Floating (Arranging) furniture in a 20 foot long by 20 foot wide Living Room

Posted on January 29, 2017 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
Twelve different ways of arranging furniture in a 20 foot by 20 foot living room with a fireplace in the corner and french doors.

Twelve different ways of arranging furniture in a 20 foot by 20 foot square living room with a fireplace in the corner and french doors.

Recently a reader asked for my help with the placement of furniture in her 20 foot square living room after reading my blog post titled “Arranging furniture around a Fireplace in the Corner of a Room“. Initially I thought the space would be easy to lay out, but because of a corner fireplace, french doors, three entrances into the room, and windows on two walls, there was not much wall-space to put furniture against. So my readers dilemma became the inspiration for this article, which is a topic that I had not yet covered here at FGGH. Continue reading →

Posted in Arranging Living Room Furniture, Interior Decorating Principles | 28 Comments

Adult Coloring…Fred Gonsowski’s drawings of the “Big Eyed People” to download, print and color.

Posted on January 18, 2017 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
Dessert in the Living Room

Dessert in the Living Room

From the late 1970’s until 1993 I was known for my paintings and prints showing the “chic lifestyle” of the Big Eyed People. I sold my artworks through galleries and did many art and craft fairs across New York state, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

During the period I was really lucky. Organizations like the Kennedy Center, Nabisco along with Capital OTB, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Meadowlands Race Track, as well as other charities had me design posters and invitations to advertise their projects. My original poster for the Kennedy Center project, “Imagination Celebration” (which promoted arts projects for youth, even ended up on McDonald’s tray liners).

The stars of my Big Eyed People paintings were Pamela and Reginald Wellington (Wellington, as in the name of the polo fields in Palm Beach, Florida). Pamela and Reginald had inherited their fortunes from their grandparents and were having fun spending them. At the time Pamela and Reginald partied all night at their 5th Avenue NYC apartment and slept all day, unless they were seen going to polo, fox-hunting or the Saratoga Springs, NY race (flat) track. Well that was 24 years ago, and times have changed. Pamela and Reginald still party, but now have a bit more of a casual lifestyle. The 12 new illustrations that I’ve made for this post, show this chapter of their lives. Continue reading →

Posted in Fred Gonsowski's Drawings for People to Color | 13 Comments

A quick look at this year’s Christmas Decorations, here at Whimsey Hill House

Posted on December 18, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome

Christmas will soon be here, and I’ve done some decorating. The amount of daylight, this time of year is decreasing, and the amount of darkness is increasing, so what better way to brighten the dullness of Winter, than with Christmas lights and decorations. This post shows some of the things I put out this year to celebrate the holiday period. img_2960 img_2957 img_2938

Let’s start out front.  The above three photos show what passersby see as they drive down my road.  I like lights in all the windows and on the bushes, but I feel that you must have something out on the lawn to add depth to the display.  This year I’ve covered the bear topiary, that I’m creating, in white lights, and then folded a string of red lights in half, and tied them around his neck to suggest a scarf. (click on photos to enlarge) Continue reading →

Posted in CHRISTMAS / Easter | 13 Comments

Step-by-Step Instructions on how I laid Patio Pavers

Posted on November 13, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome

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Extending a poured cement patio with sixteen inch square brick-face stepping stone/ patio pavers.

Extending a poured cement patio with sixteen inch square brick-face stepping stone/ patio pavers.

One of my many projects, this past Summer, that I tackled was to extend my poured cement patio with sixteen inch square cement pavers. Before I attempted the project, I looked at a few YouTube videos to see how it was done; but in the end I still had to modify the information that I’d seen and had to figure out how to make it work for me. This post shows the different steps I took to get my patio looking the way I envisioned. Continue reading →

Posted in How-to, The Spring Garden, The Summer Garden | 8 Comments

Fred Gonsowski’s garden at his home Whimsey Hill House… August 2016

Posted on August 10, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
A view of the front garden at Whimsey Hill House, looking toward the road.

A view of the front garden at Whimsey Hill House, looking toward the road.

Gardening has always been my passion or some would say one of my obsessions. My interest love  of gardening, I think, was the result of three different people’s influences. My first person of influence was my maternal grandmother. Every Sunday we went to her house and she was always showing us what was blooming that week. Grandma had an old Brownie camera and almost weekly, wanted us to take her picture next to what was the most showy blooming plant of that moment. My second person of influence was my mother. Every weekend while visiting grandma’s place, my mother would go through the pile of plant material that grandma pulled out or divided, bagged it up and we took it home. Every Sunday evening, after we returned home, mom would have me help her plant the things in our back yard garden. My third influence was my father. My father grew up on a farm and as a child never went on a vacation; as an adult he wanted to see America. Two of the many places that he took us  were Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. Seeing those garden fascinated me, and I thought, when I grew up, I would have something like that. Little did I know, as a young kid, that not one, but many people tended those gardens. This blog post shows the current results of how childhood experiences and a hopefully healthy obsession turned out.  In this post you will see  how my garden looks now, after what has been the 2016 rehabilitation of some of the beds and borders. I hope you like my little tour (click on photos to enlarge). Continue reading →

Posted in Fred's Garden at Whimsey Hill House, The Summer Garden | 16 Comments

Pool losing one fourth inch of water at night with Pump and Filter turned Off

Posted on July 24, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
A clear glass vase, on the first step in the pool, used to determine if it evaporation or some other kind of leak in the in-ground pool.

A clear glass vase, on the first step in the pool, used to determine if it was evaporation or some other kind of leak in the in-ground pool.

The square, clear glass vase that I used for pool water-loss testing.

The square, clear glass vase that I used for pool water-loss testing.

Recently I had my in-ground pool relined, and the plumbing from the skimmer to the pump and filter was also replaced. A few weeks after I had that done, I noticed that the water level in the pool had dropped drastically. I thought that it could be evaporation because the weather here in up state New York has been really hot. I filled the pool again, turned off the pump (so that there was not too much water movement) and marked the skimmer with a few pencil lines so I could see where the water level in the pool was. After doing that I still noticed that my pool, which doesn’t have a heater or any kind of water fall feature, was loosing about one fourth inch of water, every night, with the pump and filter turned off. After many days of seeing the water level drop, I called up the owner of the pool service that installed the liner, and he came back to take a look. The pool liner is guaranteed, by the manufacturer, for structural flaws such as holes and faulty seams so I thought it might be something like that. The pool man came back, did some different tests, and it was suggested that a diver come in and take a complete look over everything. Continue reading →

Posted in How-to, The Spring Garden, The Summer Garden | 7 Comments

Bunny Williams new Studio at her Falls Village, Connecticut estate

Posted on June 30, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
Bunny's new studio on her and husband John Rosselli's Falls Village Connecticut estate.

Bunny Williams’ new studio on her and husband John Rosselli’s Falls Village, Connecticut estate.

Bunny Williams, author of the iconic coffee table book " An Affair with a House" and me, on the day of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days 2016 tour.

Bunny Williams, nationally known interior decorator and author of the iconic coffee table book ” An Affair with a House” and me, on the day of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days 2016 tour at her home.

Throughout the year, taste-makers extraordinaire, Bunny Williams and her husband John Rosselli graciously open up their Litchfield County estate to help a number of charities. Recently my friend Marguerite and I visited Bunny and John’s bit of paradise, called the “Manor”, in north-west Connecticut, through the Garden Conservancy. For this blog post I will show you the “studio” which is the newest addition to their already spectacular property. Continue reading →

Posted in Arranging Living Room Furniture, Garden Visits (Road Trips), Hanging Pictures and Mirrors / Arranging Knickknacks and Collectables, Interior Decorating Principles | 3 Comments

A Way to Garden…A Tour of Margaret Roach’s Columbia County Garden in Copake Falls, NY

Posted on June 6, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome

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Margaret Roach and me at the June 2016 Garden Conservancy Open Day garden tour at her property in Copake Falls, NY.

Margaret Roach and me at the June 2016 Garden Conservancy Open Day garden tour at her property in Copake Falls, NY.

Since 1995 the Garden Conservancy has providing entrée into some of America’s most beautiful gardens with their Open Days Program. One of their most popular east-coast garden hosts is plants-women, author of three books, lecturer, past garden editor for Newsday magazine and then first garden editor, and later editorial director of Martha Stewart Living’s magazine, books and internet, national public radio talk show host and blogger, the multi talented Margaret Roach. For years now, on specific days, Margaret has opening her Copake Falls, NY property to garden lovers from far and wide. Recently my friend Marguerite and I made a trip to see Margaret’s 2.3 acres of paradise. I hope you enjoy my little tour. Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Visits (Road Trips) | 1 Comment

Today Fred Gonsowski Garden Home.com reached the point of having TWO MILLION page views/articles read

Posted on May 6, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome

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Two photos of my computer screen showing the dashboard of my WordPress website.(click on photos to enlarge)

Two photos of my computer screen showing the dashboard of my WordPress website.(click on photos to enlarge)

Today, after 5 years of writing articles about gardening and interior decorating, my blog reached the point of having over 2 million page views/articles read. Looking at the above photos you will see that 1,133,893 visitors, over the past five years, looked at one or more of the 173 posts that I wrote, which when all added up by WordPress (I counted nothing) got me over the 2 million point.

Reaching the 2 million point for articles read was an interesting climb. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

Coloring pages for Adults… Some Drawings of Living Rooms for Adults to Color.

Posted on March 28, 2016 by fredgonsowskigardenhome
Some Fred Gonsowski drawings of Living Rooms for Adults to download, print and then color.

Some Fred Gonsowski drawings of Living Rooms for Adults to download, print and then color.

Recently adult coloring books have become all the rage. Some people feel the process of coloring is the perfect way of showing their creativity side, while others think it’s great for unwinding.

If you are a follower of this blog, you know that I’ve made many drawings that are seen as the cover and companion illustrations for the posts. I’ve now decided to let you have the ability, for free, to show your creative side, or just relax, by coloring my original drawings, which were made especially for the readers of Fred Gonsowski Garden Home.com. Continue reading →

Posted in Fred Gonsowski's Drawings for People to Color | 8 Comments