Fireplaces

Peach Earwigs & Trees

Because they feed on aphids in some garden situations, earwigs are considered beneficial insects, but in trees they feed on the delicate fruit and cause substantial damage. The species of earwig that hurts peach trees would be that the European earwig (Forficula auricularia). The insect is all about 3/4 inch long and reddish brown in color. It’s easily recognized by means of a pair of appendages in the rear end.

Damage

Earwigs feed on fruit and tree leaves. Leaves may have signs and jagged holes around the edgesbrought on by caterpillars. To differentiate the harm start looking for webbing and frass, which is excrement that resembles fine sawdust. Both of these symptoms indicate that the problem is caterpillars and not earwigs. Fruit will have narrow gouges.

Trapping

Trapping makes the usage of insecticides unnecessary and is an effective way to control earwigs. Cubes are made by low-sided cans like tuna or cat food cans with a half inch of oil at the bottom. Use vegetable oil or fish oil with a couple drops of bacon grease as bait. You can use pieces of tube such as sections of a water hose, rolled newspaper or cardboard; earwigs will come across these hiding places without the use of bait. Place the traps just before dark and empty them into a bucket of water in the daytime. Continue putting traps till you are no more grabbing earwigs.

Hiding Places

Practice decent sanitation to eliminate hiding places like fallen leaves, weeds and debris. Earwigs also conceal in mulches and groundcovers as well as ivies. Suckers that rise from the base of the shrub may also give refuge. Earwigs can hide in cracks and crevices in the bark of trees that are peach. From the lower trunk, carefully scrape off the loose, outer bark on trees.

Additional Controls

Earwigs conceal in cool places at night. In arid, Mediterranean climates, the insect is encouraged by irrigation practices. Water trees early in the day when earwigs find a moist hiding place so the surface of the soil around it and the tree have plenty of time. Coating the trunk of this tree with a substance designed to snare insects prevents earwigs from scaling the tree.

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How to Select a Table and Chairs for Holiday Hosting

The holidays are coming. Are you prepared for the throngs of people you’re expecting to get a season’s worth of dinner parties? If not, it may be time to get a new dining table and chairs. But don’t go purchasing the first thing you see.

There are pros and cons to every table form. And then there are all those additional chairs you want to factor in. It’s enough to make your head spin!

What is ideal for your house is dependent on a few factors you might not have thought about. I spoke with inner designer Tineke Triggs of Artistic Designs for Living, with a great deal to say about finding a dining set that’s ideal for you.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Round tables are potentially the most space efficient in terms of creating a comfortable exchange involving diners. “Ovals,” Triggs says,”are the next most efficient in this respect.”

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

In the case of the round and oval table, no one need sit in a corner when the table is crowded beyond its ideal capacity. But oblong and round tables might be off-putting for people who prefer to match the clean lines found in the rest of the dining area.

Dwelling Designs

Square and rectangular tables use the form of a room to their benefit. Their 90-degree angles deliver clear, unencumbered walkways around the perimeter.

The drawback is that the longer a table (rectangular or oblong ) is, the more difficult it is for people sitting on the farthest ends to hear one another. Plus, when a rectangular or square table is overstuffed with guests, someone’s bound to get stuck straddling a corner.

Sandvold Blanda Architecture + Interiors LLC

If you’re lucky, you will find that one form accommodates both your functional requirements and aesthetic needs.

Mark English Architects, AIA

To seat six to eight people, Triggs suggests using a round table in order to best allow individuals to converse with and be heard by everybody in the table. Though, she warns, some more people than that and the essential circumference of a round table may prohibit not just conversation, but also its capacity to fit in an average dining room.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

For 10 to 12 people, an oval or rectangular table is best.

Holly Marder

Creating a long table more intimate. So perhaps a rectangular or oval is the better choice for your dining room’s configurations, your amount of guests along with your own style. To make it more intimate, Triggs suggests searching out a slimmer table, say one that’s about 36 inches wide, rather than the standard 42- to 48-inch wide table.

Even though it won’t draw the farthest ends closer together, it will significantly decrease the gap between people sitting across from one another.

Jim Burton Architects

The extendable dining table. Regardless of what form you opt for having the choice to extend the table length or circumference will allow you to accommodate a range of group sizes comfortably.

Triggs suggests obtaining a table with built-in leaves which fold from and back to the table. “If you don’t have to move the stand out from the center to include leaves,” she says,”it is generally easier — not just to extend and retract, but you also don’t have to locate somewhere to store those additional leaves. This is a great option if you’re continuously expanding and diminishing the table.”

Watch more on extendable dining tables

Whitney Lyons

Detachable leaves. Although detachable leaves can prove more clumsy than built-in leaves and need additional helping hands, this style of table might be a nice option for you if you don’t expand and retract your table often. “Center-leaved expandable tables have been around for centuries, and as a result there is a larger assortment of these at fair rates,” Triggs says.

KE Designs

Smart solution for keeping leaves. KE Designs created customized storage for this homeowner, designing a dedicated (and safe) area for dining table leaves.

Walton Architects

Regardless of whether the leaves are either detachable or built in, Triggs urges an extendable table with leaves measuring 12 to 18 inches, as this may open the table till a wide selection of sizes (assuming your dining area can accommodate the longest span ) without throwing off its equilibrium.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Custom tables. Haven’t found anything on the market that thrills you? Having a table custom made is an option, but one which Triggs cautions requires a skilled tradesperson if you’re talking about an extendable table. “This isn’t a task for any woodworker or cabinetmaker,” she warns. “You want to find somebody who understands overhangs, tipping ratios and foundation equilibrium. A good deal of thought must go into the making of an expandable table, so be sure you find someone that has a fantastic history.”

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

If you don’t know where to begin your search, read ‘s database of furniture makers. Or, if you’re already working with an interior designer, he or she can direct you to a respectable professional.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Chairs and spares. Once you decide the table you want, you are going to need chairs to seat your guests. “Many people buy dining chairs for appearances without sacrificing enough attention to relaxation,” says Triggs. “Make sure you’re purchasing comfortable chairs which guests may enjoy sitting for long intervals.”

How to Decide on a dining chair

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Chairs with arms are beautiful and can be very comfortable, but they are space hogs when it comes to a large crowd. In the event you want to have such chairs for big parties, Triggs suggests limiting them to the minds of a rectangular or oval table. Armless chairs, on the other hand, will allow you to squeeze more of them around a table of any contour.

Prull Custom Builders

But how many chairs does one family need for this handful of large scale dinner affairs annually? First buy the number of chairs which will obviously fit around your dining table during its regular size (probably its smallest size).

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

If you can afford the distance and the cost, Triggs proposes storing additional full-size chairs on both sides of the buffet, then alongside an entry door and possibly in a guest room if needed.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Should you not have sufficient space for such storage (or the desire to buy as many full-size chairs as your fully extended table can actually adapt ), attempt folding or stackable chairs. Yes, I know what you’re thinking:”Not those ugly things!” Nevertheless, the new versions are not the chairs you remember as a kid. “I have a collection of 111 Navy chairs from Design Within Reach that I use for both indoor and outside parties,” says Triggs; those stackable chairs are produced from recycled Coke bottles. “They are comfortable and don’t have a wide footprint, which makes them simple to store in my garage.”

The Kartell Lou Lou Ghost Chairs shown here are also an attractive stackable option which can be stored out of sight (or can be readily integrated into other chambers ) when they are not needed in the dining room.

Wanda Lozada Interior Designer

If seats are a more favorable seating option, Triggs recommends allowing at least 16 to 18 inches in diameter per grownup fanny. “And make sure any bench has cushions,” she implores. “No one wishes to be the one stuck on a hard bench for a long meal.”

As an alternative to this arrangement, you might also set your bench chairs from a wall to get back support.

SIR Development

Your turn: Please show us your dining table set which will easily fit your vacation guests.

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Dry Minimalism from the Arizona Desert

“Sitting lightly on the landscape” is an expression that can be supposed literally and metaphorically; in the prior case it describes how a building physically touches the earth, and in the latter case it is all about reducing a building’s negative influence on the earth through energy use, water use and other factors.

The house of Alan and Mary Levin near Tucson sits lightly on the landscape in both regards. This is very important in the desert Southwest, where water is scarce and the warmth may make air conditioning a necessity 24 hours every day for much of the year.

The design, by Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, sensitively inserted the house into the landscape to respect natural attributes, minimize energy use and provide the Levins everything they asked for and much more.

at a Glance
Location: Close Tucson
Size:
3,500 square feet
That is intriguing:
A open metal box frames that the desert landscape from the patio adjacent to the pool.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

We are going to begin the tour at the conclusion — the pool and deck to illustrate the method by which the house sits on the landscape, and to develop anticipation about your house. The deck and spacious frame from the pool hover above the desert landscape, permitting water to flow and animals to pass, and giving the Levins a vantage point above the scrub and sand.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

They wanted the whole house on one level, also Ibarra Rosano realized this in a manner that incorporates the house amazingly well with the landscape. The integration results from the way the architects worked together with the height restrictions.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

This perspective of the house illustrates how it is literally lifted above the landscape at a few points to let the desert leak beneath. The site is split roughly in half with a tributary valley, which had been the driving force behind the architects’ decision to lift the house and divide it into smaller volumes.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The architects’ study model is useful for understanding how the house is laid out in three volumes. From the trunk (to the south) are the carport and garage, linked by a bridge to the living and master bedroom areas in the middle. A library connects that bar to the parallel bar in the foreground, containing the bedrooms to the Levins’ kids: two married daughters with kids of their own. (This quantity can be shut off from the rest of the house if they aren’t visiting, cutting down on electricity use.) The pool is in the front-right corner, adjacent to both inhabited areas.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The front of the house. The driveway results in a car courtroom on the right; on one side is your garage, and on the other is a carport for guests. From here residents and visitors walk to a covered bridge resulting in the house.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The bridge traverses the valley, allowing the movement of water across the site to be maintained — as if the house didn’t even exist, in this regard.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

Looking north, in the exact same way as our perspective of the covered walkway, we can sense the narrow quantity of the first bar, together with the open frame in the distance.

This south face has a bit of an overhang to cut down on the high sun. The expansive glass capitalizes on views toward town — perspectives that the clients were not aware of initially and today particularly like at night.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

We enter the house into the spacious living, kitchen and dining areas, immediately seeing through the pool and deck.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

Along one side of the living area is a long fireplace, under a wood wall where the TV is mounted. This wall overlooks.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

From the dining area we may observe the kitchen’s white oak cabinets and island.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The core of the interior is your kitchen, designed to provide perspectives of both the entry and the outdoor space, and to align with the library that leads to your guest and children’s wing. The Levins wanted a kitchen that has been open without being distracting during cooking; the wood cabinets onto the island aid in this regard.

The painting on the far wall, along with the rest of the artwork in the house, comes from the Library Street Collective in Detroit, a gallery that one of the Levins’ daughters runs with her husband.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The master bath shows much of the exact same minimalist design as the rest of the house, however the blue tile wall and skylight create the space unique.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

This shelf in the master bath’s shower, highlighted by more blue tiles, is a nice touch.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The cube defines a space for dining and loungingroom, but it is flexible enough to allow for a lot of things. The cantilever projects the deck into the landscape whilst still being above it. The architects call it a way to frame the perspective of the distant city lights.

Ibarra Rosano Design Architects

The cube was created to accept a shade, however, Mary Levin likes the view so much through the frame that she didn’t wish to alter it. Of course it helps that the house itself blocks some of the strong western sunlight, allowing the Levins to appreciate the space and the newfound perspective as is.

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Things I Will Need to Buy for My Apartment

Moving into your first flat is a shock on several levels. The joys and challenges of living independently, sharing space with a roommate or moving with your”significant other” are the alterations that you anticipate. Everything you won’t believe is how many”things” you need to purchase to run your own house. From a laundry basket to silverware, toaster into vacuum cleaner, the list just goes on. It’s worth your time to work out a budget and select the basics you’ll have to purchase. To keep it simple, split your list to life’s basics: sleeping, eating, cleaning and recreation, and include the things that you will need as your budget allows.

Sleeping

Purchasing second-hand just makes sense, if you are on a budget. One exception, however, is your mattress. You spend a third of your lifetime, occasionally more, in your mattress, so buy the best mattress you can spend. Buy at least two cushions, pillowcases, blankets and sheets so that you’ll have something to offer traffic and also to utilize while the initial set is in the wash. Do not forget dividers, wardrobe (when there are no cabinets ), clothes hangers, night table and alarm clock. Maximize your bedroom area and prevent clutter using a sizable under-the-bed box.

Eating

The”biggies” in this section are somewhat expensive: a refrigerator, a stove, a kitchen table or surface area, a dinner table and seats. The good news is that these items often include the apartment. The listing of smaller appliances that you need will depend on your preferences, vices and eating customs: coffee maker, teakettle, blender, toaster, food processor, hand mixer and microwave are the ones that are obvious. Buy silverware for eight (at least), dishes for four (longer if you’re able to afford it), a multipiece drink set, spatulas, large spoons, mixing bowls, 8-inch chef knife, paring knife and cutting board. You will also need food containers, a minimum of two strands and three baskets (small, medium and big ), colander, potato peeler and fire extinguisher. And you’ll hate yourself if you forget to obtain a nice corkscrew.

Cleaning

Let your budget decide whether you purchase a washer-dryer or utilize a laundromat. Do not forget laundry detergent, iron, ironing board, laundry basket, broom, dustpan, garbage can, garbage bags (large and medium), dusters, kitchen towels, rags, vacuum (if you’ve carpets), bucket and mop.

Recreation

Your budget is most likely on its last legs by now, so do everything you could. Just remember it’s your first flat, which means you’ll have time to your 52-inch TV and pool table in the future. Look at buying a bookcase (it will make you look smart), futon (better than a couch since it doubles as a mattress ), lamp, TV and DVD player.

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What Is Next for Our Homes' Exterior Design?

Humankind’s approach to living space has always been influenced by the basic necessities of life: shelter, comfort and protection. But how this has influenced the external expression of dwelling spaces has changed enormously over time. As society has grown, economic, social, cultural, environmental and political factors also have shaped how and where we live, and the sort of dwelling we live in.

Here we take a look at outside facades — the outer skin that separates and protects the people from the outside world — and what may have influenced the architect. We are going to begin with a glimpse back in time to look at some of the forms of dwellings our ancestors built. A number of these buildings are still lived in today, frequently with minimal modifications.

Today greater options of materials and construction methods enables us more room for self-expression, but we cannot dismiss our basic requirements for protection and shelter. Our present challenge is to continue to adapt sensibly to a fast changing world.

Dorman Architects

Safety and Shelter

On high ground: Castell Cabrera, Ille de Cabrera, Majorca, Spain (16th century). By necessity, in previous times many people lived in great defensive structures, such as the Norman and Venetian castles scattered throughout Europe. These demanding solid and nearly windowless structures protected their populations but also gave rulers the external expression of invincibility and fantastic power.

Dorman Architects

Walled: Historical road, Fez, Morocco (13th century). Traditional buildings across the Middle East and North Africa were inward looking and surrounded by sterile walls, which provided protection from the extremes of the harsh climate. The narrow, winding streets of the great medinas of Morocco barely hint at the beautifully decorated temples with their inwardly focused courtyards concealed behind their plain outside subway walls.

commons.wikimedia.org

Subterranean: Troglodyte home, Matmata, Tunisia (Roman period). Throughout the globe many dwellings were under the ground or dug in the mountainsides, and had little apparent observable presence aboveground. In Cappadocia, Turkey, interlinked dwellings carved into the ground combine to form intricate underground villages. In Tunisia’s desert, subterranean dwellings are virtually invisible until you stumble upon a sizable crater excavated to the ground with subterranean rooms opening onto it. The place for Luke Skywalker’s home in Star Wars was one such arrangement.

Dorman Architects

Shelter and Self-Expression

Elegance: Mountjoy Square, Dublin, Ireland, by Luke Gardiner and Thomas Sherrard (1790). At 18th-century Dublin, the Georgians built long, uniform redbrick terraced streets punctuated by a regular rhythm of window openings. The exteriors presented a restrained and uniform formality, while inside the walls and ceilings were adorned with lush plasterwork. Some 100 years later, the Victorians turned these inside out by lavishly using the decoration to the outsides of the homes.

Transparency: Edith Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, by Mies van der Rohe (1951). Priorities began to alter over time. Today scale, construction, form and substances continue to contribute to the external appearance and reflection of our homes. Houses can express or hide their internal or structure design, depending how they are dressed up. The positioning of doors and windows may give us clues about what lies behind the facade.

Studio Carver Architects, Inc..

Translucency: Santa Ynez barn, Santa Barbara, California, by Carver + Schicketanz Architects. Why would we like the look of a single home and not another? Opinions on which constitutes a “good” or “lovely” home can differ much in the way a sculpture or painting can. Being presented with a strange house can challenge our preconceptions of what we believe a home must look like. While some may feel more comfortable with a conventional home, others may go outside of their comfort zone to seek out an option.

More about this Home

Princeton Architectural Press

Solidity: The Pierre, Lopez Island, Washington, by Olson Kundig Architects (2010). While a totally glazed house can leave little to the imagination, a home with sterile walls, on the other hand, may make it hard for all of us to see it.

Princeton Architectural Press

Shade: Live/Work/Home, Syracuse, New York, Cook+Fox Architect. An abstract form can leave us puzzled and curious.

Nick Noyes Architecture

Simplicity: Healdsburg residence, Fitch Mountain, California, by Nick Noyes Architecture. Our options are seemingly endless. Some may choose a simple utilitarian home dressed with minimal substances, while others may opt for elaborate contours and profuse decoration.

Privacy: White U, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, by Toyo Ito (1976). Some may choose to retreat behind an impenetrable enclosure at a desire for solitude or for refuge from a hostile environment. Alternatively, others may prefer to open until the world with walls of glass.

More about this Home

Shinberg Levinas Architectural Design

Invisibility: Naim residence, Washington, D.C., by Shinberg Levinas Architectural Design. Some might prefer the understated or, taken farther, chameleon-like homes that virtually disappear in the landscape.

Princeton Architectural Press

Dynamic: False Bay Writer’s Cabin, San Juan Island, Washington, by Olson Kundig Architects (2009). Those settled may opt for something more lively and portable. Others may seek out a home with the capability to transform itself determined by the time of day the seasons or occupancy standing with the use of devices such as sliding or folding displays.

Fallingwater

Dream: Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, by Frank Lloyd Wright (1937). The majority of people are stimulated by the prospect of residing or perhaps building their dream home. Architects are stimulated by the exciting challenges of realizing those dreams.

More about this iconic home

Next: Enjoyable solutions by modern architects operating from the high-desert regions in Idaho to tight urban sites in Tokyo, to the leafy suburbs of Utrecht, and lots of places in between.

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Ox-Eye Windows Hit the Mark in Architecture

An architectural aspect that I find truly wonderful is that the round or oval window. Placed judiciously, small circles of glass stick out at a home’s layout, creating a strong architectural punctuation mark within an otherwise ordinary space while bringing additional light and often an unexpected view into the interior of a home.

The first name for this type of window has been oeil-de-boeuf, literally “ox’s eye”; it is also known as an oculus. While I am not entirely certain how the title came about, it appears appropriate. These windows do resemble eyes looking out in the world. And just as eyes are believed to be windows into the soul, these windows can also supply an intriguing and unusual glimpse into a home’s interior.

In the long run, however, this wonderful architectural element’s roots don’t really matter. What does matter is that an ox-eye windowcould well be that piece of architectural grammar that is needed to finish your home’s statement.

Jan Gleysteen Architects, Inc

An ox-eye window can accentuate the most utilitarian location. Tucked into a tight alcove that is used for a home office, this round window makes a potent architectural statement in a comparatively compact space.

TEA2 Architects

A round window set high on the gable acts as a punctuation mark. In this case, it’s the time that attracts the architectural statement of this arched and rectangular windows under it to a full stop.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

There’s something satisfying about putting round windows high up in a wall. That little area of light emitting a bit of view out to the treetops really does create a feeling of spaciousness and airiness. Envision this room without the round window. Not really the same, is it?

Andrea Swan – Swan Architecture

While an ox-eye window is usually associated with traditional or transitional designs, it can work just as well with a contemporary aesthetic. At a simple, spare space with plain white walls, this ox-eye window takes center stage as the area’s chief ornamentation.

Ike Kligerman Barkley

Round or oval windows are even more refreshing whenever they pop up in an unexpected place, creating a feeling of surprise and happiness. Perhaps that’s the reason I love using them.

I could brush my teeth in this sink while taking a look at the landscape. However, for those who might bemoan the loss of a mirror, maybe there is another spot in the area that would do the job just as well for the window without cutting off the view.

Suzette Sherman Design

While you’re at it, allow the window’s positioning dictate the form of the interior elements around it, as was done with the cabinetry here.

Martin Bros.. Contracting, Inc..

When an oculus is utilized in place of a standard window, claiming privacy can be a challenge. Conventional window coverings will conceal the exceptional contour; utilizing frosted or reeded glass or installing a custom pleated shade can produce a reduction of light and view. In this smart installation, a hinged interior panel keeps the two elements while allowing for solitude.

KellyBaron

Many manufacturers today produce round windows that pivot open either horizontally or vertically. An operable window is a great alternative for bathrooms and kitchens, allowing for clean air and ventilation.

Jan Gleysteen Architects, Inc

Just like with any architectural feature, the key to creating a round or oval window function is to ensure that it is placed so the overall composition makes sense both inside and out. The window might be high up in a gable, located over an entry or, as in this case, set between two conventional rectangular windows to break up the charm of a long exterior wall.

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DIY Project: Slick Oilcloth Tabletop

Did your grannie ever lineup her kitchen cabinets with oilcloth? Perhaps she even had a desk covered with peppy polka dots in white and red or a cheery cherry print. Most of us have seen oilcloth, although a lot of may not understand what it is. It is absolutely not the first material we consider when considering home improvement these days, but it is thick, durable and perfectly cute. Could there be any better credentials for a children’s table, crafting bench or throwback furniture detailing? Nope!

Amy Renea

Oilcloth is made by attaching printed vinyl into a webbed cotton cloth. Traditionally oilcloth was created by adding layers of linseed oil to cotton fabric to make it water resistant. Aren’t you glad you reside in the era of modern production?

Amy Renea

Oilcloth is attached to any surface to give it a stronger finish and also to include design with cute prints, modern designs and innumerable variations of solids and patterns. The layouts are generally retro, but modern designers have produced some gorgeous new prints as well. You can find an idea of the variety available on eBay.

I found my roll of oilcloth at a local auction, selling for under $1. There was enough cloth to cover two tables still have lawns left over.

Amy Renea

That is what my desk looked like until it had been given a fresh face. Once upon a time, this table has been painted with chalkboard paint and utilized as a kids’ table. Then it had been given a coat of standard latex paint and utilized for art and meals. It had gotten its fair share of markers, scissors, scissors and skillet and needed some help. Below are the steps I needed to give it fresh life.

Amy Renea

1. Measure and cut on the oilcloth.
It couldn’t be easier to measure and reduce oilcloth. Simply lay it flat on the surface of the table and then slide a pair of scissors around the perimeter, leaving 2 to 3 inches of surplus.

Amy Renea

2. Examine the overhang.
After you’ve cut the cloth, organize it on the tabletop so that all the edges have the same amount of overhang.

Amy Renea

3. Smooth out any wrinkles.
Can you see bubbles in the edges of the cloth? Out those out before attaching the cloth to the table.

Amy Renea

Start at the center of the desk and smooth out any bubbles or lumps with your hands. You can use a credit card to smooth the fabric if you wish, but hands work just fine.

Amy Renea

4. Attach the fabric.
You can attach the fabric with adhesive, staples or even tape. Adding the cloth to a tabletop requires exactly the same method as attaching a canvas into a frame or re-covering a seat seat. Imagine you’re looking at a clock. Start at 12:00, then pull on the fabric tight and then attach 6:00, then 3:00, then 9:00. You want to make certain these four crossing points are as tight as possible.

Amy Renea

5. Pull the fabric into pleats.
Using a table, there’ll be pleating if you attach the cloth. Once you’ve glued or stapled the fabric at four equidistant points around the table, you can start pleating. Only fold down little pleats of fabric, attempting to minimize any wrinkles along the edge of the desk. Glue, tape or staple in the very edge of the fabric (where my thumb is) so that the fabric doesn’t hang down beneath the table.

Amy Renea

6. Double check and secure.
After you’ve worked your way around the table, return and make sure there are no wrinkles. I hot glued the fabric on the desk but then moved back on the final product and secured any loose pleats using a staple gun.

Amy Renea

When the cloth is secure, you finally have a brand new, washable surface, using a great pattern to boot up! This project requires a total of 10 minutes and cost less than $1. It is a challenge to beat that for an afternoon job.

To find out more about oilcloth jobs and possibilities, you may want to check out Oilcloth Addict.

More:
Sitting Pretty in Mismatched Chairs
Dining in the Round

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Don't Walk the Kitchen Pass-Through

If you’re looking to open the space between your kitchen and an adjoining area but reluctant (or unable) to eliminate a wall, take a different tack: a good old kitchen pass-through. All these peekaboo openings, initially designed to provide a means to serve food from the kitchen while hiding any cooking mess, are as important for decorative appeal since they are for practical purposes. Here are eight strategies.

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

Inspired by cabinetry and moldings, this Craftsman-style pass-through creates the impression of a piece of freestanding furniture.

Klopf Architecture

An easy pass-through adds a practical dimension and architectural interest in what otherwise could have been a big, blank wall, also enhances seating area to boot.

Leonard Grant Architecture

Not only does this pass-through join the kitchen and dining room, but it also provides a glimpse of brilliant blue cabinetry which brightens up the neutral palette. The result is similar to a piece of artwork in the middle of a white frame.

Jeanne Finnerty Interior Design

An arched surround lends a graceful note to this pass-through and offsets the boxiness of the cabinetry which frames it.

Visbeen Architects

A recessed pass-through similar to this one could be a breeze to add between wall studs. It makes compact kitchen and dining areas look bigger than they really are.

Sarah Susanka, FAIA

Pass-throughs not only provide a link between the kitchen and another area, but they also can help to balance a room’s architectural profile. This one offsets the open doorway on the right and smoothes out the flow.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

For extra flexibility, think about outfitting a pass-through with windows which you can open and close as your needs require.

Shannon Malone

Orienting the range within this pass-through enables the homeowner to chat with guests while still stirring and sautéing.

More:
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Yes You Can Remove That Wall

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11 Tree Houses Around the World

Why do we travel? An individual might argue that we do this to leave our comfort zones and try something fresh — understand and emulate another culture, its food, its customs etc.. If that is the situation, oftentimes it is where we choose to sleep that is going to have the biggest impact on attaining this perfect experience. It’s where you’ll call home, even if it’s only for a night.

That’s why many savvy travelers are taking to the trees, where sky-high tree house hotels, lodges and bed-and breakfasts have become de rigueur for open minded adventurers looking for that one-of-a-kind experience.

But make no mistake: While there are plenty of amazing Swiss Family Robinson–kind tree homes created from tree trunks and decoration rope, they’re not all rustic. Many architects have turned the notion on its head, including amenities and materials with design flair. But regardless of what your style taste, you are guaranteed never to forget your trip.

Here are 11 tree homes worth the climb.

1. Hapuku Lodge, New Zealand

This spacious property includes exquisitely designed tree homes on a vast New Zealand deer farm. Owner Tony Wilson and his family are enthusiastic about architecture, so much so that WIlson’s daughter, Julia, will become the fifth-generation Wilson architect following year.

The vertical batten outside is New Zealand redwood over Canadian cedar. The siding is aluminum.

The owners moved to extra lengths to guarantee a quiet and cozy stay. Soundproof windows maintain the stag roar out during mating season, while thick cushioning under the carpets reduces foot noise.

All of the beds have custom-made mattresses. The furniture is made by hand from North American hardwoods.

Price: About $668 per night for two guests

Photos courtesy of Hapuku Lodge

2. Treehotel, Sweden

Deep at a Swedish forest, some of Scandinavia’s most talented architects have created game-changing, uniquely themed and designed tree house hotels.

The Bird’s Nest area is just what its name suggests: Chaotic and complicated interlocking shrub branches mimic a bird’s nest on the outside.

But the interior is a wood-clad modern resort suite with small lookout windows.

Price: About $677 per night for two guests

Treehotel’s Cabin area, on the other hand, is a two-person capsule in the trees with a double bed, bath and terrace.

Indoors, a contemporary bedroom appears toward the Lule River valley.

Along with a small sitting nook close to paned windows allows guest truly connect with residing in the trees.

Price: About $677 per night for two guests

Treehotel’s Mirrorcube is possibly the most head turning, or reflecting, for that matter. Mirrored walls display the surrounding woods, developing a modern world. And don’t worry: Infared film on the panels prevents birds from flying into it.

The interior, made from plywood with a birch surface, is clean and cozy at once, with six windows to get a panoramic view.

Price: About $708 per night for two guests

The company’s UFO tree house cuts a striking alien experience scene. The composite material design allows for a lightweight yet durable design.

The two-story, contemporary area can sleep four people.

Price: About $677 per night for two guests

Photos by Peter Lundstrom, WDO

3. Tree Houses Hotel, Costa Rica

This bed-and-breakfast is located on 8 acres surrounded by a 70-acre wildlife refuge with a waterfall, swimming pools plus a winding river. The land is thought to be a “bird watcher’s paradise and wildlife lover’s dream” Guests regularly catch sight of sloths, monkeys, toucans, armadillos, hummingbirds, parrots and motmots. The tree houses are air conditioned and have warm-water showers and refrigerators.

Price: From $98 per night for two guests

Photo courtesy of Tree Houses Hotel Costa Rica

4. Sanya Nanshan, South China Sea

These vacation rentals sit in the tamarind trees along a sand dune in an isolated shore near a vast Buddhist and ecological theme park with temples, pagodas and botanical gardens.

Price: Contact for rates

Photo courtesy of Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort and Beach Club

5. Reserva Amazonica, Peru

In the Peruvian southeastern Amazon, 90 feet above the forest floor, sits this rustic tree house.

Guests can go for a wander without ever setting foot on the ground by means of a set of bridges that connects half a dozen trees and platforms.

Price: About $460 each night at the summer for two individuals

Photos courtesy of Inkaterra

6. Tree House Lodge, Costa Rica

Deep in the thick Costa Rican woods, an all-wood lodge sits in the trees.

All of the furniture in these split-level tree homes is hand carved from renewable wood. Scarlet birds of paradise include just the correct pop of tropical colors.

Meanwhile, screened windows let fresh air in while keeping bugs out.

Price: $300 per night for two guests

Photos courtesy of Tree House Lodge

7. Green Magic Nature Resort, Kerala

You’ll need to take a cane lift using a water counterweight up 115 feet to the trees to say goodnight in this bamboo hotel room, located on 30 acres of tropical rain forest. How they can obtain a functioning ceramic-tiled bathroom with running water up there, we will never know.

Price: Contact for rates

Photo courtesy of Tourindia

8. Tsala Treetop Lodge, South Africa

Nestled in the boughs of a native African woods, the homes of Tsala Treetop Lodge are far from your typical tree house layout. Guests enjoy a large lounge area with a fireplace and a grand private deck with an infinity pool.

The design and architecture were performed by Bruce Stafford along with the Hunter family, who have Hunter Hotels, which operates the Tsala.

Guests enjoy dinner on a deck hung above the forest floor.

Price: Contact for rates

Photos courtesy of Hunter Hotels

9. Vertical Horizons, Oregon

This cozy bed-and-breakfast can be found near a redwood forest in southern Oregon. Guests have access to caves, the Pacific coast and much more.

Each tree house features its own theme. This one, called the Shiitake, embodies an Asian aesthetic.

Price: Contact for rates

Photos courtesy of Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise

10. Treehouse Cottages, Arkansas

Originally from Miami, owners Terry and Patsy Miller moved to Eureka Springs in 1976. Fifteen decades later, they found Treehouse Cottages. Terry custom designed and hand built each tree house; they’re suspended on wooden rods about 25 feet off the ground.

But if they exude a certain rustic vibe on the outside, inside they’re packed with luxury handmade upgrades. In reality, what’s handmade: the cedar railings, the cabinets and even the doors.

Patsy created the wheel-thrown-pottery kitchen dishes.

And her handmade tile is featured throughout the tree homes, such as around this heart-shaped tub.

Price: From $149 per night for two guests

Photos courtesy of Treehouse Cottages

11. Hamanasi Adventure & Dive Resort, Belize

Take into the trees along the coast of Belize, where Luxurious tree homes have wraparound porches, outdoor hot tubs, kitchenettes and separate living rooms. The tree houses are created from all Belizean forests — mahogany, barba p holote, rosewood, Santa Maria and much more — and most of the furniture has been created on the property. Plus, the bird-rich woods surrounded you and near the second-largest barrier reef on earth.

Price: From $369 per night for two guests; minimum of three nights

Have you stayed in a tree house? We would really like to see a picture below.

More: Tour a shrub home-away-from-home in California

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Fireplaces

Shhh … It's a Secret (Door, Room, Staircase)

Raise your hand if you used to see The Munsters TV series and secretly envied the trendy lifting stairs where Spot the pet dragon, dwelt below. My hands is way up. The Munster mansion was positively riddled with secret rooms and hidden compartments. The laboratory of grandpa was obtained through a trapdoor in the floor. After you were in the lab, if you pushed on a stone in the wall, then part of the stone wall swung away to show a dungeon. When Herman had a call to make, he tugged on a bellpull, the wall slid open, and a coffin glided out and started to show the phone. Pretty slick. And those were only some of the secret doors and hidden rooms. You’ll need to see the reruns and see just how many others you’ll be able to spot.

You may not have a laboratory, a dungeon or dragon, and you probably use a mobile phone that you can just hide in a pocket, but it doesn’t mean concealed rooms, passageways or compartments are not a great idea. Check out how these homeowners generated a little puzzle and fun in their houses. Is there anything you want to hide?

Hidden Door Store

You really can have that lifting stairs on your own house with no creepy Munster décor. This one hides another stairs to a lower level. This is a lot more intriguing than a coat closet. I simply don’t understand how I’d keep it a mystery, because I’d like to reveal it to everyone.

Red Ridge Millwork

This wine cellar has a bounty of storage out in plain view. However …

Red Ridge Millwork

… the very valuable vintages become stashed in another wine cellar revealed when this whole storage tank opens up. Great idea to use a wine cellar to hide your own wine cellar.

Dan Waibel Designer Builder

In the movies, we observe a wall safe hidden by artwork. What about using artwork to hide things that simply are not that pretty to look at? Framed movie posters can be the perfect way to hide AV parts and that collection of DVDs.

Hidden Door Store

I began thinking about this when one of my clients asked a concealed room for guns. The customer wanted to be certain the guns were protected and concealed in case of a burglary. If what you are hiding is dangerous, put it behind a heavy-duty door that can be locked. The lock is significant if a person discovers your secret spot, but the concealed accessibility behind a bookcase keeps people from even thinking there might be some thing back there.

This photograph and the next three show a wall with sliding panels that appear to be as much for aesthetic appeal as they are for concealing storage compartments as well as the entry to a bedroom.

The ladder rolls along the wall to get access to storage. The wall panel on the left has restored back to show storage. The decorative metal panel slides to the right to demonstrate another doorway behind it.

When the whitened wall panel to the left is open to show the storage, it is hiding the workplace.

A bedroom is supporting the decorative metal panel and a white door. A real sense of solitude is generated while the bedroom entry is behind two layers.

The very best way to hide the entry to an area is to keep people from imagining it is there in the first place. This paneling on the entire wall on each side of the fireplace looks like a normal wall treatment in an upscale house.

Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc..

Who would even suspect among the panels opens? The hardware that you choose should be completely invisible. For this kind of door take a look at this invisible hinge from Soss.

lualdiporte.com

Compass Wall Door by Lualdi Porte

These doors are not actually hidden, since they’ve handles. But if they were used using the hardware shown in the previous photo rather, people would not assume they aren’t solid walls, since they move floor to ceiling and the wood is continued in paneling around the room.

GRADA Inc..

Rather than hiding a door within a wall, how about making the whole wall the entry? You would think this is the end wall of a market, but the whole wall slides back to reveal a great little living room. It gives a whole new meaning to the thought of a hideaway.

Choice Wood Company

Using bookcases is by far the number-one way a concealed room is hidden. I believe this works best when you have a library or an office with several bookcases lined up so nothing appears out of place or leads people to suspect a concealed door. But how do you make a recessed bookcase swing open? Read on.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR

Hidden Door

Here is the hardware that you need to earn a recessed bookcase glide forward and then swing to the side.

Witt Construction

A display case is a bit less likely to arouse suspicion. Utilize museum wax to secure objects to the shelves.

John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA

Back again to the idea of that usable space beneath the stairs. You do not need to hide an whole room; drawers beneath the risers are a great idea. And if you only eliminate the noticeable manage …

… and use a little piece of almost-hidden pull or push hardware, then you have a convenient secret compartment — a great idea, even if it’s only for hiding sneakers.

Lipa Woodwork

The compartments beneath this stairway could be wholly secret with no pulls. Again, push latch hardware would do the trick.

Lipa Woodwork

And look at just how handy it is to access all that storage as it slides right out instead of you having to crawl into that deep, dark closet.

So let’s : What could you put in a secret compartment?

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Secret Passages and Hidden Areas

Blended Doors for Standout Style

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