4-8-17 At Home

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Creative Rooms

Tips for rooms that inspire

HVAC systems Learn what affects your HVAC costs

A special publication of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer

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Saturday, April 8, 2017 Messenger-Inquirer

Table of Contents HVAC SYSTEMS

LETTER from the

EDITOR While it doesn’t always happen the way we want it to, I think our homes should serve a greater purpose than just where we eat our meals and sleep at night. Our homes should be welcoming, creative, purposeful and comfortable.

In this edition of At Home you will find inspiration for every room in your house. Whether you want a creative space in your home to build and make things or a secluded nook that you can escape to and unwind from the day — there is inspiration for you.

This edition also features tips how to upgrade your kitchen, save money with your HVAC and how to prepare your home for elderly guests and relatives.

With Spring here, I am looking for homeowners who have tackled a big DIY or home renovation project or anyone who has an interesting story about their home. If you would like your story told, please contact me at mrichardson@messengerinquirer.com or 270-691-7233.

— Meghann Richardson Special Publications Editor

Costs that will affect installation pages 4-5

BOOKS

A look into an artists’ workspace pages 6-7

HOME PREP

Take safety precautions when preparing homes for seniors page 8

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April 8, 2017

At Home

smart kitchen upgrades to help save time

BY STATEPOINT

Most home cooks want the flexibility of preparing complicated meals with ease and convenience.

However, even those with a deft culinary hand may be limited by their tools, space and appliances.

Smartly outfitting your kitchen can help you jump meal preparation hurdles, particularly if you are someone who is inclined to prepare multi-course meals. Consider space-saving appliances with versatile functionality that can do more than one job at a time. Just as you can multitask, so should your kitchen appliances.

Experts point out that it all boils down to the capabilities of your oven range. When pressed for time, you may have compromised on cooking times or temperature, leaving dishes to suffer through over- or under-cooking. Home chefs with this problem should consider upgrading to a double oven range, which would allow you to cook multiple dishes at separate temperatures. Consider the flexibility of being able to bake cookies in convection mode at 350 degrees while simultaneously broiling chicken, all in one unit.

If you do plan to make this upgrade, consider your needs and options. For example, if an electric

connection is the only option for cooking, consider Verona’s 36 inch fully electric double oven range, which offers cooking performance one might not expect from a fully electric range. Also available in dual fuel and all gas options, the Verona double oven ranges are fully equipped with two easily programmed multi-function ovens and provide multiple cooking modes, including baking, defrosting and broiling.

When form is just as important as function, consider ILVE’s larger double oven range options in 40, 48 and 60 inch sizes. All sizes feature two multi-function ovens

and added multi-tasking tools such as a rotisserie and warming drawer.

Cooktop options such as a French top and removable griddle give even more flexibility to ambitious home cooks.

With a dual oven range, you may find that a separate built-in oven becomes unnecessary, freeing up valuable cabinet space and valuable dollars for other useful chef’s tools and supplies. Additionally, upgrading your most important appliances can help you work smarter, not harder.

Love cooking? Give yourself the tools that allow you to get more done.

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U t h l o l s t i h

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SIX FACTORS DRIVING HVAC SYSTEM COSTS Bigger is not necessarily better

can help you assess if your ductwork is in good shape before you invest in a new heating and cooling system.

ACCESSORIES

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as an electronic air cleaner can help enhance the air quality inside your home. You’ll want to carefully consider the accessories you’ll be adding, and factor them into the total anticipated cost of your new HVAC system.

HOW YOU’LL PAY FOR IT

Replacing an HVAC system costs thousands of dollars. If you don’t have enough cash saved to cover the cost, you may choose to finance all or part of the expense. You could use a credit card, but high interest rates mean you could end up paying thousands more in interest for your HVAC system. Manufacturer or dealer financing may be a lower-cost option. For example, select participating Luxaire contractors offer financing with appealing terms such as deferred interest, no interest with equal monthly payments and convenient monthly payment options.

Certain types of accessories can

BY BPT Research can help you identify the make your new HVAC function more size HVAC system that’s just right efficiently and provide you with for your home. You can also ask More than half of homes in the greater ease of use. If your furnace U.S were built before 1980, according your product dealer to provide a load is 20 years old, chances are good calculation and energy analysis for to U.S. Census figures. With most your thermostat is the same age, home heating and ventilation systems your home. so you’ll want to replace that, too. lasting around 20 years, millions Programmable thermostats can be ENERGY EFFICIENCY of American homeowners will be reasonably priced and help enhance Replacing an HVAC system affords looking at replacing their HVAC the energy efficiency of your HVAC you the chance to improve your systems this year. If you’ll be among system. Other accessories such them, understanding the factors that home’s energy efficiency and save money over the long term. A quality, influence the cost of a system could help save you money in the long run. energy-efficient HVAC system may “The cost of HVAC systems can cost more than a less efficient one, var y widely, and most people who but you can anticipate recouping the face replacing a system have never expense, plus additional savings over gone through the process before,” the lifetime of the system. says Steve Hoffins, director of marketing, Luxaire, a heating and SYSTEM TYPE cooling systems manufacturer.

From gas furnaces and split “Sorting through your options can system air conditioners to heat be challenging. However, finding pumps and packaged heating and the right system for your home can cooling units, there are multiple greatly influence energy efficiency, ways to heat and cool your home. your home’s comfort and its resale Most people replacing all or part value.” of an HVAC system will opt to stick Here are six factors that affect the with the same type of system they’re cost of installing a new heating and replacing. However, you may find a cooling system, and what you should different option will work better. know about each: Different types of systems come with different product and THE SIZE OF YOUR HOME installation costs. Before deciding You can probably guess that the what’s right for your home, research larger the home, the bigger the your options and talk to a qualified system you’ll need to adequately heat dealer about benefits and costs of and cool it. If a system is too small each. for the home, it will work harder, be DUCTWORK less energy efficient and possibly When you’re installing a new wear out sooner.

1019 Lincoln Ave. t Evansville, IN HVAC system, it’s important the However, too big isn’t better, 812-423-2338 t therugmerchantevansville.com ductwork in your home works with either. In fact, says Hoffins, “Most Exclusively at the type of system you’ve chosen, homes have heating and cooling and that it’s been properly installed systems larger than they actually and maintained. Improper ductwork need.” A system that’s too large can create hot or cold spots in a for a home can create uneven temperatures, poor humidity control, home, reduce system efficiency and even allow the growth of mold from maintenance problems and a loss of condensation. An HVAC professional efficiency.

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Getting creative

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Artist Louesa Roebuck shows her work studio in Ojai, Calif.

Rooms that inspire artists

BY KATHERINE ROTH

S Louesa Roebuck via AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

paces where creativity happens are utterly unlike other rooms, artists and designers say.

Whether at home or elsewhere, these deeply personal spaces often feel like they’re in flux, with interiors more curated than decorated. They often feature natural objects and personal totems. They can feel messy, but also like a window into an artist’s mind.

“I am always mesmerized by what goes on in these creative spaces. They are ver y special and often ver y private.

The hardest part is convincing people to let you in,” says Paul Barbera, who has photographed over 200 studios of both established and up-and-coming designers, architects and artists around the world. His most recent book is “Where They Create, Japan” (Frame Publishers, Amsterdam).

Matthew Waldman, founder of a watch company called Nooka, is one of the designers featured in the book.

“I like to have a lot of stimulation in my creative space, with things to touch and look at, things that inspire me, and lots of plants,” says Waldman.

Louesa Roebuck, who, with Sarah Lonsdale, wrote and photographed “Foraged Flora” (Ten Speed Press), featuring images and descriptions of the workplaces of various California “creatives,” says “creative spaces reflect an intersection between the highly personal and professional.”

The studios, ateliers and other spaces explored in these books var y widely, but many include plants or pets, quirky objects, and odd assortments of objects grouped in visual vignettes.

“A lot of the things we collect connect us to other places and times, like relics or fossils, shells, stones or bits of inspiration,” Roebuck says. “My studio is full of totems.”

The rooms also tend to have plenty

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Photos by Paul Barbera via AP

Tadao Ando is shown in Osaka, Japan, at his desk working. The photo is featured in the book “Where They Create,” which explores people and their creative studios. of natural light or access to the outdoors.

“My home is ver y pared down but the desk in my studio area is covered in things,” says Lonsdale. “The most creative spaces seem to have the messiest desks. I love those desks.

And many creative people spread things out across walls or floors.

It’s a way to visualize. It’s work in progress.”

Rachael Weiner, senior style and market editor at Real Simple magazine, says anyone can foster creativity in their home office or studio space.

“While a home is a place to foster tranquility, to relax and recharge, a creative space is the opposite. You

want it to be comfortable, but you also want the energy to be dynamic,” she says.

Some of her tips:

PERMISSION TO BE MESSY

“In a home you want things as orderly as possible, but in a creative space you want to give yourself permission to diversify the way you organize things. Contact lists should be in order, but you might want to make stacks of books or drawings, or spread things out as you think about them,” Weiner says.

FLUID DISPLAY SPACE

“The more fluid the display space

the better,” she says. “Consider putting up a bulletin board or galler y ledges so you can refresh what kind of work you have up depending on the projects you’re working on.”

LET NATURE IN

Natural light and natural objects “connect us to the universe and stimulate the brain. If there’s no outdoor space nearby, consider including plants or even a bowl of fruit. Living natural things really change the feel of a space,” Weiner says.

that creates joy or reminds you of what you love belongs there,” she says. “Favorite colors or textiles, photos from a happy family vacation or objects that bring back special memories. These help inspire.”

EXPAND YOUR IMAGE OF WORK SPACE

“Depending on the kind of work you do, a hammock chair or cushions on the floor might be a better fit than an office chair,” she says. “Unlike the home, which has to cater to ever yone in it, creative space is a personal realm, filled with whatever it is — and organized in whatever PERSONAL AND way you want — that sparks your INSPIRATIONAL TOTEMS “In a creative work space, anything creativity.”

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PREP A HOME FOR ELDERLY RESIDENTS Upon reaching retirement age, new retirees may face decisions regarding their living arrangements. Some seniors may opt to stay put, while others may want to downsize their homes to save money and relieve themselves of the burdens of maintaining larger homes.

But those are not the only situations seniors find themselves in. Some seniors realize they can no longer care for themselves without assistance.

In such instances, seniors may opt for assisted living facilities or choose to move in with a relative, such as a grown son or daughter. While assisted living facilities are designed to meet the needs of the elderly, young men and women welcoming seniors into their homes may need to take on some home improvement projects to ensure their homes are as safe as possible for elderly residents.

gle with stairs as they age, and that can make it difficult for them to fully participate in a household. Homeowners with an extra room to spare can convert a room on the first floor of their homes into a bedroom so seniors won’t have to climb up and down stairs throughout the day. If possible, choose an area that is close to a first-floor bathroom.

in your home, including in seniors’ bedrooms, so they can more readily access the phone should they fall and need to call for emergency help. Phones in seniors’ bedrooms may also provide some additional privacy to seniors who don’t want to carry on phone conversations in busy areas of the home, such as the kitchen or living room.

TAKE STEPS TO MAKE BATHROOMS SAFER

PRIORITIZE ACCESSIBILITY WHEN STORING ITEMS

The National Institute on Aging says that more than one in three seniors over age 65 fall each year, and 80 percent of those falls take place in the bathroom. Slippery tile floors can make it difficult for seniors to navigate bathrooms safely, and bathtubs and shower stalls present additional challenges.

Install grab bars on bathroom walls and next to toilets to provide support. In addition, consider installing a shower chair or bench and removable shower CONVERT A ROOM ON THE FIRST nozzle in the shower or tub so seniors FLOOR INTO A BEDROOM can sit down while they bathe and rinse While this may not apply to all without having to stand up on slippery seniors, some men and women strug- surfaces.

INSTALL AN EXTRA PHONE LINE OR TWO

While kids and adults between the ages of 18 and 50 may never use the landlines in their homes, many seniors still rely on traditional telephones as their primary means of communicating with the outside world. Install extra landlines

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When storing groceries, books, magazines, or other items seniors are likely to use, choose locations that are accessible to seniors. Avoid storing items on the top shelf of pantries, bookcases or entertainment centers, as seniors with limited mobility may not be able to reach them.

Many seniors move in with their adult children to make their golden years safer and more enjoyable and manageable. Such a change in living arrangements may necessitate some changes on the part of homeowners so they can ensure their homes are safe for seniors.