Saturday, October 1, 2016 • Page 1B
Building character inside the
By Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader For North Carolina transplants Andrea and Todd Waller, their ranch-style rental was a temporary house but not a home. They have now renovated the not-so-cozy bungalow in Norhill to maximize existing space and better highlight its vintage vibe. Among the examples: rope runs between shiplap panels like frosting between cake layers, adding some texture, contrast, and even insulation to the living room. And there’s a section of carefully preserved original wallpaper, worn and faded, and now sealed into an accent wall in the master bedroom. “You can see the character coming through,” Andi Waller says of the results. The Waller’s home is one of six properties featured on
the 2016 Norhill Bungalow Tour themed “Turn of the Century Homes, 21st Century Living and offered on Saturday, Oct. 15 from noon to 6 p.m. At just under 1,100 square feet – less than half the size of their previous digs – the 1930 bungalow was a project full of intentional choices, she says. “This home has taught us to value space and be thoughtful on using space…We had to ask ourselves who we want to be and what kind of life we want.” Their answer was to downsize and consider that decision “a lifestyle statement.” “Older homes have an energy and character,” she says. The homeowners are fine with the creaks and imperfections honed by decades of home use. “You have to ask what you are willing to accept.” Porch life Initially, the couple had seen the property online but did not bite. Months later, they were looking at properties in the area and happened upon it during an open house. “We saw lots of potential,”
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A recent refurbishment of the façade at the Oak Forest Shopping Center has some tenants wanting to get the word out that they are still ready for business. Watches By Paulin, 1337 W. 43rd St. A, has been at the complex for 15 years. Jasmine Palomo said that after the scaffolding was put up over the storefront, people weren’t sure that they were open. “At first it was dead,” she said. “People would call ahead because they thought we had moved.” Once Weingarten put up banners for each business on the construction fence last weekend, the situation improved. “It’s getting back to normal,”
said Palomo. Optician and officer manager Dee Cabello at Today’s Vision/Dr. Esther Kovacs said that their customers knew they were open but were walking back and forth to find their specific entrance. The signs have helped with that issue too. Not everyone has seen an uptick in business. Shonte Johnson is a stylist and manager at Supercuts and said that there is still a decline in business. “People think we’re closed,” said Johnson, who nonetheless is looking forward to an upgraded façade. “We need one. [It’s] been there for years.” The affected shops include Watches by Paulin, Postnet, Allstate, the Washateria, the HPD substation, Today’s Vision and SuperCuts. Weingarten Realty owns everything from the Mat-
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Photos contributed Exposed and reinstalled after underlying updates, shiplap adds contrast, texture and a bit to insulation.
she recalls. The porch-front property sits on a quiet, block-long street of similar homes and had been well maintained. It also had been previously updated, however, and some of the choices had “over-modernized,” she notes in an account of the project. “We felt
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that some of the true character of a 1930s bungalow was lost.” Also, there were some spatial considerations to rejigger in the kitchen and bathroom to optimize space and add storage. Her background is
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tress Firm near the Oak Forest Library down to the Super Cuts. In addition, they lease to Kroger across the street as well as to the tenants in the building that is home to Baskin Robbins and Therapy Village. Weingarten’s Marketing and Communications Director Carrie Murray said that the project is the second phase of work that was previously done for the other half of the building when PetSmart moved in. Karim Nooruddin is the owner of the portion of the center that includes Pizza Hut, Ideal Family Dentist and the plasma center as well as the land that houses Compass Bank. He made upgrades to the façade of his portion last year. Palomo said that Weingarten told her that the work on her structure would continue to the end of October or beginning of
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November. “The thought is to make the shop fronts more attractive and more cohesive,” said Murray. “It will all match.”
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Become your own habitat scientist We’ve talked about the basics for attracting wildlife to our gardens by providing food, water, shelter and a place to raise young, and we’ve talked about practicing sustainable habits, with eliminating the use of chemicals in our yards or gardens, and buying plants that are native or well adapted to our ecoregion. Now we can just sit back and enjoy the wildlife that we’ve attracted, or we can go a step further and help out scientists that would like to expand their studies potential. It’s time to become a Citizen Scientist. A citizen scientist is someone who volunteers their time, effort, and resources toward scientific research. Everyone can be a citizen scientist. You don’t need to have a science background to participate in the projects, just a healthy interest and the gumption to collect and submit the data as the selected project requests. Citizen scientists support professional researchers by submitting data, sharing experiences and valuable information. The scientists then benefit from having more data to analyze, potentially from a larger area range and
Kim Ellis in a quicker time frame than they could have collected on their own. Citizen science programs vary in the topics, locations, durations and involvement. Topics vary from the smallest lizards and toads to bees and birds, butterflies and larger wildlife. Some of the most popular programs are run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with ProjectFeederwatch, NestWatch and eBird; the National Audubon Society with the Great Backyard Bird Count; and Journey North for the Monarch Butterfly migration. Each of these programs will provide you with a description of the data to be collected, the project time frame and geographical location. As some of the project names relate, you can sit in your own backyard and make
observations that could help a scientist working half way across the United States. All of these programs and more can be found in summary on the National Wildlife Federation website (https://www. nwf.org/Wildlife/WildlifeConservation/Citizen-Science.aspx). If you’d like to get involved in the Greater Houston area, the 2016 Prairie & Pollinators Month will be kicking off with events running from Oct. 7 Nov. 12. These events include native prairie tours, the Texas Pollinator Bioblitz, the Great Houston Wildlife Count, seed collecting, prairie plantings, a prairie teachers workshop, and a Monarch summit. More details and sign up information can be found on the Coastal Prairie Partnership website (www.prairiepartner. org). These are great events for the whole family. And if wildlife isn’t your thing, you can still be a citizen scientist helping out with projects related to astronomy, computers and technology, education, transportation and so much more. A great resource for finding open projects is www.scistarter. com. Everyone can help and contribute.
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