Considerations for kitchen makeover
80sgirlatheart
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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flopsycat1
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Design considerations/your favourite combinations
Comments (5)For the Hummingbirds, butterflies, any of the Agastache are big draws. I have them in a feathery red, on the dry gravel bed. Small, 12" Hot Poker I think is the name. I also bought blues on recommendations from folk on Perennials. Then I found some dark pink ones as annuals, at the nursery this spring. They came blooming, were in flower all summer till snow fell. Got about 24-30 inches tall. Wonderful flowering all season, huge draw for the Hummers and all kinds bugs. A butterfly bush will help draw Hummers and butterflies, though the bush may get large. My mother has one beside her deck, has the hummers visiting all summer. Does need some spring trmming each year. They come in purple, light and dark, white, pink, yellow, to blend with any color scheme. Silver leaves set off darker green plants well. I am not the best at combinations, just pick colors I like best, toss them all out together. I don't get much time from my Rudibeckias or Heleniums, would not make them a focal point in my garden. Daisies, do give me nice bloom times, especially if you get different varieties. My singles bloom, then the double raggedy ones take over. You might consider sticking Lily bulbs in, they can come in all colors, bloom over most of the summer. I have the Asian, Trumpet and Orientals, which each bloom at different times. Gives you a great show, wonderful smells wafting around even for older folks noses! Something my mother enjoys, gets compliments on are her Tree Peonies. She has just a couple, but they bloom extravagently! They get about 3ft tall, and are covered with blooms in early spring. It took a couple years to get going, having more than 1-2 flowers, but it is happy now! Tree Poeonies flower with plate sized blooms, come in colors that regular Peonies don't have, like yellow,purple and striped. My mom has yellow, semi-doubles, gets about 30 on her bush. People even stop on the road to ask about it! She lives in town, so bush is very visible. They are a really tough plant once established, take cold and heat, nice green color the rest of summer. Plain bare sticks in winter. You might check out the newer small Daylilies, quite a variety of colors and shapes now available. Stella can be nice, but so are many of the bright reds, new yellows, which rebloom even better. I won't even go into bearded Iris, so many colors! All are fabulous choices. I love my tiny Siberian Iris, only bloom a few days, but wonderful, among the earliest bloomers. Also the dwarf Iris are among my favorites, have several colors, just so cute. Try to layer things a bit, so new, later blooming plants mask the first bloomers dying away. I like the smaller bushes to add structure, so plant growth and bloom come and go around them. My bushes mostly bloom very early or later towards fall. A pretty trellis or item of interest, fountain, are nice to build around. Bird sprayers are getting popular, keep the bird bath filled with clean water to drink or wash in. Birds need reliable water, not always puddles around. Stepping stones from pieces of slate, have been very helpful to me for places to walk between the plants for trimming or weeding. Can help give you edging for plant groups in a bed. Keeps me from crushing the dirt down firm, solid place for my feet, saves time going around the beds to come back to the other side, trimming is done in a timely manner....See MoreIn honor of ncamy's $308 makeover - what about my kitchen?
Comments (23)I had a box that was even larger and deeper -- housed 4 fluorescent fixtures. When we took it down, there was minimal patching needed on the ceiling for nail holes, but we did need to texture and paint. That is not beyond the average person's skill level -- just needs some instruction, and if you need practice, the texture comes off easily before painting. That said, if you really are going to remodel in a year or two, you'd be amazed how quickly that time can fly and how little you will care about updating now if you put the time and energy into researching, planning and thinking about how the kitchen works and should work for you. We went 4 years and got pushed by dying appliances, but we made much better decisions by taking out time. If you hope for a year or two but think it might be longer and you really aren't comfortable with the kitchen or having people over as it is, would be miserable, etc., then I think a little updating might be a good idea. It might also be a good way to learn some new skills and test what you can do DIY or test some ideas for what you think you would like in the new kitchen. You have new appliances -- you might find a little updating will take you a lot further than you thought....See MoreInstall considerations: Replacing KA dishwasher with Miele in FL
Comments (2)What you (and fauguy) say in point 3) may be true for newer Miele dishwashers, but mine specifically says to not use the side mounting screws at all if the opening is wider than the recommended 23-5/8", because of leakage concerns (from bending/separating?). Maybe the new models are stiffer there, but I think I would add shims at least where the screws go, to bring the width down to 23-5/8"...See MoreAnother stab at layout...and beginnings of BS consideration
Comments (14)Good morning! Thanks numbersjunkie, for taking the time to give feedback. The bump out is kinda interesting...who would have thought? mpagmom - Sounds like you think I might be on a good track here? I love your counter to ceiling cabinet. My only concern is that our peninsula is likely going to end up some odd depth and I'm not sure how to do it to the counter so it fills up that space completely and looks good from both sides? Hm... I wonder if I could do a floor to ceiling? I just doesn't seem it would have the same effect as the wall bumpout, somehow... I might have to at least play around with that. And, about the garbage under the sink... I've been pondering it. But I do a ton of prep work at my sink - not to mention rinsing out recyclables. The thought of having to pull away from the only sink so someone can use the garbage isn't thrilling me. I haven't had space for garbage in my current sink. If you had asked me the ONE thing I would love in a new kitchen, I would have said 'room for garbage'. Oh, the irony! Have I missed your unveiling? It sure looks like that is a lived in kitchen! It's looking great! Palimpsest - The details on each side of the sink are just 3 inch fillers from the virtual design program I am using. I have 2 on each side to reserve space for pullouts on each side of the sink - but don't intend to do fancy moulding on them in real life. Would it be inconsistent with this house to have those half-legs on each side of the sink? Better to keep it to just flat panels? I hear what you are saying about the glass doors over the sink. I'm drawn to them because they echo the white french doors that lead into the den from the room with the front door. I'm having a hard time letting them go - how strong is this recommendation? Lol The ultimate problem here in the end is the darn layout on the lowers. I can easily fit in what I need IF I forego symmetry on the back wall. Otherwise, I a) can't have drawers on each side of the stove like I want or b) have to give up a garbage slideout or a corner cabinet for the appliances. I really like the idea of garbage on one side of the sink and DW on the other. But, I can't find the room unless I put a blind corner into the stove area, which ruins the symmetry on THAT wall while eliminating the option of drawers. Bleh. This kitchen really did not feel small until I went to redesign it......See More80sgirlatheart
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