SPRING 2011
Staying ahead of the game Advertising supplement to the Grand Forks Herald, Sunday April 24, 2011
Allison Comstock, owner of AllisoNicole’s Interior Design and Floral, thinks outside the box when it comes to interior design ■
By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
It’s easy to visualize decorating ideas at AllisoNicole’s Interior Design and Floral. From the sitting area in the front of the store, to the kitchen in the back, owner Allison Comstock’s store has the feel of a home. Just inside the store entrance, for example, are a sofa and chairs gathered cozily around a fireplace. Down the hall, the working kitchen features appliances, granite countertops and a tile floor. Even the men’s and women’s restrooms are decorated home-style with accessories that are for sale.
Art lover
Comstock has enjoyed decorating since she was a girl. “The majority of my life I’ve been an artsy person,” she said recalling that she used to help her parents decorate their family home. After she graduated from the Art
Institute in Pittsburgh, she returned to Grand Forks and worked as an interior designer at a local decorating store for a few years. In August 2010 she opened AllisoNicole’s Interior Design and Floral. She offers decorating consultations and sells furniture, accessories and flowers. She also sells daily lunch specials, which include a sandwich and soup and homemade desserts made in the store kitchen. “Basically, I try to create a one-stop shop,” she said.
Flexible
Comstock is available to do a variety of decorating jobs. “I’ve done spec homes. I’ve done remodels. I’ve done custom new homes,” she said. Although she has certain suppliers she likes to do business with, Comstock also will buy products from other businesses if that is what her customers prefer. “With the consulting,
we can work any way a client wants to work,” she said. Her flexibility includes offering decorating suggestions in a wide variety of price ranges to suit different budgets. She thrives on helping people turn their decorating ideas into reality. “I dream of it at night and I never get sick of it.” While it’s helpful when clients come to her store with definite ideas about how they want to decorate and photos of the rooms they’re planning to make over, it’s not necessary, she said. “Not every client who comes to me has a photo in their hand. They’re coming to me looking for information.” She talks with the client, asking them questions about their decorating tastes and lifestyles, then makes suggestions about how to achieve the look they’re seeking. Sometimes people describe themselves as having a certain decorating taste, but after consulting with Comstock, learn that what they thought was their style,
Submitted photo
Allison Comstock is owner of AllisoNicole’s Interior Design and Floral.
really wasn’t at all, Comstock said.
Customer-friendly
Although she has certain styles she likes more than others, she doesn’t try to influence her customers’ tastes, she said. “I can create whatever you are asking, whether
Gardening expert, Rebecca Kolls, says when it comes to container gardening there is no limit to what you can do
By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
No space for a garden? No problem, say gardening experts. Instead of planting vegetables in a traditional rectangular plot or flowers in conventional beds, gardeners can use containers. “If it can hold soil, it can hold a plant, it can grow things,” says Rebecca Kolls, a veteran Wisconsin gardener. Kolls, the author of gardening books and a gardening consultant for national television shows, was the speaker at Gardening Saturday an annual event sponsored by NDSU Extension Service-Grand Forks County and the Grand Forks Horticulture Society.
Containers
Containers don’t need to be expensive or fancy, Kolls said, noting that hardware and farm supply stores are good places to find them. Livestock watering tanks, which come in a variety of sizes, can hold either flowers or vegetables or a combination of the two. Terra cotta and plastic pots,
One-stop shopping
Rebecca Kolls is an author of gardening books and a gardening consultant for national television shows.
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me an idea, and I go from there.” Being an interior decorator requires not only being on top, but ahead, of the game. “You have to be able to think outside the box and you have to be two steps ahead of everyone else.”
Container gardening 101 ■
File art
that is my particular taste or not,” she said. Some of her clients aren’t seeking to make over a whole room, but to make a statement with accessories. “People have been looking for one-of-a-kind accessories, for sure,” Comstock said. “They give
which also are available in varying sizes, can be grouped together to create a lovely flower display. “You can do a potted paradise on our deck,” Kolls said. Gardeners who use containers should make sure that the pots are the correct size for the plants, have drain holes and are fertilized and watered on schedule, she noted. Vegetables, as well as flowers, can be grown in pots, Kolls said. Six to 10-inch pots can grow a collection of plants that include parsley, green onions, herbs, lettuce and radishes, she suggested. Planting in containers gives vegetable gardeners a jump-start on spring planting because they can sew their seeds in pots a few weeks before their garden plots are dry enough to get into. “Right now I’ve got beets and carrots growing in my window boxes,” Kolls told the gardeners at Gardening Saturday on April 9.
More options
If production, not aesthetics, is the primary concern, gardeners can grow vegetables in a burlap bag filled with potting soil. Meanwhile, tomatoes, peppers and egg-
plants can grow in 6-gallon buckets. Strawberries, also are easy to grow in pots. If gardeners aren’t worried about aesthetics, they also can simply open the plastic bags of soil they’ve purchased and plant the vegetables in them, Kolls said. Besides hardware and farm supply stores, thrift stores are another good place to find containers. For example, angel food pans, which have a hole in the middle of them, are good containers to use for the top of a patio table that has an umbrella. Herbs, such as basil can be planted in the pan, said Darlene Shea, co-owner of Shea’s Nursery in Grand Forks. Cilantro, another herb, can be grown in a large coffee cup. Lettuce, meanwhile, will grow in a bucket, Shea said, noting that the bucket of lettuce she displayed at Gardening Saturday, could grown the entire season in that container. Beets, radishes and tomatoes also are good candidates for container gardening, Shea said. “You’re only limited by your imagination,” she said.
Simonson Lumber and Hardware’s Pro Install takes the hassle out of home improvement projects
By Ann Bailey
Herald Staff Writer
With one phone call to Simonson Lumber and Hardware, homeowners can find everyone they need to get their remodeling jobs done. Simonson’s Pro Install service locates for homeowners professionals who will do a variety of jobs from installing win-
dows and patio doors to roofing to bath, kitchen cabinets and remodels. “I take care of finding the contractors,” said Dayton Kornkven, who manages Pro Install at Simonson Lumber and Hardware in Grand Forks. “It’s none of this having to chase down a contractor.” Customers in a 50-mile-radius of Grand Forks have used Pro In-
stall, he said. “The main thing is to provide homeowners with one-stop-shopping,” Kornkven said. “I can basically general the whole job if that is what the homeowner wants.”
Services
Simonson Lumber and Hardware launched the Pro Install service sev-
eral years ago, first at its Fargo location, and then a few years later at its Grand Forks location, he said. The cost of the Pro Install service is included in the bill for the home improvement job. “I don’t care the size of the job,” Kornkven said. “It can be re-hanging a door, or (installing) shutPRO INSTALL: See Page 2
Ann Bailey, photo
Dayton Kornkven manages Pro Install at Simonson Lumber and Hardware in Grand Forks.
2 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011
Home-staging professionals aim to boost sales By Alan J. Heavens
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Pro Install makes sure the contractors follow
Residential & Commercial Interior Design
Follow-through
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ters.” Besides finding professionals who will do the jobs homeowners want, Kornkven also will design the project, do the measuring and estimate the cost of the job. A private contractor for 32 years, Kornkven has both experience in home remodeling and contacts in the industry. “I know who is good at the various parts of the job,” he said. “All of the contractors are licensed, bonded and insured. We don’t use anybody that is fly-by-night.”
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Continued from Page 1
through with the job and that it gets completed. “When I walk out, or the contractor walks out, it’s done,” he said. Pro Install also benefits the contractors it employs, he said. “We’re providing the contractor a service because he doesn’t have to go out and do all the billing.” Instead, Simonson Lumber and Hardware pays the contractor and the customer pays Simonson, Kornkven said. Once the job is finished, he calls the homeowner to make sure the job is done to his or her satisfaction. Pro Install has resonated with Simonson Lumber and Hardware customers, Kornkven said. “It has taken off really well.”
The 6,500-square-foot house in Wynnewood, Pa., they completed last week was owned by a couple who moved to San Francisco with all the furniture, for example. One of the owners, Julia Salinas, said the house was built by professional baseball player and manager Connie Mack in the 1920s for his sons. Powers and Miklosovich compete for jobs with other stagers, of course, and the competition turns on price, not aesthetics. “Clients look at the bottom line, but cheaper is not necessarily better,” said Powers, whose pricing for a redesign starts at $1,500; a typical home is $3,000. Once Busybee is hired, paid by sellers or agents or both, they sign a contract for three to four months. She said 75 percent of listings settle in four months from staging, although it was two months during the boom years. Budgets vary. Sometimes the client can only afford to have the first floor
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PRO INSTALL/
— and it isn’t as easy as it sounds — agents can bring in a stager to tweak the listing. For this, Anna Powers and Mark Miklosovich, wife and husband and partners in the 10-year-old Busybee Homestore and Design Center on South Street, typically charge $250, Powers said. “We come out to the house and suggest things — for instance, adding a piece of furniture, and then give them a deal on rental from our 5,000square-foot warehouse in Fishtown or our retail site,” she said. The meat and potatoes of their business — two houses a week, probably 80 to 100 a year, is the “redesign” of a vacant house, Powers said. “There are so many empty properties on the market that it is a huge business.” Some of their work is for developers with new construction; the rest for agents whose clients have moved and taken their belongings.
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Some houses simply need decluttering, Davidow said. Once that is done
Stager Mark Miklosovich stands in the Wynnewood home that he and his partner, Anna Powers, worked on. The two “suggest things,” Powers said – “for instance, adding a piece of furniture.”
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Staging business
McClatchy Tribune
Decorating Concepts & Design
PHILADELPHIA — Now more than ever, a home listed for sale in a crowded market knee-deep in a downturn needs to stand out among all the rest. That’s where professional staging comes in. Near the top of the real estate agent’s bag of tricks, on the back of the “pricing properly for the market” card, is the list of stagers’ phone numbers. Whether a house simply requires a few tweaks before it hits the Multiple Listing Service, or is empty of furnishings needed to provide buyers with an idea of what their life would be like if they lived there, staging plays a role. “At any price, unless you are dealing with a shell, it is important to have the house look inviting,” said Joanne Davidow, vice president of Prudential Fox & Roach in Center City Philadelphia. “Staging can make the difference between sale and no sale.” Real estate broker and developer Allan Domb of Allan Domb Real Estate in Center City said he uses stagers all the time, on listings as well as models in his buildings. However, some brokers, for example Paul Leiser of Avalon Realty at the Shore, say they never use stagers at all. The real estate search engine HomeGain reported that in a 2009 survey of 1,000 real estate agents nationwide, 82 percent used professional stagers. The average cost of staging was $300 to $400, but the return on the investment — increase in sale price — ranged from $1,500 to $2,000.
staged, or a bedroom, so BusyBee’s proposals are room to room. “In two weeks, we will begin ‘virtual staging’ for houses with limited budgets,” she said. “Renderings of what each room will look like are uploaded into a digital frame in each of those rooms. If the house has an outdated kitchen and the owner can afford $10,000 to remodel it, we can design it virtually.” “Everyone needs a visual,” she said. The typical house — 1,500 to 2,000 square feet — takes a day of physical labor to stage, after a couple of days of behind the scenes planning. Bigger houses take three or four days of labor, but the couple hires freelancers to supplement their three designers. “It is a collaborative effort,” Power said, adding that staging is completed two to three weeks before a house goes on the market. How does the redesign start? “I go in and decide how to set up a room, always thinking of how I would live in it, what furniture is needed, having a floor plan in my head,” Powers said. “I see colors, ones that would inspire me.”
Better ideas
Most stagers, Powers included, say that the staging shows on television make things too simple and too cheap. She finds much better, cutting edge staging advice in magazines and blogs. “When homeowners offer to help stage, I say no thanks,” she said. “You wouldn’t believe how often I’m called in to rescue people who have started to do it themselves and don’t know how to go on.”
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The late author and gardener Ruth Stout once wrote, “I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” After a grim winter, it’s fun to anticipate the first flower buds popping up. But home furnishings stores are already bursting with blossoms. Floral motifs are everywhere — on furniture, textiles, wall art and accessories. And shelter magazines like Elle Decor are featuring eye-catching florals in their spring editions. This season, you’ll find small, dainty prints reminiscent of old country cottons, Asian-inspired designs and large-scale contemporary florals in bold hues. For modern-style lovers, look at Garnet Hill’s Snow & Graham sateen bedding in Hydrangea, Dogwood and Rose Garden prints. Pier 1’s Liliana and Cadman chairs feature exuberant, happy florals in current hot colors like teal, berry, caramel and sage. Chiasso’s Bella collection for bed and bath showcases an oversized citron-and-white chrysanthemum on a tranquil gray background. Contemporary florals in one or two tones —
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black or brown on white, for example — are an interesting alternative to the typical array of colors. Look for throw pillows and dishware to add an accent or two. Two’s Company’s new Chelsea collection, in sweet small flower prints that look fresh and young, includes handmade paper trays in pink/purple and yellow/blue combinations, as well as a clever, printed, watering-can vase with glass liner. Garden Tea Party items include a stackable teapot-on-cup, and a teacup, saucer and spoon in patterns such as hibiscus, lily of the valley and cherry blossom. Mackenzie-Childs introduced a large floralthemed collection this spring called Flower Market. Their designers created enamelware pitchers, tea kettles and picture frames, among other items, all beautifully painted with tiny posies. At Kneen & Co., splurge on Nymphenburg’s exquisite porcelain table flowers evoking blooms like cherry blossoms and carnations. Handmade from 250-year-old archival samples, table flowers were once favored over fresh blooms that could wilt during dinner parties.
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Spring brings flowers to decor
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Prairie Splendor a winner in every garden
Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011 3
By Norman Winter
black-eyed Susan, it can be used to create the ultimate wildflower meadow. You also find that Prairie Splendor makes an excel-
lent cut flower and staple in the backyard wildlife habitat feeding birds and butterflies. Early is the best time to plant purple coneflowers. Select a healthy growing transplant in a four-inch container, and you will most likely find success. These small plants without buds are still producing roots, green leaves and will get happy in your garden. This also goes for rudbeckias, Shasta daisies and coreopsis. Choose a site in full sun for best flower performance. While the soil need not be luxuriantly fertile, if it takes stick of dynamite or a jackhammer to break apart, plan on incorporating 3 to 4 inches of organic matter. While tilling, go ahead and work in two pounds of a slow release 12-6-6 fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed space. Space your plants 18 to 24-inches apart. An informal teardrop or figure 8shaped shaped drift will look awesome once they are blooming.
In addition to the flowers mentioned above, try also with purple fountain grass for a real showy display. This will be one of those combinations that will lead your neighbors to think you went to some specialized training program during your vacation. In addition to Prairie Splendor, look also for the award winning Magnus, perennial plant of the year in 1998. Magnus is a real winner in the garden. It was selected for its vibrant, rose-purple flowers. Its petals remain horizontal rather than drooping toward the ground. Bravado is another of my favorites because of fragrance. It may just be me, but a mid-morning stroll through a patch of Bravado is a sensory sensation. Echinacea has long been popular as a health food supplement, but to me growing a patch of blooming Prairie Splendor purple coneflowers will do wonders that far outweigh the effect of a pill.
onions as insulation. 8. Spray weekly with a protective fungicide to prevent foliar diseases and rotting during storage. You won’t notice there’s a problem with the disease until it’s too late and they start rotting after harvest. 9. At harvest time, lift the onions out of the ground and put the top of one onion over the bulb of
another. Let them dry for three days in the field or garden, and allow the tops to completely dry down before clipping them. 10. Store the harvested onions in a cool, dry, wellventilated location. Place them in mesh bags or netting to permit air flow all around the onions, and to prevent one rotten onion from touching the others.
See a map outlining which varieties of onions grow best in certain parts of the country at www.dixondalefarms.com/ category/onion—plants Learn more about good flower and vegetable gardening through the National Garden Bureau at www.ngb.org.
McClatchy Newspapers
If you love purple coneflowers, then you have to put Prairie Splendor at the top of your list. The Echinacea has undergone quite a transformation in recent years with the additions of other color and even those with frilly or fancy flowers. But it seems the old-fashioned rose pink is still the most-loved garden perennial. There are several things that make Prairie Splendor a real winner in anyone’s book. First, it is a really fast bloomer. Firstyear plants reach full potential. Second, not only is it the first bloomer but it usually is the last as well. Finally is a trait I really like: its compact nature. Prairie Splendor dazzles in the garden at about 24 inches and boast large flowers. You have a lot of options when using it in the garden. You can do the obvious and use it as the backbone of the cottage style border. Use it with
McClatchy Tribune
Prairie Splendor combines with South American verbena and Spotlight rudbeckia for a terrific cottage garden look. rudbeckias or gloriosa daisies and tall blue South American verbena for a really stunning display. Prairie Splendor also
opens the door for creating the wild flower or meadow look. Sown or transplanted in large informal drifts with the ox eye daisy and
Cool spring weather is the perfect time to plant onions By Kathy Van Mullekom
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
National Garden Bureau member Dixondale Farms recently featured these onion-growing and storage tips in their newsletter. The bureau likes the tips and shares them for spring-planting: 1. Plant the right variety of onions at the right time of year for your area, and buy only from reputable producers that send true varieties. Choose from Short-Day, IntermediateDay or Long-Day varieties. 2. When your plants arrive, remove them from the box and place them in a well-ventilated, cool area until you can plant them. Keep the plants dry until then, and do not put them in soil or water. 3. Choose a location with full sun and good drainage for planting your onions. 4. Prepare your onion beds early, so a few crops of weeds can be flushed and tilled under prior to planting. Later, if needed, apply a post-emergent herbicide or control weeds by hand. 5. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer before planting, and with a good
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Cool weather in spring is the perfect time to plant onions for use in fresh salads and your favorite cooked recipes.
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source of nitrogen every three weeks until the onions start to bulb. 6. Water your plants thoroughly and immediately after planting. Use the knuckle rule to determine when to water during the season. If you can feel moisture when you stick your finger in the ground up to your first knuckle, then the onions are wet enough. Use drip irrigation
rather than an overhead sprinkler system, which may promote the spread of disease. 7. Keep a close eye on the weather, especially early in the season. When you discover that a frost or freeze is coming, water the onions in very well and put down mulch or straw to help protect them. If it gets really cold, you may want to spread burlap over the
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Inside job: Making kitchen cabinets more user-friendly
Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011 5
By Stacy Downs
McClatchy Newspapers
McClatchy Tribune
Homegrown food is safer, cheaper, and pretty easy
Raised vegetable beds become attractive parts of the landscape when bordered by blooming perennials and annuals.
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When you grow what you eat, you know it’s as fresh as can be
By Kathy Van Mullekom
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Homegrown in the city can be as good as homegrown on the farm, especially when it comes from your own backyard garden. There are several smart reasons to grow the produce that your household eats, even if you do it on a small scale. When you grow what you eat, you know it’s as fresh as fresh can be. No traveling hundreds of miles in trucks on a hot summer day. You know it’s safe to eat. No wondering what’s been sprayed or not sprayed on the plants. You save on your food bill, especially if you use share seeds and transplants with friends and family. No more fretting about the $2.99 for one English cucumber or $2 for one red pepper. You also engage in an outdoor activity that enhances a healthier diet and lifestyle. No more just admiring gardens on HGTV while you sit on the sofa and munch a bunch of chips. Creating a small backyard vegetable garden for planting warm-season crops in May and cool-season crops in fall and late winter is easier than ever before, thanks to readymade raised garden kits that simplify design, digging and weed control. The kits, typically made from cedar or composite lum-
MISTAKES/
Continued from Page 4
7. Faulty maintenance. Don’t set your cultivator (or hoe) too deep, damaging plant roots. Pull some weeds by hand. 8. Over-pruning. As a rule, don’t remove more than 30 percent of the foliage from shrubs in one cutting. And don’t “top” trees to control their height. “That reduces their life span rather than improves their health,” Ryan said. 9. Botched planting. Choose the right plant depth. “I know of one property where they put a tree with its root ball on the surface of the ground, and then mulched around it up to the level of the trunk,” Ryan said. “People don’t know how to plant.” 10. Failing to start over. “Oftentimes, people let diseased things grow that should be pulled out, and it affects the health of the entire crop,” McKinnon said. Start with a small plot so you can correct mistakes more easily, the experts say. And look to your county extension office for support if you run into trouble. Garden coaches also can diagnose problems and suggest remedies, as can master gardeners and landscape designers.
ber, come in all sizes, shapes and price ranges, so it’s hard to find any good excuse for not raising at least a few tomatoes for tasty BLTs. Assembly is easy. Usually all you need is a screwdriver and hammer. Fill the frame with a vegetable-growing medium like soil mixed with compost and you’re ready to plant. No drainage problems to worry about. No voles to fight. Even bunnies are less likely to hop over the boards to nibble. You can even set the gardens on concrete if your plants have shallow roots.
Tips to grow on
Survey your soil. If you garden in the ground, the best soil is loam, which is soft, dark and crumbly. Loamy soil retains moisture but drains so it’s not soggy; it’s also easy to dig. If you encounter clay or sandy soil, amend the soil with aged compost or shredded hardwood mulch. Size up your space. When plotting the size of your garden, make sure it’s large enough to yield the harvest you want. Your plants should have room to mature and allow for good air circulation, which reduces pest and disease problems. If you have limited yard space, or none at all, grow vegetables and herbs in containers on a deck, terrace, balcony or even on the windowsill. Let the sunshine in. Vegetable plants need plenty of sun — at least six hours
a day. Pick your plants for your plot. Grow vegetables that are expensive to buy in the grocery store or at the farmer’s market, such as specialty tomatoes and peppers. Source: BonniePlants.com
Per person plants
Asparagus: 5-10 plants Bush beans: 12-15 plants Beets: 5-10 feet of plants, thin to 3 plants per foot Cucumber: 1 vine, 2 bushes Carrots: 4 feet, thin to 12 plants per foot Corn: 10-15 plants, Eggplant: 2-3 plants Leaf lettuce: 8 feet, think to 3 plants per foot Melon: 1-2 plants Onion: 12-20 sets, 4 sets per foot Peas: 15-20 plants, 6 plants per foot Pepper: 3-5 plants Potato: 10 plants Spinach: 5-10 feet, 6 plants per foot Squash: 1-2 plants Tomato: 2-4 plants Zucchini: 1-2 plants Source: Bonnie Plants
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s easy to get kitchen cabinet envy when you see the latest models with their shiny car-lacquer exteriors and hidden hinges. It’s no wonder painting cabinets or replacing the fronts is all the rage. But it’s what’s behind the doors that matters most. This is where we store food, cookware, utensils and more. If you really want to get jealous, open drawers and doors of new cabinets with their fancypants slide-out pantries and dish racks. “The problem with older cabinets is that they look like black holes inside,” says Krista Williamson, owner of K2 Workshops in Overland Park, Kan., which offers home-improvement classes. “No one wants to crawl through a dungeon.” However, simple modifications, such as adding sliding shelves and rolling pullout drawers, can give existing cabinets new life, Williamson says. Upgrading what you have can save thousands of dollars versus replacement. She demonstrates the theory on a decades-old cabinet from Habitat ReStore, a nonprofit that sells previously owned building materials. “This base cabinet had an upper shelf that just came out halfway,” she says. “It was for storing small appliances like a mixer and a blender. But the cabinet was kind of useless, because you still had to get down on your hands and knees. And a fourth of the storage space wasn’t being used.” So Williamson removed the worthless shelf. She measured the width and depth of the cabinet interior and had a new shelf and reinforcements made with ¾-inch plywood cut at a home-improvement warehouse, securing it with silicone. She found Rev-a-Shelf wooden and metal pullouts from Lowe’s that would fit inside. “It’s important to have the right measurements,” she says. The pullouts should be a half-inch less wide than your doors on either side. Sometimes they
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have to be special ordered. “Someone was returning some of the systems because they weren’t the right fit.” In less than an hour, Williamson installed glides and turned the cabinet into a more useful one with pullouts that can be used for stacks of dishes or pots and pans. She prefers wooden drawers (“they’re more furniture like”), but metal ones can be more economical and space-efficient. “Just be sure to get the sturdier metal ones,” Williamson cautions. “They’re not all created equally.”
Clean first
Before investing in any products, take the time to clean and organize your kitchen cabinets. Kristi Pelzel, owner of the Organization People, categorizes everything into zones: spices, linens, foil/wrap. Consider it an opportunity to pare down. “People usually have way too many glasses,” Pelzel says. “Donate the ones you don’t use. They shouldn’t be crammed inside. Leave breathingroom space between them.” The same goes for leftover containers (limit two per person). And Pelzel suggests storing occasional pieces elsewhere, especially in a space-crunched kitchen. “Put the turkey platter and the silver you use once a year in a box marked ‘Thanksgiving,’” Pelzel says. “They don’t need to take up precious real estate in the kitchen.” Pelzel advocates using what you have for storage before buying more stuff. She likes using clear baggies because they’re spaceefficient, and you can easily see what’s inside. They’re good for storing coupons, for example.
Kitchen cabinet organization systems have become a popular category. Materials include white polymer, brushed aluminum wire with chrome plating, birch and maple hardwoods, bamboo and rattan basket drawers. One of the most recent additions to kitchen organizational materials is clear glass for a more modern look, but it comes with a higher price tag. One of the main things people struggle with is spice storage, says Geri Higgins, owner of Portfolio Kitchen & Home, a kitchen showroom in Kansas City. There are door-mount systems and drawer inserts, which can be good as long as they’re not placed above the cooktop, where the humidity will shorten the spice life. Higgins separates the spices by sweet and savory and then arranges them alphabetically. A little Martha? Perhaps, but she has a lot of spices. She wishes she could go even further in organizing them. “They need an app for spice expiration by bar code,” Higgins says. “They have wine-storage apps and new technology for expired food in the refrigerator, so why not for spices, too?”
Tips
Measure. Be sure to write down the height, width and depth of the inside of your cabinet before buying anything. For example, a typical 18-inch-wide cabinet is only 15 ½ inches wide inside. Shop around. Local stores often carry supplies that are less expensive than what’s found online, and you can avoid shipping costs. Think ahead. Kitchencabinet organization products take a week or more to arrive.
Remodeling set to surge thanks to low turnover, foreclosures 6 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011
By Paul Owers
their savings accounts and embarking on more budget-friendly upgrades, remodelers say. For many, though, financing remains an issue. Banks have been reluctant to lend during the past few years, preferring instead to boost capital amid the recession. But Ward Kellogg, chief executive of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Paradise Bank, said he expects banks to start lending more in the next year. Low home appraisals have been the biggest hurdle in qualifying for home equity loans, Kellogg said. One way to remedy that: include the value of the improvements in the appraisal. “That will help get the
loan done,” he said. Before starting a remodeling project, a homeowner must get a building permit. Mike Fichera, Boca Raton’s building official, said homeowners have been going after lucrative tax breaks and other rebates for energy-efficient upgrades to windows, doors and air-conditioning units. “I’ve never seen so many air conditionings get changed out,” Fichera said. Remodelers and contractors say they have noticed a definite trend in moving less and renovating more. Scott Whiddon, president of Causeway Lumber Co., a Fort Lauderdale institution since 1939, said South Florida homeowners are making far fewer home additions and are more interested in replacing features. With the collapse of the home-building industry in recent years, more contractors are available and looking for remodeling work. Allied’s Feinberg said he gets roughly five calls a week about job opportunities. Barbara Gunning bought a four-bedroom Boca Raton home in 2009 and decided to renovate it last year. She and her husband upgraded the swimming pool and added hurricane windows, customized closets and renovated the kitchen. They also improved the landscaping and extended the patio. “This is it,” Gunning said. “This is our retirement home.” Real estate appraisers and other industry profes-
Forte said. Choose the cleaner that’s appropriate for the finish on the floor, either wax or polyurethane. She favors using a microfiber cloth on a mop with a swivel head. ■ Laminate floors: Since laminate is a very durable surface, it can be cleaned with a variety of cleaning products, hot water and a mop or microfiber cloth, Johnson said. ■ Rugs: Send area rugs that cannot go in a washing machine to a professional cleaner to avoid discoloring or damaging them, recommended Johnson. Set smaller rugs outside for a good airing, she added. When vacuuming a rug located in a doorway or other high traffic area, turn the rug over and run the sweeper on the underside of the rug, Forte said.
■ Dust: Work from the top down to avoid dirtying areas that were just cleaned, Johnson said. Use a vacuum attachment to remove cobwebs and dust in corners. The vacuum also is a good way to remove dust from lampshades and upholstered surfaces. Avoid feather dusters, Johnson added, as they just move the dust around. Wipe furniture with a damp cloth because dust can scratch wood surfaces, Forte said. She suggests spraying a microfiber cloth with a small amount of furniture polish. ■ Tile: Spray a foaming bathroom cleaner on tiled surfaces and leave it on for a few minutes. Remove the cleaner with a clean rag or sponge. If the grout has mildew, use a product designed to remove it. It may
Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With the economy starting to recover, consumers feel better about spending again — and that spare cash is going back into their homes. Home remodeling is on an upswing after the industry’s worst slump since at least the early 1960s. Scores of foreclosed properties need a ton of TLC, prompting buyers to renovate those tired or tattered spaces. Many other homeowners want to improve because they don’t plan to move — either by choice or by circumstance. Some love their homes but say they’d be more comfortable living there longer if they had new kitchens and baths. Others are caught in the housing conundrum, unable to sell and move because they owe far more than their homes are worth, a particular problem in areas where housing boomed, then tanked. As a result, they’re investing in new floors, replacing windows and doors, and making other changes as they wait for home sales and prices to rebound. “A lot of people are saying, ‘We’re here for the long haul now,’ “ said Bill Feinberg, president of Allied Kitchen & Bath in Fort Lauderdale. “My showroom has been nonstop busy. We’re getting big orders on a consistent basis.” An Allied client, Ilana Mosser, recently completed a renovation to her Coral Springs, Fla., home she bought in 2002.
McClatchy Tribune
Consumers are starting to feel more comfortable about spending again, prompting them to put their spare cash back into their homes. Here, Ilana Mosser, of Coral Springs, Fla., stands in her newly remodeled kitchen. Mosser said the house “had good bones to it” but the decor was dated. So she and her husband, Ken, gutted the kitchen, ripped up the tile, renovated a bathroom, removed the popcorn ceiling and added hurricane-proof windows, among other changes.
Home oasis
Their goal: Make the house an oasis, a place where they and their 13year-old daughter, Valerie, would want to stay for 15 years or longer. “Who’s going anywhere?” said Ilana Mosser, 44, a headhunter for physicians. “I want Valerie to come home someday and say, ‘I want to have an engagement party here.’ “ Harvard University’s
Joint Center for Housing Studies last month issued a report that revealed the nation’s home improvement market, at nearly $290 billion in 2009, stands to benefit from a post-recession glow of sorts. The report predicted that spending on home improvements would increase at an average 3.5 percent pace in the next few years. Nationally, consumer confidence has reached its highest point since May. And a recent survey from the University of Florida indicates that Florida residents appear more willing to reach into their wallets than they were over the past few years. Residents without equity in their homes are raiding
sionals caution homeowners to make smart improvements that will boost property values and attract buyers when it does come time to sell, whenever that is. Solid wood cabinets, stone countertops, up-todate appliances and undercabinet lighting are features that almost all buyers will appreciate, remodelers say. But forget about especially bright or odd-colored paint. And a homeowner can shell out $20,000 to $25,000 for a swimming pool, but it won’t add nearly as much value to the house. Still, Frank Smith, owner of J.F. Smith Design & Build in Fort Lauderdale, said that when it comes to renovations, homeowners shouldn’t worry about adding resale value and guessing what future buyers might like. “You’re doing it for your own enjoyment,” Smith said. “That’s where the real value is.”
Cost vs. return
Below are the average returns on common home upgrades: ■ Steel entry door replacement ($1,218): 102.1 percent ■ Garage door replacement ($1,291): 84 percent ■ Fiber-cement siding replacement ($13,382): 80 percent ■ Minor kitchen remodel ($21,695): 73 percent ■ Wooden deck addition ($10,973): 73 percent Source: Remodeling magazine 2010-11 Cost vs. Value Report, http://www.costvsvalue.com
Tools, techniques and tips for spring cleaning By Melissa Kossler Dutton For The Associated Press
McClatchy Tribune
Merry Maids employee Esther Jimenez cleans the bathroom of a home in Burbank, Calif. Spring cleaning is easier and more efficient if you use the right tools, techniques and products. said. Make sure to use plenty of cleaner to remove the dirt. Change the water and cloth as necessary. Avoid washing windows on sunny days because the cleaner will dry too quickly and leave streaks. ■ Window blinds: Close plastic blinds and wipe with a damp cloth, Johnson
said. Reverse the slats and clean the other side of the blinds with a clean, damp cloth. Use a tool designed for blind cleaning to clean between the slats. For cloth blinds, use a vacuum attachment to remove dust and dirt. ■ Wood floors: Wash floors with a cleaner designed for wood surfaces,
SCULPTURE
SPRING: See Page 7
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Spring is the time of year when homes often get a thorough cleaning. Using the right tools, techniques and products for different surfaces and types of dirt, from windows to counters to floors, is key to doing the job easily and effectively, said Debra Johnson, training manager for the Merry Maids housecleaning company in Memphis, Tenn. “It makes the job easier if you have the right products,” she said. Begin with the rooms or areas that seem the dirtiest, suggested Carolyn Forte, director of the Home Appliances and Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. “Start with the thing that bothers you most,” she said. “Do the bigger jobs first.” Johnson and Forte offered the following advice for effective spring cleaning. ■ Windows: Use an ammonia-based cleaner and microfiber cloth, Forte
take several applications and a lot of scrubbing with a grout brush to thoroughly clean the grout, Johnson said. Bathroom sinks and counters: Foaming cleaners or those designed to remove soap scum will work best. Make sure the cleaner you choose is safe for any special stone or countertop in the bathroom. Kitchen sinks and counters: Use cleaners that are more acidic or anti-bacterial in the kitchen, Johnson said. Read the labels on cleaners as some may need to be left on the surface for a few minutes before being wiped off, Forte added. Make sure the cleaner is appropriate for the counter material.
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Living well in less space
By Susan Zevon
panded in 2009, with starting a movement to change the way builders work. “People started saying they wanted their houses to be smaller, but better,” Cusato says. Susanka, who considers a tiny house to be one measuring no more than 500 square feet, once lived in an 8-by-12-foot flatbed trailer truck. “There has always been a fascination with tiny houses and an underground interest in them that surfaces when the economy goes down,” Susanka says. The best solution for housing in America, she believes, will be in the middle ground: 1,500 to 2,500 square feet. “The gift of the recession will be that Americans will believe that bigger is not better,” she says.
For The Associated Press
Tiny houses are going mainstream. Just look at the Katrina Cottage, originally designed by architects Andres Duany and Marianne Cusato as a dignified alternative to the FEMA trailer for flood-ravaged New Orleans. The tiny charmers with pitched roofs, nostalgic front porches and 300 to 1,800 square feet are becoming popular elsewhere; Lowe’s home stores sell the blueprints and materials. The cottages are being used as affordable housing, guesthouses and vacation cottages. It’s part of a larger trend toward living small. The average size of the American home expanded from 983 square feet in 1950 to 2,340 square feet in 2004, up 140 percent. This boom was largely driven by a belief that living big meant living well, and that real estate was a great investment so the bigger the house the better the investment. The recession is one thing killing that notion. Millions of foreclosures have meant “people have lost a ton of equity,” said Boyce Thompson, editorial director of Builder magazine. Add in high unemployment and energy costs, and no wonder small might seem better. According to the American Institute of Architects in 2010, 57 percent of architecture firms reported a decrease in the square footage of homes they designed. Another factor is people’s desire to live more ecologically, less wastefully. And there are demographic changes. Thompson points out that one-third of American home buyers are now single; people are marrying later, and many don’t want to wait until marriage to invest in a house. More-
SPRING/
Continued from Page 6 Here are a few additional tips for successful housecleaning from Allen Rathey, president of the Housekeeping Channel, a website dedicated to efficient cleaning: ■ Clean dry to wet. Always sweep a floor before mopping. Wetting dirt will make it harder to remove. ■ More is not always better. Follow the labels on cleaning products to avoid using too much. Residue from cleaning products can attract more dirt. ■ When trying to remove a spot or clean a dirty area, start wiping or scrubbing
Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011 7
Associated Press
This undated photo from “Tiny Houses,” by Mimi Zeiger, courtesy of Rizzoli, shows a home designed by architects Margarita McGrath and Scott Oliver in the Brooklyn borough of New York. When McGrath and Oliver transformed the existing row house in the fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, they preserved a tall maple tree in the front yard, creating an outside room around it. over, as Americans live longer, many widows and widowers are downsizing to small homes. And with elderly parents and grown children returning home, there are more multigenerational families, increasing the demand “for small auxiliary buildings,” Cusato says. Tiny dwellings allow generations of a family to live side-by-side with privacy.
How small is tiny?
Some people don’t just want small; they want minuscule. Mimi Zeiger, author of “Tiny Houses” (Rizzoli International, 2009) and the
new “Micro-Green” (Rizzoli International, March 2011), defines tiny houses as around 1,000 square feet, although “some enthusiasts cap them at the 300- to 400-square-foot range,” she says. In “Tiny Houses,” Zeiger presents three-dozen international examples, including some in the United States. She believes that America’s abundance of land and materials has traditionally made us less conscious of conservation than people are elsewhere, but that is changing. Cusato credits Sarah Susanka’s book “The Not So Big House” (Taunton), first published in 1998 and ex-
McClatchy Tribune
Sierra Apricot esperanza a real showstopper
Sierra Gold produces bell shaped flowers from summer through frost.
Making a tiny space livable
By Norman Winter
McClatchy Newspapers
Esperanza, or yellow bells, has become a hot plant in the past couple of years and will keep on rising in popularity thanks to the selection called Sierra Apricot. Scores of bell shaped golden apricot blossoms are enough to make everyone want to try it. The fact that it attracts hummingbirds is another outstanding virtue. It was a few years ago that most gardeners outside of the warm regions had never tried this plant. Then the yellow form called Gold Star became a Texas Super Star winner. Pan American seed also stirred the interest by introducing Mayan Gold the first widely produced seed selection making it a choice annual selection all across the country. Sierra Apricot is a hybrid of Tecoma stans and Tecoma alata and
“You have to be very disciplined to live in a tiny space,” Susanka says. Zeiger, who lives in a small studio apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y., says, “The most important thing that makes a tiny house livable is efficient space planning and clever storage. Like on a ship, things need to have dual purposes. You also need good light and air, so that the space isn’t claustrophobic or hut-like, but is a space you want to spend time in.” Her table, for example, serves as both kitchen table and office desk. Cusato agrees that light is essential in a small space. She recommends “windows on multiple walls in a room, two at a minimum — three or four are ideal. Tall ceilings — 9 feet in a small space feels great. When living in a tiny house, lots of storage is essential. Nothing makes the walls close in faster than clutter.”
gently. Too much pressure can damage the surface under the dirt. ■ Get extra life out of a clean cloth by folding it in quarters. When one side becomes dirty, refold the cloth to reveal a clean side. ■ Purchase doormats for the interior and exterior of your home. The mats will collect and absorb dirt and prevent it from being spread indoors. ■ Cleaning equipment should be washed regularly. Put sponges in the dishwater or microwave to sterilize. Wash microfiber rags in hot water without fabric softener. Clean brooms and scrub brushes in soapy water or hydrogen peroxide.
is in the family known as Bignoniaceae, which means it is related to our native cross-vine. It is a tropical native to the warmest parts of the United States, Mexico and South America. It is listed as a zone 9 or higher plant though many gardeners are touting it to zone 8. Everyone else will enjoy it as an annual and a very good buy for the gardening dollar. Sierra Gold is a compact selection reaching 4 to 5 feet tall blooming from spring through frost and laughing at July and August heat. The striking flowers are complemented by dark green, glossy foliage. Hummingbirds relish the esperanza’s nectar. Select a site in full sun for best blooming, but they also perform nicely in morning sun and afternoon shade. Grow them in large containers around the porch, patio or deck, or FLOWER: See Page 8
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On reality TV, pitfalls of a bargain
8 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, April 24, 2011
By Kathleen Lynn
The Record (Hackensack N.J.)
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Newlyweds with no rehab skills renovate a neglected 60-year-old home and, after a few mishaps, end up with a showplace. Sounds like a great idea for a TV home-improvement show, right? That’s what the folks at DIY (Do It Yourself) Network thought when they heard about Mark and Diana Sanicki who paid $392,500 a year ago for a Ramsey, N.J., house in need of an overhaul. After the Sanickis applied to be on one of their shows, the network dispatched TV cameras to northern New Jersey to follow their progress, starting last summer. But the story hasn’t worked out as expected. As DIY prepares to feature the Sanickis in a series called “Renovation Rookies,” the home’s interior remains gutted, a lattice of beams and studs. The Sanickis fired their contractor last fall and decided to become their own general contractors. The search for reliable subcontractors, followed by the harsh winter, halted work for months. But the show will go on, and the Sanickis remain surprisingly upbeat. They’re an energetic pair who have corporate jobs in marketing and sales and also own an ice cream store in Clifton, N.J., where they live with Diana’s parents. “It shouldn’t take a year to do something like this; it should take a few months,” said Mark, 30. But he considers the venture to be “high risk, high reward.” “We got a great deal on the house,” he said. “What we’re putting in, we’re getting back and then some. ... No matter what, I still believe this is a home run, even with the pitfalls.” If the Sanickis can finish the renovation for about $110,000, as they hope to, they expect to end up with a house worth $600,000 or more for a total cost of around $500,000. The Sanickis chose the house for its location, on a leafy street a few blocks from Ramsey’s downtown. “They bought the street; they bought the town,” said their real estate agent, Allison Witkowski of Re/Max in Saddle River, N.J. “You can’t buy a house in Ramsey for under $400,000 that’s this size. We looked at so many bad houses.”
McClatchy Tribune
Mark, right, and Diana Sanicki, left, walk with real estate agent Allison Witkowski outside the home they bought and gut renovated inside and out in Ramsey, N.J. Their experience will be on a new TV series “Renovation Rookies.”
Interesting story
They pitched their story to DIY Network, a sister company of HGTV. They hoped the network would send in a team of contractors to help with the job, but the network just wanted to film their adventures and misadventures — such as the time Mark perched on a wobbly cinderblock to cut an overhead beam, because they didn’t yet own a ladder. “They just seemed like a great couple with a great story,” said Andy Singer, vice president of programming at DIY Network. Producer Dave Lane of Rivr Media of Knoxville, Tenn., which filmed the Sanickis, said he was drawn to the Sanickis’ “character and their senses of humor.” “The way they carry themselves is made for TV,” Lane said. The Sanickis said they quickly got used to having the cameras around. “After the first day, you don’t realize they’re there,” said Diana, 28. “You’re just trying to get the job done.” “We weren’t acting,” Mark said. “We were just focused on the task at hand. The show kind of
carries itself. The thought of people not knowing how to do any of this and having to do all of this — obviously that’s going to be very entertaining.” Home renovations can certainly strain a relationship, but the Sanickis say their marriage has survived. “You have your fights, but at the end of the day you realize you love each other and you could go through everything together,” Mark said. “It’s taxing on a marriage, but we’re fine. Everything’s fine. We’re still in love and still married.” Working with their former contractor, they gutted the interior and tore three layers of siding and insulation off the exterior. The work has been “a huge learning process,” said Mark, who never owned a home before. “I’m not even used to cutting a lawn, and the next thing we’re trying to Sheetrock an entire house,” Mark said. “Many of the things we were doing, we realized there was probably a more efficient way to do it. But how else you going to learn?” They’ve made some progress: A new roof is in
place, along with the plumbing system and some new windows. Workers recently started on the exterior, which will be stucco and stone. Mark said the experience has taught them that it’s key to choose the right contractor and keep setbacks in perspective. “I have the mentality of ‘the world’s not ending,’” Mark said. “Any type of problem can be solved.” Diana said she learned not to “let my impatience or frustration get in the way of the end result.” Mark also liked discovering how much willpower and persistence he has, as he tackled jobs such as jack hammering the front steps. “It was gratifying to do something you’re not used to doing and not stop until it’s done,” he said.
Never gave up
As the months dragged on, they occasionally thought of walking away but rejected the idea. For one thing, they believed in their original vision; for another, they realized they couldn’t sell the gutted house without facing a possible loss.
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plant in fertile, welldrained soil in the tropical-style garden. Amend heavy, poorly drained soil with the addition of 3 to 4 inches of organic matter and till to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. This will increase your opportunity of a spring return in zone 8. While preparing the soil, incorporate 2 pounds of a slow-release, 12-6-6 fertilizer per 100 square feet of planting area. Dig the planting hole two to three times as large as the root ball and plant at the same depth it is growing in the container. Feed container-grown plants with a diluted water-soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer every other week or use controlled-release granules according to the formula recommendation. Keep in mind that daily watering and high temperatures usually mean fertilizing more often. Feed those in the landscape every four to six weeks with light applications of fertilizer. Use the Sierra Apricot around the pool for a look of the islands. Grow under tall bananas or upright elephant ears. Combine with other hummingbird-attracting plants like the Silky Gold asclepias, Brazilian sage or bog sage, or for a real showstopper plant it with Mystic Spires blue salvia. Many esperanza are sold generically, but the variety name Sierra Apricot has winner written all over it. Ask your garden center to get it for you. It is fun to grow tropicals at our homes, and it is especially nice when they bloom non-stop. This represents good value for your dollar whether you want to protect through the winter or start over next spring.
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“We definitely didn’t want to give up, nor were we in a position to do so,” Mark said. They are trying to closely manage their budget, partly by doing some work themselves and partly by getting several bids on each job. They find that, thanks to the construction slowdown, many subcontractors are willing to cut their prices just to stay busy. “If you really do your homework and get a lot of quotes, you can save a lot of money,” Diana said. They’ve found a lot of subcontractors through recommendations from friends and relatives in the Polish community. On the show, Mark jokes that a home repair show starring the two of them would be called “Two Bozos and a Hammer.” “It’s been a ride, man,” Mark said. He occasionally wonders if it will all work out, but in his more hopeful moments, he says, “in the grand scheme of things, we’ll look back and it’ll be great.” “It’s definitely a hard way to get what you want,” Diana said. “In the end, is it worth it? I’ll get back to you on that one.”
FLOWER/
Continued from Page 7
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