Hi All, I used Penn State extension calculator to determine the sq ft i would need to accept the downspout water based on roof size, soil type and average rainfall - that was how I came up with the initial plan of a 10 ft wide recessed area. Phase 1 - Goal - Stop melting roof snow from creating icy pond on walkway and street sidewalk as first step in overall plan redirect downspout and improve curb appeal. We dug a 50ft x 4ft x 6 in recessed area, 0.6 in rain tested it. The troth was filled, with overflow onto the lawn, a bit over the sidewalk and ponding between it and the berm. Prior to the troth overflow the sidewalk to the berm was not ponding. Pointing to this as the source of the icy problem. Phase 2 Based on reactions to prior mock ups, i wanted dark stone or mulch to ground the bldg, a subtle safe walkway from the emergency door (the back of the building faces the street), a rain garden to be part dryriver bed, part plants and part graded lawn. Below is a draft, not shown isgrading from dry river bed out 6 additional ft across from left to right. The software I used has limited colors, river rock will be lighted than shown. Additional plants will be added. For Phase 1 I would do the river rock and gravel right around it, and revamp the downspouts. All and any advise welcome!

I might get a table for the kitchen, the one in the picture is actually a desk with some electrical equipment in it. So I don't want to put it in the kitchen. I really like the orange or a pale blue as well! I saw an apartment with similar design to my condo and they had a light blue accent. It worked well, though I really like that orange... I'm definitely thinking the same thing about the rug. I'm going to keep an eye out for one, and for some redone sleeper sofas per april's suggestion. I haven't seen them before, but if I can find one that would be perfect. As for the position of the TV, I'm not sure which I like more. Part of the reason that I have it on the wall I do is that you can view it while making food in the kitchen as well. I've gone back and forward myself with it. I could really use some suggestions for the bedroom everyone, it's so white and bland currently :/.

Hello, I’m about to renovate my kitchen and I thought I’d get some ideas about how to improve my space rather than just recreate (with new cabinets) the old layout. I’ve read the “new to kitchens” thread, thought it was really helpful, and I’m going to try to follow all the advice it contains. First of all, a little about me and my family. We are two adults and two young kids. We bought a condo a while ago and we’re renovating the whole place with new flooring, paint, lighting, fans, etc. We have some ideas to change up the kitchen, which I’ll write more about later. Right now, I’m pretty much the only cook, although my kids help me a bit. We eat almost all meals at home, and I cook dinner from scratch every night. I cook vegetarian and use mostly the cooktop, not the oven. We don’t entertain at home very often. We use our table for eating/hanging out/kids’ art projects, etc. and we don’t like counter seating. Having the kitchen open to the living room is not something we want. I have already purchased new SS appliances. I have a 24” dishwasher, 30” range and microwave/hood, and 36” counter depth fridge to be installed. It’s a second floor condo, which means we have limitations on what can and can’t be moved. Basically, I don’t think we can go into the floor or a shared wall to move things around, but I can check on that. The plumbing probably can be moved a little bit to the left or right, but should stay on the same wall. The stove could also be moved a bit to the left or right, but should stay on the same wall. I think I have more freedom with the fridge, because the water line can be extended pretty far, right? The only problem might be accessing the shut off and running the line under/behind cabinets. My goals for the kitchen renovation are to improve it cosmetically and optimize its functionality. This is going to be a DIY IKEA kitchen and although I want it to be gorgeous, we need to make choices that are in keeping with the fact that our condo is on the lower end of the price spectrum! I’ve been playing around with the IKEA kitchen planner so I’ll see if later I can upload some of the layouts I’ve come up with. We’d like to eliminate the pantry and use pantry cabinets instead. We’d also like to eliminate the angled sink (seen in pics) and build the wall out straight. I made those changes on the hand drawn kitchen plan. None of this has been done yet, so please tell me if we’d be making a big mistake to eliminate the pantry and straighten/extend the wall. I’m thinking it’ll give us a cleaner, more modern look. Sweeby test results: Modern with a natural twist, clean and sleek but not too stark, calm, tranquil, soft/soothing colors. I’m trying to attach photos of the entire unit floor plan, a hand written kitchen floor plan, photos of the current kitchen, and an inspiration pic of an IKEA showroom kitchen with nearly the same dimensions as mine. Thanks so much for reading this far, and please let me know if there’s any information I forgot to provide.

I too have a north facing townhouse, but mine is impacted by all the green vegetation outside. I had a terrible time finding a color that worked for me. It is so difficult, and IMO no one else can give you a color suggestion that is going to work in your space. What I would do in your case is to invest in samples of a half a dozen different colors somewhere in the range that you are thinking might be what you want. Try those at different times of day on different walls and see what is closest to what you want. From there you can narrow down your choice even more by getting more samples that may be exactly what you want. It is time consuming and tedious and you are going to spend some money on the samples, but eventually you'll end up with what works for you and feels right for your space. Look at the LRV (light reflecting value) of your samples. I ended up with one that works FOR ME that is a LRV of 75 or 76 (pretty light), but I also have a wall of n north facing windows. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/paint-colours-and-lrv-the-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-the-right-colour/#:~:text=LRV%2C%20or%20Light%20Reflectance%20Value,the%20darker%20the%20colour%20is.