irreverant rants
from the staff at LAND ART
while the boss wasn't looking

Stop right there! We hope to catch you before you build your house.

Generous square footage and luxury anemities in homes are perceived as indicators of 'Quality of Life'. But what kind of quality are we living if we enter our lovely home from our car, into our odiferous garage, past all the stored junk, through our messy utility room, then finally reach our comforting destination, but only after we walk by the kitchen trashcan. Welcome Home.

Is your beautiful front entrance only reserved for arriving by taxi, or built solely for the enjoyment of the delivery person? Yes, anyone can have a street elevation uebergrandfaux entrance; dime a dozen. But where is your entrance to this place you call home?

May we suggest a detached garage? Two buildings on a property always appears more estate like than one massive lump. A million things could be created with that modest space linking your commute and your home. A few feet could bear fragrant flowers or a trickle of water to welcome you and your soul. And if you look anything like us, no matter what the temperature, a few seconds walking in the fresh air won't do any harm.

There was a reason garages were seperate from homes during the first part of the 20th century. Cars are by default, well, dirty. Come home clean.

A residence never conveys a warm, homey feel if it harbors a pool screen. Sorry about that. If your architecture is to appear Old World or Traditional, a pool screen will only denigrate your home, lending an ambience between tradegy and comedy. Of course, some people have no qualms about viewing the world though a black veil. For outsiders, it appears that the owners are in constant mourning over the locality where they reside. Enclosing your valuable outdoor living area in black vinyl compares to wearing a diamond ring covered in plastic wrap. In short; it's in bad taste.

Pool screens posess the all the attactive ambience of a tarp draped across a hurricane-damaged structure. Speaking of storms, take a guess how well pool screens resist high winds. You probably will guess right. Pool screens always appear as temporary structures, because in fact, they are.

If bugs and other pests are a concern, pools already have a built-in insect repellant system; the steady evaporation of chlorine attracts no living thing. But they do attract animals with a spark of intelligence, such as squirrels and raccoons, ever so common in the South, and will find screening a mere challenge and are more than happy to claw and chew holes in screens, just to explore what's inside.

Only the owner can decide about paying the high price of ugliness to keep debris from their pool area. Often, screening is damaged by the very things it is meant to protect the pool from; tannin from leaves weaken and stain screen material and minor twigs tear holes. Please ask other pool owners, both with and without pools screens about the practicality. Be assured that the majority will claim it's a lot more trouble removing debris on top of their screen, than from the pool itself. Today's swimming pools are designed with skimmers or troughs to catch debris that finds its way to the water surface. Modern cleaning and flitration systems are much more efficient than those available to our parents.

Obviously, we don't recommend pool screen enclosures. But of course we will design a great looking screen structure, just for the challenge. Yet all our clients who have heeded our suggestion to remove their screen have relished the transition from virtual imprisonment of the 'bird cage effect' to total freedom, gaining a quality outdoor living space in the process. Be free.