DasHaus (June-July 2015)

DasHaus JUNE/JULY 2015

Quaint in Quinter Older home provides unique atmosphere for family.

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CONTENTS

Water worries?....4 Linda Beech provides tips to save money and water this summer.

At home6

Decorating dollars.....10 Kayla Berry offers ideas to redo a room with little out of your pocket.

Older home in Quinter becomes quite quaint.

Das Haus is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News, 507 Main, Hays, KS 67601. Find it online at www.HDNews.net/DasHaus.

Copyright Š 2015 Harris Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Das Haus is a registered trademark of The Hays Daily News.

Printed by Northwestern Printers, 114 W. Ninth, Hays, KS 67601, northwesternprinters.com.

Publisher, Patrick Lowry, plowry@dailynews.net Advertising Director, Mary Karst, maryk_ads@dailynews.net Designer, Nick Schwien, nschwien@dailynews.net Account Executives: Joleen Fisher, Ashley Bergman, Eric Rathke Creative Services: Juno Ogle, Mallory Anderson

On the move.......12 Gorham couple uses patience to get perfect home in place.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Linda Beech is a family and consumer science agent with K-State Research and Extension in Ellis County.

Water worries?

Water-saving tips to remember

C 4 DAS HAUS June/July 2015

onserving water is becoming a hot topic across the nation. Drought in California is making news, while the southwest and central United States continue to suffer from years of dry conditions and below-normal rainfall.

Water is one of our most precious natural resources.

Although three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, only 2.5 percent is fresh water. Nearly 70 percent of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of the North and South poles; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers.

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Only about 1 percent of the world’s fresh water is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and available on a sustainable basis.

Conservation is the wise and efficient use of a limited, natural resource. Water conservation is important during drought periods, or whenever demand strains the supply in an overpopulated area.

Water

conservation saves money

Significant amounts of energy are used to pump, heat and treat water used in your home. By reducing water use, you save energy and reduce your monthly bills. If you have a private well, minimizing the use of your water pump might reduce costly repairs. If you have a septic system, reducing the amount of wastewater generated can prolong the system’s life.

Water

conservation reduces pollution

Conservation reduces wastewater entering sewage treatment plants and septic systems. Often this means better treatment and ultimately, cleaner water being discharged into groundwater, rivers, lakes and bays. Outdoor water conservation and proper irrigation of lawns and gardens reduces run-off pollution from recently applied fertilizers, pesticides and unmanaged pet waste.

Conserving

choose water-efficient models when replacing washers and toilets. The city of Hays offers free and low-cost replacement shower heads and rebate programs for appliance replacement. Find the details at www. haysusa.com/html/water_conservation2.html.

• Take showers of 2 minutes or less. Run water only for wetting down and rinsing.

• Minimize rinsing of dirty dishes before using the dishwasher.

• Run only full loads in dishwasher and (clothes) washing machine or adjust water level settings accordingly.

• When washing dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running for rinsing.

• Kitchen garbage disposals require lots of water. Use the disposal as efficiently as possible. Start a compost pile as an alternate way to dispose of fruit and vegetable waste.

• Don’t use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator,

Green Energy Pays More efficient.

Geothermal taps into solar energy stored in the ground instead of burning fossil fuel to generate it, making geothermal more energy efficient.

Cheaper to operate.

Geothermal saves up to 60% on operating costs compared to ordinary systems.

water in the home

Average home water use varies from 50 to 100 gallons per person per day. The greatest water use is in the bathroom; laundry use ranks second. Monitoring home water use and making a few simple changes can make a big difference. For example, a faucet dripping at one drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons of water per year. Here are some simple suggestions for saving water inside the home: • Install water-saving shower heads, low-flow faucet aerators and

or use the defrost setting on your microwave.

• Loosen ice cubes by removing the trays a few minutes before they are needed.

• Keep a covered container for cool drinking water in the refrigerator.

• Don’t run water waiting for it to get hot or cold. Capture it for other uses such as plant watering.

• Repair faucets and toilets promptly.

• Don’t use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket.

• Clean sidewalk, driveway and patio with a broom or blower rather than by hosing off.

• Use a bucket for soapy wash water and rinse quickly with a hose when washing home windows or cars.

• Prevent children from playing with hoses.

With limited water supplies, every drop counts. Little steps make a big difference. There are many ways to save water indoors — and they all start with you.

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AT HOME

Older home breathes new life into Quinter family’s life.

Quaint in

Quinter Q

UINTER — From the time she was a young girl growing up in Lenora, Valerie Kuchera said she was drawn to Victorian-style houses.

Peering out the school bus window at a large Victorian house in her hometown, Kuchera dreamed about someday owning “a castle” of her own.

Now a long-time resident of Quinter, Kuchera is living her dream, and then some.

She and her husband, Joel, are residents of their fantasy home at the corner of Sixth and Main along with their 2-year-old Clementine and Valerie’s two older children, 9-year-old Dashiell and 12-year-old Millicent.

Valerie came across her treasure with her former husband, Kurt Brown, who coincidentally now lives across the street from the Kucheras in an original Victorian home.

Oh, the Kucheras’ 6,000-square-foot home looks like a Queen Anne Victorian masterpiece with its turret wing, fish-scale siding and turned, painted balusters.

It’s easy to spot with its pale gray siding, trimmed in brick red, soft butter yellow, sage green and charcoal accents.

But it’s taken a lot of work to get it that way.

While working with a Realtor when the Browns moved to Quinter in the mid1990s, Valerie took one look at a dilapidated house with 13 broken windows that had sat empty for eight years and smiled.

6 DAS HAUS June/July 2015

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story by diane gasper-o’brien photos by jolie green

She saw potential.

The owner agreed to let the Browns live in the house, which had been built in the first decade of the 1900s, for one year in exchange for new shingles, porch repair and other maintenance.

Although the house wasn’t Victorian, Valerie started adding Queen Anne Victorian elements, and at the end of that one year, the Browns bought the house and double lot for $10,000.

She did her own sketching and designing for doubling the size of the house and found a neighbor to help with the construction and remodeling.

“I wanted to Victorianize the house,” she said. ”I wanted it bigger, and I wanted it Victorian. Room by room, we have continued the journey.”

Valerie’s version of bigger includes a home with six bathrooms, three with old claw-footed bathtubs.

“We found them at various places,” Valerie said. “Two of them were out in pastures.”

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Valerie finds a use for everything.

The Kucheras don’t drink wine, so a wine rack above the refrigerator in the kitchen shows off numerous old rolling pins.

“There’s a little story about everything,” Valerie said as she makes her way through the home.

Every room does indeed tell its own story.

Even a hallway has a bookshelf of a collection of autographed Pulitzer Prize fiction novels.

An organ from the 1800s, a grand piano and an antique music book collection are the feature pieces in the music room on the main floor.

A wide-open staircase to the second floor eventually takes one to Valerie’s favorite room — a “Gone With the Wind” room filled with plates, figurines, paintings and an original program from the movie premier in 1939.

Dashiell’s bedroom includes a vest of his grandfather’s when he was 4.

Other bedrooms have quilts made by relatives from the past, rocking chairs, a bedroom set and other furniture from grandparents.

The mantel on the fireplace in the front foyer shows off photos of all three sets of their children’s grandparents and an old mantel clock.

Valerie said when she picks up one of her vintage potato peelers or green-handled utensil collection, she thinks about the women who might

have used those years ago and wants to instill the appreciation for the past into her own children.

“We are only building upon what came before,” she said. “All of it belongs to the generations. Our duty is to add to it, enhance it and pass it on.”

One of the main areas the family occupies, Valerie said, is the “mud room/laundry room,” which actually is more of a family room with walls of bulletin boards that display the children’s artwork, a craft cupboard and

an old wagon seat from Joel’s grandfather’s wagon. Built-in benches along one wall provide plenty of seating at the long table.

“This is a room where the kids can do anything they want,” Valerie said.

“We spend the majority of our time out here. That’s where everything happens.”

The actual family room is in the basement, which includes a hidden room in back of one of the walls.

“Playing hide and seek in this

house is one of the kids’ favorite things,” Valerie said.

The backyard provides plenty of space for kids old and young to play, while also displaying more vintage pieces. There is a pond, vintage wagon wheels, cream cans and a playhouse Joel built using only recycled items.

The Browns divorced in 2008, but Valerie was able to keep her dream home.

She remarried in 2010. And now, she and her husband continue working on the home, with one big project still ongoing.

A pair of wooden pocket doors off the dining room hide an unfinished room that someday will be a library.

“I work on it an hour or two in the evenings and on weekends,” Joel said. “So I’ll eventually get it done.”

“We’ll never be done,” Valerie said with a laugh. “I don’t have to worry about that.”

Berry Berry Quite Contrary Kayla Berry is a stay-at-home mom who enjoys creating, decorating and re-purposing old furniture and decor.

Decorating on a budget I

’m one of those people who is constantly decorating and re-decorating my house. Whether it’s simply swapping out items in different rooms, painting a room a different color or entirely changing the look of a room. I like to change up the look on a pretty regular basis. Decorating an entire room can seem daunting and also costly, which sometimes scares people away from creating a new look. A lot of people think they can’t afford it and don’t know where to start. I have a few tips that will hopefully help you in your re-decorating adventures.

Paint

10 DAS HAUS June/July 2015

This might seem obvious, but simply painting a room a different color can give it a whole new look. Sticking with more neutral colors lets you be able to switch up the decor in a room without having to re-paint it — which will save you money in the future. Bright, bold colors on walls are fun, but I find people can tend to get sick of those sooner than a more neutral color you can add fun, colorful accents to.

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Light makeover

Instead of dishing out dollars on a new light fixture, search garage sales for a light that just needs a little TLC. This light (inset page 10) was $5 at a garage sale. With some spray paint, some beaded garland and a homemade cord cover, this only cost me approximately $20. If you were going to buy this in a hardware store, you would be shelling out a lot more money.

Gallery walls

If you have a large space on a wall and don’t know what to do with it, a gallery wall might be just what you are looking for.

Create a gallery wall with spray-painted frames. The prints on page 10 (at top) were all-together under $10, and all were found at garage sales. Simply spray painting them gives them a whole new look.

Vintage prints

These prints were my late Grandma’s.

Instead of spending the cash to get them framed, I simply cut them to the size of two frames I had lying around and hot-glued them to the back. And I think they are just as adorable as they would be if I had them framed at a store, and this way is much more cost-effective.

Painted furniture

Instead of spending a lot of money on pieces of furniture that aren’t really made that great anyways, find an older, well-made piece of furniture and paint it. Garage sales and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore usually are full of these types of items. This has saved me more money than anything else, and while it is a lot of work, it is well worth it — and I’ve never regretted not going out and buying a brand new piece of furniture. You can find ideas on how to paint furniture on my blog: berryberryquitecontrary.wordpress.com.

Switch things up

Who says you have to go buy new stuff to decorate a room? By switching items around in rooms, you can create a whole new look with stuff you already have.

Hopefully these few tips will inspire you to decorate a room — or two or three.

Finding a Home Gorham couple takes on task of moving new home to new location.

A bank thermometer on Russell’s Main Street displays the temperature the morning of the move.

On the

move 12 DAS HAUS June/July 2015

By KALEY CONNER As I watched our dream house move slowly down Main Street, the sheer magnitude of what we had done hit me like a ton of bricks. “Were we crazy?” I wondered.

After all, this wasn’t your typical home-improvement project. And it certainly wasn’t your average moving day. Most people leave their old home and simply move their stuff to a new location. We were bringing our new home to us.

Allow me to start at the beginning. My husband of six years and I knew we needed to look for a larger home. After having a child, the starter home we had purchased shortly before our wedding no longer worked for us.

There was just too much stuff and not enough Conner space.

After weighing our options, we felt disheartened at first.

We had made our home in Gorham, a small community in Russell County, and we like it there. We’re close to family.

It’s peaceful. Housing is less expensive. And it’s an easy commute for both of our jobs.

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A huge trailer moves the home slowly down Russell’s Main Street.

The only problem was there aren’t usually many houses for sale in the community of approximately 330 people.

Then we heard about a home in Russell, 10 miles east, that was for sale. The catch was the buyer would have to hire a professional house-mover and relocate the structure. Our first home came with an empty adjacent lot, so we decided to take a look.

We did look. And then we fell in love with the historic church parsonage. We fell in love with the quaint Cape Cod layout, the three dormer windows, the modern amenities and the home’s history. The house had been used as a Methodist church parsonage for many decades.

It was just what we wanted. After much prayer — and a short bidding war — the home was ours. Little did we know how much work still was ahead.

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Conner’s son, Shane, watches construction workers pour the basement last summer.

We promptly began calling contractors and getting bids. We then hired the contractors who agreed to finish the work in our timeframe. We had a deadline of six months for a construction loan and planned to move into the new home in late summer.

But six months came and went, and we still weren’t even close to having the project finished. The basement alone took four months longer than we had planned. When it was finally done, the house mover we were hoping to hire wasn’t ready to take our job.

Fall turned into winter, and by the time the first snowflakes fell, our house still had not been moved. We were getting desperate to finish the job and shield our newly poured basement from the winter elements. We decided to part ways peacefully with house mover No. 1, and contacted another moving company in Moundridge. They graciously took the job, and were ready to roll just a few weeks later.

And so, on a freezing cold, snowy morning in early January, I stood with my husband on Russell’s Main Street, watching our valuable new investment creep slowly down the road on the biggest trailer I’ve ever seen.

Moving day itself was quite an adventure. Roads were blocked off in Russell as our convoy, complete with police escort and utility company crews, slowly hit the road. We certainly had plenty of attention that day. People lined the streets and pressed against windows as we inched our way through town. Pictures of our move ended up on a satirical Facebook page with the caption “Only in Russell, Kansas.” Then it was west on Old U.S. Highway 40, stopping traffic all along the way.

After waiting a few more months for utilities to be hooked up, we finally moved into our dream home in late March — almost a year later than we had planned.

There’s still plenty of work to be done, but this process has been made much easier by all the unexpected treasures along the way. Underneath the wallpaper, we were amazed to find the names of many pastors who also called the place home etched in the wall.

Underneath the carpet, we were grateful to find beautifully intact hardwood floors, which we plan to restore.

To say this was a long and stressful process feels like an understatement.

The journey home was full of speed bumps and unexpected turns. It caused a great deal of frustration and tried our patience.

But it also grew our faith. We had a dream, a vision of the home we wanted to raise our family in. It took a lot of blood, sweat, tears and hard work, but it’s now a reality. We’re finally home.

Words were uncovered in the dining room, including one reading Life.

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