At Home_October2010

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FINDING THE PERFECT SEATING FOR YOUR HOME

seatHAVE A

{ T H E U LT I M AT E G U I D E T O D O M E S T I C B L I S S O N T H E N O R T H S H O R E }

OCTOBER 2010

RECLAIM YOUR HOMETips and trends to help you cosy your nest for fall.

AGE IN PLACEGrowing older doesn’t have to mean leaving home.

FREEZE OUT BEDBUGSA new treatment promises to give the pests a cold shoulder.

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A22 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 24, 2010 Sunday, October 24, 2010 - North Shore News - A23

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RENOVATEA D V E R T I S E M E N T

In the almost two decades since they opened for business in 1992, North Vancouver’s Bathrooms Plus has become a valued supply and design resource for home owners, contractors, home improvement specialists and everyone looking to get the most out of their kitchens and bathrooms.

Mary Vasilopoulos explains some of the reasons for their success.

“With rich History and a fashion forward approach we have focused on style and simplicity,” says Mary, “with bold geometric shapes, clean crisp lines, natural and organic appeal, easier designs and many accessories that meet the needs of north Shore home owners.”

Having achieved success in North America, Bathrooms Plus has also branched out to Europe.

“We decided to expand our creativity into the European market,” says Mary, “and since 2004, when our daughter Christina joined the family business after fi nishing her certifi cation, we have been spending many months each year in Europe building luxury villas with executive elegance.”

Working in both Europe and North America gives Bathrooms Plus a unique perspective on the latest in interior looks and design innovations.

“In Europe, we use many transitional aesthetic ensembles, achieved by blending subtle design elements found also in North America- simple striking combinations of curves and design lines that add refi nement and distinctive impact to both kitchen and bathroom.”

It works both ways.

“We at Bathrooms Plus believe in wellness in the European sense, which means having a healthy balance of the mind, the body and the spirit resulting in an overall feeling of well being. With our in-depth plumbing knowledge, we also offer the latest fl ush-mounted showerheads with air induction systems- as well as chromatherapy and body jets with thermostatic control valves widely used in Europe- that deliver water at the desired temperature to awaken

your senses and turn your bathroom into a haven of well being.”

Their product selection, knowledge and expertise, combined with their understanding of European and North American aesthetics are just some of the reasons Bathrooms Plus has earned the respect and business of people from across the Lower Mainland.

“Over the last two decades we have been committed to

providing our customers with the best overall solutions to their kitchen and bathroom problems. I have been asked if people could do just one thing this year in their kitchen or bathroom to add value to their homes, what would it be? Without any hesitation I would say the whole thing.”

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REPLACE WINDOW GLAZING:

This is a simple way to reduce drafts. Use the cordless Dremel Multi-

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3

Reclaim YOUR HOME

BY LISA KADANEPOSTMEDIA NEWS - CALGARY HERALD

TRY THESE HANDY INDOOR PROJECTS:

CREATE A FESTIVE

DECORATION: Avoid annual holiday decoration

costs by making your own personalized door hanging out of wood. Use the Dremel Trio to

cut, sand and rout a design, such as a holiday greeting or winter

snowman. Then, use the cordless Dremel Multi-Max

for quick and easy surface sanding.

1

Autumn often inspires the handy among us to get busy with small reno tasks. Most projects are easier to tackle with the right tools, of course, and the folks at Dremel

(dremel.com) have come up with several ideas that use the Dremel Trio and cordless Dremel Multi-Max tools.

MAKE A WINE RACK:

These make great gifts, especially when they’re handmade. Find a wine

rack pattern you like at dremel.com.

2

Your kids are out the door to school, but your home is in shambles from a summer of Popsicle drips and muddy footprints.Now is a good time to tidy up and get organized before the snow flies. Here are some tips from Sure Fit Slipcovers and Home Solutions (surefit.com).

■ REVAMP YOUR FURNITURE:Buying a new couch is not a cost-effective solution. Instead, consider a bright or patterned slipcover for an instant update.

■ CLEAN YOUR CARPETS: After a summer of spills, fall is a good time to call in the pros to shampoo your carpets.

■ DESIGNATE YOUR SPACE: Kick the toys out of the living room and into the playroom.

■ ADD SOMETHING NEW: No, not to your wardrobe ... to your furniture. A throw blanket or pillows in fall colours will help you greet the new season in style.


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In her 19-year career, (her fans also remember her previous stint on TV’s Trading Spaces before she joined HGTV) she has worked her “before” and “after” magic on everything from the kitchen floor to the bathroom sink. She’s turned a dingy laundry into an elegant foyer and created a happening family room out of a dark basement. And she has lots of advice for homeowners who want to

take the plunge into turning their homes from blah beige boxes into stylish havens.

“Everyone seems to live in beige and cream,” Gorder says. “They think

that it’s safe and that their homes will have more resale value.

But it’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Paint is one of the least expensive ways to transform a house, and it’s very easy to change if you don’t like it.”

Indeed, this year, grey is Gorder’s new go-to neutral. “It’s

a great alternative to everyone’s beige,” she says.

But how does the Dear Genevieve host suggest one go from boring beige to gorgeous grey?

“Don’t over-think the design process,” Gorder says, adding fear is one of the biggest obstacles most homeowners face when it comes to starting design projects in their homes.

“They think that if they don’t have a room that looks like it came from Page 16 of a Pottery Barn catalogue, it won’t look right, so they get scared and end up doing

nothing but sabotaging themselves.”

She admits the process should be much more personal. “75 to 80 per cent of decorating is emotional,” she says. “But it’s not rocket science. It’s the one environment in our lives that we can control. Hey, you can always return that sofa if you don’t like it!”

5 Steps To Style! HGTV sTar desiGner GeneVieVe Gorder’s Top decor adVice.

“everyone seems to live in beige and

cream,” Gorder says. “They think that it’s safe and that their homes will have more resale value.”

Ban the beige! That’s the message from designer Genevieve Gorder for do-it-yourself home decorators this fall. The star of HGTV’s popular dear Genevieve makeover show (and the new Battle on the Block), Gorder has been transforming the homes of desperate design-deprived viewers for four seasons.

aBoVe: HGTV’s GeneVieVe Gorder makes oVer a room on Her series, “dear GeneVieVe”.

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Here are her top five tips to get you started on those projects around the house:

Ask questions

Before you open that first can of grey paint, stop, look and listen to your room, says the designer. “Ask yourself a series of questions,” she says: “How do I want to feel in this room? How do I want to move through this room? Where is the light coming from? What are the problems with this room?”

Then, she says, it’s time to get creative. “All it takes is a little time and more effort,” she says. “But you have to look past the home improvement stores and give your home your own personal touch. It needs to make you feel good and reflect the things you care about.”

use the resources At your fingertips

“There are no excuses anymore with the availability of the Internet,” Gorder says. “There are so many people doing so many different things now. You can find amazing furniture and accessories.”

keep it personAl

“Create what I call ‘pauses,’“ she says. “Put together vignettes of personal items that make you stop and pause to look at them, whether it’s a group of family photos on your front entry table or a piece of art under a glass cloche in a bookshelf. Tell a story about yourself.”

Mix old And new

“It’s great to mix vintage and modern pieces,” says Gorder, whose kitchen in her 1850 Manhattan Italianate brownstone features a 1903 “science lab” cabinet and limestone countertops salvaged from an old school building.

“Look for architectural salvage pieces to incorporate into your designs with newer furniture for a very eclectic interior.”

On a recent Dear Genevieve episode, Gorder “repurposed” an antique dresser for use as a bathroom sink.

keep evolving your style

“There are lots of things you can do to update your rooms,” Gorder says.

“Accessories are very inexpensive and can give you instant impact with just a change of a wonderful piece of sculpture on a table or a $10 bouquet of fresh flowers in your kitchen or a few new throw pillows for your sofa. Accessories are like last-minute additions of jewelry to your outfit.”

Perhaps her most important home improvement tip of all? “Concentrate on making your home a beautiful place,” she says. “After all, it’s a refuge.”

BY SHArOn MOSLeY

POSTMeDIA neWS - CALGArY HerALD

photo courtesy of hGtV


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6

When you’re looking to outfit a living or family room, it’s important to ask yourself a couple of questions: How is the room going to be used and how many people do you want to be able to accommodate.

“A lot of it is determined by function,” says Lower Mainland interior designer Sarah Gallop.

People with kids and pets will want to choose furniture for its durability; those with a larger family or who entertain frequently will want to ensure there’s plenty of seating.

“Think about you live and how you’re going to use it,” Gallop says.

There are a number of options out there that can pull double duty for those looking to maximize seating options. Benches or ottomans can serve as a table or a place to sit when entertaining a crowd.

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7

Both Gallop and redesigner Eleanor Hunter recommend starting with the largest piece of furniture when looking to change things up. In most cases that’s going to be the couch, which is also usually the most expensive piece of furniture in the room.

Both advocate playing it a bit safer when it comes to the fabric and colour of the couch. Sticking with a neutral tone in a more durable fabric will give the piece a longer lifespan.

“You want it to be long- lasting,” Gallop says. “That makes more sense with the bigger piece.”

It also makes the most sense to start with the couch when deciding the layout of furniture in the room.

Hunter, who is also a home stager, recommends finding, or creating, a focal point in the room. That could be an architectural point, such as a fireplace or a window with a fabulous view, or one that you can create and move, such as a TV or a piece of art.

The couch, she says, should be placed facing the focal point. From there, the other pieces - a loveseat, chairs or other seating elements - should be placed along diagonal lines throughout the room.

“You want a zig-zag effect through your room,” Hunter says.

“Have fun with it ... don’t stay in a rut. Just try moving a couple things and that usually creates a domino effect.”

She does, however, warn people to stay away from putting a couch in front of a window as it tends to block natural light and is not the most aesthetically pleasing

view from outside.

For those on a tight budget, you don’t have to shy away

from change. Sometimes even just moving the furniture around can make a big difference.

Adding new accent pieces, such as chairs,

throws or cushions, to an existing couch can also

make a big difference in a room.

Gallop recommends considering reupholstering an existing couch or chair if it has “good bones.”

A new slipcover or fabric and stuffing can give an aging yet good quality piece a new lease on life.

Whatever you choose, in the end it comes down comfort.

“If things are comfortable and inviting, people are going to use it,” Gallop says.

BY JESSICA KERR

“Have fun with it ... don’t stay in a rut. Just try moving a couple things and

that usually creates a domino effect.”


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Peter Simpson had never thought too much about where the plugs in his house were located until he had a hernia operation.

“Just a simple thing like bending over to plug in my battery charger in my cell phone, I had to take my time doing it,” said Simpson. “If that power receptacle had only been about six inches or so higher, it wouldn’t have been nearly as challenging.”

For Simpson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, it was a perfect example of why his organization is pushing to educate homebuilders on how to build houses where seniors can age in place.

For Simpson the problem was temporary, but for many others, the location of electrical outlets can mean the difference between independence and relying on others.

“The only reason they’re at the height they are today is it’s the height of a hammer. It was easy for them just to get their hammer there and draw a line,” said Simpson. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Seniors’ accessibility is also a concern being raised more and more by customers, said John Friswell, owner of the North Vancouver-based CCI Renovations.

“A lot of (homeowners) have had homes for a long time and they’re now looking at their house and saying ‘Wow, I’ve got a two-storey house that’s 5,000 square feet, how am I going to stay here?’”

Friswell took a four-day Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) course provided by the home builders’ association a few years ago so he could advise clients, and said he incorporates many of the ideas into every house he renovates.

That includes making sure wood backing is installed behind shower walls so grab-bars can be screwed in later, as well as lowering the height of light switches. He also can install contrasting materials so visually impaired have an easier time navigating or wider doors and larger bathrooms for easier wheelchair access, among other changes.

He also said they try to install houses with deep closets directly above one another in case homeowners decide to install a residential elevator when they’re unable to use the stairs.

Simpson said some seniors are also finding they want to live closer to family, which has prompted several North Shore

municipalities to investigate the idea of laneway homes in back yards, so seniors could live with family while maintaining their independence.

“I think more municipalities should jump on board with that, but of course we’ve

got some resistance to that,” said Simpson. “I know my

parents, if I could have had a coach house in my back yard where my parents could live, they might have considered living there, but they sure as heck weren’t going to give up

their house for a nursing home.”

Michael Geller, who is the principal developer on a project

in West Vancouver that involves laneway houses – what he also calls “granny flats” – said they also allow for much smaller homes that are just one-storey, and thus have no stairs.

“To my mind the ideal solution is usually a single level unit, which can be at grade with a private outdoor space, which is separate from the main space of the principal dwelling,” said Geller, who is also president of a company that builds laneway homes and has advocated for them since 1974.

Still, he said they’re often too expensive for many seniors, which is a major stumbling block for some.

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DIY, if you dare!Time to repair or replace your side of the fence? Follow this advice from the experts at Windsor Plywood, and you’ll be “staking your territory” on the way to a beautiful completed project.

Before you start your wood fencing project, here are a few tips to help you save time and cost overruns:

■ The hardest part of fence building is digging the holes; after that, the structure takes shape quickly. Besides a rented posthole digger, you’ll need only a circular saw and basic carpentry tools.

■ Designs vary widely, but just about all fences consist of the same basic elements: A series of posts sunk into the ground connected by top and bottom rails. Before proceeding, check community building and zoning codes. Many specify maximum fence height, distances you can build from property lines and the street, and even the materials you can and can’t use. (Take extra care with

pressure-treated lumber. If you are using wood that has been treated with wood preservatives, proper fasteners and hardware must be used.)

■ Call before you dig. It’s important to know what lies underground before digging or using boring equipment. Contact BC One Call at 1-800-474-6886. Once you’ve chosen a design and established a location, stake out and measure the site.

■ Plot your post spacing for the most efficient use of lumber. Six- or seven-foot spans usually work well; never set privacy-fence posts more than eight feet apart. If you are building your fence on a slope, plan to step the fence down the hill, setting each section lower than the one preceding it. Only if the slope is slight, and the fence design won’t suffer, should you follow the contour.

Go to www.windsorplywood.com for a downloadable “Fence Planner.”

GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

A30 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 24, 2010

They feed almost exclusively at night, make their best effort to hide during the day and prey on people when they’re least suspecting it.

Their primary food source?

Human blood.

Taking all that into account, it’s fair to say bed bugs share a lot in common with your everyday vampire, but one Lower Mainland company is at the forefront of new technology to eradicate the household pests.

Canadian Pest Control Ltd. is set to roll out a natural combatant in the war on bed bugs, called Cryonite.

“Cryonite is a freezing process. It turns CO2 in a gas canister, the same as you have in the back of a restaurant to turn pop into fizzy pop, into super cold snow, which is blown out under pressure,” said Brett Johnston, general manager of Canadian Pest Control. “The super cold particles of snow hit the bug, shock the bug, and they cannot adapt

to the massive drop in temperature — and they

die from shock.”

Though used in Europe and the U.S. for decades, Cryonite was only recently given the regulatory green light by the federal government. Johnston’s company will be the first in Metro Vancouver to roll out the new technology, and he expects to be offering it to customers this month.

Other methods used to kill bed bugs have traditionally involved

pesticides, heat treatments, steamers and vacuums. Cryonite, however, is more efficient and

the process can be completed quickly without masks, respirators or the use of any pesticides. In fact, those having their properties treated with Cryonite can

remain in their homes while the process takes place.

“The great thing about Cryonite is that it’s

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don’t kill eggs; eggs are quite well protected from

their environment, but the super cooling is something that

penetrates the egg and kills the egg.”

Bed bugs have enjoyed a worldwide resurgence since the late 1990s and early 2000s and a number of theories exist as to why that’s happened. In the Metro Vancouver context, Johnston said the bug’s proliferation is likely due to the multitude of cultures that use Vancouver as their starting point before scattering across the region and province.

Given that bed bugs are human parasites, they have conditioned themselves to adapt to any situation.

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Freezing out bed bugsChilly technology allows for a pesticide-free alternative when ridding homes of pests

Brett Johnston demonstrates a Bed-Bug eradiCation teChnique that’s new to Canada: Cryonite. it freezes the Bugs without the use of pestiCides.

Photo Kevin Hill

in the world of bed bugs, cleanliness is next to godliness.

reducing clutter and keeping your home clean are two of the best ways to keep bed bugs out of your life.

“Bed bugs love clutter; clutter really is the key. it doesn’t matter if you’re super loaded and have got a house in west Vancouver or if you’re down and out and you’ve got a unit in a private hostel in the downtown eastside — if your unit is full of clutter, the bed bugs have tons of places to hide,” said Brett Johnston, general manager of Canadian pest Control.

awareness is also paramount. Check underneath mattresses, bed boards and box springs for dried blood spots or dark, pepper-like materials, which are often the bed bug’s entrails.

“you need to be aware that bed bugs are an issue. Bed bugs can be an issue when someone comes to stay with you. people don’t just bring them home themselves; someone can bring them home for you,” he said, adding that those living in apartments and townhomes are more susceptible to infestations.

Johnston also suggests that your bed and bed sheets not touch the floor. he added that encasements can be purchased for both mattresses and box springs — the two most preferred homes for bed bugs — that prevent the insects from getting into those spots.

if you’ve already noticed the bugs in your bed or in your clothes, running them through the dryer should kill them off.

how to banish bed bugs

10

“the great thing about Cryonite is that it’s immediate. with the vast majority of pesticides, it takes several minutes,

if not hours,”

At Home_October2010

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