Home Improvement

In the first millennium, a wealthy Roman family would most likely have had a garden surrounding their home. In it, you might find an open-air palazzo, pergola-style structures dripping with vines and blooming flowers, a dining area with couches for relaxation, water features such as an outdoor water fountain or wall fountain, and walkways that led out into the garden proper, perhaps to a prized rosebush or into an olive grove. These are some of the elements characterizing what is now called classical landscape design, also known as traditional landscape design.

Classical landscape design is a subset of formal landscape design that uses linear, clean lines to develop an uncluttered look. These lines can be drawn with rows of trees and well-trimmed hedges, perfect plantings for the classical landscape design. Or perhaps a seat wall made of regimented terra cotta tiles can do double-duty. Here and there, vines, such as ivy or wisteria, can soften any harshness. In this regard, this style is similar to the Mediterranean landscape design with its Roman and Greek influences.

The History of Classical Landscape Design

Borrowing influences from previous civilizations, classical landscape design solidified in Rome and the surrounding countryside. Villas were built with comfortable courtyards, sparkling with the sound of water, shaded by large trees, fragrant with rosemary and citrus fruits. It was from this setting that we got the term “pleasure garden.”

In England of the late 1700s, property owners started looking backwards, past the Baroque period and the Renaissance, to the beginnings of western civilization. There, they found classical landscapes making use of woods, water, indigenous plants and small temples. These elements were incorporated into the gardens of that day, further defining the principles of traditional landscape design.

By the way, when Rome fell to the barbarians, the gardens had become so exquisite that the barbarians chose not to ransack them. Instead they kept them up and learned from them. This development is one of the early examples of how we, as humans, learned that beauty can change the world: it can stop violence. This principle is now being used to excellent effect in gardens started as rehabilitation projects in prisons, inner cities and ghettos.

Choices in Classical Landscape Design

As with all landscape design, the architecture of the house needs to be considered when using a traditional landscape design. For this style, the home and landscape can be tied together through the subtle placement of a hardscape feature, such as the use of tumbled travertine for the courtyard flooring.

Because of the formal principles inherent in this style, you want to strike a balance when choosing materials between dull blandness and baroque lavishness. Reckon instead in terms of fascinating variety. For instance, well-contained decorative gravel can provide color and texture. Courtyards, pool decking and patios should use materials that are symmetrical, in keeping with the formal style. Stone, terra cotta tiles and flagstone are appropriate choices. Granite benches, concrete grottoes and marble urns add sturdiness and reference antiquities.

Your preference for classical landscape design can also be demonstrated in the plants you choose. Your residential garden will be enhanced by fruit trees and other dwarf trees-or perhaps a stand of cypress, mulberry or fig trees. The cheery colors of marigolds, hyacinths and roses are well suited for the classical landscape design. Herbs planted in terra cotta pots scent the air and provide fresh flavor in your outdoor kitchen cooking.

Hardscapes in Classical Landscape Design

Color, form, line, scale, and texture are your means of expressing classical landscape design preferences just as they are with modern landscape design.

Hardscapes to include:

• Outdoor rooms for outdoor living. These living areas, in effect, make your home larger. They also serve to make transition areas that connect the indoor and outdoor spaces. Plus, they further the notion that a garden is a place of rejuvenation. In particular, outdoor kitchens are vital to the traditional landscape design.

• Outdoor water fountains. If you remember your ancient world history classes, you know that the Romans perfected the aqueduct. So water is prized within classical landscape design and nothing showcases it like a picture-perfect outdoor water fountain. Look for fountains in formal, Romanesque, Italianate, Mediterranean and rustic styles. Those made of tile, cast stone, cast iron and concrete work particularly well with this style.

• Swimming pools. When placed within a classical landscape design, the shape of your swimming pool should tend towards basic geometric shapes like rectangles and ovals. Thus, the shape of the pool frames the water and turns it into a classical design element of the landscape. It is often efficient to combine the pool with an outdoor water fountain to eliminate some maintenance redundancies.

• Landscape lighting. Landscape lighting is another vital element of traditional landscape design as it makes ambiance and lets you delight in the outdoors, night and day.

Classical Landscape Design: A Houston Setting

”We implemented a classical landscape design for one of our Houston clients, whose home was French Country. For the garden, we chose a design that closely resembles a well-known garden in Florence,” says Jeff Halper with Exterior Worlds. “The landscape design makes excellent use of gravel and limestone, which looks very natural in a Houston garden. And we planted boxwoods, which we trim and shape regularly as part of a well-thought-out residential landscape maintenance plot. It is a lovely and relaxing space.”

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Kitchen Designs for New Kitchens and Understanding the Step Saving Triangle

Kitchen Remodels
New Kitchen Designs and Kitchen Layout 
Sizing Kitchens and Understanding the Step Saving Triangle

A family cook often walks 100 miles a year. As much as one third of this kitchen pacing may be wasted motion, due to appliances placed for saving dollars in the construction or remodeling process. Sizing a kitchen is very vital prior to the start of a new kitchen project. Plot ahead and know the best kitchen layout for your family.

In an efficient kitchen there are three ” activity centers”.  The kitchen activity centers consist of the refrigerator, the sink and the range. These activity centers in a kitchen should lie within easy reach of the cook – and according to a study made at Cornell University, better placement of these activity centers can eliminate as much as 40 miles a year from the kitchen marathon.
 
There are Four Basic Kitchen  Layouts
 (There also are variations to the four basic kitchen layouts

The corridor kitchen.
The L kitchen.
The U kitchen.
The one – wall kitchen.
 
Two variations are the Double L and the G kitchen layouts.

The 3 activity centers make up 3 points called the “work triangle”
(The refrigerator, the sink and the range)

Usually – The smaller the triangle the greater the efficiency

In an efficient kitchen – the sides of the triangle add up to no more than 23 feet.

Additional Kitchen Considerations: Each activity center must also have a minimum of counter area and storage volume. 48″ between facing base cabinets or appliances. (There is Enough space to stand at an open cabinet, refrigerator, or oven while another person edges past)
Wishing You The Best Life Can Bring And Kitchen Remodeling Success!

Kitchen Remodels
New Kitchen Designs and Plotting Kitchen Layouts 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When having a kitchen modeled or remodeled, it is crucial that the kitchen contractor has the kitchen layout very well plotted out and a excellent sense of how the work triangle works. If the work triangle is not established in the kitchen then it will be a very hard kitchen to work in. The point of this work triangle layout is to make it simpler for the person in the kitchen to get from one place to another of the essential items. Therefore, kitchen contractors will strategically locate certain kitchen areas such as the sink, stove and refrigerator all into a triangular area so that one does not have to walk form one end of the kitchen to the other. This is also known as kitchen efficiency.

The work triangle is not necessarily a perfect 90 degree triangle but the work triangle does exits and it makes efficiency. One kitchen layout design that does not incorporate the work triangle is the corridor layout. This kitchen design is like a narrow hall which the homeowner has to walk back and forth down the hall to get his or her work done. In certain remodeling cases, the work triangle can still be achieved depending on the space that the kitchen contractor has to work with. Nevertheless there are tons of kitchen layout designs which do incorporate the work triangle well. The following is an extensive list of these kitchen layouts which you can use for your home:

• L- Shaped Layout
• U Shaped Layout
• G Shaped Layout
• Double L Shaped Layout
• Single Wall Kitchen Layout
• Galley Shaped Kitchen Layout or the Corridor Layout.

The most well loved of these kitchen designs with the work triangle is the L shaped layout kitchen design. It is well loved because it can be used in small and large kitchens alike consisting of a longer kitchen leg and a shorter kitchen leg to form the actual L shape.

The approximate distances for these work triangles to be the most efficient is by having the total distance of the perimeter from the sink to the refrigerator to the stove and then back round to the sink should be between 12 inches and 27 inches, no more and no less but anywhere in between. It is approximated that each kitchen triangle leg should measure anywhere from between four feet and nine feet long. When contemplating the walking space in the kitchen, there should be approximately six feet of a kitchen aisle walking area.

If you are interested in hiring a kitchen contractor to make one of these kitchen layouts then it is advisable that you find someone who adheres to the National Kitchen and Bath Association guidelines which ensure that you receive the best quality remodeling kitchen and bath jobs. These guidelines provide standards as to how much space should be between kitchen appliances and standards for cabinets, kitchen efficiency and counters. Furthermore, your kitchen contractor should be evaluated as a Certified Kitchen Designer or what is commonly referred to as a CKD.

Choosing the right kitchen remodeler with the right kitchen layout and work triangle, this can increase your kitchen efficiency.

Probably the most vital aspect of hiring and working with interior designers is the interior design contracts which help both parties to agree to the terms of the project and which also sets forth the scope of the project in question. Interior design contracts allow home owners to specify who is to be held responsible and also for what the responsibility is to be shouldered, and also they help in defining the duration of the project and also the budgeted limits.

Work Should Go Along Set Lines

Drawing out a well conceived and all encompassing interior design contract is to your advantage as also to the advantage of the interior designer as it allows work to progress along set lines, and the amount of money involved will have been clearly spelt out leaving no place for ambiguity or confusion. It also helps in laying down the estimated costs of the project and you need to have worked out all of the variables that will influence such costs including the size of your project, quality of products to be used as well as the timeframe in which the project need to be completed.

Vital elements of interior design contracts include agreeing to engage the interior designer who in turn accepts to undertake the project and there must also be mention of specification and design of furnishing, wall treatment, fixtures as well as color concepts and even the equipment that will be used. Also, the interior design contracts will mention the date by which the project must have been completed and that the home owner shall from time to time review the work as it progresses in phases and give his or her opinion with regard to the quality of work performed.

Furthermore, it is quite usual for interior design contracts to require the interior designer to prepare preliminary conceptual studies which may include sketches and also materials that are proposed to be needed and may also require setting out the needs with regard to furniture, carpeting, draperies, wood finishes, paints as well as architectural drawings and more, and after the design and preliminary presentations have been approved by the home owner, the project may be given the go-ahead to progress further.

It is also a excellent thought to have the interior design contracts vetted by a legal eagle as this is an vital agreement that involves a excellent amount of money and thus any loopholes and discrepancies should be ironed out at the very beginning to ensure that neither party suffers later on. In any case, the interior design contracts must at the very least spell out the scope of the project and makes sure to place responsibility on the shoulders of the interior designer to get the work performed to the satisfaction of the home owner. http://www.snslamps.com