The Lana Olshove Home

BY MARY MICHAELS PHOTOS BY JULIE PRAIRIE PHOTOGRAPHY

The past eight years have been a journey for Lana Olshove, and not one that she expected to have to take. Prior to 2013, she was living with her husband Tony in Hartford, where they had been for 18 years and where they had raised their daughter, Brittany. Then, life took a different turn.

“We learned that Tony had brain cancer,” says Olshove. “That’s not something that anyone ever wants to hear, but he faced it. We faced it.”

Tony passed away in November 2013.

Lana stayed in Hartford for about six more months, but then she felt it was time for a change. And, after driving Interstate 90 for 18 years to work in Sioux Falls, she moved here.

“I knew I didn’t need a lot of house,” Olshove says. “I wanted something maintenance free.”

She found what she was looking for in a neighborhood of townhomes tucked into a collection of curved roads behind Bishop O’Gorman High School.

“Many people don’t know about this old neighborhood,” she says. “It’s so quiet that it’s almost country-like. All the homes are surrounded by mature trees, which gives you nice privacy. You’d never know 41st Street is just a few blocks away.”

The previous owner had updated many features of the three-level townhome, which attracted Olshove to the place. The kitchen had been updated with new bamboo flooring, dark cabinets and stainless appliances – including a six-burner gas Jenn-Air, which was a big selling point.

However, Olshove knew it needed touches that were more “her.” She has always loved interior design, but at that difficult time in her life, she was finding it a challenge to make even routine decisions, let alone bigger choices about updating the home’s décor.

That’s where Penny Klinedinst came in.

“Penny saved me,” Olshove says of the Simply Perfect store owner. “We had become friends, and she just stepped in and made it

easy for me.”

When Tony was sick, Olshove explains, she would often grab a cup of coffee and go to Simply Perfect because she found the store calming.

“Maybe I’d buy a candle or something, but most of the time I would just wander,” she says. “I met Penny there, and we just became good friends.”

Most of the updates focused on paint, lighting and furniture to incorporate more of Olshove’s style. One original feature that she did keep, though, was the small area of red brick flooring in the entryway.

“It’s probably from the ‘70s, but I kept it because it’s so cool,” she laughs.

For the pantry and half-bath off the kitchen she replaced the traditional doors with sliding barn doors.

“That style was really popular seven

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years ago when I moved in, so I decided to try it,” she says. “I suppose it’s a little unusual to do a barn door for a bathroom, but it really is a space-saver to have the sliding doors.”

With Klinedinst’s help, she updated the lighting in the kitchen, with new can lights and two metallic pendants hanging over the peninsula. For the dining room, with its new table and padded fabric chairs, the obvious choice was, of course, a chandelier. An existing window seat provides extra seating when family or friends stop by.

Olshove loves neutral color palettes, so she was excited when Klinedinst proposed a textured Ralph Lauren gray paint color for the living room.

“It’s a warm grey, almost with brown tones,” says Olshove, “so it gives me the neutral I love but still makes the room

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feel cozy.”

Her style preference is to mix traditional with modern, so that was the direction she went when selecting new furniture at Simply Perfect before she moved in. There are newer pieces like creamcolored side chairs, but the coffee table and entertainment center feature rustic wood. She added big windows next to the door that opens to the backyard, providing a better view to the beautiful trees and occasional wildlife that passes through.

“I kind of joke that this is like my New York City home,” Olshove says. “I have the trees, a fence covered with vines, and I overlook the 13th green of Minnehaha Country Club. So, that’s my Central Park. Off in the distance, I can see the lights of

the city, so that’s my Manhattan. My yard faces west, so I get the best sunsets here.” She had help from Penny picking furniture for the patio so she can enjoy the charming pergola and outdoor cooking space where she added a concrete counter. It’s perfect right now, she says, as the trees and the vines put on their colorful fall display.

On the wall between the living room and dining room hang a collection of family photos in solid black frames.

“It’s like my own gallery,” she says. “I love using family photos as art.”

Some of the frames feature pictures of Olshove’s granddaughter Maddie, now 10 years old, who lives with her. That was another turn in the road of life’s journey,

but one she wouldn’t trade for anything.

“We have plenty of room for the two of us to hang out together or to have our own space,” says Olshove.

The upper floor as two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, which is perfect for the pair.

Maddie’s room is bright and airy, with its pink and turquoise color palette. The previous owner created a dark wood accent wall, which stands out against the white woodwork. Instead of a headboard, a large frame hangs over the bed with strings and clips holding family pictures.

Olshove’s master suite is a chateauinspired getaway with windows facing the backyard.

“Everything in here is from Simply Perfect,” she says, “from the furniture and bedding to the awesome chandelier.”

Again, Olshove mixed traditional and modern in the space. The previous owner had placed wood panels with a clear glaze on the sloped ceiling, so Klinedinst gave her the idea to add a hollow wood beam across the ceiling to add to that chateau feel. For newer touches, she added pieces like a mirrored nightstand and lamp.

The master suite has the convenience of a full-sized, stacked washer and dryer in the walk-in closet, as well as the beauty of a sliding door to the small deck overlooking her “Central Park.”

One of the more recent additions to the home is their “pandemic puppy,” Louis… as in Louis Vuitton, which is appropriate since Olshove is co-owner of JuLiana’s Boutique La Femme in downtown Sioux Falls (and her business partner and friend, Julie, has a dog named Chanel).

“He’s been just what we needed,” Olshove says of the nine-pound, playful pup. “He comes to the store with me, greets customers, and usually rolls over for a belly rub. At home, he’s a great companion for me and Maddie.”

Even though she wasn’t expecting to be raising a child again, Olshove says the neighborhood has been just perfect.

We have a pool and tennis courts here,” she says, “which I never would have been

able to provide on my own. There are more young families moving around us, and even one of Maddie’s friends moved in next door. Louis even has made fourlegged friends here.”

This wasn’t where Olshove expected to be prior to 2013, but she knows the importance of being able to cherish the past while still pushing forward. And even though there have been challenging times, she points to her friendship with Klinedinst that blossomed through updating her home.

“She helped me create my new beginning.”

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