Kitchen Layout - Blank Canvas with a door to the backyard
overthehighway
7 years ago
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overthehighway
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Blank Slate Backyard Needs Privacy - Photos
Comments (2)There is often a request to make suggestions for what to do with a blank slate or a blank canvas. We expect nothing from a blank canvas until it is framed, then it becomes a non picture or a potential picture. It is the desire to make something within the frame that is the real question. So as not to be too obscure, I wonder how we can frame a space so as to raise the expectation of ÂgardenÂ? Once we have achieved this focus we can move on to the details. The Âframe I think is "what is the garden for?" what do you want to do there and what do you want it to do for you? It is not enough to expect Âgarden to have a generic meaning that you stamp onto your Âblank canvas or arrives on its own unless you want the three white horses running through foamy water over the sofa look. There is probably nothing wrong with having a garden that has no personal meaning and is there just to fill the space I just think it should be a conscious choice. The implication of a blank slate is, "I can do whatever I want here" which is not strictly true if it is a garden we are talking about because those rules regarding soil, sun and zone will restrict your choices whether you are a princess or a panel beater. So it is a blank space with some preconditions and in need of maintenance, even more maintenance after you have installed your masterpiece. A long time ago when I worked in a restaurant kitchen the chef would stall the menu naming of the soup until after it was done, the name depending on how it turned out. The stock would vary and some bones would go in along with a bit of this and a bit of that, ÂBrown Windsor was a common soup of the day! I suggest naming a garden in advance to avoid such a muddy result. Lifted from my blog...See MoreWhere to start? Backyard a blank canvass
Comments (6)the sunset western garden book is indeed a very useful (but not infallible) source of information and well worth a look. some evergreen shrubs to consider include viburnum tinus and escallonia rubra (this plant makes an excellent trimmed hedge), the native medium to large shrubs vaccinium ovatum/huckleberry and gaultheria shallon/salal/"lemon leaf", large shrubs to small trees include the evergreen arbutus unedo (excellent plant), prunus lusitanica (great screen plant much easier to deal with as tree or shrub than the more common p. lauracerasus/"english laurel"), the many different forms of the deciduous japanese maple (acer palmatum) or the native vine maple/a. circinatum, the hybrid dogwood cornus "eddy's white wonder" or the asian cornus kousa are good companion plants as well. for a large tree the native garry oak (quercus garryana) and/or the incense cedar (calocedrus decurrens) or the western red cedar/thuja plicata. add all sorts of native and introduced rhododendrons and azaleas various camellias (medium to large evergreen shurbs) plus deciduous hydrangeas and the tropical looking but generally hardy large shrub fatsia japonica and you have a lot of plants to potentially play with. all of these and many more are discussed in the garden book (and of course on the internet)--- i would also add that the university of british columbia has an excellent botanic garden that could provide a wealth of ideas and information on what plants to plant and how and where to plant them. good luck looking things up.....See Morekitchen nook: I want to look out at my backyard. Help!
Comments (29)If you scroll further down in that linked thread, the details are there including pictures from the outside. . I am pasting the text from that thread , below, for a quick read. My box bay was built under a second floor overhang so no roof needed but a small roof would probably not add that much to the total cost. Another bonus of the box bay is that with the half screens, we can remove the banquette pillow and use the window seat for a staging area for food to be passed to the deck from the kitchen when we have a garden party. The half screens move up and allow access to the plates/trays, and then move down to protect the food and house from flies. It beats trying to walk out a closed patio door with both hands carrying a heavy tray. We also have used the box bay to temporarily stage the music speakers for parties. Of course nowadays that is moot due to bluetooth everywhere. I think you have lots of room to get by it on the exterior. You can put a bench of similar depth and width in that area on the outside of the house to gauge how it might affect your walkway. HTH ___________________________________________ form the original thread... It cost slightly less than $5000 all told (including moving electrical and adding foam insulation under the exterior Azek cladding, tempered windows since I have all boys :) ), measures 78 inches wide internally by 18 inches deep. Much cheaper than adding a 40k breakfast room or an 80k large kitchen expansion as I first planned. I have a custom cushion for it now and my teen boys enjoy lounging and napping there. The key is to seat it low enough to the ground to make it comfortable for sitting (16" height). I also specified the weight that it had to be able to carry (600 lb). The style is known as a "box bay" and the brand is Sunrise windows. I purchased their premade "projected frame" window through their authorized contractor and he worked with me on the other details. My good friend and former nanny came by to visit the other day and barely noticed the kitchen renovation, she was so taken with the sitting bay. Exterior of original windows New box bay replacing old windows. Somehow those bay walls bring in a lot more light into the space. We also really like watching all the small wildlife outside that we could not reall see before. In terms of the layout, it gave us enough "breathing space" and sitting area... The light, animal/ibird watching, and perceived airiness is a huge bonus....See MoreGutting my backyard-plans
Comments (24)"In terms of your suggestion regarding enlarging the deck, I’m afraid I completely disagree with that." I didn't mention that as the suggestion, but as an "either/or," depending on YOUR preferences. But I would add that IF you adapt the plants to your needs, then there is nothing to preclude their screening deck activities at whatever level you decide to use. It isn't as if you create one element (such as a deck) and then throw your hands up in the air about everything else, as though those things cannot be controlled. Everything you do in a clean-slate space is potentially under your control. But I can't see any reason why you'd create a new space that, from the get-go, doesn't solve all functional issues, including dining. (A deck that's only 8' in one dimension cannot adequately contain a typical outdoor dining set.) Limiting planning in that way is contrary to any philosophy on properly developing a property. Your drawing conveyed what you intended it convey .... how you thought of using the space. I was trying to get you to go further so you could get feedback about how others thought you might better use the space, making the thread more useful to you. My point in explaining the process of creating a base plan wasn't just because it's more useful in acquiring feedback, but so you could understand that it is more effective and 50 times easier and less complicated than what you drew....See Morelharpie
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