Wish List
Spread mulch on beds. Mulch is one of the best garden maintenance timesavers. It suppresses weed growth, cuts down on water loss, and breaks down to help improve soil texture. Plus, spreading a few bags of wood-chip or bark mulch over planting beds instantly gives your garden a well-maintained look with minimal effort.
Choose perennials for color. Ditch the annual bedding plants that fade after a season and turn to hardy perennials for color year after year. Stalwarts like English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and spurge (Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii) bloom for months and need only an annual trim to keep from getting too woody. Plus, most perennials offer more for pollinators in terms of pollen and nectar than bedding plants bred for color.
Let some areas go wild. Take a step back and let go of maintaining some areas of the garden, allowing nature to take the helm. While it can be difficult to give up order in areas close to the house, spaces such as the property’s back border and shady areas under mature trees can be good options to let go wild. Sit back and observe as fallen leaves form a natural mulch on the ground, native plants take root, and wild birds return to feed.
Swap a flower border for shrubs. Seasonal flower beds are maintenance time-sucks — requiring a good deal of planting, staking, watering and deadheading for their fleeting display of blooms. While you may not want to get rid of them entirely, consider replacing some of the planting space with easy-care shrubs. This landscape in Sydney, made up almost entirely of shrubs, provides a beautiful example of how enticing a garden without blooms can be.
4. Choose unfussy plants well-suited to your area. Getting the right plant in the right place may take a bit of effort upfront, but it can be a major time and money saver in the long run. Don’t insist on growing citrus in slow-draining soil or rhododendrons in a dry, windswept area. Likewise, if you don’t have the time for pruning, it’s probably best to skip climbing roses, ficus or wisteria, which can easily get out of hand without proper maintenance. Instead, choose plants that naturally grow in your area or similar climate regions and that need little care to thrive.
Distinguishing traits. Island gooseberry is an evergreen ground cover that can spread gently, not invasively, in shady parts of the garden. The small leaves, which can get larger as the plant matures, are glossy and deep green. Stems are an attractive red-brown. Both the stems and foliage have a spicy-sweet fragrance that is most pronounced after a rain or when crushed in hand.
Bohemian porch. The mixed patterns of the rug, curtains, tablecloth and garden stool pair with brightly colored chairs and string lights to create a bohemian feel on this upper-floor balcony. The bamboo blinds help the space feel more private and enclosed while still offering a view through their open weave.
Marie stacked the pantry cabinet to the right (this wall also holds a panel-front refrigerator). Open shelves create an open feeling in the kitchen and enable the beautiful marble mosaic tile to extend to the ceiling.
Brass accents add a warm glow throughout the interior.
A long custom floating cabinet houses all of the media equipment and offers storage to help keep the living room uncluttered.
: A comfortable sectional makes the most of this corner. “This client travels all over the world. We wanted the guesthouse to reflect an elegant boho blend,” Marie says.
Floors: White Wash oak plank, Reclaime Collection, Quick Step Laminatek;
New Fleetwood doors meet at the corner, providing wide views of the hills and the cove. All of the windows and doors were completely redone and replaced.
The composting toilet creates nutrient-rich soil and requires no water to operate. “Now that we have the Nature Loo toilet set up we are big fans,”
The kitchen has everything a good home requires, including a refrigerator, oven, stovetop and sink. Using a large mirror for the backsplash gives the illusion of more space. A compact laundry setup is opposite the kitchen.
while the tiny louver window lets in natural light and fresh air.
Lara Nobel operates the retractable bed with a remote control that moves it up and down.
Lara Nobel operates the retractable bed with a remote control that moves it up and down.
On the opposite side of the house is a cozy loft just big enough to fit a bed for two. It’s accessed by a sturdy removable ladder.
Environmental considerations were also at the forefront of the designers’ minds. Recycled Australian hardwoods were chosen to help bring warmth and history to the house.
A green roof populated by native plants helps insulate the house.
Transom windows naturally ventilate the bathroom.
In the master bedroom, double-glazed windows ensure minimal heat loss during the winter, and recycled white ash floors visually expand the space and heighten its expansiveness. A large square window by the bed faces a maple tree that changes colors seasonally.
The home's exterior, made of a local St. Marc quarry stone, stands in gentle contrast to the traditional, century-old homes in the neighborhood.
To combat the heat and humidity of New York summers, Garneau installed an energy-efficient ceiling fan.
There were possessions that needed to be accommodated in the design and stored in a logical and easily accessible way without overwhelming the space," says Garneau. Books and decor have their place in the home and are flush against the wall; not once does a spine or curve interrupt the visual plane
Benches on wheels can be used with the dining table or rolled to another part of the apartment for entertaining.
The closet takes advantage of its depth by incorporating a shoe shelf on the door, a closet rod that automatically lights up when the door opens and side shelving for bags and accessories.
The clients are by no means embracing an ascetic lifestyle. Instead, they've chosen to pare down their belongings without limiting their daily rituals, which to them are still "both pleasurable and effortless."
"The apartment shows how you can stretch the limits of customized design and really use it to work for you. Every storage unit or furniture piece is meant to be a long-term solution; nothing here is a quick, generic solution," says Garneau.
Garneau made the most of every surface area by converting it into storage for books, art supplies, linens, shoes and bathroom toiletries. The contrast of blue tiles and wood cabinetry is stunning.
Most elements in the apartment are multipurpose — even the bathroom towel rack, which opens to reveal more cabinetry and a laundry hamper.
Garneau has great respect for the thoughtfulness of nautical design, and applied its craftsmanship and meticulous detailing here. Every millimeter is accounted for in the unit. Instead of clunky bedside tables, niches were customized into the wall, giving the clients a place to store books and a bedside light.
A floor-to-ceiling sliding door creates privacy for the sleeping nook. White on the outside and a luxurious oiled walnut finish on the inside, the wall instantly warms up the largely white bedroom canvas.
In the open position it provides the comfort and luxury of a queen bed.
We went with the idea of a central island and Corian white worktops.”
“natural yet noble materials,”
. An exquisite marble, frosted glass and polished glass tile mosaic wall stuns in this powder room, while the sink looks like it’s carved from a block of glass. (It’s actually semi-clear epoxy resin.) Rich wood provides contrast and the lack of a vanity cabinet keeps the view to the wall clear from floor to ceiling.
Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) Native to many parts of the world, including North America Asters are incredible for their wildlife value and dependable blooms. There are several native asters that thrive in deep shade, dappled sun and partially shady conditions. If you live in Appalachia, look to white wood aster (Eurybia divaricatus), with its lovely mounding habit, to grow in dry shade. Short’s aster (Symphyotrichum shortii), native from Arkansas north to Minnesota and east from Pennsylvania to Florida, has blue-violet flowers and appreciates more moisture as the sunlight increases. Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) has mounds of tiny white blooms atop wiry, small-leaved stems that reach 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. It’s native from the eastern Dakotas south to eastern Texas, and east from Maine to Florida. It does well in dry clay in my gardens.
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