Wine Country night.

kbcdevelopments

Hung directly above an outside dining table, twinkle lighting can light an evening supper.

Chelsea Construction Corporation

These are reminiscent of Ballard Designs’ Cafe String Lights, with every bulb’s light reflected off a petal-shape galvanized colour.

Studio H Landscape Architecture

If your garden is anything like mine (lacking trees), then it is possible to still bedazzle your patio area with rope lighting by installing sticks to attach the strings to. You can even create temporary sticks by installing them in weighted buckets.

Richard Hughes Design, Architect

Take advantage of trees on your house to attach the light strings to. Designer Richard Hughes intelligently utilized both the property’s exterior and a large tree in the yard.

Risinger Homes

The team in Risinger Homes combined outdoor string lights with a color sail to create dramatic overhead patio specifics in Austin, Texas.

Heather ODonovan Interior Design

When paired with modern materials, string lighting takes on a newfangled border. Trina Turk’s Super Paradise Print in Driftwood combines superbly with world string lights.

Natalie Younger Interior Design, Allied ASID

Outdoor string lighting makes sense on Maui, Hawaii, where the weather is hot throughout the year.

Mell Lawrence Architects

Strung above a pool, lights deliver double the twinkle throughout reflection.

HighCraft Builders

String lights are attached right to the arbor’s rafters, though a built-in fire pit offers additional night lighting.

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