Great Room in Brooklyn home.. need some advice
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4 years ago
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BeverlyFLADeziner
4 years agoUser
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Need some advice with new home. PIC
Comments (25)juliann i am truly sorry to hear about your bad experience with building your home...that is a stressful enough time without adding something like what you have described to it. On a up note you have a beautiful home and a huge area that you have all the time in the world to make the way you want. I kind of get that the reason you have not checked with a landscape designer may be financial reasons...i mean after all you have sounds like you have alot of money tied up in your home and now seem to be on your own trying to amend things that your builder obviously done horribly. I think this is awful, people work hard for their money and they expect to get quality work when paying the kind of money it takes to build a house. Now on a brighter note you get to add your own touches to this already beautiful home in the way of landscaping. I think grass is a great starter...at least you will feel like your accomplishing something. I would like to see a picture from the edge of the yard up to your house...front pic, to each side and maybe your backyard. I suggest you ask on the tree forum what may be the best tree's for your area unless you have some in mind... you might ask about wide growing shade tree's, ornamentals and maybe ask for pics. You can also go on the arbor day foundation and put in your zone for ideas for tree's for your area...although i would use this only for idea's as i have read that alot of people do not have success with their tree's. But at least it gives you a good idea of what you might like. http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm by the way bradford pear tree's are beautiful but don't last long and stink very badly in spring when blooming...it smells like cat pee! here is a site for the fastest growing tree's for new york...although i would ask questions on the tree forum about each tree i like...for instance how far do they root, as a tree for you close to your septic system may pose a very big problem. http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/NewYorkT.htm tree placement site: http://www.garden-services.com/tree_placement.htm I personally think that staggering some tree's up your long drive may be very inviting...although some may not agree i like the look- to me it says come on in! I hope in someway this helps a little for now :)....See MoreI need some Home and Garden Show advice
Comments (14)A blank slate is the most fun! & you don't have to wait for spring. In fact your garden will thank you if you start improving your soil now, & you'll have far less backbreaking work to repeat if you sketch out your design beforehand. SOIL: Our DFW soils are usually heavy alkaline clay, & a lot of it has been depleted from cotton-growing days & 60 or so years of chemical-dependent agriculture/landscaping/lawn care. Soil needs nitrogen like coffee grounds, grass clippings, & kitchen scraps, & carbon like autumn leaves. You can pick up used coffee grounds at most Starbucks; just ask them if they have some "Grounds for the Garden". Occasionally you'll find a franchise shop, like the ones inside Kroger stores, that doesn't participate in the corporate program, but don't let it discourage you; just go to another Starbucks! I've been picking up other people's bagged leaves (OPBL) for years now. Just look along the curbs or alleys of wooded neighborhoods on the nights before trash pick-up, & you'll find tons of wonderful leaves, all bagged up foryou. & feeding the soil doesn't have to be rocket science; just sling that stuff all over the place or pile it all up, & nature will do what she's been doing since the beginning. You might get a soil test just to be sure there aren't any weird conditions like lead or something; other than things like that, your soil analysis is likely to be "alkaline clay, would benefit from the addition of compost". DESIGN: One summer when I couldn't sleep at night, I kept a spiral notebook in my bedside table. Around midnight or so, I'd turn the lamp on & draw out landscape plans for the back yard. I haven't actually *done* the landscape back there (I'm waiting for the dogs to finish digging it all up, snork!), but I have a much better grasp of how the space lies, what "proportion" means, & how different features relate to each other. FAIRY GARDENS: Lucy Harrell (Harrel?), of Ladies of the Garden, says that all fairy gardens need a dead tree, so you can grow vines over it & a little girl can slip into the secret green space inside. Have fun creating your garden on that blank slat! & keep an eye on the swap thread & let me know if you see anything on my list that you'd like!...See MoreBuilding a home .. need some advice
Comments (3)Sorry, I have zero advice to offer with respect to colors and granite choices. I don't even know what color winestone is tho I'm guessing it's probably a deep maroon shade which sounds like it would be pretty. But I have to actually SEE colors together to decide what I like and even then, I wouldn't begin to hazard a guess about whether other people would like my choices or consider them utterly gauche! BUT, there is a home decorating forum on GardenWeb and there are some real decorating whizzes that post there regularly! They'll already KNOW what Giallo Veneziano and Tropical Brown granite look like and I swear, some of them must own paint chip decks from every paint manufacturer in existence! If you'll repost your question there, I'm sure you'll get helpful advice. There are even some regular posters on that forum who can and will do photoshop mock-ups for you to help you make your choices. Good luck!...See MoreNew vacation home-great room/living room ideas needed!
Comments (6)Measure out your space to see how much usable space you will have for the furnishings. A sectional might or might not be a good option for you. As you shop gather dimensions of pieces you like then use tape and place it on the floor so you can see how it will look space wise. As mentioned above pick your focal point. Your fireplace is so nice it seems that you should work around that....See Moredarralisa
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BeverlyFLADeziner