Architecture and interior design thread

nice... but pricey

not really linked, but does anyone know what a traditional Georgian London townhouse basement would have have looked like originally?

vitsoe 606

The flooring is done same as in my old place, it stood up pretty well (we did it bc was quick and cheap) the main problem is where the boards joined in the corners.

Yeah thats dreamy.

Apart from the Astro turf.

Ply flooring does look a bit cheap though... and that's in nicely dressed pics, so would hate to see how it looks irl after a couple of months of living.

I agree, I think even OSB would age better because of the inherent varigation and randomness of it.

fanks

I got you ... http://www.studio-rhonda.com/surface#/runes-framed-prints/

I've used Elfa twin-track shelving for book shelving in chimney alcoves, and ended up just using three tracks and brackets (so at ~60cm spacing). This meant I could just use 18mm ply for the shelves, and even heavy art books are fine. Once the books are on, the tracks mostly disappear anyway.

I've installed a lot of that Vitsoe at work, and it's amazing, both aesthetically but also as 1 person can happily install and take down a huge bookcase on their own. it's so simple to use and works so well.

BUT it's so stupidly priced. Something that was clearly designed to be mass manufactured for cheap being handmade in Hertfordshire and sold for ridculous prices just seems nonsensical for the client. Even if you're willing to pay the money it appears to be made to order so the wait times can be long.

for me Elfa twin-track shelving wins every time.

Yeah, I would have loved to have gone for 606, but the cost of one alcove would have been more than Elfa and ply for two alcoves and a full floor to ceiling wall.

That's good to know and I think it would work better somewhere else.

I guess though if on a place >£1m with nice custom bits all over the place you expect something that doesn't have quick and cheap as it's main selling points.

also,

Astro turf

Absolutely did not spot that. Got to be one of the best applications of it I've seen.

astro turf is good not bad imo (astro roolz, lawnmowing droolz)

Thanks for that. Is Elfa better than other own brands twin track?
I've got a load on the adjacent wall which isn't very deep, maybe 25cm and I'm a bit dubious about loading them. But it's a wall apparently made of soot and horsehair, so hopefully the brick party wall would be better. Ideally I'd like to go quite deep on the shelves maybe 40-45cm, so potentially quite a lot of leverage.

NAHHHHHHHHH... its a crime. Enough plastic in this world, don't need the only "living" area you own to be covered in synthetic death.

Mowing is boring though.

wouldn't put down hectares of the stuff but... if my OH would allow it, I'd have a small postage stamp in the back garden (for lazing/lounging/letting dog relax) surrounded by planting instead of always (ALWAYS) unkempt lawn

def getting rid of the lawn in the front garden next year when we do both (for some woodchip/gravel/raised beds not astro)

This seems like a classic mistake Astro isn’t really instead of lawn for most in London.

Has anyone come out with a low maintenance or environmentally friendly option something like a moss carpet maybe...?

I've not tried other twin-track stuff, but from reading reviews on the net it seems like Elfa's production quality is better than the cheapo stuff (and it's not that much more expensive); I was certainly happy with it. It's also made in Sweden, so I kind of assumed that meant better working conditions for the people making it.

I went for the Elfa 'classic' stuff, where the uprights screw into the wall. There's another variant where you screw in a track along the top of a wall, then hang the uprights off it, but as this was going into century-old dodgy brick I felt happier having the 5 or 6 screws on each upright. I went for a mix of shelf depths - 20 cm up high and ~35cm lower down, and they've felt fine.

Yes. There are loads of moss and clover types of lawns.

The problem is I don't think they're that hard wearing or get as much traction on pintrest.

@chrisbmx116 would you be up for hiring amey to influence natural astro alternatives?

I put down astro at the last place and it was fucking excellent. garden had previously been concrete slabs. Went for a turf which was 80% constructed from recycled plastic and can be recycled (although specialist centres rn). I planted raised beds around it and at the end of the garden and used the space loads. It's really practical and if it means you used it more then for me thats better than feeling superior about having a natural lawn that is mostly a muddy, bog

Creeping thyme looks great as a lawn

The superior feeling is untouchable.

Anything that helps bring back wildlife is better than Astro IMO, gravel with plants coming through it... even paving slabs with gaps for plants, just not a big duvet of plastic.

I think he's loosing his edge, pretty sure I saw some Hague blue on his Pinterest.

We has Astro in out place when we moved in and originally every fibre of my body wanted rid of it. 3 years later and it's still there and tbh i love it. Zero maintenance (sometimes i hoover it), zero watering and it's let us focus on better planting for insects and birds. It drains really well so i can stretch and exercise all year round outside which is a plus when you have limited indoor space.

Plastic is shitty but the worst thing i can do is throw it in the bin and then waste a tonne of energy and water trying to get a lawn to grow.

Just got this delivered today 😐

But the small heavy canvas bag with the screws 😃

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