LC DESIGNER HOMES
Building a new home Designing and building a new home is a daunting process, and a big investment. How do you know that you will LOVE the home when you are finished? At LC Designer Homes, we work through a robust design briefing process. This combines clever design, some magic technology, and a quality build. As your new home design and build team, we make sure you DO love Michelle and Adam, your home when we are complete. Things you need to think about before briefing your designer. • What is your end goal? Is this your forever home, a subdivision to generate another income or a home where your family will grow together for the next phase in your life? • What is your family's lifestyle? Do you need to work from home? Do you entertain often or have visitors staying for extended periods of time? • Are you an outdoor family – who want to make the most of the outside of your home – or do you prefer to keep the doors closed, air conditioning on watching movies in a media room? • Do you live with an active dog or children who need robust flooring and walls that protect from scratching and denting? All these factors and decisions will inform the number and the layouts/ relationships of rooms, and some of the materiality – as you know how you will live in the spaces. The other input is matching scope or how large you want to build with your budget – as there is a close relationship between the two. Scope drives budget and being realistic with both is important – read our article about Budgets here. https://www.lchomes.co.nz/what-is-a-budget/ Putting together your team early in the process is important with regards to budget, as the build team can give feedback to the design team, making for an efficient and collaborative process. Your team also includes your bank or financial advisor who will be aware of your overall vision. Their support will be key to ensuring you have available funds up front to start work on the development costs, while covering you as the project progresses for the build work. Conversations around budget and finance can seem daunting, which is why we are happy to be involved, being able to provide answers about your project. Overall, superior design is around prioritising your vision to fit within your budget, so understanding both of those is paramount.
GARDENING: WITH NEWHAVEN GARDENS
Top tips from Amanda Graham, Newhaven Gardens. North Shore hedge trimming, garden tidy ups, weeding and pruning.
Organic pest control
Amanda Graham.
The first defence against pests is to ensure your plants are healthy and strong. Improving soil quality with compost and organic fertilisers, and regular waterings will help to ensure your plants are better equipped to fend off foes, as will fortnightly waterings with seaweed tonic through the summer months. Timing is everything. Most synthetic pesticides, and even some natural pesticides such a pyrethrum are harmful to bees if they come into contact. So try to spray at dusk when bees have returned to their hive for the day. Neem is one organic pesticide which doesn’t harm bees. Neem can be applied either by adding granules or powder to the soil or spraying the plants and soil with Neem oil. Neem is a systemic pesticide, it is absorbed by the plants and then kills the little critters that are eating the plant. Therefore Neem is effective against sucking insects, including aphids, thrips, whitefly, mealybug, scale and mites. For other insects such as slugs, ticks, ants, and cockroaches, diatomaceous earth is a good option. It is made from the fossilised remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica, which causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the insect's exoskeleton. While it is less harmful to the environment, as with many other pesticides, there is a health risk from inhaling it, so please use a face mask when applying. Pyrethrum is another natural option, made from a species of daisy. It is a contact insecticide and must be sprayed directly onto the insect to be effective. Unfortunately Pyrethrum also affects beneficial insects if it comes into contact with them; luckily, Pyrethrin’s insecticidal activity only lasts a few hours so spraying at dusk can mitigate the harm. There are also many recipes for effective homemade insecticides. These usually involve a combination of cooking oil, dish soap, garlic, and chilli. Again, these sprays can be harmful to beneficial insects, so spraying at dusk is best, but they can be a great cost-effective and safe alternative to store bought sprays, and the ingredients are often already available in the home. Amanda Graham Newhaven Gardens Ltd Ph: 09 218 9233 / 021 378969 amanda@newhavengardens.co.nz www.newhavengardens.co.nz
www.channelmag.co.nz Issue 118 - April 2021
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