| Cologne enters new recreation era | | Posted Thursday, January 11, 2007 3:04:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | After nearly five years in the making, the new Cologne Community Center is almost a completed vision. As the finishing touches are being placed on the facility, located on the south side of Highway 212 in the Village at Cologne development, the city is planning a grand opening celebration which will be held from 5 p.m. to midnight this Saturday, Jan. 13.The event will feature tours of the building, door prizes, appetizers and a cash bar. The Highliners will perform music to entertain guests from 8 p.m. to midnight. Information will be provided on community programming and those attending can also register to join the 24-hour fitness area."A lot of planning went into the development of this facility," said John Douville, city administrator of Cologne.The community center site is located on 3.5 acres of land and the building is currently 16,400 square feet in size and includes office space, a fitness center and gymnasium.... | |
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| | | Dock your electronics here | | Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 1:13:49 PM by Blog57 Team | | HIGH POINT - Finally, a piece of furniture that reflects how we really live. Imagine a cabinet/desk/console that recharges multiple cellphones, docks iPods and provides Internet access and data ports for laptops. This multitasking design is so new, it doesn't even have a name. But it's being touted as a command center for families and households because it organizes the overload of high-tech domestic gadgets and entertainment components piling up in America's kitchens and front hallways. In a period of weak sales for most home furnishings, manufacturers introducing lifestyle solutions for 21st-century living were the ones that drew attention at last fall's High Point Market, the twice-yearly design powwow that attracts industry executives, retailers and journalists from around the world.... | |
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| | | Tudor estate in Los Gatos has plenty of room, views | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 11:02:48 AM by Blog57 Team | | WHAT: Tudor estate on 3.7 acres; 6,172 square feet; six bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, family/great room, gourmet kitchen with central island and separate octagonal breakfast area; designer colors, artistic lighting fixtures; separate guesthouse with private entrance; four-car garage. WHERE: 14545 Deer Park Court, Los Gatos ASKING: $3.78 million BROKER: Nathera Mawla, (408) 355-1555, Coldwell Banker DETAILS: Be prepared for uniquely angled rooms, elaborate ceiling architecture, designer lighting fixtures and oversize windows in every room of this house. Here is a showcase house atop a knoll from which you can see forever -- or pretty close to it. City lights cast a glow by night, and oak-covered mountains and valleys provide privacy and serenity by day.... | |
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| | | Kitchen lighting can increase home value | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 1:13:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | SEATTLE - Walk into a kitchen and one of the first things you'll notice is the space. Then it's the lighting. Lighting does a lot for any room of the house. Home and Garden Television host Pat Simpson says you don't have to spend a fortune to upgrade your kitchen lighting. Here are few ways to use lighting to make that room pop. "Take down the fluorescent lights and put up some incandescent lights if you have fluorescents," he says. "Put your lights on dimmer switches. Consider putting pendant lights in, drop lights that shine down over an island." Another cheap way to spruce up the kitchen is to replace the pulls and knobs on the drawers and cupboards with new hardware. Simpson says every dollar you spend on kitchen or bathroom upgrades will greatly improve the resale value of your house.... | |
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| | | Ankeny couple donates blue spruce for centerpiece at Terrace Hill | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 11:01:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | DES MOINES, Iowa The holiday centerpiece at Terrace Hill has arrived. The 32-foot-tall blue spruce, which was donated by an Ankeny couple, arrived at the governor's mansion yesterday. It will be showcased in a tree-lighting ceremony later this month that will also kick off the Toys for Tots campaign. Jan and Lloyd Haberkorn's tree was planted in 1974 -- with a spoon from the kitchen. In August, Jan asked the Iowa Christmas Tree Growers Association at the Iowa State Fair what could be done with the tree because its roots were threatening the foundation of her house. She was pointed to the state horticulturist's booth, and now the tree is at Terrace Hill. Governor Vilsack's family started the tradition of bringing Iowa trees to the mansion several years ago.... | |
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| | | Lighting Shining some light on fluorescents | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 7:16:00 PM by Blog57 Team | | 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. The Department of Energy says they use two-thirds less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 10 times longer. Why buy? Compact fluorescent bulbs (also known as CFLs) are available in different sizes and shapes - including mini-spiral, spiral and A-line - that fit almost any fixture. On average, each bulb can save more than $30 in electricity costs over its lifetime and prevent more than 450 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions. CFLs and fixtures that use them that have earned the EPA's Energy Star rating produce about 70 percent less heat, so they're safer to use and can help cut energy costs associated with home cooling.... | |
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| | | Valley Middle School in line for 5M in Prop. P money | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 11:16:50 AM by Blog57 Team | | CARLSBAD - From cracked sidewalks and listing stairs to the musky smell of mold in the principal's office, 40-year-old Valley Middle School is moldering along toward middle age.The sprawling school for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders on Magnolia Avenue in Carlsbad is in line for a $5 million renovation if voters approve Proposition P in Tuesday's election. Dedicated in 1966, Valley was originally built as a junior high school for seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders. It is one of the oldest schools in the Carlsbad Unified School District. The district-sponsored initiative asks some 34,000 voters within the Carlsbad Unified School District boundaries to approve or deny a $198 million bond for four major building and renovation projects. .... | |
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| | | JAMES AND MORRIS CAREY: Beware of deals that seem too good | | Posted Sunday, October 29, 2006 1:16:29 PM by Blog57 Team | | We recently came across a newspaper advertisement inviting readers to take advantage of a kitchen remodeling package for just under $10,000! Upon closer examination, we noticed a small asterisk next to the price that referenced some very fine print at the bottom of the ad. It said the "base package" included: removal and disposal of existing cabinets and countertops; installation of up to 12 cabinets; two 8-foot slab granite countertops with a bullnose edge and 4-inch backsplash (choice of three colors); cutouts in the slab for a sink and faucet, and installation of a sink and faucet. What stood out to us as veteran remodelers were all the missing details. There's no way a consumer could end up with a completely remodeled kitchen for that price. Less-than-respectable contractors use such ads to get their foot in your door, and then can bury you with change orders that can double, triple or even quadruple the price.... | |
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| | | Bright ideas for stylish home lighting | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 11:07:04 AM by Blog57 Team | | When Laura Arrigoni updated the kitchen in her home, she wanted the lighting to be functional and add architectural dimension. Now her kitchen features three softly glowing orange pendant lamps that separate the kitchen and family area. And she has plenty of focused light for the stove and counter now that the recessed lighting is gone. "It just adds so much more interest," the Seattle resident said. "At night, it adds this really pretty ambiance to the room." With fall upon us and the days growing shorter, now is a good time to reassess your own lighting situation. If you're going through a renovation, Kim Hansen, owner of Harold's Lighting in Seattle, recommends using a lighting consultant (most lighting specialty stores have one) to assess the situation.... | |
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| | | The right kitchen setup will make the most of your time | | Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 11:07:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | In a well-designed kitchen, cooking flows as smoothly as a Cole Porter tune. Too often, however, a cook's needs and her setup are out of sync. The following lays out kitchens that work for different cooking styles. Pick yours. THE DAILY COOK For you, an efficient setup is all about access and speed - quick in, quick out. Strategies: * Keep necessities within easy reach. Make a place in the hot zone (around the stove and the sink) for the essentials: oil, vinegar, knives, cutting board. Move special-occasion cookware, like a fondue pot, out of cabinets in the zone. And ask not where ingredients and tools fit; ask where you will be using them. Keep the basket of potatoes near the cutting board, sugar and flour near the stand mixer, and your best-loved pan on the front burner.... | |
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