Any creative advice to help me make my historic pre space flow better
Echoplexic al
5 years ago
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Echoplexic al
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Any creative ideas/help for potential patio?
Comments (15)I'm not a patio pro so am just bringing up issues that I've encountered with some of my own projects. It's not impossible to do something for $200 but you really have to examine your priorities for usage and your expectations. Also, I wouldn't be able to assess your site, the drainage issues, existing "levelness" and other factors that influenc whether you can get away with various shortcuts. For example, it is possible to create a mulch patio that works modestly well for sitting and dining, if you can corral it with 4x4's or something, have good drainage, use maybe ? cypress mulch or something, don't pack against house, don't make a fire. Regular cast concrete pavers, 16 or 18 square, are cheaper than the brick-patterned ones, cost a little over $4 new, you can do the math. But whether and how much you need to prepare site, again depends on site. Always best to do the typical dug-out prep but sometimes can get away with less for very informal DIY effect, again depends. cracks have to be filled with something, sand usually. Harder to sink these in mulch for a patio, 'cause mulch will keep floating up between cracks, whereas it works in a pathway because individual pavers can stand out a bit. For a very small area, you still might be able to get someone to build you a floating deck for somewhere near your price, or you might be able to find commercial items by searching web, not for teak but for a substitute. Last year at a discount center I bought several sets of "Indonesian hardwood" decking squares, very similar to what nativenut described but the poor man's teak, for about $1/square foot, but it was at the end of season sale....See MoreCreative minds needed to help me brainstorm for mini-remodel!
Comments (22)I looked at the paints you posted and if you want to paint green above the sink and stove, you will need to have it directly relate something else in the Kitchen scheme. This would mean you would need to find a glass tile that has the green in it or go with a totally neutral backsplash like the 4x4 tiles you are showing with the glass tile. A viewers eye will look for a relationship between the paint color and the backsplash or other features in the room and not find it. Even if those colors exist in an adjacent room, the relationship needs to be clearly there in the Kitchen. In this case, I don't think matching accessories will get you there either. Now for a little design editorial. I think the basic design concept that you should bring colors from one room to another throughout the house is a good one, but has been overused. The theory is that having each room relate makes the house flow. Whether that works or not really depends on a lot more factors. The premise is that each room should not be a completely different color, yet in some cultures it is the norm to paint each room a completely different color and looks quite wonderful in context. Okay, enough of that. In effect, you do have a color relationship between your rooms already and it is your basic neutral Khaki. There are some advantages to keeping the backsplash completely neutral if you want to use accent paint colors. You can change your color scheme very easily without having to change tiles. Basing your scheme on the neutral allows you to paint accent walls while the overall effect remains pulled together. Either choice is a good one. It's what works best for you. If you decide to keep the glass tile as you originally selected it, and still love the green, try to find somewhere else to use it. I used my green in the Laundry room....See MoreCreative Juices Flowing...MAJOR last minute revision???
Comments (7)The window view is of my new "back yard" of crumbling asphalt and my new neighbor's tiny dilapidated white house sitting directly on the property line. In the evenings, I'll also have a pretty good view into my neighbor's kitchen. But this view won't necessarily be sacrificed because the sink will be replaced by a large counterspace next to the range, which I expect to use extensively for food prep. I plan on centering the sink in the island, but I was unsure how to make a cover panel using the Ikea software. I think it will be nice to have people sitting at the counter while I wash pots/pans and load dishes into the dishwasher. When I said that I value aesthetics over function, what I meant was that I value other people's perception of my kitchen over my own. The exterior of the house currently has little to no curb appeal, so I'd like the interior to be somewhat impressive when I have guests over. Resale value and future rentability are also important. I don't have much experience in designing kitchens and only recently started looking at pictures of other kitchens, so I'm afraid of making a mistake by going with my gut. I also know that I won't have any problem using a kitchen that I find ugly but everyone else finds attractive. This post was edited by Tile on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 21:27...See MoreNeed layout advice - lots of space for creativity, how best to use it?
Comments (23)I definitely appreciate everybody's input and advice, so, thought I'd come back and give you all a little update. There are some issues with changing the layout, specifically moving the range to the interior wall. The venting is going to be problematic, because of location of the garage doors and also some HVAC equipment in the path. Would involve a rather long, inefficient run with multiple turns to avoid these things. HVAC guy basically said, Please don't move it there. Not only that, but the small wall that Karenseb suggested to remove - is part of a larger load-bearing wall. I have a healthy mid-range kitchen budget but these changes could be a real budget buster. Especially as we don't know what other surprises are lurking once demo begins. With that in mind, and my husband's wish to have the range and hood as a focal point centered between the windows, aesthetically nicer than staring at a fridge from the island seating, as well as simpler ventilation, any other suggestions? Should we keep dishwasher to the right as it is now? I plan to move the sink further down the run, ending at the right end of window instead of centered, to increase counter space on right side of range. For the few times a year I would cook a large spread of food for entertaining, I do have a butcher block island on wheels that can be rolled over to serve as surplus counter. Plus the big island directly behind. Other changes - we are leaning towards forgetting the separate oven and going with the aga range (plus my trusty Breville smart oven). I think then we would just make the beverage center section all countertop, space for Breville, and center the bar sink on that run. I asked my kitchen designer to draw up an L shaped window seat, into the alcove, maybe shelves or small upper above. As we can have lots of pantry space, with affordable shelving instead of cabinets, in the current hallway/future walk through pantry....See MoreEchoplexic al
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