Home & Garden - Spring 2012

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Stylist Janette Ewen helps clients show off their souls

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SPring 2012 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier �

Lori Abittan Publisher

Joe Mastrogiacomo Vice President of finance

Doreen Iannuzzi Vice President of new Media

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INSIDE4• FRANIKE SAYS RELAX: Gardening expert shares five sure-fire tips for bountiful summer blooms.

6• GARDENING ON HIGH: Even without a yard you can still grow almost anything.

14• PLANT PICKS: Lorraine Flanigan gives you the lowdown on this season’s must haves.

20• MAKING PASSION POP: Interior stylist helps her clients design their space with what makes them happy.

22• DIY DON’TS: Home repairs and renovations that you might want to leave to the experts.

26• CRAZY DECOR: Singer’s history and travels form the basis of her home’s look.

francis crescia/town crier

Janette Ewen relaxes at home.

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1) Pick the right plant for the right placeTake into consideration the plant’s light

requirements, if you have adequate shade, space and how much maintenance it requires.

“If you’re a busy person, you’re looking for plants that are fairly low maintenance,” said Ferragine.

If that’s what you’re looking for, he recom-

mends considering the purple coneflower.“It’s a drought-tolerant, disease-resistant,

light summer-blooming perennial plant that performs year after year,” Ferragine said. “So

By OMAR MOSLEh

Citytv’s gardening expert Frank Ferragine, aka Frankie Flowers, says the recent whacky winter may make for an even whackier spring.

While people generally associate warm, sunny weather with the resurgence of gardening, Ferragine explains the mild winter can actually have a negative effect on spring gardening.

“Because we didn’t have a lot of cold temperatures, a lot of insects and disease will have over-wintered with ease,” said Ferragine. “So we could have greater insect populations and disease prob-lems.”

That makes it more important than ever to heed good gardening techniques and to be extra vigilant in spotting potential pests.

To help ensure your gardening efforts will be fruitful this season, Ferragine has put together five simple tips that will have your yard blooming in all the right places.

Photo courtesy shannon J. ross

PERFECT PLANTING: Frank Ferragine, a.k.a Frankie Flowers, serves up some surefire ways to ensure a healthy garden.

•

Frankie flowers your garden

TV gardening expert offers five helpful hints


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you don’t really need to give it a lot of water.”He also suggested checking out Dragon

Wing Begonias, which are good for pots and only need occasional watering and fertilizing. 2) Take time to smell the roses — literally.

One of the most effec-tive means of main-

taining a healthy garden is being proactive, says Ferragine.

“Go out and look at your garden, and if

there’s a disease or something

that shows up, you should get on top of

it right away,” he said. Any unusual looking foliage or an abun-

dance of insects is a warning sign.“The quickest thing you can do if you see

insects on your plants outdoors, just blast them with water and that will get them off right away,” Ferragine said. “Or you can use insec-ticidal soap.”

�) Don’t foil the soil“A happy bottom will give you a great top,

and that means if the roots are happy you’re going to have a great plant,” said Ferragine.

He says it’s important to choose the right soil for the right application, even if it’s a little more expensive.

“That $1.99 bag of soil is usually a garden soil or black soil that’s meant for the garden,” Ferragine said. “If you were to use that in a pot, for container gardening, it’s too heavy and basically your plants will die.”

One should also be aware of how much filler is in the soil and look out for “root rot”, which is when roots sit in water too long and drown.

“I always compare it to if you sat in a tub for 24 hours, how would you feel?”

�) Water in the morningFerragine points out that due to work sched-

ules, many forget to water in the morning and end up doing so in the evening.

“The problem with watering your plants at night, is that they’ll sit wet through the evening and with that you’ll build insect populations,” he said. “Insects love a wet garden.”

The best method is a heavy water followed by several days of leaving it alone.

“You want to water deeply and infrequent-ly,” Ferragine said. “And that means be a soaker.”

And you don’t need to wait for the warm and sunny days to trek out to the yard.

“Everybody usually wants to garden on the sunniest day,” Ferragine said. “But actually the

best day to garden is when it’s overcast and forecasted to rain at night.”

�) Don’t prune too soon“A lot of people prune plants at the wrong

time,” Ferragine said. “If I were to prune a lilac right now, I’d

have no lilac blooms.”A general rule of thumb is to prune a plant

after it flowers.Ferragine, who is also the weather spe-

cialist for Breakfast Television, said it could be particularly important to water plants this season.

“It looks like this season is supposed to be warmer and dryer then normal,” he said. “And for plants a hot, dry, windy day is really stressful on them.”

Gardeners can also anticipate a

“whacky” year due to plants being out of their normal growth cycles.

“When you think about

March with tem-peratures of 26

degrees in Toronto, this is going to be a year where everything just isn’t going to be normal.”

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“You don’t

really need to

give it a lot of water.”

“A hot,

dry, windy day

is really stressful

on plants.”


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LIVING THE HIGH LIFE: North York resident Vlad Dunaevsky shows off his lustrious balcony garden, which is ripe with greens and tomatoes.

The how-to when you’re up highBy KAROLyn COORSh

abalcony is sort of like a stationary exercise bike — more often than not it ends up as a place to hang-dry wet clothes.

If you’re lacking personal green space, consider tossing those clothes in the dryer, as the balcony can be a great place to grow a garden (the stationary bike, not so much).

Whether you live in a house or highrise, balcony gardening is a great alternative for city dwellers lacking green space.

While banana trees may be out of the question, virtually anything that grows in a typical garden can be placed in soil containers on a balcony.

“There’s a lot of reasons people are wanting green things in their midst,” says Fern Mosoff, web coordinator of Toronto Balconies Bloom, an online resource for balcony gardeners.

“Some people are interested in growing rare trees and flowers and the challenge of growing something in a space that wouldn’t normally be that compatible to that plant.”

Whatever your reasons for wanting a balcony garden, here are a few things to consider when getting started:

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LIVING THE HIGH LIFE: North York resident Vlad Dunaevsky shows off his lustrious balcony garden, which is ripe with greens and tomatoes.

The how-to when you’re up highor balconies, which means you must plan the space accordingly, says Hank Dejong, assistant manager at Sheridan Nurseries in midtown Toronto.

A common rookie mistake for newby balcony gardeners is to go whole hog.

“The first year they want to try and do it all,” he says. “They don’t real-ize the amount of space that is needed to grow everything that they want to grow.”

Do your research ahead of time. If planting an evergreen, shrub or other perennial, consider how much space it will permanently consume.

“Get a couple empty pots and measure it out so you know what it’s going to look like, and realize how much space can be taken up by all this,” Dejong says.

He says it’s wise to put the taller plants in the middle of the soil container with the smaller items surrounding it so everything receives light.

“If you have a couple tomato plants growing in there, on the edge still in the same pot, you can try and grow lettuce, other vegetables too that are much shorter,” Dejong says.

It’s important to research city safety bylaws as well, including railing height restrictions. Some apartments and condos frown upon balcony gar-dens because containers can inadvertently shorten the height of the railing and provide a climbing danger for children. According to the Toronto Bal-conies Bloom website, pots and benches should be one metre back from the

Continued on Page 8


edge, and window boxes and pots should be hung inside the railing.

To ensure your garden doesn’t pose a risk to you or your neighbours, check with your building superinten-dent or condo board for restrictions you may be subject to with regards to that particular property.

ContainersDejong says the most ideal con-

tainers and pots are made of good quality resin or fibre stone, which are sturdy and can withstand winter conditions. She tells balcony garden-ers to avoid ceramic clay pots or thin plastic pots as they tend to crack in cold weather conditions.

There is one rule-of-thumb mea-surement to note: An evergreen or shrub must be in a pot with a mini-mum diameter of 45 centimetres for it to survive throughout winter.

“And it should be insulated, that way its roots will survive in there,” Dejong said.

There’s opportunity to be cre-ative with containers. When Lor-raine Johnson wanted to plant some radishes in her first Toronto apart-ment, she went to a hardware store

and picked up a cat litter box. “You can use anything as a pot

— I’ve grown them in old olive oil containers, those are beautiful,” says Johnson who devotes several pages to the subject in her book, City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing.

Regardless of the container, it must have sufficient drainage. If you’re in an apartment or condo, Dejong recommends speaking with neighbours before planting so they are aware of the potential for some water run-off.

Soil/MaintenanceFor soil containers, Toronto Bal-

conies Bloom’s website recommends using a mix made of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite — they are light in weight, retain water but also provide drainage and aeration. For added nutrients, use a good general liquid fertilizer.

In terms of watering, keep a close eye on the plants throughout the year. Dejong points to the recent mild winter as reason to keep con-stant watch.

“We have not had rain. We had Photo courtesy lorraine Johnson

PLANT IT WHERE? Lorraine Johnson has literally writen the book on urban food growth, and says you can use anything as a pot — even cat litter boxes and old olive oil containers.

BE CLEVER on Page 10

Cont. from Page 7


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1) Does your contractor have adequate insurance that you can verify?

Greg Walker explains, “The homeowner is financially responsible for property damage and injury to any one working on their home.” Reputable contractors carry two types of insurance, worker’s compensation and liability insurance ($5 million is recommended). All roofers claim to have coverage, but roofing insur-ance is very expensive and some contractors let their policies lapse. Therefore, it is important to verify policies have adequate coverage and are up to date.

2) Should the entire buying party be present when prospective contractors explain your proposal?

Unrealized expectations are one of the main reasons for customer complaints. Therefore it is extremely important that everyone involved in the decision be present when the contractor explains the proposal. Also, a detailed contract will outline all work agreed upon, including any unforeseen or extra charges. Meet-ing the expectations of the entire buying party generally result in a successful home improvement.

3) What licenses and certifications does your contractor need to operate?

Government organizations issue licenses to roofers, but minimal training is pro-vided at this level. Manufacturers provide roofing contractors with important technical training needed to install their products. Products not installed to man-ufacturer’s specifications will void the warranty. Before hiring a roofing con-tractor ask to see employee training certificates and credentials.

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no snow,” he said. “With those con-ditions, plants are trying to grow … they needed water in February.”

North York balcony gardener Vlad Dunaevsky says he’s diligent about watering, which can some-times take up to two hours in the summer months.

The elementsAs with any garden, you must

first be aware of the intended loca-tion and its orientation to the sun, says Dejong. The most ideal sun locations are oriented to the south and west.

Northern-facing balconies tend to have limited sun, but there are

plants, like vegetables and lettuces, that can grow in shade. If you’re intent on growing florals on a shady balcony, Toronto Balconies Bloom suggests considering annuals like Impatiens, Swedish Ivy, Fuchsias or perennials like Ferns, Hostas, Lady’s Mantle or Primroses.

Also, be mindful of how high up you are. Balconies below the fourth or fifth floor of a multi-residential could be shaded by blooming trees, and subsequently blocked from direct sunlight during the sunny sea-sons. Mosoff says wind is a deterrent for some highrise dwellers. There’s no tried and tested method to shield your garden from wind, but what-ever is used to protect the plants

Be clever with spaceCont. from Page 8

spring

By TRISTAn CARTER

spring is the season to get out and garden.

Now, before moaning about how much work it can be to tend to your backyard plot, imagine hav-ing to take care of every park in the city.

Each spring all of Toronto’s 1,500 parks have to be groomed and made ready for the growing season.

City horticulture supervisor for Wards 20 and 27, Michelle Reid said caring for the city’s parks and gardens is much like caring for the

lawn and flower beds at your home, only on a much larger scale.

“It’s really not all that much different,” Reid said. “I think the only difference is, it being a public space, we’re maybe encountering things you wouldn’t encounter in your own space.

“We see a lot of dog feces,” she added. “Depending on where we are in the downtown core we might see other kinds of unwanted mate-rial that has to be cleaned up so there’s always a health and safety issue with cleaning a park.

tristan carter/town crier

SPRUCING UP THE PLACE: Margaret Best, front, and Barbara Gordon tend to Pricefield Park near Summerhill subway station.

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SPring 2012 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier 11

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should be fastened securely, says Dejong. Pots below the railing don’t tend to get moved about by wind, he says, but you can add gravel to bottom of pots prior to planting to weigh them down.

Alternative spaceIf you’re tight on space, you need

not stop at the balcony — some avid gardeners use whatever space they can find. Johnson says she impro-vises according to her living space.

“In any apartment I lived in in Toronto that had a balcony or access to a roof or a fire escape, I always grew basil in pots because I would make a ton of pesto and put it in the freezer. I’ve always done that.”

Today, Johnson doesn’t have a balcony at her downtown Toronto detached house, but she uses a vari-ety of space, including a typical backyard garden, pots, and raised beds to grow herbs, lettuces, leeks, garlic, spinach and chard.

Johnson says all things being equal, growing in the ground is gen-erally a better practice. However, she says there are all kinds of cir-cumstances in which growing in pots is optimal. It can act as a deter-rent for cats that are prone to wander through garden beds, and pots essen-tially make your plants portable — if the conditions are less than ideal on one part of the property, the pot can be moved.

Be clever with space

“Other than that, it’s pretty much the same things that you would do as a homeowner.”

After clearing away any litter and debris, staff rake the beds and prune the plants. However, this takes more than Reid’s two green thumbs.

While she has four permanent staff members during the winter, Reid’s team grows to 38 gardeners at the beginning of April.

Larry Epp, the lead hand of Reid’s gardeners, has been working seasonally for the city for six years is happy spring is upon us.

“It’s been a long winter and as gardeners we just enjoy the idea of getting out there and getting busy again and watching things grow,” he said while raking leaves at Price-field Park. “It’s quite enjoyable this time of year.”

From April until about the third week of May, the crews will be per-forming the initial clean up, which is then followed by planting.

“Beginning in June we’ll start planting our annuals,” Reid said. “Those are selected two years in advance and they’re grown by our greenhouses out in High Park and Centennial.”

Reid said she has selected a pink and red theme for her wards this year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of 1812. She said park-goers can also expect to see a lot of orange and purple flowers this summer.

Preparing all of the parks cannot be done all at once. Reid said she must plan what parks to send her crews to first.

“We prioritize based on the loca-tion of the park,” she said. “What we consider an extremely high pro-file park is usually done first in the spring and then we do our moderate or our destination parks and then we get to our small parkettes.”

Though spring teased the city with a week’s worth of warm weather at the end of March, Reid urged home gardeners not to rush to the nurseries until spring has settled in completely. She also urged park-goers to have patience as her gar-deners work their way through the multitude of green spaces.

“It does take a little while to work through all the parks and get them all cleaned up,” she said. “But everybody’s out there working as diligently as they can to catch up with mother nature.”

cleaning

12 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier SPring 2012

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Take it from the pro

HGTV host talks tips and techniquesBy Ann RuppEnSTEIn

if the grass is greener on the other side, Denis Flanagan believes you may be cutting your lawn too short.

“If you cut Canadian species of grass shorter than (six cen-timetres) you actually destroy the grass,” he says. “What you do is you let the grass grow to (nine centimetres), then you cut it down to (six centimetres) and you will constantly have a much thicker lawn by doing that.”

Although the HGTV person-ality jokes that neighbours may think you’ve gone crazy, his advice is to lay on your grass with a measuring tape to make sure it is at an optimal length.

With over 30 years of expe-rience in the field, Flanagan, who is also known for his sense of humour during speaking engagements across the coun-try, shared some of his garden-ing and planting tips at the Celebrity Garden Theatre dur-

ing the 20th Successful Garden-ing Show in April.

Flanagan, who is working on a book entitled Tales of a Transplant, says people should make a plan before they tackle any outdoor projects, whether it’s a vegetable or a perennial garden.

“Do a little sketch of what you think you want to do,” he says. “And the reason I’m tell-ing you to do that is we’re all like kids in a candy store when we go to a garden centre … then you take it home and you wonder where you should put it all. So reverse that process and you’ll save yourself a whole lot of money.”

When it comes to planting trees, he says to think of your home’s entrance like a subject in a photograph and that the trees should frame the doorway instead of blocking it.

“If you’ve got a picture of someone, you wouldn’t put a

SPring 2012 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier 1�

Photo courtesy denis flanaGan

picture frame down the middle of the photograph,” he says. “Why would you hide the person in the picture?”

Although many seek gardens that require minimal upkeep, Fla-nagan says people often make the mistake of buying alpine plants and then putting them in soil, which will kill the plant life in a matter of days.

He says alpine plants, which should be planted on slopes, strive in a mixture of gravel, peat moss and pine needles, without any soil.

“Alpine plants die if you water them too much so they just rely on heavy rain,” he says. “Just think of the Alps, that’s where the name comes from and if you think of those conditions, those are the kinds of conditions they like to grow in.”

For design ideas, he says to think of your backyard like the interior of your house and cre-ate different zones, which, like the rooms in your house, can be divided by doors or archways. He says this will not only make the design more interesting, but it also divides the garden and makes it more manageable so

you don’t have to work on it all at once.

Before digging a hole for a permanent lawn fixture like a fountain or a birdbath, Flanagan says to make sure you take a look at it from inside your house as he’s heard many horror stories of people who found out after the fact they couldn’t actually see the creation from any windows.

The secret to natural gardens and waterfalls, he says, is to make them look like nature.

“It shouldn’t actually look like anyone built them,” he says. “It should look like nature actually came to your garden and created them.”

To ensure this, he says to make sure you get a big enough pump to get the amount of water flow you need and use the same kind of rocks around the waterfall.

The theory can also be applied to rock gardens, which should be placed in such a way that all the grain runs in the same direction.

“Always put plants together, group them in groups of at least five or seven, as opposed to one here and one there,” he says, add-ing it has a better impact. “That tends to work very well.”

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oh, those busy plant breeders. They’ve been at it again, tweaking old favourites for better colour, improved disease-resistance, longer bloom periods and heavenly fragrance. With so many new plants beckoning from the shelves of nurseries and garden centres this season, what’s a space-stressed city gar-dener to do? Be brutal, that’s what.

There was a time when I would coax and cajole a sulky plant, patient-ly waiting three seasons to see if it would transform into a gorgeous specimen. But with all the tan-talizing new plants now on offer, I can’t wait years for these late bloomers to strut their stuff. So, out they go in favour of some of the newest plants that catch my eye. Here are some of the season’s most intrigu-ing.

AnnualsI’m always a sucker for

coleus (botanically speaking, they’re Solenostemon). Tradition-ally a shade-loving annual, many of the newer varieties thrive in full sun, too, making these fancy foliage plants very versatile. Last summer at the plant trials at Guelph University, I was smitten by a new one called ‘Wasabi’ with bright citron-green serrated leaves — and it lost no allure when I spotted it again at GardenMaking maga-zine’s booth at Canada Blooms. It’s simply

irresistible and will be a staple of many of my container plantings this season.

It’s hard not to love a plant called ‘Burgundy Bunny’. This miniature foun-tain grass (Pennistum- a l o -

pecuroides) would make a charming con-tainer planting all by itself. The fluffy flower plumes rise only 30 to 40 centemetres above foliage that turns burgundy in late summer and fall.

PerennialsYet to be discovered by many garden-ers, hellebores are one of my favou-

rite shade-loving spring perenni-als. Much breeding work has

been done of late, and these tough beauties are due to

explode on the market. In fact, there are so many new ones — like

doubles and picotees, and speckled, spotted and painted — I can’t

list them all here. But watch for the Winter Thriller series (‘Green Gambler’ especially

caught my eye) as well as the Cherry Blossom

series with their anemone centres. One of the most surprising

of the new plants I tried in my garden last summer were two new

red-hot pokers (Kniphofia) from the Pop-sicle Series sent as samples from grower, Terra Nova Nurseries. For the longest time, I wasn’t sure where to place them in my gar-den, so they sat in their pots, and that must have made them antsy, because before I knew

Some seasonal favourites for the space-strapped and impatientBy LORRAInE FLAnIGAn

Photo courtesy chris hansen

HELLEBORES seen here are part of the Winter Thriller series. Our columnist sug-gests watching for ‘Green Gambler.’

so many choices

SPring 2012 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier 1�

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it they were blooming away right inside their pots. Compact, dwarf varieties, P o p s i c l e red-hot pok-ers will bloom for as long as they h a v e h e a t a n d l o t s o f light. I loved m y

‘Mango P o p - sicle’ and ‘P ineap- ple Popsi-cle’ blooms, and now that I’ve rescued them from their pots, I can’t wait to see them growing in the garden this season.

Shrubs There have been so many terrific new

hydrangeas released in the last few years that my eyes tend to glaze over when I see yet another one. But the starry white flowers of Great Star Hydrangea (Hydrangea panic-ulata ‘Le Vasteri-val’) got my atten-tion. Blooming from mid-summer to frost (gotta love that long bloom period) this easy-care shrub shines in sun or part shade.

Tchotchkes etc.You might

have seen his terra cotta pots in the pages of Martha Stew-

art Living and lusted after Guy Wolff’s arti-sanal pots in vain. Now, thanks to Loblaw, these collectibles are now available close to home, and I’m stocking up before they’re sold out.

While volunteering at Canada Blooms, I reconnected with Lianne Krane of the Milton & District Horticultural Society. Her bubbly and infectious enthusiasm about Insect Defend, a vitamin B1 anti-mosquito patch marketed by her hubby, James, seemed like the answer to my own hus-b a n d ’ s m o s -q u i t o m a g -n e t i s m . Developed at the Uni-

versity of Guelph, Insect Defend is absorbed into the skin, making it distasteful to flying insects for up to 36 hours. Hmm, this would be a great way to extend my gardening hours into dusk without those pesky mosquitos get-ting in the way.

Trying to shoehorn new plants into her garden, Lorraine Flanigan writes from her home in the South Eglinton neighbourhood of Toronto.

Photo courtesy loblaw coMPanies

ARTISANAL POTS designed by Guy Wolff.

“i can’t wait

years for the

late bloomers

to strut their

stuff.”

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Designer explains the intricacies of garden decorBy Ann Ruppenstein

All in the details

ver the last 20 years, horticultural designer Michael Renaud has spe-cialized in garden detailing with statues, lighting fixtures, furnish-ings, planters and fountains.

Nowadays he says most of the clients he sees have one thing in mind: creating a beautiful space that is also low maintenance.

“They just want it to live on its own with a little bit of water and a little bit of care,” he says. “Nobody wants to spend hours and hours maintaining their gar-dens.”

Even in his own yard at his Georgian Bay cottage, he makes use of seasonal planters with suc-culents and perennials like thyme, sedums and hen and chicks.

“I’ve got pots up north that are seven years old now and the majority of the plant material in them comes back every year and gets better and better,” he says.

Every year he says he simply adds new plants like portulacas, also known as moss rose, to the mix to inject some extra colour.

“The beauty of that is I’m not up there all through the week so they can survive without water and I’ve used that technique in a lot of homes where people

don’t want high maintenance,” he says, adding he puts burlap over the planters during the winter to protect them from the harsh ele-

ments. His cottage is also

home to a large grass garden he installed with different lengths of grass, which increases in height from one to three meters.

“What I designed it for is when the wind

comes off the water, it will ripple like the waves

and it has a wonderful sound to it,” he says. “It is very soothing so I’ve done these three layers

right at the water. Behind that I’ve started a vegetable garden so I’m growing vegetables for the cottage and I’m really getting a big kick out of that.”

This spring, when it comes to colours for flowers, the owner of Horticultural Design Inc. says lime green, which he calls a base colour since it matches with prac-tically everything, has become increasingly popular.

“When you inject that green into let’s say oranges, it’s such a powerful almost fluorescent pal-ette and then when you mix it in with blues and purples, it’s more of a cooling, soft, pleasing colour palette,” he says.

Renaud, who teaches work-

“When the

wind comes off the

water, the grass

will ripple like

the waves.”

Spring 2012 HOME AND GARDEN Town Crier 17

PHOTO COURTESY miCHaEl REnaUd

TWO GREEN THUMBS UP: Garden detailing specialist Michael Renaud often uses pieces like statues, lighting fixtures, furnishings, planters and fountains to increase the aesthetic value of the garden.

shops on how to make planters at the Gardiner Museum, says turquoise, shades of blue, pottery and ecofriendly plant materials that don’t require a lot of water-ing are also trending.

“Instead of a busy perennial garden with a collection of 20 dif-ferent perennials in a small space, now maybe you’ll chose three but do them in big blocks and create patterns and shapes with the plant material,” he says. “It’s almost simplifying the design.”

If people can afford the space, his advice is to use a larger base container for a bigger impact.

“You can get more plant mate-rial in it to create a more pleasing look and things won’t dry out as quickly,” he says.

When designing gardens for his clients he says he considers what they want from the space and tries to blend their personal style with their needs. He viv-idly recalls designing an outdoor room for a client who wanted to make use of her backyard to extend her living space.

“There was really nowhere

AntiquesHandcrafted

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For over two decades, Alf’s Antiques and Handcrafted Furniture, a family busi-ness has been known in Toronto for its beautiful furniture. The store’s selection of antique furniture, i.e. hutches and side-boards from Europe, the United Kingdom and Canada, and its Ontario handcrafted furniture, provides an eclectic approach to any home décor. One of the most popu-lar items over the years is their hand made Harvest Table with reclaimed woods, it’s one of Alfred’s specialties. The Harvest Table is once again trendy as baby boom-ers and young people alike look to deco-rate their homes or condominiums with an artistic touch, or businesses make a state-ment by selecting a Harvest Table for their boardroom. “ The table is a special place where your loved ones gather,” explains wife Michelle, who designs furniture and has managed the store since it rst opened in 1989. “ The table is the soul of your home.” The tables that Alfred builds are handcrafted from reclaimed or “vintage wood” that has been removed from older homes, such as oor boards, joists, etc. It’s all part of Alfred’s passion for saving trees in order to contribute to the environment. Building furniture from reclaimed wood also means that each piece is unique, with its own colour, patina and character.

Michelle adds that the home is also “where heart and art meet”, emphasizing the importance of picking the right piece of furniture because a beautiful table, side-

board, etc. is the same as a piece of beau-tiful art. “Use antiques as an accent in any room,” she recommends, “ The new approach to decorating is don’t clutter and don’t try to match everything togeth-er.” An original piece of furniture should stand out on its own. When you visit the store, bring in photographs of your space and measurements, Michelle can assist in choosing the right pieces to t your space and décor. Once you’ve picked out a table, you can also nd the perfect chairs and have them custom stained to match.

There are many styles of chairs available, all made with a well-designed frame and hardwood, two keys to a strong and lasting chair. All the furniture from reclaimed wood stand up to the dry heat of central heated rooms – an art that took Alfred several years to perfect. Consign-ment pieces are also welcome but bring in a photo first and talk with Michelle. is could be the perfect solution to an antique piece of furniture that doesn’t fit your space any longer. Last year, Alf’s Antiques relocated from King Street East to a bright, sunny 5,000 sqf. showroom at 29 Bermondsey Road where there is more space and lots of free parking.

Alf’s Antiques & Handcrafted Fur-niture • 29 Bermondsey Rd. • 416-690-5505 • alfsantiques.com

Reprinted with permission from Beaches|Life magazine April/May, 2012

An Eclectic Approach to Home DécorBACK on Page 19


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fort and beauty is key for patio and outdoor furniture, he says the cushions need to have either a cover to keep them protected or people need a way of storing them nearby so they don’t get wet.

“We’ve designed watertight

cabinets that fit the cushions and boxes that can also be used as coffee tables,” he says. “You open the lid, put all your cushions in, then shut it and you can also use it as a surface for serving.”

Reflecting back on the last two decades, Renaud says his designs

have almost gone full circle. “When we opened we were

very rustic. I was doing twig furniture and we were selling that kind of thing and then we went a little more high end and now I’m going back into that rustic feel again.”

to sit and she hated looking out at that garage so we designed it so that there’s a pavilion,” he says, adding he had a limited amount of room to work with. “Her garage, we mirrored … and framed in and inside the pavilion when you’re in there it’s like a room and it’s very comfortable and they can be out there in the rain.”

Another backyard space he redid was for someone who relo-cated from Toronto to Virginia who wanted a new garden for the large backyard.

“We put an outdoor living space for them with a fireplace, built in barbecue and a seat-ing area and it’s all walled in the brick,” he says. “We took the façade of the back porch and made the fireplace mimic the same detail so it looks like it’s been there forever and that’s what we were trying to achieve.”

He says they also moved the pavilion, which already existed on the property next to a ravine and also added a formal fountain on the spot.

Although he believes com-

Cont. from Page 17

ann RUPPEnSTEin/TOwn CRiER

GARDEN MEMORIES: Seen here inside his Bayview Avenue store, Michael Renaud says his business has nearly gone full circle in terms of decor styles from when he first started it up 20 years ago.

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Stylist explains how beauty can be more than decor-deep

By Ann Ruppenstein

I

Going inside

out

nterior stylist Janette Ewen loves showcasing people’s passions throughout their homes, whether it’s a musi-cal piece, an era, a garment or a scene from the great outdoors.

“It’s not about beige. It’s not about looking like the home that you might see in a magazine,” she says. “It’s about a home that reflects your soul and your passion.”

Ewen, a regular guest on TV shows like CityLine and Breakfast Television and recent co-host of Inside the Box with Ty Pennington, became a décor and lifestyle expert doing public relations for a high-end design firm, working at Chatelaine, House and Home and Chocolat magazines, styling interiors for photo shoots and taking on private clients before branching out on her own.

“So for fashion, if something visually appeals to me, I break it down,” she says. “Like if there’s a beautiful Dior dress from say 1948, I’ll look at the fabric that’s used, the volume in it, the shape, like there’s triangles, there’s pleating — how can I incorporate that into the home? And with colours and textures and layering and sort of the overall feeling it gives.”

Although outdoor rooms — where people extend their living space by arranging fur-niture and adding rugs to their backyards — have become increasingly common in the past decade, she says it is now going to the next level.

“We’re seeing green walls with mir-rors hanging on them, there are companies that are pro-ducing outdoor art, so art is hanging on the walls outside like paintings,” she says. “People are getting more innate with their exteriors and hanging chandeliers from a tree and it’s kind of a romantic feel to it.”

Another emerging trend for outdoor spaces, she says, is an eclectic world travelled look, which includes fabrics with aboriginal and tribal prints, natural colour tones in deep reds and greens and an assortment of sculptures.

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using throw blankets and pillows, especially over neutral furniture.

“You can get a big beauti-ful basket and have a bunch of these blankets mixed together,” she says. “All those patterns work together and it’s great. When your guests come over, they’re always warm.”

As for interiors, Ewen makes it a point to switch up her home twice a year, once for spring/sum-mer for a breezy and fresh feeling and again for fall/winter to make it cozier. Although it’s too pricey for people to switch out their fur-niture, she says it’s more realistic to use area rugs, which can easily be stored when they’re not in use. Another fast way to freshen up a home this season is by using bright colours and lighter fabrics instead of thick or velvety mate-rials, which are better for colder months.

“Artwork is a great one to switch out and relatively inexpen-sive,” she says. “You can do great photo prints for the summer like citrus fruit or something fun and then in the winter bring in some-thing a little more seasonal.”

For those with a do-it-yourself spirit, she says some manage-able projects to tackle include decorating candles with seashells and sticking to a colour theme for mantle pieces from decorative items to fresh flowers.

“It’s really about the acces-sories,” she adds.

Even though many neglect spring cleaning, she counts it as an essential step and considers it fun.

“It’s amazing how much great-er your stuff looks once you get it clean and organized,” she says. “And I think that’s something that people overlook like they

tend to just add on top instead of just cleaning up and taking away.”

To make it more enticing, she suggests getting new organiza-tion and storage boxes in bright colours and using a steam cleaner to make a noticeable difference. As a reward, when people finish cleaning, she says they can then buy some new spring décor.

“You’ll find out what you really need and what you don’t and you’ll discover things and you’ll start moving things around and that can really freshen up a home without having to spend any money,” she says.

The co-host of Vaughan Mills-based web series Style Agents says people can find amazing things if they’re not afraid to

search out antiques and second hand items. Rather than following others, Ewen says she tends to make up her own trends based on her personal experiences.

“I always say: stay interested and you’ll be interesting,” she says. “I just started riding horses, like I’m learning how to rope, so definitely some of my décor is having a bit of a cowboy influ-ence to it.”

Splitting her time between Toronto and Santa Monica, Ewen says one of her favourite house-hold items in her Canadian home is a recently acquired bust of Plato, which she calls Zeus.

In between working for her clients and taping TV shows, she says she tries to spend at least one day a week frequenting design

stores and antique markets and going for hikes and horse rides to spark her imagination.

“I never really turn off,” she says. “I just keep going and going. I’m always looking for things. I feel like my work and my private life, it’s just all one continuum.”

Regardless of where people find inspiration, Ewen believes in having a personal style and looking to things like classics for ideas.

“I just imagine like The Great Gatsby and their backyards and their cocktail parties and what would come from that,” she says. “Think about what appeals to you and then sort of make it your own trend and have fun with it. You shouldn’t take your décor so seriously.”

fRanCiS CRESCia/TOwn CRiER

PERSONAL TOUCH: Interior stylist Janette Ewen says people should incorporate their interests into their decor.Is

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Uptown Landscaping

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Pro talks dos and don’tsBy shAwn stAR

DI- Why?

PHOTO COURTESY EmilY glaESER

ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING HONEY? Rather than hammer out the hot water tank problem, you might want to leave it to the pros and pick an easier project.

Now is the time homeowners start picking their reno-vation projects.

Your project may be as simple as a new coat of paint in the living room, but you may have bigger ideas. Whatever the plans, there is one thing that invariably crosses your mind: can I do it myself?

Mark Jackson, founder of Jackson & Associ-ates, says the key to doing it yourself is becoming a learned do-it-yourselfer.

“So, how do you do that?” the 45-year renova-tion veteran asked. “They run seminars at Rona and Home Depot for people that want to do their own projects and there are how-to books.”

In addition, he stressed the importance of do-it-yourselfers becoming educated on all aspects of a job, not just the how-to.

“Where some of them make the mistake is not SAFETY on Page 24

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being aware enough of what some of their responsibilities might be,” Jackson said. “In some cases, decks require building permits due to the nature of the size and how it relates to properties and proximity.”

When it comes to the projects themselves, a variety of issues can arise, he said, including taking out walls without knowing if they’re support walls, or digging into the ground without knowing if cables are buried there.

For these reasons, Jackson likes to try to work with the clients, often finding jobs they can do.

“In some cases, we’ve let them do the containment and the demoli-tion and I’ll pop by every couple of days to make sure they’re on track and to look for safety issues. Then they save some money by doing it themselves,” he said. “What we invariably do is go in and do the finishing. When we’re done that, they come back and do the painting

and decorating.” Jackson said his company often

shares work with clients to help defray the sticker shock that can come on a big job. With the HST, a job that costs $100,000 suddenly becomes $113,000.

Though he says the prospect of saving $13,000 by mak-ing a cash-only deal starts to look pretty good, Jackson’s advice is to stay away from it.

“Clients go after this cash cow, they think they’re saving money. And really what they’re doing is: if there’s a cash transaction, there is no transaction,” he said. “There’s no monitoring, there’s no HST, the government doesn’t get their part, and if the job goes into failure, the client has no recourse. Doing a cash transaction — it’s really just a dumb thing to do.”

It’s something to be wary of, Jackson warns, as he says he does up to four jobs a year where the previ-ous contractor was thrown off the job or ran out of funds. He says this happens so frequently because a lot of people in the construction indus-

try are only in it for themselves.“Most people in our industry don’t get

that we’re a service industry and that our jobs are to look after people,” said Jackson, who was involved in starting

the RenoMark Pro-gram, an industry-led

standard that outlines codes of ethics and excel-

lence for contractors and reno-vators.

So what does Jackson recom-mend in terms of actual projects you can do on your own?

“Painting and decorating for most families are usually pretty easy to do.

Minor plastering repairs, sure I can see somebody doing that because it’s not terribly complicated,” he said.

“But when you start getting into plumbing and electrical, I think you have to be careful. I think you really need licensed people in to do those things. And the same when you’re doing fairly major framing.”

Jackson also says jobs requiring ladders, like roofing, should be left to professionals, but he’s seen hom-eowners do other semi-complicated projects, like tiling, carpentry and landscaping successfully on their own.

But again, he says, he can’t stress enough the importance of educat-ing yourself and ensuring your own safety.

“Safety is a serious issue,” said Jackson. “The homeowner doesn’t get a lot of times that they’ve got a real responsibility and due diligence to themselves to learn as much as they can about what their project means.”

“Doing a

cash transaction

— it’s really a

dumb thing

to do.”

Cont. from Page 22

Safety, education key for DIYers

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You’re walking on our reputation.walking

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North York Tile Contractors Ltd.330 Edgeley Blvd.Vaughan 905-660-7684416-663-5065www.northyorktile.cainfo@northyorktile.ca


PHOTO COURTESY lExi valEnTinE

HOME UNIQUE HOME: Lexi Valentine, singer of band Magneta Lane, likes to decorate her home with unique finds she collects while on the road.

TLexi Valentine uses antiques and knick knacks in her own decor

By Ann Ruppenstein

Odds and ends tie singer’s

home together

tic things she owns, she counts a Tiffany nun doll as her favourite, as she’s fascinated with nuns.

“I found this doll and I just thought it was so cute and original,” she says. “I was told I was crazy, but I bought it anyway.”

Valentine says her grandfather Jesús Flores Aguirre wrote poetry books in the 1940s and 1950s and was awarded a loose screw from a society of Latin American poets. The screw, which was given to respected poets with el alma de artista, meaning the soul of an artist, is now part of her own collection.

“This one was framed and signed by many awesome writers in Latin American history,” she says. “It’s really special to me because I feel in a way the reason why I love writing lyrics so much is because I got it from my grandfather.”

ravelling and touring has taken Magneta Lane singer Lexi Valentine as far as Japan, Spain and Mexico.

While on the road she seeks out antique markets and shops to find unique things to bring back to her Toronto home.

“One of my favourite parts of travelling is experiencing the culture and finding some of the craziest pieces,” she says. “The older the town, the better. You find the most amazing things.”

Valentine, who is drawn to Catholic art, Mexican and Spanish pieces, says she likes picking items with a backstory

or rich history.One of the strangest

things she owns is a neck-lace with graveyard dirt from Salem, Massachusetts, which she found in a para-normal museum.

“I got it because I’ve always been fascinated by the Salem witch trials,” she says. “When I found this, I had to get it.”

Being of Mexican descent, she says her fam-ily likes artisan items made in the country and has a ceramic chest her mother picked out while on a vaca-tion in Monterrey, Mexico.

“I absolutely love the colours and shape and it looks great on the coffee table,” she says.

Among the many eclec-


TOUGH HABIT TO BREAK: Calling it her favourite piece, Valentine found this Tiffany nun doll at an American antique market in Pennsylvania.


SCREW FAMILY: Valentine’s grandfa-ther was given this literary honour.


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Home & Garden - Spring 2012