Ken and Deb Lasher acknowledged they were not getting any younger.
Neither was their kitchen.
When their refrigerator stopped working, the Morningside couple decided it was time to update their preparing, cooking, baking and eating area.
"We had talked about remodeling prior to the refrigerator breaking down," Deb Lasher said. "Once that happened, we moved up our planning dramatically."
They were practically forced into refurbishing as other things seemed to no longer work in the kitchen following the refrigerator's demise.
"It just seemed like nothing was handy anymore or nothing was comfortable for me," Lasher said.
The decision was made to pull out all the stops, including the drywall in the kitchen and start from the floorboards up.
"I started to research kitchens at the large retail home improvement stores to get some ideas," Lasher explained. "I also went online."
That's where she discovered Bryan Wise of Le Mars, Iowa, who calls himself the Kitchen Design Guy.
"I contacted Bryan and he came out and did measurements and talked to us about what we wanted," Lasher said.
Thus, began the collaboration on the modest kitchen area, measuring about 18 feet long by 12 feet wide. Like most women, Lasher wanted more storage, more counter space.
"We had soffits above the original cabinets, wasted space literally," she pointed out. "Now, the cabinets reach to the ceiling and we even added a floor-to-ceiling pantry with several cabinets and drawers."
The cabinets from Heartwood Cabinetry in Le Mars are oak, stained in a medium brown, with silver hardware. The drawers have dovetailed corners made of hardwood with full extension drawer guides and soft close features.
"It's just so handy," Lasher said, demonstrating the gliding in and out. "It's particularly great where I have my pots and pans, so I no longer have to creep and crawl on a knee and dig to get something out."
The Lashers wanted to be creative in having the space reflect their lifestyle -- empty nesters with grandchildren who visit.
"We considered granite," Deb admitted. "But for a tenth of the cost, we decided to go with a Wilson HD laminate and I love it. I'd say the new countertops were the best part of the kitchen. Before we had two-inch ceramic tile with grout for countertops. It was very hard to keep clean and very impractical."
Counter space was freed up when the microwave was moved off the counter and installed on a wall. The Lashers decided to go with stainless steel appliances.
"I had white and it was dated," Deb said. "I'm so glad we went with the stainless steel."
Most of the colors are rich in tone, but the backsplash has brighter browns and ivories.
"That was deliberate," Deb confessed. "I like bling and I wanted that backsplash to sparkle. It does!"
The floor has an unusual checkered pattern in various tones of light brown.
"That was another conscious choice," Deb noted. "We went with a laminate on the floor," rather than wood or tile.
The focal point of the kitchen is a rectangular island, complete with drawers and cabinets, and two chairs.
"I wanted an island for more counter space," Deb said. "But what I really like is Brian made wheels for the island so it can be moved anyplace. And because he remembered I like bling, he found wheels that look like crystals."
The large patio doors that open out onto a deck provide natural light, but on cloudy days, the kitchen is illuminated with recessed lights which add to the comfort of the cozy area.
An interesting addition, found at Lowe's, is a retractable fan inside an overhead light with clear ceiling blades.
"This is way fun," Deb said, demonstrating how the fan works with a remote. "And, because it retracts when it's not running, you don't have to dust it."
The finished product with a fresh, modern look, which took about two months from choice to completion, provides the Lashers with easy movement around the kitchen to reach storage, food preparation, cooking and eating.
"I'm within 10 feet or less of everything in the kitchen," Deb said, as she walked from sink to counter to stove to island. "I like to bake and Ken likes to cook, so this has really suited us well."
2012年1月31日星期二
2012年1月30日星期一
All They Hope for Is Survival
“Zehrunisa Husain was a tear-factory even on good days; it was one of her chief ways of starting conversations,” Katherine Boo writes in “Beyond the Beautiful Forevers,” her exquisitely accomplished first book. Novelists dream of defining characters this swiftly and beautifully, but Ms. Boo is not a novelist. She is one of those rare, deep-digging journalists who can make truth surpass fiction, a documentarian with a superb sense of human drama. She makes it very easy to forget that this book is the work of a reporter.
Half an acre. 335 huts. 3,000 people. And a concrete wall that is supposed to hide them from view: this is Annawadi, the Mumbai slum that comes vibrantly to life in this book’s pages. Ms. Boo says that she chose Annawadi because the scale of this “sumpy plug of slum” bordering a lake of sewage was small, and its location was fraught with possibilities. Annawadi sits beside the road to the Mumbai airport, on “a stretch where new India and old India collided and made new India late.” In 2008, at the time the events in the book unfolded, scavenging and trash sorting were the children of Annawadi’s most promising career choices.
Much of the focus is on Zehrunisa and her oldest son, Abdul. One of Abdul’s brothers dreams of having a “clean job” at one of the nearby hotels. (“He’d heard of waiters who spent all day putting toothpicks into pieces of cheese, or aligning knives and forks on tables.”) But Abdul is more of a pragmatist and has made himself an expert at trading in refuse.
“It was a fine time to be a garbage trader, not that that was the term passersby used for Abdul,” Ms. Boo writes. “Some called him garbage, and left it at that.”
Without condescending to her subjects in the slightest, Ms. Boo explains that dreams of upward mobility are just barely possible in Annawadi. And Zehrunisa’s family has set out to renovate the kitchen of the hut in which they live. The book takes its peculiar title from sunshine-yellow ads for ceramic tile that are painted on the concrete wall that hides Annawadi: the ad series repeats the words “Beautiful” and “Forever.” Behind those “beautiful forevers,” Zehrunisa wants some of that tile for her own.
It is a calamitous desire. And Ms. Boo sets forth the step-by-step process of ruination that it brings. The kitchen wall that is being renovated is shared by two dwellings; on the other side lives Fatima, a one-legged woman.
“Strong in the shoulders, she brought the crutches down hard on neighbors she considered disrespectful,” Ms. Boo writes about Fatima’s formidable temper.
One day, when the wall is being banged on, Fatima erupts in fury. “There is rubble in my rice!” she shouts.
“It’s my wall to break, prostitute,” Zehrunisa shouts back. The fight escalates quickly to what, in the hands of another writer, would be a sickeningly lurid moment, but Ms. Boo presents it with devastating understatement. Fatima becomes so furious that she sets herself on fire. She survives just long enough to lie about what happened. As a consequence, Abdul is accused of murder.
How does Ms. Boo know the details? A staff writer for The New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize winner for her work at The Washington Post, she spent three and a half years in the midst of her subjects. She used written notes, video recordings, audiotapes and photographs; some of the children of the book used her Flip video camera to document events. She also made use of more than 3,000 public records.
The Fatima catastrophe is at the heart of this book. But Ms. Boo never milks her material for pathos; she doesn’t have to. By simply describing Abdul’s experiences at the hands of India’s criminal justice system, she reveals a degree of casual corruption that would stun even the most jaded cynic.
By accepting the amount of sewage, literal and moral, that pervades life in Annawadi, she delivers something much more powerful than an outright indictment. The book’s cover, with an image of abject squalor, does not do justice to its agile prose, wry tone and surprisingly upbeat theatrics. Comparison to Dickens is not unwarranted.
When Ms. Boo finally uses her own voice, at the end of the book, to explain how a fair-skinned blonde from The New Yorker managed to fit into Annawadi so wholeheartedly, she also frames the ultimate question that “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” addresses: why aren’t the slum-dwellers bound together by common interests and common enemies?
Here she crystallizes what she discovered: “Instead, powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked. Sometimes they tried to destroy one another. Sometimes, like Fatima, they destroyed themselves in the process.”
The book’s relatively fortunate characters, like Asha, a cunningly ambitious woman who realizes it is advantageous to create problems and then be paid to solve them, “improved their lots by beggaring the chances of other poor people.”
“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” needs no heavy hand to pack a wallop. “Food wasn’t one of the amenities at Cooper, the 500-bed hospital on which millions of poor people depended,” Ms. Boo writes with supreme restraint. “Nor was medicine.”
There is only one realm in which her approach loses rigor. She writes about so many scavenging kids, boisterously quarrelsome families and corrupt officials that the book is too crowded. In another setting this might be problematic. In Mumbai it is justified.
Half an acre. 335 huts. 3,000 people. And a concrete wall that is supposed to hide them from view: this is Annawadi, the Mumbai slum that comes vibrantly to life in this book’s pages. Ms. Boo says that she chose Annawadi because the scale of this “sumpy plug of slum” bordering a lake of sewage was small, and its location was fraught with possibilities. Annawadi sits beside the road to the Mumbai airport, on “a stretch where new India and old India collided and made new India late.” In 2008, at the time the events in the book unfolded, scavenging and trash sorting were the children of Annawadi’s most promising career choices.
Much of the focus is on Zehrunisa and her oldest son, Abdul. One of Abdul’s brothers dreams of having a “clean job” at one of the nearby hotels. (“He’d heard of waiters who spent all day putting toothpicks into pieces of cheese, or aligning knives and forks on tables.”) But Abdul is more of a pragmatist and has made himself an expert at trading in refuse.
“It was a fine time to be a garbage trader, not that that was the term passersby used for Abdul,” Ms. Boo writes. “Some called him garbage, and left it at that.”
Without condescending to her subjects in the slightest, Ms. Boo explains that dreams of upward mobility are just barely possible in Annawadi. And Zehrunisa’s family has set out to renovate the kitchen of the hut in which they live. The book takes its peculiar title from sunshine-yellow ads for ceramic tile that are painted on the concrete wall that hides Annawadi: the ad series repeats the words “Beautiful” and “Forever.” Behind those “beautiful forevers,” Zehrunisa wants some of that tile for her own.
It is a calamitous desire. And Ms. Boo sets forth the step-by-step process of ruination that it brings. The kitchen wall that is being renovated is shared by two dwellings; on the other side lives Fatima, a one-legged woman.
“Strong in the shoulders, she brought the crutches down hard on neighbors she considered disrespectful,” Ms. Boo writes about Fatima’s formidable temper.
One day, when the wall is being banged on, Fatima erupts in fury. “There is rubble in my rice!” she shouts.
“It’s my wall to break, prostitute,” Zehrunisa shouts back. The fight escalates quickly to what, in the hands of another writer, would be a sickeningly lurid moment, but Ms. Boo presents it with devastating understatement. Fatima becomes so furious that she sets herself on fire. She survives just long enough to lie about what happened. As a consequence, Abdul is accused of murder.
How does Ms. Boo know the details? A staff writer for The New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize winner for her work at The Washington Post, she spent three and a half years in the midst of her subjects. She used written notes, video recordings, audiotapes and photographs; some of the children of the book used her Flip video camera to document events. She also made use of more than 3,000 public records.
The Fatima catastrophe is at the heart of this book. But Ms. Boo never milks her material for pathos; she doesn’t have to. By simply describing Abdul’s experiences at the hands of India’s criminal justice system, she reveals a degree of casual corruption that would stun even the most jaded cynic.
By accepting the amount of sewage, literal and moral, that pervades life in Annawadi, she delivers something much more powerful than an outright indictment. The book’s cover, with an image of abject squalor, does not do justice to its agile prose, wry tone and surprisingly upbeat theatrics. Comparison to Dickens is not unwarranted.
When Ms. Boo finally uses her own voice, at the end of the book, to explain how a fair-skinned blonde from The New Yorker managed to fit into Annawadi so wholeheartedly, she also frames the ultimate question that “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” addresses: why aren’t the slum-dwellers bound together by common interests and common enemies?
Here she crystallizes what she discovered: “Instead, powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked. Sometimes they tried to destroy one another. Sometimes, like Fatima, they destroyed themselves in the process.”
The book’s relatively fortunate characters, like Asha, a cunningly ambitious woman who realizes it is advantageous to create problems and then be paid to solve them, “improved their lots by beggaring the chances of other poor people.”
“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” needs no heavy hand to pack a wallop. “Food wasn’t one of the amenities at Cooper, the 500-bed hospital on which millions of poor people depended,” Ms. Boo writes with supreme restraint. “Nor was medicine.”
There is only one realm in which her approach loses rigor. She writes about so many scavenging kids, boisterously quarrelsome families and corrupt officials that the book is too crowded. In another setting this might be problematic. In Mumbai it is justified.
2012年1月29日星期日
Comments sought on proposals for signature piece
To the casual observer, the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden seems to be a plot of land at Third Street and Midland Avenue noted only by an occasional fleet of brightly colored flags or a lighted Christmas tree.
Beginning Feb. 10, all of us will get to help decide which signature piece of art will define that space. Artists from Lexington, Ohio, California and New York have submitted scaled models of pieces they hope will be chosen as the magnet to draw visitors to the area to explore Murphy's life and those of other black jockeys who aren't prominent in history books.
Those five works will be on display at Land of Tomorrow Gallery for two weeks to allow us to view and comment on them. Community comments will be taken into consideration when the selection is made.
David Cozart, president of the memorial park board, said the group wanted something different, something personal, at the park.
"We know we want to be unique and not like any other place," he said. "But we won't risk integrity."
The nine-member board joined with LexArts to solicit pieces from artists nationwide. The park, which has been stalled for several years, is intended to be an entryway to the East End, a historic African-American neighborhood, and to honor Murphy, who rode the winner in three Kentucky Derbys.
The call for art went out in October, and the works came in last week.
The five proposals "are all really different," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Bluegrass Community Foundation. "Each tells a story of the Thoroughbred industry."
A part of the Legacy Trail project, which is overseen by the Bluegrass Community Foundation and stretches from the Kentucky Horse Park to Third Street and Midland Avenue, the park now has enough money for construction and to seed the art pieces, Cozart said.
"We are really beginning to put this all together," Austin said.
The artists who submitted proposals — Garry R. Bibbs of Lexington; Neal and Tiffany Bociek of San Diego; Willis "Bing" Davis of Dayton, Ohio; Stacey Farley of Garrison, N.Y.; and LaVon Williams of Lexington —visited the site of the park and learned about the East End community, the Legacy Trail and Lexington before creating their pieces.
Bibbs, an associate art professor at the University of Kentucky, said he was inspired by the juxtaposition of Murphy and the era in which he lived.
"This man is winning his first race after Reconstruction, 40 years after the Civil War," Bibbs said. "I wanted to take into consideration the impact of a winning jockey maneuvering through the major racial issues of the times.
"He is racing two races all the time," he said, "and also has two victories at the same time."
The sculpture, A Race to the Finish, is displayed along a curved wall and uses three metals. "I want to make good art, but I want it to contain the truth," Bibb said.
The husband-and-wife team of Neal and Tiffany Bociek are using Murphy's image in their work, My Home Is a Horse and a Track.
"Because there is an interest in knowing who and what Isaac Murphy was, I didn't want to do something abstract," Neal Bociek said. "You will know who he is immediately."
Their proposed piece features a silhouetted image of Murphy racing on a horse that intersects with another, to contrast Murphy's gentleness with the power of a race horse. Rising above the horses is a circular disc bearing Murphy's image that can spin 360 degrees.
The piece is meant to show Murphy looking over his property and the nearby community that once included the Kentucky Association Racetrack, Neal Bociek said.
"It is not just about the art, but it is really about the community," Tiffany Bociek said. "We were inspired by a whole lot of YouTube videos about the Legacy Trail. We were really inspired by that energy those videos gave off. We kind of felt like it was a great place to be."
William "Bing" Davis got that same vibe when he walked the land, and visited African Cemetery No. 2 on East Seventh Street and the Kentucky Horse Park.
"I became familiar with Lexington and watched some of the dig at the park and put my hands in the dirt," Davis said. "It just filled me up and totally changed my idea from what I had envisioned."
Davis submitted a sleek sculpture in which rider and horse appear to be one. The piece will be made of a composite material that is light, he said, but as strong as steel. Portions of two bridges in Dayton are made of the composite.
The finished piece, covered with three to five coats of a synthetic fiberglass and painted with ultraviolet auto-body paint, would be 5 feet by 3 feet and sit atop a pedestal.
Davis named the piece, which he describes as an abstract of a horse and rider working as a unit to become winners, Jah Aswon which stands for "jockey and horse as won."
Stacey Farley's works are installed at train stations, museums, gardens and parks in the form of ceramic tiles. She has been working with tiles for 25 years.
Farley's proposal includes transferring an image of Murphy onto a giant tile that will be the backdrop for a three-sided shelter containing a bench.
"You can see it from far away, but when you get closer you will learn more information," she said. "You can see him in the context of U.S. history."
On one short wall, there will be a time line that features Murphy's Derby wins, constitutional amendments and the Civil War, she said. On the other short wall there will be a poem by Frank X Walker.
"I am interested in people who are anonymous or who got lost along the way," Farley said. "Here is a very important person who disappeared from the history books. It is right up my alley to tell that story. I was drawn to it."
Whether she wins or not, Farley said, she enjoyed doing the research. "It was a great ride."
Noted woodcarver and former UK basketball player LaVon Williams first heard of Murphy from his father, a schoolteacher who taught young people about little known men and women in black history, he said.
"Murphy was my father's hero," said Williams, who grew up in Florida.
Although his principle medium is wood, Williams said he would sculpt the Murphy piece in metal so it would withstand the elements.
The three pieces he created are meant to cover the back and sides of a bench that would be in the park.
One side, Lucy, would acknowledge Murphy's love for his wife, Lucy, to whom he would give a rose or flower every day. Another, Race Man, is a tribute to Murphy as a jockey with innate skills, winning without using a whip. And the last, American Style, depicts his original riding style, which was straighter, and how Murphy learned other styles, using whichever best suited his mount.
"It is a piece that welcomes everybody," said Williams, a member of the 1978 UK team that won a national championship . "Murphy brought people together. He was gracious and kind."
Construction of the park should start in early spring and include a range of art created by children, said Austin. Construction of the signature piece will begin when the artist is available.
Also on display at with the proposed works will be artifacts uncovered during a recent archeological dig and historic markers about Murphy and the East End that will be placed in the park.
Beginning Feb. 10, all of us will get to help decide which signature piece of art will define that space. Artists from Lexington, Ohio, California and New York have submitted scaled models of pieces they hope will be chosen as the magnet to draw visitors to the area to explore Murphy's life and those of other black jockeys who aren't prominent in history books.
Those five works will be on display at Land of Tomorrow Gallery for two weeks to allow us to view and comment on them. Community comments will be taken into consideration when the selection is made.
David Cozart, president of the memorial park board, said the group wanted something different, something personal, at the park.
"We know we want to be unique and not like any other place," he said. "But we won't risk integrity."
The nine-member board joined with LexArts to solicit pieces from artists nationwide. The park, which has been stalled for several years, is intended to be an entryway to the East End, a historic African-American neighborhood, and to honor Murphy, who rode the winner in three Kentucky Derbys.
The call for art went out in October, and the works came in last week.
The five proposals "are all really different," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Bluegrass Community Foundation. "Each tells a story of the Thoroughbred industry."
A part of the Legacy Trail project, which is overseen by the Bluegrass Community Foundation and stretches from the Kentucky Horse Park to Third Street and Midland Avenue, the park now has enough money for construction and to seed the art pieces, Cozart said.
"We are really beginning to put this all together," Austin said.
The artists who submitted proposals — Garry R. Bibbs of Lexington; Neal and Tiffany Bociek of San Diego; Willis "Bing" Davis of Dayton, Ohio; Stacey Farley of Garrison, N.Y.; and LaVon Williams of Lexington —visited the site of the park and learned about the East End community, the Legacy Trail and Lexington before creating their pieces.
Bibbs, an associate art professor at the University of Kentucky, said he was inspired by the juxtaposition of Murphy and the era in which he lived.
"This man is winning his first race after Reconstruction, 40 years after the Civil War," Bibbs said. "I wanted to take into consideration the impact of a winning jockey maneuvering through the major racial issues of the times.
"He is racing two races all the time," he said, "and also has two victories at the same time."
The sculpture, A Race to the Finish, is displayed along a curved wall and uses three metals. "I want to make good art, but I want it to contain the truth," Bibb said.
The husband-and-wife team of Neal and Tiffany Bociek are using Murphy's image in their work, My Home Is a Horse and a Track.
"Because there is an interest in knowing who and what Isaac Murphy was, I didn't want to do something abstract," Neal Bociek said. "You will know who he is immediately."
Their proposed piece features a silhouetted image of Murphy racing on a horse that intersects with another, to contrast Murphy's gentleness with the power of a race horse. Rising above the horses is a circular disc bearing Murphy's image that can spin 360 degrees.
The piece is meant to show Murphy looking over his property and the nearby community that once included the Kentucky Association Racetrack, Neal Bociek said.
"It is not just about the art, but it is really about the community," Tiffany Bociek said. "We were inspired by a whole lot of YouTube videos about the Legacy Trail. We were really inspired by that energy those videos gave off. We kind of felt like it was a great place to be."
William "Bing" Davis got that same vibe when he walked the land, and visited African Cemetery No. 2 on East Seventh Street and the Kentucky Horse Park.
"I became familiar with Lexington and watched some of the dig at the park and put my hands in the dirt," Davis said. "It just filled me up and totally changed my idea from what I had envisioned."
Davis submitted a sleek sculpture in which rider and horse appear to be one. The piece will be made of a composite material that is light, he said, but as strong as steel. Portions of two bridges in Dayton are made of the composite.
The finished piece, covered with three to five coats of a synthetic fiberglass and painted with ultraviolet auto-body paint, would be 5 feet by 3 feet and sit atop a pedestal.
Davis named the piece, which he describes as an abstract of a horse and rider working as a unit to become winners, Jah Aswon which stands for "jockey and horse as won."
Stacey Farley's works are installed at train stations, museums, gardens and parks in the form of ceramic tiles. She has been working with tiles for 25 years.
Farley's proposal includes transferring an image of Murphy onto a giant tile that will be the backdrop for a three-sided shelter containing a bench.
"You can see it from far away, but when you get closer you will learn more information," she said. "You can see him in the context of U.S. history."
On one short wall, there will be a time line that features Murphy's Derby wins, constitutional amendments and the Civil War, she said. On the other short wall there will be a poem by Frank X Walker.
"I am interested in people who are anonymous or who got lost along the way," Farley said. "Here is a very important person who disappeared from the history books. It is right up my alley to tell that story. I was drawn to it."
Whether she wins or not, Farley said, she enjoyed doing the research. "It was a great ride."
Noted woodcarver and former UK basketball player LaVon Williams first heard of Murphy from his father, a schoolteacher who taught young people about little known men and women in black history, he said.
"Murphy was my father's hero," said Williams, who grew up in Florida.
Although his principle medium is wood, Williams said he would sculpt the Murphy piece in metal so it would withstand the elements.
The three pieces he created are meant to cover the back and sides of a bench that would be in the park.
One side, Lucy, would acknowledge Murphy's love for his wife, Lucy, to whom he would give a rose or flower every day. Another, Race Man, is a tribute to Murphy as a jockey with innate skills, winning without using a whip. And the last, American Style, depicts his original riding style, which was straighter, and how Murphy learned other styles, using whichever best suited his mount.
"It is a piece that welcomes everybody," said Williams, a member of the 1978 UK team that won a national championship . "Murphy brought people together. He was gracious and kind."
Construction of the park should start in early spring and include a range of art created by children, said Austin. Construction of the signature piece will begin when the artist is available.
Also on display at with the proposed works will be artifacts uncovered during a recent archeological dig and historic markers about Murphy and the East End that will be placed in the park.
2012年1月19日星期四
Loo Trilogy
Sometimes the thrill of the hunt is the best part about doing a home renovation.
Take one homeowner whose 1,700-square-foot house in northwest Calgary recently underwent a major renovation that saw its three bathrooms refurbished.
Laura (who asked her last name not be published) bought the home seven years ago, but immediately realized it needed improvements.
“This house is about 60 years old, and there was an expansion done in the 1980s,” says the mother of two teens. “The only completely usable bathroom we had was the main bathroom in the (original) portion of the house.”
In fact, downstairs bathroom wasn’t used once in the time the family has lived in the home. “It was a tiny 30-by-30-(foot) shower and when you stepped on the shower floor, it moved,” Laura explained.
Coupled with that, the bathroom in the back 1980s section “was so ugly and awful, we never used it either.”
Laura says she enjoys DIY projects and renovated her kitchen herself. But when it came to redoing her bathrooms, she went shopping for a contractor who shared her vision. She soon discovered bathroom renovations can get awfully pricey, depending on whom you call.
“There were people I called, I’d have had to have taken another mortgage on my house (to pay for the reno),” she exclaimed. “They had their own view what a bathroom reno would look like.”
The homeowner eventually chose Lozier Contracting, based on the experience of her significant other, who had had the company owner Wayne Lozier do some work on his house.
“And he’s an engineer, so he tends to be very particular how people do the work,” says Laura. “The estimate wasn’t the lowest, but I thought it was fair for the work I needed to get done.”
Laura’s renovation was unusual, as she supplied the vanities, floor tiling and other items herself, says Lozier.
“When it comes to plumbing fixtures we usually prefer to purchase them from the wholesalers,” he says. “That way we can put in a warranty so, if a fixture fails, we can swap it out.”
Lozier provided the bathtub and shower fixtures, and installed Toto Drake low-flow toilets in two of the three bathrooms on Laura’s recommendation and previous experience with the product — she had installed one such toilet in the main bathroom a few years ago.
Laura, meanwhile, went shopping for vanities, mirrors and even tiling, hitting major retailers such as Home Depot, Rona and Totem, as well as picking up accessories like mirrors from shops such as HomeSense that she found for as little as $35.
Each bathroom presented its own challenges, and Laura arranged for the work to be done in stages so there would always be one functioning bathroom at all times.
The home’s large downstairs bathroom is the size of a small utility room and had been used to store the ironing board, with one wall covered in mirrors.
“The previous owner must have had a couple of teenagers,” Laura jokes.
The renovation duo had a surprise in store when the room’s tiny shower was ripped out, though.
“They found a false wall,” recalls Laura. “Nobody knew about it. It cost me more to get the custom shower done as a result, but that was fine — they were able to expand it quite a bit.”
Lozier says it was the first time he’d encountered a false wall, “but it allowed us to make the shower a lot bigger. We also had to replace some of the plumbing in the floor drains.”
A long vanity was cut in half and a utility closet installed. Laura considered in-floor heating, but decided it was an unnecessary expense.
Laura had purchased black-brown ceramic tile for a previous upstairs reno, but when she decided to use hardwood for that job, she held on to the tile and used it in the basement bathroom.
This presented some challenges as she wanted the same colour scheme for her other two bathrooms, but dark tile was hard to come by. She eventually got tile from several different retailers, giving each bathroom similar colour scheme, but a unique pattern and style.
She also favoured dark wood in the cabinets she purchased for each bathroom – the downstairs from Totem, the back bathroom from Rona, and the main bathroom from a cabinet store.
For the ceramic countertop in the downstairs bath, “they asked me to pick out an arborite I liked,” says Laura. “I bought a mirror for $50 at HomeSense and picked up some lights at Home Depot.”
Laura didn’t need in-floor heating for the main upstairs bathroom, either – Lozier installed a floor-level wall radiator with a lever that allows her to direct heat towards the floor or upwards.
The dark tile for the main bathroom came from Totem. “They didn’t have the longer tile like I used downstairs in the dark colour, but it was really inexpensive,” says Laura. “The mirror, the lights — all come from different home stores.”
Although Lozier was in charge of installing the Fiberglas acrylic Hytec bathtub, one innovation Laura insisted on was curved shower rods, giving more space in the tub and also in the shower in the back bath where this was also used.
“The shower tiles were bought at Totem, and were a happy surprise,” says Laura, noting that under the shower head the tiles don’t lie flat, creating a 3-D weaving pattern.
Laura describes the back bathroom as her “bling” bathroom, with a few esthetic touches giving it extra pizzazz, such as gemstone-patterned shower wall tiles from Totem, and crystal-accented paper-roll holder and towel rack from HomeSense.
“I really enjoy home renovations — it’s fun to see the effect at the end,” she says. “I wish I’d taken before-and-after pictures — you wouldn’t believe they were the same bathrooms.”
Lozier advises homeowners get at least three estimates before choosing a contractor, and do homework to check Better Business Bureau ratings and whether they’re licensed.
Laura’s main advice: “Know and understand your budget. I estimated I could get the work done for between $7,500 and $10,000 per bathroom. I had a total budget of $30,000, and I stuck to it.
“Think about where you want to spend your money. Getting a custom shower built was important for me. I also wanted higher-quality, low-flush toilets. If you’re looking for places to save money, focus on the cosmetic things and don’t scrimp on fundamentals like plumbing and electrical.”
Take one homeowner whose 1,700-square-foot house in northwest Calgary recently underwent a major renovation that saw its three bathrooms refurbished.
Laura (who asked her last name not be published) bought the home seven years ago, but immediately realized it needed improvements.
“This house is about 60 years old, and there was an expansion done in the 1980s,” says the mother of two teens. “The only completely usable bathroom we had was the main bathroom in the (original) portion of the house.”
In fact, downstairs bathroom wasn’t used once in the time the family has lived in the home. “It was a tiny 30-by-30-(foot) shower and when you stepped on the shower floor, it moved,” Laura explained.
Coupled with that, the bathroom in the back 1980s section “was so ugly and awful, we never used it either.”
Laura says she enjoys DIY projects and renovated her kitchen herself. But when it came to redoing her bathrooms, she went shopping for a contractor who shared her vision. She soon discovered bathroom renovations can get awfully pricey, depending on whom you call.
“There were people I called, I’d have had to have taken another mortgage on my house (to pay for the reno),” she exclaimed. “They had their own view what a bathroom reno would look like.”
The homeowner eventually chose Lozier Contracting, based on the experience of her significant other, who had had the company owner Wayne Lozier do some work on his house.
“And he’s an engineer, so he tends to be very particular how people do the work,” says Laura. “The estimate wasn’t the lowest, but I thought it was fair for the work I needed to get done.”
Laura’s renovation was unusual, as she supplied the vanities, floor tiling and other items herself, says Lozier.
“When it comes to plumbing fixtures we usually prefer to purchase them from the wholesalers,” he says. “That way we can put in a warranty so, if a fixture fails, we can swap it out.”
Lozier provided the bathtub and shower fixtures, and installed Toto Drake low-flow toilets in two of the three bathrooms on Laura’s recommendation and previous experience with the product — she had installed one such toilet in the main bathroom a few years ago.
Laura, meanwhile, went shopping for vanities, mirrors and even tiling, hitting major retailers such as Home Depot, Rona and Totem, as well as picking up accessories like mirrors from shops such as HomeSense that she found for as little as $35.
Each bathroom presented its own challenges, and Laura arranged for the work to be done in stages so there would always be one functioning bathroom at all times.
The home’s large downstairs bathroom is the size of a small utility room and had been used to store the ironing board, with one wall covered in mirrors.
“The previous owner must have had a couple of teenagers,” Laura jokes.
The renovation duo had a surprise in store when the room’s tiny shower was ripped out, though.
“They found a false wall,” recalls Laura. “Nobody knew about it. It cost me more to get the custom shower done as a result, but that was fine — they were able to expand it quite a bit.”
Lozier says it was the first time he’d encountered a false wall, “but it allowed us to make the shower a lot bigger. We also had to replace some of the plumbing in the floor drains.”
A long vanity was cut in half and a utility closet installed. Laura considered in-floor heating, but decided it was an unnecessary expense.
Laura had purchased black-brown ceramic tile for a previous upstairs reno, but when she decided to use hardwood for that job, she held on to the tile and used it in the basement bathroom.
This presented some challenges as she wanted the same colour scheme for her other two bathrooms, but dark tile was hard to come by. She eventually got tile from several different retailers, giving each bathroom similar colour scheme, but a unique pattern and style.
She also favoured dark wood in the cabinets she purchased for each bathroom – the downstairs from Totem, the back bathroom from Rona, and the main bathroom from a cabinet store.
For the ceramic countertop in the downstairs bath, “they asked me to pick out an arborite I liked,” says Laura. “I bought a mirror for $50 at HomeSense and picked up some lights at Home Depot.”
Laura didn’t need in-floor heating for the main upstairs bathroom, either – Lozier installed a floor-level wall radiator with a lever that allows her to direct heat towards the floor or upwards.
The dark tile for the main bathroom came from Totem. “They didn’t have the longer tile like I used downstairs in the dark colour, but it was really inexpensive,” says Laura. “The mirror, the lights — all come from different home stores.”
Although Lozier was in charge of installing the Fiberglas acrylic Hytec bathtub, one innovation Laura insisted on was curved shower rods, giving more space in the tub and also in the shower in the back bath where this was also used.
“The shower tiles were bought at Totem, and were a happy surprise,” says Laura, noting that under the shower head the tiles don’t lie flat, creating a 3-D weaving pattern.
Laura describes the back bathroom as her “bling” bathroom, with a few esthetic touches giving it extra pizzazz, such as gemstone-patterned shower wall tiles from Totem, and crystal-accented paper-roll holder and towel rack from HomeSense.
“I really enjoy home renovations — it’s fun to see the effect at the end,” she says. “I wish I’d taken before-and-after pictures — you wouldn’t believe they were the same bathrooms.”
Lozier advises homeowners get at least three estimates before choosing a contractor, and do homework to check Better Business Bureau ratings and whether they’re licensed.
Laura’s main advice: “Know and understand your budget. I estimated I could get the work done for between $7,500 and $10,000 per bathroom. I had a total budget of $30,000, and I stuck to it.
“Think about where you want to spend your money. Getting a custom shower built was important for me. I also wanted higher-quality, low-flush toilets. If you’re looking for places to save money, focus on the cosmetic things and don’t scrimp on fundamentals like plumbing and electrical.”
2012年1月18日星期三
Heaton starts remodeling, construction company
After living six years in Alabama, Eric Heaton has moved back to this area and started Heaton Remodeling and Construction Inc. in Princeton.
“I grew up in this area and decided to come back to help my dad and brother with the farming operation,” he said. “We wanted to raise our kids in this environment. I would eventually like to hire a crew.”
Heaton, the president and owner of the firm, enjoys doing bathroom and kitchen remodeling projects, but he would like to specialize in timber framing projects.
“I think it is one of my gifts that I enjoy making and building things,” he said.
Previously, Heaton had worked for Key Builders and Bullington and Isaacson Construction in Princeton prior to moving to Huntsville, Ala., where his wife’s family was located.
“The last three years we have pondered and prayed if and when to make the move back up here,” he said. “Last summer, we felt was that time.”
Heaton graduated from Princeton High School and North Park University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology.
He also took a course in Sante Fe, N.M., where he learned how to do timber framing and rustic-style architectural projects.
“No one does this work around here,” he added. “I would like to create my own niche and to think outside the box.”
In his more than 10 years as a carpenter, Heaton indicated he experienced several different aspects of the construction industry as a lead carpenter, a project foreman and an estimator.
“During this time, I have valued what it means to be precise and accurate when it comes to residential construction and remodeling,” he said. “Even allowing the smallest details to be overlooked can lead to larger problems in the final phases of the job. For this reason, we take the finest details of the project and incorporate them into the overall scope in order to achieve a higher level of quality craftsmanship.”
Some of the services offered by Heaton Remodeling and Construction are framing/timber framing, trim/finish carpentry, cabinetry, ceramic/stone tile, hardwood floors, windows/doors, painting, drywall, kitchen/bathroom remodeling, siding/cornice, outdoor living areas, decks/patios, fencing and masonry/concrete.
“I grew up in this area and decided to come back to help my dad and brother with the farming operation,” he said. “We wanted to raise our kids in this environment. I would eventually like to hire a crew.”
Heaton, the president and owner of the firm, enjoys doing bathroom and kitchen remodeling projects, but he would like to specialize in timber framing projects.
“I think it is one of my gifts that I enjoy making and building things,” he said.
Previously, Heaton had worked for Key Builders and Bullington and Isaacson Construction in Princeton prior to moving to Huntsville, Ala., where his wife’s family was located.
“The last three years we have pondered and prayed if and when to make the move back up here,” he said. “Last summer, we felt was that time.”
Heaton graduated from Princeton High School and North Park University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology.
He also took a course in Sante Fe, N.M., where he learned how to do timber framing and rustic-style architectural projects.
“No one does this work around here,” he added. “I would like to create my own niche and to think outside the box.”
In his more than 10 years as a carpenter, Heaton indicated he experienced several different aspects of the construction industry as a lead carpenter, a project foreman and an estimator.
“During this time, I have valued what it means to be precise and accurate when it comes to residential construction and remodeling,” he said. “Even allowing the smallest details to be overlooked can lead to larger problems in the final phases of the job. For this reason, we take the finest details of the project and incorporate them into the overall scope in order to achieve a higher level of quality craftsmanship.”
Some of the services offered by Heaton Remodeling and Construction are framing/timber framing, trim/finish carpentry, cabinetry, ceramic/stone tile, hardwood floors, windows/doors, painting, drywall, kitchen/bathroom remodeling, siding/cornice, outdoor living areas, decks/patios, fencing and masonry/concrete.
2012年1月17日星期二
Flooding front and centre at architecture exposition
Flooding will be the main theme of the Architect '12 fair, featuring flood-escape housing design, a trend toward ceramic tile instead of wood, and redesigned mechanical and engineering systems.
Chalay Kunawong, vice-president of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA), said flooding was the hot issue with the public, so Architect '12 would be about nothing but water.
"We have lived with water since long ago. We have to continue to live with it," he said.
There will be seven academic zones about water at the fair: Learning from Yesterdays, Architecture and Cities, Thailand's Settlement with Water, Our King and Water, Global Case Studies on Architecture with Water, Six Water Cities, and Visionary Water Architecture.
The Learning from Yesterdays exhibit will show how Thais lived with water and learned from it during the Dharavadee Age, the Sukothai Age, the Ayudhya Age and the Ratanakosin Age.
Architecture and Cities will show how city planning developed.
Thailand's Settlement with Water will show samples of people living with water such as the Koh Panyi community and those living in raft houses.
"We will select six provinces like Nan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan for architect firms to review and introduce flood protection solutions for future guidelines, not just basic ones," Dr Chalay said.
The fair will provide free of charge some 30-40 flood-protection housing designs with a usable area of smaller than 150 square metres.
Architect '12 will take place from April 24-29 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Of the total exhibition area, 60,000 square metres, or 70%, is booked. Visitors will include architects, designers, engineers, contractors, developers, project owners and the general public.Visitors are expected to number 250,000. The ASA is aiming for 5 billion baht in sales for exhibitors at the fair.
Those exhibitors will include construction materials producers and suppliers such as Deco Room Co Ltd, a 33-year-old Thai-style furniture maker based in California that is shifting its focus to the Thai market.
Managing director Sopond Phairojmahakij said the company plans to spend 40-60 million baht to expand furniture production in Thailand after shifting its production base to Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district seven years ago and the showroom to Srinakarin Road in Bangkok four years ago.
Chalay Kunawong, vice-president of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA), said flooding was the hot issue with the public, so Architect '12 would be about nothing but water.
"We have lived with water since long ago. We have to continue to live with it," he said.
There will be seven academic zones about water at the fair: Learning from Yesterdays, Architecture and Cities, Thailand's Settlement with Water, Our King and Water, Global Case Studies on Architecture with Water, Six Water Cities, and Visionary Water Architecture.
The Learning from Yesterdays exhibit will show how Thais lived with water and learned from it during the Dharavadee Age, the Sukothai Age, the Ayudhya Age and the Ratanakosin Age.
Architecture and Cities will show how city planning developed.
Thailand's Settlement with Water will show samples of people living with water such as the Koh Panyi community and those living in raft houses.
"We will select six provinces like Nan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan for architect firms to review and introduce flood protection solutions for future guidelines, not just basic ones," Dr Chalay said.
The fair will provide free of charge some 30-40 flood-protection housing designs with a usable area of smaller than 150 square metres.
Architect '12 will take place from April 24-29 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Of the total exhibition area, 60,000 square metres, or 70%, is booked. Visitors will include architects, designers, engineers, contractors, developers, project owners and the general public.Visitors are expected to number 250,000. The ASA is aiming for 5 billion baht in sales for exhibitors at the fair.
Those exhibitors will include construction materials producers and suppliers such as Deco Room Co Ltd, a 33-year-old Thai-style furniture maker based in California that is shifting its focus to the Thai market.
Managing director Sopond Phairojmahakij said the company plans to spend 40-60 million baht to expand furniture production in Thailand after shifting its production base to Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district seven years ago and the showroom to Srinakarin Road in Bangkok four years ago.
2012年1月16日星期一
Houses get historic look at salvage warehouse
Walk into the building at 908 23rd St. and you might find several 1880s solid oak church pews or an antique roll-top desk or a marble fireplace mantle from the old Hutchings Sealy Bank.
Doors, windows, shutters, handrails, crown molding, bead-board, baseboard, chair rails — you name it — it’s here. Walk out back and peruse the assortment of claw foot tubs, porcelain sinks, wavy glass window panes, roofing tile, brick — there’s even a prefabricated commissary house from the early 1900s.
Welcome to the Architectural Salvage Warehouse, which is supported by the Galveston Historical Foundation and sales from donated items.
The building was constructed in 1909-10 and housed the staff of John Sealy, whose mansion was across the street.
Matt Farragher, project coordinator of preservation services, is the overseer who works in tandem with Joe Janota, warehouse manager.
Farragher, who divides his time between the warehouse and foundation, originally is from Ohio. He said he fell in love with Galveston on spring break while attending college in Indiana. He joined the foundation’s staff in August 2007.
“I answer questions from residents and work in the resource center where builders or residents come to get restoration help with an historical project,” said Farragher, who has a master of science degree in historic preservation. “I take pleasure in teaching future generations the importance of their heritage.”
Janota, born and raised in Oregon, visited his aunt and uncle in Galveston and liked it so much he moved to the island. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, but his time as a park ranger ignited his interest in historic preservation. He manages the warehouse as well as owning his own construction business.
“This is a great place because it provides a place for locals to come and find resources for their houses,” Janota said.
The warehouse also helps to keep materials out of the landfill.
Although most items are available only to island residents, he does make exceptions with smaller items if the buyer is from Galveston County. But the main objective is to keep all salvaged items on the island, Janota said.
“We also give classes upstairs,” Farragher said. “We do hands-on teaching and focus on how to finish your floors, research your house, do environmentally friendly maintenance, and how to historically design your landscape. We had a course this past session where we gave instructions on how to clean up cemetery stones and had a work day there.”
The majority of items the warehouse receives include doors, windows and furniture.
“We recently got 10 to 12 doors and about 50 shutters,” Janota said. “We also have a lot of tongue-and-groove, bead-board, siding, flooring, spindles for porches or interior stairwells, picket fence posts — every day is different. People come in and look for specific things and since I see everything that comes in, I can usually keep an eye out for people who are looking for certain items.”
The warehouse operators don’t repair or recondition items.
“Everything here depends on style, size and condition,” Farragher said. “We don’t fix up items beyond basic cleanup and we don’t recondition so we can sell things at an agreeable price.”
Items go well in old houses as well as new, Janota said.
“A lot of people have a preconceived idea that they have to have an old house,” Janota said. “But you can have a newer house and repurpose with many things from our warehouse. Everything here has been loved and needs a little more love.”
The warehouse, which has been in business for 30 years, is open Wednesdays and Saturdays and is available for islanders to find what they need to finish their home improvement projects.
Doors, windows, shutters, handrails, crown molding, bead-board, baseboard, chair rails — you name it — it’s here. Walk out back and peruse the assortment of claw foot tubs, porcelain sinks, wavy glass window panes, roofing tile, brick — there’s even a prefabricated commissary house from the early 1900s.
Welcome to the Architectural Salvage Warehouse, which is supported by the Galveston Historical Foundation and sales from donated items.
The building was constructed in 1909-10 and housed the staff of John Sealy, whose mansion was across the street.
Matt Farragher, project coordinator of preservation services, is the overseer who works in tandem with Joe Janota, warehouse manager.
Farragher, who divides his time between the warehouse and foundation, originally is from Ohio. He said he fell in love with Galveston on spring break while attending college in Indiana. He joined the foundation’s staff in August 2007.
“I answer questions from residents and work in the resource center where builders or residents come to get restoration help with an historical project,” said Farragher, who has a master of science degree in historic preservation. “I take pleasure in teaching future generations the importance of their heritage.”
Janota, born and raised in Oregon, visited his aunt and uncle in Galveston and liked it so much he moved to the island. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, but his time as a park ranger ignited his interest in historic preservation. He manages the warehouse as well as owning his own construction business.
“This is a great place because it provides a place for locals to come and find resources for their houses,” Janota said.
The warehouse also helps to keep materials out of the landfill.
Although most items are available only to island residents, he does make exceptions with smaller items if the buyer is from Galveston County. But the main objective is to keep all salvaged items on the island, Janota said.
“We also give classes upstairs,” Farragher said. “We do hands-on teaching and focus on how to finish your floors, research your house, do environmentally friendly maintenance, and how to historically design your landscape. We had a course this past session where we gave instructions on how to clean up cemetery stones and had a work day there.”
The majority of items the warehouse receives include doors, windows and furniture.
“We recently got 10 to 12 doors and about 50 shutters,” Janota said. “We also have a lot of tongue-and-groove, bead-board, siding, flooring, spindles for porches or interior stairwells, picket fence posts — every day is different. People come in and look for specific things and since I see everything that comes in, I can usually keep an eye out for people who are looking for certain items.”
The warehouse operators don’t repair or recondition items.
“Everything here depends on style, size and condition,” Farragher said. “We don’t fix up items beyond basic cleanup and we don’t recondition so we can sell things at an agreeable price.”
Items go well in old houses as well as new, Janota said.
“A lot of people have a preconceived idea that they have to have an old house,” Janota said. “But you can have a newer house and repurpose with many things from our warehouse. Everything here has been loved and needs a little more love.”
The warehouse, which has been in business for 30 years, is open Wednesdays and Saturdays and is available for islanders to find what they need to finish their home improvement projects.
2012年1月15日星期日
Christchurch legacy at risk as city crumbles
As Christchurch continues to be shaken, heritage experts face some tough decisions.
Early December 2011. Ken Franklin has just made a decision. No more propping or temporary fixes to the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Given the cluster of historical buildings' precarious state, it's either a terrible gamble or a brave vote of confidence in the future. Possibly both. Unlike many landmark heritage buildings, the Arts Centre has survived Canterbury's devastating earthquake swarm and is still standing. Just.
When we speak again, it's a few days after Christmas.
"There is an awful sense of dread. They just come out of nowhere. You never know when it's going to happen next," says Franklin, the Arts Centre director, of the latest quakes that hit on December 23. "We had quite a bit more stone lost from upper levels, especially gables on Worcester Boulevard, but nothing major. We seem to have hung in there. The buildings are still standing. They have shown remarkable resilience to date."
Famous people were here - Ernest, Lord Rutherford, Sir Apirana Ngata and Dame Ngaio Marsh among them. History seeps from these stones, but then you see the present - crack lines, split archways, wrenched piers, walls rent asunder.To walk through this complex of gothic stone masonry buildings dating back to 1877, as I did in early December, is to tread the halls, cloisters and quadrangles of what was Canterbury University College and two former secondary schools.
"If we do get a shake, stick with me," says Franklin. "Running outside isn't always the right thing to do here." The destructive impact of huge stones crashed down from gable tops indicates what he's talking about. When the circular Observatory tower collapsed in February two contractors were working inside. They followed the safety advice given and moved to the street side of the building. Their car beside the tower was crushed.
The buildings are a patchwork of "make safe" mechanisms: posts under archways, crucially installed in September 2010 and preventing further damage; extensive steel propping against the Clock Tower; a 20-tonne turret on the footpath beside the Great Hall which was fortuitously removed a week before Christmas 2010; the last of the stained glass window finally extricated intact in December last year; shutters over deconstructed gable walls; and threaded tensioned wires running along the Great Hall ceiling pulling its gable ends taut.
"We are feeling quite vulnerable with this building at the moment," says Franklin calmly. "You can see the state of it. It looks reasonable externally but once you get in here you see that it is pretty fragile so the quicker we can get on to that permanent fix the better." The December quakes have hardened his resolve to move forward faster than ever.
This is the harsh reality of heritage recovery in central Christchurch. With so many heritage buildings already gone - in December, before the latest quakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) demolition list designates 124 "demolish", 22 "make safe", and 31 "partial demolish" - those still there are an increasingly rare commodity. Retaining the few remaining in the face of what seems like a scorched earth policy is a thankless, expensive task.
Hence the decision that enough is enough with the propping and that recovery can begin. "We estimate it will cost $240 million to strengthen and repair the site in total," says Franklin. "We're negotiating with two insurance companies - one has pulled out of New Zealand so we're now talking to their head office in the UK. There are a large number of reinsurers lining up behind them so it's a complex situation."
What's remarkable is that Franklin and the Arts Centre Trust Board - the body charged with preserving and protecting this iconic precinct - have somehow wangled the first $35 million of insurance money. That's enough for repairs and strengthening on the Clock Tower, including Rutherford's Den, and College Hall - a project estimated to take 30 months. Comprehensive insurance cover for the Centre was raised from $95 million to $116 million in January.
In December the Centre received an unexpected boost from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust - a $14m donation comprising $5 million from American philanthropist Julian Robertson, matched by $5m from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and $4 million given by Fletcher Building. The extra money means Franklin is already planning stage two of the repairs - estimated at $30 million - for the former Christchurch Boys' High School buildings.
"This series of earthquakes is the worst thing that has ever happened to this place, but in a weird way it's also one of the best things," says Franklin with supreme optimism. "If we can get significant capital and inject that into repairing and helping to preserve these buildings in perpetuity, what a fantastic outcome that would be."
But it will be years before the public will once again enjoy the complex of bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, studios, theatres, festival and event venues that the Arts Centre was. Heritage repair is a painstakingly slow business. For the Great Hall alone, all the slate roof tiles will be removed and a new plywood diaphragm applied, a concrete ring beam poured at the top of the walls, and the entire structure tied down with post tensioned steel rods.
In the Clock Tower some of the work is even more laborious, with new shear cores created inside the bluestone walls - a process whereby the internal masonry layers of brick or rubble are carefully demolished, replaced with reinforced concrete and then resurfaced with a brick facade on the inside. Elsewhere fibre reinforced polymer wraps - applied to the walls with resin and giving the equivalent strength of 100mm of reinforced concrete- will be used.
Early December 2011. Ken Franklin has just made a decision. No more propping or temporary fixes to the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Given the cluster of historical buildings' precarious state, it's either a terrible gamble or a brave vote of confidence in the future. Possibly both. Unlike many landmark heritage buildings, the Arts Centre has survived Canterbury's devastating earthquake swarm and is still standing. Just.
When we speak again, it's a few days after Christmas.
"There is an awful sense of dread. They just come out of nowhere. You never know when it's going to happen next," says Franklin, the Arts Centre director, of the latest quakes that hit on December 23. "We had quite a bit more stone lost from upper levels, especially gables on Worcester Boulevard, but nothing major. We seem to have hung in there. The buildings are still standing. They have shown remarkable resilience to date."
Famous people were here - Ernest, Lord Rutherford, Sir Apirana Ngata and Dame Ngaio Marsh among them. History seeps from these stones, but then you see the present - crack lines, split archways, wrenched piers, walls rent asunder.To walk through this complex of gothic stone masonry buildings dating back to 1877, as I did in early December, is to tread the halls, cloisters and quadrangles of what was Canterbury University College and two former secondary schools.
"If we do get a shake, stick with me," says Franklin. "Running outside isn't always the right thing to do here." The destructive impact of huge stones crashed down from gable tops indicates what he's talking about. When the circular Observatory tower collapsed in February two contractors were working inside. They followed the safety advice given and moved to the street side of the building. Their car beside the tower was crushed.
The buildings are a patchwork of "make safe" mechanisms: posts under archways, crucially installed in September 2010 and preventing further damage; extensive steel propping against the Clock Tower; a 20-tonne turret on the footpath beside the Great Hall which was fortuitously removed a week before Christmas 2010; the last of the stained glass window finally extricated intact in December last year; shutters over deconstructed gable walls; and threaded tensioned wires running along the Great Hall ceiling pulling its gable ends taut.
"We are feeling quite vulnerable with this building at the moment," says Franklin calmly. "You can see the state of it. It looks reasonable externally but once you get in here you see that it is pretty fragile so the quicker we can get on to that permanent fix the better." The December quakes have hardened his resolve to move forward faster than ever.
This is the harsh reality of heritage recovery in central Christchurch. With so many heritage buildings already gone - in December, before the latest quakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) demolition list designates 124 "demolish", 22 "make safe", and 31 "partial demolish" - those still there are an increasingly rare commodity. Retaining the few remaining in the face of what seems like a scorched earth policy is a thankless, expensive task.
Hence the decision that enough is enough with the propping and that recovery can begin. "We estimate it will cost $240 million to strengthen and repair the site in total," says Franklin. "We're negotiating with two insurance companies - one has pulled out of New Zealand so we're now talking to their head office in the UK. There are a large number of reinsurers lining up behind them so it's a complex situation."
What's remarkable is that Franklin and the Arts Centre Trust Board - the body charged with preserving and protecting this iconic precinct - have somehow wangled the first $35 million of insurance money. That's enough for repairs and strengthening on the Clock Tower, including Rutherford's Den, and College Hall - a project estimated to take 30 months. Comprehensive insurance cover for the Centre was raised from $95 million to $116 million in January.
In December the Centre received an unexpected boost from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust - a $14m donation comprising $5 million from American philanthropist Julian Robertson, matched by $5m from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and $4 million given by Fletcher Building. The extra money means Franklin is already planning stage two of the repairs - estimated at $30 million - for the former Christchurch Boys' High School buildings.
"This series of earthquakes is the worst thing that has ever happened to this place, but in a weird way it's also one of the best things," says Franklin with supreme optimism. "If we can get significant capital and inject that into repairing and helping to preserve these buildings in perpetuity, what a fantastic outcome that would be."
But it will be years before the public will once again enjoy the complex of bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, studios, theatres, festival and event venues that the Arts Centre was. Heritage repair is a painstakingly slow business. For the Great Hall alone, all the slate roof tiles will be removed and a new plywood diaphragm applied, a concrete ring beam poured at the top of the walls, and the entire structure tied down with post tensioned steel rods.
In the Clock Tower some of the work is even more laborious, with new shear cores created inside the bluestone walls - a process whereby the internal masonry layers of brick or rubble are carefully demolished, replaced with reinforced concrete and then resurfaced with a brick facade on the inside. Elsewhere fibre reinforced polymer wraps - applied to the walls with resin and giving the equivalent strength of 100mm of reinforced concrete- will be used.
2012年1月12日星期四
No amenity overlooked in Ellicott City estate
Whether your interest is in entertaining on a lavish scale; tinkering with cars in one of six heated garages; or enjoying your private sport court, swimming pool and cabana, the estate at 3885 Whitebrook Lane in Ellicott City, Md., has what you want.
This 20,000-square-foot home, which rests on more than 3 acres of landscaped grounds, provides a true private retreat to meet the highest standards of opulence. Part of the Preserve in Howard County, this manor home was built in 1997 and is on the market for $4,999,000.
The estate’s grounds include a gated circular drive that leads to the garages, which have space for 10 cars, and a brick motor court. A brick courtyard is surrounded by a heated swimming pool, a hot tub and a cabana, with an adjacent sports court.
Multiple patios, courtyards and a screened porch with a ceiling fan offer plenty of space for entertaining outdoors and admiring the perennial gardens. The corner site backs to trees for additional privacy.
Indoors, the custom-designed rooms include seven bedrooms, 10 full baths, two powder rooms and extraordinary detailing, such as custom millwork, six-piece crown molding, professional lighting, hardwood flooring and five fireplaces. The home also has an indoor swimming pool, saunas, waterfall baths with mosaic surrounds, and an elevator. The property has three kitchens.
The elegance of this home is apparent from the moment guests arrive in the circular driveway and step up to the front door. Each piece of glass was individually selected for the door surround and the windows in the entrance hall. The grand foyer features hardwood flooring, a spectacular chandelier and a curving double staircase to the upper level.
The main level includes a music conservatory with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, recessed lighting, up-lighting, a custom-designed ceiling medallion and hardwood flooring. Nearby, the formal dining room has hardwood flooring and a dramatic chandelier. In addition, this level has a formal living room with a fireplace, a library, a family room and a great-room bar.
The bar, designed to resemble an Old English pub, has mahogany-stained wood walls and an 11-foot copper-painted tin ceiling. This room includes an imported fireplace, and archways link the pub and the family room with the hallway.
The main-level kitchen includes state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances, including wine cabinets, warming drawers, an indoor grill and several dishwashers, ovens and stoves. The oversized center island includes an attached dining table for casual meals.
The adjacent morning room has floor-to-ceiling windows and an atrium door to a patio.
The master suite covers an entire wing of the home, with a hand-painted and stenciled bedroom with a gas fireplace and a separate sitting room overlooking the swimming pool. A private exercise room, a den, and a lavish master bath with a mosaic-tiled jetted tub, a sauna and a steam shower round out the suite.
Four additional bedrooms are on the upper level and two bedrooms are on the lower level. Every bath in the home has furniture-grade vanities, marble, ceramic tile or hardwood flooring, multiple sinks and unique features, such as carved or hand-painted ceilings and dramatic sconces.
The lower level has been designed for the ultimate in relaxation, with a game room, an exercise room, a playroom and a lap pool set in a spalike room with mirrors, lounge chairs, low lighting and a sauna.
A wine-tasting room has been designed for discerning visitors, and nearby is a full kitchen perfect for catered evenings. The lower-level great room has several stone walls with arched brick accents and a raised-hearth fireplace. Nearby is a theater room with tiered seating.
The home has a high-tech security system as well as entertainment, lighting and HVAC controls that can be operated by remote control, iPad, iPhone and a keypad.
This 20,000-square-foot home, which rests on more than 3 acres of landscaped grounds, provides a true private retreat to meet the highest standards of opulence. Part of the Preserve in Howard County, this manor home was built in 1997 and is on the market for $4,999,000.
The estate’s grounds include a gated circular drive that leads to the garages, which have space for 10 cars, and a brick motor court. A brick courtyard is surrounded by a heated swimming pool, a hot tub and a cabana, with an adjacent sports court.
Multiple patios, courtyards and a screened porch with a ceiling fan offer plenty of space for entertaining outdoors and admiring the perennial gardens. The corner site backs to trees for additional privacy.
Indoors, the custom-designed rooms include seven bedrooms, 10 full baths, two powder rooms and extraordinary detailing, such as custom millwork, six-piece crown molding, professional lighting, hardwood flooring and five fireplaces. The home also has an indoor swimming pool, saunas, waterfall baths with mosaic surrounds, and an elevator. The property has three kitchens.
The elegance of this home is apparent from the moment guests arrive in the circular driveway and step up to the front door. Each piece of glass was individually selected for the door surround and the windows in the entrance hall. The grand foyer features hardwood flooring, a spectacular chandelier and a curving double staircase to the upper level.
The main level includes a music conservatory with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, recessed lighting, up-lighting, a custom-designed ceiling medallion and hardwood flooring. Nearby, the formal dining room has hardwood flooring and a dramatic chandelier. In addition, this level has a formal living room with a fireplace, a library, a family room and a great-room bar.
The bar, designed to resemble an Old English pub, has mahogany-stained wood walls and an 11-foot copper-painted tin ceiling. This room includes an imported fireplace, and archways link the pub and the family room with the hallway.
The main-level kitchen includes state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances, including wine cabinets, warming drawers, an indoor grill and several dishwashers, ovens and stoves. The oversized center island includes an attached dining table for casual meals.
The adjacent morning room has floor-to-ceiling windows and an atrium door to a patio.
The master suite covers an entire wing of the home, with a hand-painted and stenciled bedroom with a gas fireplace and a separate sitting room overlooking the swimming pool. A private exercise room, a den, and a lavish master bath with a mosaic-tiled jetted tub, a sauna and a steam shower round out the suite.
Four additional bedrooms are on the upper level and two bedrooms are on the lower level. Every bath in the home has furniture-grade vanities, marble, ceramic tile or hardwood flooring, multiple sinks and unique features, such as carved or hand-painted ceilings and dramatic sconces.
The lower level has been designed for the ultimate in relaxation, with a game room, an exercise room, a playroom and a lap pool set in a spalike room with mirrors, lounge chairs, low lighting and a sauna.
A wine-tasting room has been designed for discerning visitors, and nearby is a full kitchen perfect for catered evenings. The lower-level great room has several stone walls with arched brick accents and a raised-hearth fireplace. Nearby is a theater room with tiered seating.
The home has a high-tech security system as well as entertainment, lighting and HVAC controls that can be operated by remote control, iPad, iPhone and a keypad.
2012年1月11日星期三
Camarillo school celebrates 10-year anniversary
The unveiling of a colorful mural marked the 10th anniversary of La Mariposa Elementary School in Camarillo on Monday.
Pupils, staff members and parents decorated 424 ceramic tiles for the mural. The tiles were joined together to create an 8-foot by 14-foot installation on the side of a building facing the playground at the school, which serves the Mission Oaks neighborhood.
"I was really amazed at the creativity you showed," Principal Jay Greenlinger said in his remarks to pupils, staff members, parents and Pleasant Valley School District officials. "Each tile is unique, and when you look at them together, it's pretty great."
The bright tiles have decorations such as rainbows, flowers, teddy bears, stripes and patterns, and the names of those who made them.
"It was a group idea, with teachers and parents wanting to do something permanent to mark the anniversary," Greenlinger said. "I think the most notable part of our school is the community that we've built, and that's what this really is able to communicate because it's a lot of little pieces coming together."
Camille Fisher, 4, whose sisters Brinley, 10, and Anna, 7, attend La Mariposa, was excited to see the tile she painted on the wall.
"There's two butterflies and one bumblebee and four flowers, and there's some grass," she said as her mother, Michelle Fisher, held her up to look.
"When you put it all together, it makes a really great picture, and that's kind of how La Mariposa is," Fisher said. "There's such great parent involvement, and the teachers here are so great, and the students love coming here, and I think that this just shows how much everyone loves being part of this school."
Patti Stouch has two children at the school and another who will be attending when she's old enough. Each of Stouch's children decorated tiles.
"My kids will permanently be here. It's very cool," she said.
Dianne Quimby-Anders, the school's first principal, described the very first day, at the start of the 2002-03 school year, as "the most exciting day."
"I'll never forget it," she said after Monday's ceremony. "The school has grown, but so many things are still the way we started with them, and each principal has built on that, and it's become a very strong school."
After the first year at the school and 30 years with the school district, Quimby-Anders retired. Pamela Gonzalez took over as principal, staying for five years.
"This is just a very special school. It's a wonderful place to learn. The staff is just terrific," said Gonzalez, now principal of Las Colinas Middle School.
"It started because there was a need for another school to accommodate the population of Camarillo. So this school was built, and it was full when it opened. Over time, it just developed and became a California Distinguished School. There are just lots and lots of things to celebrate here."
Of the original staff, 16 teachers are still at the school, along with office manager Nancy Thompson.
And people still talk of the day the bear came to visit.
"A bear wandered up out of the ravine, and it was wandering in the neighborhood, and we had to do one of those calls to everybody to stay home until the bear had been captured," said Gonzalez, who was principal at the time. "It was a funny thing to happen."
Pupils, staff members and parents decorated 424 ceramic tiles for the mural. The tiles were joined together to create an 8-foot by 14-foot installation on the side of a building facing the playground at the school, which serves the Mission Oaks neighborhood.
"I was really amazed at the creativity you showed," Principal Jay Greenlinger said in his remarks to pupils, staff members, parents and Pleasant Valley School District officials. "Each tile is unique, and when you look at them together, it's pretty great."
The bright tiles have decorations such as rainbows, flowers, teddy bears, stripes and patterns, and the names of those who made them.
"It was a group idea, with teachers and parents wanting to do something permanent to mark the anniversary," Greenlinger said. "I think the most notable part of our school is the community that we've built, and that's what this really is able to communicate because it's a lot of little pieces coming together."
Camille Fisher, 4, whose sisters Brinley, 10, and Anna, 7, attend La Mariposa, was excited to see the tile she painted on the wall.
"There's two butterflies and one bumblebee and four flowers, and there's some grass," she said as her mother, Michelle Fisher, held her up to look.
"When you put it all together, it makes a really great picture, and that's kind of how La Mariposa is," Fisher said. "There's such great parent involvement, and the teachers here are so great, and the students love coming here, and I think that this just shows how much everyone loves being part of this school."
Patti Stouch has two children at the school and another who will be attending when she's old enough. Each of Stouch's children decorated tiles.
"My kids will permanently be here. It's very cool," she said.
Dianne Quimby-Anders, the school's first principal, described the very first day, at the start of the 2002-03 school year, as "the most exciting day."
"I'll never forget it," she said after Monday's ceremony. "The school has grown, but so many things are still the way we started with them, and each principal has built on that, and it's become a very strong school."
After the first year at the school and 30 years with the school district, Quimby-Anders retired. Pamela Gonzalez took over as principal, staying for five years.
"This is just a very special school. It's a wonderful place to learn. The staff is just terrific," said Gonzalez, now principal of Las Colinas Middle School.
"It started because there was a need for another school to accommodate the population of Camarillo. So this school was built, and it was full when it opened. Over time, it just developed and became a California Distinguished School. There are just lots and lots of things to celebrate here."
Of the original staff, 16 teachers are still at the school, along with office manager Nancy Thompson.
And people still talk of the day the bear came to visit.
"A bear wandered up out of the ravine, and it was wandering in the neighborhood, and we had to do one of those calls to everybody to stay home until the bear had been captured," said Gonzalez, who was principal at the time. "It was a funny thing to happen."
2012年1月10日星期二
Teen Discovers Ancient Version of 'Words with Friends' While Cleaning Out Grandmother's Closet
While cleaning out his recently deceased grandmother's closet for an estate sale, 19-year-old Skip Hespin of Bennington Vale stumbled upon a relic that sociologists from San Narciso College are calling an ancient predecessor to the immensely popular Words with Friends game. "I could hardly believe my eyes when I found it," Hespin said. "For the most part, it looks exactly like Words with Friends. But I have no idea how older generations worked this thing." No box or instructions could be found with the dilapidated set, but all the pieces were intact, having been stored in plastic bags. The game board, a 15 by 15 grid, displayed markings incredibly similar to those depicted in Words with Friends.
"There were squares for double word scores, triple letter scores, everything," Hespin added. "And there were all these little wooden tiles with letters. It's almost identical."
Still, Hespin and the research team investigating the find have been unable to operate the system.
Hespin said: "We tried everything to replicate the online game. I unfolded the board and then laid some random tiles out in the same order as they would appear on Words with Friends. But when I touch the tile I want to play, and then press the corresponding square I want to place it in, nothing happens. The tile just sits there. I have no idea what to do."
Worse, sociologists discovered, the game in its present state cannot be integrated with social networks or even the Internet. Babs Crel, the lead researcher on the project, explained: "Our initial elation has turned to frustration. We can’t be sure we have all the equipment required. At this point, we feel some critical component -- something that allows the set to be uploaded to a website, perhaps -- may be missing. But then, there's no operating system we can discern, not even a rudimentary one. We've also failed to find a way to provide online players access to the application. Without a duplicate set and a group video conferencing system, which seems inefficient, linking friends into the game has become impossible."
Skip Hespin lamented that he came across the antique after his grandmother's death. "I bet she could have taught us how to use it and solved this mystery," he said.
The sociologists have asked Hespin to consider donating the artifact to a local museum for further study and an upcoming exhibit on primitive twentieth-century culture. For now, though, Hespin says he will hold onto the game for posterity and its sentimental value. "I'll keep tinkering with it, but it's more important to me as a family heirloom than a way to kill time in class."
"There were squares for double word scores, triple letter scores, everything," Hespin added. "And there were all these little wooden tiles with letters. It's almost identical."
Still, Hespin and the research team investigating the find have been unable to operate the system.
Hespin said: "We tried everything to replicate the online game. I unfolded the board and then laid some random tiles out in the same order as they would appear on Words with Friends. But when I touch the tile I want to play, and then press the corresponding square I want to place it in, nothing happens. The tile just sits there. I have no idea what to do."
Worse, sociologists discovered, the game in its present state cannot be integrated with social networks or even the Internet. Babs Crel, the lead researcher on the project, explained: "Our initial elation has turned to frustration. We can’t be sure we have all the equipment required. At this point, we feel some critical component -- something that allows the set to be uploaded to a website, perhaps -- may be missing. But then, there's no operating system we can discern, not even a rudimentary one. We've also failed to find a way to provide online players access to the application. Without a duplicate set and a group video conferencing system, which seems inefficient, linking friends into the game has become impossible."
Skip Hespin lamented that he came across the antique after his grandmother's death. "I bet she could have taught us how to use it and solved this mystery," he said.
The sociologists have asked Hespin to consider donating the artifact to a local museum for further study and an upcoming exhibit on primitive twentieth-century culture. For now, though, Hespin says he will hold onto the game for posterity and its sentimental value. "I'll keep tinkering with it, but it's more important to me as a family heirloom than a way to kill time in class."
2012年1月9日星期一
Ask a Designer: entryway floors fit for winter
As the season of snow boots and slush arrives in much of the country, entryway floors will take a beating.
The spot where we enter our homes — and welcome guests — can be a tricky one to decorate. It's meant to be a showcase, expressing our style and setting the tone for a visitor's stay. But the floor must withstand dripping umbrellas, muddy shoes and more.
Los Angeles-based interior designer Betsy Burnham is often approached by clients who want help with entryways. Choosing a floor covering is a priority, she says.
Here Burnham and two other experts offer tips on durable, easy-to-clean flooring that doesn't skimp on style, from cork to porcelain tile to washable rugs.
Cork squares are durable, made from natural wood fibers and can handle moisture. They also absorb sound well and come in a variety of colors and patterns. "Don't just picture a bulletin board" when you think of cork, Burnham says.
Cork offers a look similar to hardwood, but is less expensive. And you can replace just one tile if a section gets damaged.
Another flexible option is FLOR carpet tiles, Flynn says. "You can add color, texture or pattern by laying them out in the desired pattern," he says, "then cutting the end tiles to size." FLOR tiles can be laid out to give the look of an area rug or wall-to-wall carpeting.
Flynn also recommends vinyl plank tiles. These inexpensive tiles are thin but durable, and easy to install. They can be mopped clean. And do-it-yourself installation is simple, Flynn says. "It simply requires a utility knife for installation. The planks attach to one another with an upward-facing sticky strip. Each time a plank reaches a wall, it's cut to size," he says.
Rugs can be a great way to delineate the space at an entryway, and many styles are washable. "I've done everything from rag rugs to Turkish carpets" in entryways, Burnham says.
Rather than investing in one expensive rug, she says, buy several that can be swapped out when one is being cleaned.
Meg Caswell, host of HGTV's "Meg's Great Rooms," suggests shopping for carpet remnants. Carpet stores often keep their remnants out of sight, she says, but if you ask they should direct you to them. If you find a remnant piece you want, have it cut to size. You can ask to have it banded with a canvas edge in a contrasting color, Caswell says, or in a patterned fabric you've chosen (check the remnants at fabric stores for affordable finds and bring the fabric with you to the carpet store).
By using a remnant, you've created a custom piece with little expense. If it's damaged by foot traffic over the course of a few winters, the loss will be minimal.
Another approach that Flynn and Burnham recommend: Buy a vintage rug that's already worn. Faded colors and frayed spots are part of the charm, so you won't mind if further wear-and-tear happens.
If you'd prefer the finished look of wall-to-wall carpeting at your entrance, Flynn suggests buying several smaller rugs and attaching them underneath with carpet tape. The edges can be cut to fit your space, giving a permanent, wall-to-wall look. But pieces can be removed for cleaning.
Caswell often recommends porcelain tiles for high-traffic entryways. "The minute I say porcelain tile, people think it's going to shatter, that it's fragile," she says. "But really porcelain tiles are truly the most durable tiles out there."
They're nearly "impossible to chip," Caswell says. "But the best part is that if it does chip, the color is all the way through the entire piece."
Burnham agrees: Porcelain tile, she says, "looks like stone, but it's much less expensive than actual stone. We've done charcoal-gray, big rectangles of porcelain tile, and it's so much easier to sweep out or mop up because you can get it wet."
Whatever material you use for your entryway floors, these designers suggest avoiding pale neutrals and solids in favor of slightly bolder colors, patterns, and textures that hide dirt and signs of wear.
For wood floors, Flynn suggests, "have a pattern painted directly onto it using porch and deck paint," he says. "The porch and deck paint is insanely durable and will last a long time. To make it even more foolproof, consider adding another coat of sealer to it just before the winter."
Bold florals or sunbursts might not be your taste, says Caswell, but entryways are a great place to "be riskier and push yourself, so you can incorporate a little more of your personality. You're making that statement when someone enters your home."
The spot where we enter our homes — and welcome guests — can be a tricky one to decorate. It's meant to be a showcase, expressing our style and setting the tone for a visitor's stay. But the floor must withstand dripping umbrellas, muddy shoes and more.
Los Angeles-based interior designer Betsy Burnham is often approached by clients who want help with entryways. Choosing a floor covering is a priority, she says.
Here Burnham and two other experts offer tips on durable, easy-to-clean flooring that doesn't skimp on style, from cork to porcelain tile to washable rugs.
Cork squares are durable, made from natural wood fibers and can handle moisture. They also absorb sound well and come in a variety of colors and patterns. "Don't just picture a bulletin board" when you think of cork, Burnham says.
Cork offers a look similar to hardwood, but is less expensive. And you can replace just one tile if a section gets damaged.
Another flexible option is FLOR carpet tiles, Flynn says. "You can add color, texture or pattern by laying them out in the desired pattern," he says, "then cutting the end tiles to size." FLOR tiles can be laid out to give the look of an area rug or wall-to-wall carpeting.
Flynn also recommends vinyl plank tiles. These inexpensive tiles are thin but durable, and easy to install. They can be mopped clean. And do-it-yourself installation is simple, Flynn says. "It simply requires a utility knife for installation. The planks attach to one another with an upward-facing sticky strip. Each time a plank reaches a wall, it's cut to size," he says.
Rugs can be a great way to delineate the space at an entryway, and many styles are washable. "I've done everything from rag rugs to Turkish carpets" in entryways, Burnham says.
Rather than investing in one expensive rug, she says, buy several that can be swapped out when one is being cleaned.
Meg Caswell, host of HGTV's "Meg's Great Rooms," suggests shopping for carpet remnants. Carpet stores often keep their remnants out of sight, she says, but if you ask they should direct you to them. If you find a remnant piece you want, have it cut to size. You can ask to have it banded with a canvas edge in a contrasting color, Caswell says, or in a patterned fabric you've chosen (check the remnants at fabric stores for affordable finds and bring the fabric with you to the carpet store).
By using a remnant, you've created a custom piece with little expense. If it's damaged by foot traffic over the course of a few winters, the loss will be minimal.
Another approach that Flynn and Burnham recommend: Buy a vintage rug that's already worn. Faded colors and frayed spots are part of the charm, so you won't mind if further wear-and-tear happens.
If you'd prefer the finished look of wall-to-wall carpeting at your entrance, Flynn suggests buying several smaller rugs and attaching them underneath with carpet tape. The edges can be cut to fit your space, giving a permanent, wall-to-wall look. But pieces can be removed for cleaning.
Caswell often recommends porcelain tiles for high-traffic entryways. "The minute I say porcelain tile, people think it's going to shatter, that it's fragile," she says. "But really porcelain tiles are truly the most durable tiles out there."
They're nearly "impossible to chip," Caswell says. "But the best part is that if it does chip, the color is all the way through the entire piece."
Burnham agrees: Porcelain tile, she says, "looks like stone, but it's much less expensive than actual stone. We've done charcoal-gray, big rectangles of porcelain tile, and it's so much easier to sweep out or mop up because you can get it wet."
Whatever material you use for your entryway floors, these designers suggest avoiding pale neutrals and solids in favor of slightly bolder colors, patterns, and textures that hide dirt and signs of wear.
For wood floors, Flynn suggests, "have a pattern painted directly onto it using porch and deck paint," he says. "The porch and deck paint is insanely durable and will last a long time. To make it even more foolproof, consider adding another coat of sealer to it just before the winter."
Bold florals or sunbursts might not be your taste, says Caswell, but entryways are a great place to "be riskier and push yourself, so you can incorporate a little more of your personality. You're making that statement when someone enters your home."
2012年1月8日星期日
Can Windows Phone make mobile a three-horse race?
Long ridiculed as the tech industry dullard, Microsoft actually has a hit, at least with the technorati.
It is the mobile phone software called Windows Phone – and they need it to be a blockbuster here at Microsoft Central.
Yes, Windows and Office products are ubiquitous and highly profitable. But they’re about as inspirational as a stapler.
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While the likes of Apple have captured our imaginations with nifty products like the iPhone, Microsoft has produced a long list of flops, from smart wristwatches to the Zune music player to the Kin phones.
Steve Jobs used to deride Microsoft for a lack of originality. In his opinion, the company didn’t bring “much culture” to its products. With Windows Phone, though, Microsoft is finally getting some buzz.
“I am a devoted Apple fan – I was in line for the iPhone,” said Axel Roesler, assistant professor for interaction design at the University of Washington in Seattle, but Windows Phone “strikes me as quite different and an advance.”
Windows Phone, which began appearing in devices late last year, certainly stands out visually.
It has bold, on-screen typography and a mosaic of animated tiles on the home screen – a stark departure from the neat grid of icons made popular by the iPhone.
While most phones force users to open stand-alone apps to get into social networks, Facebook and Twitter are wired into Windows Phone. The tiles spring to life as friends or family post fresh pictures, text messages and status updates.
Even so, relatively few consumers have been tempted, and sales have been lacklustre. A big problem is that, initially, the handsets running Microsoft’s software, made by companies like HTC and Samsung, were unexceptional.
Even more important, the US carriers, the gatekeepers for nearly all mobile phones, have not been aggressively selling Windows phones in their stores. Most promote the iPhone and devices running Google’s Android operating system.
And so Microsoft has struck a partnership with Nokia, and executives at both companies have high hopes that their handsets will catch on with consumers.
On Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nokia plans to introduce a sleek metallic Windows Phone called the Lumia 900 that will be sold by AT&T in the US, according to two people with knowledge of its plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the product has not yet been announced. Unlike other handset makers creating devices with Microsoft’s software, Nokia is not also developing Android phones.
“We are doing our best work for Windows Phone,” said Stephen Elop, the chief executive of Nokia and a former Microsoft executive.
While the customers’ verdict is still unknown, the group that developed Windows Phone has already profoundly affected Microsoft itself, influencing work on other consumer products. The next major version of software for PCs, Windows 8, will look a lot like Windows Phone, which Microsoft hopes will help it work better on tablet devices. A Windows Phone-like makeover was also part of the new software update for Xbox, which along with Kinect is one of Microsoft’s few consumer hits.
Bill Flora, one of the designers of Windows Phone, said the care that Microsoft took in designing its products had changed vastly since he joined the company out of art school in the early 1990s.
“Now, instead of 80 per cent of its efforts being unenlightened, just 20 per cent are unenlightened,” said Flora, who recently left Microsoft to form his own design firm in Seattle.
The tale of how Microsoft created Windows Phone starts with the introduction of the iPhone, in 2007. To Joe Belfiore, now 43, an engineer who oversees software design for Windows Phone, that was the spark.
“Apple created a sea change in the industry in terms of the kinds of things they did that were unique and highly appealing to consumers,” Belfiore said in an interview. “We wanted to respond with something that would be competitive, but not the same.”
Microsoft had been an early player in smartphones with Windows Mobile, software that ran on devices made by Samsung, Motorola and others. But one word describes its early effort: complicated. Windows Mobile had a complex array of on-screen menus, including a start button for applications that was borrowed from Windows PCs. The software ran on sluggish devices that had physical keyboards and, in some cases, styluses.
Once the iPhone exploded into the marketplace, Microsoft executives knew that their software, as designed, could never compete. So in December 2008, Terry Myerson, who had just taken over engineering for the mobile group, convened a meeting that members of his management team came to call the “cage match.”
With a prototype of a new Windows Mobile phone on a table, Myerson, a no-nonsense engineer, led a heated debate over whether any of the software could be salvaged. No one was leaving the room until the issue was resolved, he said.
Seven hours later, the meeting finally adjourned, after Myerson got a call from his wife saying a pipe had frozen at his home. By then, a consensus had emerged that there wasn’t much technology worth saving. “We had hit bottom,” Myerson, who is now 39.
“That frankly gives you the freedom to try new things, build a new team and set a new path,” he added.
The decision was to start from scratch, a move that had serious consequences. Not only did it delay a Windows phone, it gave Google an opening to woo Microsoft handset partners to Android.
Charlie Kindel, a longtime Microsoft manager who joined its mobile team in early 2009, compared the pain caused by starting over to the predicament of Aron Ralston, the hiker who amputated his own arm in 2003 after it was it pinned under a boulder in the Utah desert.
“This boulder comprised of Apple and Blackberry rolled on our arm,” said Kindel, who left Microsoft last year. “Microsoft sat there for three or four years struggling to get out.”
Myerson also had to rebuild the mobile team – and Belfiore was his first major hire.
Belfiore is a rare breed of Microsoft executive: He joined the company in 1990 fresh out of university and stayed, even as others fled to work for companies with more pizazz.
For much of his career, Belfiore worked on the design of Windows and Internet Explorer, the kind of Microsoft software that is everywhere but not always admired for innovation. But he was also known for spending hours testing Microsoft technologies outside the office to see how they could be simplified.
In recent years, Belfiore earned a reputation in the company for working on more adventurous projects, even if they sometimes bombed in the market. Before he joined the mobile group, for instance, he oversaw design of Zune, Microsoft’s ill-fated answer to the iPod.
A version of the product released in 2009, the Zune HD, was praised by reviewers for its spare design that featured elegant typography and snappy, animated screen transitions as users flipped around music collections. But the Zune HD came out years too late, well after the iPod had cemented its lead.
Belfiore took over the mobile group in early 2009, just as designers were finishing up the earliest prototypes for Windows Phone. In those prototypes, Bill Flora drew inspiration from the signs in airports and other transportation hubs.
He borrowed the emphasis on clarity, clean typography and broadcast-quality transitions between screens from Zune, which he had worked on with Belfiore. The ideas gradually gelled into a software design language that Microsoft calls Metro.
But there were challenges beyond design. Microsoft had to take a fresh approach to working with phone makers so it could have its slick new software function properly. Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn’t make its own hardware. Before it restarted its mobile strategy, Microsoft did little to ensure that its handset partners were putting its software on devices that could run it well.
No longer would that be tolerated. Microsoft gave its handset partners detailed specifications of the types of technical innards required, including processors with certain amounts of power and screen technologies. Handset makers grumbled about the rules, but the result was phones that ran better.
“It’s not just about software,” said Albert Shum, general manager of the design studio for Windows Phone. “It’s about the whole end-to-end experience.”
When senior executives got their first look at the software, Myerson said, there was “some hesitancy.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, didn’t like that the first screen that appeared after turning on the device contained oversized type that cut off the day of the week. (Wednesday showed up as Wed.) Revisions were made.
But the group was given its creative freedom. And the critics, at least, have approved the final results.
“It looks like nothing we’ve seen before from Microsoft,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, the technology research firm. “The company is being somewhat bold and saying what worked for them in 1992 won’t work now.”
Still, last summer, Ballmer told Microsoft investors that he was disappointed with Windows Phone sales. In mid-December, he named Myerson, the engineering head, to take full control of the group. He charged Myerson with improving the Windows Phone advertising campaign and relationships with carriers. A software update for Windows Phones in late last year added a number of improvements to the product, including basic editing functions like copy and paste.
But this year is crucial; it will show whether a respected product is enough to help Microsoft make up for lost time. Even if it feels good to be a favorite of tech critics for a change, Microsoft needs a blockbuster in the mobile business, not a cult hit.
It is the mobile phone software called Windows Phone – and they need it to be a blockbuster here at Microsoft Central.
Yes, Windows and Office products are ubiquitous and highly profitable. But they’re about as inspirational as a stapler.
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While the likes of Apple have captured our imaginations with nifty products like the iPhone, Microsoft has produced a long list of flops, from smart wristwatches to the Zune music player to the Kin phones.
Steve Jobs used to deride Microsoft for a lack of originality. In his opinion, the company didn’t bring “much culture” to its products. With Windows Phone, though, Microsoft is finally getting some buzz.
“I am a devoted Apple fan – I was in line for the iPhone,” said Axel Roesler, assistant professor for interaction design at the University of Washington in Seattle, but Windows Phone “strikes me as quite different and an advance.”
Windows Phone, which began appearing in devices late last year, certainly stands out visually.
It has bold, on-screen typography and a mosaic of animated tiles on the home screen – a stark departure from the neat grid of icons made popular by the iPhone.
While most phones force users to open stand-alone apps to get into social networks, Facebook and Twitter are wired into Windows Phone. The tiles spring to life as friends or family post fresh pictures, text messages and status updates.
Even so, relatively few consumers have been tempted, and sales have been lacklustre. A big problem is that, initially, the handsets running Microsoft’s software, made by companies like HTC and Samsung, were unexceptional.
Even more important, the US carriers, the gatekeepers for nearly all mobile phones, have not been aggressively selling Windows phones in their stores. Most promote the iPhone and devices running Google’s Android operating system.
And so Microsoft has struck a partnership with Nokia, and executives at both companies have high hopes that their handsets will catch on with consumers.
On Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nokia plans to introduce a sleek metallic Windows Phone called the Lumia 900 that will be sold by AT&T in the US, according to two people with knowledge of its plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the product has not yet been announced. Unlike other handset makers creating devices with Microsoft’s software, Nokia is not also developing Android phones.
“We are doing our best work for Windows Phone,” said Stephen Elop, the chief executive of Nokia and a former Microsoft executive.
While the customers’ verdict is still unknown, the group that developed Windows Phone has already profoundly affected Microsoft itself, influencing work on other consumer products. The next major version of software for PCs, Windows 8, will look a lot like Windows Phone, which Microsoft hopes will help it work better on tablet devices. A Windows Phone-like makeover was also part of the new software update for Xbox, which along with Kinect is one of Microsoft’s few consumer hits.
Bill Flora, one of the designers of Windows Phone, said the care that Microsoft took in designing its products had changed vastly since he joined the company out of art school in the early 1990s.
“Now, instead of 80 per cent of its efforts being unenlightened, just 20 per cent are unenlightened,” said Flora, who recently left Microsoft to form his own design firm in Seattle.
The tale of how Microsoft created Windows Phone starts with the introduction of the iPhone, in 2007. To Joe Belfiore, now 43, an engineer who oversees software design for Windows Phone, that was the spark.
“Apple created a sea change in the industry in terms of the kinds of things they did that were unique and highly appealing to consumers,” Belfiore said in an interview. “We wanted to respond with something that would be competitive, but not the same.”
Microsoft had been an early player in smartphones with Windows Mobile, software that ran on devices made by Samsung, Motorola and others. But one word describes its early effort: complicated. Windows Mobile had a complex array of on-screen menus, including a start button for applications that was borrowed from Windows PCs. The software ran on sluggish devices that had physical keyboards and, in some cases, styluses.
Once the iPhone exploded into the marketplace, Microsoft executives knew that their software, as designed, could never compete. So in December 2008, Terry Myerson, who had just taken over engineering for the mobile group, convened a meeting that members of his management team came to call the “cage match.”
With a prototype of a new Windows Mobile phone on a table, Myerson, a no-nonsense engineer, led a heated debate over whether any of the software could be salvaged. No one was leaving the room until the issue was resolved, he said.
Seven hours later, the meeting finally adjourned, after Myerson got a call from his wife saying a pipe had frozen at his home. By then, a consensus had emerged that there wasn’t much technology worth saving. “We had hit bottom,” Myerson, who is now 39.
“That frankly gives you the freedom to try new things, build a new team and set a new path,” he added.
The decision was to start from scratch, a move that had serious consequences. Not only did it delay a Windows phone, it gave Google an opening to woo Microsoft handset partners to Android.
Charlie Kindel, a longtime Microsoft manager who joined its mobile team in early 2009, compared the pain caused by starting over to the predicament of Aron Ralston, the hiker who amputated his own arm in 2003 after it was it pinned under a boulder in the Utah desert.
“This boulder comprised of Apple and Blackberry rolled on our arm,” said Kindel, who left Microsoft last year. “Microsoft sat there for three or four years struggling to get out.”
Myerson also had to rebuild the mobile team – and Belfiore was his first major hire.
Belfiore is a rare breed of Microsoft executive: He joined the company in 1990 fresh out of university and stayed, even as others fled to work for companies with more pizazz.
For much of his career, Belfiore worked on the design of Windows and Internet Explorer, the kind of Microsoft software that is everywhere but not always admired for innovation. But he was also known for spending hours testing Microsoft technologies outside the office to see how they could be simplified.
In recent years, Belfiore earned a reputation in the company for working on more adventurous projects, even if they sometimes bombed in the market. Before he joined the mobile group, for instance, he oversaw design of Zune, Microsoft’s ill-fated answer to the iPod.
A version of the product released in 2009, the Zune HD, was praised by reviewers for its spare design that featured elegant typography and snappy, animated screen transitions as users flipped around music collections. But the Zune HD came out years too late, well after the iPod had cemented its lead.
Belfiore took over the mobile group in early 2009, just as designers were finishing up the earliest prototypes for Windows Phone. In those prototypes, Bill Flora drew inspiration from the signs in airports and other transportation hubs.
He borrowed the emphasis on clarity, clean typography and broadcast-quality transitions between screens from Zune, which he had worked on with Belfiore. The ideas gradually gelled into a software design language that Microsoft calls Metro.
But there were challenges beyond design. Microsoft had to take a fresh approach to working with phone makers so it could have its slick new software function properly. Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn’t make its own hardware. Before it restarted its mobile strategy, Microsoft did little to ensure that its handset partners were putting its software on devices that could run it well.
No longer would that be tolerated. Microsoft gave its handset partners detailed specifications of the types of technical innards required, including processors with certain amounts of power and screen technologies. Handset makers grumbled about the rules, but the result was phones that ran better.
“It’s not just about software,” said Albert Shum, general manager of the design studio for Windows Phone. “It’s about the whole end-to-end experience.”
When senior executives got their first look at the software, Myerson said, there was “some hesitancy.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, didn’t like that the first screen that appeared after turning on the device contained oversized type that cut off the day of the week. (Wednesday showed up as Wed.) Revisions were made.
But the group was given its creative freedom. And the critics, at least, have approved the final results.
“It looks like nothing we’ve seen before from Microsoft,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, the technology research firm. “The company is being somewhat bold and saying what worked for them in 1992 won’t work now.”
Still, last summer, Ballmer told Microsoft investors that he was disappointed with Windows Phone sales. In mid-December, he named Myerson, the engineering head, to take full control of the group. He charged Myerson with improving the Windows Phone advertising campaign and relationships with carriers. A software update for Windows Phones in late last year added a number of improvements to the product, including basic editing functions like copy and paste.
But this year is crucial; it will show whether a respected product is enough to help Microsoft make up for lost time. Even if it feels good to be a favorite of tech critics for a change, Microsoft needs a blockbuster in the mobile business, not a cult hit.
2012年1月5日星期四
Foreclosure find yields cozy treasure for father, daughter
Most people, unless headed to a specific address, will simply drive past the two-story row houses that line the curb along Fleet Street in East Baltimore. Few are wider than 15 feet; their only mark of individuality is usually found in the variety of front doors. Many of these houses, dating to 1910, are examples of exterior brick restoration, while others still bask in the Formstone glory of 1940's exterior home improvement.
Alex Dyadyura, a computer programmer with Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, purchased one of these houses less than a year ago. Secure in his position after almost three years of service, the time was ripe for moving from his rented house in Patterson Park.
"I got used to this neighborhood and started looking around," said the Ukrainian-born Dyadyura in a soft voice. "And this one came along."
He purchased the foreclosure property for $149,000 and moved into a house already beautifully renovated by the previous owners. It still needed about $10,000 in updates, so Dyadyura and his 19-year-old daughter, Krystyana, who moved from Canada to live with him, painted every interior room, tiled the kitchen, replaced the roof and built a concrete parking pad in the postage stamp-sized backyard.
From the street, the house looks like those flanking it – still dressed in a coat of Formstone, with door and windows trimmed in white. Beyond the front door, the interior measures 13.6-feet wide by 46-feet deep. A living room in the front of the house faces south, while the kitchen, at the rear, faces north. A moderately sized hall separates the two with a staircase to the second level on one side and a full bathroom on the other.
Blatantly contemporary in décor, an overwhelming coziness is achieved through a palate of warm wall colors that surround gleaming oak flooring. In the kitchen, walls are painted a soft shade of pumpkin and framed in a stencil of painted green confetti-like pieces, executed by Dyadyura's daughter, a graphic arts student. Cabinets of cherry wood hang above granite countertops and stainless appliances.
Across the room from the prep area, upholstered high-backed chairs in a geometric design cozy up to a round glass-topped table. A high-topped, dark-stained parsons table, with two bar stools tucked under it, rests in front of the wide kitchen window hung with taffeta like curtains over cream colored shears. Light-colored ceramic floor tile has been laid on a diagonal for interest.
"The living room is my favorite," Dyadyura said, noting that the décor was done by his daughter and Baltimore designer Steve Appel as a surprise.
Painted a warm shade of French vanilla, a contemporary tuxedo-style sofa of olive-colored velour sits against a wall under a stunning, frameless self portrait of his daughter. A large round mirror is hung on the opposite wall, providing a reflection of the neat, minimalistic décor. In one corner, adjacent to a 46-inch wide-screen TV, a barreled armchair is placed at an angle to a three shelved parson's table painted white.
"I actually never moved anything after they put together," he said, adding, "I'm not artistic, I'm functional."
Functionality dictates on the second level where two bedrooms, one in the front, the other in the back, are separated by a hall and center room that his daughter uses as her studio. "This was intended to be my bathroom," says Dyadyura fondly.
The master bedroom contains a black lacquered wood bedroom suite and computer desk. Furnishings, such as a neutral colored brocade bed quilt and flowing shear curtains on the windows, soften the austere look.
Krystyna's bedroom suite at the back end of the second level is a work in progress. Only her bathroom, with walls painted a candy apple green, suggests an artistic decor in the works.
Walking down the stairs to the first level, Dyadyura notes that he carpeted the steps and intends to stain the oak railing. When asked if he plans to remain in his contemporary, compact home, he notes, "I love the location. Here you can walk anywhere, to shopping, restaurants and to park."
Alex Dyadyura, a computer programmer with Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, purchased one of these houses less than a year ago. Secure in his position after almost three years of service, the time was ripe for moving from his rented house in Patterson Park.
"I got used to this neighborhood and started looking around," said the Ukrainian-born Dyadyura in a soft voice. "And this one came along."
He purchased the foreclosure property for $149,000 and moved into a house already beautifully renovated by the previous owners. It still needed about $10,000 in updates, so Dyadyura and his 19-year-old daughter, Krystyana, who moved from Canada to live with him, painted every interior room, tiled the kitchen, replaced the roof and built a concrete parking pad in the postage stamp-sized backyard.
From the street, the house looks like those flanking it – still dressed in a coat of Formstone, with door and windows trimmed in white. Beyond the front door, the interior measures 13.6-feet wide by 46-feet deep. A living room in the front of the house faces south, while the kitchen, at the rear, faces north. A moderately sized hall separates the two with a staircase to the second level on one side and a full bathroom on the other.
Blatantly contemporary in décor, an overwhelming coziness is achieved through a palate of warm wall colors that surround gleaming oak flooring. In the kitchen, walls are painted a soft shade of pumpkin and framed in a stencil of painted green confetti-like pieces, executed by Dyadyura's daughter, a graphic arts student. Cabinets of cherry wood hang above granite countertops and stainless appliances.
Across the room from the prep area, upholstered high-backed chairs in a geometric design cozy up to a round glass-topped table. A high-topped, dark-stained parsons table, with two bar stools tucked under it, rests in front of the wide kitchen window hung with taffeta like curtains over cream colored shears. Light-colored ceramic floor tile has been laid on a diagonal for interest.
"The living room is my favorite," Dyadyura said, noting that the décor was done by his daughter and Baltimore designer Steve Appel as a surprise.
Painted a warm shade of French vanilla, a contemporary tuxedo-style sofa of olive-colored velour sits against a wall under a stunning, frameless self portrait of his daughter. A large round mirror is hung on the opposite wall, providing a reflection of the neat, minimalistic décor. In one corner, adjacent to a 46-inch wide-screen TV, a barreled armchair is placed at an angle to a three shelved parson's table painted white.
"I actually never moved anything after they put together," he said, adding, "I'm not artistic, I'm functional."
Functionality dictates on the second level where two bedrooms, one in the front, the other in the back, are separated by a hall and center room that his daughter uses as her studio. "This was intended to be my bathroom," says Dyadyura fondly.
The master bedroom contains a black lacquered wood bedroom suite and computer desk. Furnishings, such as a neutral colored brocade bed quilt and flowing shear curtains on the windows, soften the austere look.
Krystyna's bedroom suite at the back end of the second level is a work in progress. Only her bathroom, with walls painted a candy apple green, suggests an artistic decor in the works.
Walking down the stairs to the first level, Dyadyura notes that he carpeted the steps and intends to stain the oak railing. When asked if he plans to remain in his contemporary, compact home, he notes, "I love the location. Here you can walk anywhere, to shopping, restaurants and to park."
2012年1月4日星期三
Deadly Backroom Buttocks Plastic Surgery Brings Lawsuits
A Colombian couple, characterized by prosecutors as greedy con artists who preyed on Latino patients, are now facing wrongful death lawsuits from the family of a 42-year-old Las Vegas woman who died in a botched buttocks enhancement procedure in the back room of a tile store.
A lawsuit filed Dec. 22 in Clark County District Court in Nevada on behalf of the husband and two children of Elena Caro seeks unspecified damages from Ruben Dario Matallana-Galvas and his wife, Carmen Olfidia Torres-Sanchez, plus the owners of the now-closed tile store and a beauty salon alleged to have referred Caro to the couple for the fatal surgery.
Caro's daughter, Janet Villalobos, filed a separate lawsuit Dec. 21 against the same defendants.
"They're seeking damages for the loss of their wife and mother," said attorney Kevin Edwin Galliher, representing husband Oscar Canale and the couple's two children. Galliher said he is cooperating with lawyer Michaela Tramel, who represents Villalobos. Tramel didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The Las Vegas Sun first reported the lawsuits Tuesday.
Matallana-Galvas, 56, and Torres-Sanchez, 47, were each sentenced in October to up to eight years in a Nevada prison plus a year in the Clark County jail for involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy and practicing medicine without a license.
Matallana-Galvas said he was a homeopathic physician in Colombia. Torres-Sanchez was a lawyer with the country's attorney general's office. Authorities said they were in the U.S. on tourist visas that have expired, and they will face deportation after completing their sentences.
An autopsy showed Caro died April 9 from an allergic reaction to anesthesia administered before an injection of a gel to reshape her buttocks. Caro received facial injections from Matallana-Galvas a week earlier, with no side effects.
Authorities said Caro was referred by people at the Sinaloa Beauty Salon to Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez, and that the fatal procedure took place in a back room of a Tiles and More store east of downtown Las Vegas.
Attorneys for the defendants were not identified in court records, and Galliher said the defendants were not yet served with the lawsuit.
Matallana-Galvas acknowledged at his sentencing that Caro became ill while he conducted the procedure with Torres-Sanchez assisting.
Authorities said the couple bundled Caro into a car with another woman, but Caro died on the way to a hospital.
A lawsuit filed Dec. 22 in Clark County District Court in Nevada on behalf of the husband and two children of Elena Caro seeks unspecified damages from Ruben Dario Matallana-Galvas and his wife, Carmen Olfidia Torres-Sanchez, plus the owners of the now-closed tile store and a beauty salon alleged to have referred Caro to the couple for the fatal surgery.
Caro's daughter, Janet Villalobos, filed a separate lawsuit Dec. 21 against the same defendants.
"They're seeking damages for the loss of their wife and mother," said attorney Kevin Edwin Galliher, representing husband Oscar Canale and the couple's two children. Galliher said he is cooperating with lawyer Michaela Tramel, who represents Villalobos. Tramel didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The Las Vegas Sun first reported the lawsuits Tuesday.
Matallana-Galvas, 56, and Torres-Sanchez, 47, were each sentenced in October to up to eight years in a Nevada prison plus a year in the Clark County jail for involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy and practicing medicine without a license.
Matallana-Galvas said he was a homeopathic physician in Colombia. Torres-Sanchez was a lawyer with the country's attorney general's office. Authorities said they were in the U.S. on tourist visas that have expired, and they will face deportation after completing their sentences.
An autopsy showed Caro died April 9 from an allergic reaction to anesthesia administered before an injection of a gel to reshape her buttocks. Caro received facial injections from Matallana-Galvas a week earlier, with no side effects.
Authorities said Caro was referred by people at the Sinaloa Beauty Salon to Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez, and that the fatal procedure took place in a back room of a Tiles and More store east of downtown Las Vegas.
Attorneys for the defendants were not identified in court records, and Galliher said the defendants were not yet served with the lawsuit.
Matallana-Galvas acknowledged at his sentencing that Caro became ill while he conducted the procedure with Torres-Sanchez assisting.
Authorities said the couple bundled Caro into a car with another woman, but Caro died on the way to a hospital.
2012年1月3日星期二
Antique inn
In the olden days, an inn was a gathering place for all types of martial art masters. It was not only a place to put up a night, a place to dine, but also a place for kungfu contests. The inn was meant for the knights to eat and stay, to get to know friends, to spy and snoop, to obtain contact signals or even develop a relationship.
The remarkable legend of the Dragon Inn remains very much cherished by people up to this day.
In Malaysia, there indeed is an inn that is reminiscent of the Dragon Inn. The 1881 Chong Tian Hotel in Ropewalk, Penang is the oldest inn in the country. The emergence of the new 1881 spreading over three shoplots in town could have spelled the resurgence of the inn culture in this part of the world. The inn offers 11 rooms, plus a relic hall, a meeting room, activity room, library and mezzanine bar.
Owner of the inn, Xie Guo Xing has intended to revive the styles of the Dragon Inn with a great deal of antiques on display throughout the inn. To Xie, 1881 is more than an inn, but also a chic Chinese boutique hotel.
Modern people who enjoy good food will see the inn as a fine hotel serving the best of Chinese and Western fares while backpackers willing to spend to enjoy the fine culture will most definitely not miss this opportunity to put up for a night at the inn.
There is a refined antique wooden bed at the rear hall with a pillow and teapot on top of it. It might look like a set up in a wealthy local family during the olden days, but was in actual fact an opium bed that allowed people to indulge in the process of inhaling and exhaling the drugs and slowly drift into sleep.
There are also a few chairs placed in front of the wooden bed for the people to indulge in their addiction in the company of some friends.
There is a pair of golden dragon and phoenix hung on the wall of the dining hall. These two auspicious creatures symbolise eternity and happiness apart from being an accessory used during traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies.
During the mid-autumn festival, another set of the golden shimmering accessories will be hung opposite the dragon and phoenix to ring in the festive season while announcing to the public that moon cakes are now available for sale at the hotel.
Looking around the furnishings and decorations, there are wooden ladders, bamboos at the patio and water tank with duckweeds that really arouse the nostalgic feelings of the guests. Above the patio are windows of the rooms with elaborate ceramic tile paintings adorning the walls below.
The remarkable legend of the Dragon Inn remains very much cherished by people up to this day.
In Malaysia, there indeed is an inn that is reminiscent of the Dragon Inn. The 1881 Chong Tian Hotel in Ropewalk, Penang is the oldest inn in the country. The emergence of the new 1881 spreading over three shoplots in town could have spelled the resurgence of the inn culture in this part of the world. The inn offers 11 rooms, plus a relic hall, a meeting room, activity room, library and mezzanine bar.
Owner of the inn, Xie Guo Xing has intended to revive the styles of the Dragon Inn with a great deal of antiques on display throughout the inn. To Xie, 1881 is more than an inn, but also a chic Chinese boutique hotel.
Modern people who enjoy good food will see the inn as a fine hotel serving the best of Chinese and Western fares while backpackers willing to spend to enjoy the fine culture will most definitely not miss this opportunity to put up for a night at the inn.
There is a refined antique wooden bed at the rear hall with a pillow and teapot on top of it. It might look like a set up in a wealthy local family during the olden days, but was in actual fact an opium bed that allowed people to indulge in the process of inhaling and exhaling the drugs and slowly drift into sleep.
There are also a few chairs placed in front of the wooden bed for the people to indulge in their addiction in the company of some friends.
There is a pair of golden dragon and phoenix hung on the wall of the dining hall. These two auspicious creatures symbolise eternity and happiness apart from being an accessory used during traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies.
During the mid-autumn festival, another set of the golden shimmering accessories will be hung opposite the dragon and phoenix to ring in the festive season while announcing to the public that moon cakes are now available for sale at the hotel.
Looking around the furnishings and decorations, there are wooden ladders, bamboos at the patio and water tank with duckweeds that really arouse the nostalgic feelings of the guests. Above the patio are windows of the rooms with elaborate ceramic tile paintings adorning the walls below.
2012年1月2日星期一
Mosaic restored in time for Pennridge class's 50th reunion
Even though Pennridge High School is closed for the holidays, plenty of activity is going on inside its walls – literally.
People strolling by the auditorium would have seen a gaping hole in the wall Wednesday, but by Thursday the space was filled with a 340-pound piece of history.
The 43-by-37 inch ceramic mosaic of the high school seal, the class gift from graduates in 1962, was mounted above the auditorium doors in the previous high school building. The gift would have been lost in the rubble when the building was demolished in 2006 if class member Marlene Bryan and others had not rescued it.
They also salvaged some bricks from the old building, using them as centerpieces for the 45th class reunion in 2007 and then allowing classmates to take them home as souvenirs.
“Classmates came from all over the country,” Bryan said. “They really cherish [the bricks].”
The mosaic itself, however, hung in Ray Weidner’s garage until this week.
“We thought now’s the time to place it,” said Bryan, chair of the reunion committee. Bryan has worked on the four previous reunions, which are held every five years, and is currently helping to plan the 50th.
The mosaic, complete with the high school seal’s scroll and quill pen, was originally designed by Richard Kuhn, the cousin of Barry Kuhn, class of 1962 member who headed up this week’s installation project. Olean Tile Company in Lansdale, where a class member’s parent worked, fashioned the mosaic from the artist’s rendering. Olean is the ceramic tile manufacturer that made much of the tile that lines the Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels, according to Bryan.
“It was a huge employer in our area,” Bryan said.
The installation, completed by Gary Schott, was completed in two days rather than the three Barry allotted for the project.
The restored mosaic is just the beginning of what Barry called “a special anniversary.” The reunion will take place on Saturday, Sept 29 at Indian Valley Country Club, but plans are also in motion for an activity Friday evening. The three-day reunion weekend will finish off with Sunday brunch Sept. 30. Invitations for the reunion will be sent out in April or May, Bryan said.
The 14 members of the reunion committee have been working together for many years.
“We’re very close,” Bryan said. “Everyone does their own thing but they all help each other.”
People strolling by the auditorium would have seen a gaping hole in the wall Wednesday, but by Thursday the space was filled with a 340-pound piece of history.
The 43-by-37 inch ceramic mosaic of the high school seal, the class gift from graduates in 1962, was mounted above the auditorium doors in the previous high school building. The gift would have been lost in the rubble when the building was demolished in 2006 if class member Marlene Bryan and others had not rescued it.
They also salvaged some bricks from the old building, using them as centerpieces for the 45th class reunion in 2007 and then allowing classmates to take them home as souvenirs.
“Classmates came from all over the country,” Bryan said. “They really cherish [the bricks].”
The mosaic itself, however, hung in Ray Weidner’s garage until this week.
“We thought now’s the time to place it,” said Bryan, chair of the reunion committee. Bryan has worked on the four previous reunions, which are held every five years, and is currently helping to plan the 50th.
The mosaic, complete with the high school seal’s scroll and quill pen, was originally designed by Richard Kuhn, the cousin of Barry Kuhn, class of 1962 member who headed up this week’s installation project. Olean Tile Company in Lansdale, where a class member’s parent worked, fashioned the mosaic from the artist’s rendering. Olean is the ceramic tile manufacturer that made much of the tile that lines the Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels, according to Bryan.
“It was a huge employer in our area,” Bryan said.
The installation, completed by Gary Schott, was completed in two days rather than the three Barry allotted for the project.
The restored mosaic is just the beginning of what Barry called “a special anniversary.” The reunion will take place on Saturday, Sept 29 at Indian Valley Country Club, but plans are also in motion for an activity Friday evening. The three-day reunion weekend will finish off with Sunday brunch Sept. 30. Invitations for the reunion will be sent out in April or May, Bryan said.
The 14 members of the reunion committee have been working together for many years.
“We’re very close,” Bryan said. “Everyone does their own thing but they all help each other.”
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