The Proverbs advise us to “Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.” It is sound advice: establish yourself a source of income before investing money in your home. But man has added a fourth stanza after the building of one’s home: ‘prepare yourself gardens.’ It is an interesting characteristic of human nature that, after we have established our income – our ‘outside work’ – and built our habitation, we return to the ‘outside’ and prepare gardens. It is a consistent feature of archaeological discoveries that when a society becomes prosperous (sort of a prerequisite to even having something for archaeologists to discover), it goes back outside and builds elaborate gardens.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is Nebuchadnezzar’s ‘Hanging Gardens’ of Babylon. Gardening is both a timeless and international pastime, with famous examples stretching from Tivoli, Italy to Kyoto, Japan and back to Versailles, France. But for most of human history, pleasure gardens were for the rich; commonfolk were too busy tending their own vegetable patch for survival to give thought (or money) to something built entirely for aesthetic enjoyment.

Modern Western civilization has seen prosperity spread much wider than anyone dreamed possible even a hundred or so years ago. Men and women still follow the same basic, proverbial path of ‘preparing their work outside’ – afterward finding their ‘forever home’ – and finally going back outside to prepare that envelope of enjoyment we called ‘gardens.’ The transition begins at the porch or patio and moves to the outdoor kitchen or cabana, with appropriate shade trees and seasonal flower beds.

All of this requires forethought and design, and that is why the AJH family of design/build companies – AJH Renovations, LLC; Designed for Downtown, LLC; and AJH Custom Homes, LLC – added landscape design to our portfolio of services. Personalizing one’s own garden space can be the work of a lifetime, but our design studio can definitely get you started with a master plan. Give us a call today to start the conversation.

Considering home renovations, we are usually about six months off schedule.

For instance, when is it that we think we would love to have a pool? In the Summer, when it’s too late to install a pool (at least for use that Summer). And when do we wish we had a nice, cozy fireplace to gather ‘round? In the Winter, of course, and while it takes a lot less time to install a fireplace than it does a pool, it is probably still too late to get on anyone’s schedule in time to enjoy the warmth and comfort of the fire before the azaleas start to bloom. So, for our April blog post, we’re highlighting fireplaces!

It might be hard to put yourself into the mood with the thermometer just beginning to read comfortable temperatures outside, but now really is the time to start planning. There are so many options available these days, it might take til Winter just to decide which one you want.

The selection process usually begins with the choice between gas logs or wood-burning, though there is an in-between option: wood-burning with a gas starter. Then there is the unit size, the decision of which needs to take into account both the dimensions of the room and, often, the size of the flat-screen TV that will be mounted above the mantel. As 99.99% of new fireplaces are insert units (very few true masonry fireplaces are built for any but the most expensive homes, these days), the next selection stage is the veneer – the finished look. This is where a good design eye is very beneficial, since the fireplace that looks so great on Houzz or in the magazine might not blend at all with the style of your home. In-line fireplaces are very contemporary and not the best look for the living room of a Georgian style colonial or a Craftsman bungalow. Stone and cultured stone veneer is beautiful, but more suited to a lodge or farmhouse style than a traditional home. A great fall back is wood trim, but even here one must fit the finish – decorative built-up trim or shiplap – to the overall look and feel of the home.

It takes planning to get all of these decisions to coalesce into a fireplace installation that not only provides the coziness and warmth desired, but that looks like it always belonged there. As a design/build collaboration with 19 years of experience, Designed for Downtown and its sister companies AJH Renovations and AJH Custom Homes are here to help you make the right choices, even for something as seemingly simple as a fireplace. Give us a call today to start the conversation, and be ready to come in from the cold next Winter.

We at AJH Renovations, LLC and Designed for Downtown, LLC, specialize in completely reworking mature homes into modern homes, Turning a 20th Century House into a 21st Century Home. It is often a very challenging prospect, especially as we try very hard to maintain at least some of the ambiance of the old house in the renovation of the new. One of the design features that must always be considered is ‘Sight Lines.’ These are, as the phrase implies, the paths our eyes most naturally take when we enter a building. Medieval European cathedrals, for instance, instantly draw our eyes upward, as the sight lines follow the ornate columns, soaring buttresses, and vaulted ceilings. The architects intended that to happen, to draw both our eyes and our thoughts to heaven when we entered a building designed for worship. On a standard residential project, however, there is rarely a call for soaring buttresses. Nonetheless, vertical sight lines are important to consider. For instance, with the modern desire for the ‘open floor plan,’ the designer must consider the height of the ceiling: a wide room with a low ceiling will feel like a cave, like the ceiling is coming down on top of you; that’s not a good look or feel. Conversely, vaulting the ceiling in a narrow room can result in what appears to be a crevice; again, the feeling that the walls are coming in on you is disconcerting. And the long and narrow plan needs to be avoided in all designs other than a bowling alley.

Sight Lines are also important within individual rooms. In older homes, especially, there is often an existing feature that draws one’s attention – an old fireplace, for instance, or classic interior French doors. With the large kitchen becoming a standard feature in modern renovations, it is important to have a focal point, a line of sight that draws the eyes to a wide window over the sink or a tile mosaic over the new range. Sometime these elements can be combined, as with an exposed old brick chimney giving a nostalgic cameo appearance in a new kitchen. It takes vision and experience to be able to follow sight lines that have not been constructed yet, and that is what the design/build process at AJH Renovations, LLC and Designed for Downtown, LLC brings to your renovation process.

Give us a call today to start the conversation!

We all admire a good piece of trim work. It elevates a room above the ordinary, and reveals a little more about the owner’s tastes. But good trim often gets sidelined in the process of designing and building houses. Most of us are stuck with bland, flat trim that does little to spark excitement.

If you’re in this boat, these design ideas will get you excited about your house's potential again! Gain some ideas and goals for your next project, be it small, like DIY bookshelf trim, or a major rework of your entry way. Either way, please let us know what you think!

Top photo: Ceiling trim in an arched hallway.

This deceptively simple look adds an extra layer of fancy to an arched ceiling. It frames the front door and puts a little space between the living area and the entryway.

Second photo: Dentil moulding and full wall wainscoting.

Smooth wainscoting on the walls balances the heavier mantelpiece and crown trim. Both wainscoting and dentil trim are old classics that help tie together the room’s other design elements. Painting them a neutral tone lets them harmonize with the modern lines of the coffee table, lamp, and light fixture.

Above, Custom cabinetry with moulding detail.

This bar mimics the clean lines of its glassware, slim and minimal, but obviously well stocked. It lets the drinks do the talking, but note the detail on the toe kick; it isn’t all plain!

Library with wainscoting and tray ceiling.

This library, painted in a calming shade of green makes great use of decorative trim around the bookcases and fireplace to soften the linear effect of the bookshelves. The wainscoting ties the three pieces together, creating visual harmony. A little detail is in the moulding on the tray ceiling, drawing the eye up and softening the transition from the wall.

Dining room with coffered ceiling and wainscoting.

Another pairing of wainscoting and ceiling trim, this one makes use of stained trim to add a strong visual element to the ceiling. Using the same trim on the windows and doors keeps it from being a one-off detail, and the wainscoting ties the whole room together. They get bonus points for a cool light fixture, too.

Bedroom with directional wainscoting.

This bedroom takes your typical vertical-horizontal wainscoting to the next level by rotating it 45 degrees. It creates a strong center of interest above the head board, giving a lift to what might otherwise be a bland room.

Bar and arched door trim.

More arches, but this time the emphasis is around the doorways and on the ceiling. The grey-blue of the trim unifies the cabinets with the slim coffering. Perhaps the neatest aspect, however, is the paneling under the ceiling trim.

Dining room with wainscoting.

This dining room only has one thing in common with the last dining room we looked at: the wainscoting. While some of the previous rooms have been trim heavy, this one uses moulding as a light detail to mimic the modern style of the furniture. It is best defined by the saying, “less is more.”

Mudroom with colorful millwork.

This mudroom plays with color as well as moulding style, painting the doors, cabinets and casing all same blue. The single color draws the eye, and adds a much needed pop of color to a usually drab room.

Inspired? Give us a call, and let’s start designing!