Garages, Basements and Yates' Room
Other Appealing Additions to a Healing Garden Water. It has an almost spiritual element that helps promote flow and energy. Consider adding a pond or water feature to your garden design. Shade. Both plants and people need shade in the garden during hot summer months. Shade also enhances the visual appeal of a garden — changes in the light and shade in a garden create a dynamic landscape that allows visitors to come back time and time again to something new. Seating. Include seating in shaded parts of the garden for rest or reflection. Plants for bird life and bees. Including plants and flora that attract birds and bees keeps the garden active and connects it to the larger environment. The white-faced heron that regularly visits the koi pond at our facility, for example, connects us to the ocean.
Sound. Consider native plants and other pollinator attractors to draw chirping birds and buzzing bees to your garden. Scent. Opt for plants that emit an enticing and calming scent, such as lavender and lemon balm, or choose fragrant herbs such as mint, rosemary or lemon grass. An emotional connection. Add features that your visitors will be drawn to — a trickling water feature or a scented flower that reminds them of their childhood, for example.
The Benefits of a Healing Garden Healing gardens have a special place in garden design. When you are creating a garden from a healing perspective, it is important to make sure all the senses — sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing — are engaged. This allows visitors to form an emotional connection with the space, which can lift their spirits and speed up the healing process. You’ll also want to make sure the space is comfortable and easy to navigate, so it can be used safely by those who are recuperating or otherwise physically limited.
2. Plan for plants to move around. Use plants’ natural tendencies to spread to your advantage, rather than trying to manage them like you’re maintaining a static sculpture. Use plants that moderately self-sow, especially if you’ve got a larger area, or plan for self-sowing with biennial plants like black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) or some native thistles that stay around only by reproducing. Other plants might spread by runners and can help stabilize soil, stop runoff or cover an area quickly and outcompete weed invasions. By employing a plant’s tendency to wander and create little families of more plants, you’ll be less irked down the road when something pops up in a place you didn’t plan for. In fact, you might be delighted when serendipity happens.
3. Celebrate death. That’s right — it’s a part of life for all living things and is essential to healthy gardens. Even after plants expire, they keep adding nutrients and services to the ecosystem in the landscape. If you have a dead tree that requires a professional to remove large limbs, ask to keep a portion of the trunk in place to serve as a stag, which will become a home to native bees and birds. If you have a shrub to cut down, use it to start a pile of limbs and branches in the garden corner, which will serve as home for countless creatures, from birds to bees to frogs to spiders to butterflies. If you have sedges lining a pond, know that their dead immersed leaves actually help to treat and filter the water. Even after the garden cleanup done in spring, leaving materials in place adds essential nutrients to the garden beds without needing to truck in wood mulch. 4 Reasons Not to Rush the Spring Garden Cleanup
4. Embrace the nature of drought. When a dry spell comes, and it certainly will, some plants will either close up shop early and go dormant or just won’t flower that year, as they conserve energy. That’s not a failure of the plant or your green thumb. Let the plants do what they’ve evolved to do and celebrate that natural resiliency. Don’t worry about forcing a bloom. If you used a native plant or one adapted to your region, it will most likely come back the following year.
5. Let beneficial predator bugs take care of pests. Certainly, wasp nests near a doorway or an outdoor lounge area may need to be removed, but it’s best to identify the species first, as different species may need to be handled differently. With aphids or other pests, wait and see if ladybugs or lacewings come to prey on them and take care of things naturally. If these beneficial predator bugs don’t show up, consider increasing your habitat and plant diversity to create the environment they need to thrive. See more ways to garden for beneficial insects
Not all gardens need to be manicured spaces, with raked beds, crisp borders and tiered levels of ordered plants. Not every plant, bird and butterfly needs to be in its place, at the right time and in the right moment. Instead, let go of wanting to achieve the “perfect” garden and welcome a little more uncertainty. In doing so you may get to witness, celebrate and be a part of the natural ebb and flow of the wild world around us in a way you might not with a perfect garden. The following strategies may help you end your quest for perfection in the garden while also helping you embrace a little bit of healthy, wild instability outdoors.
1. Don’t worry about even spacing. How often, when walking in a forest or meadow, do you see plants that are all spaced 12 to 24 inches apart? While you may need to evenly space plants like sedges that form the ground layer in a matrix planting for quick, even coverage, you don’t have to follow the same rules for upper-layer plants like flowers and even shrubs. Let plants touch and bump into one another, without worrying about perfectly spacing them. By mimicking the staggered spacing we see in wild landscapes, we bring a bit more of nature home while still cultivating a garden that’s organized and pleasing to our senses.
On the other side of the room is an area that the husband uses when he works from home. The navy console table that displays the art is new, and the shades were custom-made for the space. Try, the designer, created the gray piece of art on the console table. The desks are vintage and were owned already by the homeowner. The blue paint gave the homeowner from Michigan a touch of that lakeside effect she wanted. Wall paint: Newburyport Blue, Benjamin Moore
Just up the stairs from the main level, the media room has a dark wall, rich textures and jewel tones. The paneled wall behind the television was originally a glossy stained honey oak, which the Laings painted white. After Scott bought, in Kristin’s words, “the biggest TV he could find,” she repainted the wall a charcoal color to make it blend in. “The TV looked enormous before and now it’s kind of camouflaged,” she says. Sconces provide backlighting when the family watches TV.
4. Install a double-cylinder deadbolt. A standard deadbolt only requires a key on the outside. The inside has a thumb-turn that operates the lock. With French doors that don’t have impact-resistant glass, anyone can break the glass, reach in and unlock the door. Double-cylinder deadbolts require keys on both sides, so they prevent someone from doing this. Safety tip: Be careful, though, if this is your only way out from this area of the home. A double-cylinder deadbolt can be dangerous. In an emergency, such as a fire, where you need to get out quickly, you may not have time to locate the key. In this case, double cylinders are better secondary locks that are only used when you leave the house. 5. Install security hinges. This is important for doors that open outward, with the hinges accessible from the outside. Without securing the hinges, it won’t matter how strong your doors and locks are. Set screw hinges, stud hinges and hinges with nonremovable pins are all effective security hinge options.
3. Use a high-quality mortise lock. Mortise locks are a type of deadbolt lock. Instead of being inserted through a hole bored through the door, though, the mortise lock is a complete metal housing that is installed through a pocket in the edge of the door. Since the entire lock mechanism is protected by the metal housing, mortise locks are harder to breach than standard deadbolts.
2. Use a three-point locking system. This is very important for double French doors. That’s because the bolt of the lock doesn’t extend into the solid door frame, it extends into another door, and that door is just not as strong as the door frame. Three-point locking systems include metal rods that extend from the door up into the top of the door frame and down into the floor. Combined with the deadbolt, these rods make the doors much stronger than the deadbolt alone.
Security While not foolproof, there are several ways to strengthen your French doors. 1. Get impact-resistant glass. If you are buying new doors, get them with impact-resistant glass. This type of glass is required in hurricane-prone areas because it can withstand a tremendous amount of force without breaking. That unusual strength is also effective against burglars. Expert tip: Don’t confuse impact-resistant glass with tempered glass. They are not the same. Tempered glass is a little stronger than ordinary glass, but it is still easily breakable.
One spot that remained relatively untouched was this den, which was already pretty cozy. “It’s wonderful to watch how projects and plans can evolve,” Leasia says. “Originally my clients wanted to paint over the pine paneling with lacquered paint, but as they got to know the house better they wanted to keep it and embraced all of its knots. If there’s one thing we have a lot of in Oregon it’s wood, and this room is so typical of a 1930s Colonial here that I’m glad they did.” She furnished the room with comfy olive leather armchairs, a custom ottoman and even a little friend for Coco.
The main living room is a casual, kick-your-shoes-off kind of space, a favorite of the couple’s dogs. A decoy-filled ladder leads to an open sleeping loft for guests. The room also serves as a distraction-free office and writing studio. You may notice these French doors have more panes than the door in the previous photo. They were another money saver from a supplier’s restock pile.
Create a mood with lighting. I can almost smell this room through the picture: a blend of old, scuffed floorboards, lake water and fireplace embers. Are you with me? The golden stain on the walls grows richer with the amber lighting, creating a soft glow. Lighting sets the mood in a room, so whenever possible, choose lamps and sconces that will keep it interesting.
The craft room-study: Because her client loves to sew, the designer turned this third bedroom into a multipurpose craft space, study and library. She designed beautiful built-ins to conceal her client’s electronic equipment, such as a printer, as well as her sewing machine. Outlets installed along the baseboards let the client easily plug in the sewing machine and pull it over to the table. A narrow walnut counter allowed the upper built-ins to be set back, creating depth, and brass hardware plays beautifully off the green paint. Cabinet color: Calke Green, Farrow & Ball
The homeowners already had this sofa. Every upholstered piece here is covered in outdoor fabric to stand up to abuses like damp bathing suits, and the rugs are indoor-outdoor as well. The floors are concrete throughout. Barnes worked a little more blue leopard print in via the ottomans, this time in green. The drapes are a casual burlap,
Work your walls. Use all the wall space available; this not only keeps things off the floor, but also leaves optimal space for your car. “Consider a wall track system to hang shovels and other tools in an easy-to-reach place by the garage door,” says Kiss. “For heavy, bulky items such as winter sports equipment, install deep garage shelving with metal stiffeners.”
Now for the More Difficult Problem of Sound Blocking “If sound is pouring through the window, it means the frame is substandard, the panes of glass are not airtight, or there are not enough panes of glass there,” Boughan says. "You need to replace it or cover it.” Caulking. A lot of outside noise can seep in through windows. A mere 1 percent gap in the sound barrier transmits 50 percent of sound — that's the rule of acoustics, Boughan explains. Try something simple like caulking around your windows, sealing any gaps.
Accoustical blankets. Acoustical blankets look like those mover's blankets in freight elevators. They cost $10 per square foot. Triple-pane windows. A prettier solution that still involves fresh air and light: You can replace double-pane, or double-glazed, windows with triple pane, says Morrall. Installing triple-glazed windows requires the expertise of a contractor, and they typically cost 10 percent more than double-pane windows.
Buy a solid-wood-core door. Boughan finds that the biggest sound culprits in home offices are doors. For the best sound blocking, install a solid-wood-core door; its mass will dampen sound. "The little crack running around the door is transmitting a lot more sound than anyone would ever dream," Boughan says, reminding us of the 1 percent rule. A door seal kit ($220 to $550) will seal gaps. A solid-wood-core door costs about $200.
If you're building a new home/room, there are several ways to incorporate sound-blocking into the room. We used QuietRock 525 sheetrock in our bedroom as we back to a busy road and what a difference. We also used a double-pane patio door with Argon gas. This too helped immensely. If you're trying to block sound from an adjacent room, there is QuietBatt and Roxul insulation. There is also the method of de-coupling the wall with a track system or building a 6" thick wall where the 2x4 studs alternate back and forth within the wall. If you Google "sound-blocking", you will find lots of resources to help with this problem.
Paneling with a small shelf
The grille from a 1954 Divco milk truck graces the space above the mantel. “I was searching for something large and wonderful for this space, and I found this in an antique shop in Hudson, New York,” says Mittleman. “I had to promise the owner that the space wouldn’t look like a Chili’s restaurant before I bought it.” The headlights turn on with the flick of a light switch.
More Design Tips Add the element of surprise. Draw visitors toward different parts of the garden and offer a surprise, whether it’s a mango tree next to a lime tree or a pretty strawberry patch in an unexpected spot. Include cascading plants. Smooth out hard edges and create a sense of abundance in your healing garden by choosing plants and herbs that have a tendency to spill over walls and onto pathways.
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