the daydream fund challenge thread

alfie_1

i am sat besides the fire with dogs on every seat available !!! me ? im squished up one end of the "no dogs allowed sofa"

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

rozeepozee

alfie_1 wrote: »

i am sat besides the fire with dogs on every seat available !!! me ? im squished up one end of the "no dogs allowed sofa"

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

That happens with me and the kids...

lostinrates

alfie.....throws are the only way to go IMO. I have a cath kidsonesque IKEA quilt on one sofa, and for crhistmas just putting a cream and fait red quilt on the other.....(with a duvet for added warmth!)


My pear trees arrive today....I'll get a bucket of water ready soon (can they stay in the bucket until friday? I'd rather wait for help to plant them......dodgy old back...)...done it before in mild weather, but what f it freezes?

rozeepozee

alfie_1 wrote: »

evening all
WHEN i used to do garden maintenance and planning, i was asked to transform a REALLY ugly,expensive house which was a real "footballers" place ! i couldnt believe for over £million the architect had little or no talent whatsoever !!.........
difficult to describe but try to read on .....
as you looked at the house a path [aprox 6' wide] abutted all the walls. as the bricks met path it looked blank and depressing. the lawn met this path so i dug out a very long border at edge of lawn /path. i put in a box hedge which would not [future hopes!] exceed 2' high and a foot wide when clipped thus as the eye looked at the house it gave the impression the "green" was at house edge thus softening the line. i then put in taller box on ends of line where path came away from the house edge. these where shaped conically so it was not too "straight lines".continuing this theme down the sides of the drive. now box is not cheap but depending on size they can be bulk purchased if you present yourselves to a nursery wholesaler and "do a deal" easy to maintain and look so nice. .i then used big pots along the path [didnt want to start digging holes abutting the house...damp] against the wall with roses,climbers,ornamental grasses etc....all very hardy as under the eaves possibly not getting as much of rain . i then put jap acers in the lawn to break it up but leaving the lawns as were in this case. with a very simple non invasive way.
ROZEE you have to stand back and look at the bungalow from where others would, not necesarily from the front door !.. i would [judging from memory by the pics i saw], possibly use the left hand side approaching the trees as a wild flower area...and if u keep the wall ? at the front that would suit rambling roses on the inside thus draping over the wall to the roadside.

the new owners where delighted with thier altered garden as it was low maintenance yet gave it a grand smart look, with color all year round. this was purely to the front of this house.

just had an alf thought ...you could always start a topiary kookaburrah on the lawn !!!!

Wish I could see a picture.I'm sure imrpoving the garden will make a big difference but that will probably be in 2013!

Like Dave, we're not looking for anything amazing, but would like some real wood and more natural light. Plus we've got distant sea views over lovely hills to the front so it's be nice to be able to see those from the house.

rozeepozee

Davesnave wrote: »

I've no problem with bungalows at all, and if rozee thinks hers is ugly, she should see ours! :rotfl:

No hobbits or H&G for me. All I want is a pleasant looking place with one interesting or distinctive feature. However, the first architect we went to gave us this:



and we thought, "Hmmm..... Bland!" (sorry piccie is a bit wonky - done in hurry. Now a bit straighter!!!)

So, we are trying another architect to see if he has an interesting idea in his head. If he has, then we may be able to make it two.

The first architect was competent and mindful of the budget, but what he produced, inside and out, wasn't much different from what we'd already done ourselves.

We'll have to swap notes, Dave. As you may recall, we already have an L shaped bungalow - actually, just found a pic here http://www.eigroup.co.uk/imagelib/lotphotos/jnf/20111125/18.pdf - we'll have to go the dormer route to use the upstairs space. I'm gonna contact a couple of other architects today too. Let's see what they have to say.

Davesnave

rozeepozee wrote: »

We'll have to swap notes, Dave. As you may recall, we already have an L shaped bungalow - actually, just found a pic here http://www.eigroup.co.uk/imagelib/lotphotos/jnf/20111125/18.pdf - we'll have to go the dormer route to use the upstairs space. I'm gonna contact a couple of other architects today too. Let's see what they have to say.

We found our current architect and a builder by noticing a well-built house of a design we liked in the town. An acquaintance knew the builder and, when we contacted him, he introduced us to his architect. Since then we've checked-out more work by the two of them.

Of course, when it comes to the build, the plans will be drawn and a number of builders will be asked to quote. There's one in the village whom we know well, for example, and I know of another larger firm which completed a village hall well inside budget recently, earning much praise.

Where a close relationship between builder & architect might not work so well is where a specialist would be more appropriate. For example we have a couple of firms within 30 miles which build using a pre-fab wood framed structure, and in some situations that might work better than traditional bricks & mortar.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

My pear trees arrive today....I'll get a bucket of water ready soon (can they stay in the bucket until friday? I'd rather wait for help to plant them......dodgy old back...)...done it before in mild weather, but what f it freezes?

No frost in the next five days.

Lotus-eater

lostinrates wrote: »

yes, I think about this a lot because I think they are hidden gems with SUCH potential. I woudn't fight its bungalow-ness, or go a half way house measure like faux shutters, but I'd personally go full out hobbit or hansel and gretel

A friend covered her bungalow in shiplap....or something more substantial than the garden fence style and turn hers into a woodcutters cottage, and its really quite pretty after my mother and I planted roses etc over it. there are some beautiful old bungalows that people ignore. I know someone (wh would get on brilliantly with Alfie) who lived in a bunglow in the woods with stable doors and honestly, it looked organic and beautiful, and was built in the 20s/thirties, and the duchy f cornwall owned one in an unloved market town in somerset that I hold is one of the prettiest houses let alone chalet bungalows ever.

planting/garden helps HUGELY. my parents rather ugly house (that looks fro th bottom of the hill its on like a bungalow) is covered with roses and clematis so just the windows peep out.....with a less modern roof it would be gorgeous.:)

I remember working on a farm and seeing an old portacabin on descrete wheels, which had been covered in shiplap, with a fake chimney and was being used as a mobile chicken house.
It looked brilliant.

rozeepozee

Davesnave wrote: »

We found our current architect and a builder by noticing a well-built house of a design we liked in the town. An acquaintance knew the builder and, when we contacted him, he introduced us to his architect. Since then we've checked-out more work by the two of them.

Of course, when it comes to the build, the plans will be drawn and a number of builders will be asked to quote. There's one in the village whom we know well, for example, and I know of another larger firm which completed a village hall well inside budget recently, earning much praise.

Where a close relationship between builder & architect might not work so well is where a specialist would be more appropriate. For example we have a couple of firms within 30 miles which build using a pre-fab wood framed structure, and in some situations that might work better than traditional bricks & mortar.

There aren't loads of architects round here, as you probably know, but there are enough. There's certainly plenty of work going on and money being spent considering we're in a housing crisis and there's supposed to be all this economic hardship.

As you say, the best we can do is look at the architect's work/designs and then check out the work, finishes etc of the builders' work. I've organised an architect to come to the house tomorrow and I'm hoping to look at the work of one of the builders this week. My mantra for this project is: don't rush into anything. If you knew me, you would know what a challenge that is :rotfl:

Instead of focusing on the place being finished, I'm day dreaming about what we can do to the outside once we get the keys. There are a load of rotten old shedds and out houses - if I ever work out how to upload a photo on here, I might post a selection, but there's also a wooden framed greenhouse that might be salvageable.... Possibly a hen house.... Just have to persuade my "skip it" OH to get into the recycle mentality!

lostinrates

rozeepozee wrote: »

Just have to persuade my "skip it" OH to get into the recycle mentality!

een if he wants new, best to salvage what you can for spare...e.g. when you annual preserve the wood in the main chicken house good to have a spare to move them into...especially if you get redmite and have to treat everything for that.....needing something in haste at the time can get really expensive.