Designing Nemo: 30 Fish Tanks Create a Decorative Splash

It requires a dedicated individual to maintain a fishtank. I’m not talking about a child’s softball-size guppy bowl or even a tiny flower vase containing just one beta fish. I’m talking about a sizable, teeming saltwater tank pumped with exotic, vibrantly colored fish and coral.

The aversion to the upkeep on this scale is clear. It’s like adding a part-time job to your hectic schedule. Architect John Black says when you’re planning for a large fish tank, an important consideration is the monthly maintenance cost. He designed and set up on a 9-inch-deep, 16-inch-high and 110-inch-long tank at Manhattan Beach, California, that he says costs about $500 per month only for cleaning the tank and caring for the plants and fish. (A maintenance-cost estimate for a koi pond he’s designing under a glass floor is $1,000 per month.)

Of course, not all tanks have to be so grandiose. Small and midsize tanks are easily managed by diligent seekers, especially when family members split the responsibilities, and the benefit of owning a serene, undulating, colorful bit of liquid art is priceless.

And of course, you can colour coordinate the finely manicured blues and greens and rainbow of tropical fish along with your home’s decor — and vice versa.

Markay Johnson Construction

Home bar areas are popular places for aquariums. The cool blue lights and flickers of swimming shade are a more complicated alternative to a neon sign or lava lamp. This layout also knocks down the belief that fish tanks have to be rectangular. Cylindrical fashions, which supply 360-degree views, are becoming much more popular.

Arc Design Group

A large cylindrical tank at a well-trafficked place makes moving via an expansive space feel much less isolating.

Lapis Design Partners

The homeowner of this 9-inch-deep, 16-inch-high and 110-inch-long tank needed it to have the “look of a piece of art hanging on the walls,” architect John Black says. A structural engineer made the steel-column service system that’s connected to the exterior wall of the aforementioned floor. This allowed the massive tank to be suspended 48 inches from the floor, putting it at eye level. “It was interesting to observe how people at a dinner celebration tended to line up across the tank to check at the gorgeous saltwater fish,” Black says.

The tank has been gorgeously framed in teak to match the woodwork of the space.

Budget: $11,000
Care: $500 per month

DSA Architects

A well-planned aquarium may work at any decor design — yes, even a desert-inspired one. Here, a calm horizontal tank amazingly elevates the rustic weathered inside.

InHouse Design Studio

A strategically positioned tank on a bookshelf helps break up the mess and unwind the eye.

Mega Builders

A swath of electric blue steals the show in a stark white living room. Aquarium colors can easily be built on, as evident from the planter pot’s dollop of blue.

Urban Colony

Meanwhile, blues, greens and yellows in aquariums work wonders in abundant, wood-filled spaces.

Archipelago Hawaii Luxury Home Designs

This towering rectangular aquarium can help soften the prosperity of timber.

Level Design Studios

In home theaters the cool glow of an aquarium provides just the perfect ambience.

Phil Kean Design Group

Nothing punctuates contemporary decor over the potent statement of an imposing wall which captures sea life.

Alpha Design Group

Even a straightforward contemporary dining room is enhanced using a crystal-clear fish tank.

Master Pools by Dominion Pools Canada

Placing tanks near water features and pools is a no-brainer for eye-catching layout.

Abramson Teiger Architects

A low-slung tank spanning the duration of this pool brings fresh meaning to swimming with the fishes.

Mercury Mosaics and Tile

With that in mind, among the greatest places to get a fish tank is still near the tub. Comfort has never been swimmingly serene.

InterDesign Studio

Here, a plant-filled aquarium is in excellent harmony with its outdoor surroundings.

Phil Kean Design Group

But consider any room in the home for a fish tank. The calming effect is very good for kitchens, also.

A single horizontal fish tank adds depth and motion that many other wall art can’t.

Mark Scott Associates | Landscape Architecture

Here, aquarium and art match each other on opposing walls.

Doreen Le May Madden – Lux Lighting Design

Adding water plants to insides is difficult. With an aquarium that they immediately become a part of the decor strategy.

Elad Gonen

A very simple fish tank within this kids’ room adds a little wonderment and colour.

Cathleen Curtin Architects PLC

Sleek and refined, an aquarium is a wise way to break up an overwhelming wall of cupboards.

Jeannette Architects

A saltwater aquarium warms up this crisp and clean kitchen.

Marcson Homes Ltd..

A window-style aquarium adds playfulness to an otherwise rigid wine cellar.

Natalia Skobkina

Masculine living room decor softens just the correct amount with shimmering ocean life.

Red Ridge Millwork

This metal-drenched kitchen will feel chilly with no reflective colours cast by the hanging aquarium.

VictorEric

Even darkened spaces benefit from a splash of submerged color and light.

Jeannette Architects

With an otherwise dull white workstation, marine life brings this room to much-needed life.

Electronics Design Group, Inc..

The calming effect of aquariums can help rejuvenate the mind, making them exceptionally sought in home office spaces.

Arc Design Group

This indoor-outdoor space shows that even from the most luxurious locations, aquariums can nevertheless stand out.

Electronics Design Group, Inc..

“Tank” is an understatement for this lavish, huge aquarium. That is because when it comes to designing fish aquariums, the ocean’s the limit.

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Bathed in Color

I may not have been a pink-loving girly woman in my younger years, but lately I’ve seen some fantastic uses of the colour in bathrooms, and they’ve given me a fresh appreciation for the dramatic hue. Pink doesn’t need to be limited to little girls’ bathrooms, either. A deep raspberry color can look supersophisticated in a guest or master bathroom. If you put it with crisp whites, strong grays or even jet black, it will have an edge to it.

Check out seven stylish bathrooms that are pretty in pink, together with tips on how best to work with this daring colour choice.

Jennifer Ott Design

I tend to prefer bolder pinks, but if you do go milder, find a color that has some coolness to it — it will look less like cotton candy.

Pink paint selections for toilets (from left to right):
1. Razzle Dazzle 1348, Benjamin Moore
2. Gala Pink SW6579, Sherwin-Williams
3. Foxy Pink 110B-4, Behr
4. Quite Berry 1002-1A, Valspar

DesignLine Home Transformations

This saturated hue is grown up. It is a wonderful background color for your crisp finishes in the room. The barn door that is charming actually stands out. Regardless of the extreme hue on the walls, the space feels open and airy.

Begrand Fast Design Inc..

If you prefer a subtler touch of pink, then take inspiration from this beautiful bath with its soft pink mosaic tile backsplash. I think pink looks best paired with white and cool neutrals, but incorporating wood tones to the palette is a great way to help warm it up.

REFINED LLC

Hot pink and black make for a sexy and dramatic color blend. The daring accent-wall color and also the fetching framed mirror are the eye-catching components in this room. Keeping the ceiling, counter tops, floors and lower part of the walls white has made the space feel open and light.

LTD, Gristmill Builders

Here is evidence that pink doesn’t need to look too fussy or sour. This handsome bath gets a great boost in the berry-pink tiled counter and backsplash. Tile is typically a more economical option than stone or walnut for countertops, so why not have a bit fun with all the colour?

Holland Rogers Company, LLC

This is a daring color choice to get a bathroom cabinet — I adore when a homeowner is ready to break with secure neutrals and exude a popular bold colour into a space instead. This would be less successful if there were rival colors or components in the space. But because the space has an otherwise controlled color palette and it is not overly cluttered or decorated, I think it looks fantastic.

Don’t be scared of using your favorite eye color. It is possible to make it work if you balance it with all the other colors and components in the space.

Greenbelt Construction

Hot pink and daring orange make for an enjoyable and lively duo. It is a high heeled color combination that isn’t particularly relaxing, but it functions nicely in a space in which you will not be spending lots of time lounging around, like a powder room or guest bathroom. This would also be a wonderful palette to get a pink-loving teen’s bathroom. Because wall paint and towels are easy and inexpensive items to change out, this bathroom can be easily transformed down the street, if someone outgrow the pink.

Carey Mudford Interior Design

Pink with spring green is just another of my favorite colour combinations. This soft and pretty bathroom shows how to use pink in a manner that doesn’t hit you over the head and doesn’t feel too sugary sweet. It strikes the ideal balance of soft, pretty and soothing yet stylish.

Tell us What would you think about pink?

colour guides: More tricks to working with daring colors at home

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Summer Plants: How to Grow Strawberries

Juicy and ripe strawberries are one of the sweetest treats of nature. They’re also one of the easiest and most versatile additions to your garden, providing blossoms in spring, fruit in summer and spring, and ornamental green leaves for most of the season — what could be better?

You can take the standard approach of building long rows or hills, but in many home gardens, blossoms function well as ground covers or even a boundary’s edge. If you don’t have good soil, try out a bed that is raised; they’ll thrive and will be easier to harvest. If your space is limited, know that but musk berries are happy in containers, out of standard pots to strawberry jars into hanging planters. Just don’t plant where you’ve recently grown eggplants, peppers, potatoes or tomatoes, to stop issues with verticilium wilt.

While berries are perennials, you’ll discover that production slips after a few years. Many strawberries every three to five years to be replaced by strategy. You might need to deal with them as annuals in extreme climates.

Sage Ecological Landscapes and Nursery

Varieties: June-bearing strawberries are the most familiar. These varieties produce large fruits over a two- to three-week interval in June. These are fairly aggressive plants, spreading runners out readily.

Everbearing
forms are tidier while still producing a couple of crops over the season. Rapidly gaining in house garden popularity would be the day-neutral forms, too smaller and less aggressive, with the incentive of producing berries from spring through fall.

Kate Michels Landscape Design

If you would like to attempt something more exotic, consider alpine berries and musk berries. The small, highly ornamental alpine varieties can easily be grown from seed and also make their miniature fruits all summer long, however as their name suggests they don’t handle heat well. Musk berries, that make a spring crop only, have. They do best if there is a male pollinator.

Colors Of Green Landscape Architecture

When to plant: In cold-winter climates, plant when the soil can be worked in spring around three weeks to one month before the last frost date; plant in winter and early spring or fall in warm-winter ponds

Climate: Strawberry varieties are available for every climate condition, from cold to hot, from dry to moist or humid. Check with your nursery or cooperative extension for the best varieties for the climate, and make sure you purchase resistant plants if infections are a problem in your area.

Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade for Alpine berries; full sunlight or partial shade for musk berries

Water necessity: Regular

Favorites:
June-bearing: Allstar, Annapolis, Benton, Camarosa, Chandler, Earliglow, Guardian, Honeoye, Hood, Jewel, Puget Reliance, Rainier, Seneca, SequoiaEverbearing: Fort Laramie, Ozark Beauty, QuinaultDay-neutral: Albion, Fern, Seascape, Selva, Tribute, TristarAlpine: Alexandria, Alpine Yellow, Alpine White, Fragola di Bosco, MignonetteMusk: Capron, Profumata di Tortona

Amy Renea

Planting: Nevertheless you intend to plant, choose a site with very rich, well-drained (even sandy), slightly acidic to neutral soil. If your soil is alkaline, develop the berries in raised rows or beds, or consider using containers. Work a complete fertilizer to the soil, and if you would like, build small hills or mounds to elevate the plants slightly and make watering basins or furrows.

Place the plants in place, spreading the roots out and then spacing them around 1Ā 1/2 to two feet apart for many berries, 8 to 12 inches apart for alpine strawberries.

Keep the base of each plant crown level with or just slightly above the soil; plant too deep and the crown will probably rot. Cover the roots completely with soil and firm it in place. If heavy frost is expected, shield the crops with row covers.

If you’re placing in a container or increased bed, start looking for one which is at least eight inches deep. Hanging planters should be at least 12 inches deep.

Gardening with ConfidenceĀ®

Care: In case you’re growing the plants in rows, lightly cultivate the soil for two to six weeks (fourteen days to get everbearing and day-neutral forms; six weeks for June-bearing) allowing runners to disperse. Remove any weeds and ramble runners. Keep weeds down with straw or a different light-colored mulch throughout the growing season.

Pinch off the earliest blossoms to let the plants focus on development instead of fruit production. Pinch blossoms on June-bearing strawberries for at least the first two weeks they appear; you can also pinch off all flowers the first year to get better production in later years. Pinch off the first everbearing blossoms. Remove the blossoms for the first six weeks to get varieties. Do not remove blossoms on alpine strawberries.

Keep the soil consistently most while the fruit is forming, supplying about 1 to 2 inches of water each week. Pinch off June-bearing strawberry runners which are spreading out of boundaries to make sure fewer but bigger berries.

Feed June-bearing, alpine and musk strawberries plants as they begin to grow in spring with a balanced or low-nitrogen fertilizer; feed intensely after you harvest. Lightly feed everbearing and day-neutral berries throughout the season once the blossoms have set.

Strawberries are subject to a number of pests, including aphids, mites, snails and slugs. Strawberry root weevils can be a problem in some regions. Much more of a problem will be birds. Use netting to keep them and any household dogs or other creatures in the growing fruit. All of them love strawberries just as much as people do.

Diseases such as blight, fruit rot, leaf troubles, powdery mildew and verticilium wilt may also lead to problems, although if you keep a close watch and remove any diseased plants, you need to be able to keep things in check.

If you live in a cold-weather climate, cover the plants with straw mulch by late fall. You can reuse the mulch the next spring in case a late frost threatens.

Gardening with ConfidenceĀ®

Rejuvenation: This is vital for June-bearing strawberries.Once the plants have finished fruiting, thin out older, weak or diseased plants, leaving about 6 inches between the rest of the strawberries. Mow over the foliage, about 1 to 4 inches above the crown. Spread a layer of soil over the plants and include fertilizer.

For all other berries, split the plants in spring.

Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design

Harvest: When they’re bright red, they’re prepared to eat. Home-grown strawberries are fragile. To prevent crushing or bruising the fruit, then pinch or cut the stalks.

Plant guides: How to grow the top summer crops

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6 Ways to Bring the Richness of Leather Home

Leather has been used for clothing, protection, rugs and furniture since ancient times, and for good reasons: It is easily available, flexible and durable. But leather has come a long way because the cave ages, thanks to modern science. Today both organic and faux leather can be dyed any color, stamped with layouts and treated to be stain resistant. And in the modern design-oriented planet, leather has some genuinely unique uses. Let’s explore some contemporary and traditional ways this older material is being used now.

Walls. This creative application generally ends up being fairly pricey, since one conceal prices approximately $200 (about the lower end of the price scale), and also the typical mask is roughly 50 to 52 square feet.

Cravotta Interiors

Flooring. Leather floor tiles could be glued to a plywood floor with contact cement. Although these one-of-a-kind software are magnificent, they can be tricky to take care of. Leather floors need to be vacuumed with a soft bristle brush and mopped monthly with distilled water. You also have to clean up spills quickly so they do not stain.

Brownhouse Design, Los Altos, CA

Upholstery. Leather couches have come to be a classic furniture staple. While they look magnificent and wear well, leather is cool to the touch in winter and clings to skin in hot weather (think of leather automobile seats and bare legs), meaning it is not the most comfy upholstery option for extreme environments. Stains, including pencil ink, can be hard to remove, too.

Janell Beals – House of Naked

You’ll want to maintain leather a minimum of two feet by a heat source to prevent it from drying out, and keep it from direct sunlight to prevent fading. And don’t use caustic household cleaners to clean leather. Instead, use a mild, nonacidic soap blended with water and use with an up-and-down or side-to-side motion (not in a circle). Clean an area larger than the place, rinse with a damp cloth and allow it to dry for 24 hours.

There is not any guarantee that a place can be removed from leather. When in doubt, call a professional before using any substances.

Environmental Design Services

Tabletop. When leather is chosen for a tabletop or other oft-used surface, it needs to be protected and maintained to reduce stains, stains and scratches. Dust it frequently with a soft, damp cloth.

To condition the leather, use professional leather goods to ensure a good outcome. Products such as mink oil can darken the leather, so it’s always a good idea to check any product on a small area. Stain protection could be added during the tanning process; look for leather with Scotchguard or another protective coating. Or you could apply surface protection against oil, water and dirt stains later.

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

Faux leather. Like leather, faux leather could be stamped to create a thorough pattern that adds style and interest. Although artificial leather is less expensive than actual leather, it does not last as long or wear also.

Frequently, to save on cost, faux leather is applied on either side and rear of a chair or couch while genuine leather is used on the front. The leather is dyed to match the actual deal.

Cecilie Starin Design Inc..

Woven. When stitched, leather is strong, durable and lasting. But, woven leather will stretch with time and use.

When it becomes scratched and scuffed, woven or unwoven leather could be polished, like you’d polish a pair of sneakers, to restore and restore the look.

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Energy and Color Aplenty in a Live-Work Lease

Designer Caitlin Wilson lives in and works out of a rental home in a classic building in Philadelphia, and she desired her furniture to represent a timeless look but with a twist. Details like lavish English wrapped arms, tufts and female silhouettes root the distance into a traditional style, but bold colour and pattern options showcase a modern eclectic soul. “My design has evolved from modern to eclectic to a kind of new traditional, and I believe my home reflects this development,” Wilson says.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Caitlin Wilson, husband Brigham and kids Olivia and Penn
Location: Center City, Philadelphia
Size: 1,400 square feet

Caitlin Wilson Design

The foyer of the designer sings a note in Key Largo Green. Wilson bought the mirror out of Joss & Main and hand painted the ampersand canvas. Art from her parents’ collection, digital prints and family photos make up the gallery wall.

Caitlin Wilson Design

A Pindler & Pindler Winston sofa brings you in with its pink colour, a color trim and repeated throughout the room in the accessories. Wilson custom made her curtains to frame her perspectives of Rittenhouse Square and Center City. She wrapped in a brass bamboo coffee table along with a pair of Chinese brass lamps; a Thom Filicia rug ties the room together.

Caitlin Wilson Design

Ikea bookshelves flank one of Wilson’s prized possessions: a camel-colored tufted leather settee with rolled arms, a lavish hand-me-down out of her parents.

Caitlin Wilson Design

A happy arrangement of roses in bloom picks up on the pink colour seen throughout the space, including the final colour layer to the room.

Caitlin Wilson Design

“We moved to Philly to a student budget, so I scored our huge dining table and seats from Craigslist. I reupholstered the seats and wingbacks in my signature fabric, Navy Fleur Chinoise,” Wilson says. Her parents lent their artwork into Wilson and her husband to remind the few of the prior home in California.

Caitlin Wilson Design

Wilson’s home office is a study in pattern and colour. “It is so enjoyable to work here. The room is filled with vibrant fabrics out of my fabric line, so there is this obviously bright and cheerful surroundings,” she states.

Background by Nina Campbell produces a unique backdrop and ties together all the colours in the space. The Roman shades are Wilson’s Jade Byblos fabric. She found the desk on Craigslist, along with the Greek key closets are still an Ikea hack. The Chinese brass lamp originated out of a marketplace in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai.

Caitlin Wilson Design

The designer says that the best thing about working in the home is that she can run her business and raise her family under a single roof.

Caitlin Wilson Design

An Asian-inspired tangerine mirror over a Chinese gold and black silk-screened shoe cabinet echoes the home’s eclectic international style. “Thanks to our travels, our home has a collection of quirky pieces in the Middle East and Asia, which obviously have influenced my fabric patterns,” Wilson says.

Caitlin Wilson Design

Wire baskets shop and organize Wilson’s fabrics without obscuring them entirely out of plain view.

Her office is the hardest working space in the home. With a fulltime helper and also a design intern, it is almost always inhabited by a relative or an employee.

Caitlin Wilson Design

“Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Butterfly is perfect for any little girl’s room,” states Wilson. She had these Roman shades custom made, and she commissioned a java table to make a pint-size desk for her daughter that’s painted in Valspar’s Hint of Mint.

Rug: Rugs USA; pouf: Dubai marketplace

Caitlin Wilson Design

A Laurence Amelie tutu painting out of Bonpoint hangs above daughter Olivia’s art table, from Pottery Barn Kids. “It had been the first piece of artwork we ever purchased,” she states.

Caitlin Wilson Design

In the kitchen Wilson spiced up a wall for Olivia and swapped out the old linoleum for Armstrong Crescendo Marble Gray vinyl tile. “It looks so much like marble and feels great underfoot,” she states. “And the very best thing about it is that you peel off the back and stick it.”

Caitlin Wilson Design

She painted the rear wall with chalkboard paint and wrapped eyeglasses and bulldog clips for displaying artwork. “I DIY’d the leopard seats using a Sharpie on solid cream Ikea seats,” she states.

Caitlin Wilson Design

Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray provides Wilson’s master bedroom with a neutral, subdued backdrop. She made the headboard to showcase her Fleur Chinoise cloth in a berry pattern. Cleft pillows in Coral Fretwork fabric and Berry signature pillow shams out of Wilson’s Garnet Hill collection produce a lavish hotel look. However, accurate to Wilson’s design savvy and what she calls “school funding” roots, the glammed-up nightstands are Ikea hacks, painted grey and with new gold oil knobs.

“A happy family lives in this vibrant and vibrant home,” she states, “and you can see and sense it in most of the small and big things, in most of the larger rooms and quiet corners.”

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How to Settle on a Shower Bench

A consumer at the process of building a walk-in cupboard asks, “Is there some guidance out there regarding placement of shower benches?” The solution is not as straightforward as you may think.

The shower’s footprint and the way the bench will be used often supply the ideal response. If you’ve got a dual shower, you may want your bench to chair two. If you’ve got a tiny shower, occasionally a removable or floating bench works best. Wheelchair transports and ease of cleanup are things to think about, too.

Avon’s Woodshop

If you are intending to move a wooden bench around, be sure it’s small and light.

Most showers have sloped flooring in several directions. This can cause a freestanding bench to rock when you are sitting. Plan for your new bathtub to have a one-way slope, or locate a bench with flexible legs so it’s possible to eliminate the rocking chair. You might also purchase a three-legged bench or have one created, since these won’t rock.

Tip: locating a bench the perfect size for your shower can be challenging. If working with a cabinet maker on a bathroom vanity, consider asking him or her to include a customized teak bench on your order.

Moss Building and Design | Moss Home Services

When designing your bench, you need to have a strong opinion on if you desire the bench to move around or stay stationary.

This built-in bench is one of my favorite designs and makes for easy cleaning. Because it extends out of the shower, there is no gap between the bench and the glass. Those tiny gaps can be a pain to clean.

Tip: For much less cleanup, think about a solid surface material, like granite or composite stone, for your bench.

Vinyl & style

You are going to want your bench to be near your own shower controllers — it makes rinsing shaving and off considerably easier.

To fulfill most industry guidelines, shower benches should measure 17 to 19 inches off the finished shower flooring. Occupational therapists may provide me a dimension customized for a customer’s body.

Narofsky Architecture + ways2design

Most steam showers call for a bench for relaxation. When space is tight, a folding shower chair can work wonders.

These folding seats require strong blocking supporting the wall. Make sure the framers of the project align wall studs with placement of the bench.

BiglarKinyan Design Planning Inc..

In a smaller shower, you may think about the bench as a portion of the tub deck. Bear in mind that benches need to empty — just like a bathtub floor — so be certain that the slab of stone does not move in as one piece. The piece inside the shower must tilt toward the floor.

Just a little corner chair might offer additional leg room.

Zack|de Vito Architecture + Construction

Marble looks beautiful in showers, but it’s too soft to use by itself in a shower bench’s construction. The exact same is true of wood. These benches want the support of a metal bracket or custom metal tubing.

Webber + Studio, Architects

This great looking shower includes both a fixed bench before the window along with a movable bench just outside the shower. If you would like to open the shower up floor area, consider a drifting bench like this.

Christa Young – TY Design

Have fun with the bench! This is by far my favorite bench to date. I’ve yet to locate a customer who will let me build this, but I am still searching!

BY DESIGN Builders

Any bench can be made safer. Grab bars, free space and bench positions are laid out in ADA planning manuals. These spaces require planning from the beginning so that interior walls do not get in the way of transferring from a wheelchair into the bench.

Any bathtub built larger than 36 by 36 inches must have numerous grab bars.

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A Georgia Pool House Swims in Features

The list of prerequisites for this particular pool house included an exercise space, a kitchen, room for relaxing and tons of amusement to the busy Georgia family who uses it. Designer Beth Weltlich, architect Cynthia Karegeannes and contractor Clark Harris set their heads together to make a beautiful and effective multipurpose retreat. A modern interior, durable materials and luxurious additions — including a putting green and an outdoor kitchen flipped this 1,244-square-foot space into a fantasy backyard haven.

Innovative Construction Inc..

The pool home’s cedar facade and windows have been oriented to set the chandelier in view from the main home’s kitchen window.

Pool: Custom Pools of Atlanta

Innovative Construction Inc..

Installing the magnificent cedar beams and ceiling was a major undertaking, and among contractor Clark Harris’ favorite areas of the undertaking.

Innovative Construction Inc..

The chic and timeless pieces in this pool house mix materials, designs and price ranges.

Chandelier: Solaria Lighting; couches: Pottery Barn; cushioned seats: Wesley Hall; animal-print benches: Lee Industries; unwanted tables, accessories: Scott’s Antique Market; wall paint: Creamy, Sherwin-Williams; ceiling paint: Moderne White, Sherwin-Williams

Innovative Construction Inc..

Designer Beth Weltlich selected rugs, fabrics and other materials for their design as well as their capacity to resist wear and tear.

Fireplace surround: M&F Granite and Marble

Innovative Construction Inc..

Pendant lights: Solaria Lighting, Customized finish

Innovative Construction Inc..

A galley kitchen made sense for a space where the customers want to have snacks and beverages at hand but nobody will have to cook a five-course meal.

Sinks, taps, appliances: Ferguson; countertops: quartz, M&F Granite and Marble

Innovative Construction Inc..

For continuity, the kitchen and the bathroom share the same backsplash. Durable granite countertops make sense for a space that sees a lot of use. Harris chose windows with seeded glass for private places that still needed extra lighting.

Backsplash: Traditions in Tile

Innovative Construction Inc..

An exercise area upstairs, complete with a sloped indoor putting green, provides relatives members and friends another place to perform.

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How to Install a Tile Backsplash

Small details make huge differences, and also a tile backsplash is just one of these small information. A backsplash not only looks great, but it also protects your walls. With some simple tiling skills and a small practice, transforming your kitchen might be one weekend job away.

Skill level: Medium to advanced. You need to be comfortable with basic power tools, like drills and saws. Also, be certain you have a good understanding of the numbers on your own tape measure. The majority of the work simply requires patience and a steady hand, so take your time.
Period: 2 to 3 days
Price: $10 to $25 per square foot
General tip: If you have not set tile before, practice placing a few rows of tiles on a scrap of plywood until you can achieve consistent grout lines and levels.
Security hints: Always wear gloves when cutting tiles and gloves when handling cut tile. Use caution with all power equipment.

More: When to consider hiring a pro

Jared Erwin

Materials and Tools

Tile:
To work out the total amount of tile you’ll need, measure the square footage of your backsplash, and then add 10 to 20 percent to this total — that will account for waste out of trimming or breakage.

Adhesives: For most programs, the best adhesive is going to probably be thinset, which bonds to plaster, drywall and any other porous surface. Thinset is a cement-based adhesive that penetrates the walls as well as the porous rear of the tile. It works nicely with porcelainceramic and glass tile. If you’ve chosen glass tile, use a white adhesive.

Tile spacers: Tile spacers, which will keep tiles directly and even on the walls, come in all sizes and shapes. These spacers are available with the tile on your local hardware shop. Keep it easy when picking out a spacer to use — if you’ve chosen a sheet of little tile, ensure your spacers fit the design of your sheet.

Notched trowel: A trowel is used to apply the adhesive to the surface being tiled. It can be located from the tile or flooring section of your local hardware shop. It is usually a good idea to have a small-margin trowel and a larger notched trowel.

Grout: select a color that complements your tile (it is usually better to prevent an specific color match) and one which is going to be easy to keep clean — stay far from bright white, if you don’t only love scrubbing. I recommend using a premixed grout which has a loofah blended in. Topical sealers will work, but premixed grout saves you a measure. You are going to require a grout sponge and a grout float or trowel too.

Jared Erwin

When picking out tile, look for something easy, small and neutral. Little tiles often arrive in sheets, which makes them simpler to set up, and may be cut with tile snips, which are much more DIY friendly compared to the usual big wet saw.

Most tiles can be cut using a scoring process. This is time consuming, and results will vary based on the tile substance. Using a scoring knife out of a tile supply shop and a right edge, just score your cut three to four times and then apply pressure to the outside edges of the tile to break the tile at the score.

If you go with larger tiles that needs to be trimmed using a wet saw, consider hiring an expert to cut them .

Jared Erwin

When you’ve got all your materials and tools, follow these directions.

1. Decide on a pattern. If you’ve chosen tile sheets, then your pattern is place for you. If you would like to decide on subway tile, place your tile in a brick pattern. Use tile spacers to keep your pattern symmetrical.

2. Find a starting point. In many kitchens the center of this sink is a good place to start. You wish to begin in the center and work out your way — that gives you better symmetry when you create it to the ends.

This was the starting point we employed with this specific backsplash. From here we worked our way around the kitchen.

Jared Erwin

3. Do prep work. It is a good idea to apply a bead of silicone caulk to the seam between your wall and your countertop. This acts as a backup line of protection if water were to ever get from the tile. It isn’t a do-or-die measure, however.

Hereyou can see that the bottom border of this tile has been coated with a white silicone caulk after the tile has been grouted to keep water from getting behind the cabinets and resulting in harm.

Next, turn off the circuit breaker and be certain none of those sockets or switches are live. Then remove any electrical wall plates. Unscrew the switches and sockets and pull them out of the boxes. Don’t disconnect the wires! You just want enough room to be able to work your tile around the box.

Jared Erwin

4. Apply the adhesive. Make sure you can view your center-line starting mark; employ adhesive from that point. Assess the working time around the container, but it is usually OK to spread enough to employ a few tiles (or sheets) on your first row. This first row will sit on your countertop.

5. Install the tile. Starting from your center line, press the tile up against the wall securely. This creates suction that will hold your tile in place until the adhesive has fully cured.

As you work your way around the kitchen, be certain that you plan ahead for any cuts you have to make. It is a good idea to use a pencil and a speed square (a right-angle tool which helps to give you a straight line) to indicate your cuts prior to making them. Do your very best to cover the cut edge and constantly leave the mill edge exposed.

As soon as you’ve installed the tile, go back and remove any adhesive that’s pushed up into your grout lines — you don’t want this showing when you grout your tile.

Within this picture, tile spacers are being used to use the tile in a brick pattern. Notice the adhesive, the tape measure and also the speed square — make use of these during installation!

Jared Erwin

6. Grout and clean. Following your tile was installed for 16 to 24 hours (or whatever the adhesive container specifies), you can go back and start grouting. Remove all of the spacers and clean off any dried adhesive on the surface of the tile.

Work the grout in at an angle. Within this picture, grout is being implemented with a standard-margin grout trowel. Apply it using all the trowel angled toward the wall, then moving in a diagonal design. Clean off the excess grout with a sponge and also work a 3- to 5-foot place at a time. As soon as you’ve finished grouting, run a clear bead of silicone along the base border of the tile.

Permit all this dry for 24 hours until you go back and replace your electrical sockets, switches and covers. If you are using a penetrating sealer, be certain that you inspect the container to the time frame for applying.

Jared Erwin

Notice here how the brick pattern continues through the corner; the lines stay the same. Take your time, follow these simple steps, and ask questions when you buy your supplies.

A tile backsplash creates a huge difference in the look and feel of any kitchen. And once you’ve completed this job on your kitchen, go take a look at your bathroom vanity. The options are infinite.

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Front and Center Color: When to Paint Your Door Purple

Purple is a colour to function into a home’s interior. Dramatic and darkened, it may veer toward garish if blended with a lot of other vibrant colors or fussy materials. Large expanses of pastel purples may come across as too sweet and girly, although also much deep purple tends to make a room feel gloomy, dark and cavelike. But purple could be fantastic about the exterior that is oft-overlooked. The entrance for your residence should be attention getting — why don’t you this via a gorgeous purple color in your front door? It won’t seem too active in this small dose, and with abundant natural light it won’t feel too heavy or gloomy.

Check out these eight examples of gorgeous purple doors, along with proposed palettes that have siding and trim or accent colors.

Feldman Architecture, Inc..

1. Bluish-Purple Door With a Light Gray Exterior

If the outside of your house has a mild neutral hue, the best way to look after your door would be to go with a contrasting deep, dark color.

This bluish purple reads as a neutral, which makes this palette feel calm, cool and controlled — ideal if you like purple but want to go with a comparatively neutral exterior palette.

Notice: If your door gets hit with a great deal of day sun, a dark color will absorb heat and may fade more quickly than a lighter hue.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Pittsburgh Paints): King’s Robe 246-6, Dill 310-5 and Fisherman’s Net 512-4.

Custom Design/Build, Inc..

2. Red-Purple Door Having a Medium Gray Exterior

If your house has a moderate gray exterior, very similar to this one here, you can dress your door in almost any colour you would like. This saturated purple with a bit of red in it’s an excellent choice, especially in concert with all the wood-clad overhang ceiling, which reads as a hot orange-red. This odd palette pops up this modern house and leaves the entrance inviting and welcoming.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Pratt & Lambert): Tulip Purple 30-14, Orange Bead 6-16 and Kid Glove 26-28.

Kathleen Shaeffer Design, Exterior Spaces

3. Purple Door Having an Olive Green and Taupe Exterior

This door sports a beautiful cool bluish purple that helps it stand out from the olive-green and light taupe siding. I like how the landscaping picks up the home’s exterior colors and also the warm-hued pavers offer you a fresh, welcoming route to the front door.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Sherwin-Willams): Luxe Blue SW6537, Black Swan SW6279 and Destiny SW6274.

Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl)

4. Dark Purple Door Having a Green-Gray Exterior

This is a Really trendy and striking palette. The purple has quite a bit of inky blue inside it, which makes it seem almost navy or dark, and the siding colour is just one of these intricate hues that sometimes reads as gray, sometimes blue, sometimes green. The white trim gives each element a fresh, crisp edge.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Kelly-Moore): Evening Magic KM3104-5, Drizzle KM3785-1 and Raw Steel KM3836-2.

Christine Kelly / Crafted Architecture

5. Purple and Plum Having a Beige Exterior

I love this delightful exterior palette. It shows how colour could be used to accentuate architectural components on a house in a fun way. (It helps to live in a neighborhood that’s amenable to whimsical exterior palettes.)

You can easily do a variation on this palette with your beloved vibrant hue. If you maintain the most important exterior color neutral, simply select two hues that are close each other on the colour wheel (for instance, lime green and lemon yellow, or turquoise and navy blue). This will offer you a colorful palette with just enough restraint.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Benjamin Moore): Old Claret 2083-30, Mauve Bauhaus 1407 and Barbados Sand 1094.

Tuthill structure

6. Vibrant Purple Door With Other Bold Hues and White

Here is another fun palette that is not for everybody. Since the major house color is a mild off-white, the small square chunks of vivid colour look refreshing, bold and contemporary — reminiscent of an abstract expressionist painting.

I really like these colors and how they’re used, but what is great about employing bold colour as a decorative element is how comparatively easy and affordable it’s to decorate with a different pair of bold hues or neutrals for an entirely different appearance.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Mythic Paint): Blue Bomber 015-5, Spanish Saffron 095-5, Arapaho Valley 079-6 and Morning Song OW-5-3.

BARRETT STUDIO architects

7. Lavender Door With Corrugated Metal Siding

If you prefer a purple shade that is more on the lavender side, then pair it with a bold yellow hue to make the lavender actually stick out. Purple and yellow are complementary colors — reverse each other on the colour wheel — so they supply the maximum contrast to each other when used in combination. In small amounts against a neutral backdrop, in this instance light gray corrugated metal siding, the two colors look good.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get a similar appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Sherwin-Willams): Indulgent SW6969 and Sunrise SW6668, with corrugated metal siding.

Rossington Architecture

8. Purple Door With a Light Taupe Exterior

My way of picking an interesting exterior paint palette would be to pick two neutrals and one fearless hue. Generally you want to paint the biggest portion of your house — the siding — among the neutrals. Then use the bold hue for doors, trim or accents.

The 2nd impartial should coordinate with the key impartial, but you would like it to be distinct enough that it reads as a very different colour; otherwise it may look like you’re trying to match colors and made a mistake. Use this 2nd impartial as a trim or an accent colour.

Here the timber siding functions as the key neutral and reads as a mild tan-taupe colour. The olive oil also reads as a neutral, and they both function as a nice supportive ground for the pieces of deep purple on the door and window frame.

Jennifer Ott Design

Example Colour: Get an identical appearance with (clockwise from top left, all from Valspar): Twinkle Night 4004-8C, Willow Wind 6004-3B and Vanilla Steam 2006-10C.

Tell usCan you paint your door purple?

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Great Design Plant: Arbutus'Marina'

My daughter planted Arbutus ‘Marina’ within her Mediterranean-style courtyard, since it reminds her of madrone trees in summer camp. Every time I see her tree, I believe of dividing a seventh-grade woman’s initials on a madrone back while on a Boy Scout camping trip in another time and place. Madrone (or madrona) trees, native to the Pacific Coast from Southern California to British Columbia, possess a wild beauty that appeals to the sentimental, romantic side of a number people, at least.

Arbutus‘Marina’ is a evergreen hybrid of unknown origin, closely related to the native madrone. They share the household good looks: twisted, glossy reddish trunks with peeling bark, perky small blossoms, even fairly fruit. But unlike the famously temperamental native madrone, which appears to expire at the thought of either garden-style watering or in the sight of a terrace,’Marina’ fits well into garden situations as well as conditions.

San Marcos Growers

Botanical name: Arbutus ‘Marina’
USDA zones: 7 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Lighting
Light requirement: Total sun
Mature dimensions: 25 feet tall and wide, but can grow to 50 ft
Special consideration: Drainage has to be very good, or else root diseases may develop.

Distinguishing attributes. Dainty clusters of pink blossoms dangle among leathery green leaves, mostly in spring and autumn. Even tiny branches display the bark and glossy reddish new bark.

Eye-catching fruit that seems spring to fall looks like that of the closely associated strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). It’s edible if you’re a fan of mealy, tasteless fruit. Why bother?

The best way to use it. Make’Marina’ a stunning centerpiece of your terrace, although it can make a mild mess with falling leaves, blossoms, bark and fruit. It’s more in the home in a wilder, dry part of a garden. Ensure it is a focal point rising up out of a planting of blended California natives like manzanita, rhamnus and ceanothus. Keep lawns and frequent watering away. (Notice that in this picture, the yard isn’t permitted near the back.) Pruning away the lower branches has coached this tree to develop a rounded top.

Boxleaf Design, Inc..

Multitrunk’Marina’, with lesser branches left in position, has found a happy (dryish) home here with succulents and gravel mulch.

Growing hints. Before planting, ensure the soil drainage is pretty good to excellent. Incorporate ground bark or other organic matter in the planting hole.

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