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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1983)
2 — Gresham Outlook. Today Magazine, Sandy Post April 20-21, 1983 'Little touches' help brighten home by LO R I LA L U S T E R of The Outlook staff Most homeowners turn their attention to their yards in the spring But with very lit tle money, a fresh, new look can be created inside the house too. “ People need to realize what a little bit of change in their home can do for them," says Pam Onchi, co-owner of House Gift Store in Gresham and the Country Willow in Yam hill M arket Place in Portland On chi is also a decorator and consultant for homeowners who wanl to furnish their homes And Barbara Davis, a Troutdale interior decorator, suggests simple tricks can make a home feel spring-fresh without refurnishing an entire room New paint, the two women say, always makes a room look fresh and clean, “ but can make your furniture look old and te rri ble,” laughs Davis Here then, are their suggestions, room by room, to bnng spring indoors Livingroom • Put slipcovers on your upholstered furniture, suggests Davis She recom mends a complementary print, denim stripe or a small geometric print for a spr ing and summer look. • Take down the winter snowscene pic tures on the wall and put up a floral photo or painting, suggests Onchi. “ I really wouldn't want to look at a snow- scene in the summer,” she says. “ So maybe a floral painting will make you feel more like spring ” • "Put away the baskets of pinecones and rotate in pots in those baskets of marigolds or geraniums from your yard,“ Onchi says “ Probably the best decorating tool in spring and summer is fresh flowers ” P M o hy U a v r l x v l K I Pam Onchi hold* some at the item * that ran ■prucr up your home for spring. • Onchi suggests putting away the heavy decorative pieces and invest in some brass items like dolphins or ducks or light airy vases or ceramic pieces • Use one large, live, green plant as a focal point in the living room, says Davis Maybe remove a piece of furniture to make room for the plant to open up some space and make things seem cooler Kitchen • A new set of colorful canisters always makes the kitchen look fresh, suggests On chi. • Change the window treatm ent, recom mends Davis, by making new curtains or perhaps ta k in g th e c u rta in s down altogether in spring and summer for a cooler effect. • Onchi says it ’s best to keep the background colors in the kitchen neutral so the complementary colors can be changed at whim. “ In my kitchen my countertops are white and my refrigerator is white and my floor is oak I can bring in any color I want and change it at any tim e," she says. • Put away the tablecloths and the heavy woven placements and get out your white linens, Onchi says. "Some people even have a different set of dishes for w arm er weather.” • Or Davis advises skirting the kitchen table to the floor with a fresh cotton, “ unless you have children who eat peanut butter sandwiches." • Davis also receommends getting rid of the clutter. "Nothing looks more fresh than clean countertops People generally have too much stuff on their counters,” Davis says. Bathroom • Bring in a light floral potporri in the bathroom or in any room, says Onchi. • Invest in one set of solid colored towels in the dark accent shade in your bathroom, recommends Onchi. Put them on a towel rack or roll them up in a basket on the floor " It w ill make the room feel cooler " • If you really want to splurge, says Davis, put a skylight in the bathroom. Does spring bring a cleaning urge? by SHARON N E S B IT of The Outlook staff So It ’s spring and your Christmas wreath is still hanging by the door. For some folks, spring cleaning moans taking down the Christmas decorations For others, the onslaught of groan and growing things brings an insatiable urge to live in tidy, sparkling surroundings Local exports have several good ideas on spring cleaning Start from the ground up. advises Ken Pnckett, Troutdale building inspector, who points out that now la the tim e Io open up these circulation vents in the foundation of your house It's fine to cloae the vents during the cold months, January, February and March, says Prickett. but air needs to cir culate under your house the rsat of the year to prevent dry ret. There’s net much paint In having a dean houee If It cavm in. If you’ve bean hasping warm with a weadMeve a> wtnMr, the fabric and carpets In your heuae are apt to hove a dull flhn of smoke and prime. Thta la tbs kept time to clean carpets, draperies and upholstery. ex perts say. " If oily winter dirt has been tracked in on your c a rp e t,” says Dick Paulson of Paulson’s Floor Coverings, 5 » N E Burn side, “ then this is the time to clean it .” Paulson warns that loo much cleaning can weaken the soil retardants the factory puts in new carpeting And, he adds, a heavy detergent cleaner, if not properly rinsed out of carpeting, serves to attract more dirt "The tim e to clean a carpet is when it starts to look soiled But the best proven tatlve is to vacuum heavy traffic areas every d ay,” says Paulson For professional cleaning, he recommends either a dry chemical cleaning process or hot w ater ex traction if care la taken not to saturate tbe carpet Draperies should be cleaned at lea st y e a r ly , says J u lia R y d e ll of Homestead Fabrics, a NW F irst St Wood boating caUa far even more frequent clean dows are clean," says professional houae cleaner Debbie Wilson of Debbie’s Country Cleaning in Troutdale. h» ones the droparWa are dow^ W ^ ^ m m iM a t^ a ^ lw n y te ttm q w a of the the windows leak grimy "Windows need to be done in the spring A house doesn’t seam clean unlam the win enymore and they can’t affsrt^ta MraUt Wilson says tbe spring cleaning she does for her clients consists of taking down draperies, moving all the furniture and vacuuming thoroughly, cleaning furnace grills and light fixtures, washing walls and scrubbing (not just mopping) floors “ And I do windows," Wilson says, laughing " I t ’s amazing bow many people don't know that their storm windows can come out to be cleaned ” People who do their own cleaning could take a tip from Wilson on how to push a vacuum cleaner and avoid an aching back: “ Stand upright and uae your arms to push tbe cleaner, not your back. If It's a cannister with a wand, keep the wand high enough to done A thorough cleaning is a great gift for a child to give to an elderly parent.” Sometimes all the spring cleaning in the world won’t help if painting is necessary, points out Bes Carriero of Gresham Decor Center, 1455 E. Burnside Rd. “ Generally, walls need washing before you paint because the paint won’t stick to an unclean surface,” advises Carriero “ If walls are just gray or dingy, you might get away without washing. But film from smokers or wood stoves and grease film m kitchens calls for washing *’ She advises a light sanding or etching old surfaces with a strong detergent to assure that paint w ill stick on slippery enamel. You can fix the nail holes with pro-mixed speckle or, if you plan to hang pictures in i t like
