Has anyone built C. Brandon Ingram's Laurel Cottage?
4 years ago
We're preparing to build a net zero, off grid home in metro Louisville and it's designed after Brandon Ingram's Oak Leaf Cottage (featured in Southern Living Magazine) and the corresponding plans he sells on his website for Laurel Cottage. Anyone built it?
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Lawns (or lack there of)
Comments (79)Very interesting thread! My husband and I have debated going lawnless in the front yard. Each year the flower beds grow and the lawn shrinks, but we seem to have reached a status quo between borders and turf this year. The area to mow is small, but enough to accent the borders. I garden organically, and can keep on top of the front lawn with little trouble. (The back yard loses more turf each year, but again we have reached some equilibrium between garden and grass, and left room for the kids to play.) I like the accent an area of grass can provide for a planted area; I just refuse to baby the grass or get obsessed about it. Clover and violets are okay. (Creeping charlie is a major pain the behind - but level golf-green perfection was never my goal, so I wage war on the CC on a small scale, and figure that anything else that's green and gets mowed is de facto "lawn.") I don't mind the higher maintenance needs of my shrubs and perennials - it's my hobby, my escape, my relaxation, so if the yard needs attention for a half dozen hours per week, I'm more than happy to indulge myself with that "work." Sometimes "work" is in the eye (and wallet) of the beholder. But going with reduced (or maybe eventually no) lawn is not really a maintenance or money issue for us. It's mostly an aesthetic one, and tied to my desire to garden organically. I have used turf as paths in a couple areas of my yard, and been very pleased with the results. I suppose a good question to ask is, "How do I want to spend my time and money in my front yard?" Is a front lawn of X size (or any size at all) worth it to me? And that is a very personal decision, totally aside from design issues and style preferences. Amateur_expert, I think you could have a VERY nice front yard with very little or no lawn. ANYONE could, with a bit of planning, ingenuity, and imagination. I suppose my two cents of advise would be to look at your front yard from many angles before and during the changes you decide to make: from inside the house looking out, from inside the yard itself, and from the outside approach (sidewalk, street, and/or driveway). Each view will give you ideas of what you could accent, hide or change in and around your yard. Laurel...See MoreStone Collecting: Beware!
Comments (72)Hello nanner, I thought I'd post a bit about what's been going on around here the last few years. I wish I could say the stone house is done, but it isn't. (I feel very silly about the fact it's not done. We had every good intention of finishing it and we have laid more stonework every year, but other stuff keeps getting in the way, namely, life!) We got involved with finishing and remodeling the quarry garden and a whole bunch of other stuff, like moving the little 'barn' again (for the 4th and final time--at least, that's what we told our son, who wasn't amused!) Last fall, our furnace gave out, so we installed geothermal which meant we had to tear up the entire west side of our yard (about a half acre) and saw down trees, dig up hundreds of hostas and perennials and relocate as many as possible. The bright side of this was the opportunity to change the entire landscape of the front of the house, AND to get more rocks! Our 'digger guy' "C" is still around, too, and he was instrumental in the geothermal excavation and in loading another 130 tons from the local quarry for us. We had "C" make a berm close to the house and that's where we started the new rock garden. We're not sure if it fits in the landscaping or not, and we jokingly refer to it as 'the elephant burial mound' which is kind of self-explanatory. :-) The first pic shows one of the four trenches: Below is a picture of Carl & I after two of the six loads of rocks were delivered. By December 2009, this was as far as we got on the Elephant Burial Mound: I have to take more updated pictures of this garden, especially after the dwarf conifers and flowers are planted. I started a blog about the garden with lots of pictures and all the other goofy stuff that goes on around here which goes into much more detail, if you're interested, the address is: http://krensgarden-karen.blogspot.com/...See Morewhere are you? NC
Comments (150)I live in a beautiful 160-year-old home in historic Warrenton, NC, an hour north of Raleigh. It's a Greek Revival & Italianate southern antebellum home by renowned architect Jacob Holt. I cherish every inch inside and out! The grounds are covered with enormous oaks and pecans. I'm originally from northern Virginia/Maryland (DC, Stafford, Quantico). I lived most of my life in Havelock, NC and New Bern, NC. Spent alot of time at the beach. Then I moved to the city ~ Greensboro, NC for eight years. Great thread! Caroline...See MoreNeed Help! Brick and Stone House Ideas? Or change all together?
Comments (39)PPF & cpartist - Thank you for the changes!! Kristen and Naf Naf I appreciate all the help. Thanks to everyone for your comments and opinions! Question - On the changes you both made the stone base around the house was still there. Do you recommend keeping that? Still working on the color of the brick. I will attach pictures of 3 of the bricks I have liked thus far. Just scroll right to left below. May go for a lighter option. Any ideas for a brick color? The one that the architect originally did I was not fond of. The dormers on the garage were to allow light in the bonus room so I would opt to keep them. Would you recommend changing the front facing garage dormer from a curved to a rectangular window to keep consistent with the windows? Would shutters on the front windows work - I was not thinking about having them. Front Entrance - I know everyone says to simplify but would you recommend adding some an element to the front door. I found a picture but I would not go as detailed probably. Thoughts on the concept? I just wanted some character but not sure how to go about it. Roof - I will look into Slate. Is it generally very expensive? Sorry for taking so long to reply. I have been working long hours....See MoreRelated Professionals
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