Above: Dig the City, the urban gardening festival in Manchester, England, is back until August 10. Photograph courtesy of Dig the City.
And while you're in England? Make your way to London's Garden Museum to see the special exhibit on gardener Alan Titchmarsh; it's closing August 31st.
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Above: Inspired by Long Island's beachy shores, Bates Masi Architects designed the hardscape of this Southampton vacation house to resemble a boardwalk. Photograph courtesy of Design Milk.
A tour that involves drinking wine and seeing art in the rolling hillsides of California's Marin County can't be all bad.
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Above: We look for any excuse to toss stone fruit into a savory salad. Thanks to this Pluot Summer Salad Recipe, we didn't have to look far. Photograph by Heidi Swanson.
Spinach popsicles? We're on board. (The secret: Bananas and pineapple are also involved.)
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Above: Spotted and admired: This Victorian-style bistro table and chair set from Marston & Langinger. Photograph courtesy of Marston & Langinger.
Recently pinned: string lights. What are you pinning?
Voting for the 2014 Gardenista Considered Design Awards is now closed. Thanks to everyone who submitted their projects, and to all of you who voted. We'll be announcing the winners shortly.
When you think Australia, does the phrase "No worries" pop into your head? While there's no such thing as a typical Australian, some stereotypes ring true: They're friendly, outgoing, casual, humorous, and they do say "no worries" a lot (if only to mean "you're welcome.")
We envy the laid-back lifestyle, so this week we're visiting the land Down Under—Australia, and New Zealand, too.
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Above: The wall of terra-cotta pots: It's an Australian thing. This eco-friendly, low-water style of vertical gardening was created by Australia's best-known eco-garden proponent, Joost Bakker.
Monday
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Above: A Japanese-inspired renovation for a previously conventional house in Melbourne, Australia, has a wall of sliding glass doors to bring the outside in. Read more in this week's Architect Visit.
Tuesday
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Above: Ayrlies, a sprawling semi-tropical garden southeast of Auckland, New Zealand, was begun more than 50 years ago by Beverly McConnell and her late husband, Malcolm. Good thing it's open to the public: You'll want to see it for yourself once you read this Garden Visit.
Wednesday
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Above: An Aussie entrepreneur is shaking up the New York City coffee shop scene. We pay a Restaurant Visit to Brunswick, his cafe in Brooklyn's emerging Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, to find out more.
Thursday
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Above: This shower happens to be at a beach house south of Melbourne, Australia, on the Mornington Peninsula. Read about it and a slew of other outdoor showers in our Hardscapes & Furnishings feature, Bathing in Plein Air: 29 Outdoor Summer Showers. It might even inspire you to build one of your own, so you're in luck: In this week's Hardscaping 101, Janet investigates that very subject. Pipe wrenches at the ready, people.
Friday
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Above: Yes, that is a small house built on a giant rock. Our Outbuilding of the Week focuses on the Forest Retreat, designed and built by the Uhlik Architeki team in the Czech Republic, and answers the obvious question: Why?
We'll also be looking at interior design Down Under this week; visit Remodelista to see some of our favorite remodels.
One feature of traditional Japanese architecture came in handy when the architectural firm Kennedy Nolan was hired to expand a traditional Edwardian home in Melbourne, Australia. Because the old wooden house was in a historic neighborhood, it couldn't be torn down. So the architects had to create an addition that would meld with the existing building and its surroundings. Add to that a client extremely concerned about keeping costs under control:
Above: The fence ties together the traditional and the modern parts of this Melbourne house.
The ingenious project, known as the Westgarth House, involved creating two distinct zones. The old structure became the private area—a sort of dormitory with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a study. The addition that Kennedy Nolan designed became the public area, with a kitchen, living room, and dining room.
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Above: The living area faces north, toward the garden.
The style of the addition is clean and rectangular. Basically, it's a long white box attached to the rear of the old house, sitting unobtrusively behind a tall white fence along the south boundary of the corner lot. The goal was to preserve as much outdoor space as possible.
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Above: The Westgarth House, with its wall open to the outdoors.
That's where the traditional Japanese architecture came in. A fundamental Japanese concept is the blurring of boundaries between inside and outside. The Westgarth House garden can be accessed by huge sliding glass doors. Once those doors are pushed back, the entire side of the new wing is open to the outdoors.
The climate in Melbourne is moderate, rather than tropical, but Patrick Kennedy of Kennedy Nolan says the feature can be used as much as eight months of the year. In fact, he said recently, "Our client had the doors open just last week, in the middle of winter, because it was a sunny day."
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Above: The architects used a monochromatic color scheme to unite disparate textures and structural features.
Kennedy says that little reconfiguring had to be done to the old house. One major change, however, involved moving the main entrance. In its original location, people would have had to enter the house in the bedroom area and walk the entire length of the building to reach the public area in the addition.
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Above: The new entryway is welcoming—and fun to play on.
Kennedy Nolan created a handsome new entrance between the old and new parts of the house. It incorporates a stucco wall with a circular opening, or moongate—a classic Asian touch borrowed from the Chinese.
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Above: The clients asked for more room for family life and a beautiful, functional design.
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Above: The large island has become the center of attraction in the kitchen.
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Above: The entrance wall, as seen from inside the living room. To save energy, the new pavilion uses principles of passive solar design, including north-facing orientation and cross ventilation that takes advantage of Melbourne's prevailing winds.
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Above: The addition doesn't look out of place among the Victorian and Edwardian houses in Westgarth.
For Patrick Kennedy, Westgarth succeeds on a level beyond its physical beauty. "My favorite thing about this house is the sense that it's a synthesis of many things into a single entity—a seamless, calm, and nurturing domestic environment."
So many thyme puns, so little time. I'll do what I can. It's high time, after all, to make this drought-tolerant perennial ground cover—and nutritious herb—a mainstay in your garden and in your cooking endeavors.
You might decide to stick a mini-pot of thyme on your windowsill or to plant a big spread in the backyard. You can also use thyme throughout your vegetable garden, to deter nefarious insects and boost the growth of other plants. While it loves and needs sun, you can otherwise leave it alone, besides giving it occasional water; thyme even thrives in rocky soil. Just prune it back every season to let light in on new stems.
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Above: For an instant windowsill herb garden, Williams-Sonoma sells a six-pack of potted Essential Kitchen Garden Herbs for $29.95; the set includes English thyme.
Thyme contains lots of vitamin C and A, as well as manganese, fiber, iron, and copper. Add the leaves as an ingredient in stir-fries, salad dressings, and soups for an extra dose of health. You can put them in at the end of cooking or chop them finely and serve raw, as a garnish—heat can destroy the herb's delicate fragrance and taste. Try making herb butter to preserve a large amount of thyme, or any hardy herb. Simply crush a good portion of chopped herbs into softened butter and then freeze for future use.
Depending on the variety, the flowers could be white, purple, or pink (on many woody, tiny branches).
The herb's essential oils boost the production and flavor of neighboring plants.
Keep It Alive
In cold months, add mulch around the base of this perennial herb.
Thrives in full sun or partial shade.
Water only when it gets very dry.
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Above: Thyme is a rugged, low-water alternative to a grass lawn. Here's what Janet discovered: "Very drought-tolerant, low-growing Elfin Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) forms a tight solid mat of green foliage that blooms with light pink flowers in summer. The sun-loving plant is a vigorous creeper that stands up to foot traffic." For more, see Fields of Green: 5 Favorite Lawn Substitutes.
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Above: Creeping thyme also thrives as a container plant. For a planting scheme, see DIY: Long-Lasting Outdoor Planter. Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.
An added bonus to this timeless medicinal, culinary, and cultural herb? Scientists have confirmed what ancient Egyptian and Greek societies believed: Thyme has preservative and antiseptic qualities that make it useful as a kitchen cleaner or a dental wash. Herbalists recommend thyme tea to lift the spirits. They also use thyme in a concentrated oil to treat skin conditions, upper-respiratory problems, gastric issues, and more.
Shop owners Lauren Bieber and Tom Crowe find it easy to keep an eye on what's happening at Fowlers Flowers in Melbourne, Australia, because they also own the coffee shop next door. In fact, it was Bieber's desire for a steady supply of fresh flowers to adorn the café tables at Mixed Business that prompted her to become a florist. But not just any floral designer: Bieber's work stands out both for its considered simplicity and its natural, direct-from-the-garden look.
Other industries' fortunes may rise and fall, but we'll always need fresh flowers, she says. "Newspapers and banks might go to the computer but this is something you can't replicate—you can't Twitter or Instagram the true feeling of flowers," Bieber recently told Broadsheet.
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Above: Opened four and a half years ago, Fowlers Flowers is located in the Clifton Hill neighborhood of Melbourne. Photograph via Jesame.
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Above: Bouquets of succulents (left) and potted orchids (right). Photographs via Fowlers.
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Above: Owner Lauren Bieber creates a bouquet. Her no-fuss approach: re-cut and clean stems; strip leaves, and use a clean vase filled with fresh water; keep out of direct sunlight. Photograph by Josie Withers via Broadsheet.
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Above: Fowlers is a decidedly eco-conscious shop: organic waste is shredded and composted in bins filled with worms. Glass and plastic gets recycled. Photograph by Luisa Brimble.
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Above: Bieber collects recycled glass bottles and tiny terra-cotta pots. Photograph via Fowlers.
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Above: A single tulip (center) and graceful helleborus (right) in recycled glass bottles. Photograph via Fowlers.
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Above: Something about this reminds me of Make Way for Ducklings. Photograph by Luisa Brimble.
Only a handful of gardens around the globe are real must-visits for garden lovers. Ayrlies, on a large country estate near Whitford, southeast of Auckland on New Zealand's North Island, is one.
This masterpiece was begun more than 50 years ago by Beverley and Malcolm McConnell. As a young couple, they purchased a large rolling pastoral terrain, meant for cattle, to start their family. They were amateur gardeners with big ideas. They began by turning three acres into a garden, and over the years it grew to 12 acres of heavily planted informal gardens, with several ponds and water features.
Beverley has the eye, and a natural sense of color, texture, and combinations. Her late husband, Malcolm, who headed up a large engineering and construction company, was keenly interested in water. And several years in they hired Oliver Briers, knowing it would take more than just the two of them to realize their dreams. Working by Bev’s side, he helped bring a sense of design to the property, now a lush garden of Eden.
Beverley has been called the Vita Sackville-West of our day, working with a sub-tropical palette of exotics and native plants. Building a garden like this takes a lifetime, and to have a soul it needs an artist at the helm. Now in her 80s, she is still a vital force. If creating the ornamental garden wasn’t enough, in 2000 she embarked on a 35-acre wetlands project to restore five acres of swampland that connects the garden to the Hauraki Gulf.
Above: The ponds and water features at Ayrlies were all created by Malcolm McConnell, who was fascinated by the effects of water in a garden. Here, tree ferns and aquatic plants create a lush scene, somehow making the pond look as if it's been there forever.
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Above: Many areas of the garden are delineated by theme, plant selection, and color. In the Lurid Border, Beverley plays with hot Gauguin-like colors: orange day lilies 'Flaming Nora', black-leafed castor bean, and variegated canna with striking orange blooms, underplanted with silver stachys, or lamb's ear.
To train her eye, Beverley visited important gardens in England over the years. In turn, her own garden began to draw attention. The late Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter in England, was a regular visitor to Ayrlies, and it is a favorite of Dan Hinkley, one of America’s great plantsmen.
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Above: Wooded areas like the Rockery offer a respite from the garden's densely planted areas.
Beverley McConnell has written a very personal and beautiful book on the making of the garden, with "before" pictures that show how vision and determination can transform a property. You can order a copy of Ayrlies for $96.28, which includes postage to North America.
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Above: There is much to be learned from Beverley's color palette and sense of texture. This detail—showing burgundy-colored ajuga, spotted farfugium, and a brownish ornamental grass—shows how leaf shape, color, and form can create as much impact as flowers, and persist longer.
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Above: Oliver Briers, who worked alongside Beverley, was a master at linking the various garden rooms with meandering paths that flow from one area to the next. Here, rustic steps lined with bromeliads pass through a shady area.
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Above: The tall vertical Agathis robusta seen across the Cypress Pond anchor the lower garden. Beverley's rich color sense weaves along the stream's edges and helps to guide the eye. Deep purple foliage connects the garden; it appears to be a favorite color.
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Above: Deep-red kangaroo paws, a native Australian plant, float over burgundy-colored bromeliads—another example of the garden's fearless color palette.
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Above: An informal but more traditional part of the garden has a flowery moment. Beverley loves roses and has lots of them, scrambling up trees and weaving with clematis. But after they've peaked, bougainvillea 'Magnifica Trailii' steals the show.
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Above: Rich reds and greens complement each other in a mix of dahlias, glossy-leafed farfugium, ferns, variegated canna foliage, and alstroemeria.
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Above: Tall papyrus grows along the edges of the water features.
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Above: A charming shed in the Rockery, shaded by mature brugmansia.
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Above: The irregular-shaped swimming pool is surrounded by a verdant tropical garden, so it fits well into the landscape and connects the house to garden.
On Remodelista we recently looked at the interiors of Ellis House, a historic guesthouse in Kyneton, Australia. Today, we're dissecting the outdoor style of the house's wraparound porch and original 19th-century summer house. To recreate the look, we've sourced a few elements similar to those chosen by designer and creative director Tracie Ellis.
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Above: The Ellis House's cool blue-gray exterior color palette (left). Rattan seating and hanging flowerpots on the porch (right).
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Above: Original to the property, the 19th-century summerhouse in the garden. Photograph by Sharyn Cairns for Ellis House.
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Above: A slatted wood bench with knitted pillows and a navy throw blanket. Photograph by Sharyn Cairns for Ellis House.
Above: Ikea's Älmsta Chair is made of lacquered rattan with a bamboo back for $99. N.B.: The chair is meant for indoor use, but at this price point, it might be worth the risk on a covered porch.
Above: For growing plants up the side of a house, the Flexible Willow Trellis is made in Spain from slim willow twigs; €15.50 each from Manufactum in Germany.
Above: Used as an outdoor accent color, Farrow & Ball's Down Pipe imitates lead on exterior ironwork and helps to camouflage plumbing pipes against brickwork; $100 per gallon for the Exterior Masonry finish.
Above: From Tracie Ellis's line, Aura Home, the 50-by-50-cm Moss Stitch Throw Pillow is made of cotton/acrylic yarn; $59.95 AUD (that's $55.38 USD) for the filled cushion.
Above: These lightweight Fiberclay Egg Pots are made from a fiberglass and clay composite that is frost- and UV-resistant; on sale for $5.95 each at Terrain.
I grew up under the Southern California sun in Orange County, 20 minutes from Huntington Beach, and I spent almost every day of summer ankle-deep in sand. Consequently, I've had my share of sunburns. But however painful the burn was, I could never bring myself to use that bright-green aloe vera gel you find in the pharmacy. Why was it so green? What was in it, anyway?
Because of my gel phobia, my mom planted a medicinal aloe vera outside our house. I've been using it to make my own sunburn cure ever since. Recently, a heavenly addition has made its way into my homemade burn remedy: coconut oil, for extra moisture. If you follow the simple steps below, you can easily make your own and ditch the store-bought gel. With my sunburn days long gone, I use this mixture as a hair treatment and a body lotion.
Photography by Dalilah Arja.
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Ingredients
Fresh aloe vera leaves (I use five 4- to 6-inch-long leaves to make 1/4 cup of gel)
2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra virgin coconut oil (available at health food stores)
Grapefruit essential oil (or other organic essential oil; optional)
Materials
Spoon
Jar or container
Food processor (optional)
Instructions:
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Step 1: Wash off any dirt that's on the aloe leaves and dry them. If you don't have access to an aloe vera plant, you can find fresh leaves in the produce section of most health food stores.
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Step 2: If you wish, you can cut off the thorns with a knife. I don't mind them, so I usually leave them. Then peel the skin off one side of each leaf. The smell can be unpleasant (it reminds me of canned chicken noodle soup), but the result is worth it.
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Above: The gel inside.
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Step 3: Use a spoon to scoop the gel from the leaves into a container.
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Above: Fresh aloe vera gel ready to be mixed with coconut oil (or used alone, if you prefer).
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Step 4: Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and a few drops of essential oil, if wanted, for aromatherapy (and to mask the smell of the aloe vera). I use grapefruit essential oil—a 1/4-ounce bottle of Organic Grapefruit Essential Oil is $8.34 from Aura Cacia. Blend the ingredients in a food processor or beat with a fork.
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Step 5: Store the aloe vera gel in a container and refrigerate. Coconut oil hardens when refrigerated, so you may need to mix the gel before applying. A batch will keep for about a month in the refrigerator.
We couldn't be happier with the results of our second annual Gardenista Considered Design Awards. You submitted more than 1,000 projects and after our panel of guest judges chose five finalists, you voted for your favorite spaces more than 50,000 times. We want to thank everyone who participated in this year's Considered Design Awards—whether you submitted a project or voted for your favorite—we're thrilled to have you be a part of Gardenista.
Each winner will receive a limited-edition Jieldé SI333 Desk Lamp in Bronze as well as a profile post to be published on Gardenista over the next few weeks. Head over to Remodelista to see the results of their Considered Design Awards.
Without further delay, congratulations to the winners!
"It's a lovely immigration story," says Alexander Hall, who came to the United States "with nothing" eight years ago. Hall grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and has worked for more than 20 years in the restaurant business. Since arriving in New York, he's been busily opening a slew of cafes, and putting his distinct mark on each.
According to Hall, there's a big difference between Australian and North American coffee shops. "Australian cafes are more like modern diners," he says, "with an emphasis on customer service." His cafes serve breakfast and lunch only, and though the mood is casual, they have quality food, table service, and friendly staff (no surprise that almost half of Hall's 48 employees are Australian). Of course, there's great coffee as well.
Whatever the theory behind it, Hall's approach seems to be working. He now owns five cafes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with a sixth about to launch and more in the works. We stopped by Brunswick, which opened on Memorial Day in Brooklyn's rapidly gentrifying Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, to see what Hall is up to.
Above: The entrance to Brunswick is on a leafy block of Decatur Street. Owner Alex Hall designed the two planters outside to be waist-high so customers can see them from inside, and had them custom-made by a steelworker he knows. He also oversees the plantings, which are changed regularly. (This time it's fragrant lavender.) Did we mention that Hall has a hand in every detail?
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Above: Hall hires Ty Tan Designs to do his plantings. A horticulturalist who trained at Cornell, Tan also installed a vertical garden at Hall's Rosella Coffee Shop, on the Lower East Side. The wall of terra-cotta pots at Brunswick is inspired by the ones built by Australia's leading eco-gardener, Joost Baker. (For more on his approach, see Joost Bakker's Vertical Gardens.)
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Above: "Alex is really into plants," says Ty Tan. "He'll tell you what he wants, but then he lets you go with it. He doesn't micromanage." That said, it was Hall who requested the pots of succulents, and then specified that the pots should be aged. Tan got the pots from the New York Botanical Garden, and aged them with garden lime. "It only takes a few days for the white look to appear," she says. "Then it keeps going as you water the plants and the water seeps through the clay."
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Above: Hall planned the interior to have several seating areas, including this quiet corner toward the back. The patterns painted on the tables and pegboard lend a mid-century modern look.
Growing up with an architect father, Hall took an early interest in design, which has become a passion for him. "I sell coffee," he says. "I see design as my way of being creative."
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Above: Now spick and span, Brunswick was carved out of a storefront space that had been boarded up for a decade. The reclaimed pine used to build the bar was found on the site. The anodized brass pendant fixtures come from Dixon Branded. And the flower arrangements are by Park Delicatessen, a combined skateboard shop and florist (only in Brooklyn, folks).
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Above: Brunswick's pastries are made at a sister cafe, Bluebird Coffee Shop. Besides the Aussie-influenced Nutella scones, you can snack on coconut Anzac cookies (originally made to send to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps serving in Gallipoli in World War I) and Sasquatch cake (with oats, chocolate chips, and banana).
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Above: The excellent coffee is supplied by Counter Culture, based in Durham, NC. Barista Henry Rodriguez, who grew up in the neighborhood (i.e., not Australian, but still friendly), plies his trade with almost surgical precision.
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Above: Though it appalls some New York brunchers, Hall's cafes are all "bagel-free zones." There are no French fries, either. "Try something different," he cheerfully suggests, such as the avocado toast (right) or the fried egg sandwich with tomato Kasundi sauce (left). Not shown: The meatball panini, which has become a favorite. "There are people who just walk out when they find we've run short," says chef Cynthia Albarran.
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Above: Customers tend to live in the neighborhood—and when they're here, they talk to each other. That's part of Hall's master plan. "I only put one electrical outlet for customers in each cafe," he reveals. "It's meant to be a place to socialize."
Summer hats when I was growing up weren't so much fashion accessories as they were obligations. I can't say that I always wore my wide-brimmed panama without complaint, but I have my mom to thank for teaching me to protect my skin. Here's a roundup of summer sun hats:
The Summer Straw Hat most closely resembles the hats my sisters and I wore as kids. It's discreet and classic, with a wide brim that offers solid sun protection; $34.50 at J. Crew.
If you're hoping to add just a touch of drama to your gardening, the Variance Floppy Hat might be your pick. It's on sale for $19.99 from Anthropologie.
Do not be scared off by the power tools. Designer Ben Uyeda's hanging garden shelves are actually easy to make (well, at least according to the video, which I've watched—transfixed—at least eight times). Ben, who creates stylish (and affordable) modern furnishings from simple materials, posts step-by-step instructions on HomeMade Modern, where I spied this compact wall garden the other day.
Read on for a list of materials and a look at Ben's technique. Go to HomeMade Modern for step-by-step instructions and to watch the video.
Above: The small-space hanging wall garden holds 20 houseplants.
Materials
20 4-inch or 5-inch terra-cotta pots
5 pine boards, 3/4 thick and 3 feet long
Clothesline or 1/4-inch-thick rope
Cable ties
Cordless drill
4-inch metal hole saw
Circular saw
Pliers
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Above: Ben bought 6-foot-long boards and cut them in half (alternately, you can have them cut to size at the lumber yard or store where you buy them).
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Above: After drilling pilot holes as guides, Ben cut holes for the pots using a hole saw. (Be sure to clamp the board to a work surface before drilling.)
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Above: Next, Ben drilled four holes in each board for the rope (using a 5/16-inch drill bit). He then threaded the rope through the holes, tying knots on the underside of the bottom board to hold them in place.
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Above: Ben added several zip ties beneath each board to hold the rope in place.
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Above: Ben spaced the shelves far enough apart to leave room for the plants to grow (just a little). To catch any water that drains from the pots, he recommends using small glass bottles suspended by wire.
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Above: Make sure you hang the garden shelves from hooks that can support the weight. Ben recommends using a wooden closet rod and closet shelf brackets.
Two years ago Tasha Shoo and her husband, Ben, bought 10 acres of land an hour's drive from Melbourne, Australia, and moved there from the city with their three children and a dream of raising the food they eat.
With chickens, pigs, beehives, and garden plots, the experiment was a success—and intoxicating. After 18 months of harvesting her own salads and curing her own bacon and eating strawberries that really taste like strawberries, Shoo embarked on a second phase of farming: She and Ben launched a project called A Plot in Common, digging six extra edible-garden beds that they offered to share with neighbors.
Word got around. Australian photographer Tara Pearce, whose Outer Towners site chronicles the stories of people who've chosen the country over city life, came by with her camera to take a look. Here's what she saw:
Above: Shoo raises her family's meat, vegetables, and fruit on the farm, which also has a small orchard, prompting Pearce to describe her as a "modern farmer" on Outer Towners. Shoo's husband, Ben, works as a designer from a small studio on the property.
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Above: On the farm is a small cottage and several other buildings, including a barn. Photograph via A Plot in Common.
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Above: Netting protects the crops from rabbits and other hungry varmints.
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Above: In addition to her own garden plots, Shoo has created an additional six beds that neighbors may use for free to plant their own food. "More and more people are becoming interested in where their food comes from, but not everyone has the space or knowledge to grow their own," she says. "The idea for A Plot in Common is to explore ways in which we can share our farm, the space, and what we have learned."
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Above: Purple cauliflower.
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Above: "What can you do here that you can't do in the big city?" Tara Pearce asked Shoo.
"Last Sunday we drove up a nearby mountain and had a picnic in the snow, went down to a tasting in a vineyard, and took a bottle home," Shoo said. "Then we made pasta with our own homegrown eggs, beef, and vegetables."
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Above: What appeals most about living on a farm, Shoo said, is the ability to "go slow, spend more time doing less, and explore the things that you would usually pass right by."
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Above: The farm, located in the town of Lauriston (pop. 538), is surrounded by rolling hills.
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Above: Harvesting rosemary and collecting eggs.
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Above: Home-cured meats. "We had quite a bit of pork in the freezer from last year's pigs," Shoo said. "We dreamed of salami, prosciutto, bacon—anything cured, really—but they seemed a little out of our league. Funny how you put things in the 'too hard' basket. It's just taking that initial step, isn't it? Bacon was our first step."
What I look forward to most about our annual summer excursion to the North Carolina shore isn't swimming in the warm ocean, curling up with a book under the umbrella with my toes in the sand, or attacking a pile of peel-and-eat shrimp. It's the ritual of showering outdoors. "You are showering again, Mom?" is a familiar refrain.
Every year I ask the same question: "Why don't I have an outdoor shower at home?" And, every year I return determined to figure that out. But invariably, I don't know where to start. (Plumbing? Drainage? Privacy?) Well, enough. This year I embarked on a mission to find out everything there is to know about installing an outdoor shower. Here's what I learned:
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Above: An instant outdoor shower room by Oborain, a Massachusetts company that makes prefabricated outdoor showers, big and small.
What's the best location for an outdoor shower?
Space requirements for outdoor showers aren't as restrictive as I first assumed. Here's what to consider:
You need a firm, level surface that can withstand water and foot traffic. Good candidates include decks (even an upper-level deck, if water can drain), lawns, stone patios, stone paths, and gravel driveways.
Think about how you intend use your outdoor shower. To clean dogs and muddy feet? To rinse off after a day at the beach? Or are you lucky enough to live in a warm climate where you might have your daily shower outside? Site the shower for convenience.
Privacy is key. I think my upper deck would be a great spot (for convenience, views, and sunlight), but my neighbors might not agree.
A sunny area is best, both for the user's benefit and to prevent mold and rot.
Lastly, the location must be accessible to plumbing (see below for details).
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Above: For easy access, architectural designer and builder Tom Givone mounted an outdoor shower on the facade of a farmhouse in New York. Tour more of this Floating Farmhouse in Upstate New York. Photography via Givone Home.
Above: A stand-alone hose-powered Manufactum Outdoor Shower (€527) has a steel plate at the base that screws into a backyard deck.
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Above: A city dweller? Outdoor showers can be installed on rooftops, balconies, and in small back gardens. Case in point: an Outdoor Bathing Area on a Manhattan Rooftop by New York landscape designer Billie Cohen. Photograph via Billie Cohen.
What plumbing is necessary for an outdoor shower?
Outdoor showers can be plumbed with a garden hose or with fixed pipes. Here are three options, from simple to more complex. Be sure to check with your contractor or jurisdiction about permits and gray-water run-off requirements.
Cold-Water Hose Plumbing: The easiest setup involves running a simple garden hose between an outdoor faucet and an outdoor shower fixture. Yes, this means cold showers only. But that may be all you need if you're using the shower only in hot summer months or to rinse off dogs or sandy feet.
Above: To supply water to this outdoor shower, a garden hose is connected to the base of the Screw Coro Outdoor Shower (£531 from Made in Design).
Hot and Cold Outdoor Faucets: You can tap into your home's hot-water supply for an outdoor shower. The easiest way is to have a plumber install an outdoor hot-water faucet next to your existing outdoor (and cold water only) garden faucet. Then you can attach two hoses easily and quickly to the outdoor fixture. Make sure to use heavy-duty hoses. For more durability, consider stainless steel washing-machine hoses. installation is a breeze with this option, and is less costly than permanent water lines. It also avoids frozen pipes in the winter, as you can just detach the hoses and store them.
Fixed Plumbing Pipes: Hooking up to the permanent water lines in your home is another option. Pipes can be run a short distance up the side of the house to be attached to a shower fixture that's mounted onto the siding. Plumbing also can be installed to supply water to a shower positioned away from the house, via pipes that exit the house and are buried underground. While buried permanent lines are more aesthetically pleasing than hoses, they're susceptible to freezing and cracking in cold climates and must be drained in the winter.
Do outdoor showers require special drainage?
Outdoor showers don't generally need complex drainage systems, especially if the shower is installed a distance from the house, or if the pitch of the land directs water away from the structure. Here are some drainage solutions often used with outdoor showers. (Whatever your situation, we recommend consulting with a professional about drainage.)
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Above: A simple outdoor shower at a Swedish Summer House by Lasc Studio drains directly into the ground. Is that a wooden palette as a shower stand? Photograph by Laura Stamer.
Direct Garden Drainage: The most common, easiest, and eco-friendly way to drain an outdoor shower is to let the gray water seep directly into your garden. Will this work for your shower site? If the ground is reasonably porous, then the answer is yes, as long as the shower isn't used too often and isn't close to your house's foundation. Oborain Showers suggests testing how quickly water will seep into the soil of a potential shower site by dumping a large bucket of water and timing how long it takes to disappear. If the water remains on the surface for five or more minutes, you may want to consider a dry well or French drain.
French Drain or Dry Well: If your shower is going to be on the facade of your house or nearby, you need to keep water away from the foundation. Know your existing perimeter drainage system to decide how best to integrate an outdoor shower drainage. If you have perimeter French drain pipes, be sure your outdoor shower is positioned to take advantage of the existing drainage system. Alternatively, you can install a simple dry well (like a French drain without the pipe) by digging a deep pit and filling it with gravel to distribute water slowly into the surrounding soil.
Fixed Drain: Some more elaborate setups use fixed drains that feed into a house's wastewater system.
Shower Drainage Pans: Similar to the shower pans on indoor showers, drainage pans connected to a hose can collect, direct, and drain water away from the house and into the garden or an existing drain.
Yes, for the comfort and stability of the person taking a shower. The base should be a water-resistant material that is stable to stand on and permeable for drainage. It can be an existing surface, such as decking or a stone patio. Or, if an outdoor shower is installed in a location with a slippery or uncomfortable surface—such as gravel—you can set a small base on top of the surface.
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Above: Slatted teak mats are commonly used as outdoor shower bases. Here, a slatted-wood base sits atop drainage rocks in a project by San Francisco's Feldman Architecture, a member of the Remodelista Design Directory.
Do outdoor showers need enclosures?
This is a question of placement and privacy. How much do you want to bare? Enclosures can range from a simple shower curtain to a wooden stall with a hinged door. An enclosure must allow for air circulation so it dries quickly (to prevent mold and rot). Also consider the landscape: Do you have a hedge or row of trees that could screen the shower?
Above: A corrugated steel enclosure in a project by Ashland, OR, architect Carlos Delgado. Photograph via Carlos Delgado Architects.
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Above: And then there's the storage question. Towel hooks are conveniently located on the outside of this shower in Montauk, NY. For more on this project, see Steal This Look: Outdoor Shower by Murdock Young.
Can I install an outdoor shower myself, or do I need a plumber?
This depends on the complexity of the project. If you're trying to keep costs down, you can purchase a simple hose-fed outdoor shower and be good to go. If you want something more permanent and are handy with a wrench, see Sunset's tutorial on How to Make an Outdoor Shower. For complicated set-ups, we recommend hiring a professional. In addition to plumbing, you may need to alter siding, build an enclosure, or add a surface to stand on. If your projects require any or all of these, you might need a contractor rather than a plumber.
Several companies, like Manufactum, Tectona, and Coro, offer hose-ready outdoor showers.
Above: Oborain has a full range of prefabricated outdoor showers that work with hot and cold outdoor faucets. They offer top-of-the-line fixtures and wood enclosures and even Sunbrella shower curtains. The Plover Outdoor Shower (shown) is $5,495.
Is there any greater luxury than bathing outdoors? You don't need much more than a showerhead and a modest enclosure (ideally one that offers a glimpse of the sea). We combed through the many outdoor showers we've come across over the years and selected the most memorable. Here's our top 29:
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Above: LA interior designer Alexandra Angle's Fire Island Beach House project has an outdoor shower on the back deck.
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Above: A minimalist shower in Montauk designed by New York firm Murdock Young. For more on this shower, see Remodelista's Steal This Look.
Above: A rustic setup at the Hotel Azúcar in Veracruz, Mexico.
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Above: A shower at the Melbourne home of documentary film producer Romy Sormann, featured in Inside Out Magazine via Desire to Inspire.
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Above: An outdoor shower in Western Australia, at the home of interior designer Shareen Joel, founder of Share Design. Photograph via Share Design.
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Above: A simple shower outside a house on Seattle's Salmon Bay, featured on Dwell.
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Above: A tumbleweed-clad outdoor shower at the Atlantic Byron Bay resort in New South Wales, Australia.
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Above: A rustic shower and bathtub photographed by Seth Smoot.
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Above: A longtime favorite of ours from Elle Decor: Sarah Jessica Parker's outdoor shower in the Hamptons. The stall is made from plumbing pipe and marine-grade blue fabric; see Remodelista's Steal This Look from 2010 for sources.
Above: A partially enclosed outdoor shower and bath in the back of a house in Denmark, from Bo Bedre magazine.
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Above: An outdoor shower and pool house at the home of Wojtek and Frances Orzechowski, two surfers who live in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. Photograph via House and Leisure.
The winners of the Gardenista Considered Design Awards Best Outdoor Living Space are Leslie and Woody Pirtle of New Paltz, New York.
Their project was chosen by Gardenista editor-in-chief Michelle Slatalla, who said: "The word 'magical' is not one I throw around lightly, but it's appropriate in this context. The juxtaposition of rough stone walls and velvety green vines creates an otherworldly sense of peace."
Take a look below and hear what the Pirtles have to say about their goals for the project, their design inspiration, and their favorite shops in upstate New York.
N.B.: This is the first in a series of posts spotlighting the winners of the Gardenista Considered Design Awards. We'll be featuring one winning project every day. Go to the 2014 Considered Design Awards to see all the entries, finalists, and winners. And have a look at the winners of the Remodelista Considered Design Awards, too.
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The Pirtles' Design Statement: We wanted to design a quiet contemplative space for sitting and reading.
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Q: Where do you live? A: We live outside New Paltz, New York, about 100 miles north of New York City. We are lucky to have a complex of stone buildings on a hill overlooking the Walkill River, including a house, a studio, and a stone ruin. The earliest building dates back to the late 1700s and the studio was built in the 1800s. The house was a tavern, the studio was a general store, and the ruin was a factory that produced carpet bags.
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Q: What were your goals for the project? A: To create an outdoor room for quiet contemplation. To honor the space that was originally built and to respect the materials and the craftsmanship that was so evident. We lovingly repointed the structure, restored the fireboxes, and kept the nest where a family of doves reside. We brought in pea gravel and furnished simply. The room is away from the house so it really gives a great sense of solitude.
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Q: What are your favorite features of the project? A: The fireplaces on what would have been the first two floors of the ruin. We can actually use them!
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Q: If your room was a celebrity, who would it be? A: Hmmmm . . . maybe Daniel Day-Lewis. Our room has a quiet and strong presence, not too pretty, not too slick. Authentic.
Q: What are your day jobs? A: We are both graphic designers, and partners in Pirtle Design. Woody is a partner emeritus at Pentagram Design in NYC. Leslie also trades options.
Q: What is your best secret design source? A: Wide-open eyes and mind!
Q: What is your favorite local shop? A: We love Warren Street in Hudson, with its many shops. Henry in Hudson is a favorite, as well as Vincent Mulford and the Hudson Supermarket.
Q: What projects would you tackle if you had an unlimited budget? A: We would build a brand new modern house in a beautiful part of the country. We have done many remodels and would love to start with a blank slate.
Q: Where do you get your design inspiration? A: Art, architecture, travel. Inspiration is everywhere, in everything, all the time. Our radar is always on.
Q: What's your next project? A: We are exploring ways to design a pool or swimming spot that would fit within the context surroundings.
Congratulations to the Pirtles! See all the winners of the 2014 Gardenista Considered Design Awards here:
It's a surprising sight in the middle of the woods: a large, slightly asymmetrical black box that appears to have been tossed onto a boulder, perhaps by a careless giant. You'll find it sitting precariously among mossy stones in an ancient forest in Central Bohemia, in the Czech Republic—and you almost expect Hansel and Gretel to wander by, scattering pebbles and trying to avoid running into a witch.
However, this box isn't part of a fairy tale. It's a cleverly designed cabin built for a client who was seeking a peaceful refuge away from his hectic life in Prague. The architects of the firm Uhlik Architekti, who named it the Forest Retreat, not only designed it but also constructed it themselves. They worked in the woods over a few long weekends, starting in fall 2012 and finishing in spring 2013.
Above: Although the design is striking, the cabin is made of humble materials. The lumber for the frame came from trees on the property. The exterior boards were purchased locally and assembled using simple rabbet joints. The roof is asphalt.
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Above: The large windows at each end of the periscope-shaped structure afford very different views of the forest. Overhanging shutters can be closed to protect the windows from the elements. The shutter for the larger, ground-level window is operated by means of a pulley and hand winch made by a local blacksmith.
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Above: The smaller window sits in the raised rear of the building, which is perched on the massive rock. High above the front of the building, it offers a bird's-eye view of the forest treetops, a sort of private lookout post.
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Above: The compact interior is covered in OSB, or oriented strand board, an engineered wood product similar to plywood. It was chosen by the architects because it is strong and offered reinforcement to the structure. It's also economical—even cheaper than plywood. The steps leading to the high window are storage compartments that double as sleeping platforms. One step converts to a double bed.
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Above: The entrance to the cabin is a door at ground level that opens into a small flat area with barely enough headroom for a person to stand. The entire interior is less than 200 square feet.
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Above: There's room to pull up a couple of small chairs to the wood-burning stove on a chilly night.
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Above: With the shutters closed, the building almost disappears into the forest. The black exterior was created by burning the boards with a blow torch. Read more about this technique in Hardscaping 101: Charred Wood Siding.
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Above: There's little question that the owner will find peace in this clever refuge on a remote woodland property. It's far from the chaos of city life but still brings an unexpectedly futuristic and very modern sensibility to the forest.
What can't a smartphone do these days? It can buy you lattes, find out the baseball score, and measure how many steps you take in a day. It can check the weather forecast, and turn on your irrigation system. And if you're using Hydros, a new smartphone app by Simple Elements, it can check the weather forecast and the moisture level in your soil before turning on your irrigation system. We like the idea behind it: saving water, saving money, and helping the planet while keeping the garden in good shape.
The founders of Simple Elements, Christy and Manuel Masri, invented Hydros after becoming frustrated with their old timer for irrigating the lawn. "We could set the days and how long to water," said Christy. "But if we were out of town and didn't know it was going to rain, there was no changing it. It would turn on the sprinklers in the morning, even though it might be raining in the afternoon. After that happened several times, we thought, 'why not create a controller ourselves?'"
In drought-stricken places such as California, Hydros is particularly relevant, as the scheduling tool allows you to restrict watering to certain days. But even if you're simply a busy gardener, it can save you money—from 25 to 60 percent off your water bill, according to the company website. Simple Elements is working to develop further tools for water companies so they can credit residents for using Hydros sensors to restrict water use.
Above: Hydros comes in two parts: A rechargeable sensor placed in the ground checks the condition of the soil, and a controller hooks into the irrigation controller to turn the water off and on. A smartphone (currently iPhone supports the app; an Android platform is in development) and a home Wi-Fi network are also required to operate the system.
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Above: The application checks the Internet for the weather forecast—a high chance of rain will delay watering. Later, the sensor will check the moisture level of the soil to see if it did rain, and how much. Hydros will then recalculate how much water the garden needs. And based on temperature, humidity, and soil moisture levels, it will calculate how long to keep the sprinklers running.
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Above: Other factors also influence the schedule, like soil type and grass type, and how moist you'd like the garden to be. You can feed Hydros information about your soil—clay? sand?— and your grass—Bermuda?—to tailor the watering schedule to your plants' specific needs. You can use multiple sensors for different parts of the garden—say, one for your vegetable bed, one for your rock garden, and one for your lawn. And you can program each zone to be watered accordingly, via your smartphone. You can also manually turn on and off the water, via your smartphone.
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Above: The price is $230 for the controller and one sensor—which would eventually be recouped through savings from your water bill. Installation is simple and free. The company is currently launching a new round of testing and development—expect to see Hydros on the market early next spring.
During their foray Down Under this week, our friends at Remodelista discovered there's a lot percolating that's fresh, simple, and perfect for the laid-back life, design-wise. Here are some of the posts that have been drawing the most attention:
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Above: This DIY Flowerpot Pendant Light couldn't be easier to make—and how appropriate for gardeners like us! No surprise that it's by Australian garden designer Joost Bakker.
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Above: Aesop, the Australian apothecary line, has shops in 11 countries around the world. Each has a site-specific area for browsing and lingering—with a distinctive sink at the center of the action. Alexa picks her favorites (including this one, in London) in The Aesop Experience: 19 Favorite Sinks at Aesop Stores Worldwide.
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Above: For a young family, architect Clare Cousins updated a brick Victorian house in a Melbourne suburb, linking the living area to its green surroundings via portholes and a pop-out window. Find out more in Brick Comeback: A Revived Manse in Melbourne.
