Let's play with my Snazzy Garottage project

10 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

We're building a carriage house (we prefer the term garottage) on a lot behind our house this summer. It will function as garage space (mainly boat/shed storage) with simple guest quarters above. Our original garottage is pictured above... Haha, it was truly a garROTage, built in 1940, I think. It was torn down last fall. Please don't bother telling me how to fix THAT garottage--IT'S GONE NOW! :) I used it as the dilemma icon to remind me how far we'll get with something "snazzier". :)

To be economical, we're planning on a 2-story structure. The new garottage must meet city code and have more living than garage space--61% living space--but the city is allowing a screened porch to count as living (Yay!) so we want to incorporate that on the structure. We hope to get 2br, 1 bath, a kitchen(ette) and laundry from the living space above, and a large-ish garage space below. This is a summer vacation spot and family/guest overflow space is what we're after!

We're meeting with the city planner and our builder/carpenter this weekend. We have some general ideas from looking at plans online, but have not purchased any yet. We'll know more soon about what we can and can't do after talking to our people here.

I don't have a specific dilemma/question yet, but started the thread to have a spot to be able to do that. I'm sure I'll have TONS of things I'll need opinions about! So, I'd appreciate any feedback as this project moves along! I'm terrible at envisioning things, and more terrible at decorating, so I hope the feedback, suggestions, advice and encouragement will keep me sane and make this a snazzy garottage worthy of the lovely setting it's on. Thank you! :)

Featured Answer

nwduck

9 months ago

I think we should make our own Houzz Decor Rules based on our long relationships. Here's a start:

Work around your medium oak cabinets. You're never going to get to replace them.

Don't buy an expensive couch. Either your OH will make a b-tt dip from laying on it, or your pets will wreck it.

Buy all your accessories at second-hand locations. They're generally pretty cool.

When needing art, beg someone here for a piece. Or snag from relatives.

You can never have too many area rugs.

If you long for foreign climes, just wait for fiss or julia to take a trip.

For design inspiration, don't overlook highway rest area bathrooms.

Care to add?

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Comments (140K)

rredpenn
Original Author
4 days ago
A really cool Troll story for you all, when you get time to kick back and relax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnyXsKC-OGQ
pickyvicky
4 days ago
Happy Thanksgiving all!

Happy to report I’m hosting 0. 😁 OS’s fiancée has been cooking up a storm. YS tried his dad’s kids famous double layer pumpkin cream pie recipe and the top layer didn’t set quite right. Asked me about it and I know NOTHING about this recipe. All’s good tho….fiancée did it and succeeded. We’re happy YS turned on his oven, even if it was to set the egg whites in the crust. OB and I are taking ourselves and wine. So grateful I’m not dealing with the turkey from a local farm (YS’s employer supplied it) as it’s raised as natural as possible and the Tom is quite strong, which makes pulling meat off the bone tenuous.

I’m also taking containers for left overs. 🤣

Beautiful sunsets Stryker!

Happy….glad your kitty is getting along fine.
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glschisler
4 days ago
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you too! We neighbors are going to a restaurant for their wonderful buffet at 1:30. But since their dessert table is not to our liking, we will do desserts here tonight! Yum!
rredpenn
Original Author
4 days ago
Is it too early to confess that while I made a triple batch of standard Pepperidge Farm stuffing, I stashed away a container of it for our own personal "leftover party" tomorrow? ;)
kcooz07
4 days ago
Nah, the dressing is the best part of the meal for us. Must have leftovers.
jayapple21
4 days ago
I enjoy visiting with all of you here every day. Thank you for just being the good people you are. 🦃👍🌻
liasch
4 days ago
Happy USA thanksgiving! You were probably all appropriately stuffed by now. The stuffing is the best part and sadly it rarely gets made anymore. I loved my mother’s stuffing and when I cooked the turkeys here I used to do it. I think I’m the only one who is a fan.
samoken
3 days ago
Went to 3 wineries today and each of them wished us a happy thanksgiving. Does that count?
fissfiss
3 days ago
I am thankful for all of you! Turkey Day was a gloriously relaxing day cruising the Nile
rredpenn
Original Author
3 days ago
The sunsets on the Nile look so much like the sunset at Stryker's, or my own at our lake... It just goes to prove that, while people all around the world have their differences, we all share the same sun and the same sky, and the same cycle of dark to light to dark again, with those exquisite, gorgeous colors in between.
rredpenn
Original Author
3 days ago
last modified: 3 days ago
We had a crew here yesterday! 16 people including ourselves, in this smaller than average little tree house. LOL. It's funny how everyone congregates in the kitchen around the island, even when there is space at the table or in the nook... I was navigating a crowd in between the oven and the corner to get a lid for the potatoes, and managed to cut my middle finger knuckle on something (more of a scrape than a cut)... I came up with a bloody lid. So once again, I was excused from doing the dishes at Thanksgiving. LOL I still managed to have to change the bandaid about 6 times...

But yeah... You'd think I would have cut myself on a kitchen knife, right? I did ALL the chopping/peeling etc. yesterday! But, nope. Grabbing the mashed potatoes' lid, or perhaps the shelf it was stored under, got me. LOL. I am blaming the crowded kitchen for that one. (or maybe my dry skin?) haha

Our own band of wild turkeys were the star of the evening. They hung out all afternoon and again this morning. It feels weird highlighting turkey on the menu while watching their wild kin outside the window. (Our turkey turned out excellent tho. Juicy and delicious!). Our family members don't get to see them like we do, almost daily, so everyone was taking videos/photos.

My mom's hubs spent the night, bc he doesn't drive after dark, and I just sent him home with another complete leftover Turkey Dinner plate. The last to leave gets the spoils! LOL
glschisler
3 days ago
Leftovers are really what Thanksgiving is all about!😋 Really, because you should primarily serve what you really enjoy eating. Like pie, cookies, cocktails…😂

Very nice pictures Fiss. What are the beginning and end ports of the Nile River cruise?
glschisler
3 days ago
I’m still in my night gown, the bed is still unmade, I need to wash my hair… I have no motivation today!🥱😴
fissfiss
3 days ago
We fly in and out of Luxor…go as far south as Aswan, and as far north as Qena!
nwduck
3 days ago
We had a great time at Grandfriend's yesterday! She is such a great cook. Everything was absolutely perfect. I even tried that sweet potato dish with marshmallow topping, which I have never (yes, never) tried before. It was delicious. There were some kind of spices in the potatoes that made them very flavorful. Of course, as the non-cook, I was asked to bring the veggie tray, so for the third year in a row I made a turkey of sorts.

Big Duckling news! She joined a group called Girls Run, and has been training with DS and her group for a distance run. Wednesday she ran a Turkey Trot 5k! Not bad for an eight year old! We are all so proud of her.
nwduck
3 days ago
Said turkey.
jayapple21
3 days ago
nwduck, there was no contest but I think you won anyway! What a great platter!

Had Thanksgiving dinner with daughter's family. I called ahead to tell her I'd be a few minutes late and she said they were running behind on the turkey being finished anyway. They bought a turkey that was supposedly partially cooked and the directions said '2 hours' in the oven at home. Nope. We ended up with all the traditional side dishes and dessert -- and hamburger patties (which were actually quite good)! 🥴 By the time I left for home the turkey was finally ready so I have a few slices in my refrigerator for dinner tonight. I know they were frustrated because they'd planned everything out but the side dishes were ready to eat. We had a great time anyway... 😊
rredpenn
Original Author
2 days ago
last modified: 2 days ago
Very cool vegeturkey, Duckie! Glad to hear Duckling is getting into the big running. My NtheYounger was the top freshman runner on his cross country team, and won some kind of award at the CCDinner... Hyster sent me a clip of the kid talking up my NtheYounger at the awards banquet, and one of the nice things he said about NtheY was that, "Once you get to know him, pay attention to what he says because his side comments are just hilarious." Yup. He takes after his mom in that respect, for sure. LOL

We're both so proud of him for making friends at his new school, and for finding a passion in something healthy and physical...
rredpenn
Original Author
2 days ago
Glassy, I didn't get showered and dressed today until after 1pm. LOL . It was a good day to do "nothing much." It turned very cold today, and we have been inside mostly, with a roaring fire and football games.

I did order Otherhalf a Christmas gift (for once, I capitalized on Black Friday sales, and had something in mind!). Actually I just thought of a couple more little ideas which I will pass on to DS... I should do that right now while I'm thinking about it. LOL
kcooz07
2 days ago
Speaking of football games, KC was making me nervous today.
mamabear2014
2 days ago
last modified: 2 days ago
I took a pj day today. I finished my Christmas shopping. I put fall/Thanksgiving decor away. And then I made turkey noodle soup and bread pudding. Our son goes home tomorrow. Just chillin’…
glschisler
2 days ago
Yeah RRed, I finally dragged myself into the show about the same time as you did. Then I put the pork ribs into the oven to slow cook. And later, threw in a couple of potatoes for our dinner. I think I have sluggish today because I ate four cookies, a piece of pie, 2 small cannolis. Too much sugar! Not even a cocktail! Ugh!

And then I had planned to watch the KC Chiefs…tonight…duh.

Tomorrow we neighbors will be watching the Alabama/Aunburn Iron Bowl game. Each of us girls have $100.00 in a football pool. It is a scholarship fund raiser for our Newcomers Club. We paid $20 for a square, so we will be watching 30 squares on two boards in the pool. We will order pizzas at half time.
jayapple21
2 days ago
I just now posted the following on lia's thread but I'd like to share on rred's thread as well since not everyone on Houzz visits the same sites.

There was a program on NPR this evening that included an interview with a female artist that I did not know about. This radio program originates in Canada but I didn't tune in in time to get the beginning of the interview so I'm not sure just where she resides in that country.

Her name is Shelley Niro and she's a Native American woman who's apparently well-known in that part of the world. She has a wonderful exhibit (I believe it's a 40-year retrospective) that is currently traveling to 5 cities in the Northern Hemisphere and in February it will be in Hamilton, Ontario. It's entitled "Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch" and it showcases her life-long drive to present the uniqueness of Indigenous women and girls to the rest of the world.

I enjoyed listening to the radio interview and was curious about her work, so I looked online and discovered a recent 20 minute video that is really well done. I think you will enjoy it as well. I hope this link opens for you. Scroll down past the intro to find the video.

https://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/exhibitions/shelley-niro-500-year-itch
rredpenn
Original Author
2 days ago
Beautiful art, beautiful woman Shelly Niro is. It would be cool to be able to go see that exhibit. Thanks Jay! Nice way to start the day!
mamabear2014
2 days ago
Loved the video. What an amazing woman! Could you imagine curating all her art and building a story to follow her life? Just Wow!
liasch
2 days ago
Thanks, Jay! It wouldn’t surprise me if she lives in BC as there is a lot of support there for indigenous artists. Vancouver is quite the place to visit, and they have some great galleries with amazing art featuring indigenous. They don’t let you take photographs unfortunately. I’ve been lucky enough to see some beautiful pieces and I have a small inexpensive Bill Reid print that I got when I was there years ago. I wish I could’ve taken photographs of some of the mask pieces that were on display.
rredpenn
Original Author
yesterday
That is just the perfect frame for that owl, Lia. I love how simple it is. Perfect.

So today I decided to look for some Christmas crafts I can bring to L's house when we are there. This is one I think I can precut, flattened, in my carryon for him to "decowate" with his paint sticks, or some tiny pompoms I have, and a glue stick?
rredpenn
Original Author
yesterday
last modified: yesterday
And we are def gonna make these together. ROFL

Balloons, white paper cups, and marshmallows or cotton balls. What could be more fun than a snowball fight in Texas? Besides, they are just cute sitting there...
stryker
yesterday
stryker
yesterday
rredpenn
Original Author
yesterday
Some really cool clouds there, Stryker. That always makes the sunset so much prettier!
mamabear2014
yesterday

We got snow. I want it for Christmas! We took our son to the airport last night and the roads were terrible. We saw a Corvette in the ditch and several places where cars had gone in but were rescued already. A delay in departure but he finally made it home.

Sad day though…we lost Cody, Dad’s best buddy and companion. He started struggling yesterday, did an emergency trip to the vet and they found a large mass in his liver that was causing breathing issues as well as not being able to eat. My sister had adopted him til he decided to join my Dad. He also got a special treat of a mini hershey bar, in honor of Dad. 😭
kcooz07
yesterday
Aww mama, sad about Cody. But he is with his favorite person again. 😍
ladma
yesterday
Those cotton ball shooters look fun!

Mama, sad about Cody, but Kcooz is right, together with your Dad.

We had a full house all weekend, and I’m in recovery mode, The quiet is bittersweet.
rredpenn
Original Author
yesterday
Well, my team won the big "rivalry" game against Nebraska on Friday night, so I was all set to relax and watch the rest of the B1G teams play their rivalry games yesterday... I should have seen it coming that many of the football games yesterday would end in brawling and other horrible, disrespectful drama. Our own game v Nebraska began with some overtly impudent behavior at the coin toss, where the Cornhusker team captains refused (on camera!) the traditional pregame handshake... That was pretty noticeable. Also after the game, we found out that the Husker's head coach and a few of his players had trolled our team by walking right through the Hawkeyes' pregame warm-ups. That was also caught on camera. I know these acts are not against any NCAA rules, but they do break the rules of decency, sports etiquette and good sportsmanship in general. And they are noticed, and set a tone for the game, right?

Do these kids not realize they're wearing great big identifying numbers on their backs? And that they are under all kinds of cameras--professional and general public--recording and scrutinizing their every move? We know who they are, for sure. LOL

Had we lost to them on Friday, I guess the Big Red guys might have also tried to plant their Nebraska flag on our Tigerhawk at midfield and continued the drama they were cooking up pre-game. I'm glad we avoided the worst post-game smack talk and resulting behavior. Super proud of our own Jay Higgins, who in a post game interview said, "After the coin toss thing, I made sure to go right over to the Nebraska coach after the game and shake his hand for a good game, well-fought." Our guys remained classy through it all.

But on Saturday, there were huge problems at Michigan/Ohio State, NC State/NC, Florida/Florida State, Arizona/Arizona State... the "flag-planting" and subsequent brawling post game was just ridiculous. A referee at the Ohio/Michigan game got taken out, and at least one law enforcement officer was hospitalized after trying to break up that brawl. Pepper spray was employed on players from both teams. It was a riot there. No other word for it. People got hurt, badly.

Oy vey. I'm sure there will be a lot of reviews of what transpired in college football this weekend, and perhaps sanctions, fines, and maybe even post-season suspensions for egregious behavior. Perhaps the NCAA will take a look at putting some teeth in sportsmanship rules too after what happened yesterday...

Edit: I had all this typed out much earlier today, and my post was eaten, so I haven't had time to retype it/rethink it all until this afternoon. LOL I think my earlier take on it was even more scathing...
rredpenn
Original Author
yesterday
Mama, sad to hear about your dad's doggo, Cody. The Hershey bar was probably the most meaningful treat he was ever offered, and will continue to be a connection you all will feel. What a fitting thing. Hugs to you all.
samoken
yesterday
How can we expect our young adults to behave better than our politicians?
jayapple21
yesterday
last modified: yesterday
Mama, sending you a hug of understanding. That was your final gift of love to a dear family member.

Rred, I only saw one of those skirmishes (opposing team thrust its flag onto the mid-field logo immediately after the game) and I hope it's something we don't see next year. "Heat of the moment" thing but poor sportsmanship and it needs to be ended.

I haven't really started to put up Christmas decor yet - I'm still putting away hurricane prep stuff and Thanksgiving items BUT I was curious to see if I'd like a new Christmas decoration I found on the rainforest site so this afternoon I opened the box of small trees ($10 for all of them) and a second box with a hinged village made out of wood ($20) that's 32" long. I LOVE IT! The village is about 1/3" thick, painted on both sides, and the craftsmanship is really good. I don't plan to put up a ton of Christmas decor this year so I will enjoy that little village (yeah, there will be a tree et al, just not overdoing it)

. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8VTWBW8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
samoken
yesterday
Our wine/thanksgiving trip was a success. We got to go to our favorite spots and tried a new one or two. We ended up leaving early due to weather. The road we usually travel from New York to Ohio was closed due to lake effect snow and looked like it could stay bad into Monday or Tuesday. So, we instead traveled west in Canada crossing over in Windsor/Detroit and traveling back east to home. It took about twice as long, but roads were clear with no threat of closure. Even with that we had fun.
liasch
22 hours ago
Jay, you totally scored on that village! How perfect is that! I love it.
stryker
21 hours ago
Nice village jay. What was the name of that generator you liked?

somebody posted a link for cute animal ornaments. what was that company again?
rredpenn
Original Author
21 hours ago
last modified: 21 hours ago
Glad you found an alternate, acceptable route, Sam! I was wondering if the weather hampered your plans...

Jay, that is perfect for the coffee table, and I love it! I haven't decided if I'm gonna drag out anything for inside this year... LOL I have my lights, and that may be it. :/ I am thinking that it will be fun to come HOME to a fresh start without a bunch of stuff to put away, right? LOL

My DS has been home alone for a few days while his wife and L are still visiting her family out east, so today he decided to set up a surprise for them. He got this projector thingie...

And it's perfect for his entryway. The dog/candycanes move horizontally, and span the across part of his doorway, and the Grinch ball and the Grinch face rotate up and down from the doorframe up to the roof. For a brief moment, they all four meet in the middle. It's wildly satisfying how well it lights up his entryway! Here is a blurry screengrab of it at his place.
jayapple21
20 hours ago
last modified: 18 hours ago
Stryker, I have two EcoFlow power stations (different sizes).

The units run off their own stored battery power. On the unit, one end is for regular 2 and 3 prong plugs (like lamp cords, etc.) and the other is for devices like the iPad cord, cell phone charging cord, etc. Because we never know how long our city electric will be out after a bad storm I try to use these units sparingly to keep their battery power available as long as possible. I use them mainly for things that need heat like boiling water in an old perculator and cooking on a one burner hot plate. I have other devices like small fans and camping lanterns that operate off of regular C and D batteries as well. Things that don't need heat - like recharging cell phones and iPads - don't use up much power so I plug them into the EcoFlow also.

When we got word of hurricane Helene this year I made sure they were at full capacity (99%) but we lucked out and I didn't need to use them for either Helene or Milton. I decided to leave them out until the end of hurricane season "just in case". I have now put the smaller one away. I am currently 'draining' this one down to the recommended 55% (for storing) so I can put it away as well.

I can lift the smaller unit but the bigger one is really heavy for me so I found an inexpensive rolling cart and the unit sits on it year round.
stryker
9 hours ago
Thanks jay. Do they have solar charging capability as well?
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liasch
7 hours ago
Grandkids OS and DIL came out on Advent yesterday… (Not specifically for the day but because my daughter-in-law had a luncheon date with her fellow nurse practitioners). It was a lovely day and we got my Christmas lights up! I bought multicoloured solar lights this year to put at the beginning of the driveway… as it’s too far away to plug-in lights. Well, they were spectacular. The photos don’t do them justice. They came on around 5 PM and when I went to bed at 10 they were still going. The ones near the house are still LED plug-in, but the strand along the driveway was long enough to wrap all the rosebushes for about 15 feet. I was quite pleased at how bright they are. And this is only one set. we will see how they hold up. I’ve saved the other one in reserve. Amazing technology, solar. Stryker, I hope people are able to have some Christmas spirit in your area this year! thanks for the beautiful sunsets. Nature just keeps on going with her own schedule. There’s a wonderful song, by a Maine singer which I have mentioned on here “the world is always turning towards the morning“. Gordon Bok. I recommend it. It was written for a friend of his who was going through a hard time… So mama bear it might be a song for you. I cried my eyes out when I first listened to it. It’s a song about grief and hope. Which pretty well sums up the Christmas season as we move towards the winter solstice.
fissfiss
7 hours ago
We have stared the long trek back….flew Luxor to Cairo this am, dinner with the group, and the our flight to Frankfort leaves at 1:45 am. Eish!then Frankfort to Denver, then spend the night, then I fly to Boston, to drive up to Maine. Ugh.
jayapple21
6 hours ago
last modified: 6 hours ago
Wow, fiss. Loooong trip for sure. My hope for you: unexpected good things to see/experience on your way home. ✈️

Stryker, both of my units came with really nice solar panels but to be honest, I have so many huge trees around my place that I've not gotten them to work worth a toot. Just when I think I've positioned them to get the best sun, the earth rotates and I look out and they're no longer in the sun - so then, I have to go back out and move them again. It gets old quickly. I've got these great panels (they were included in a bundle with my units) but I've kind of given up on them for this property.

You can learn more about EcoFlow on www.hsn.com or www.ecoflow.com.

One note: the advertisements say you can run your refrigerator, etc., etc. using these units. I think you probably can (so no false advertising) but you'd use the available power up quickly.

Mine is an older neighborhood (most homes built in the late 50s-70s) that didn't clear cut the trees when building the houses so we have gigantic pines and live oaks everywhere. And we still have telephone poles for power. In the newer neighborhoods, the power lines are all underground - and the property was probably 'clear cut' when the houses went in. It can take a good number of days before downed poles can be replaced and rewired so I try to extend the remaining power in my EcoFlow as long as possible. I don't use mine for big items like the refrigerator or space heater, etc.

*** Just checked the rainforest site and they have them on sale for terrific prices TODAY, "Cyber Monday".
jayapple21
6 hours ago
Lia, your outdoor lights are terrific! I never even thought about solar outdoor Christmas lights that come on automatically. I bet you're going to smile every time you see them this upcoming holiday season!
Soccerates
2 hours ago
Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!
liasch
1 hour ago
Yes that’s the only problem with solar! You need a pretty regular and extensive exposure to sun light. Fortunately the head of my driveway meets that criteria unlike just about every other place on my property.
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