Nest — Winter 2019-20

home design real estate

WINTER 2019-20

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One foodie’s ultimate kitchen reno

Inside Burlington’s first passive house

Why winter home-buying might be right for you

Slate’s tips for creating a cozy home

A master plumber’s pipe dreams

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This time of year, Vermonters pretty much diverge into two camps: those who hit the slopes as often as possible, and those who hunker down and pine for spring.

We can’t help you with the first part, but this issue offers some indoor inspiration.

Fellow foodies can whet their appetites with Becca Brown McKnight’s kitchen redo, while homeowners concerned about energy efficiency might follow the model of Burlington’s first certified passive house. If your budget is more modest, take some hygge tips from an interior designer at Slate. What if you have to sell your house — or buy one — in winter? Local real estate agents point to some unexpected advantages. And finally, because frozen pipes are a thing, we honor the people who fix ’em with a profile of master plumber Chris Boudreau. Stay warm!

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A food lover’s smart and stylish makeover

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A Burlington couple lives lighter on the planet with a certified passive house B Y E LI ZAB E T H M. S E Y L E R

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Winter presents challenges and opportunities in the housing market

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B Y K E N P IC AR D

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ON THE COVER The renovated kitchen at the home of Becca Brown McKnight 4 One foodie’s

ultimate kitchen reno

8 Inside Burlington’s first passive house

12 Why winter home-buying might be right for you

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14 Slate’s tips for creating a cozy home

18 A master plumber’s pipe dreams

PHOTO BY OLIVER PARINI

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Kitchen Connection A food lover’s smart and stylish makeover B Y J O R D A N B A R RY

PHOTOS: OLIVER PARINI

The kitchen is where we entertain a boisterous group of friends while sharing a lavish spread, entertain questions from an inquisitive 4-yearold over a weekend pancake breakfast, and entertain ideas that pop up while tending a simmering pot.

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Becca Brown McKnight prepping dinner in the renovated kitchen of her Burlington home

R ENO VAT I O N

IT’S REALLY THE CENTER OF OUR HOME AND OF MY WHOLE LIFE. BE C C A BR O W N MC K NIGH T

For Becca Brown McKnight, her meticulously renovated kitchen is all of that and more. “It’s really the center of our home and of my whole life,” she said.

McKnight is a self-described food lover who has built a career that allows her to spend time thinking about and interacting with what she eats. The CEO of Uppercase Industries, a brand and marketing consultancy, McKnight has clients that include King Arthur Flour and Farmers to You. She’s also the cochair of Slow Food Vermont, and she and her husband, Devin McKnight, run an online platform for new and smallspace gardeners called Not Secret Garden.

When the two purchased their 1905 Victorian on Burlington’s Henry Street, the kitchen was functional but hardly aspirational. “All of the energy and light was clogged in a weird layout,” McKnight said.

After several years with appliances desperately in need of an upgrade and IKEA butcher blocks compensating for lack of counter space, the couple decided to renovate the kitchen.

“When we bought the house, we knew it needed work,” McKnight said. “It took a while to save up the money, but living in the space helped us understand what we needed and how we lived both inside and outside.”

As a housewarming gift, McKnight’s mother gave them a design package from Richmond’s Greta Sloan Interiors. Sloan designed the kitchen’s initial floor plan, offering several versions that reconfigured walls and played with the placement of a downstairs bathroom.

“Greta had the idea of opening up the space between the kitchen and the living room, and now it feels like such an obvious hallway,” McKnight said.

The final floor plan also opened up the entryway to the backyard, making space for a powder room that’s a far cry from the home’s previous bathroom — jokingly referred to as “the outhouse” for its 1960s-style wooden toilet seat.

The new layout removed a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room, creating a more welcoming and cohesive space for hosting friends and family. “Our goal with the renovation was really to open things up and connect the spaces we use most,” McKnight explained.

She, her husband and their two young children now move seamlessly from gardening and playing in the yard to cooking with the produce they’ve grown and bringing it to the table.

The kitchen’s style was inspired by French and Italian kitchens that McKnight encountered while living in Europe and, closer to home, by the antique farmhouses she remembers from growing up in Vermont. Brass fixtures and cherry shelves aren’t an obvious combination, but, like ingredients in a KITCHEN CONNECTION

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A winter wish list greets visitors.

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PHOTOS: OLIVER PARINI

Open shelves create room for storage and holiday displays.

Kitchen Connection « P.5 good fusion dish, together they yield an elevated finished product.

Shelburne-based Heartwood Builders handled the construction, led by cofounder Jess Oppenheimer. Stainresistant white quartz countertops, white walls and a white ceramic tile backsplash serve as a blank slate that contributes to the room’s newfound brightness while allowing other details to shine. An oversize sink in the island maximizes counter space and allows McKnight to hide dirty dishes when she’s entertaining, she said.

McKnight often listens to French singer Édith Piaf while she’s cooking,

A hidden spice rack cabinet

and she’s nicknamed her 40-inch Lacanche range “Édith Pilaf.” The showstopping stove was the big splurge of the renovation, which McKnight said was otherwise pragmatically budgeted.

“I use this stove and range every day,” she said. “It’s fun to get all systems going; making something like a risotto takes up all of the burners.”

The kitchen’s storage is compatible with meal preparation, whether implements are tucked away in the Shakerstyle gray-green cabinets or stacked neatly on open shelves. McKnight worked with Brittny Mee of BouchardPierce in Essex Junction on the puzzle of cabinet design and layout. The spice

The 40-inch Lacanche range is a showstopper in the kitchen.

cabinet pulls out beside the range, important cooking tools are within arm’s reach, and trash is hidden away in the island. Even the microwave has a smart, low spot — out of sight yet near the fridge, so that heating leftovers is a matter of a few quick movements.

Quality finishes and an optimized layout have created a kitchen with room for the whole family. The couple’s children often sit at the island, where their son might request pancakes or a cheese plate — a treat he has come to love during a Friday evening family aperitivo, McKnight said.

“Having these rituals as a family helps us reenergize and connect,” she

said. “For me, the kitchen is all about connection. It’s where we connect as a family and with friends; it makes me feel connected to the people who grow and raise the food we eat; it helps me feel connected to my work … and it gives me a space to connect with myself.

“No matter what else is going on,” McKnight concluded, “when I’m in the kitchen, I always feel like my best self.” m Contact: jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

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Super Abode A Burlington couple lives lighter on the planet with a certified passive house

BY EL IZ A BE TH M. SE YLE R

Vermonters can do many things to reduce their home’s carbon footprint. Owners of existing structures can seal air leaks, add insulation and replace old windows to improve energy efficiency.

Folks building new structures can integrate solar power and use locally sourced materials.

A fortunate few have the knowledge, resources and determination to take all of these steps — and more.

Arthur Chukhman and Sarah Wittman turned their drafty pre-1877 duplex in Burlington’s Old North End into a highly energy-efficient triplex, and throughout construction they used materials with a low carbon footprint.

In addition, the third unit, attached to the back of the duplex, is the first certified passive house structure in the city.

Passive houses use rigorous design standards to maximize energy efficiency, indoor air quality and comfort. They feature airtight construction, thick

insulation and high-performance windows; require minimal heating and cooling; and use mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

“I know that this is a good, quality building and also good for the environment. It’s maybe the most sustainable thing we could have done,” Chukhman said. He’s an architect and the sustainability coordinator at Duncan Wisniewski Architecture in Burlington, and he’s a certified passive house designer.

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity built Vermont’s first certified passive house in Charlotte in 2015. Since then, many more certified structures

The back of Arthur Chukhman and Sarah Wittman’s triplex in the Old North End of Burlington

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ENERGY EFFIC IEN C Y — because the seams are perfect — and have been built statewide, including a no detail work distracts the eye.

Milton senior apartment building that The stairs to the third floor are open opened in 2017, designed by architect to the addition’s high, vaulted ceiling, Michael Wisniewski, co-owner of the making the ascent feel like climbing into firm where Chukhman works. a tree house. That isn’t too far from the Wittman, 40, and Chukhman, 36, truth. Though their unit shares walls purchased the North Winooski Avenue with the other units on the first two duplex in 2014 and, while living in floors, it extends an extra floor higher one apartment and renting the other, than the original building. A single retrofitted the building with insulation, 612-square-foot room spanning the air sealing, and efficient lighting and length and width of the addition offers a appliances. bird’s-eye view of the neighborhood.

After the pair spent a year sketch“This space feels luxurious,” ing ideas, Chukhman began drafting Chukhman enthused. “It’s actually the architectural plans for the addition in only space I can think of, ever, that I’ve 2017. The following year, they broke been in where the top floor — kitchen, ground and built the shell. Last winter, they worked with subcontractors on the living, dining — has this many windows on all four sides.” interior, and in June they moved into “If you get a change in light, like sudthe third unit. denly the sun comes out from behind a From the sidewalk the addition isn’t cloud, this place just glows,” Wittman visible, but from the driveway its three remarked. “It’s really special.” stories loom large. A juncture where To the northwest, large windows the original siding ends and the metal reveal an outdoor terrace siding begins marks the where the couple will transition from old to grow potted vegetables new, from fossil fuel to in the summer. In the net zero. Wide wooden other directions, strategic porches and matching fenestration offers unfetglass doors grace new tered views of surrounding entrances to all three trees and rooftops without apartments on the intruding on neighbors’ southwest side. privacy.

“I wanted some “When you’re lookequity among the three ing out the length of the units,” Chukhman said.

SARAH WIT TMAN house, you don’t really “The doors … are really look down at people,” heavy and have a tactile Chukhman said. “You actually don’t see quality that I think is really nice to walk through. They let in a lot of light and are your neighbors, and they don’t look up to see you walking around.” very energy efficient.”

The space’s elegance belies hundreds The new construction also added of decisions the two made to meet a third bedroom and a new bathroom passive house standards and to source to both of the old units, bringing each materials responsibly. The latter wasn’t to 1,050 square feet. Though the older required for certification — it was units don’t meet passive house stanentirely their choice. dards, they benefit from the addition’s Passive house standards are “about high-efficiency features, such as triplepane windows and well-insulated walls. getting to a certain level of energy efficiency, not how you got there, per se,” The building generates energy with Wittman explained. “This project is very roof-mounted solar panels, and the new unit has LED lights and energy-efficient much about how we are getting there.”

She and Chukhman are avid enviappliances, including heat pumps. ronmentalists who ride bicycles “everyInside the new 1,450-square-foot where” and rarely use their car. Wittman, apartment, a generous foyer connects who holds a PhD in biology and lectures to a guest bedroom and a bathroom.

Wide stairs of darkly stained maple lead at the University of Vermont, specializes in community ecology, sociobiology and to the second floor’s master bedroom plant-animal interactions. and bath. The latter features gorgeous To meet passive house standards dark-green slate that Chukhman as well as their own ecology goals, painstakingly hauled from the former they built the addition without using St. Joseph’s Orphanage on North Avenue. (His architecture firm designed foam insulation, for example. Though foam is inexpensive and widely used, that building’s renovation and adaptive reuse as the Liberty House apartments.) “all foams have a pretty big carbon footprint,” in part because they’re Throughout the new unit, the petroleum-based, Chukhman said. aesthetic is sleek yet warm, minimalist yet classy. No quarter-round molding or trim hides imperfectly joined seams SUPER ABODE » P.11

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Panoramic view of the third floor of the passive house unit

Sarah Wittman and Arthur Chukhman

COURTESY OF ARTHUR CHUKHMAN

Above: Southwest end of the duplex just before construction Left: Southeast corner of the addition during construction, showing the Gutex fiberboard Below: Rendering of the addition

View a slide show of the passive house construction at sevendaysvt.com.

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LUKE AWTRY

Super Abode « P.9 Foam products make a home more energy efficient, but the more of it that’s used, the longer it takes to generate ecological payback in the form of energy savings, he explained.

“We’re trying to solve global warming now. We don’t have 20 to 50 years” to wait for that payback, he said.

The couple also used building practices that are easy to duplicate, in hopes that others in the industry will follow suit. “We took a very typical construction method and added to it, beefed it up a bit,” Chukhman said.

For example, the two-by-six-inch wall studs are filled with dense-packed cellulose (made primarily of postconsumer recycled newsprint) and covered with plywood sheathing that’s taped and air-sealed — common building practices.

But Chukhman and Wittman added a layer of six-inch fiberboard called Gutex to the sheathing.

“It’s made of recycled wood fibers from the furniture industry and is embedded with a paraffin wax that makes it water resistant, so that you don’t have to use a house wrap,” Chukhman said.

“Because it’s made from an organic material that would otherwise go into a landfill, it’s effectively storing more carbon than it takes to make it.”

Gutex was the most sustainable, replicable and cost-effective way for them to achieve a wall R-value (an efficiency measure) of 45. But few solutions are perfect. The fiberboard is currently only available from Germany and was shipped to Vermont, creating a transportation carbon footprint. The couple decided the impact was worth it to showcase Gutex in an emerging market. Since they started their project, a company called GO Lab has begun work to open a fiberboard insulation plant in Maine.

Other decisions were less complex.

For example, they used hemlock for framing and white cedar for siding, which were sourced locally and store carbon, as do all plant-based products.

In addition to managing the project’s finances, which included a commercial loan, Wittman researched products and organized copious amounts of paperwork for the passive house certification.

She had to document everything from their water-efficiency and air-quality programs to showing that their paint, cabinetry and flooring contained low levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Whether or not other Vermonters build passive houses or use eco-friendly materials, Wittman and Chukhman hope their project is emulated in a third way: favoring urban infill over suburban sprawl.

“It’s kind of like fast food versus slow food,” Chukhman said. “It’s much harder, it takes more time and energy to design and build” a unit like theirs, “but I think it … creates better communities, rather than tearing down a whole block and building a giant building ... I think this is the right kind of density and creates really nice neighborhoods.”

Are there any challenges to living in their new unit? Wittman is occasionally annoyed when she realizes she’s forgotten something two flights down, but Chukhman’s response was unequivocal: “Negative things? No, I really like it,” he said with a laugh. “It’s like I designed it.” m Contact: elizabeth@sevendaysvt.com

INFO

Learn more about Arthur Chukhman at duncanwisniewski.com, Sarah Wittman at uvm.edu and Passive House Institute US at phius.org.

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Snow Going Winter presents challenges and opportunities in the housing market

BY MARGARET GRAYSON 12

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Vermont in the summer is inspiring: a smorgasbord of festivals, farmers markets and endless activities in a picturesque natural landscape. It could make any newcomer think, I want to live here, while longtime residents might vow, I’m never leaving this place.

Winter, on the other hand, can be a harder sell. As the skies turn gray and the wind starts to bite, the modus operandi of the state’s residents — aside from die-hard skiers and snowboarders — shifts from living large to hunkering down.

In many parts of the country, it’s

generally accepted that cold weather dampens the real estate market. Local agents say this is true of Vermont, too, but less so than in other places because the demand for homes — particularly in Chittenden County — is so strong.

“Traditionally, I would say, we do

REAL ESTAT E

If clients are flexible about when to maybe 60 percent of our business April sell, Dupuis said, she wouldn’t necessarthrough October and 40 percent in the ily recommend they list their house in winter,” said Katrina Roberts, a real the winter. Then again, worrying about estate broker at Greentree Real Estate. the market shouldn’t be a seller’s — or a She said, however, that the agency has buyer’s — biggest concern. And if people yet to see a significant seasonal drop in are looking to sell or buy in the winter, sales. “This year we’re all kind of like, their circumstances might give them ‘Wow! Is it going to slow down?’” extra incentive to close a deal.

The latest market report on north“There’s probably fewer buyers western Vermont from Coldwell Banker out there looking, especially between Hickok & Boardman Realty verifies Thanksgiving and New Year’s,” said that the traditional robust sales of late Steve Lipkin, a Realtor at Coldwell spring have continued into the fall.

Banker Hickok & Boardman. “But those Home prices, too, have steadily climbed tend to be the most serious, motivated in the state since 2014, according to the buyers.”

Vermont Housing Finance Agency — Accordingly, agents even though the national often advise sellers to be market has been uneven in flexible about showing their recent years. homes around the holidays.

Roberts also works in Vermont has plenty of Addison County, where winter visitors and ski she says the seasonal travelers who might want differences in home sales to take a look during their are more pronounced vacation. than in the Burlington That said, when the area. A winter slowdown, KATRINA ROB E RTS weather is bleak, a house however slight, offers might not be at its most agents the opportunity to appealing. If a yard is take care of administrative blanketed by snow, a potential buyer tasks and consult with people who are can’t see whether it is beautifully landconsidering selling their homes but scaped — or not at all. Roberts said it’s haven’t committed yet. completely reasonable to ask sellers for “When people want three or four photos of their yard from the warmer hours of your time in May or June to seasons. Lipkin said his office keeps talk about what pictures they want on lots of photos and videos of Burlington the wall, it’s a little difficult,” Roberts during the summer to remind buyers of said. “It’s a great time in the winter to invite a Realtor into your home and have brighter, greener days ahead.

Winter does offer some potential them … give you some perspective.” advantages for buyers. They can feel for If there are fewer properties on the themselves how well a house is heated market in the coldest months, there and insulated. Lipkin pointed out that is also less pressure from other eager a roof covered with snow indicates a buyers. well-insulated house, because heat isn’t “If you’re a first-time home buyer, escaping and melting it. The season also don’t stay away from the winter,” provides an opportunity to make sure a Roberts advised. home’s roof or basement isn’t leaking.

Erin Dupuis of Vermont Real Estate Ultimately, if a house can catch a Company agreed that spring and buyer’s eye in the dead of winter, it will summer this year were particularly only improve from there. hectic. “Most properties that I listed “If the home feels light and cozy and were going under contract within a welcoming in the winter, then you’re week with multiple offers,” she said. golden,” Roberts said. As she often Some properties went for as much as tells buyers: “If you love this house in $30,000 over the list price.

November, you are going to be ecstatic A few years ago, Dupuis noted, a in June.” m house selling in 30 days was considered a success. Today, if three days go by Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com without an offer, sellers start to panic.

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Natural

Slate owner Sarah Phaneuf

Style OLIVER PARINI

Burlington’s Slate takes an organic approach to interior design

BY S A L LY P O L L A K

The word “slate” has several meanings. It refers to a building material and a color.

The material — a stone that easily splits into flat pieces — is natural; the color is rich. Slate is also the name of a home décor and furnishings shop on Church Street in Burlington. And, for owner Sarah Phaneuf, the word has added significance: It represents a new start, a clean slate.

OLIVER PARINI

I LOVE CURATING GOOD PRODUCT AND BUILDING A BRAND. SARAH P H ANE UF

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“It felt fresh,” she said of the name. “We’re doing fun, new things.”

That new start applies to the store owner herself: Three years ago, Phaneuf, 51, moved to Vermont from Arcata, Calif. There she’d founded Baroni Designs, a jewelry business that employed 35 people and worked with artisans in three countries, and opened a home and lifestyle store called Plaza.

After living in California for 20 years, the Cape Cod native and University of New Hampshire graduate decided to return to the East Coast. The move involved both personal and professional changes for Phaneuf, who had married Stowe resident Eric Phaneuf two years before relocating. She has since sold both her California businesses, a transition her husband helped with, and settled with her family in Shelburne.

“It’s like coming home,” Phaneuf said of her move to Vermont.

After a year of working remotely for the company that purchased Baroni Designs, Phaneuf decided to go back into business on her own. She opened Slate two years ago in the Church Street Marketplace storefront that previously housed used-clothing shop 2nd Time Around.

The downtown location appeals to her. “I love small, vibrant cities,” Phaneuf said.

Slate sells furniture, rugs, pillows, pottery and other household items, many in shades of gray and other earth tones. It also carries a selection of less expected items, such as dog collars, leather bags, candles, soaps and potted succulents.

According to the store’s website, it promotes “gorgeous NATURAL STYLE

» P.16

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JASON DUQUETTE HOFFMAN

DÉ C OR

HOW TO CREATE A COZY ATMOSPHERE AT HOME Seven tips from Slate owner Sarah Phaneuf LIGHTING: Use illumination to create a soft ambience. Try candles and lamps with warm-tone bulbs rather than overhead lighting, which can feel harsh. A lamp can bring warmth to an entryway, bedroom or sitting room. Light a naturally scented candle or a group of unscented white pillars together on a tray for a warm and inviting space.

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TEXTILES: Snuggle up with your favorite blankets. Use chunky knit throws and soft blankets as sofa, chair or other furniture accent pieces. Add pillows! They’re a great way to make a space feel complete, and an opportunity to bring in texture, color or pattern. In addition to sofas and beds, try pillows in unexpected places such as an entry bench or inside big baskets. A couple of floor pillows, in a zippered washable fabric such as a heavyweight linen, can be beautiful and functional additions to living spaces; they can be used as lounging, extra seating or a foot rest.

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RUGS: An area rug, such as a Turkish Oushak or Moroccan Berber, can define and complete a room — and help keep your feet warm. Durable indoor/outdoor styles are easy to care for and available in an array of aesthetics, from refined neutrals to fun and bright patterns. Wool is always classic and easy to maintain.

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ORGANIZE

FAUX FUR ACCENTS: Fur pillows and blankets are the ultimate cozy accessory.

They add texture and interest when placed on an ottoman, chair, sofa or other favorite piece of furniture. Try faux fur in neutral browns, grays or white. Fur accents also help trap and soften sound.

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YO U R C L O S E T. S I M P L I F Y YO U R L I F E .

PLANTS: Bring some life into your home with living plants and interesting pots. A large potted plant or a grouping in similar pots or baskets can add life to any room in the house. Not only are plants beautiful but, as studies have shown, they can boost mood and productivity and purify the air.

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ACCENT FURNITURE: A small piece of furniture can fill an empty space. A lonely corner or blank wall could perhaps use some shelving, a small table or a bookcase. Try keeping these spaces simple and uncluttered. Group accents by color for an interesting minimalist presentation. Consider taking the sleeves off your books and grouping similar colors together.

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SEASONAL BEDDING: Change your bedding with the transition into winter (or summer). Your bedroom should be a sanctuary. Bring in warmer, heavier textiles for winter — linen/wool blends, down comforters, cozy throws. In the summer, lighten up colors and weight with linen blankets or summer quilts.

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product made by ethical and sustainable vendors.”

“Sourcing is what I love,” Phaneuf said on a November afternoon at Slate.

“I love curating good product and building a brand … People are so appreciative of having a place that sells beautiful things for everyone.”

As she talked with Nest, a designer was busy transforming the store into a seasonal set piece: placing ornaments and reindeer figurines on a table by the front door and planning for the floor-toceiling evergreens that would soon fill the windows.

The in-house transformation for the holidays is a “microcosm” of the interior design work that Slate undertakes for clients, Phaneuf said. A newer aspect of the business, it has grown through word of mouth from friends of friends and customers who happen into the store, she added.

Phaneuf charges $75 an hour for design services. Projects range in scope and size, from selecting and placing accessories such as lighting and plants in private homes to a recent makeover at the Stone Mill in Middlebury. For the latter job, Slate designed four lodging units at the newly renovated 1840 building on Otter Creek. Phaneuf also established a small Slate retail outlet in the Mill’s Public Market, along with Dedalus Wine and Cheese, Arcadian 2Go, the Vermont Book Shop and others.

“The cool thing coming out of this [project] is the joining of communities,” Phaneuf said.

The developers of Stone Mill, Stacey Rainey and Mary Cullinane of Community Barn Ventures, explained by email that they had met Phaneuf as “fans” of her store. When they considered vendors for the Middlebury project, “Slate was at the top of the list.”

“Sarah’s style is modern and warm, and I can’t think of anything in her store that I don’t like and want in my own home!” they wrote. “More than anything else, though, we liked Sarah, and, as with every other person on the team that made this project possible … this connection was the single most important draw for us.”

The Slate design team includes Heather Babin, the store’s operational manager, who joined Slate a year ago.

She moved to Vermont in 2012 to open City Sports on Church Street and later managed a second fitness-wear outlet, Athleta, also on the Marketplace.

Babin said she was drawn by the chance to work for a locally owned business that operates on a smaller scale.

At Slate, her responsibilities include ordering merchandise, coordinating deliveries and “visual merchandising,” or arranging displays.

Working with home décor offers more challenges and opportunities than arranging items such as sneakers and sweatshirts, Babin remarked: “There’s more components, so you have much more freedom to be creative. It’s harder, and more fun.”

For an interior design project, Slate typically receives the inventory for a client, then transports the items to the home and arranges them. “It really is the most impactful for the client,” Babin said.

While the store’s interior design process is a collaborative effort, Phaneuf said her first step is to walk into a home and take it all in. She pays attention to her “gut instinct” — how she feels when she enters the space.

“And then I listen to the client,” Phaneuf continued, “to whatever they want to tell me.”

After identifying a client’s priorities and balancing them with the available budget, the Slate design team determines how it can make the biggest impact. The team typically starts with the big picture — a color palette, large pieces of furniture — and moves on to smaller household accessories such as rugs, lighting and pillows.

The process is built on a connection with the client, Phaneuf emphasized, and should be fun for both parties.

“This is home décor; it’s not medical supplies,” she said. “We are learning about this family and who they are and what they’re looking for.”

Last year Slate worked with Megan Ruddick on her vacation house in Stowe. The Massachusetts resident had heard about Phaneuf through a mutual friend.

“I saw her shop, and I was blown away,” Ruddick said in a phone interview. “Sarah has a very cool vibe. You walk into her store, and you want your house to look like her store.”

Working with Phaneuf and Phaneuf’s sister, Ann Fox of Rye, N.H., Ruddick started from scratch on furnishings for her alpine townhouse.

“We wanted it to be very comfortable and a little more contemporary,” she explained.

The result is an inviting home with a blend of textures and layers that came together naturally, Ruddick said. Most of the hues are neutral, with occasional pops of color — including a leather sable bench in the mudroom.

“It works so well together, but it’s not matchy-matchy,” Ruddick added. “It feels great. My kids want our house in Hingham to look more like that.” m Contact: sally@sevendaysvt.com

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GLENN RUSSELL

Master plumber Chris Boudreau in the back of his truck

A Fitting

Trade

Master plumber Chris Boudreau helps his customers go with the flow B Y KEN PICARD

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Chris Boudreau has been flush with work lately, and he doesn’t see things letting up anytime soon. With the early arrival of freezing temperatures in Vermont, the 38-yearold master plumber has been dealing with a higher-than-normal volume of burst pipes and inoperable heating systems. And that’s along with the usual customer calls about clogged drains, broken fixtures and leaky toilets.

A commercial plumber with New England Air Systems in Williston, Boudreau handles “pretty much anything that involves pipes and water,” including fixtures that carry liquefied petroleum and natural gas. And as a “master,” he is allowed to train apprentices, pull permits and run his own shop.

Though some might assume that a plumber’s job is dull or undesirable, Boudreau said that, after 16 years

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in the trade, he’s used to chilly basements who’s not trained to touch heat or hotand foul gas odors. water venting systems. Carbon monoxide “There’s never a mundane day in is one of our biggest concerns. Also, plumbing,” he said. Case in point: When equipment like that has safety valves; a water main burst and flooded the sometimes people will see them dripping FlynnSpace — the basement black-box and think that they should plug it up. But venue of Burlington’s Flynn Center for the by dripping, the valve is actually doing Performing Arts — in August its job of letting off pressure.

WISHING EVERYONE 2018, Boudreau was called Plugging it can turn your in to fix it. (Like doctors water heater into a bomb.

A HAPPY HOLIDAY KELLY A. and lawyers, he declined to SEASON! DEFORGE discuss his clients’ specific What’s the best part of your plumbing woes.) job?

Work with an agent Senior Mortgage Boudreau, who lives in Loan Originator It’s really rewarding to fix who knows your market.

Winooski, now mostly works NMLS: 103643 a problem for a customer, Cady is a native Vermonter Monday-to-Friday hours in whether it’s residential or Top VHFA who understands the value Chittenden County, though commercial. With commercial Lender!

Vermont offers as occasionally he travels to jobs, people can be really clients in Barre, Montpelier, a place to call home. thankful that their production Randolph and New is up and running again. It Reach out today!

Hampshire.

CHRIS B OU DREAU costs businesses a lot of money “Sometimes you just have 802.238.5879 when problems happen. Even to go where the work is,” he cady@rrvermont.com for residential customers, said. “That’s just part of the trades.” when someone has frozen pipes or their 30 Kimball Avenue, Suite 200, Boudreau recently spoke to Nest about heat is out, for me it’s really gratifying to the plumbing profession and the need for South Burlington, VT be able to troubleshoot and fix a problem. more young people to enter the career ublocal.com • 802-318-7395 pipeline. kdeforge@unionbankvt.com M Do you ever work in unusual places?

Oh, yeah. Everything from operating What are the most common plumbing rooms to a morgue. One of the most mistakes you encounter?

— 12/4/19 N8v-unionbankkellyd121119.indd 12:50 PM 1 12/6/19 11:06 AM interesting was working in a prison and N8v-rossi&riina1219.indd 1 I see a lot of pipe fittings being misused, having to have my tools inventoried every especially in drainage. If you’re not day, working in the same hallways as the familiar with plumbing code, there are a inmates, finding all sorts of implements lot of things that need to be done to make that were flushed down into the system. sure pipes drain properly. Obviously, I’ve Being a commercial plumber, I have a lot seen a lot of funny things flushed down of really interesting customers, so I get to the toilet. I’ve found diapers — which are see how the sausage is made behind the terrible to put in your pipes, because they scenes. expand in water — as well as cleaning wipes and feminine hygiene products. I wouldn’t flush anything down the toilet Does the plumbing trade have a shortthat’s not waste or paper. age of new workers?

The same with food waste. I once Oh, yeah. It’s a big issue, actually. To some had a clogged-drain call at a house, and extent, there’s a stigma associated with I had trouble figuring out what it was. the trades. It’s a lot of hard work up front There was a garbage disposal, and the when you’re an apprentice and you’re owner had been putting eggshells into it. working under somebody. You’re doing The crushed eggshells became like sand a lot of the nasty grunt work. You’re not and completely clogged the pipes. The necessarily being paid super well, and it homeowner denied it, but his 5-year-old doesn’t always seem like there’s a light at daughter gave him away. the end of the tunnel.

I was lucky. I remember voicing my When should people call a plumber frustrations as an apprentice, and there rather than trying to fix a problem was an older guy who was near retirethemselves? ment age. He told me to stick with it When they realize that they don’t underbecause he saw the shortage coming and stand what they’re doing. [Plumbers] get basically told me, “All in good time.” And a lot of calls from people who are halfway he was right. It’s a great career. You just into a job and then realize they’re in way have to be willing to put the work in and Designed by local get your hands dirty. m over their head. If you’re not comfortartist Steve Hadeka, able with, or have knowledge of, what this wall-mounted Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com you’re touching, it can be very dangerous, bottle opener makes particularly when it comes to heating the perfect gift. $25. systems and water heaters.

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Pop open a cold one with your friends at Seven Days.

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