I’m enthusiastic, but basically clueless!
maxinmontrose
6 years ago
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johnmerr
6 years agomaxinmontrose
6 years agoRelated Discussions
WANTED: iris enthusiasts in the London area for August trades
Comments (4)Hello Flowergirl_on, Is there anything else that I can trade for irises? I love them and have a few dozen varieties, but can't share them since they are infested with iris root borer... This might be your best bet: August 18, 2007 (London) London Region Annual Iris Sale *date, times and location to be confirmed by organizers 81 Wilson Avenue, London, Ontario contact: Ken Viner : telephone: 519-660-0313 : e-mail: kenviner@sympatico.ca (this listing is from http://www.cdn-iris.ca/events.html) Happy gardening, Heather...See MoreFloor plan enthusiasts please take a look, feedback appreciated!
Comments (17)Instead of having a small separate dining area in its own nook, have it continuous with the living area - no pinch points. That way if you have guests you can turn the table or extend the table into the living area - flexible space. In some of your plans you'll never sit more than six comfortably. Our dining room is 10'x11' and it seats eight with the table turned on the diagonal. We have to squeeze in eleven or twelve for Thanksgiving dinner. There's a nice big breakfast area in the kitchen, but there's a pinch point -can't join the spaces at all. And the LR is in an L-shape to the DR - but the LR is up three steps - arrgh! No flexibility! Which is what you NEED in a small space. You don't want this order of connection DR-K-LR but K-DR-LR. You could save a lot of space by having a much smaller, more efficient U-shaped kitchen. Save a lot on cabinetry and counters too. How many people will work in it at once? I'm the primary cook in my house; 8x11 workspace is plenty big enough for me. Your kitchen corridor eats a lot of space and those islands are really bulky - how about just having people sit at the table to socialize? I'd put the kitchen in one of those dining nooks in the plans and give myself a view while I worked. Your wanting a one-level house, and maybe having your parents live with you, maybe adopting or fostering children, makes me think you ought to consider an accessible bathroom. All your bathrooms look big enough if the layout is right. Look at roll-in showers. At least put in the blocking in the walls for handrails before the drywall/tile goes up. You and I have a lot in common with what we want in a house. Same size, passive solar, low energy use, healthy living conditions - I even want to move back to Western NC which is where my family is from. I just started sketching my plans - a two story, 40'x22' rectangular layout - the minimum number of expensive corners. I'm thinking of it in modular terms - on the west side, a 14x22 great room with dining area. In the 12x22 center module, foyer, stairs, and kitchen. On the east side, 14x14 study or ground floor bedroom, with an 8x14 area behind for accessible bath and laundry. Double pocket doors between great room and foyer and foyer and study - more flex space. Maybe have panels to close off the kitchen for more formal dining. Maybe a masonry heater in the GR? I know the interior walls will shorten the spaces - and maybe I can shave a couple feet off the edges. I've read though that you should build in 2' increments - eliminate some waste. Upstairs, master bedroom and bath over the study. Two more bedrooms over the great room. Window seat, gallery, bath in center module. Walls line up; the plumbing lines up. Strong enough joists and steep enough roof that I can finish a couple rooms in the attic if need or desire arises. So a really boring rectangular layout. Small by today's standards. I figure beauty will have to come from harmony of proportion, materials, colors. No mean, stingy narrow trim, doors or hallways. Actually there isn't much at all in the way of hallways. The foyer is a SPACE, not a passageway, same for upstairs landing....See MoreClueless - Cookware Question
Comments (33)I agree with Dcarch, give yourself sometime to get used to with your new kitchen. Then, do more research. I did just this. I used inexpensive pots and pans for awhile when I first moved in this home. After a few years, I knew how I wanted to fixed up the kitchen. I got it refaced and fixed it up to be more wheelchair accessible. After almost a year later, I began to research and shop for decent cookwares. I've learned that plain stainless steel (SS) cookware is not good enough. I've learned about multi-ply such as tri-ply and 7-ply cookwares. I narrowed down to Calphalon SS tri-ply. I purchased a set because it was more cost effective. However, I chose a small set and a set that included most of the size cookwares that I know I'd be using. I've actually been using them all. Then, I began to add with the individual pieces that I need further. I later added another non-popular brand name SS tri-ply set that were made in 1 piece of tri-ply as the Calpholon's. That set worked well too. When using the SS cookware correctly, they do fairly well with non-stick including making sunny-side-up eggs. As for extra non-stick and thicker pans, I chose cast ironed pans. All of these satisfied my budget and my cooking needs. They still are after 5 years of using them....See MoreI'm clueless about what goes in my china cabinet (lots of photos)
Comments (29)"It's a house, not a museum. If you're only displaying stuff because it's pricey, antique, etc, then what's the point?" Ideefixe, I assume you are talking to me b/c I am the only one who didn't like the boxes. (Well, I like the boxes, just not in the china cabinet.) I don't think an object has to be pricey or antique to be displayed, but everytime I see those boxes, I picture a husband yelling "Honey, where did you put the stamps?" I think it is because the largest box has that silver rivet or snap on the side. They remind me of the canvas boxes that I just purchased at Target for my stationery supplies. They are pretty and functional, but their function doesn't seem suited to a formal dining room. Everything else in the OP's dining room is so polished and refined, the boxes feel like the odd man out. Just wanted to clarify so you wouldn't think that I'm a dollar-sign snob....See MoreMonyet
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Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)