Overwhelmed! Should we get a complete plan first?
Robin Morris
10 years ago
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Robin Morris
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Overwhelmed planning first SFG beds!
Comments (3)I don't know much about SFG itself, but my impression of irrigation is that with sprinklers, even on a timer, you use a lot of water and hit everything, including weeds. So this could turn into more work for you as the weeds soak up all that water and grow. I have not heard that drip-lines are more maintenance than soaker hoses, more work to set up, yeah, but not so much maintaining after that. The big bonus for drip-lines and soaker hoses is that they put the water right at the plants roots where they need it. You also don't get run-off as you would with a sprinkler. Something you might want to look into, that I only found out about myself and I'm still learning, is wicking beds. Very basicly, you run your irrigation under the beds and water the plants from below. I have seen projects where they used covered rain gutters run under the beds and push towels or some other cloth through the spots where the plants will be. This pulls water from the gutters up into the soil at a slow, even rate and keeps the soil 'just right'. All you have to do is check the ends of the gutters to make sure they're full of water. The rest is automagic. Anyways, best of luck to you on your project. I hope someone more experienced with SFG can give a bit more insight....See MoreKitchen remodel planning... overwhelmed by first steps!
Comments (11)Back to the question about the "designers" at IKEA, HD, etc.: The folks who work at these places are a mixed bag and unlikely to be trained kitchen designers. There are exceptions, but generally expect to find people who learned what they know on the job at the store. Some kitchen and bath places have "real" designers. IKEA has free software you can download to help you design your space, but you have to know stuff like needing a landing space on both sides of your stove, and what to do with your two inside corners. (Maybe when you get rid of that wall you won't have 2 inside corners.) You could luck out - one of the members here works for a Big Box and is a "real" designer. Our guy at HD was great, but we were working with a plan that didn't have the big kinds of changes you're needing. Not to hurt your feelings or anything, but your current layout is less than wonderful. So, a couple of suggestions. Think about your time and your finances. If you have time, you can do a great design job using the resources on this board; people are so generous about helping you figure out how to use your space to it's best potential, it's fantastic. This is time consuming as you'll do a lot of measuring, re-measuring, drawing it out, thinking it through, but, in the end, it's very satisfying. If you don't have the time, then you probably need a real KD. There are several threads on how to find one. This will cost you money. Even if you end up hiring a KD, you can always come bounce ideas around here. There was a thread just the other day asking about peoples' 3 favorite parts of their remodeled kitchens. That was interesting. And don't forget to read the post that is always at the top of the first page of this blog. There is a link to the Sweeby test, among other things, and that's always a good place to start. P.S. You haven't started to soon on the planning. This will give you a good amount of time to get all your plans in order before summer. I've found that you just can't hurry the planning stages if you want a happy outcome. P.P.S. Painting those bricks to match the walls was a brilliant idea!...See MoreShould we remodel the kitchen first?
Comments (12)Especially if a kitchen remodel will make it likely that the kitchen itself becomes a reasonable entertainment locale-- It's isn't necessary to justify a remodel even if not so, but so many kitchen remodels improve flow, add casual seating or ability to have guests circulating and snacking in the kitchen( at least small groups), and make cooking and serving more appealing--more sanitary, even-- So I would agree with above posters about looking at how you would like to be living and do those parts first, aside from essential structural type stuff. Plus, with kids, if you've already have a nice family room, then the kids and you will get more out of a kitchen than a LR. Cooking projects, after-school snacks and homework, holiday baking--all that memory stuff. And powder room--come on. When you go to visit someone, you are just as likely to encounter the ancient wallpaper and fixtures as to find brand new powder room decor. (What is it about powder rooms anyway--they're the first thing to look dated, and I can't stand the decor a lot of "new" ones, anyway-- ). So no one you care about cares about that. Don't know if there are inexpensive cosmetic things you can do with the front portions, or if you just have to relax and say, Rome wasn't built in a day and let it go. Bit by bit, it sounds like you have a plan to end up with a marvelous home, but you can't let yourself get discouraged. Also, once you do nice updating in one area, it always makes the other areas look worse by comparison--no way around that, it makes you depressed to look at it and impatient to do it, but you just have to relax or you will forget to enjoy the rooms you've re-done....See MoreFollowup to overwhelmed post & feedback needed on 1st floor plan
Comments (5)Oh Robin, I just read your original post and your recent post. First I am sending a hug. You might need to send one right back to me as we just bought a fixer-upper ourselves out in Scotts Valley. As I read your original post I kept thinking, yep, that's us. Yep, that too. (Except your listing photos are gorgeous and ours, well, they are not.) I do think you make a great point that people need to think about how they will use a house. We will likely lose one bedroom with moving some walls around (not load bearing, thank goodness) and I have people telling me how horrible that is for resale but this is our forever home and we need to do what is right for us. I don't have much to offer in the way of ideas but will send a barrel of emotional support up the peninsula to you. Good luck!...See MoreRobin Morris
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
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10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobin Morris
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10 years agoRobin Morris
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10 years agoCarpenterSF
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
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10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoOaktown
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10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobin Morris
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoOaktown
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoOaktown
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoCarpenterSF
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agomillworkman
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobin Morris
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoCarpenterSF
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agorobo (z6a)
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoteresajrichardson
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobin Morris
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agohomebound
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoCarpenterSF
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoOaktown
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoOaktown
10 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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