Walter Gropius, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in modern architecture said,
"The ultimate goal of all visual artistic activity is construction! Architects, painters and sculptors must learn again to know and understand the multi-faceted form of building in its entirety as well as its parts."
"The whole is other than the sum of the parts" (Koffka) yet the parts are fundamental to the whole as we know. If parts are not included the whole may be essentially diminished. If the parts are poor quality the whole might look good for a short while and cause frustration for a more lengthy period.
I recently attended a home open in my street and was really impressed by the layout and presentation. The home had a huge opening out to the back yard. The real estate blurb advertises it as having:
Seamless indoor/outdoor living is at its best with gorgeous bi-folds opening out to the all year entertaining area complete with an outdoor kitchen. The gorgeous landscaping completes the home with tranquil, manicured gardens throughout the property.
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| Bringing the outside in can have its downside! |
It really was nice and so thought the willy wagtail fluttering around in the kitchen. It's all very charming and reminiscent of Snow White but wiping off the bird poo and swatting flies and mosquitoes wears a bit thin eventually for even the most ardent nature lover.
Getting back to Walter Gropius, he famously quoted that "The mind is like an umbrella - it functions best when open." Bear this in mind when choosing products for insect protection in your home. There are many standard, conventional products available or you can open your mind and think outside the square. Retractable screens can give you so much more flexibility to open up your home without winged creatures taking up residence and, in the winter, they can be retracted out of sight until needed.
