Terrace Space Planning

Today I will show the class how I designed my little pocket terrace, and transformed a sad small space into a cozy retreat for doing

 nothin'.

When I first bought my condo, this is what the terrace looked like.....

This is the view from the master bedroom, before I changed the sliding door to a window.

I pulled out all the existing shrubbery and replaced it with greenery that would do a better job of defining and screening the space.

Now that I've replanted, I can't see the houses behind me.

I can pretend I live all alone

 on a

 secluded estate!!!!!

True to form.....

I had a better before shot, which I can't find.....

Here's a shot I just tried to take out my bedroom window from the same angle and location.....

 I know, I know....

What amazing camera work.

Look!!!!!

Betsy doesn't wash her windows!!!!!!!!!

So, I pulled out everything except the Japanese maple in the corner.

Then I fixed the traffic flow problems.

With 2 sliding doors opening onto the little space, 

furniture arrangement was problematic.

Yeah, Yeah, I know.....

 most folks love the idea of doors opening from the master bedroom onto a terrace.

However.....

I want my home invaders to have to work a little harder to get at me.

Now

they need to climb up and over the window sill.

I lined the space with emerald arborvitae. 

They make a terrific hedge material.

They have a compact growth structure, 

so are less apt to be damaged by snow.

They don't need a lot of pruning, just once every year or so.

In the picture below, you can see how they looked the first year I had them planted.

They have now grown together to form a solid wall of green.

This is a really good screening material you guys.

Before my folks bought the unit next to mine, I had the sofa set with its back to the fence.

Here's a picture shot through the screen door.

I was too lazy to get up and open the door.

You should just be happy that I have the energy to tap my dainty fingers on these here computer keys.....

Then my folks moved in, and I had a gate cut into the fence separating the two terraces.

SO I HAD TO MOVE MY FURNITURE FOR MY FAMILY!!!!!

When I bought the place, the bluestones covered more of the area, leaving smaller flower beds and more hard surface.

so I had the foundation beds and the perimeter planting beds enlarged to 5 feet deep.

I also had the bed cut into the terrace for my black iron dog.

Bringing more green scape into the space makes a big difference.

If you have too much hard surface, it acts as a heat sink, and creates a very warm and uncomfortable space in the summer.

By enlarging the flower beds, I was able to plant my peonies and day lilies.

I chose ones that have a simple blossom, not a multi-petal rain catcher that causes the blossoms to collapse over after a shower.

Look at how the arborvitae have grown up and together, completely blocking the view of my neighbors.

 Look at how the arborvitae have grown together,

completely blocking a view of my parents!!!!!

I love my arborvitae.

They are my friends.

They love me too.

Latah, Gatah

My Bigger Little Terrace......

SOOOOOOOOOOOO.............

This morning, as I was waking up.....

I was lying in bed and composing today's post in my head.

It was going to be really funny!!!!!

And I can't remember any of it!!!!

So, you're going to be stuck with the dregs of my mind.

I think that was a song from the 70's.....

(no, wait.....that was windmills.....oy oy oy.....)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BACK TO MY BACK YARD!!!!! 

As you...

 ( well, not you, because that would be creepy, we've never been properly introduced.....)

come around from the Barbecue terrace, you pass my garden hutch,,,,,

I realized I haven't taken a picture of the front of it, but it's raining right now, and I don't want to get my slippers wet.

I bought this hutch from a garden catalogue.

It came in pieces.

The directions said it would be easier to assembly with two people.

Well.....

My extra person is my bidness partner Kris.

Soooooo.....

(I think there may have been some grumbling involved.....)

('course, that may have been me.....)

Kris came over and we screwed and hammered this baby together.

Then we realized we needed to move it into place.

OOPS.....

So we sort of walked it over to its new home.

Then I painted it the same color as my condo....

(so the association wouldn't noticed I had added something without asking.......)

This is my reasoning!!!!!

I am a middle unit.

Well, not me; my condo is.....

I have no bulkhead to the basement.

I have to walk around my neighbors unit to get to my garage.....

SO I WAS ONLY BEING CONSIDERATE

building something to house my garden tools!!!!!

I also needed a place to hang my pig.

YES I DID.....

Other unit owners have seen it....

(I'm not really good with covert ops)

and they want one too......

I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE I BOUGHT IT FROM!!??!!

So, the above view is looking out of my BIG terrace, towards my 

barbecue terrace.

Now let's look into my big terrace....

I showed you this shot on Wednesday, but I'm recapping, 

for those of you with short term memories.

If you turn around, this is what you see.....

I took this shot in the spring, 

before I brought up the chair cushions.

I was hoping that if I didn't have lots of places to sit, my family would leave  me alone.....

That's my dog.

I don't need to walk or feed it.

That's my cat.

Ditto.

The dog is an antique.

I'm embarrassed to admit, I know it's expensive, but I can't remember how old it is.

Or where it is originally from.

I brought it with me (and the cat) from Watertown.

The cat is a new cement garden statue.

Well, it's not new anymore.

I've had her for over 20 years, hence the missing ear.

HERE'S ANOTHER SHOT OF MY DOG!!!!!

(I just googled him, he's from the 19th century, made by Robert Wood & Co. c.1870.)

(don't you just love google?????)

I surrounded him with strawberries.

Being true to form, they are not edible, but only decorative.

Well, the chipmunks like them, but that's about it.

I wanted more flowers around my terrace this year.

I needed a couple more pots for planting.

I was going to go to the local garden center and pay a small ransom, until my inner thrifty voice started screaming at me 

(on the way to the garden center.....)

HOME GOODS!!!!! HOME GOODS!!!!! HOME GOODS!!!!!

Where upon my car goes into automatic pilot and ends up at.....

wait for it.....

Home Goods!!!!!

I found just what I needed too!

A real plastic urn!!!

Made out of real plastic!!!!!

I drilled a hole in the bottom, so the flowers don't drown.

I have my new drip irrigation system watering it, so the flowers have been blooming all summer 

WITH NO WORK ON MY PART!!!!

I just plopped the hanging pot of impatients into the urn and removed the wire hanger, and they've looked great!!!!!

My potted flowers usually die, because I am a lazy old bag who hates to bother to water stuff.

I also found this clay pot at the same time as the urn....

it was a good day....

So the new pots add the needed color and softness to my terrace.

It's amazing what just a few flowers can do to a space.

While I was at Home Goods, I got into a wonderful conversation with the store manager.

We talked about the difference in return policies between Home Goods and Target.

I have never returned anything to Home Goods without walking out before spending even more money!!!!

They is very smaht.

They make me feel warm and fuzzy.

SOOOOO.....

After this invigorating conversation,

 of course,

I found something else to buy!!!!!

I asked the manager if he thought that the topiaries would survive outside.

and he responded.....

They are so well priced......

Even if they don't.....

It doesn't hurt to try!!!!!

A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART, I TELL YA.....

So, I bought three and set them on my outdoor tables.

They made it OK through most of the summer.

Let's just say by now, they aren't looking so great.

Sort of browning and drying up and not very happy with me. 

But they added a little color to the coffee table.....

 and barbecue table......

I am running out of steam.....

I have more to share.....

So, ya'll come back now!!!!!!

Latah, Gatah

Cottage Garden Terrace

First off.....

In case you guys are wondering about why I use the word "cottage" in so many of my titles.....

(Amy figured this out)

It's so search engines will land on my blog!!!!!

IF I CAN'T BE BEAUTIFUL.....

I BETTER BE SMART!!!!!

Second point to start today's post.....

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

The outpouring of support in the comment section of my last post was

heartwarming and just WONDERFUL!!!!!

To date, I have 

74

comments!!!!!

As the last kid picked for ALL the sport teams, that is....

 gratifying, fabulous, terrific, stupendous, etc. etc. etc.

I can still hear the kids from next door saying, when teams were being picked for softball.....

"You got Peter (my big brother), you have to take Betsy."

AND THEN.....

Peter would see how long it would take before he could upset me enough to send me home crying.

HE STILL THINKS THIS IS FUNNY!!

If I were him, I would be more careful who I made fun of.....

His wife, 

(my sister-in-law) (and one of my best friends)

(and no I'm not saying that to be polite, she doesn't even bother to read my blog.....JEESH!!!!)

(and while I'm at it, let me point out that she's Miriam's mother.)

OY, where was I???????

Oh yeah, 

Peter making fun of me.....

He better watch it.....

He needs to replace some stuff around his house..... 

and his wife, Faye, is relying on me to help her out.

Oh, boy....I'm off on another tangent.

Let's get back to decorating!!!!!

Several folks commented on the chairs in my barbecue terrace....

These are commonly called French Garden Chairs,

 They are actually Pinwheel spring steel chairs, said to have originated in 19th century France.

The four I have are reproductions I bought from a catalogue around 15-20 years ago, 

I can't remember.....

I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH TIME HAS PASSED!!!!!

I still think of them as my new garden chairs. 

 they are actually very comfortable.

 The sprung steel straps give to weight

 (leave the comments alone, about that)

 and act like a pillow..... 

THEY ARE TRES CHIC!!!!!

Ho Kay.....

Let's move on to 

MY OTHER TERRACE.

Yeah, yeah, I have two....

Yawn.....

I am so sophisticated and entitled...

My condo mansion has two.

This is the view as you come around the back from the barbecue terrace...

 to my lounge around and don't get anything done terrace....

At the back, just to the left of those three arborvitae, is the gate into my parents terrace. 

So I am in charge of 

3

terraces.

Which means I get to weed them, 

bring the furniture in and out in the spring and fall, 

and repair anything that goes awry.

AND SOMETHING IS 

ALWAYS

GOING AWRY!!!!!

I bought my outdoor sofa, chairs and coffee table from Restoration Hardware.

Some assembly required!!!!!

ha ha ha 

Took me hours to put it together.

But it's very comfy.

The pillows and umbrella are from Potter Barn.

This is a better shot into my parents terrace. 

You guys are so lucky!!!!!

Not just anybody gets to see back there.....

I am going to show more, and write more about this space, but I am done for today.

TODAY'S EXCUSE

for not doing a longer post.....

is.........

I have hives.

and I don't feel so good.....

My doctor thinks I have a virus since I'm running a fever.

None of my friends and family will come near me!!!!!

But being the trooper that I am....,

(and because I am SOOOOOO very bored)

I wrote this post for your entertainment!!!!!

I hope by my next post these friggin bumps will be gone.

Who knew......

itching could be so bad?????

Now when I was a young woman, I felt a different sort of itch,

but that's for another day,

and a different type of blog!!!...

Latah, Gatah

Really Fried My Goat!!!!!

Amy Chalmers recently wrote about the wonderful people she has met through the crazy world of blogging.

And I agree.....

I have made some great friends and met some interesting people.....

BUT THEN THERE WAS 

THIS GUY!!!!!

Before I get into my ranting and raving, let me give you a little of my background on doing promotions for fabric companies........

A MILLION YEARS AGO.....

(15-20)

(maybe, can't remember.....)

I did an international ad for Sanderson Fabrics.

It was really exciting for me.
It was shown in all the shelter (home) magazines, from Architectural Digest to Better Homes and Gardens.....

Here's the ad.....

Next week, (or the week after), I will go into more detail about this room.

But to give you an idea of the amount of fabric Sanderson gave to me for the ad, check out this picture.....

photo from Design Times Magazine by Eric Roth photography

The walls were upholstered, the draperies made, the furniture covered and the trim all from Sanderson. I obviously loved the tea dipped look of the cabbage rose linen.

I KNOW!!!!!

Me and Cabbage Roses!!!!!

Hickory Chair, the furniture company, supplied all the furniture, as it was an ad for them also..... 

Both those companies were a delight to work with, and I still have fond memories of the whole process.

Soooooooo......

That's where my mindset is set.....

In my mind......

Like that there above.....

Last week I received this email.....

I've blocked the name of the company, 'cuz I don't want them to get any publicity from me, even if it's negative.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello,

I’m contacting you on behalf of I’m blocking the name. We discovered your blog recently and really like what you are doing. Because of this we have an interesting proposal for you:

We would like to give you some free fabric.

It may sound like a strange proposal but hear us out. We want you to use our fabric and create something cool. We will send you the fabric of your choice (within reason) and the amount you need (again, within reason.) We really don’t want any money, instead just mention we gave you the fabric.

For example, you use our fabric to make a cool pillow. You then write about that pillow and post lots of pictures. At some point in the post simply mention that the fabric was courtesy of I’m blocking the name and link to our site.

That’s it.

Simply head over to  I’m blocking the name , pick out the fabric you want to use and respond to this email with a link to that fabric. Also, make sure to mention what you plan to make with it. We will take it from there.

Hope to hear from you soon!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I clicked over to the fabric site, and spent quite a bit of time trying to find some fabric that I could use to make pillows for Maison Decor Boston.

Amy let me know 

(in her subtle way.....)

That she wanted to stick to a somewhat neutral palette.

SOOOOOOOO.......

She and I finally found a blue and cream linen stripe that wasn't too bad that I could make a couple of pillows out of for her new store.

SOOOOOOOOOO.....

I emailed the company back letting them know the fabric I had chosen by responding directly to the email they had sent to me.

This is what I received.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Betsy,

I have the stripe for you, just measured it and there are just over 5.25 yards left.

Today is the last of the Free shipping, so you might as well grab it.

Please let me know asap

Michelle 

Designer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whereupon I responded.......

This is supposed to be for a blog post, where your company supplies the material for no charge in exchange for me featuring the fabric with a link to your site.

I'm confused about the shipping charge.

Are we not on the same page?

Betsy Speert

betsyspeert.blogspot.com

Whereupon......

She responded.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so sorry Betsy, we sell the best fabrics for hugely discounted prices.  We are not able to send fabrics of your choosing to you at no charge.

Regards

Michelle 

Designer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By this point I was getting 

VERY CONFUSED!!!!!!

So I emailed her a copy of the original letter.

Then, being a big fan of mysteries!!!!! I called the company to see what was going on.

I spoke to an absolutely lovely women who was as confused as I was.

She asked me to send a screen shot of the email, which I did.

With this note attached.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paula, here it is right side up.

Oy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

(I sent it wrong side up on my first try.....)

THEN I WENT OUT AND HAD FUN WITH MY BIDNESS PARTNER KRIS, LOOKING FOR STUFF FOR AMY'S STORE!!!!!

We found some great things.

When I came home, I had received this email from the fabric company

(whose name I won't divulge......)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Very strange. None of us have seen that email, ever

Who is it signed by?

Michelle 

Designer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Up to this point.....

Everything had been professional, courteous, but just confusing.

THEN I GOT THIS EMAIL!!!!!!

OY OY OY OY OY!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Betsy:

I own and run  I’m blocking the name. 

The letter you got was sent by a company  we have on Retainer to come up with ideas to give our company more exposure (even though our exposure and ranking are already VERY high).  

This was an idea only, one which I had not yet approved and, by some misunderstanding, they thought I had approved it and sent out the invitation to swap fabric for honorable mentions in people's blogs. 

I did not intend to approve it, and rather, just intended at most to approach a small group of people who's blogs we would be interested in associating with. 

Sadly, your blog is not on this list. I find your blog quite negative in its general tone, and though your readership may find your "attitude" amusing, I find it casts a negative pall over all your articles, even those where praise is given. 

Sorry for the confusion, but you may now consider this matter closed in terms of bartering fabric for a mention in your blog. 

Should you wish to purchase the fabric you like, you can do that directly on the website, or call us for assistance.

Thank you, 

John Fuller, Managing Partner

I’m blocking the name

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whereupon.....

I responded.....

Dear John,

I have been nothing but pleasant in my correspondence with your company.

As a designer of more than 30 years with 2 design books under my belt, many magazine covers and an international following, I do not want or need free fabric.

I was willing to do this post as a fun project that would have given a small company exposure.

I am very disappointed in your disparaging  comments about my blog.

They were neither necessary, gracious or professional

All you had to write was that there had been a misunderstanding and that you were sorry for any confusion that an agent under your employ may have caused. 

Someone representing your company contacted ME.

I responded in good faith.

Then you insulted me.

Again, not professional.

Elizabeth Speert

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am very grown up!!!!!

Then this guy still had to have the last word!!!!

What is his problem?????

IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY BLOG,  LEAVE ME ALONE AND GO READ SOMETHING ELSE!!!!!!

He wrote.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for you reply.  

You yourself advertise " a lot of attitude" right on the front of your blog. 

I find this " attitude" one which I don't wish our products or company associated with. 

I am entitled to my opinion, and to make these sorts of decisions for my company  

If you have " attitude",  and tell it as you see it, dont get insulted when someone looks at your blog and does the same. 

Certainly to get insulted when someone does exactly the same as you do is ridiculous in the extreme. 

John Fuller

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stick a fork in me.....

I'm done.

But I really had to write about it because his behavior was so bizarre.

Thanks for letting me rant and rave, you guys.

You're the best.

And then I received this comment from one of my readers.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katherine Wolak has left a new comment on your post "Redoing the Front of My Cape Home": 

What an adorable post, made me smile, youre such a happy and positive person! :D 
hugs, 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tell ya, my readers ROCK!!!!!

Latah, Gatah