Spring
Home & Garden 2010
Change it up Supplement to the Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, April 25, 2010
Redecorating doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Sometimes it’s just a matter of using the old in a new way ■
By Ann Bailey
style or content. If people want their rooms brightened up, removing heavy, dark curtains is as easy way to do that. Blinds can replace the curtains if privacy is an issue, Kallinen noted.
Special Features Staff Writer
When it comes to decorating, change is good. Simple things, such as painting the walls, rearranging furniture or adding a rug to the floor can give the room a whole new look at little cost, say Julie Danks Kvitne and Paula Kallinen, of Meadowbrook in Grand Forks. Danks Kvitne, owner of Meadowbrook in Grand Forks and Fargo, and Kallinen, Meadowbrook’s regional manager, provide in-home consultation on decorating in addition to in-store consultations. When the two women go to a home, one of the first things they do is clean out the room and start from scratch, they say. When they put the furniture back in the room, they experiment with moving the furniture away from the wall and “playing the angles” of the room. When Kallinen and Danks Kvitne decorate a room, they may use pieces of furniture that were in the room or go to another room and find a different piece to put in it. They also may choose another use for a furniture piece, such as using an ottoman for a coffee table. Because diversity in furniture groups adds interest, Kallinen and Danks Kvitne may break up sets of furniture, instead of putting the same pieces back in the group. Once the furniture is rearranged, adding an area rug will pull the room together, the women say.
Accessories
Adding a faux crystal bobeché to a candle is an inexpensive way to dress it up.
A fresh look
Another way to give a room a different feel is to paint it, which gives it a fresh, clean look. People may want to consider painting one wall a different color from the rest for varying shades of the same color. Moving pictures or grouping them differently is another way to change the way a room looks. Pictures or photos can be grouped by appearance, frame
Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer
Chad Caya is a Grand Forks professional painter who is known for his work with decorative painting and historical restoration on exterior buildings.
Painting with panache Use creative paint techniques to get that special look ■
By Ann Bailey
Special Features Staff Writer
From raising the height, to creating a focal point, to crafting a style, decorative painting can enhance a room in an artful way. Through techniques such as glazing, graining and marbling, decorative painting can make rooms appear higher, larger, lighter and more elegant, according to a book called Professional Painted Finishes book. Meanwhile, decorative painting also can camouflage design flaws and damaged walls, according to Professional Painted Finishes. Graining, a painting technique used to make surfaces resemble wood, and marbling date back thousands of years, the book said. Glazing, a newer technique, has been used since the 12th century.
Reserved style
These days, homeowners want their walls painted in a more subtle style than
PAINTING: See Page 2
Photos by Jackie Lorentz
Adding or changing around accessories, such as pillows and throws, is another way to decorate inexpensively. “Your accessories are the least expensive way to touch up your room,” Danks Kvitne said. Meanwhile, candles, baskets and ornamental wall art are ways to add texture to a room. “By adding texture, it also gives more warmth to the room,” Kallinen said. A floral or greens arrangement is an easy way to make the room more vibrant. The arrangement can be real or artificial, purchased from a florist or grown in the homeowner’s garden or backyard. “If you have a vase, get sticks or pussy willows,” Danks Kvitne suggests. “We think floral and greens really do make a home,” Kallinen said. Dressing up candles with bobeches or beads also will add interest to a room, she said.
Finding another use
Meadowbrook owner Julie Danks Kvitne, right and Paula Kallinen, left, talk about how to update a room with changing only a few pieces or by adding new furniture for a new look.
An ottoman can be used as a coffee table without taking up any more room than a wood coffee table. linen can be used to cover a guestroom bed. When people are considering redecorating, they should take inventory of what they own before they go out and buy something new, Kallinen and Danks Kvitne said, noting that they often find decorating items in
Straight-up gardening Repurposing items such as table linens, is another way to decorate without spending money. For example, a lace table
Texture and a splash of color can be used together in a small decorative setting. people’s basements, attics, garages and closets when they are doing a job for them. “The things are there, you just have to think of them in a different way,” Kallinen siad.
Things are looking up for gardeners short on space
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By Ann Bailey
Special Features Staff Writer
The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing plants for vertical gardens. There are hundreds of plants from which to choose and a myriad of ways to group them, say gardening experts. Meanwhile, vertical gardening or gardening with upright structures, can take many different forms and be beneficial in numerous ways. According to the University of Missouri Extension Service, vertical gardening can: ■ Provide privacy and disguise unattractive views. ■ Provide excellent air circulation for the plants. ■ Be built in shaded areas. ■ Grow more plants in a small area ■ Be within reach of people who cannot garden in a traditional way. If people do have physical limitations, they should consider questions such as whether the plants will be grown at ground level, in a raised bed a tabletop planter or in a container, the University of Missouri extension services advises. Other things gardeners should consider before they plant are whether they will be gardening from a seated or standing position and how high the plants will be at maturity. Although vertical garden-
ing is especially attractive to people with small yards, apartment balconies or in the narrow space between the garage or sidewalk, all gardeners can find a place for a vertical garden. “Really, it could be done anywhere you have the space,” said Jodie Ramsey, who owns Jean’s – the Right Plant Place in Perham, Minn., with Julie Schroe. The women spoke about plant options for vertical gardening at Gardening Saturday April 10 in East Grand Forks. Here’s a look at some of the plants, including a tree, vines and perennials for sun, shade and partial shade, that work well in vertical gardens, according to Ramsey and Schroer:
Tree
Caragana arborescens or pea shrub: “The size you buy them at the nursery are the size they’re going to get,” Ramsey said. Instead of growing up, the branches grow toward the ground, she said. The Walker variety, which has small needle-like leaves, grows to about 5-6 feet tall and is 3-4 feet wide while the Pendula variety has wider leaves, grows to about 6-7 feet tall and is 5 feet wide. Both varieties have small, yellowpea like flowers.
Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer
A Dropmore honeysuckle grows up a trellis built by Louie Forseide, Grand Forks.
Vines
Clematis: Clematis can punch up the vertical color in the yard. If you’re looking for a patriotic theme, plant Niobe, which is magenta red, Huldine, which is white and Ken Donson, which is deep blue. Gardeners should plant something shorter in front of them or put a piece of yard art to keep the roots cool, Schroer said. Akebia quinata: Also known as chocolate vine, the
12-inch tall vine grows 3-4 feet wide and has dark maroon, vanilla-scented flowers, which bear edible fruit.
Perennials
Angelica or Masterwort: A biennial that produces attractive cut leaves that resemble celery. The plant grows up to 5 feet high and has flower heads that are a purplish magenta color. VERTICAL: See Page 2