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