CasaSugar

Cool Idea: Corrugated Metal Siding as a Fence

CasaSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:00:04 -0700

A white picket fence may be an icon of domestic bliss, but it's too traditional for some tastes. I recently relaxed in an outdoor seating area with corrugated metal siding used as a fence and loved its industrial modern look.

It offers more privacy than a picket fence, which is ideal for city homes. It's also a much more affordable alternative - especially if you can find salvaged siding. Subtle blue stripes were painted here, which is a great way to personalize it. And paired with patio chairs painted in a neon yellow, this outdoor area looks distinctly fresh and contemporary

Cool Idea: A Driftwood Buffer

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:00:04 -0700

What do you do when your terrace backs up to Manhattan's most popular public space? Well, if you're a person with a normal desire for privacy, you build a fence, or at the very least plant some tall bushes. If you're gallerist Marianne Boesky, you have your landscape designer construct a 16-foot-wide buffer out of organic, dynamic driftwood. The L-shaped terrace of Boesky's coveted Chelsea apartment (which I featured way back in 2007) sits five feet from the High Line, a planted pedestrian walkway along the former elevated freight railroad of the West Side Line, which reopened as a park in June. I imagine many homeowners might head straight to the picket line upon learning that their private space would become public. Boesky, on the other hand, headed straight for design. Her solution is beautiful, don't you think?

Do You Have a White Picket Fence?

CasaSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:00:18 -0700

There's nothing like a curious agapanthus peering its head out of your white picket fence on a warm Summer day. A white picket fence may be uninspired, but it's still a classic, like an L.L. Bean bag or a pair of canvas sneaks. You almost can't go wrong with one.

How-To: Weave a Willow Pergola

CasaSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:00:54 -0700

Last week, I showed you this beautiful willow pergola, which was featured at Sunset's Celebration Weekend. You can tour the Mod Cottage where the pergola was featured, if you missed the great photos of this cool house.

The woven technique used in the pergola is referred to as wattle. Wattle is an ancient technique that was used for traditional homes and fences. Its beautiful, natural look enhances the Mod Cottage, but you can easily weave a willow wattle for use as a trellis, fence, or arbor around your home. Want to learn how to make this willow wattle pergola? Then read more.

What You'll Need

Six branches approximately four feet long and about as thick as your thumb
100-120 small, straight, recently cut willow branches one to three feet long, none thicker than your pinky finger, stripped of leaves and other branches
Hammer
Pruners

Here's how to do it:

Using your hammer, pound posts into the ground in a straight line, spacing each post about 10 inches from the next.
With one of the longer, thinner willow branches, weave the branch in and out of the posts, leaving three inches on the end you started with. When you have gotten to the end of the branch, start where you left off with another of the longer, thinner branches.
Start over at the first post, but this time start on the opposite side of the post. Weave on the alternate side of your first branches.
Continue weaving in this manner, making sure to start with new branches on different posts, so you don't have an obvious seam.
Continue to weave back and forth until you've run out of branches or until you have reached the height of your posts.
Assess your weaving, and then weave small branches into any remaining gaps.
Take your pruners and trim the posts evenly, about 1 inch above the top row. Continue trimming until everything looks even and pretty. Your pergola should be about four feet wide and about three feet tall.

Does this project seem like too much for you to attempt? You can also order a willow weaving from The Willow Farm.

Cool Idea: Lace Fence

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:30:35 -0700

Dutch design house Demakersvan combined the delicate with the industrial to create the Lace Fence (inquire for price), a custom, site-specific, high-end metal fabric that is unique to its environment. The fence can conceal or reveal its surroundings, to prevent climbing or to make note of boundaries.

To find out more about this fence, read more.

According to Demakersvan:

Fencing is a sign of how we modified and cultivated our environment. Like brambles, fences are rising rampantly around us. What would happen if a patch of embroidered wire would meet with and continue as an industrial fence? Hostility versus kindness, industrial versus craft.

Personally, I don't think this beautiful fence needs to confront "hostility" directly, but it simply makes our mundane, everyday surroundings more visually pleasing. We spend so much money making our homes an aesthetic vision, but our municipalities don't do the same to our public environments. There's no reason industrial design should be overlooked. I think (or hope) that if we create well-designed public spaces, people will respect them as such.

Midday Muse: Front Walk Whimsy

CasaSugar — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:34:28 -0800

I'm so used to seeing fences and boring view-blocking gates in residential neighborhoods, so I was particularly thrilled when I strolled by this house over the holiday weekend and spotted its chalkboard. Passersby are free to offer up a message for others to read. I'm kind of attached to the one left here.

Do you do anything to make your front walk stand out?

Casa Quickie: White Picket Fence Planter

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:30:18 -0700

Yet again, Martha Stewart wins me over with an ingenious and simple craft project! By gluing wooden plant markers to a wooden planter box, and painting it white, you can create your very own indoor white picket fenced garden. Here, herbs are grown, but you can certainly choose any plant you like. I like the idea of growing grass, such as wheat grass, to replicate the look of a suburban front yard. Throw down a miniature newspaper and a kid's bicycle to create a Truman Show-esque diorama.
Source

Before and After: Don't Fence Me In

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:15:42 -0700

These tired-looking redwood boards were left over after my friends replaced a section of their backyard fencing. While they were full of rusty screws and were only half an inch thick, I saw potential.

Curious about what I did with this old redwood fence? Find out what happened to it when you read more.

I made another garden box out of them! Because I was concerned about the relative thinness of the boards, I doubled them up for each side, and then added a single board halfway down the doubled sides. I also used four-by-four redwood posts for the corners, which were left over from another garden-box project.

The most time-intensive part of this project was turning the soil, which was really impacted from years of use as a lawn. Then, I had to sink the four-by-four corner posts into the soil, and level the entire box. After filling the box with some rich soil, I planted strawberries, artichoke, and other seedlings that I'd already started. I'm pretty pleased with the results, and also happy that I was able to reuse wood that might've ended up in a garbage dump somewhere.

Garden Therapy: Preventing Creatures From Eating Fall Bulbs

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Ann Whitman, the green goods supervisor at Gardener's Supply, recently offered some advice for preventing squirrels, deer, and other critters from digging up and destroying your Fall bulbs. Check out her tips below.

Squirrels love to dig in newly disturbed soil, so prevent them from exploring by disguising your newly planted bulbs. Cover the planting area with rocks, boards, buckets, or chicken wire. Once the ground freezes, you can move the rocks or other materials.
Since deer don't care about bulbs until the Spring, protect tender leaves by covering them with wire mesh once they start popping up next Spring.
Avoid damage from chipmunks and voles by surrounding bulbs with sharp gravel and oyster shell. You can also plant them inside a wire cage.
Deter rascally rabbits by spraying repellents, such as Liquid Fence, or predator urine, around bulbs in the Spring.
Try planting bulbs that animals find unappealing. Chief among these are daffodils, alliums, fritillaries, grape hyacinths, and many other spring-flowering bulbs.

Source: Flickr User Gilles Gonthier

How-To: Stay Safe During a Wildfire

CasaSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0700

Since the breakout of the August wildfires north of Los Angeles, at least 53 buildings have been destroyed, and 4,300 people have been evacuated. As of this writing, more than 12,000 homes are under threat.

While some families have been reluctant to leave their homes, in the end, your home is just a house. It's the nonmaterial things you fill it with - namely your family, pets, and memories - that make it truly a home. This is why I urge readers to listen to firefighters' warnings, and to leave their homes if a mandatory evacuation is issued. Your life is much more important than any piece of property, no matter how much you love it.

Want to know how to protect your family and your home from a wildfire? Check out these smart pointers from the City of Napa, CA's fire safety page:

Maintain a "defensible" space around your home by clearing all flammable vegetation a minimum of 30 feet around all structures.
Clear dead leaves and branches to leave widely spaced ornamental shrubbery and trees.
Clean all needles and leaves from the roof, eaves, rain gutters, and yard.
Trim tree limbs within 10 feet of your chimney and trim all dead limbs hanging over your house or garage.
Cover your chimney outlet or flue with a spark arresting half-inch mesh screen.

To see the rest of the tips, read more.

Make sure your address is clearly visible for easy identification in an emergency.
Check to see if a fire hydrant is located near your home. If not, you should have a water storage supply of at least 2,500 gallons for use in an emergency situation.
Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet from buildings, fences, and other combustible materials.
Clear all vegetation and other flammable materials from beneath your deck. Enclose undersides of elevated decks with fire-resistive materials.
Remove "ladder fuels." They link the grasses and the tree tops.
Create "fuel breaks" - these can be driveways, gravel walkways, or well-maintained lawns.
Maintain your irrigation system regularly.
Prune tree limbs so the lowest is between 6-10 feet from the ground.
Dispose of cuttings and debris promptly, according to local regulations.
Keep at least two means of escape (either a door or window) in each room.
Mark your driveway and access roads clearly.
Keep ample turnaround space near your house for fire equipment.
Prevent sparks from entering your house by covering vents with wire mesh no larger than 1/8 inch.
When possible, use construction materials that are fire resistant or noncombustible.