January 15Andy and Jennifer Thornton were sick of the rain. They'd grown up in the Vancouver, Wash., area, but were ready for a change for themselves and their three young children. If you live in it but never make it your own, if you never put your personal stamp on it and infuse the space with your signature touches, it's just a house. Sheryl and Scott Kinder-Pyle like adventures, especially those they're called to.As Sheryl sips tea and Scott drinks coffee, they share a pastry and talk about God and church and a move last year that took them all the way across the country. January 8"It's kind of embarrassing," says Valerie Nafé, a passionate enthusiast of midcentury modern design and architecture. "I always liked midcentury modern – I just never knew there was a name for it." I grew up in the 1960s and 70s. I guess that makes me a midcentury classic. And, in case you haven't noticed, mid-century is popular. Chefs don't tend to cook much at home, says Alexa Wilson, executive chef at Wild Sage American Bistro, a downtown restaurant known for an innovative and eclectic menu with dishes as beautiful as they are yummy. January 1From the outside, Professor David Giese's boxy home looks like the others in his Moscow neighborhood. Dark brown siding. Well-tended gardens. Fun bits of art and fancy. It's hard to be away from home any time of the year, but holidays go with home and family like turkey goes with stuffing and cranberry sauce. That's why the holidays can be especially difficult for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, families who live at least 40 miles out of town and have a child in one of the hospitals. It's a brand new year. That means a fresh new look at the world.I'm not much for desperate self-improvement resolutions. There are too many false starts and broken promises behind me. With a mere swivel of her chair, Martha Goss is an arms reach away from all her home-office needs. When a client calls, it takes only seconds to pull their file and see at a glance both billing and call history. And if she needs a new pen or printer paper, she doesn't even have to get up. I'm constantly rescuing catalogs from our family's recycling bin. My husband hardly glances at their covers before he buries them under Diet Pepsi cans and stacks of newspaper. A new baby changes things. For Charlotte and Justin Finnegan, the birth of their son meant a change to a Spokane address. New name for new year
Treasure Hunt has become Treasured, a place to share cherished objects. December 11With the reopening of the Fox Theater, one can't help but reflect on the other elegant icons of Spokane's past. One remnant of Spokane's "Age of Elegance" is architect Kirtland K. Cutter, and many of the now-historic homes designed by Cutter are still standing. One of the most notable is the Northwest Museum of Arts and As I strung the lights on my Christmas tree and put candles on the mantle, I wondered about the other families that lived in the house before me. When December blows in, Linda Wigert is in her element.Christmas décor, and plenty of it, takes center stage. Alfred Anderson calls his custom woodworking business Craftsman in Wood. The name pays homage to his high school shop teacher, who was also his mentor, and who had a business by the same name. November 20Most holidays have their decorative themes: twinkling trees and jolly Santas for Christmas, bunnies for Easter, flags for the 4th of July and red, red hearts on Valentine's Day. Cindy Magi has been a quilter since she was a teenager.Magi is also a nurse with Hospice of Spokane. It took Joe Kelly nearly 20 years to come full-circle. After leaving his native Spokane in 1989, the Gonzaga graduate knocked around Europe during the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the end of the Cold War looming, he obtained one of the first visas for travel throughout the Soviet Union, and ventured into Mongolia and China before ending up in Seattle, where he lived with his wife and four boys until last fall. November 13Kris Fiala loves her newly reupholstered couch. And it makes for a great conversation piece, too. She bought the sofa for a few hundred dollars off Craigslist, and then had it re-covered by inmates. Yes, inmates. From Airway Heights Corrections Center. Finally, after more than a year of looking at stark white walls, I painted my living room. Now, a beautiful saffron gold complements the furniture and polished hardwood floors and highlights my favorite pieces of art. The kitchen is Julie Sherwood's home office. A longtime collector of cookbooks who likes to experiment with ingredients and create her own recipes, Sherwood didn't expect to turn her love of cooking into a home-based business. November 6When Ron Hotchkiss was 14 years old, he spent $25 he'd made mowing lawns on some secondhand diving gear. One thing that is most appealing about children is that they are the finders of lost things. I still have a box of things I picked up when I was a child: A barber dime that was washed out of the soil after a storm, a fossil that I found on the underside of a rock and even an uncut emerald I found, inexplicably, on a gravel path. I found them all and I've kept them with me for a long time. As a youngster, Dan Beyer used to meander along Riverside Avenue in downtown Spokane and gaze up at the Paulsen Center's grand penthouse ringed with its tree-lined terrace. When Jan Kruger was 16 years old, she took a class in manuscript writing. That triggered her lifelong attachment to the handcrafted word. She attended every art, design, and calligraphy class she could fit into her agenda. She's had her own calligraphy business – Jan designs – since 1979. Art form: Water-media painting on paper, sumi-e, painting on silk.Best known for: Her combination of water-soluble mediums like watercolor, inks, gouache, acrylics, water-based oils and watercolor crayons. After first arriving in the United States from communist Czechoslovakia, Paul Hajek earned $3.15 an hour washing dishes at a Fred Meyer bakery in Lansing, Mich. October 30When my children were small, I was always pulled in two directions on Halloween night. I loved being home to open the door and find costumed little ones on the step, holding out a bag for treats. I would light a fire, grab a book and listen for the doorbell. Blame it on television's Food Network. Restaurant supply stores in Spokane are seeing more noncommercial customers come through their doors. During the last five years or so, homeowners have begun buying everything from knives to professional ranges at shops that normally cater to chefs and restaurant owners. The Spokane that Jon Louis left 20 years ago is not the same city he came back to earlier this year. October 23When I was a child, the family that lived down the street had a book I loved. Each page of the old, leather-bound volume had a very simple drawing on it – sketches of rooms in a grand country house. Between the pages were leaves of vellum, translucent layers that were meant to be placed over the drawings one at a time. Each sheet had details that added dimension to the original. When they were added, the illustration was richer and more intricate. After months of cold, dreary weather, green floral arrangements can understandably make people think of spring. Mike Fleig's career has taken him and his family coast to coast with a stop in the Rocky Mountains. October 16On a whim, Eliza Shotts sent her chicken mole nacho recipe into a contest sponsored by "Emeril Live," the popular Food Network show featuring chef Emeril Lagasse. And bam! She won. My friends and family know I'm not what you would call an inspired cook. I don't thumb through cookbooks in my spare time looking for recipes to try. I don't spend weekends in the kitchen, rolling out pastry or kneading bread dough. But there is one thing I do well. I make a good pot of soup. Tucked among a swath of historic homes on West Ninth Avenue, a 1950s apartment building is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a pair of developers with an appreciation for mid-century modern style. Dawn Lindblom remembers the moment she knew she loved her work.As volunteer coordinator for a Minneapolis nonprofit, she'd spent the day with a group of college students, helping clean and maintain the home of a person with a disability. This fall, Inland Northwest Health Services gave area women a good reason to clean out their closets – charity. And thanks to the annual INHS clothing sale this weekend, high school girls looking for that perfect prom dress, or women in need of a power suit for that job interview will have a chance to reap the rewards. October 9When Spokane graphic designers Darin and Jean Klündt abandoned the sleek modernity of their 1950s home on the South Hill, they had a clear picture of their dream home in mind: A place in the country where they could raise their two small boys. When Spokane graphic designers Darin and Jean Klündt abandoned the sleek modernity of their 1950s home on the South Hill, they had a clear picture of their dream home in mind: A place in the country where they could raise their two small boys. Wherever we live, the view is important. It's nice to see high, snow-capped mountains in the distance, or a field of wildflowers spreading out in front of us. Windows that open wide to the blue-gray ocean are wonderful. Wherever we live, the view is important. It's nice to see high, snow-capped mountains in the distance, or a field of wildflowers spreading out in front of us. Windows that open wide to the blue-gray ocean are wonderful. Karen and Jake Whitehead had four good reasons to relocate to the Spokane Valley. All they needed was a little push to get them moving. Karen and Jake Whitehead had four good reasons to relocate to the Spokane Valley. All they needed was a little push to get them moving. October 2This time of year, I think we all respond – whether we acknowledge it or not – to some visceral and very ancient call. A call to prepare. To get ready for the hard times. When friends Heather Brown and Ruthanne Eberly decided to enter the workforce after several years as stay-at-home moms, they wanted careers that their kids—ages 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8—could be a part of. "Outside the Box," reads the sign – a repurposed vintage door that hangs, like a work of art, on Tasha Gordon's living room wall. Painted in her signature color – green – the words exemplify the 24-year-old artist's approach to her work: clever, eclectic and always pushing her own boundaries. Last June, Michael and Rebecca Mullin left Las Vegas to gamble on a new way of life.Four months later, they consider themselves big winners. September 18The life-sized checkerboard tucked in the garden at Arbor Crest's Cliff House may be the first tip-off that the surroundings are far from commonplace. Lettuces, fruit trees, squash plants, tomato vines, herbs and flowers line the courtyard walkway. Covered benches flank a gate to a large grassy area. Step through the gate to a gazebo with picnic tables. I sat down to look at the glossy magazine that had arrived in the day's mail. As I flipped through the pages, admiring the fabulous homes, I noticed something. Five houses were profiled in the magazine, And the rooms in each house that was featured were painted green. Each house had a different palette, different shades and hues, but they all shared the same color. A basketball buddy helped Kyle McFarlane get his work-at-home gig five years ago. He had recently been married and wanted a job with more flexibility. McFarlane wasn't looking specifically to work at home, but "it worked out that way" when he was hired by Cardinal Health as a sales representative. "It'll be a nice contrast to the chicken wire," architect Sam Nystrom says, gazing two stories up at the unfinished ceiling of his new design firm in downtown Spokane. September 4With the summer waning, I'm doing what everyone else in this area is up to: I'm trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible. First thing in the morning I take my tea to the patio. After dinner I leash the dogs and walk through the park. My weekends are spent gardening and working in the yard. A new cafe specializing in gourmet tea might seem out of place among Spokane's ubiquitous java huts and espresso stands. But a tea house amidst the dilapidated buildings and vacant storefronts of East Sprague Avenue? Now that's just crazy. It's a scenario that a lot of parents with children away at college likely have experienced. A student visits her family after a few months away, and it slips. At the dinner table, she refers to campus as "home," as opposed to the place she was reared for the last 18 years. Editor
Cheryl-Anne Millsap cam@spokesman.com After moving 24 times during their marriage, retired Lt. Col. Rufus Hoefer gave his wife, Sheila, the option of moving anywhere she wanted from their last home in San Antonio, where he retired from his civilian job as a hospital administrator. The end is near
Avid gardeners are coming to grips with reality: We're about to lose our summer. August 28Earlier this summer a crew from Home and Garden Television was in town filming local artists for "That's Clever," a how-to, step-by-step show which airs locally Monday through Friday. The Spokane segments will air in the spring of 2008. When I was a girl in the 1970s, I wasn't what you might call a willing housekeeper. As the oldest child I bore the brunt of the chores around the house, but I did them grudgingly. As a teenager, Linda Dellens learned compassion while volunteering for the Special Olympics. "I remember so distinctly going to the Special Olympics events and seeing kids with bigger problems than my own," Dellens says. "And yet they didn't care. They were happy, joyful, friendly – not surly." August 21Bo Cooke's toolbox looks like your typical, rugged Craftsman chest. Sleek and black, with tread-plated steel facing, it is a hallmark of masculine organization. But you won't find any hammers or wrenches inside. If you ask me, any space ought to be designed to include a place for stopping and dropping. I don't mean the television room – a place to plant yourself on the sofa and tune into whatever is on the screen and tune out the rest of the world. I mean a space for relaxing, for thinking and dreaming. August 14Diana Stephenson had always wanted to live downtown, but with a husband and three kids, Spokane's urban jungle didn't seem like the right place to raise a family. As a child, Lona Holm rode horses along a five-mile stretch of state highway near Edgewood in Puget Sound. At most, she'd see one, maybe two, cars. August 7Joe Dill first tinkered with home-built airplane models in 1949, when, as an 8-year-old, he couldn't afford 10-cent store kits. Instead, he got free wooden fruit boxes from the grocery store to carve fuselages and wings with his dad's help. I'm lucky. One of the bonuses of my job is that I get to see so many beautiful houses. Some are grand and elegant. Others are quaint and a little quirky. But, as a rule, I've discovered the common element is pride. Most of us, no matter what demographic we fall into, are proud of the places we call home. The cultural life. The size. The amenities. Spokane met her every requirement when it came to choosing a new home, says Portland native Patricia Iron. "Everything seemed to be a very good fit." July 31Chris Bewick was tearing apart a ceiling in a second-story room of his South Hill Victorian when he heard an unexpected sound. "Crunching glass," he says. It was February and Chris, along with wife Staci and their two young boys, were nearing the halfway point of a major restoration of the old home they purchased in August 2001. Every house is a treasure chest. Behind the front door, under the eaves and tucked into drawers and corners of the basement are countless little treasures. The monetary value may not be that great, but the mystery, the sense of history and connection to the past, are priceless. Editor
Cheryl-Anne Millsap cam@spokesman.com July 24Finally, the rain fell. I lay in bed listening to thunder rumble in the distance and watching the lighting flash. My little dog, made anxious by the noise, was restless. He jumped up on the bed and curled himself – whimpering a little – into a tight ball in the space behind my knees. July 17You can find anything in a garden, if you look hard enough. Some go outdoors for fresh air, others for a little peace and quiet. For some, there is nothing more spiritual than a contemplative walk along a meandering path. A chance to advance her career brought Susan Miller to Spokane, but the region's weather and countryside sweetened the job. The main living area of Julie Koesel's Spokane loft is stylishly spare, dominated by a black leather sectional opposite an impossibly long shelf lined with color photos of European street scenes. Art form: Photography and encaustic painting. July 3I wish I could be more balanced. More moderate. But when I dive into something it never fails. I go straight to the deep end. Most companies that deal with weddings have flowery names. And that's true of Pistil Packin' Posies. But it's flowery with a twist. The teens who step across the threshold of the Volunteers of America Crosswalk at 525 W. Second Ave., don't notice the cracks in the floors and windows, the worn linoleum, the stained ceiling tiles, or the dingy, torn carpeting. They are more concerned about coming to a place that provides them with warm clothes, a hot shower, food, and a bed for the night — or many nights as the case may be. Good timing brought Bob Adolfson home to Spokane.Three years ago, the Spokane native and his family came over from Seattle to run Bloomsday. Perusing a community newspaper, he came across an article about historical sites that discussed the Glover Mansion's future. At the time, Adolfson faced a career crossroads – his employer wanted him to move to the East Coast, he wanted to stay in the Northwest. June 26For Jane Clements home is an expression of individuality. "Home reflects what I do and my personality; it's also a retreat," she said. Clements and her husband, Joe, built their old-world Mediterranean style house in 2004 – the same year she was diagnosed with cancer. In an age of pharmaceutical ads on the television and a pill in the medicine cabinet for everything, it's easy to forget how much shelter can bring to healing. It's hard to get better when you're in a place that doesn't comfort you. And the reverse is true. The birth of a second child prompted Amy and John Sklut to re-evaluate their lives.The couple's life in Marin County, Calif., seemed too disjointed. John worked long hours as a juvenile public defender. Amy stayed home with their kids. Running errands, going to work, and visiting friends and family meant long commutes in heavy traffic. June 12One of the first things people learn to appreciate about the Northwest – and what is often a draw for newcomers – is the climate. Atlanta, Georgia's, oppressive heat and six-lane, bumper-to-bumper traffic had begun to wear on Julie and Winston Tan. Art form: Painting in pastel and oil.Best known for: Use of color. June 5When Sharlene and Brian Scott found the perfect spot to build their bed and breakfast, they had to keep something in mind. They needed a place big enough to hold their antiques. "One idea was to have people step back in time, to an era when things were softer, gentler," Sharlene Scott said. "To a time when the pace of life was slower." In essence, she wanted her guests to be able to kick back, relax and say, "Ahh. Now I'm on vacation." There are days when I'd like to make myself at home, anywhere but at home. Do you know the feeling? Few homeowners bold enough to take on do-it-yourself projects around the house end up making a career out of it. But Chris and Dana Oxford are among those few. She's lived here only seven months, but Lynn Terry has been Spokane-bound for nearly a decade."I've been moving here inch by inch for years," says Terry, who made it official last November. What: North Idaho Bed & Breakfast Association Spring TourWhen: Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday May 29When Stephanie Love and her fiancé Adam Godwin walked into the 1930s midtown Coeur d'Alene home last fall, she knew she'd found the house she was looking for. Wearing a lace shirt and a winning smile, Theresa Groves looked at ease among the shawls, handkerchiefs and tablecloths. All made of lace, of course. We all want a peek inside. We want to see what color our neighbors painted the kitchen or just a closer look at the lamp that looks so pretty in the living room of that house down the street. When Jason Peterson set out to find a new apartment, he knew it wouldn't be easy. Peterson, who is 31 and uses a wheelchair, anticipated the difficulty in finding a unit that would meet his physical needs. FRESNO, Calif. — Household chores don't always have to be laborious. Mops with disposable or washable pads can make cleaning floors quick and easy, and there are many to select from. Patrice Lynn knew Spokane was home when she discovered her namesake was born here.The day she arrived, Patrice chatted with a woman at church. When Patrice told the woman her name, the woman's eyes brightened. "Like Patrice Munsel, the opera star?" the woman said. "You know, she was born in Spokane." May 22Not too long ago, going through a box of papers, I found a drawing one of my children had done when she was small. May 15For Tuesday, May 15, 2007. May 8With its graceful arches, warm stucco walls and grand portico, the home of Keith and Darlene Morehouse could be mistaken for an ancient Roman villa. May 1Brad Apperson walks to school each morning. It isn't far. His classroom is in the basement of his family's four-level Mead home. The sixth-grader's desk is tucked below a window. A map of the United States and a multiplication chart hang nearby. His sister's brown and white rabbit, Ariel, frequently peeks at him from underneath a foosball table. Bookshelves line the room. Clear plastic totes filled with art supplies and Legos are stacked within easy reach. Each weekday morning as Chris DeForest heads out the door to work, his 4-year-old son, John, goes with him. Robert and Deborah Osborn spent two years caring for his bedridden mother after her stroke. When she died a year ago, the couple knew it was time for change. April 24We all want to know the back story. We want the story behind the façade; the true personalities of our favorite celebrities. We want to know the dirt. The details.We want to know whatever happened to, well, to everyone. When Elizabeth Thompson returned to the Inland Northwest after eight years on the East Coast, she brought with her a love of urban living. April 17"I've been downsizing for about eight or nine years now," Samantha Jenkins says from a cozy chair in the living room of her apartment in Browne's Addition. Denel Lang, a bubbly Spokane teen, received a big surprise for her 16th birthday last week. The athletic, blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager couldn't believe it when she heard her parents' plan for her birthday gift. For Monica and Brooks Holland, moving to Spokane involved expanding their world and shrinking it all at the same time. April 10Deniece Schofield, nationally known speaker and author of four books on home organization, has a confession to make. Popular music from the Romantic period will fill the historic Tull House next week during the last of Allegro Baroque and Beyond's "Music in Historic Homes" concerts this season. Popular music from the Romantic period will fill the historic Tull House next week during the last of Allegro Baroque and Beyond's "Music in Historic Homes" concerts this season. Schofield's five steps to getting organized1List: Make a list of everything that needs attention. Art form: "Euro Whimsical" art dolls.Best known for: Attention to detail. "I think attention to detail is what makes art interesting," says Bailey, "that you can look at a piece and keep finding more than you did the first or second or tenth time you viewed it." Betty Herring spent most of her childhood squeezed into a two-room sod house that she shared with her Oklahoma farmer parents and 12 siblings. An outhouse sat at the end of a dirt path. April 3Lurking inside almost every woman, whether dressed in sensible heels and a power suit, or tennis shoes and a tracksuit, is a little girl longing who once hosted elaborate tea parties for her stuffed animals. This Easter add a little sunshine to your home with this bright and refreshing arrangement.To make your own jar floral sunshine, place a large bunch of yellow tulips in a clean jar. Next, add the yellow Gerbera daisies to create a nice focal point for the arrangement and frame the flowers with branches of lemon leaves March 27William and Diane Hellar live surrounded by more than 1 million pounds of concrete. Fictional detective Nero Wolfe loved orchids so much that he devoted four hours a day to them in the greenhouse atop his New York City brownstone. Just outside my front door is a tableau that perfectly illustrates this time of year: A bright blue snow shovel, that ubiquitous tool of Northwest winters, leans against the steps. Exactly where it was placed after the last snowfall. On the ground beside the shovel, tender tulips have broken through the damp soil. What exactly is a loft? Not everyone agrees on the answer. Purists insist the term refers only to old industrial warehouse space that has been converted into a full-floor residence. After more than 30 years in the restaurant industry, Michael Paul and Stephanie Gamble wanted to work less and enjoy more. The Spokesman-Review's Home section is all about you. We're always looking for beautiful homes, outstanding remodeling projects, decorating ideas and glorious gardens. We want to know what you've been up to. March 20A strict dress code at a private junior high school was all it took to set young Sue Bradley on the path to shoe collecting. Anyone who has ever spent frustrating minutes hunting for a business card buried under stacks of mail or combed the house desperately searching for car keys could benefit from a few basic organizational skills. Mark Dobson has come home again – and he brought his family with him. The Dobson family of four, plus one dog, one cat and a fish, moved into their turn-of-the-century home in July 2005. "Mark grew up just down the street," said his wife, Kathryn. "He lived in this house for a time when he was 16 to help care for the elderly woman who owned it," she said. So, when Dobson and his wife heard it was on the market they snapped it up. My most precious memories aren't treated very well. Over the years they've been tossed into boxes that are now stacked in the basement or tucked away in drawers. Last fall, Marilyn Rapp's then-boyfriend asked her to marry him and move to a new city for a new life. March 13Frank Naccarato was a master hand with an ax. After more than a century, the skill he honed making railroad ties is once again apparent in a showplace of a house recently remodeled by the property's current owners, Gayle and Paul Smith. Tucked away just north of Upriver Drive, is a new style of retirement community living. Village West, a neighborhood of condominiums was developed and is owned by Riverview Retirement Community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2006 the oldest members of the baby boom generation turned 60. The aging boomer population is now caring for elderly parents. This presents a unique challenge. How can working adults – often still raising their own families – take care of their parents as well? Jim Greenup, a local developer, has come up with a novel solution he calls multigenerational homes. "I watched my mom care for my grandmother in a duplex. They both had their own kitchens and maintained independence, but my mom was nearby when my grandmother needed help," he said. When Jonathan Smith returned to Spokane after a 16-year hiatus in the Bay Area, he was surprised to learn that people were living downtown. Leigh Keno has devoted his life to the study, acquisition and sale of the very finest 18th- and early 19th-century American antiques. Yet in the past few months he has fallen for pieces for his own home by 20th-century furniture masters George Nakashima and Wharton Esherick. Houses have their secrets. Years of sheltering the busy and cluttered lives of the men, women and children who occupy them leave their mark with odds and ends tucked into unexpected places. Dear Tim: I've talked to three different people about granite sealers and have received three different answers. I'm hoping you can set me straight about if granite needs to be sealed, when it should happen, how it is done and how frequently. The house I just purchased has granite countertops that are in great shape, and I want to keep them that way. – Jenifer L., Antioch, Ill. Connie Postmus found her dream home on the Internet. Postmus and her husband, Bill, had flirted with moving to the Northwest from Southern California for more than 15 years. They'd grown tired of the two-hour commutes and fast-paced lifestyle. They wanted something simpler, something easier, something friendlier. March 6People in this area are often known for spending their downtime outdoors – hiking, fishing, rock climbing. But longtime Spokane residents Jim Kolva and Pat Sullivan have a decidedly more interior passion: They collect – and live surrounded by – local and regional art. You never know where a passion for pretty things will lead you. Thada Ziegler's love of teacups, beautiful dishes and vintage silver led her – and her husband – to sleeping in a closet. COLUMBIA, S.C. – You spend nearly a third of your life in bed – too much time for scratchy sheets and lumpy pillows. Surface, the world's largest annual floor-covering trade show, recently introduced the latest in flooring fashions to industry attendees hungry to pick up new trends. Manufacturers from around the globe convened at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas to show off a host of new floor-covering looks and styles, ranging from glazed Moroccan tiles to hand-chiseled hardwood. Busy families often struggle to fit everything into tightly packed schedules. Work, school and sports can consume so many hours each week that it's difficult to find time just to have fun together. When families do have the time, there are so many entertainment options available it can be difficult to find an activity that everyone enjoys. Walking around town recently, I noticed the signs reading, "Imagine your life without art."They are meant to remind us of the importance of art in our lives. Downtown dwelling is on the rise, and with it a trend toward health and sustainability among new urbanites seeking to simplify and streamline their lives. With many new floor covering products to choose from, how do you, the consumer, decide among carpet and tile, hardwood and stone, linoleum and laminate? With so many categories, colors and styles available, selecting a floor covering can be a daunting task. It takes a lot of courage to take a family out of one place and plant them in another.For Bryan and Yvonne Watson, who recently moved to Spokane from Las Vegas, it took something else: a strong partnership. February 27Call it a change of philosophy, or a desire for a simpler lifestyle, but when Susan and Brett Sommer decided to move west, they wanted to do things differently. Steve Mauro didn't carry on his family's tradition of running the neighborhood grocery store. But he did keep the memory alive in his garage. Earlier this year when Ro Lisk and her husband, John, downsized from a spacious, sunny house off Rockwood Boulevard to a downtown loft with northern exposure, they took steps to brighten their environment. Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arranging. It originated as a ritual floral offering made in Buddhist temples. In this style, floral arrangements are based on an asymmetrical triangle. The tallest line is called Tai (Heaven), the shortest line Yu (Earth) and the flowers halfway between are called So (Man). I spent years writing from home. I worked, lived, kept house and when there was a spare minute, played in the same place. Steve and Sheri Beckerman knew what they wanted when they began looking for a place to call home. February 20I don't know about you, but there are days that my house doesn't feel like a place meant for resting and relaxing. Standing in their brightly-lit kitchen discussing the finer points of espresso, Matt and Sarah Beck look like quintessential urban dwellers. For Jeff and Sandi Mooring, the glitter of life in California had begun to tarnish. After spending more than 20 years as an actor, Jeff was ready for something new. February 13I've got a big box kitchen. The cabinets, and for a small house there are a lot of kitchen cabinets, were purchased from one of those cavernous home improvement warehouses in the early 1990s. Cupid has his petal to the metal. Come Wednesday, as many as 200 million stems of roses (as well as tens of millions of other lush buds) will have found their way to grateful sweethearts throughout the world. Lloyd and Monique Wilhelms didn't just pack up the pots and pans and move their household to Spokane. They brought the business with them. Many people have several sets of dishes: The good china for entertaining, everyday dishes and even special holiday-themed tableware. February 6In 1989, Dave and Chrissy Wortman bought a nondescript little 1902 cottage just north of downtown Coeur d'Alene and set about fixing it up. Steve and Melissa Alfstad's South Hill home is a hidden treasure. The Mission-style brick house, complete with bell tower, is screened from view by tall shrubs. A pathway winds up to the house. In the 1980s, when I started keeping house, it was the height of the Laura Ashley ruffles-and-chintz look. Colors were deep and intense, and when it came to accessorizing, more was never enough. Last summer before she moved downtown, Saundra Rudmann did a little hands-on research into urban living. January 30Southside Senior Center board member Pauli Chapman was recuperating from hip replacement surgery when she read the Dec. 12 Home story about Colleen Roe's quest to find a home for the exquisite miniature K-9 Bed and Breakfast Inn. Last week, during the height of the U.S Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, I spent a lot of time looking at the city the way a visitor might see it. And I liked what I saw. We're lucky enough to live in a place that enjoys four seasons and an excellent quality of life for many of its residents. We're also house-proud. January 23J.B. and Gwen Skierka's Valley home is overflowing with treasures found in an unlikely place. While going through J.B.'s mother's things after her death, they discovered a large wooden crate stuffed with old newspapers and plastic grocery bags. Nestled within the papers they found antique prints, ruby glassware and precious family heirlooms. Standing amid the sumptuous fabrics, ornate chandeliers and mosaic tile in her downtown studio, designer Kimberlee Melcher is a far cry from the single mother of four who used to sew curtains at home for family and friends. "It just turned into a business by accident," she says of her onetime hobby. January 16Two diminutive chickens roosting on the front porch of this elegant Peaceful Valley home are the first sign something is a little out of the ordinary. Peta Countryman been a florist for 28 years and is currently a floral designer at the Five Mile Rosauers. It's like I have a new view. The little hawthorn tree right outside my living room window was leafy and green when I moved in. Now it is bare and frequently dusted with snow. The street and sidewalks are black ribbons against the frozen lawns. It was truly only a matter of time before someone with a sense of whimsy came up with "Thriving Office," a CD laden with the sounds of an office environment buzzing with activity. Aimed squarely at the growing millions who work from home, the disc features two 37-minute tracks, titled (seriously) "Busy" and "Very Busy." Fifteen years ago, when Don and Joan Jamison decided to buy a Victorian home in Browne's Addition, they couldn't find one for sale. January 9Lauri Seghetti's license plate reads MAKTIME, and that's just what this talented interior designer does. Seghetti creates hand-painted limited edition works of art, which also function as timepieces. Each clock is signed and dated. "My weed whacker," says Bruce Jordan, fondly recalling one of the many possessions he gave up when he and his wife, Tama, moved from suburban Spokane Valley to a loft downtown. Believe it or not, there is a case being made for using certain animal skins as rugs. They are gaining favor as floor decor to the dismay of those who believe neither hide nor hair of any animal should be used in the home by anyone other than its original owner. One evening last week, after basketball practice but before the dinner dishes were done, I thought I had just enough free time to hit the Stairmaster in the basement and watch a little television. Great friends have great ideas. When a potting shed behind Rene Peterson's Glenrose home fell into disrepair, she wasn't sure what kind of structure she wanted to build in its place. January 2We all like to put our own stamp on our homes. Paint color, window treatments and furniture style all play an important part in making a house into something unique. A place that perfectly reflects our personality. Jerry and Eliza Shotts found their dream home nestled within four wooded acres in Chattaroy. The couple looked at many newly constructed homes while house hunting in 2001, but Eliza says, "I knew they'd be too modern for us and we wanted to live outside the city." Hear that? It's the sound of dishwasher manufacturers lowering the machines' noise levels."As home plans become a lot more open, you want to be able to talk over the phone and not shout over the noise of a dishwasher," said Brent DeWeerd, who oversees dishwasher engineering at Whirlpool Corp. Ann and Stephen Winterer met over a cup of bad coffee at church several years ago. They had both experienced painful divorces and neither expected to find love again. But love unexpectedly found them, and together the couple created what Ann calls "the house that hope built." December 26When Anne and Damian Putney first entered the dilapidated 1905 Craftsman on Spokane's South Hill, dirty gray carpet hid the century-old oak floors. A home isn't just bricks and mortar or lumber and nails. Sure that's how you get a house, but making a home takes a lot more. Last month the International Quilt Festival in Houston attracted more than 50,000 quilters from all over the world, including Newman Lake resident Lynda Lynn. Bernadette Upton gives mothers-to-be a wake-up call with one sentence. "Typically," she says, "we bring baby home to the sickest room in the house." No matter where you live, resolve in the new year to protect your home and property from nature's fury by adding flood insurance to your homeowner's coverage. December 19People fall into two categories this time of year: those who love to decorate and those who don't want to be bothered. One of my favorite ways to unwind in this busy season is to enjoy the hard work of decorators around the area. Bliss is a nice, long soak in a warm tub, and it's not just about getting clean. Before you apologize for luxuriating in a brand new tub instead of rushing through a no-nonsense shower and on to the next item on your to-do list, consider a bath's benefits to your physical and emotional health. When Shelly Stevens entered a cozy clinker brick Cape Cod in the Spokane Valley last year, it wasn't love at first sight. The single-owner home, built in 1941, had fallen into disrepair. Gone are the days when a sewing room was wherever you took your sewing basket. Today's seamstresses have gadgets, tools and conveniences your grandmother never even dreamed of. Most don't sew out of need; they sew because they love the process of creating. December 12In 2005, when Mike and Amie Whittle moved from a Tuscan-style villa in the Arizona desert to a 1970s split-level on Spokane's South Hill, they brought with them the old-world charm of their former abode. When Spokane resident Colleen Roe and her friend Carolyn Holmes saw an exquisite miniature home on display in a bank lobby in Coeur d' Alene, they had to get a closer look. I have two cans of paint – Restoration Hardware's "Butter" – sitting behind a chair in the corner of my living room. I've had the paint for several weeks now. Choosing decorative holiday lighting was much easier (though, perhaps, less safe) in colonial times, when candles were the only option. Visitors to Don and Diane Kelly's home in Sunset Hills feel like they've embarked upon a European tour. Festive holiday decorators tend to have a flair for the unusual. December 5For years, Roger and Kathy Chase lived across the street from the historic James and Corinne Williams House. When the Cannon Hill neighborhood house was offered for sale in 1999, the couple jumped at the chance to buy it. PHILADELPHIA – What do a tea kettle, a toilet brush, and a trash can have in common? If they're award-winning designs by Michael Graves, Philippe Starck and Karim Rashid, they're antiques of the future, says a new book with that title by Philadelphia design maven Lisa Roberts. What's the proper way to eat a Christmas cookie? Should you take dainty bites and risk frosting on your lips or shove the entire cookie in your mouth and try to chew with your mouth closed? Its silvery shimmer is reminiscent of Grandma's candlesticks and Christmas decorations. Its style statement also is very right-now. Mercury glass returns to store shelves most often in the fall-darkened days of a waning year, just in time to add sparkle to home decor. Although growers' groups point out that biodegradable cut trees are a better choice for the environment, artificial trees remain popular. The National Christmas Tree Association says 9. November 28What do you get when you pair six area chefs with six local architects and add gallons of white frosting? You get the second annual Gingerbread Build-Off. The thing about making a home is that we don't just do it for ourselves. When graphic designer Michele Beauchamp built her home in Post Falls, she worked with the builder to update the interior from the original plans. November 21More than 20 years ago, newly married Steve and Tresa Schmautz were asked to housesit an elegant home on Cliff Drive in Spokane. Decorating on a grand scale is in season at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane and the Coeur d'Alene Resort in Coeur d'Alene. If you ask me, I think we all need a little music in the house. Holly Wahl is a collector. Clocks, small planters, rolling pins and old windows are among the things she gathers. November 14The stories within the walls are what make a house a home. Rod and Karen Sprague's home in Chattaroy has many stories to tell. With the holidays just around the corner, people are planning to entertain or have houseguests. You want your home to look its best. As far as I'm concerned, winter can land on my doorstep whenever it wants to. I got my jonquil bulbs planted before the ground froze, so let the snow fly. November 7Visitors opening the door to Harry and Sue Hart's South Hill home are in for a delightful surprise. Instead of a small, cramped entryway, common in homes like this one built in 1904, a spacious panorama of color delights the eyes. These days, when I come to work and sit down at my desk, I'm completely at home. A year and a half ago, when Pia Hansen and I were putting together a new section that would capture the feeling so many of us have about the places where we live, the pride of ownership and the pleasure we derive from taking a raw space and creating a home, I was just as new. Lightbulbs are synonymous with bright ideas – in cartoons, at any rate. But compact fluorescent bulbs can also be a small, yet brilliant, step toward energy efficiency. October 31Time was, just as the sun went down on Halloween evening, someone – usually Mom or Dan – put a paper skeleton, or black cat, on the front door and called the house ready for trick-or-treaters. October 24Building anything – a life, a career, a marriage and a good home – takes time. And work. Lots of hard work. It doesn't hurt to have a good skill set. It's raining like it hasn't rained in ages. Which is good, right? Except that my house is naked. For various reasons – one of them being a month-long trip to southern African – the much needed painting of the big, old scary house of mine had been postponed. HGTV is coming to Spokane. "If Walls Could Talk," a show that features older homes with a story, is looking for homeowners in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. October 17Seven years ago, while skiing in Whitewater, B.C., local artist Renè Goebel suffered a heart attack. She was 46 years old. "When death comes knocking it teaches you to slow down and enjoy life," she said. You've probably noted changes happening in and around the old J.C. Penney/Burlington Coat Factory building on Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. With workers crafting dwellings out of the cavernous building, and lacy wrought-iron balconies and a new façade on the exterior, it's hard to miss the progress. The muffled 'thud' of the newspaper hitting my front door Monday morning last week, was the best thud I'd heard in a month. The hot shower I had soon after was the first shower I'd had in a month. The arrival of cooler fall weather has signaled the outdoor bug population it's time to prepare for winter. They need to find mates and then find a warm place to hide until spring. October 10Dawn Johnson of Post Falls needed a new dining room table. She found just the one she wanted with a surprising twist at an unexpected place. Forget about the calendar. It's what's blooming in the pots on my front porch that tells me what time of year it is. In spring and summer cheery red geraniums take front and center. Privacy and quiet are becoming rarer and rarer around many homes. Sometimes the disturbing noise is your teenager's music from the next bedroom. Other times, it's the teenager's music in the home attached to yours by a wall, ceiling or floor. HGTV is coming to Spokane. Two shows, "What You Get for the Money" and "If Walls Could Talk," are seeking homeowners in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. October 3In decorating and design, indoors and out, life doesn't always follow the plan. What we want in a heartbeat may take weeks, months and even years to achieve. In 1977 Lory Miller, then single, drove by a turn-of-the-century home perched on top of the North Monroe Street hill and fell in love with it. Consumers are interested in keeping their homes current and comfortable, and nowhere is this ideal more important than in the bedroom according to Ann Jurgens Proprietor/Buyer for Elegant Linens. HGTV wants to know just what you got for your money. House prices vary across the country. What buys a large custom-built family home on acreage in Spokane might only get you a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. September 26What do you see when you walk into a house for the very first time? Each of us can give a different answer. Some see a place that is perfect just as it is, others spy a project that with just a little elbow grease can turn a quick profit on a hot real estate market. September 19For most of us, home is four walls and, if we're lucky, a nice view from the window. But for two fortunate Spokane homeowners, home is a spectacular view captured by a wall of windows. Have you ever fallen in love with a place? I have. A number of times. Looking back, the wide window seat in my childhood bedroom, the place I spent so many contented hours reading my favorite books, comes to mind. September 12Well, it's over. The long, slow, days of summer have given way to a quicker pace. For many of us, September means it's time to go back to work, back to school and back to the familiar routine. September 5When Delene Fitzpatrick purchased a leather sofa and chair, she had just one problem: She couldn't figure out how to make her new furniture work in her existing living room. The change is subtle but it's there. When I woke up Monday morning, last week, I had to turn on my bedside lamp for the first time in a long time because it was sort of dark. For Tuesday, September 05, 2006. LOS ANGELES – You notice the opulent chandelier first, hanging on the porch of a weathered 1910 Craftsman house. Meredith Clark pulls leaded Austrian crystals from plastic containers and attaches strands of the delicate beads to a 5-foot chandelier steel frame suspended from the roof. August 29To get to the heart of Donna Maki's house, built in the 1930s, you just have to follow the red-brick path. The bricks aren't actually brick at all. After listening to your CDs over and over again, even your favorite music can start to sound a little stale. But select shuffle on your iPod or six-disc changer and suddenly those same old songs (yes, even Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl") can sound a whole lot fresher. August 22Red is definitely wrong. And so is any shade of purple. Blue wouldn't work either. I mean, there is some blue going on right now, but it's not a good blue. August 15Many homeowners find the tasks of home maintenance challenging. Painting, weeding, repairing, replacing, cleaning – chores may seem endless. For folks who also own a lake home, envied as they may be, that challenge of keeping up with housework is doubled. When it comes to home maintenance and upkeep – not to mention your car – there are several ways to get things shining. By the same token, there are some concoctions that you were told work well that may not be as effective as you were taught. For a woman who's undertaken as many home repair projects as I have, it's quite remarkable that I've been able to maintain one of my phobias: I'm terrified of anything electrical. Decorators are fond of saying that the cheapest way to jazz up a room is to repaint it. But that interior design trick has been getting a bit more expensive of late. August 8A common summer complaint: It's not the heat, it's the humidity. Too much moisture in the hot summer air can turn your home into a steam bath. On June 6, 1910, T.W. Mortimer got permission to hook a new house he was building up to the city water main. I'm not sure if Mortimer actually ended up living in the house – his P.O. address is listed across town on Nora Avenue – but everything indicates his crews pounded the nails. WASHINGTON – Charge! As Americans are more and more consumed by their consumer electronics, they are finding those ultralight cell phones, Bluetooth devices, MP3 players and the like are useless without their heavy, homely cousins, those clunky "wall-warts" that deliver life-sustaining juice. August 1Few things startle me more than the smell of smoke. Dead asleep at 3 a.m., I'll bolt upright in bed, sniffing the air like a prairie dog: Where's the fire? Forget that bacon cheeseburger you ate last night. Is your air conditioning making you fat? This horrifying, yet delicious, notion was put forward in a scientific study, released last month, on possible contributing causes of obesity. July 25You just never know when it's going to happen. Sometimes you work on it for days, weeks, to get it just right – and then, nothing. July 18Driving down the streets in my neighborhood you probably wouldn't even notice that something is missing. I mean, the houses all have windows and doors, roofs and lawns, and the local dogs and cats look pretty happy. July 11I was having dinner with a handful of friends the other night, when someone remarked that my house is "always so organized." My reply was that he must have come over on a very good day. July 4In the decorating world, colors come and go. One year it's jewel tones. Another, pastels are all the rage. But there are those who aren't influenced by fashion. I just paid a little more than $80 to have a nice air-conditioner technician tell me that the old A/C unit sitting outside my house is completely dead. June 27I don't grow vegetables. Yes, that's right, not even a tomato. Nothing. Nil, as they say at the World Cup. No heirloom peppers, no red, white or blue potatoes. June 20I just dropped off my son for his last day of seventh grade. Giddy with summer expectations, holding on to his yearbook, he couldn't wait to get the last half-day of school over and done with. June 13After a devastating fire in 2003, the big American foursquare house on Spokane's South Hill was a wreck. What hadn't been completely destroyed in the fire was heavily damaged by smoke and water. My cat has found a girlfriend. Not that there would be anything wrong with it being a boyfriend, but for the sake of this column, let's assume it's a girl cat. June 6Scrape, scrape, SCRAPE…Dig, dig, dig. Scrape some more. I am sure my hands were jerking when I fell asleep Monday night after spending most of the day trying to remove the remaining shreds of outdoor carpet from my front steps. May 30If you like to see what ordinary people have done with their homes, you'll love this weekend's annual Shabby to Chic Home Tour. Nine homes will open their doors and invite the community in to share decorating styles and tips, and provide inspiration for do-it-yourselfers. It seemed simple enough on the surface, no pun intended. A friend called me last weekend saying she was contemplating painting her front door a bright color. May 23My son came home from school the other day with an assignment to do as much of his family tree as he could. So we talked about my parents, and their parents, and about my great-grandmother who came to Denmark from Poland as a farm worker, many, many years ago. May 16I was casually channel surfing the other night when I came across a public television special on John Wayne and movie director John Ford. Grainy clips from "The Iron Horse" and "Stagecoach" flickered across the screen, along with amazing wide-shots from Utah's Monument Valley, stern-faced Indians and backlit cowboys on raring horses. May 9After raising seven children and spending the past 15 years paying for college tuition, Rick and Susan Hornor were ready for a change. A big change. Time flies when one is among friends, doesn't it? Here at Home we just can't quite believe it's been a year since we put out the first section. May 2My cherry tree is blooming and it's beautiful. Covered in a cloud of white flowers, hosting hundreds of pollen-drunk bees, it sits like a giant white sign screaming: Spring is here. April 25After a dark past, including a brush with the law, the 1970s rancher that sits hidden behind tall trees and shrubs just off Rockwood Boulevard in Spokane, was the perfect project for someone with an eye for possibility. Perhaps every gardener has a specific plant she just can't get to grow. I've already confessed my inadequacy at clematis care and just the other day I received a note from Home reader Julie Boyce that reminded me of another plant:I have killed lots and lots and lots of fuchsia. April 18Maybe you're getting ready to move or are cleaning up the inside of your home to put it on the market. Either way, you're discovering you've got lots of junk cluttering up your living space. When I came home Tuesday night, it looked like a polar bear had been shaving its armpits in my living room. What can best be described as tufts of long, woolly white hair was stuck to my mauve couch in random places. April 11Want to give your home a splash of color but afraid it will be too brash? An arsenal of domestic gadgets is being marketed to help ease your fears, whether your problem is part of the microbe industrial complex – or another household safety issue. April 4Like a lot of cottage industry entrepreneurs, Sandy Tarbox describes the birth of her business as a "hobby gone mad." As creator of Greencastle Soaps, Tarbox didn't set out to be a soap maker. Local Antiques Roadshow fans can catch the broadcast of the 2005 Seattle road show on KSPS, Channel 7, May 1. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality in your home can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Ironically, this condition is due in part to the significant advancements that have been made in attempts to improve home comfort, lower utility bills and reduce energy consumption. I'm in pain. I am in so much pain. It is the type of pain that wakes you up at night and doesn't respond really well to either painkillers or Scotch or oatmeal wraps. You can bet your bottom dollar that somewhere on this planet, at this very second, a frustrated female is asking, "Does my butt look big?" March 28I was having coffee with a couple of my best friends last week. We used to work together, but then life happened, and now one of us is in grad school in Seattle, the other is running her own successful business and then there's me. The tallest peak Pat Munts wrote in last week's issue about how she waits for the snow on Mica Peak to vanish before she plants anything in her yard. March 21Buying a home is scary business. It can be overwhelming. There are long term consequences and big numbers to crunch, but the desire to own a home is deeply rooted in most of us. We heard from assistant principal Theresa Meyer at Lewis and Clark high school after we ran a story on a map Cheryl-Anne Millsap owns and suspects comes from the school. So I just turned 40. To some of you I know that's not a lot, but it's as old as I've ever been. The idea for this column came to me in the middle of the Oscars, perhaps because my brother in California called in a fit of homesickness. March 14One reader wrote to tell us that wind chimes are excellent no-kill pest controls. The chiming keeps raccoons and skunks off his property, he says, as these critters are much more sensitive to rattling and noise than humans are. I have a secret stash. It's a pile of high quality, excellently photographed, beautifully designed magazines, that I cherish mostly when no on else is around. Recently we wrote about how to use citrus fruit for various cleaning tasks around the home. It was a fun article that was a compilation of tips we had discovered or conceived ourselves over the last 20 years. March 7Everybody complains about Mondays. After a weekend of relative freedom from the workplace, and time for a little fun with friends, who wants to settle back into the daily grind? Chances are, someone you know has been taken to the cleaners. Though you may do fine when you trust your wardrobe to a dry cleaner, sometimes things do go wrong. After working on my big old scary house for more than a year, another horrid truth about home improvement is beginning to dawn on me: The really important home improvements are expensive yet not sexy at all. February 28If losing weight were easy, hucksters wouldn't be making millions of dollars selling diet products. We're not trying to sell you a diet book, but we do have some ideas that might help you lose weight. The wind has been blowing in Spokane lately. One of many weather phenomena in this part of the country that continues to baffle me is the lack of wind. February 21New flooring can be an excellent means of giving your kitchen a new look. The choices for kitchen flooring are almost endless, depending on what best suits your sense of style and your pocketbook. I didn't appreciate the force by which winter came back last week, but the one member of the Hansen household who's truly upset about the dipping temperatures is the cat. Years of use and moving-van trips can make a nightstand look road-weary. We gave this one a lift by decoupaging it with maps scored for $25 at a flea market (you could also use those old ones in your car). Whether you're a veteran penny pincher or an accomplished shopaholic, managing money is tough. Don't worry, though. Our expert advice provides a wealth of ideas on improving your finances. February 14An increasing number of homeowners are opting for whirlpools, and many find the swirl of options and features a bit overwhelming, says Jeff Cannata, a Certified Master Bath Designer and the past president of the National Kitchen | 