Must-Know Modern Homes: Eames House

Charles and Ray Eames are just two of their most influential designers of the 20th century, having made a number of iconic pieces of furniture that many contemporary houses cannot function without. The husband and wife team did not limit themselves to furniture, though. They produced movies (the most famous is Powers of Ten), made toys and games (House of Cards), and even designed multimedia environments (IBM Pavilion at the 1964–’65 world’s fair). Of interest here is your house and studio that have been an extension and impetus for much of their successful output.

If very little is discussed about the structure of the Eameses aside from their very own home, it is because they made very little architecture besides their very own residence. Frustrated with the work of design and the cancellation of a couple projects, they abandoned structure in favor of furniture soon after their home was completed. Nevertheless their home and studio are as influential in architecture since their seats are in the world of furniture design. The structures simultaneously embody the universal and the personal, pointing the way to how the steel and glass of contemporary architecture could be vibrant, creative and, most important, dwelt in.

Eames House in a Glance
Year constructed: 1949
Architects:
Charles and Ray Eames
Location: Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles
Seeing info: Reserved self-guided exterior tours only
Size: 1,500 square feet (home) and 1,000 square feet (studio)

More: 10 Must-Know Modern Homes

The complete title of the job is Eames House, Case Study House No. 8. Charles began designing the home in 1945 with Eero Saarinen, when they were commissioned by John Entenza, the editor of Arts & Architecture magazine. The Case Study House program conducted until 1966 and saw the realization of 23 modern houses that embraced industrialization.

Eames and Saarinen’s first design positioned the home and studio volumes in an L-shaped plan atop a mountain on a 3-acre site in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, overlooking the Pacific. The home was dramatically cantilevered from the mountain, away in the neighboring Case Study House No. 9 (planned in precisely the same period and made by Eames and Saarinen), but by 1947 the Eameses (no longer functioning together with Saarinen) simplified the plan and tucked the house to the hillside along a long retaining wall.

The home is hidden among the trees within this aerial. Many of them were implanted in a new mound constructed from the home’s excavation, helping to block the views between No. 8 and No. 9.

Basically what Charles and Ray did using the next plan was to simplify it while still using the same standard steel construction that was arranged prior to the redesign. This opinion of the west facade indicates the 12-inch-deep joists that support the roof and therefore are exposed inside. The home is organized around 71/2-foot-wide bays that are 17 feet high and 20 feet deep; one bay is out around the west, but the rest are enclosed.

Both house and studio are aligned along a retaining wall around the north (left in this photograph), together with the studio on the east, the home on the west and a courtyard in between. The far east and west ends characteristic double-height spaces. Here we’re looking into the living room’s two-story space on the west.

This view from atop the retaining wall looking west reveals the east side of the home facing the courtyard and studio. Notice how it is more powerful than the west facade. This is because the Eameses placed the service areas across the retaining wall around the north but also across the courtyard, in effect freeing up the ends for the double-height spaces. (A floor plan is seen at the conclusion of this ideabook.)

The courtyard divides the home and studio (the studio served as a home office until 1958, when the office was transferred to Venice, California), but in addition, it provides some relief to what would have been a bunch of service spaces if this were just one long building. The courtyard was designed to be covered but was built as an open space, enclosed on three sides.

Eames saw the home as a progressive means of extending wartime industrial production to the problem of the housing shortage. In this way the job was regarded as a prototype for future houses scattered throughout the country, but it’s clear upon coming to the home that it is highly idiosyncratic. Reyner Banham humorously described Charles as having a “hot-rodder mindset into the elements of building,” customizing standard components in unexpected manners.

First glances can result in comparisons with Piet Mondrian’s paintings, however James Steele, in a book-length analysis of the home, talks about your home as a personal expression of a specific style. In their short film on the home from 1955, the Eameses present the building via snapshots of flowers, toys, trees, architectural details — just about everything but the wide-angle views of architecture we’re used to today. The focus on details and moments in the movie finds a parallel in the moments of colour experienced about the facade and within the home.

This last opinion of the Eames House reveals how the duo actually dwelt in the home and used it as a casing that comprised and worked with their possessions and furniture. The home was not a container to be kept minimally furnished. It was a total environment, where the smallest artifact was as critical as the largest parts of architecture. It arouses the Eames style at all scales.

The exterior of the Eames House could be visited with reservations. Interior tours are available for members of the Eames Foundation.

References
Banham, Reyner. Age of the Masters: A Personal View of Modern Architecture. Harper & Row. Banham, Reyner. Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. The Penguin Press, 1971. The Eames FoundationFrampton, Kenneth and Larkin, David. American Masterworks: The Twentieth Century House. Rizzoli, 1995. House After Five Years of Living. A short film by Charles and Ray Eames, 1955.
Steele, James. Eames House: Charles and Ray Eames. Phaidon, 1994. More:
Eames on Film: The Architect and the Painter
10 Must-Know Modern Homes

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Brick Floors: Could This Durable Material Work for Your Residence?

There is something very cozy about brick floors — they imbue a home with a storied, old-world feel and emit a feeling of relaxation and nostalgia. Bricks unite the durability of tile or stone with the warm colors of wood, and they are able to work with almost any home design. Yet for all those positive features, they stay a relative desktop player on the grand stage of floor coverings.

If you’re thinking about brick floors for your home, keep these concerns in mind.

Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc

Experts of Brick Flooring

• Style flexibility. As with tile, brick’s modular character lends itself into an infinite number of patterns. Running bond (staggered), basket weave, herringbone and others are classics, but you can make a customized motif or a mosaic-style therapy. Brick also lends itself well to paint or epoxy, if you would prefer a radically different color than the typical earth tones.

• Sturdiness. Recall the Three Little Pigs? There are good reasons brick has been a building stalwart for centuries: It’s tough to ruin, it doesn’t rot. Also it will not require sanding or painting. Brick withstands extreme circumstances and weathers heavy foot traffic effortlessly, and it’s also heatproof. Individual bricks can crack or chip as time passes, but they are relatively easy to pry out and substitute.

Dennison and Dampier Interior Design

• Affordability. Since brick used for inside design is usually in paver or tile type, it’s thinner and less costly than exterior brick. On average you will pay less than $10 per square foot, uninstalled. Unless you’re a very skilled DIYer, you will want to factor in professional installation prices (typically around $500 to $700 to an average-size room), as brick can be difficult to put properly.

• Sustainability.
Clay brick is made chiefly of natural substances, such as shale, kaolin and minerals. Additionally, bricks from older or demolished structures could be salvaged for new programs — especially nice if you’re aiming for a vintage effect.

• Slip resistance. Left pristine, brick has a slightly rough, textured coating that offers traction underfoot. However, if you seal it with a slick or waxy coating, then you are going to have to take different measures to prevent falls.

• Cosmetic appeal.
One reason people love brick is its own inherent conventional warmth, which few different substances can replicate. It evokes a feeling of the past and feels like a powerful, reassuring holdover from bygone days. Natural variations in its own coloring provide it a beautifully nuanced palette.

Cons of Brick Flooring

• Hardness. Durability includes a cost: Brick is unyielding under the feet. If you’re using it in a kitchen or a different space where you spend long periods of time standing, then look at incorporating a cushioned mat or a thick rug to ease the strain on your thighs and back.

• Unevenness.
The best-laid brick floors are not 100 percent level, so you may want to compensate for slipping shims under pads or furniture under precarious breakables.

• Weight. As you would imagine, bricks are heavy, even in paver form. As a result, they are often impractical to get a home’s second or third story; it’s very hard to reinforce the floor enough to support all this weight.

Wright Design

• Moisture damage. While bricks onto a vertical surface resist water well, bricks onto a horizontal surface are another story. Moisture can accumulate and penetrate the mortar, and whether the bricks are porous, it can seep beneath their face too. You’ll want to apply a sealant occasionally to guard against mould, mold and cracking.

Tell us : Have you utilized brick floors in your property? What tips would you share?

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Great Lakes Gardener's February Checklist

Fantastic Lakes gardeners may be feeling like winter won’t ever end. What’s a gardener to do, other than head south? Fortunately, the days are becoming longer, winter is on the wane and there are a couple of flowers in the garden to cheer the spirit. February provides a last opportunity to get things done from the garden before the coming of spring, and an opportunity to get a jump on next season’s garden. It’s only 28 days; it’ll be over fast.

More regional garden guides

Barbara Pintozzi

Look for early-flowering bulbs. Flowers outdoors in the winter from the Great Lakes garden aren’t necessarily the product of a cabin-fevered mind. The oldest of the small bulbs, for example Winter aconites (Eranthis spp) and snow crocus (Crocus chrysanthus) sprout and blossom when not buried in snow.

Barbara Pintozzi

Snowdrops (here, Galanthus elwesii) peek their heads over the snow.

Planting these oldest of bulbs in a hot microclimate will ensure reliable February blossoms each year.

Barbara Pintozzi

A number of the witch hazels (here, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Sunburst’) begin unfurling their own strap-like petals on warmer days in February. Some varieties are fragrant. Espaliered against a wall, witch hazel can blossom even sooner.

Barbara Pintozzi

Enjoy indoor blossoms. Even when the garden does not cooperate, there are indoor blossoms to dispel the February blahs. All those forced bulbs brightens up last fall ought to be in full bloom today, such as this blended pot of ‘Synaeda Amor’ tulips (Tulipa) and ‘Flower Record’ crocus (Crocus vernus).

Barbara Pintozzi

Plan for spring. You will find things gardeners can perform inside this month to plan ahead for the gardening season.

Purchase The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program directory to organize visits to outstanding local gardens. Park Place at Barrington Hills, Illinois, shown here, was open to the public for only one day each in 2011 and 2012, and it would have been a shame to miss it.

Purchase seeds today so they arrive in time to get them started six to eight weeks before the last frost date. Procure seed-starting gear as well so that will be ready in March.

Unusual, hard-to-find perennials may be arranged online today, with a requested ship date for April, to ensure your choices aren’t sold out.

Barbara Pintozzi

Prune woody plants. Gardeners itching to do something out from the garden can sharpen up the pruners. February is the perfect time to form up dormant woody plants.

Without foliage, the crossing branches of the crabapple tree (Malus x ‘Prairiefire’) are plainly visible, making pruning much easier.

Winter pruning is not advocate for trees which “bleed” from the winter, for example as maples (Acer spp) or to get plants that bloom on old wood, for example magnolia, forsythia and lilac (Syringa vulgaris).

Barbara Pintozzi

Shape clematis. Type III, late-flowering or Clematis viticella hybrids, such as this Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, which bloom on new growth, may be cut back today. Cut the stems back to 1 foot from the ground. Instead, where the blossom is outgrowing its space, it may be cut all the way to the ground. It is prudent to wait to cut back dead foliage until fresh leaf buds look on Type II, ancient, large-flowering clematis (usually in March).

Barbara Pintozzi

Force flowering branches inside. While you’ve got the pruners in hand, snip several branches of forsythia or other early-spring-blooming shrubs, such as flowering quince (Chaenomeles sp) and pussy willow (Salix sp) to force into bloom indoors to get a spring trailer. Branches could be forced when the flower buds have begun to swell.

Put the freshly cut branches in warm water, then in room-temperature water the next day, and change the water daily.

Forsythia generally will blossom within two weeks of cutting, but as with almost any forced woody plant, the closer it is cut to blossom time, the earlier it will open.

Hang in there, spring is nearly here.

More regional garden guides

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Create a Traditional New Holiday Wreath the Easy Way

Whether on front door or over a mantel, few things communicate the holidays better than a new wreath. Tracy Goldman of Sabellico’s Florist breaks down the process of making a wreath of mixed greenery into eight simple steps, ideal for beginners. Follow along to produce your very own new front door adornment.

More DIY wreaths

Rikki Snyder

Mixing common lemon leaves, available year round, with seasonal greens like huckleberry, incense cedar and boxwood creates a textured look that is just right for this time of year. Vibrant red Ilex berries add just the right pinch of color.

Rikki Snyder

To create this wreath, you may need greens and berries for example:
Lemon leavesHuckleberryIncense cedarBoxwoodIlex berriesYou may find these in your neighborhood florist; five to 10 stems of each ought to be enough for one wreath.

Additional materials and tools:
8-inch metal cable wreath, clamp-style form (available at a crafts shop or florist)Stapler1 1/2 yards of 2-inch-wide ribbon ScissorsPruning shearsGardening glovesHammer

Rikki Snyder

1. Lay your alloy wreath form flat and layer the lemon leaf stems in first for a sturdy base. Trim the ends of each piece.

Rikki Snyder

Twist the greens between the built-in clamps, with a generous amount for the base of your wreath, fanning the leaves into the outside around the whole frame.

Rikki Snyder

2. Insert a layer of huckleberry greens. Utilize garden shears to trim the pieces to your desired size.

Rikki Snyder

Use one generous piece of this huckleberry for every clamp. This may add some nice texture without overpowering your own design. Continue all of the way around the wreath.

Rikki Snyder

3. Cedar is prickly, so you might choose to use gardening gloves for this step. Trim the plaster into bits and set the pieces around the wreath inside every clamp. Feel free to play amounts to receive your desired look. Cedar adds a nice seasonal look, and the odor is fantastic.

Rikki Snyder

4. Divide the boxwood nto pieces, beginning with larger tufts and then moving on to bigger ones.

Rikki Snyder

Tuck the boxwood more toward the middle of the wreath form to fill it in. Use the larger tufts first, then use the smaller pieces to fill in any gaps.

Rikki Snyder

5. Choose your reddish Ilex berries for long-lasting, festive color.

Rikki Snyder

Trim the berries and twigs to about the span shown here.

Rikki Snyder

6. Carefully place a little branch of berries in each clamp. They are sometimes fragile, so take extra care when working together.

Rikki Snyder

Your wreath should begin to take form and seem like this as you add all of the greens and berries.

Rikki Snyder

7. Feel throughout the greens to obtain each clamp and then bend both pieces together. Use a hammer for any clamps which are more challenging to close. Make sure all the greens are in place before shutting the clamps, so nothing falls out. Tuck in additional greenery as required to cover the clamps.

Rikki Snyder

8. Cut approximately 1 1/2 yards of ribbon for the hanger.

Rikki Snyder

Wrap the 2 ends of the ribbon around the frame a few inches apart from each other.

Rikki Snyder

Staple every single ribbon end with each other to secure the ribbon into the frame.

Rikki Snyder

Cut the ribbon in half at the top of the loop and tie a bow using the 2 ends. (View the first image for the final result.)

Rikki Snyder

This wreath will create the perfect greeting on front door. Be sure to take it inside during any storms to keep it in great shape throughout the holidays.

More wreath DIYs:
The best way to make a wonderfully twiggy All-natural wreath

The best way to make a eucalyptus and juniper wreath

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A Bedroom Lets Go to Gain Elegance and Serenity

Jane Lockhart has noticed an alarming trend: When it comes to decorating, her clients are now paying the least attention to their bedrooms, even though they spend a fantastic portion of their time at home in them. “In the end of a very long day, it’s easy to close your eyes and leave the mess and chaos to be sprinkled on a second evening,” she states. With this undertaking, Lockhart helped her customer purge excess furniture, including inherited pieces, and a hodgepodge of styles. Even though the designer remained well within budget, one big splurge set the tone for a cool, calm and elegant refuge: a new custom bed.

Who sleeps here: An empty nester who’s also a working professional
Location: Ontario, Canada
Size: 176 square feet
Style challenge: Helping the customer downsize her furniture and decor

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

As with any bedroom, the most significant piece of furniture in this client’s room is the bed. Lockhart replaced the springy 10-year-old mattress with a firm pillow-top version with hypoallergenic and ergonomic attributes.

Lockhart created a custom platform bed frame and reupholstered the headboard in charcoal gray faux suede fabric by Robert Allen Design; the custom touches add a sophisticated and tailored touch to the bedroom. The gray hue sets the cool and neutral colour palette for the space.

Hint: Lockhart highly recommends adding molding to interiors. Molding is an easy architectural detail but adds so much elegance and style to a room. Here, Canamould’s lightweight foam molding created for an easy cut-and-caulk installation.

Wall paint: Pure White, Martha Stewart Living; molding paint: Winter Snow, Benjamin Moore; window colors: Hunter Douglas; draperies: Drapes & More; lamps: Ikea

Related: The best way to shop for a greener mattress

Before Photo

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

BEFORE: This photograph shows some pieces the customer donated or sold.

“We kept pieces that had plenty of sentimental significance and layout purpose,” Lockhart says. “Eventually we got to a location that was empty enough for me to start sourcing new pieces and to incorporate existing favorite antiques and private things.”

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

AFTER: This bedside corner image showcases the room’s new palette of warm white, soft gray and bits of pink. Lockhart warmed up the area, which faces Lake Ontario, with lavish fabrics, soft throws and satin pima cotton sheets and bedding.

Hint: Small cabinets and classic or classic occasional tables create fairly and practical night tables. Lockhart spruced up this classic find with a new drawer pull and a darker blot.

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

Large windows allow plenty of natural light into the space — as well as the calming sound of waves crashing at night. Here, sexy silk drapes stitched on top of light-diffusing blinds and a wool rug are warm and touchable in a room that occupies long Canadian winters.

Hint: The designer layered the lighting in the room by blending natural light with LED bulbs in floor and table lamps. “I used a few bulbs on dimmers, which adds a romantic glow to the distance,” she states.

Chair: Jane by Jane Lockhart in Robert Allen Design fabric; framed prints: Windergarden

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

A dresser from HomeSense made of walnut with antique brass hardware provides storage space. It’s also flexible enough to be changed out to the living room or dining room area.

Hint: “Mirrors are usually inexpensive and come in all kinds of different styles,” says Lockhart. “You can use them outside of their practical purpose as ever-changing works of art — and they’ll reflect light and the gorgeous things you have added to your room”

Clock radio: Tivoli

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

Lockhart’s customer personalized this dressing table tray by lining its removable Plexiglas bottom with scrap fabric left over from the custom cushions.

Tray: FHE Group

Jane Lockhart Interior Design

Hint: Keep trays handy to encourage breakfast in bed and never underestimate the design ability of cushions and throw pillows.

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Bewitching Halloween Entryways by ers

ers, you answered our call! Thank you for sharing your creative Halloween entryways with us. I’ve been using a ball checking out all of your decorations, from inviting harvest displays to decoration made to frighten off the most intrepid visitors. Here’s how you all are spicing things up this October.

Lighting plays a major role in a lot of ers’ Halloween entry schemes. Garrison Hullinger has the expertise to make a great Halloween glow and spotlighting for his favourite holiday.

Hullinger also includes some toil and trouble brewing on the front porch, giving the place a layer of fog that is unexplained.

Mary Prince Photography

Photographer Mary Prince submitted this beautiful Halloween driveway; autumnal landscape islands are topped off by pumpkins.

Lynda Quintero-Davids of Focal Point Styling has highlighted the vertical with branches and bright fall foliage.

consumer rgillenwater’s display can readily be de-Halloweened on November 1.

This entry transforms after dark, when consumer safbham flicks on creepy luminous cat eyes and flickering orange lights.

Julie Ranee Photography

Gourds and pumpkins are such a wonderful way to decorate for both Halloween and fall generally. The further disfigured and wartier, the greater.

See the rest of this porch

This picture, sent by consumer cindyp106, is the one that made me laugh the hardest. Apparently, Pumpkinbum is in need of a good belt.

Smalls Landscaping

If you would like to work that Halloween curb appeal beyond the stoop area, use a window box or deep windowsill like Smalls Landscaping includes here.

You might think that this is just a pretty entry decorated for maximum fall curb appeal, but look closely… it seems the house might have landed on the Wicked Witch of the East.

Mary Prince Photography

As striking as pumpkins intricately carved with Van Gogh paintings or lace designs are, I prefer to be fulfilled with old-school jack-o’-lanterns with character like those.

It’s difficult to believe that consumer Deborah Price isn’t done with this entry yet. She promises to reveal the finished design on All Hallows’ Eve. You can follow her progress in her Halloween 2012 ideabook.

Front lawns –turned–graveyards are becoming increasingly more elaborate. This one is from consumer shannon; the next one came in from consumer sunflowerbecky.

consumer Kevin writes,”L-O-V-E Halloween! Here’s what we do with our entry but we do a lot more with the yard. We get almost 600 trick-or-treaters every year. So enjoyable!” Kevin’s pumpkin-head ghouls look more menacing at nighttime (next picture ).

Here’s a close-up of Kevin’s pumpkin-head ghouls at nighttime. Pretty scary things — I am astonished 600 trick-or-treaters brave their way up to the door.

consumer tenthmile writes,”Here is the first year I have really done anything for Halloween, so no laughing.” No laughing ; I am batty over this smart garage door dressing.

Edgar Allan Poe brought out the goth in consumer donnasue65, who used his poem”The Raven” as inspiration for a black, white and red scheme.

consumer ksflygirl makes certain her beautiful fall entryway doesn’t get eaten by local Kansas varmints by shining her up gourds with some lacquer.

Mary Prince Photography

I certainly would not take the apple this witch in Boston’s Back Bay is offering!

Sunflowerbecky didn’t forget a detail on this creepy hanging skeleton bride, complete with a veil and a black rose. “We go all out for Halloween… we are living in a 140-year-old house and we attract the children and parents through the house with each room decorated to be somewhat haunted,” she writes. Does anyone else get the feeling from this it’s not so mild? I would really like to check it out.

consumer Melissa Hedges knows the power of giving people the feeling that there’s something frightful hovering overhead. One look up in this need to produce a terrified gasp.

consumer tomnkat has silhouettes in every window of the house.

“I looked for contours that I liked and sketched them black fadeless bulletin board newspaper,” writes tomnkat.” [I] cut them and taped them up! I really like them and my daughter begins asking me to place them on October 1st — they are a hit in the area!”

consumer sarelle23 makes sure the little ones aren’t scared off by those spooky skeletons and spiderwebs. “We are called the Halloween House in our neighborhood,” she writes. “We replace the white bulb onto the porch with reddish, which really glows supporting the cobweb at nighttime. The skeleton on the right is on a sensor and makes moves and noise when people walk by. We can observe the trick-or-treaters out of our kitchen window — if they’re young, I answer the door and it is less frightening. If they’re older, my spouse places on a monster hands and opens the door, scaring the elderly children — they love it!”

At first glance, consumer flippingartist’s front porch doesn’t seem all that scary, until you observe those creepy eyes peeking out of the”hole” in the steps.

Don’t be intimidated by elaborate decorations; consider just how charming something as simple as consumer ikwewe’s jack-o’-lantern lights can be, day or night.

Please check out the Opinions section of the original Halloween call to see more great decorating ideas. Additionally, please keep sharing your decorations in the Comments section below!

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Integrated Kitchen

The term”integrated” means that lots of individual components combine in a means that makes a unified whole. Kitchens are one of the hardest-working rooms at a home, and good design makes the room efficient and pleasant to be in. The goal of an integrated kitchen is the appliances are imperceptible elements; they are either made to appear to be cabinetry or made to be flush with the cabinets, with all the visible controls removed.

CWB Architects

Wall pantry or fridge? This integrated refrigerator has the same frame and panel face as the rest of the kitchen cabinets. It is regarded fully integrated.

RWA Architects

Flush surfaces are also utilized within an integrated kitchen. Appliances do not stand out or sit recesses; they are in line with the rest of the cabinetry.

Andre Rothblatt Architecture

For a few sticklers of integrated design, integration ensures the appliances are completely hidden and unidentifiable. Even the small controls with this dishwasher give away the fact it isn’t a cupboard, but it is a small detail that many could live with. This dishwasher could be considered partly integrated.

MELISSA BAGBY

Technically this fridge isn’t integrated, since it’s controls on the outside and doesn’t have the same millwork confront as the cupboards. Incorporating it in an armoire of sorts was fairly clever, though.

Palmer Todd

Having an integrated kitchen is quite desirable within an open-floor-plan home, as the kitchen can be viewed from many rooms, and mismatched appliances and finishes are not very attractive. Stainless steel appliances are generally most expensive; adding a cabinet face to a appliance can be a cost-saving measure.

Jane Kim Design

High-gloss gray surfaces conceal the prospective appliances within this pastoral modern integrated kitchen, inducing one to possibly ask, Are there any really appliances in there?

More: manuals to kitchen layout

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5 Ways to Plant a Kiss of Red on Your Landscape

The Scarlet Letter. Scarlett O’Hara. Few colors connote passion and play quite like the colour red. In the scene, as in literature, this fiery hue cranks up the heat, stimulating energy, confidence and enthusiasm. Whether you wish to make a bold statement or accentuate a focal point, here are five ways to landscape with red.

Windsor Firms

1. Command Attention

Just like a stop sign, red makes us all pause. Make the most of this bold hue from the landscape to direct the eye where you want it. Here, swaths of red impatiens funnel focus into the door.

Rely on reddish to highlight focal points, including urns, fountains and planters.

Pacific West Tree Company

Use red blossoms to bring vibrant energy into an otherwise neutral landscape. Because a tiny red can go a long way, this sexy colour is ideal in warm climates, where crops are scarcer.

Windsor Firms

2. Layer for Effect

Red appears to come forward in the landscape, which helps make a large garden feel more amorous.

Wallace Landscape Associates

Plant reddish toward the end of a destination, like a very long walkway, where its vibrant color will lure guests down the road.

Wallace Landscape Associates

Few colors extend as warm a welcome as reddish. Tap into its friendly soul by planting strands of red flowers up front steps or flanking front door with them.

Raymond Jungles, Inc..

3. Choose Shades of Difference

Red-browns and terra-cotta reds offer a warm, autumnal appearance. Look to foliage selections for this earthy scheme.

Locate plants with reddish foliage at the plant guides

Wallace Landscape Associates

Dark reds (and deep purples) are one of the initial colors to glow in waning light. Restrict them if you would like to enjoy an evening garden.

Liquidscapes

Red and yellow are a timeless summertime garden colour combination. Provide a broad range of blossoms in these colors then; therefore, they look best in bright sunshine.

Find fantastic reddish blossoms | Browse yellow blossoms

Wallace Landscape Associates

4. Play It Cool

Temper red’s bold nature by pairing it with complementary green.

Exteriorscapes llc

Somewhat red, like in this Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’) may go a very long way. Team it with serene blues, grays and greens for a refreshing appearance.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Fantastic plant companions, such as airy red yarrow and scattering purple salvia, showcase a winning combination of sexy and trendy colors.

5. Utilize Focal-Point Flowers

Sure, you can catch attention with impatiens and geraniums, but other more sudden specimens abound. One chance: kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos ‘Red Cross’).

Terra Nova® Nurseries, Inc

Another energetic candidate value a closer look is Mukdenia ‘Crimson Fans’. Somehow this plant blurs the line between flower and foliage.

An old favourite from South Africa, Bright Eyes Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora) is a gorgeous plant that may stand alone as an accent plant or blend in with additional hot-colored summer bloomers, such as daylilies.

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Pot War: When and How to Use Chemical Herbicides

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, it is time to bring out the big guns of weed management: the compounds. Think carefully before using chemical herbicides on the landscape, and make certain they are part of an integrated pest management approach that includes:
Identifying the particular problem plant.Understanding the plant’s life cycle. Can it be an annual or a perennial? Does it spread by seeds, seeds or both? If it spreads by seed, when does this germinate? Using cultural (growing conditions that discourage weeds) or mechanical way of command, whenever possible. Recognizing when and the way the weed invasion may cause catastrophic damage to a natural habitat, either harvest or structure.Once you’ve determined that an herbicide is the proper step in handling your weed problem, you can evaluate the options and select the right product for your circumstances.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

First, let us get familiar with the terminology. Herbicides act as pre-emergents, by inhibiting plant seeds from germinating, or as postemergents, which means they operate on actively growing plants.

Some are nonselective and affect any crops they contact, while some are selective and will control only particular crops.

Contact herbicides impact only the plant cells on which they are applied, while systemic Compounds are absorbed into the whole plant and plant system.

Chemical controls may be natural or synthetic. Ideally, all herbicides must be applied by a certified pesticide applicator.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Natural Herbicides

The active ingredients in natural herbicides come from minerals or plants. These products are subject to government regulations for private and environmental safety. Read all product labels thoroughly and follow along with care.

Corn gluten free meal. The protein component of a corn kernel is a selective, pre-emergent herbicide most commonly utilized to control annual weeds — including as oxalis, purslane and spurge — in lawns. It is also about 10 percent nitrogen, therefore it helps promote nutritious turf. Corn gluten meal is most successful when applied two times a year. Apply it before the seed germinates and forms a root. A dry period after germination is also vital. Find out more about timing corn gluten meal programs here.

Vinegar. It is a nonselective, postemergent and contact herbicide for annual weeds. Apply horticultural vinegar alternatives, which have less than 20 percent linoleic acid, as a spray into the weeds’ foliage. The acid acts as a contact desiccant (“burning” the foliage but not the roots) and can be most successful when applied to annual weeds in the heat of summer.

Soap. Horticultural soaps, derived from fatty acids, which are nonselective, postemergent, contact herbicides. Sprayed about the weeds’ leaves, the item smothers the foliage, inhibiting the crops’ growth. Horticultural soaps are most effective in young, actively growing, annual weeds.

Iron. The newest kid on the block employs a 1.5 percent option of FeHDTA (a iron chelate) as its active ingredient. A selective, systemic, postemergent herbicide, the applied iron dose is toxic to a number of common broad-leaf weeds but does not have a detrimental effect on turf grasses.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Synthetic Herbicides

Synthetic herbicides have artificial elements subject to government regulations for private and environmental safety. Remember: Read and follow product labels carefully.

Glysophate and glufosinate ammonium. All these nonselective, systemic herbicides could be effective on poisonous perennial weeds like field bindweed, myrtle spuge and quackgrass. Research shows that a very particular application regime — the time of year, the phase in the plants’ life cycle, and also the method of application — is vital to the most efficient and beneficial use of this herbicide.

2,4-D and Tryclopyr. Both these chemicals are selective, systemic, postemergent herbicides useful for controlling many annual and perennial broadleaf weeds like puncturevine, kochia, Canada thistle and orange hawkweed. They are effective on weeds in lawns and round conifers.

Your local Cooperative Extension Office will have significantly more research about the best way best to identify and manage the weeds in your region.

More:
5 Ways to Naturally Grow the Weed War
Tackle Weeds the Pure Method
5 Weed-Smothering Ground Covers

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8 Tips to Turn Your Attic Into a Snug Reading Nook

On the lookout for an excuse? These comfy reading nooks might be just the inspiration you need. Indulge your inner bookworm by turning an often-overlooked space to a location where you are able to get away from the distractions of the primary floor.

Stonewood, LLC

Go for dual duty. Consider adding storage beneath any built-in seats. Attic spaces are normally tight, and that means you’ll be glad you have got the extra hiding space for this magazine collection you have been slowly working your way through. If you are keeping things simple and just buying furniture, find some handsome baskets to slide beneath.

Furnish it with your favorite bits. This distance is all about comfort, so exude furnishings which will encourage precisely that. “A comfy chair and ottoman are ideal so the reader can put up their feet,” says interior designer Diane Bishop.

Ehlen Creative Communications

Embrace the sloped walls. Sloped walls may be an architectural annoyance, but they make for a perfect reading nook. Utilize the space beneath for a daybed or window seat; the sloped walls emanate instant coziness.

A+B KASHA Designs

Create a library feel. If you’ve got the distance, combine lounge furniture and book storage. Not only will this keep your collection accessible, but having novels in sight makes the space feel like a library.

Diane Bishop Interiors

Bring in the reading lamps. Attics are usually dark, along with a reading nook will not be good if you can not find the book before you. “A tall lamp with a sheer shade both will light the region and supply soft lighting for the words onto the page,” says Bishop. “Pick the right style, and the lamp will double as an attractive design element inside the room.”

LDa Interiors & Architecture

Pick colors that induce calm. This distance is meant to relax you, go for soothing colors that set the right tone — usually whites, neutrals, light greens and blues. “Consider painting the ceiling a different colour to make interest,” suggests Bishop.

Ventilate. Equip your distance with sufficient ventilation and air circulation so that you don’t feel uneasy when trying to unwind. Attic spaces get sexy, and ceiling fans may make a refreshing breeze.

Cardea Building Co..

Maintain the attention. Recall, the role of your loft has changed. Don’t allow the focus change to storage or anything else. “Let this place be only about writing or reading,” says Bishop. “Cut down on clutter and distractions to make a truly peaceful space”

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