Landscaping and John Street Reno Update

It is finally feeling like spring has sprung! I took a trip over to the property that my parents are cleaning up/building a house/renovating cottages on and they have done a ton of work clearing out old trees and   the property looks amazing and huge! With the sunlight and the fact that the snow has finally melted and you can see the ground, it is all starting to seem real. Pictures below:

 The wires will all be buried and there will be planting along the fence along with grass planted everywhere. The shutters are going to be put on the cottage soon.

 A bunch of dead trees were knocked down hence the big pile of wood chips. It's been very rainy in Greenwich so there is a lot of mud but from the old 100 year old stone wall to the new house will be a huge front yard. 

Panorama view

 This is from where the old tennis court was looking back. The new house will be built here.

The adorable cottage! Interior pics coming soon! There is also a gate house that is being completely gutted and I will have pictures of that along with the 6 car garage/barn that will be converted to a "party barn." Next step is talking to an architect for the house. 

My mom is starting to think about planting and building the house now and we've been pinning to our secret John St. pin board amazing ideas. Check out some of our favorite landscaping and planting.

via Architectural Digest

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 via House Beautiful

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Lake House

I grew up going to Douglas, Michigan and I literally dream about the lake there. I love the slower pace of life, cool night breeze, beach bonfires, sunsets, quaint town, old Schwinn bikes (I could go on and on....). 

In 2002 my mom bought an old french restaurant up in the Berkshires on a tiny little lake called Queechy Lake (in Canaan, NY not Queechy, VT). We thought she was nuts. With it's heavy drapery, creaky floors, industrial grease stained kitchen, not to mention none of us had ever been up there besides her, the house seemed like a disaster.  Fast forward a year and she had completely gutted the place, while still keeping the original charm (and the full-sized bar!) and we had all fallen in love with the Berkshires and cozy fires and fall foliage and canoeing and ice fishing (you get the picture). We thought she was crazy (again) when she sold that house to buy another fixer-upper on the other side of the lake ("the good side," she claimed). My parents tore down the place leaving only the original foundation and began building their dream lake house right around the beginning of the recession. It took a little longer than expected but it is one of my favorite places to be. It has a different vibe than lake Michigan, probably because the lake is a fraction of the size and in an East coast town but I love it in a different way. 

I've had some of my fondest memories growing up from lakes from Lake Michigan to Queechy Lake to Lake George, where I went to Adirondack Camp, to Saranac Lake, where we did an awesome family vacation. I love the idea of getting away from it all and getting into full relax mode with the sounds of the water. And what is better than the actual lake house? I die over Thom Fillica's lake house and a ton of others on pinterest.

This weekend I'm leaving to go see Riley up in British Columbia (an 11 hour travel day - wahoo!) and can't wait to get up to one of the lakes there! I'm taking a week off from work and who knows if I'll even come back! Just kidding...Where is your happy place? Do you like the waves crashing of the ocean or the vibey scene of a happening town? I personally think there's nothing better than backgammon on the screened in porch with the sun going down over the lake.

*Images from trans-america.com, tmsarchitects.com, summerfielddesign.wordpress.com, betterthanfine.tumblr.com, debraprinzing.com, dustjacketattic.blogspot.com, remodelista.com, ohsimplelife.tumblr.com, homebunch.com, houzz.com, housebeautiful.com, bourbonandpearls.tumblr.com, adoreyourplace.com, fieldstonehilldesign.com, peppermintbliss.com

Exposed Beams

Exposed beams can make a room seem more rustic or laid back but it can even make a room look trendier. We have great exposed beams in our kitchen at Queechy Lake and it really fits in with the "lake house" feel.