justjude's Profile

As others have said, having the little section of concrete available may not be worth the effort however I can imagine that a doll carriage or wagon would roll more easily on concrete. Also, a picnic table or "lawn" chairs could be used in this space - on occasion.
So, the responsibility becomes yours to put the divider in the middle of the driveway only when you are in the need of the space and conversely to move it when you aren't using the concrete slab. Or you can leave your divider to the right of the concrete area to give privacy to your backyard when you are using only that area.
That said, the first link showing the large planter on wheels (or the suggestion of using planters with lattice attached to one side and on wheels) could be very attractive in front of your garage door until you wanted to create the play area (which surely you will be supervising when your children are outside) or get into your garage.
Please send us a picture of what you finally set up.
A good question nets good ideas - transferrable to other puzzles we are all trying to solve...so thanks for sharing!

A and T: not your fault that AT hasn't YET made a floorplan a requirement for ALL tours (a simple sketch would satisfy me tho I swoon when a "real" floorplan with dimensions, windows, doorways etc is included ).
And, hopefully, readers will soon give/add some comments on huge white walls because I had the loft over my vaulted entry closed into a 18 x 10 (h x w) blank wall:
- got a 4 x 4 foot "wall peel" from The Great Big Canvas (which they would have refunded had I not been careless enough to get it stuck together while up on a ladder trying to put it up) and of course, realized 4 x 4 was too small.
- have looked at other "wall" words/stickers/tree shapes and also
- have some not quite big enough tree branches drying ... to maybe make a huge wreath of dried branches with the idea I could hang changing (seasonal??) colored treasures/lights/flowers/delights
- am also looking at 4 x 8 lattices (yes, the cheapest are plastic and surely there are nice wooden ones...) and hanging them side by side = 8 x 8, which, if mounted an inch off the wall, could become a gallery wall.
- My living room wall is slat wall (the stuff you see in stores with hooks to display items) which I had to break my helper's arm to put up for me because he said "this goes in garages Lady". And I love it because I can change what's on the wall so easily.
- And now I've looked into the Store Wall product which has different finishes and different spaces between the grooves - and costs more than $40 per 4 x 8 sheets.
Put your map picture into my idea folder, immediately recognizing the labor of love that it is as well as the other possible cork creations a creative person could do...
Please keep a journal with photos on your trip, so easy to do nowadays; in 1964 I had a ticket from Baghdad where my Dad with stationed at the embassy back to college in the US and $200 to cover 10 days in Europe. I wrote a letter a day to my folks to thank them for trusting me and telling them of my adventures! { Europe on $5 a Day was the best travel book in those days ... yes, I am almost 70 }

Leah, I have been out of touch with AT for a year or so and I hope you have some bigtime influence regarding tours:
I love the lines of explanation above the pictures in the tours;
can it be a regular feature???
And oh how I wish a floorplan - even just a rough sketch - were a
prerequisite for every room or apt or home tour!
And, my dear young woman, your home is just as you describe in your intro and that is a wonderful way ( and place) to live.
Thank you so much for sharing your home, pictures and thoughts.

Maxwell, I have been reading AT for at least five years and only this week began to wonder about the logo!
Thanks for reading my mind, answering my question, and most especially, for giving me so many rich hours of enjoyment, appreciation, contemplation, guidance, and affirmation, as well as so much inspiration and information.
You and Sarah Susanka (of the Not So Big House thinking) rank on the top of my Go To list...anytime of day of night!

ngnerd: You very accurately describe my experience with a local "decorator" that I wanted to be "someone I could work with...[and] pay by the hour for ideas". I too "hired someone I hoped would save me from myself but it felt more like me trying to save myself from her."

The end result was my taking her best advice ("If you are going to put many rocks of different sizes in a jar, start with the big ones"). Three years later, with no less than 30 returned or given away smaller "rocks", I am living in a home that is 90+% delightful to me.

However, the remaining 10% is a cloud in my life. So now, I guess I am looking for a Rainmaker.

(Though my dearest friend says "I can help you - it'll just take one little match", my indecision still feels pretty fireproof. But, 90 proof is still pretty intoxicating most days.)

Am feeling so refreshed after three tours of your wonderfully consistent, cheeerful, colorful (without being crushingly so), and finely tuned home!

I think I've read every comment so far and I'm wondering if the ghost boyfriend is only visible to me?? Is he a lamp too? I hope so; I like my men to be enlightening as well as light-hearted! This apartment has good bones, and as the lady says, she has appropriately arranged the spaces very appealingly. Great job, Gal.

Framed family (?) photos on the stairwall are so well done; they would give me pleasure on every trip up/down!
Your hearty houseplants are like little family members.
And did I miss a description of the wooden "console/table" behind the guest bed? Having it behind a headboard is such a good choice: it's beauty is showcased and it's function is very helpful in raising up the plant and whatever else might find a home on it.
Nice that you have that great yellow chest for the tv ... and that it happens to balance out the great yellow chair. And that the two living rooms are so nicely balanced!
Happy homemakers x5!

How did you hang the drapes?
How did you hang the picture on the drapes??
Did you put the blue (matches pillow on chair too) throw folded on the end of the coffee table because you put your feet up when watching TV?
Beautiful and appealing home!

Intro observation that "there could be other contributing factors" is of course true; however, with the preceding clause, it would have to read "that there couldn't be other ...".
And, that said, I really do enjoy this kind of community sharing about what goes on with us and our homes. "Getting started is the hardest part" really hit home with me. When I suddenly find that I am finally doing something consructive, I always wonder: why don't I do this more often???
Wish I knew the answer -but there's some good food for thought in the comments about what does get us going!
Thanks, friends, for being so real and really helpful:> jude