Great way to accent cabinetry- two tones!

Fantastic use of honed granite

Coming at you live from Northern VT. Check back for pics and lots more!

Test

1st attempt at posterous. If this works, it will make my life much easier!

Winterizing tips for your home and yard

Yep....it's that time of year again and boy did it come fast here in New England. 80 degrees and humid one day and 44 degrees the next night. Hello Fall.....nice to see you again. I decided to put together a list of 'to-dos' around the house and yard that homeowners should keep in mind as we transition into, gulp, the winter.

Yard/Outside:

• It's a great time of year to overseed and repair any bare lawn patches. (see my other posts on seed varieties).
• Rake and clean the yard. Don't leave leaves, pine needles, and other debris on your lawn prior to snowfall as it will choke out the grass. Consider hiring a landscape company for a fall cleanup. Some companies even have 'lawn vacuums' that will make your lawn pristine!
• Clean the gutters. Leaving debris and leaves in gutters can cause ice dams. Trust me, they are not fun and can do major damage to your roof and potentially cause serious leaks and water damage.
• Inspect the exterior of your home. Give it the once over: doors, windows, foundation roof, siding. Look for any noticeable damage or issues with seals. It's better to find issue now than wait.
• Drain your garden hoses and shut off the main valve. Then leave the exterior valve in the open position. I like to add an insulated cover to the valve for protection (they can be found easily at Lowes)
• Clean your outdoor equipment (mowers, tillers) and have them serviced so they are ready to go in the Spring. For those with riding mowers consider bring the battery inside for the winter- it will lengthen it's life by 2-3 years! Also prep your snow blower if you have one. Be prepared (like the Scouts)
• Seal driveway cracks (blacktop caulk or sealant works very well) Also consider having your driveway sealed if it is due

Inside:

• If you have a fireplace, have it serviced and cleaned if it is due. Bring some wood inside
• Consider having your furnace cleaned and inspected as well. If you have NSTAR they have excellent service plans that are fairly affordable.
• GIve your interior a once-over: windows, doors, and any other seals. Look for visible cracks and space where cold air can penetrate inside. Use weatherstripping on doors if necessary.
• If you have baseboard heat, remove the top panel and vacuum inside thoroughly.
• How is the air quality? Remember- your home is generally sealed tight during the winter months and that is when viruses are prevalent. Consider an air purifier or a larger system for those that have forced air heating. The results are significant!
• Do you have a programable thermostat? Consider one of them. Having the heat kick on before you get up but lower at night can save big bucks and make your home much more comfortable during those nippy mornings.
• Is your hot water heater in an insulated area? Consider a hot water heater blanket. They cost about $15 and wrap around the heater saving up to $40-50/season.

Good luck and stay warm folks! If you need more advice or have questions, just ask! I'm also available for home energy audits and can show you how to save money on heating upgrades.

Grass Seed Test: The Final Installment!

Folks- it's prime time in the Northeast for overseeding and repairing your lawn from the summer drought. I started the seed trials over 3 weeks ago. Scotts, Pennington, and Pearl's Premium head to head. Each mix was seeded side by side in a patch of my yard that had been prepped with starter fertilizer and topsoil after being thoroughly raked. I watered daily and gave the seedings every bit of attention they might need.

Final results (and they did surprise me)

1) Scotts Landscaper's mix: The combination of Creeping Red Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass makes this one the winner. It germinated fast, filled in densely, and continues to grow at a steady rate.

2) Pennington Perennial Ryegrass Smart Seed: It's growing rapidly but not as dense as the Scotts. One negative, they coat the seeds with that annoying blue fertilizer spray. Your hands will be blue for a long time if you don't wear gloves. You have to wonder what the heck kind of chemicals are in that too!

3) Pearl's Premium (Sunny): Big price and little results. Yes- they do warn that the germination rate is much slower with the tall fescues but come on - over three weeks and a few single seedlings here and there. It was a major disappointment.

So for under $40 you can go to your local Lowes or Home Depot and get yourself some Scotts and have excellent results.

This isn't the end of the story.....I actually have to flashback to July to fill in the rest of my results and the full story. The reason I started this whole test process was because we found a unique patch of grass in our lawn that was thriving during the heat and drought we had here. All of the bluegrasses and some of the rye were dying off and crispy by mid July. This patch was bright green and super soft.

I started with a simple Google search (which later turned into days of googling grasses). I relate it to mattress shopping. After an hour of laying on beds, they all feel the same! Grass is one unique and interesting subject. I never knew how much science was behind it. By late August I still had not identified the grass so I decided to test some common seeds (in the mixes I bought). I was almost positive it was part of the Scotts mix because I did overseeding with it last year. Nope!

Today I took a field trip to Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA. They have horticultural experts there and one of them (John), happens to be a turf-grass expert. I took a small plug of the grass (roots and all) to him and within 20 seconds her had it identified. Guess what....it's a weed! Before I go down that road, let me say this- it's very desirable and you can use it for lawns. It turned out to be Creeping Bentgrass. It's quite common on golf courses and can tolerate close mowing. It's super soft, grows very slowly, and is very dense. Sounds good to me!

So what's next? Do I weed my entire lawn with bentgrass? No, but I found an interesting option from nomowgrass.com (it's 100% bentgrass) and marketed as a 'no-mow' lawn product. Hmm. I'm going to get a small sample and seed some patches in the lawn to test it out.

As far as overseeding the rest of the lawn, I recommend a 100% fescue blend (maybe with a small amount of ryegrass (for soil stabilization). There are some more expensive blends out there that are all fescue that you can purchase. It is money well spent because the fescues are extremely drought tolerant and have deep root systems that will allow it to stay green all season and choke out weeds at the same time. The Scotts is a great all purpose seed but for problem areas I'll definitely be going with a 100% fescue mix.

You can even make your own mix on Super Seed Store.

Good luck and if you have questions don't hesitate to contact me. Over and out!

Renovation 101

With any project there has to be a logical starting point. The number one question I hear is, “How do we get started?” Often homeowners turn to general contractors or an architect depending on the scale of their renovation before a lot of the important legwork is done. So, where do you start? First things first, it is crucial to be realistic with your budget. Most issues and miscommunication with a contractor occurs within the first few days of hiring them. Why is that? It happens because homeowners do not set the table correctly. Okay, what the heck does that mean? What I call “table-setting” is the process of being realistic with your budget and having a professional review your expectations, design ideas, and timeline. That process alone can shave 4 weeks off a renovation if done properly. If not done correctly, you could end up with a very expensive set of beautiful blueprints or a few walls knocked out and a non-functional kitchen and not much more.

Before you turn to Angie’s List, ServiceMagic, or Craigslist, know that you could very well be adding a good deal of time to your renovation planning. I had one set of clients looking to do a simple small deck installation. After two full weeks of searching reviews online they had 7 contractors come to quote the job over one weekend. The following week they decided to hire a company outside of their immediate area. By chance they contacted me after seeing my twitter feed. Turns out the contractor they chose had an expired license and had suggested some design elements that were not to current code. Lesson learned. Luckily no deposit had been exchanged. I was able to bring in one of my verified contractors and schedule the work quickly within their budget. Other homeowners are not so lucky.

Many people seem to think everything needs to be done yesterday. When it comes to renovating your home, please slow down. That is probably the best advice I can give for those looking to punch holes in sheetrock before anything else. Being a designer and consultant, I will in general terms: set the table, serve dinner, and deliver a stress free renovation….and you enjoy the dessert (results)!