At
HOME
Personal Space
Why hiring an interior designer might be right for you
Drab to Fab
Simple do-it-yourself projects can be completed in one weekend
A special publication of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
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Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
Table of Contents LETTER from the
EDITOR
I love coupons. Not to the point where I belong on my own TV show, but I love to save money and if cutting coupons can help me, then I’m all about it. My mom taught me how to get the most bang for my buck, and now that I’m spending my own hard earned money, I’m all about making every penny count. In this week’s edition of At Home, you’ll find and tips and tricks to save money at the grocery store. You’ll also read about one young homeowner who saved thousands by teaming up with his handyman father and diy-ing a lot of his home renovations. From the front porch to the backyard, this section covers everything in the house and beyond. We hope you’ll get a cup of coffee, sit down and enjoy At Home. I am still looking for homeowners who have tackled some big DIY or home renovation projects. If you would like your story told, please contact me at mrichardson@messenger-inquirer. com or 270-691-7233.
— Meghann Richardson Special Publications Editor
CHERISHED CHINA pages 4-5
CHOOSING BIRD FEED pages 10-11
DIY HOME RENO pages 8-9
on the cover
L. RUTH INTERIOR DESIGN
Why hiring an interior designer could be right for you.| PAGES 6-7
take your home from boring to
Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
At Home
l u f i t u bea BY STATEPOINT MEDIA
It often feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to accomplish chores; let alone home improvements. Luckily, several do-it-yourself projects can spiff up your space with little time and resources.
LAUNDRY ROOM FACELIFT
The laundry room doesn’t have to be a dull, boring place. It can be comfortable and pleasant, while still highly functional. Incorporate new storage pieces and essentials, like hampers and drying racks to rid clutter. Consider installing a countertop above the washer and dryer — if you have side-by-side models — to create a surface for folding and sorting. Also, keep detergent and fabric softener in glass dispensers for a more decorative look. Lastly, paint the space a pretty, soothing color to give the room a refreshed feel and make it feel larger.
REMODELING
Me
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a stencil, or even create the look of faux tiles using painter’s tape. Consider the other colors in the room before settling on the perfect shade. If cabinets are dark, choose a lighter shade for the backsplash to keep the room from PAINT AN ACCENT WALL feeling too heavy. If you have white or For an easy, inexpensive way to add light-colored cabinets, a bright or darker drama to any room, paint an accent wall. paint provides contrast. For the finish, opt Perfect for highlighting a focal point, such for a glossy sheen, as it’s more durable as a fireplace or shelving unit, an accent and easily wipes clean. wall commands attention. According to celebrity designer REJUVENATE FURNITURE Taniya Nayak, brightly colored walls or There are many quick, inexpensive furniture, and bold, vibrant prints, are in ways to rejuvenate existing furniture. style. So breathe new life into a room by Seeing furniture in the same position incorporating these elements. every day gets boring. Swap pieces The key to painting is all in around to instantly redefine the space. preparation, including washing down Plus, you can use this opportunity to walls and taping around windows and thoroughly clean those tough-to-reach baseboards. One of the most important spots. tools you’ll need is a premium painter’s A fresh coat of paint can also provide tape, like FrogTape brand painter’s tape. a powerful update to such furniture as Treated with PaintBlock Technology, stools, chairs, bookshelves and dressers. FrogTape Multi-Surface and Delicate Whether it’s a piece you already own or Surface painting tapes can be used on a variety of surfaces and deliver sharp paint a garage sale gem, adding a personal touch will create new dimension. Make it lines for professional-looking results. pop with eye-catching colors and unique hardware. ENLIVEN A BACKSPLASH Remember, it doesn’t have to take In the kitchen, a few cans of paint months to make-over rooms in your will work wonders on walls, cabinets, home. You’ll be surprised what you can a kitchen island and your backsplash. Paint your backsplash a solid color, use accomplish in one weekend.
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Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
h s ways to use your e r f & n u F
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CHERISHED CHINA
BY BPT
means so much to them, but they want to freshen it up and give their Sometimes collecting all the pieces dinner ware a more current look and to your cherished wedding china may feel,” says Robbins. “It’s really easy take more time than you think. It took to stay true to tradition, yet transform Jill Rogers four decades. your table by adding a splash of color “After 44 years of marriage, I or different medium. Mixing and got the soup bowls I wanted; Mama matching patterns continues to be a would be so proud to know I finally huge trend in tabletop, transcending have exactly what she wanted for all ages, from millennials to me,” Rogers said. “My mother started boomers.” this pattern for me in high school, So, how do you go about creating buying pieces from the area grocer y a look that makes you want to take store. The fact she started it was so your vintage china out of storage and sweet and special.” use it ever y day? Start by looking for Over the years, Rogers actually complementing patterns that fit your forgot the name of her pattern. That’s lifestyle. when she turned to dinner ware “You might start with a piece that giant, Replacements, Ltd. The you use on a regular basis, such as company’s research team not only a salad plate, then build around that identified Rogers’ vintage pattern piece by adding patterns that pull through Replacements’ free pattern out a color, shape or feeling that identification ser vice, they even had accentuates the current pattern you the pieces she needed to complete already own,” adds Robbins. her set. And who says your dinner ware is Replacements, Ltd. has the just for eating? Find fun ways to use it world’s largest selection of old and around your home. new dinner ware, including china, “Think outside the dining room,” stoneware, cr ystal, glassware, silver, says Robbins. “I inherited a set that stainless and collectibles dishes. I love but didn’t fit my entertaining The 500,000-square-foot facilities style, so I took the tea cups and now in Greensboro, N.C., house an use them for notions in my sewing incredible inventor y of tableware room. You could also use cups to patterns, some more than 100 years hold doodads in any room of your old. house, while tureens and teapots “I collected pieces here and there make wonderful flower vases. I through the years but never had find bathrooms and powder rooms more than six place settings,” adds are great places to use old china Rogers. “We use it for special family because those rooms are often occasions, such as birthdays and under-decorated and ver y antiseptic. anniversaries, and sometimes we take Using old, pretty ser ving pieces, our special china out just for us.” such as an oval vegetable or sugar Replacements’ designer, Julie bowl to hold soap or flowers, helps Robbins, hears similar stories from make those rooms warmer and more baby boomers like Rogers, who after inviting.” years of collecting, finally completed If you want to identify a pattern their patterns. However, as families on your china, or replace missing or mature and styles evolve, boomers broken peices, Replacements Ltd., are increasingly asking Robbins for product specialists are on hand to fun ways to refresh their treasured answer questions via their toll-free patterns. number 1-800-REPLACE (1-800-737“They love their wedding china 5223) 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday through and are attached to it because it Saturday and 1 - 6 p.m. Sunday.
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Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
At Home
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Hiring an interior designer simplifies decorating BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON
Hubert and LaVonda Edds attended the Home Builders Association of Owensboro’s annual Parade of Homes in 2011 when they were looking to downsize and move to Owensboro. After finding a home design they liked, construction began and so did the process of gathering ideas to decorate their new space. After seeing a home at the parade that was well-designed and to their liking, the Edds’ contacted the featured designer, Laura Ruth Edge. L. Ruth Interior Design, which is owned by Edge, is a locally-owned interior design company in Owensboro who has been helping clients improve, develop and personalize work and living spaces since 2008. After their initial meeting, they hit the ground running on designing the new home. Edds said she decided to hire an interior designer rather than doing everything herself because she said while she knows the look she wanted to create for her home, she wasn’t quite
A HAPPY HOME
sure how to go about it and stay under budget. In the beginning, Edds told Edge there were some pieces from their home in Calhoun they wanted to incorporate into the new house. From there, Edge went to work on decorating the entire house. She said Edge helped her with furniture placement, the function of each room, how it would set and the budget. By end of the process, Edds would say “Laura Ruth, if you like it, then let’s go with it.” “Laura Ruth helped design it all,” Edds said. “The colors, fabrics, flooring, the brick on the outside of the house and the color of the shutters. You name it, she did it.” Edds said she is so happy with the finished project and strongly encourages others to look into hiring an interior design for home projects. She said hiring a designer made the move from Calhoun to Owensboro much easier. “I think we get scared we can’t afford a designer or that they will pick out stuff we don’t like,” Edds said. “But a good interior designer will meet with you and
get into your head and know exactly what you want.” L. Ruth Design project experience includes restaurant design, office/ contract design, medical office designs and healthcare facility designs, as well as residential designs. Edge said hiring an interior designer is an important first step to any design project. “Without an interior designer, just as in running a race, if you didn’t prepare for your project your results will be disappointing,” she said. “Without an interior designer you may stay indecisive about decisions that should have been addressed beforehand. You may also find yourself guilty of making rash decisions to beat an unrealistic deadline and when you finally finish the project you are less than satisfied and have blown your budget. Hiring a designer will be even better than having a trainer for a race.” The goal of a interior designer is to have someone who is there to design, budget and plan, work with contractors onsite, and install furniture, fixtures, and accessories that best reflect the client’s lifestyle and personality.
As an interior designer, Edge supplies her clients with a list of recommended professionals, an organized plan of action, ideas to utilize the space to its fullest potential, suggestions on furniture and fixtures, installations and guidance for a beautiful outcome. Edge said she doesn’t feel she like is just another designer. “I’ve discovered, from training and experience, what to listen for when meeting with clients for the first time and have a policy to treat my clients with the utmost respect,” she said. “I also have put together an amazing team to serve my clients. They help keep the design process a breeze for everyone involved. We also educate ourselves on what is the latest and greatest from codes to products as we take continuing education.” “I love my job,” Edge said. “I love everything about it — from meeting new people to being a part of creating happily-ever-afters. I get to use the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with to serve others in developing a backdrop for their life, a space that tells their story. That’s pretty special to me.”
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After
B efo r e
B efo r e
LOVE Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
labor of
At Home
Home renovations become family project
BY MEGHANN RICHARDSON
Dylan Howard is a young, new homeowner who loves a challenge. So after buying his first home about the three months ago, he started tearing it apart. “The first night I had the house I started tearing up floors,” he said. “There was carpet and paneling — it all had to go.” The only thing Howard kept was the ceilings fans. With the help of his dad Eddie and some other family members, Howard now has an almost completed home just 12 weeks after signing the papers to make it his own. “I started off hitting the ground running,” he said. “By the end of the second week I had
ever ything gutted.” The only projects Howard has Howard and his dad gutted the left are small tasks like filling in kitchen, two bathrooms, put up nail holes and putting handles on new dr ywall, rebuilt a fireplace, the kitchen cabinets. installed new trim and Along with all the work painted the entire on the house, Howard house in the short was also helping his amount of time. fiancé plan their Growing up, wedding. Howard Howard said is marrying he watched his Kaitlyn Way dad work hard at the end of as a dr ywall August and contractor and the two are knew he wanted excited to come to do similar back from their projects one day. honeymoon to their Howard worked first home. DYLAN HOWARD on the house on the Overall, Howard said weekends and in the evenings he probably saved $30-40,000 after work. He said he completed dollars by doing the majority of most of the work before moving the work with his father. in. Howard said the most
important thing he learned during the renovation process was patience. “Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed,” he said. “Accomplish one task at a time and move on to the next. Eventually you will see it all come together and it will be very rewarding.” Howard said he wanted to sincerely thank his dad and other family members who helped with the renovations and remodeling. He said it’s a trying process, but once everything started coming together, he felt a sense of accomplishment. “It’s nice to see something that a month ago you couldn’t see the end result, and now it’s almost a finished project,” Howard said. Plus, I’m extremely happy with all of our hard work.”
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Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
e v i G birds HEALTHY, NATURAL food Saturday, August 13, 2016 Messenger-Inquirer
BY BPT
The wild bird experts at Cole’s Wild Bird Products Co. offer some Have you ever wondered what’s in tips for ensuring you’re feeding your one of your favorite packaged foods, feathered friends a healthy, natural grabbed the box from your pantry, read diet that they’ll appreciate: the ingredients list ... and realized you • Avoid seed blends that are full of still didn’t know what you were eating? cheap fillers, like oats and red milo. The ingredients in some processed Fillers not only lack nutritional value, foods can read like a chemist’s birds will kick them right out of the shopping list. Now imagine if your feeder. Select natural feed comprised backyard birds could read. What would of top-of-the-crop seeds and pass they say about the ingredients in the by seed coated with chemicals and food you feed them? mineral oil. A growing number of Americans • Take note of ingredients you are choosing natural foods for their can’t read, often it’s an indication pets; nearly a third say they prefer the ingredient is a synthetic or natural products, according to lab engineered. Ingredients like PetFoodIndustry.com. People who Menadione Sodium Bisulfite feed wild birds care about them just Complex and Thiamine Mononitrate as much as their four-legged pets and aren’t found in natural food, they’re want to know they’re feeding their man-made versions of vitamins. Since backyard birds the most natural and wild birds normally get all their nutritious options available. It’s hard to vitamins and nutrients from natural feel that confidence when reading the sources, adding a synthetic version mystifying ingredient list on the feed is questionable at best. The rule of bag makes you feel like a bird brain. thumb for buying all natural is if you
can’t read it, don’t feed it! • Focus on serving feed with an ingredient list you can read and understand. For example, Cole’s Sunflower Meats contains nothing but shelled sunflower seeds. Easy, right? It’s a favorite feed to a wide range of backyard birds, too. • Either get to know the types of birds visiting your feeder and research feed they prefer, or buy feed from a reputable company who has already done that work for you. Cole’s offers select natural seed choices developed and based on factual research about what birds really eat. Feed is specifically formulated to attract certain species of birds as well as the largest number of birds, too. When you know and serve what your backyard birds prefer, you’ll keep them coming back to your feeders. • Feel free to supplement seed and feed with natural food you already have at home. For example, jays and woodpeckers love raw peanuts,
At Home
while mockingbirds and orioles love fruit, and chickadees, blue jays and cardinals savor suet. Soak raisins and currants in water overnight, then place them on a table feeder, or purchase blends with a dried fruit and nut mixture, like Nutberry Suet Blend. To attract orioles and tanagers, skewer halved oranges onto a spike near your feeders for a special treat. • Don’t forget the importance of the right type of feeder. Dish and bowl feeders are great for serving fruits, while most birds will appreciate a terrific tube feeder for seeds both large and small. Traditional tube feeders are great all-purpose feeders, and a must-have for backyard bird feeding. • Buy feed from companies who specialize in wild bird food. Some companies offer bird feed as a side product to their main business of pet products or grass seed. Cole’s exclusively produces and sells products for feeding backyard birds.
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w o n k u ? Did yo
Transplant shock occurs when plants adversely respond to being moved from one place to another. Plants may need to be moved for a variety of reasons, but homeowners should be especially careful when moving plants around their properties. When moving a plant, do your best to avoid disturbing the root, even resisting the urge to shake dirt off the roots. Keep the rootball wet throughout transplanting, too, as roots that dry out are more susceptible to damage than those that remain moist. Transplant shock is less likely to occur if most of the roots are moved along with the plant, so try to dig up as many of the roots as possible before picking up the plant and moving it. Water also can help prevent transplant shock by helping the plant acclimate to its new location, so remember to water the plant after it has been moved.
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