Kathleen Litchfield
President of Petro Design/Build Group, is one of the Washington area's leading landscape and garden design experts. Her insightful advice on landscape design, construction, and practice has been published and quoted innumerous regional and national magazines. She has developed and taught accredited courses in horticulture and has lectured for garden clubs, the National Association of Remodeling Industry, the Landscape Contractors Association, the Smithsonian Educational Series, the George Washington University landscape design program, and the Washington Design Center.
Kent Richard Abraham,
Principal Architect with Abraham/Petro a division of Petro Design/Build He is a member of the US Green Building Council 2006. His education includes Bachelor of Architecture, 1970, University of Nebraska, With Honors (Cum Laude),Awarded the Faculty Award, Outstanding Senior Student; Master of Architecture, 1971, University of Pennsylvania, Studio of Louis Kahn. He has served as Chair, Thesis committee school of Architecture and Planning, The Catholic University of America Washington, DC since 1978.
Porticoes historically have been used in architecture to define an entry, create an area of welcoming and gathering, and of course protection from the elements: SNOW, rain, and sun!
At Petro we specialize in helping to create these inviting elegant arrivals with spectacular curb appeal, while adding value to your home. Let a custom portico express functional architectural language to your residence while welcoming your guests…
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Email us now to set up a consultation.
Oh, it’s been a long winter, as evidenced by the copious amounts of garden ornament and furnishings (often still in the boxes), awaiting warmer temperatures. Those enticing garden catalogs were hard to resist, as their focus is on wonderful outdoor summer life; something that seemed so far in the future. The down side to all this early buying is that it was purchased before the garden was designed. So instead of asking, ‘”How many people do you typically entertain?” or “What sort of play areas and spaces do you want for your children?” our challenge is to make all the styles, colors and themes fit together cohesively in the landscape. Clutter is confusing and can negatively affect the energy of a space. In design, it’s truly putting “the cart before the burro” Style should be determined first. Traditional, contemporary, arts and crafts, country home, etc. and then the spaces determined by desire and need. If the client is set on ‘collections’, than vignettes may be the solution to organization and simple hardscape materials to provide a canvas for the ‘stuff’…I mean, ‘ornament’.
Bottom line; start with a theme/style; lay out the desired functional spaces and then coordinate the furnishings and ornament within those defined spaces. Above all; work with a professional before garden surfing. This is more cost effective, reduces clutter anxiety and ultimately provides positive energy.
This past snow was exciting, beautiful, and for some, provided much needed time indoors. For others, the snow and subsequent colder temperatures cost much more than they anticipated.
Attic spaces that are not properly insulated can allow heat to escape. Melting of the snow/ice will ensue (in our case from this storm, up to 3 feet of snow in some areas!!!) thus creating an avalanche of destruction on the foundation and plants below. In some cases, it will bring the gutters with it!! Additionally, trying to shovel the snow off your plants will only make it worse.
Properly insulating your home not only saves you on your direct energy cost but will avoid potential subsequent repair cost and is the MOST COST EFFECTIVE amendment you can make to your home at this time!
OK, it’s going to melt….we hope. This is when the saturation starts along the exterior walls of the foundation. If the gutters have pulled away from the house it’s only going to get worse. I don’t know about you, but my mold allergies keep me vigilant year-round for water seapage. It’s easier to prevent than fix. I’ve been in many homes where the residents are living with and breathing black mold everyday!! They just got used to it and yet they only buy organic foods!!! It’s like my painter telling me his health concerns about lead-based paints and how he takes a meter with him to check the levels before sanding; (which is a important and necessary), but meanwhile, he is puffing on a cigarette!!!
Fortunately, my body tells me when mold is around. I can feel it immediately.
My mother-in-law died 5 years ago from pulmonary fibrosis. When she was sick the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with her. She remembered that in the house she used to play in across the street as a child, every member of that family died from pulmonary fibrosis. She mentioned this to her doctor who tested her and confirmed that she did, indeed, have the disease. She and her brother remembered that the house smelled moldy.
Mold spores, when breathed in, remain in your lungs. Good health and a good dose of anioxidants will prevent illness. As we age, our defenses may decrease for a variety of reasons (stress, pesticides in foods, hormone depletion…to name a very few) This is when the spores can attack.
So, check your gutters, crawl spaces and foundations. If you suspect mold, don’t disturb it yourself. Call a professional immediately.