WEDNESDAY, mArch 4, 2015 VILLAGEr pAGE 19

Home Improvement

By Dave Pa ge

This is the world’s most expensive bench,” said Tara Hennings, pointing to the 3-foot-long white bench in the

new mudroom of her and husband Dave’s Highland Park home. “This is the bench that started it all.”

The desire for somewhere to sit while tak-ing off shoes and boots led to the construction of a gourmet kitchen addition off the back of the couple’s home at 2149 Scheffer Ave., one of 62 residences that will be featured during the 27th annual Parade of Homes’ Spring Remodelers Showcase on March 27-29.

When the Henningses moved to the Twin Cities from Chicago, they wound up living in Eden Prairie close to their work. However, after visiting a friend who lived in Highland Park, they fell in love with the neighborhood. “We like that we can walk to everything,” Tara said.

When they were driving around Highland

looking at homes, Tara at first was not excited about the 1½-story Tudor on Scheffer with the “cute” brick front facade. “I thought it was too small,” she said, “but when we came in, we discovered how roomy it was.”

Part of the reason for the Tardis-like feel was due to previous owners having converted a deck off the side of the house into a sun-room, then added a new deck between the sunroom and kitchen.

The couple knew immediately after closing on the house in 2001 that they were going to create a master bedroom suite out of the emp-ty second floor. They were happy with the re-sult, but the two-year renovation took much longer than the contractor had led them to believe. “We always seemed to be low on their priority list,” Dave said.

Afterward, the only thing the couple dis-liked about the home was the back entrance, which they used all the time because their garage is located off the alley. When they and their daughter entered the house simultane-

ously, the tiny hallway became a tangle of coats, arms, legs and elbows.

It was even worse during the winter, since the entry immediately opened into either the basement or kitchen. “I had to have newspa-pers down all the time in the kitchen to collect the water,” Tara said.

Dave simply wanted a bench where they could sit to take off their shoes, but there was no room. When they had had enough of try-ing to figure out where to put coat hooks and wet boots, the Henningses decided to call in professional remodelers to get ideas.

One of the contractors was McDonald Remodeling. “Their website had photos of homes in Highland similar to ours,” Tara said, “so that gave me a good feeling.”

When several other contractors balked at building an addition and tried to convince the couple to stay within the home’s footprint, they chose McDonald. “We connected with Greg (Alsterlund, one of the owners),” Tara said. “He shared our vision.”

Alsterlund said his goal in working with the Henningses was to honor the style of the home, yet provide the couple with what they wanted. The final plans called for squaring off the house by building an addition where the deck had been relocated, creating a new kitchen in the added space, and converting the old kitchen into a larger back entry with a separate pantry.

Maple flooring in the old kitchen that clashed with the rest of the house was re-moved and new oak flooring was installed throughout the addition. Windows were added to let in more natural light, and white cabinets were chosen to provide more storage. The kitchen now has a 5-by-6-foot center is-land that features a Caesarstone quartz coun-tertop, and includes a lift for a heavy mixer on one end and a cabinet large enough for a step-ping stool on the other.

A farmer’s sink and white tile backsplash

McDonald Remodeling partner/designer Greg Alsterlund confers with project manager Chris Wylie in the kitchen addition they built for David and Tara Hennings. The Highland Park home is one of 62 that will be on the Parade of Homes’ Spring Remodelors Showcase on March 27-29. PHo To S by bRAD STAuffe R

The bench that started it all now sits in the new tiled mudroom of Dave and Tara Hennings’ Highland Park home.

A light bulb housed inside a popular pendant fixture at Creative Lighting. PHo To by bRAD STAuffe R

By Lar r y Engl und

Governmental efforts to reduce energy consumption are driving ever-emerging technologies in

the lighting industry. Standard incan-descent bulbs are being phased out of the market and being replaced by other lighting options that are quickly gain-ing adherents and influencing lighting design.

Consumers have more choices than ever when it comes to lighting, includ-ing three types of replacements for household bulbs: halogen lights, which last about three times longer and use 10 percent less energy than standard bulbs; compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which last up to 10 times longer and use about one-third of the energy; and light emitting diodes (LEDs), which last up to 25 times longer and use about one-fifth of the energy.

“CFLs save quite a bit of energy and

the color they emit has gotten better, but there is still the issue of how to dispose of them,” said Margaret McNeely, a buy-er for Muska Lighting in Summit Hill.

Michael Minsberg, president of Cre-ative Lighting in Merriam Park, con-curred. “The biggest problem with CFLs is that you have to recycle them,” he said. “If you break one you’re supposed to treat it like hazardous waste.”

While CFLs and LEDs give off about the same amount of light as incandes-cent bulbs, they give off less heat and use less energy. However, all that improved technology comes with a price.

“Household bulbs used to be about 30 cents, but halogen bulbs can be about a buck and a half,” Minsberg said. CFLs can cost as much as $9 and LEDs can run as much as $20

“But it’s well worth the investment,” McNeely said. “The bulbs are more, but you don’t have to get up on a ladder as often. LEDs are also great for older peo-

ple because they have good, bright light and are good for reading.”

Minsberg said LEDs offer other ad-vantages as well. “More and more people are interested in LED lighting because it gives a nice even light, it’s not hot and it conserves energy,” he said. “It’s very green and doesn’t have the downside of mercury that you find in CFLs. It lasts a long, long time, many times longer than household bulbs or halogen.”

Until recently, LEDs needed a piece of ceramic around the bottom of the bulb to serve as a heat sink, which limited its use for decorative applications. McNeely pointed to an LED bulb she had recently ordered.

“Just in the last month this came out,” she said. “It looks very much like a reg-ular candelabra bulb. It’s clear, candle shaped, with a filament that gives off a warm glow.”

For lack of a benchSeating shortage leads to major renovation of Highland home featured on spring showcase

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complement the rest of the kitchen. New stainless steel appliances include a Wolf cooking range, Bosch dish-washer and Electrolux refrigerator.

The Henningses like a lot of things about their new kitchen. “We spend a lot more time in the kitchen now,” Dave said.

Tara appreciates the kitchen’s built-in hutch with shelves for her cook-books, as well as the new pantry with space for a vacuum cleaner and recy-cling. And, of course, Dave now has a bench to sit on in the new mudroom,

which also features a large closet with room for winter coats, and baskets for gloves and scarves.

The Spring Remodelers Show-case will run from 1-7 p.m. Friday and noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sun-day, March 27-29. Admission to the homes is free, except for one Dream Home in Chaska where a $5 entry fee will be charged to benefit the Builders Association of the Twin Cities Foun-dation.

Free copies of the Remodelers Showcase guidebooks are available at Holiday Stations. For details, call 651-697-1954 or visit ParadeofHomes.org.

Minsberg showed some similar light bulbs with filaments that made them look like they were from the 19th or early 20th century, “They’re very pretty, very popular, but don’t give off much light,” he said. “They work if you want the look, but aren’t reading, just enter-taining.”

He pointed to a fixture with antique-looking light bulbs enclosed in glass. “It’s almost retro, but would look good in a loft,” he said.

McNeely noted that LEDs have be-come popular in recessed lighting. Picking up a boxed fixture kit, she said, “We’ve been selling these like hotcakes for anyone with recessed lighting be-cause it’s a do-it-yourself project.” The kit also allows consumers to convert recessed lights into surface-mounted lights.

New LED lighting tape also is prov-ing popular. “It’s flexible, so it can be put wherever your imagination can think to put it,” McNeely said. “It’s available with different colors and spacing, and can be used instead of fluorescent lights under kitchen cabinets.”

Minsberg said LEDs are where every-thing is trending. “The price is coming down and the technology is going up,” he said.

McNeely said it seems that LED tech-nology is changing every month. “Even a year ago, we only had 40-watt LEDs, whereas now we have 60, 75, and 100 watts and are getting to even higher wattages,” she said.

Minsberg said that with LEDs, cus-tomers can get shapes that are different from traditional lighting. He pointed to a linear, undulating chandelier with

crystals refracting the light from tiny LEDs above them. “If you squint, you can see the colors of the rainbow,” he said.

Gesturing to a wall of fixtures that would surround bathroom mirrors, Minsberg noted that most of them were lit by LEDs. “LEDs are creeping into the mainstream,” he said. “It’s a nice, bright, cool light.”

As far as current lighting styles go, Minsberg said, golden finishes in any number of hues are becoming popu-lar again. “For the last 15 years it’s been bronze, satin and antique nickel,” he said. “Gold is a finish from the ’70s and ’80s. They’re now calling it brushed bronze.”

McNeely noted a similar tendency to mix finishes. “The latest trend is antique or satin brass, and mixing it with touch-

es of bronze,” she said. “We’re also seeing more clear glass or a layering of frosted glass with clear glass.”

According to Minsberg, crystal is also popular now. “I can show you examples of crystal that your grandparents may have had, as well as more contemporary pieces,” he said. He also noted that Tif-fany lamps remain popular.

McNeely pointed to a red enameled hanging fixture that seemed to be in-spired by a large jug. “This is a very hot look,” she said. “For lofts we’re seeing an industrial look such as wire mesh and antique-looking bulbs with exposed fila-ments.”

She said wood also seems to be trend-ing too, as is a farmhouse look, and light fixtures have become sculptural. “The industry is moving fast,” she said.

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A farmer’s sink blends well in Dave and Tara Hennings’ kitchen. PHo To by br AD STAuffer

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Twisting and turning light fixtures, both halogen (foreground) and LeD, add a sparkle at Creative Lighting. PHo To by br AD STAuffer