Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The U.S. Forest Service will move forward on a long-delayed project to thin and sanitize forests around Walton Lake, a popular recreation area located in the Ochoco Mountains, 30 miles east of Prineville.

The decision, authorized on Monday by Ochoco National Forest Supervisor Shane Jefferies, permits 35 acres of sanitation harvest, 143 acres of thinning, and the planting of conifers, hardwood trees, and shrubs.

Within the Walton Lake Developed Recreation Management Area, forest health issues can affect both the recreational setting and public safety, said Jeffries. Taking steps to improve forest health can have short-term effects on the scenery and other resources, but in the long-term will better meet the management objectives of the area.

Walton Lake is a popular destination for fishing, boating, swimming, and hiking. Trail users can explore meadows and old-growth forests but in recent years signs have been posted warning of the possibility of falling trees due to laminated root rot. This diseaseweakens the root systems of trees, making them susceptible to falling over.

"Walton Lake is an important recreational asset in our community that is enjoyed by residents and visitors throughout the year, yet an unhealthy forest puts these visitors in danger," said Crook County Judge Seth Crawford.

The sanitation harvest will occur in an area southeast of the lake where the vegetation is moist mixed-conifer. The goal in this area is to curb the laminated root rot infestation, provide a healthy stand of resistant tree species and increase public safety, according to the decision notice.

Grand fir and Douglas fir of all ages and sizes will be removed during the harvest. The area will be restocked with ponderosa pine, western larch, and a variety of hardwood species. Ponderosa pine already located within the area to be sanitized won't be cut as these trees are not typically a host for laminated root disease.

T2 Inc., a Sweet Home-based timber company, was awarded the service contract in 2015 to conduct the thinning and sanitation work. While the work stalled due to litigation, T2 still holds the service contract.

"Conditions have changed in the project area since that time, and we will work with our contracting specialists to ensure the stipulations in the Decision Notice are able to be met regardless of the implementation tool," said Kassidy Kern, public affairs officer for the Ochoco National Forest.

A sanitation harvest differs from a clear cut because it removes all species that serve as hosts for the disease but retains trees that are not affected. In the case of Walton Lake, Douglas Fir and Grand Fir would be removed while ponderosa pine and western larch would stay.

This effort will mitigate a public safety hazard while improving forest health in this popular recreation area, said Nick Smith, spokesperson for the American Forest Resource Council, a trade association that represents more than 100 logging companies.

We really do appreciate the Ochoco National Forests ongoing commitment to this project and hope this effort is not delayed any further by anti-forestry litigation, Smith added.

The project has invited controversy and litigation in recent years. The Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, an environmental nonprofit based in Fossil, blocked an attempt to remove the trees in 2016 with a temporary court order. Karen Coulter, director of the organization, continues to oppose the project.

"The so-called sanitation harvest is actually a virtual clearcut that would look like a clearcut and change the character of the Walton Lake recreation area for the long-term," said Coulter. "That clearcut logging would drastically degrade the recreational values of the Lake for which it was designated as a recreational area."

Coulter said a better way forward is to keep the fir trees standing and add more hazard signage around the root rot area to address concerns for public safety.

"They have already implemented this to keep the campground open," said Coulter. "This means that they consider this a viable alternative to keep the campground open, yet the Forest Service still persists in planning heavy logging that would degrade the recreational values of Walton Lake."

Other areas around the lake will be treated with commercial and noncommercial thinning and the burning of slash piles, followed by the planting of trees, shrubs, and forbs.

Thinning is conducted to maintain existing old-growth ponderosa pine trees by reducing stand densities and reducing susceptibility to bark beetles and crown fires. Other goals include maintaining a variety of tree species and size classes to maintain the visual diversity of the recreation area.

The project will promote forest resiliency and reduce the risk of severe wildfire and insect infestations, said Irene Jerome, a forester working with the Resource Council.

"For several years we have urged the Ochoco National Forest to follow regional guidance for the management of developed recreation areas by taking aggressive action to control laminated root rot," Jerome said. "The Walton Lake Restoration Project will help contain this disease, mitigate bark beetle attacks, and promote the growth of large pines and other trees."

An opportunity to object to the decision occurred from late July to early August and two objections were filed. The Forest Service created changes to the plan in response to the objections.

The changes include not removing large young fir trees in proximity to large old-growth ponderosa pines on about 35 acres of units one and five of the project area.

Another change includes incorporating coordination with the Regional Landscape Architect during implementation to ensure that design features and mitigation measures will serve to reduce visual impacts as much as possible, according to the decision notice.

Implementation of the project is expected to occur in the late winter or spring of 2021, according to Ochoco National Forest Environmental Coordinator Beth Peer. Questions about the administrative review process can be directed to Peer. (beth.peer@usda.gov, 541-516-6463).

Excerpt from:
Thinning project approved for root rot infected trees near Walton Lake - Bend Bulletin

BIG news: new book explores form and function with Bjarke Ingels

Formgiving. An Architectural Future History,a monograph dedicated to the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), published by Taschen, delves into the way the mind of the architect

Bjarke Ingels is having one of his moments. On the eve of publication of the Bjarke Ingels Groups new monograph, Formgiving. An Architectural Future History, the energetic Dane is doing the rounds promoting a book that conveys his firms deep streak of technological optimism. BIGs talent for form-making is cut with a fondness for acronyms and neologisms; the firm exists within a bubble of its own making where every project is a self-contained futuristic utopia, capable of multiple functions within an iconic identity.

A parking garage doubles up as a cultural hub, a museum is also a bridge, an incinerator is an urban park, etc. etc. Formgiving brings together over 100 of these synthesizations, raising, defining and answering a few big questions along the way and continuing a hunger for publishing as way of building an image.

Within the book itself, built and unbuilt projects sit alongside each other, with each project conjuring up a narrative. These are usually along the lines of how BIGs approach has exploited a hidden facet within the clients brief to make the final design something more than what it might otherwise have been. Sometimes these aesthetic kinks writ large, like the marble faade of the Collegiate Church Tower in Manhattan or the jumbled Jenga floorplans of Frankfurts Omniturm Tower or the playful pile of LEGO for the blockmakers Copenhagen community hub.

The typical Bjarke Ingelsbuilding subverts its genre, pushing our preconceptions of cookie cutter Modernism with an audacious twist or skew. The firms most successful works tend to be low-rise, the point at which landscape and architecture blend together. The remarkable Tirpitz Museum in Denmark splinters a WWII Nazi bunker into the dunes it once dominated, shining light into what was once a very dark corner of the countrys history.

The popularity of big gestures as opposed to BIG gestures waxes and wanes with the economic climate, and like many architects of the post-Koolhaas generation, the sophistication of BIGs visuals often accelerates past such practicalities as detail or nuance. Bjarke Ingels and his team of over 500 architects continue to make a substantial mark on the world. Every now and again, something of the freewheeling spirit and audacity of Ingelss early work shines through, especially in the projects that fuse landscape with infrastructure. The talents that appeal so much to ultra-short corporate attention spans work better when theyre given space to breathe.

Go here to see the original:
BIG news: new book explores form and function with Bjarke Ingels - Wallpaper*

For Sale/Rent

If you're looking to kick back by the beach, this Bauhaus-style Cape Cod home was built for relaxation.

Photo via Keller Williams

115 Pond Ave., WellfleetPrice: $1,399,000Size: 2,162 square feetBedrooms: 1Baths: 3

If this dwelling looks like it belongs to the landscape, thats very much by design. Architect and owner Duane Smith chose to use cast concrete for the lower half of the home to mimic the concrete sea walls you see all around Wellfleet, while black-stained mahogany siding on the upper part pulled color inspiration from the bark of the surrounding pine trees. As for the homes form, Smith drew on his time studying at the Bauhaus in Germany and his affection for the experimental creations of the post-WWII Case Study House program (an effort to design efficient homes for millions of returning soldiers) to build this open, exploratory escape that looks nothing like your typical Cape Cod home.

Rather than rely on traditional doors to get from room to room, the layout leans on sliding walls. There are only two interior walls that actually intersect the exterior walls of the house, which creates a great openness and wonderful sight lines throughout, Smith says. That, and the many sheets of floor-to-ceiling glass that open the interior up to the beachside scenery.

Simple finishes such as butcher block counters, jam jar pendant lights, and polished concrete floors (with radiant heating) deliver a serene interior environment. Even the elongated staircase, affixed with metal pipe and stainless cable railings, were conceived to encourage a calm pace of life. Just coming upstairs in the morning or descending the stairs in the evening there are lovely moments to appreciate the views, the sun, the rain, and encourage you to slow down, explains Smith. Its difficult to rush in this house!

Outside, meanwhile, stalks of bamboo curate a zen look in the concrete courtyard, to which all rooms on the lower level have direct access. As for the rest of the yard, the owners decided to let nature work its magic. After building the house, they waited for growth to take back the land and then simply groomed it, planting a few specimen trees for privacy and interest. If tranquility is what youre after in the new year, youll surely find it here.

For information, contact Brian Allen, Keller Williams Realty, cape-cod-and-the-islands.kw.com.

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

Photo via Keller Williams

The Boston Home team has curated a list of the best home design and home remodeling professionals in Boston, including architects, builders, kitchen and bath experts, lighting designers, and more. Get the help you need with FindIt/Boston's guide to home renovation pros.

Read more here:
On the Market: A Modern and Serene Escape in Wellfleet - Boston magazine

When nature meets design, living architecture happens. There is an emerging trend in the architectural industry to create buildings that integrate nature into the design, producing a living, thriving masterpiece.

Atlassians new global headquarters, coming soon to Central station with gardens that blur the separation between indoor and outdoor spaces or the Southbank by Beulah in Melbourne, featuring a green spine twisting up the tower faades are just some of the projects where the concepts of living architecture are being put to good use.

While architects have been introducing foliage and vegetation into buildings through green walls, green roofs and green facades over the past few years, what was once a niche element in building design, has now gone mainstream. Integrating nature into the fabric of buildings is the future of our cities because we recognise we need nature to be part of our daily lives.

However, bringing these designs to life requires thoughtful planning and consideration. Leading living infrastructure expert and founder of Junglefy, Jock Gammon says executing living design is like the strokes on a fine oil painting; the artistry lies in the sum of the skills, not one without the presence of the other.

Junglefy has delivered some of the most innovative living infrastructure projects in Australia.

One Central Park in Sydney, for instance, is renowned for its plant covered exterior, which still appears as verdant seven years after completion. This seemingly impossible project was achieved thanks to the collaboration between Junglefy, Aspect and Oculus, Turf Design Studio, Ateliers-Jean Nouvel, PTW Architects, Patrick Blanc, Frasers Property, Sekisui House, WATPAC, ARUP, WSP Lincolne Scott and others. One of the earliest examples of living infrastructure, One Central Park paved the way for the living building designs that followed.

For the Barangaroo project in Sydney, Junglefy worked with architectural practices including Hassell, Collins and Turner, FJMT, Rogers Stirk Harbour, Tzannes & Associates and PTW, along with landscape architects from Aspect Studio and Oculus. Barangaroo House by Collins and Turner extends over three levels, with the restaurants and bar taking the form of stacked timber bowls, complete with hanging gardens of natives and edible plants spilling over the edges.

This award-winning design called for bespoke solutions. The charred timber cladding, wrapping the outside of the bowls uses a Japanese technique, Shou Sugi Ban, to create the soft smoky look. The planter boxes with cascading plants were numbered by Junglefy to ensure the installation followed the precise order to preserve the gentle arc shape.

The plant selection was based on the species resilience to wind and salt, given the buildings foreshore location.

Junglefy know what plants will perform. If plants dont perform, the concept is eroded, says landscape architect Sasha Coles, director of Aspect Studio, who worked closely with Oculus and Junglefy. Junglefy also understand the importance of getting the soil right, as well as the infrastructure to support this in the long term, says Coles.

Landscape architect Roger Jasprizza, associate director of Oculus worked alongside Aspect Studio and Junglefy at both Barangaroo and One Central Park. Everything starts with the site and its unique qualities such as solar access and wind, as much as the finer grain of the site, says Jasprizza, who included a mixture of exotic and native plants at Barangaroo House.

Junglefy has the experience and innate knowledge of what plants will work and in what conditions. And if anything needs to be tested in advance of planting, it is. That experience feeds into our design, as well as the long-term maintenance which is a key consideration.

To ensure the success of a living architecture project, collaboration of expertise across fields is vital. The renovation of the University of Melbournes School for Ecosystems and Forest Sciences in Burnley by Hassell included three green roof spaces one for demonstrating plant species, another dedicated to research, testing water runoff and temperature monitoring, and a third that focuses on biodiversity. Each green roof had its own purpose and conditions, requiring the appropriate skill sets.

The idea was to put this school on the map, both locally, and internationally, says landscape architect Stephen Tan, senior associate with Hassell in Melbourne.

Junglefy is ambitious in the way it operates, pushing boundaries with research and development, says Tan.

It (Junglefy) has the ability to solve problems, given it comes from a strong horticultural base, he adds.

To tackle the inclement weather during construction, Junglefy manufactured many of the components for the rooftop gardens, such as the steel frames and grating, offsite. The collaboration between Hassell, the university and Junglefy enabled them to quickly adapt to project constraints resulting in a functional, beautiful space and a legacy for learning.

Collaborating throughout the lifecycle is so important each team has its own unique skillset and we understand how to bring these skills together to deliver the best result, says Gammon.

We have learned so much when it comes to the successful execution of living infrastructure design. The careful selection of plants, the right installation methodologies and product choice, combined with well executed maintenance systems that allow for safe, easy access must all be considered during the design phase. Not understanding these elements can be impossible to resolve post completion and the client may end up with a costly maintenance bill and plants that wont survive, he said.

More than a decade on, Junglefy has been successful in taking the concept of living infrastructure mainstream. The company continues to innovate and introduce better ways to integrate plants into the design and construction of our cities in the hope that in another ten years, our cities will indeed be living within nature.

Read more:
Is living architecture the future of building design? - Architecture and Design

From the very beginning when the Hermann Park Conservancy launched its highly fashionable Hats in the Park luncheon at the Historic Clubhouse two decades ago, guests began imagining the charming 1933 stucco hacienda as an ideal place for weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. Fast forward two decades and the clubhouse, now named Lott Hall and completely refurbished, is ready for hosting special events beginning in late January.

In fact, Lott Hall, named for Sherry and Tommy Lott who provided the lead gift of $2 million for the $6 million project, already has a wedding on the books for November 2021. One hopes that long before that a vaccine will have diluted COVID-19 fears.

Up until 1999, the Clubhouse served as the center for the Hermann Park Golf Course, which provides a verdant oak-shrouded backdrop to the building and its reimagined back garden. Once a simple grass-covered lawn, extensive landscaping and the addition of stone walkways and two stone plazas add to Lott Halls entertainment space.

Landscape architect Jack Ohly of New York-based Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates led that aspect that saw 2,000 plants and trees added to the property.

The renovation included the addition of an architecturally sympathetic porte-cochre, which so fits with the original design by Arthur Nutter that without careful examination, one would not discern the old from the new. Curtis & Windham Architects was responsible for the addition and sensitive renovations of the clubhouse which were strictly dictated by tax credit regulations.

While the construction phase of Lott Hall has taken about a year, conservancy president Doreen Stoller tells PaperCity that the planning took five years of working through the rigid requirements necessary to earn the 45 percent historic tax credit. Details on the renovation are available here.

Hermann Park Conservancy members are invited on tours of the new facility this month and what they will find is a splendid renovation.

The Lott Hall entrance has been moved to the north where the porte-cochre opens into a formal foyer. Intricate beam work and antique chandeliers overhead, slate flooring beneath and the pristine stucco walls provide a warmly historic ambience to the spaces within.

The original loggia entry has been enclosed and is, at least temporarily, labeled the brides parlor while the former ladies locker room has been transformed into the brides dressing room. The much larger mens locker room has been converted into a second entertainment hall opposite the great hall which features a fireplace and ornate iron chandeliers original to the downtown Esperson Building, which was built in 1927.

The conservancy website notes that Lott Hall can accommodate 150 seated guests at tables, and 250 guests for standing cocktail-style events. The space includes a catering preparation area, restrooms, personal spaces for the bridal party and private areas for vendors.

Reservations for Lott Hall can be requested here. The conservancyexpects to realize $500,000 in rental fees over the course of a year.

Excerpt from:
Hermann Park's Historic Clubhouse Gets a $6 Million Makeover Houston's New Wedding Wonderland? - PaperCity Magazine

NSW has chosen 100 design experts to help improve the quality of the built environment across the state.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes says the new State Design Review Panel pool has been appointed to provide independent expert advice on State Significant development and infrastructure projects and precincts.

The new State Design Review Panel will build on the great work of the pilot program launched in 2018, which guided the development of more than 100 public and private projects worth almost $9 billion, Stokes says.

In an attempt at humour, Stokes also noted that, NSW residents will also be relieved to note that the Treasurer Dom Perrottet has not been selected for the Design Review Panel.

NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin says the expanded panel will play a vital role in shaping the design of the State at a critical time.

The unprecedented investment in infrastructure and the Governments commitment to create greener places and great public spaces create an exciting climate for panel members to play a role, says Galvin.

Its fantastic to see such a diverse panel with a wide range of skills and expertise, including six Aboriginal design and cultural experts who will help ensure Aboriginal culture and heritage are integral to the design of places in NSW.

The panel is made up of 88 independent members with expertise across a range of areas including architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, Aboriginal and European heritage and sustainability, and 12 State Government design champions.

NSW SDRP Panel Members:

State Government Design Champions:

Caption: Architectus is working on the Art Gallery of NSW Expansion Sydney Modern Project as Executive Architect in support of Pritzker prize-winning Japanese architectural and design firm SANAA. SANAA was awarded the project following a two-stage invitational design competition.

Image:https://architectus.com.au/projects/art-gallery-nsw-sydney-modern-project/

Read more:
NSW picks 100 luminaries to improve the built environment - Architecture and Design

according to the architects, meaningful social change can be achieved by following four main principles: 1. building economically, to the benefit of the client; 2. earmarking a bigger share of the budget to labor costs rather than expensive imported materials, (this also benefits the local population by empowering them with construction skills); 3. an adaptive and future-proof spatial scenario that can respond to unpredictable needs, to the benefit of the client and the island; 4. using materials and human resources from iran, to reduce construction and transportation costs and increase the GDP, to the benefit of the whole country.

image by tahmineh monzavi

architecture has the capacity be a mediator in the middle ground that converges the interests of different groups, from the state and investors to various classes and groups of people, concludes the design team. majara does so in bringing together the owners of land from the neighboring port of bandar abbas who organize an annual landart event in hormuz, the investors from the capital city tehran, and the local people of hormuz as partners in the project. see ZAV architects previous work on designboom here.

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by soroush majidi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by payman barkhordari

image by soroush majidi

video by somayeh saeidi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by payman barkhordari

image by payman barkhordari

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

image by tahmineh monzavi

diagram image courtesy of ZAV architects

diagram image courtesy of ZAV architects

diagram image courtesy of ZAV architects

diagram image courtesy of ZAV architects

diagram image courtesy of ZAV architects

topographic plan of majara residence in its context image courtesy of ZAV architects

space usage plan image courtesy of ZAV architects

section AA image courtesy of ZAV architects

section BB image courtesy of ZAV architects

section CC image courtesy of ZAV architects

project info:

name: presence in hormuz 02location: hormuz island, irancompletion year: 2020gross built area: 10,300 sqmarea: 4000 sqm landscape area: 6,300 sqm

design team architecture firm: ZAV architects website | instagramlead architects: mohamadreza ghodousi, fatemeh rezaei, golnaz bahrami, soroush majididesign assistants: sheila ehsaei,sara jafari, payman barkhordari, mohsen safshekan, kaveh rashidzadeh, hossein panjehpourlandscape: maryam yousefi, morteza adibinterior design: sara jafari, taraneh behboud, sara nikkar, mohsen dehghanlight consultant: tajang lightsupervision: soroush majidi, payman barkhordari, sheila ehsaeimodeling: somayeh saeidipresentation: fereshteh assadzadeh, somayeh saeidi, arshia hashemipour, dorsa tavakoli, sara fallahzadeh

owner: ali rezvaniclient: ehsan rasoulofstructural design: behrang baniadam, rouhi touskicivil engineering: farhad beigielectrical engineering: pejman moradian mechanical engineering: saeid afsharianculinary manufacturer: matbakh araenvironment consultant: salman rasouli, roya yazdizadehaccommodation consultant: nasim mosavarphotography: tahmineh monzavi, soroush majidi, payman barkhordarivideo: somayeh saeidi

construction team project constructor: amir tehrani nobahariconstruction manager: hormat ghasemiconstruction vice-manager: ramin koulaghani, amin timasmechanical constructor: javad irandegani, hamid haji posht-e-golfloor constructor: davoud etemadifenestration builder: mehra companyinterior plaster: gholamali abbasiexterior plaster: esmaeil salimiconstruction painter: farzad moharamilogistics: nabiollah timas, borhan pouyan, ali ghanbari, ayoub owj hormozi, khalil owj hormozi, abdolhamid hormozi, davoud hormozi, ali ghalandari zehi, farhad shadan, assad gedri, abbas gedri, ali ghazi, majid bazmandeh, ali nasernia, rahmat ghalandari, davoud mohtaji, morteza mohtaji, mohammad vahedi, mosayeb zarei, kambiz naroui, yasser naroui, nassir narouii, din mohammad naroui, mojtaba farhadi, abbas nasaji, esfandiar khorshidi, khoubyar khorshidi, jalal bameri, ghassem bameri, enayat karami, reza amirian, eshgh ali, nabi akrami, mohammad moallemi, sajad gholampour, seyfollah rasouli, ali golzari, soheil khedmatkari, hosein zohouri

philip stevens I designboom

dec 07, 2020

Visit link:
ZAV architects builds a village of domes on iran's hormuz island - Designboom

This Trinity Bellwoods couple spent $75,000 transforming their new backyard into a cozy retreat

Fraser Fullard, an investment banker, and Martha Ziolkowski, an interior designer and ceramicist, bought their Trinity Bellwoods house in February, just before the pandemic kicked into high gear. Once it became clear that theyd be stuck at home for the foreseeable future, they embarked on a drastic backyard renovation, turning a sad patch of grass into a cozy 400-square-foot, cedar-filled escape with a stone fountain, fire pit and plenty of hidden storage. Heres how they did it.

Fraser: Martha and I met on Bumble in 2018. I loved how happy she looked in all her photos, and her fantastic sense of adventure.

Martha: I was drawn to Frasers sarcastic humour. We bonded over our shared experience in the corporate grind, since Id worked as an engineer and management consultant in my late 20s.

Fraser: Our relationship progressed quickly, and we bought a house at Yonge and St. Clair four months after we started dating. After two years, we started hunting for a new place in January.

Martha: We werent feeling the neighbourhoods vibe. Were in our early 30s, and we wanted to live somewhere more lively.

Fraser: We settled pretty quickly on Trinity Bellwoods. Martha grew up near High Park and has always loved the west end. We have lots of friends in the area, and we loved the idea of living closer to nightlife and great restaurants. Plus, access to the park would be great for our one-year-old Labradoodle, Oscar.

Martha: The housing market was pretty lean back in January, so it was a scary time to be looking. Anything that came up was selling fast and attracting bidding wars. We knew we had to move quickly if we wanted to get a place.

Fraser: In early February, we saw a a semi-detached, three-storey home with a basement unit and tenant. We fell in love with it the second we saw it. The house dates back to 1880, and the owners recently renovated it down to the studs, with a mix of heritage elements and modern comforts. Then they flipped the property as an investment.

Martha: It had a lot of warmth. We loved the charming wall of exposed brick on the main floor and the original railing upstairs. We also loved the master suite on the third floor, with a bedroom, walk-in closet and bathroom.

Fraser: We decided to put in an extra-strong offer so we could add a condition to walk away penalty-free if we werent able to sell our St. Clair home. There were about five other bids on the house, which was stressful. We traded the condition for a higher price, and they accepted our offer of $1,825,740, with an end-of-May closing date. The previous owners hadnt touched the backyard, but that didnt bother us. At first, our only focus was putting up some sort of gate so Oscar could safely run around. We planned to add a little more design and flair inside but leave the backyard as is.

Martha: Before we moved in, we painted everything white, updated all of the bathrooms with custom marble vanities, added a wood-burning fireplace to the living room, replaced all the lighting fixtures and installed a Sonos WiFi speaker system throughout.

Fraser: We ended up selling our St. Clair house without any issues and moved into the new place at the end of June.

Martha: Once we realized wed be stuck at home for the rest of summer and likely fall, we decided to go full-throttle on making our outdoor space as livable as possible. There was a small patch of grass, which was sunken in some spots, with a pipeline running through the yard. It smelled terrible, and there were flies.

Working around the Covid restrictions over the summer was trickyespecially when it came to in-person meetings and who was allowed on the property. I worked closely with our landscape architect, Sander Freedman. I was inspired by a fountain I saw on Pinterest and wanted to bring in stone, wood and greenery to create a relaxing space. We also had an outdoor fire pit from Best Buy that we wanted in the centre of the space.

Fraser: There was a lot of work to do. Construction started in late July with Peter Kim of J.B. Kim Landscaping, and his team worked until October. We poured in concrete for the base of the lounge area and along the side of the house.

Martha: The design evolved over the course of the project. I met with Peter practically every day. Originally everything was going to be made out of cedar, but Peter is an extremely creative metal worker, and he suggested we add architectural pieces, like fencing around our barbecue area.

Fraser: It made the space feel contemporary. Theres still a lot of cedar, but the black metal accents throughout add a great contrast. One challenge was creating space for our sporting equipment. We have a lot of bikes, golf clubs and skisitems youd typically store in a garage or basement. But we didnt have either, so we designed a storage area underneath the back porch. We spent a few weeks digging down to make room. Now its a full-height, weather-proof 75-square-foot space and the perfect place to store all our gear.

Martha: I love how peaceful the backyard is. When it was warmer, the sound of the water trickling out of the stone fountain really helped us bliss out after a long work day. And the uplighting adds such a great vibe when we look out from our kitchen in the evenings. The whole space feels airy and chill. We extended the Sonos audio system from the house into the back. I even ordered patio heaters so we can enjoy it throughout the rest of the winter.

Fraser: Before the latest lockdown, we hosted some socially distanced get-togethers, and the backyard felt like a true extension of the house. I love the idea of it being an outdoor room that flows naturally with our open-concept first floor. The additional 400 square feet in the backyard is definitely useful these days, with the two of us working from home.

Martha: We were scheduled to have an 80-person wedding at Langdon Hall in August, which fell through because of Covid. We decided to go up there anyway for four days in October, and eloped with just the two of us, our officiant and photographer. So, in a way, our new house and backyard helps make up for the big celebration and honeymoon that we werent able to have this year. Wed never have spent this much on the backyard renovation if it hadnt been for Covid. The whole project cost about $75,000. But now that its finished, we use it every evening. We bundle up, turn on the Christmas music and sit together with wine.

Excerpt from:
This Trinity Bellwoods couple spent $75,000 transforming their new backyard into a cozy retreat - Toronto Life

If you have wanted a spa bath, now may be the time to install it.

Last week the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) and John Burns Real Estate Consulting (JBREC) released their third-quarter 2020 Kitchen & Bath Market Index (KBMI.) For the first time this year, theKBMIis above 50, at 61.9; up from 44.2 in Q2 and 41 in Q1. Scores of 50 indicate expansion and scores below indicate contraction.

NKBA members rank the overall health of the industry at 6.9 (on a scale of one to 10,) just below the 7.2 reported in pre-COVID Q4 2019. While confident about current business conditions at 56.5, industry members are even more optimistic about future conditions, which they set at 66.9 as 2020 draws to a close.

As we approach the end of an unprecedented year, the industry outlook is promising, said NKBA CEO Bill Darcy. While COVID-19 will continue to present challenges to the supply chain, labor and spending, were grateful to be one of a few industries that has actually seen growth in response to consumers spending more time at home and looking to make their spaces more functional in this new normal. Kitchen and bath professionals are well-positioned for continued success into the coming year.

The Do-It-Yourself aspects of the kitchen and bath remodels kicked in as soon as Americans began to sequester at home, Darcy says.

Paint sales in big-box stores went up immediately, followed by more intensive home improvement projects.

Consumers have undertaken a lot of remodeling in 2020, but significant opportunity remains, especially for the kitchen and bath market, going into 2021, notesTodd Tomalak, Principal at JBREC. Much of the already completed renovation work has focused outside the home redoing decks, gardens and outdoor entertaining spaces in response to COVID-19 restrictions.For many families working and schooling from home, 2020 wasnt the ideal time to redo a space as essential as the kitchen or bathroom. As such, we anticipate continued activity for kitchen and bath remodeling next year.

In the first half of 2020, NKBA members predicted negative sales for the year, but Q3 brought better news for the industry, which now expects a 1.1% increase in YOY sales compared to 2019. In fact, Q3 sales in 2020 were up 2.1% from 2019, and sales grew 5.9% since last quarter overall ranging from designers, who saw a smaller 3.2% increase, to manufacturers, who experienced a significant 9.6% rise.

More than half (62%) of all companies surveyed report COVID-19 drove higher demand to their business in Q3. While the crisis continues to have some adverse effect on the industry, with 29% reporting the pandemic has led to lower demand, its negative impact has lessened each quarter and, at 5.9 (on a scale of one to 10), is nearly 30% lower than the Q1 rating of 8.1. Among those industry professionals who havent seen demand return to normal levels, 29% expect it to do so in 2021.

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Kitchen And Bath Remodels Up During COVID-19 Restrictions - Forbes

The Week

No one expected Donald Trump and his supporters to lose the 2020 presidential election graciously, least of all those of us who thought he had a much better chance of winning it than public polling suggested.This is why, in one sense anyway, I think we should not put too much stock in surveys like this one, which suggests that only a quarter or so of Republicans "accept" the results of this year's election. Ever since Democrats and their allies in the media began using this phrase in the fall of 2016 in a bad-faith attempt to secure some kind of worthless pledge from Trump (they would ignore this apparently world-historic imperative by spending the next four years insisting that Trump was not himself the duly elected president), I have found myself asking exactly what it is supposed to mean. Does the result of a presidential election depend upon our attitudes concerning it? You might as well ask people whether they "accept" the results of bad weather or personal financial setbacks.Which is why I believe it makes more sense to see the conservative response to the 2020 election not as some bizarre new development on the American right or even as the outgrowth of QAnon and other conspiracy theories, but rather as the inevitable culmination of a process that began long ago.For decades now it has been clear that the flipside of Americans' veneration of the office of the presidency, which combines the functions of head of government and head of state into one extraordinarily powerful title, is our insistence that presidents whom we do not ourselves support cannot be just that: politicians we did not vote for and would just as soon not see re-elected. Instead, the opponents of virtually every president in my lifetime, from Bill Clinton to Trump, have insisted that he was at the very least illegitimate, if not a tyrant.These vague inclinations have a way of justifying themselves. After years of omnidirectional scandalmongering by the House GOP, Clinton was impeached in 1998. George W. Bush, who owed his election to a Supreme Court decision that outraged half the country, spent most of his eight years in office being compared to characters from dystopian novels and to various historical dictators; everything was the subject of intense, indeed at times ludicrous scrutiny, from his invasion of Iraq to his re-election in 2004, which was the basis of another of conspiracy theories involving (what else?) the manipulation of electronic voting machines. Barack Obama's legitimacy was cast into doubt by his enemies long before his inauguration thanks to the so-called birther controversy, which actually began during Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential run. Meanwhile Trump was accused by liberals of being some kind of Russian plant from the minute he took office, a ludicrous fiction of which his previous opponent appeared to be convinced four years later.Complaining about supposed democratic norms is a mug's game. In a country in which authority tends to be understood in what might politely be described as conditional terms, it should not be surprising that the sizable portion of the electorate supporting one candidate should reject the other. The days when people of my grandparents' generation calmly insisted that the person in the White House deserves our full respect and support regardless of one's vote are as remote as the gold standard or smoke-filled rooms at party conventions.My guess is that at some point, likely well beyond the point at which it serves any purpose save those of nostalgia and self-aggrandizement, we will come to regret our inability to acknowledge the victories of presidential candidates we dislike, much less to hope for their success in office. The presidency is too powerful for it to; if our constitution had been meant to give us something more akin to the partisan and provisional office of prime minister, I suspect we would be in a very different position.In the meantime, however, insisting that only one half of the country should greet the results of presidential elections with unconditional enthusiasm makes about as much sense as asking why 70 million people should have been allowed to vote for the losing candidate.More stories from theweek.com 7 criminally funny cartoons about Trump's potential pardon spree The GOP is driving itself mad Trump gets a judicial reality check

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Kitchen and bathroom remodeling made simple with Granite Transformations of North Phoenix - Yahoo News