House Enthusiast

Summer 2013 garden tours

Katie Hutchison — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:26:13 +0000

Recommended upcoming New England tours

Garden Affairs Garden Tour (Concord, MA) Friday - Saturday, May 31 - June 1, 2013 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Newport Summer Secret Garden Tour (Newport, RI) Friday - Sunday, June 14 - 16, 2013 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

South End Garden Tour (Boston, MA) Saturday, June 15, 2013 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour (Portsmouth, NH) Saturday, June 22, 2013 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

New Castle Village Walk & Garden Tour (New Castle, NH) Sunday, June 23, 2013 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

The Maine Home + Design English Garden Party & Home Tour (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) Saturday, June 29, 2013 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Gardening with the [URI] Masters 2013 Statewide Garden Tour (Rhode Island) Saturday - Sunday July 13 - 14, 2013 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Provincetown Art Association and Museum Secret Garden Tour (Provincetown, MA) Sunday, July 14, 2013 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Pittsfield Garden Tour (Pittsfield, MA) Saturday, July 20, 2013 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, July 21, 2013 noon – 4:00 pm

Private Gardens of the Kennebunks Tour (Kennebunk, ME) Saturday, July 13, 2013 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

The 66th Annual Camden House and Garden Tour (Camden, ME) Thursday, July 18, 2013 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

The 59th Annual Nantucket House and Garden Tour (Nantucket, MA) Wednesday, August 7, 2013 11:00 am - 4:30 pm

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days

Design snapshot: Gallery wall

Katie Hutchison — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:30:43 +0000

One of the first features we noticed in our new (to us) home is a long interior wall bordering the open living/dining area. One look and my husband said to me in passing, "Here's your gallery wall." So true. It was practically begging for a changing display of my fine-art photography.

Having discovered the simple and elegant Gallery System Art Displays at the Old Sculpin Gallery (where I exhibit my photos on Martha's Vineyard in the summer), I got in touch with the distributor to order the flexible system for our home gallery. Switching out the photo "shows" is a breeze and a fun way to freshen the look of the space. (Above is my boat-detail "show".)

Compliments from a visiting interior designer friend, Deborah Emery of Emery Design Associates LLC based in New York City, inspired me to share our gallery wall with like-minded House Enthusiasts who might want to create their own changeable gallery.

One word of caution: when installing the system, use a real level -- not the iPhone level, like this casual installer did.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

New KHS fine-art photography portfolio

Katie Hutchison — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:16:58 +0000

Find the latest and greatest KHS fine-art photography portfolio here, and a teaser for the "housescapes" gallery below. (You can also find a link to the portfolio in the navigation bar on the right.)

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Web tour: Container gardens

Katie Hutchison — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:54:54 +0000

For the first year in many, I'll actually have a small cottage garden to cultivate. It's a big leap for an idjit gardener, so I'm inclined to start with baby steps. I figure container gardening may ease me into the wider world of gardening in the actual ground.

Of course, there are many sources of inspiration for container gardening, but I found a favorite in Design New England; it's a whimsical early spring container designed and created by Trent Lloyd Design of Newburyport, Mass. It taps into the fun of the miniature, mini, and small -- favorite topics here at House Enthusiast.

If you like the Trent-Lloyd-Design container garden, you'll probably get a hoot out of artist Judy Robinson-Cox's work, especially her Lilliputian Landscapes, and this image in particular. So fabulous.

Humor in the garden is win win.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Framed view

Katie Hutchison — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:49:23 +0000

I've written before here and here about the power of the framed view. One of those earlier examples highlighted how a framed view parses an expanse into something more manageable, more easily appreciated. The other commented on a framed view's power to tempt and deny our curiosity.

In this example, the frame of the building sidewall, pergola with its marching posts, intermediate planters, and bordering hedge create an anticipated procession which promises the ultimate reward of a desirable view (should we be lucky enough to be invited to proceed.) No matter that the bulkhead would literally block the procession, the visual axis shoots right past it. The fountain, it seems to me, should be sited further beyond the bulkhead (perhaps in place of the small distant topiary) where sky and water would abut it rather than brick and shingle.

Interestingly, the entry landing steps and guard rail suggest a parallel line of travel to the framed view. Here, in fact, you could argue that the framed view out ranks the entry. Or perhaps it's augmenting it.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Weathered fence geometry

Katie Hutchison — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:36:28 +0000

Good fences make good neighbors and good "Design snapshot" subjects. This one is a great example of the power of negative space. But since I've never been a big fan of the term "negative space" (due to its negative connotations), let's think of this fence more in terms of figure and ground.

Here, the fence rail and posts act as the "figure" and the space shaped in between and around them act as the "ground". In this design, both figure and ground are engaged distinct shapes which create a lively border. The rough silver-grey cedar finish contrasts the crisp geometry of the figure and ground, which makes this fence all the more "Design snapshot" worthy. Sure, if it were painted, it would still be striking, but weathered grey, it's stunning.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Summerhouse porch setup

Katie Hutchison — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:40:25 +0000

I know I'm jumping the gun, but whenever March gives us a sunny weekend in the upper 40s, like this one, I can't help but anticipate spring.

One of the first signs of spring around my parents' house has long been the sweeping out and setting up of their summerhouse -- a little shed a few feet from the side door to their house. I've shared their summerhouse with House Enthusiasts several times over the years -- in a video and in a house-garden primer.

Here, the summerhouse porch is set with a diminutive bench and chair amidst the long, quiet shadows of late winter -- and, dare I say, early spring -- which linger across the robin's-egg blue floorboards. A flower pot beneath the bench patiently waits to be planted, perhaps with something spring-like, possibly pansies.

To me, this scene is peacefully bursting with charming possibly. Spring can't be far off now.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Design snapshot: Painted-lady cottage trim

Katie Hutchison — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:31:33 +0000

Many of the "painted ladies" stick-and-shingle cottages, like this one, at the Oak Bluffs camp-meeting grounds on Martha's Vineyard offer playful trim combinations of contrasting color and carvings. Here, red, flowery barge boards and white, balcony skirt trim cast sharp, graphic shadows on the cottage's shingle backdrop.

The brightly trimmed gothic-revival style window appears ready to blast upward -- held at bay by the bleeding-heart balcony trim, pointing in the opposite direction. The staggered-height horizontal members in the guard rail reinforce the play between opposing up and down forces.

It's a dynamic composition eager to please appreciative passersby.

Read more about the Vineyard camp-meeting grounds here and here.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Web tour: Old-House Journal: Historic-house energy retrofit

Katie Hutchison — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:03:50 +0000

Pick up the April/May 2013 issue of Old-House Journal to find my story about the energy-saving retrofit of Historic New England's c. 1793 Lyman Estate in Waltham, Mass. The retrofit aims to reduce the National Historic Landmark's energy consumption by 50%, while respecting its historic character. Old-house homeowners, in general, could benefit from many of the same energy-saving strategies.

Find the story online here -- and an online bonus sidebar about energy-saving behavior here.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Web tour: Sunset magazine: Backyard bliss

Katie Hutchison — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:29:02 +0000

It's snowing here in Rhode Island as I write this, so what better time to leisurely peruse the pages of Sunset magazine, which is frequently filled with page after page of sunny, warm, verdant gardens and landscapes. If you're not familiar with Sunset, it's a west-coast lifestyle magazine that this east-coaster savors every month.

The January 2013 issue features a favorite KHS project type -- the backyard small retreat. This one is a tool shed turned "chick shack", as its owner, garden designer Rebecca Sweet, calls it. It's simple, fun, and inviting. Be sure to check out the detail photos, too. For more House Enthusiast and KHS chatter about small retreats, click here, here, and here.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast