Author: c-ville-abode

 

Setback to where you once belonged

At a recent Houses That Work seminar, where local builders gathered to learn about building energy-efficient houses, the topic of thermostat setbacks came up. Setbacks are simply the automatic settings that let you program your heat system to run cooler at certain times, like when you’re asleep or not home. The question was raised: Do setbacks end up erasing their own energy savings, since it takes extra energy to bring the house back up to full temperature when the setback period ends?

The presenter, Gord Cooke, had a pretty convincing reason why the answer is no. Although the heat system does work harder in the warming-up phase, balancing out the savings from the cooling-down phase, you will go lighter on energy (thus money) during the whole period that the house is sitting there at its cooler temperature—say, 62 instead of 72. As long as you don’t set back the thermostat more than 10 degrees or so, you still get a net savings.

Possible downsides? 1) A less constant environment for your wood flooring and furniture, which isn’t ideal for them. 2) You gotta get that heat pump set correctly so it doesn’t use “emergency mode” at the end of the setback period (which would be way wasteful). 3) When you get up to stumble around toward kitchen or bathroom in the middle of the night, you’re gonna freeze your patooshkies off unless you own a halfway decent robe.—Erika Howsare

Go away, gadgets

Did you know that an estimated 2.2 million tons of computers, TVs, and other electronic equipment are discarded into U.S. landfills each year? The upcoming conversion of analog to digital will likely add to this e-waste tsunami. And although many retailers have begun to offer free take-back programs, unfortunately Betty’s sleuthing found that none of the local big box companies participate.

To avoid mercury, lead and other known carcinogens contaminating our local ground water supply, recycle that stuff through these programs:

*Computers for Kids (computersforkids.net or 817-1121), a local nonprofit dedicated to mentoring disadvantaged kids, gladly accepts a variety of computer equipment (sorry, no TVs) including laptops, desktops and monitors.

Screen these candidates: There are lots of options for keeping your electronics out of the landfill.

*For businesses, Computer Recycling of Virginia will pick up all electronics for a fuel fee. After refurbishing, they donate equipment to schools and nonprofits throughout Virginia, or sell them in their self-sustaining store in Harrisonburg. Icing on the cake: a no-landfill guarantee (check recycle4va.com or call (540) 564-1990.) 

*AmVets will pick up TVs and other functioning electronics, transport, and sell to Richmond’s Fantastic Thrift store, then donate the money to Vietnam Veterans. Call (800) 448-9870. 

*Both local Goodwill stores accept computers (no TVs, though). 

*If all else fails, Crutchfield will recycle for a nominal fee; however, they say that after transporting, dismantling, recycling and refurbishing, “some” parts may end up in a New Jersey landfill.

*Two more computer recycling options: Staples will e-cycle for a $10 fee and at Office Depot you purchase the e-cycle box (sizes and prices from $5-15) and they’ll do the rest. 

Giving away the gold

A recent post on C-VILLE’s Green Scene blog recounted a couple of the ways that you can make compost on a grander scale than just with your own kitchen scraps. (If you’re a serious gardener, for example, you may want lots of the precious organic matter.) One way is to use Craigslist or Freecycle to find someone who doesn’t or can’t compost at their own place, and make arrangements to pick up their scraps.

Another everybody-wins idea: Find a local restaurant that separates compostables from other garbage (or is willing to try it), and arrange regular pickups. You could be looking at a motherlode of banana peels and broccoli stalks here. Figure out a ready source of brown and green matter (say, haybales plus a patch of your yard that you can leave unmowed) in advance, since the volume of scraps generated by restaurants is impressive compared to the average home cook.

Tons of organic matter awaits! It’s all a matter of finding it.

After we put the blog post up, an employee at Mudhouse added a comment to remind us that the much-loved java stop is one place that invites anyone to come in and pick up compostables—in this case, coffee grounds. Any location, weekday mornings. Thanks for the tip!—E.H.

See SPARK! save

Lightbulbs and outlets aren’t the first things “green” brings to mind, but Eric Gilchrist of the Charlottesville Community Design Center and SPARK!, CCDC’s kilowatt-conscious offspring, wants you to make that connection.

Since SPARK!’s launch last April, the program has worked to grow energy awareness with a go-for-broke approach that tackles the issue from all sides: policy discussion, research and education, with a focus on providing homeowners with the info they need to save big energy bucks. With fuel costs sky-high, “one of the best steps we can take on a local level is to increase energy efficiency,” Gilchrist says.

The SPARK! program at the CCDC wants to up your efficiency.

With that in mind, SPARK! has launched an energy performance pilot program targeting low-income homes for audits and renovation. “People recognize that families in low-income homes usually live in homes that are older and not as well built,” Gilchrist says, meaning that “their budget dollar is going towards energy instead of going to feed themselves.” With 22 homes currently in the program, SPARK! will perform audits, renovate, and track the cost savings that follow.

SPARK! also sponsors an energy meter loan program and runs free workshops and exhibits in the CCDC space Downtown, so you’ve got no excuse not to bone up on energy savings. Look out for an energy awareness day in January, and surf over to spark-change.org for more details.—Lucy Zhou

This is your drain on drugs

Got a few old Vicodins hanging around from when you had that tooth pulled a few years ago? On your next cleaning jag, you might be tempted to flush them down the toilet, since pills are in that weird category of stuff that people think should be flushed rather than tossed. Not so fast: Pharmaceuticals contaminate groundwater and even drinking water, and Virginia’s fish should not be sharing your meds.

Instead, pills that are unneeded or expired should be disposed of in sealed containers or treated as hazardous waste. Herbal remedies, presumably, go in the compost pile.—E.H.

 

Crozet’s latest LEED dwelling

Back in our April issue, we wrote about a house Upstream Construction was building in Crozet for Brian and Joan Day. It’s notable not only because it’s a custom house with many green features, but because the Days are both environmental professionals who decided to open their house to the public during and after construction, so people could take a look and learn a thing or two.

Well, the house is done and a final open-house event revealed the finished look of the house that Upstream built to LEED specifications for $200 a square foot, similar to the cost of a standard custom home.

The Day house joins the LEED club with selectively cut oak flooring and cabinets, plus a raft of other features.

Horizontal lines and pale olive weatherboarding situate the house unobtrusively along a wooded slope. A permaculture landscape design calls for sheet mulch and native plants. Inside, deep concrete/Styrofoam-insulated walls provide generous sittable window sills.

Floors and cabinets are made from selectively cut Goochland County red oak.  Low-flow appliances and a tank-less water heater make the plumbing system greener. A central vacuum system and Energy Recovery Ventilator keep the air clean.

The Days welcomed over two dozen interested folks who showed up to view the finished product, many of whom had toured the house in its earlier stages and seemed eager to track its progress. Information-sharing: a welcome hallmark of the local green movement.—Cathy Clary

Ditch the ducts

As the days grow shorter, the nights grow colder, and your hand starts creeping toward that thermostat, consider this: Ductless split systems are touted as a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional A/C and heating.
 
Ductless split air systems have two parts: a compressor/condenser on the outside, and an air handling unit on the inside. Temperature is adjustable for each individual indoor unit, so attaching additional units for different rooms or zones gives you more flexibility in controlling temperature.

With a ductless split system, you’ll have an air handling unit (or several) like this inside, and a compressor/condensor outside.

Think about it, homeowners: all the flexibility of window-mounted A/C, plus the heating and cooling capability of central systems, minus the inefficiencies of heating the whole darn house to warm up a single room. Tack on energy savings from the use of pipes rather than heat-leaking ducts, and the savings start adding up.
  
Installation is reportedly simple, but for those of us who are less than handy, J & M Maintenance Inc. (249-6517) can set up your system. Priced at $1,500-$2,000 per ton of cooling capacity, ductless split system may have a steep initial cost, but give it time, and you might just find yourself cozying up to a newer, greener, way of life.—Lucy Zhou

$10 to a sounder sleep

Here’s the coolest project we heard about this month: On Friday, September 12, a bunch of UVA students (in architecture and engineering) assembled, at the Cobham home of architecture prof John Quale, structures they’d designed to shelter two sleeping people. The rules were that the structures had to be made from recycled, reclaimed or natural materials; that materials had to be recycled after the project; and that each structure could take no more than two hours to assemble and cost no more than $10. After evaluators actually spent Friday night sleeping in these rather amazing constructions, group of experts evaluated the results and handed out prizes.

A structure with a plastic-bag and office-paper ceiling was one of the ecoMOD students’ clever sleep solutions.

These students comprise the next ecoMOD team (that’s a real-world sustainable-building project headed by Quale), so you know these sleeping shelters are small potatoes compared to some of the challenges they’ll soon be solving. But beyond that, their structures were clever and beautiful. Teams used newspaper, aluminum cans, shredded office paper, plastic bags, cardboard, and other common materials to create an impressive variety of forms.

The winning project took only 30 minutes to set up and was held off the ground by reclaimed shipping crates. Said Quale, “It just was very well integrated, and they would have been totally fine in a substantial rain.”—Erika Howsare

Ticket to ride

Locals are finding a slew of ways to downshift their driving. Here’s the bottom line: Eliminating one weekly 10-mile trip will save you over 2,000 miles a year and up to $550 in gas.
 
*To maintain your level of awareness, keep a fuel log.
 
*Then trade your four wheels for two and bike or walk.
 
*Not viable? Jeff Greer, a LexisNexis systems engineer, says he saves up to 35 miles a week using the Charlottesville Transit System bus or free trolley. 

*Our local rideshare program makes carpooling easy. Make a once-a-week commitment and the “guaranteed ride” program ensures you won’t be left stranded. And parents: Check to see if your school is registered with the schoolpool which matches drivers for you. Both are at rideshareinfo.org.
 

*Have you heard of hypermiling to maximize fuel efficiency? Consider making small adjustments in your driving techniques for a week: shifting into neutral when reaching top speed, staying within speed limits, eliminating quick starts, and turning off the engine when idling for more than a minute.

*Talk to your boss about the possibility of four-day work week or working from home. Select departments at UVA and the City of Charlottesville have promoted this fuel-saving change.
 
*Marleigh Baratz, an Albemarle resident, began a “call before you go” system on her block. Before going to the store, she phones neighbors to see if they need a couple items (to be reimbursed), helping others to avoid unnecessary trips. Better yet, take advantage of Retail Relay (retailrelay.com): a newly launched online service, where you click, pay, and make one trip to pick up your local goods.

 

Future fab

This month’s surfer: Jane Fisher, CCDC executive director

What’s on her browser: inhabitat.com

What it is: A photo-heavy blog, coming at you live from the future of design. Green living, high-concept prefabs, interior design, super-stylish treehouses: It’s all here. You can also sign up, as Fisher did, for a daily e-mail from the site.

Why she likes it: “I just totally and completely love it,” Fisher says. “It’s very inspiring. It’s these beautiful little pictures, a brief journey into things that are pushing design.” On our first visit we encountered lovely craft-paper lamps, and a scientific breakthrough: plastic made from sugar, water and bacteria, instead of oil! Whoa! 

The blues

It was the stuff hazing is made of. When we bought our house, we faced a big task: removing damaged fiberglass insulation, and re-insulating in some walls and under our new radiant heat system. An awful day of hauling the itchy pink stuff out of our crawlspace on hands and knees—body encased in protective layers and face obscured by goggles, dust mask and ski mask—sealed the deal. We weren’t going to be putting any more fiberglass into our house. Instead, we went for UltraTouch denim insulation, which we bought from Nature Neutral.

The advantages are many: It’s not itchy, it contains no formaldehyde, it’s good at resisting rodents and mold, and it’s made from recycled jeans. The only real downside is the greater cost.

Installing denim insulation is way easier than wrangling fiberglass, but still not exactly comfortable.

Once we were actually installing it, we found that while it’s way more comfortable than the pink stuff, it still has its pitfalls. It’s treated with borate for moisture control, which is nontoxic but irritating when it rains into your eyes or mouth—so goggles and dust masks were still de rigueur. But the simplicity of putting it in place, especially in walls, was amazing: You need no fasteners at all; you just slip it between studs. And when you need to cut a batt, you can rip it with your hands. (Someone had told us to cut it with a circular saw, which turned out to be really weird advice.)

Having installed upwards of 15 bundles of the stuff, we now feel like experts. The best part? I once found a tiny Levi’s label in one of the batts.—Spackled Egg

From the review stand

The Parade of Homes, if we’re to be literal about it, has always been more of a parade of buyers. This year, both buyers and homes were in scarcer supply at the BRHBA-sponsored event (which took place September 20-21 and 27-28). Yes, there were balloons and the occasional free donut, but the overall mood was befitting a somber housing market.

On the other hand, greater competition meant a stacked deck for buyers. Realtor Todd McGee of Real Estate III thinks consumers had the upper hand in this year’s Parade. They got “a chance to see the latest trends in kitchen design, space utilization, and home decorating” with no strings attached and plenty of bargaining power.

Pushing the limits of bathroom square footage: a Keswick Estate property goes big.

These trends included first-floor master suites, synthetic decking, and energy-efficient design (five of the 48 homes were EnergyStar or EarthCraft certified).

In the Parade’s upper echelons, builders were asking, “Green? What’s that?” A nearly 8,000-square-foot Keswick Estate, prospectively built for empty nesters, racked up accolades like Best Master Suite. Apparently, the current trend towards smaller living rooms has diverted acres of space to this property’s ginormous master bath, suggesting that bathrooms may be climbing the list of top spots to entertain guests.—Kathryn Faulkner

Unfit trim

It’s a terrifying scenario: coming home to find your beloved oak has received the bad hair cut of the century. Every three years, Dominion Virginia Power crews make their limb-trimming rounds, leaving shorn trees in their wake. With a 30-foot right of way on each side of its distribution lines, Dominion’s priority is consistent service, not your front yard feng shui—which often means those leafy giants get the axe.

While efforts are made to contact residents before breaking out the chainsaw, for unsuspecting homeowners, tree pruning often comes as an unsightly surprise, often reparable only through costly repruning.
 
What can you do to avoid arboreal massacre? In the past, groups of homeowners have been able to convince power companies that their trees aren’t a threat, so taking your case to your neighborhood association can be a viable option. If this fails, all a savvy homeowner can really do is plan ahead and plant small, choosing trees and bushes that won’t grow to exceed 10 feet. This includes several species of dogwood, butterfly bushes, thorny eleagnus, hollies, and forsythia.

In harm’s way? Trees and power lines don’t mix.

Dominion has more information about its tree management policies on its website, including a downloadable FAQ on acceptable tree-planting practices, and a list of approved species. You can also contact them with questions at (888) 667-3000.—Lucy Zhou

A visit from the master

Veggie gardeners, here’s some awesome news: John Jeavons, author of the intensive-growing classic How to Grow More Vegetables and director of California’s Ecology Action, is giving a three-day workshop over the mountain in Dayton, October 23-25. If you aren’t familiar with Jeavons, this is kind of the gardening equivalent of Ralph Lauren dropping by to give lessons to locals with sewing machines. Expect a blizzard of info on planting and tending veggies for maximum production—all organic, of course. You’ll be rapping about double-digging techniques and “green manure” cover crops before you know it.

If you’d like to sign up, call (707) 459-5958 or check out http://johnjeavons.info.—E.H.

 

Rain reprieve

Weather comes at us fast—immediate as a hurricane—but it doesn’t last long. A month ago, we were on the verge of severe drought after an encouraging spring and early summer; yet as of this writing we’ve had several good soakings from northbound tropical storms, and all of a sudden the idea of adding something new to your landscape doesn’t seem quite so harebrained.

If you don’t like current conditions, just hang around.

Here in the hollow where I live, our little spot soaked up 5 1/2" of rain in 24 hours and yet the creek hardly rose, so don’t think all of a sudden we’re rolling in water. But as long as drought is not actively wicking away groundwater, fall is an ideal time to put woody plants in the ground. Just don’t plant anything now that you can’t water through a dry spring or summer next year.

Mums color your world ’til winter.

With shorter days and cooler air, plants don’t dry out as fast. Soil temperatures are at the Goldilocks ideal, neither too hot nor too cold, the best time for root growth. If you have any boxwood to move, now’s the time to do it. Plant shallowly and don’t over-mulch. One inch is the max. Don’t let them dry out and don’t let them sit in water.

Moist, diggable soil is a treat for the bulb planter who must get his or her bulbs in the ground by November for best results. If you didn’t mail-order ahead of time, cruise garden centers now for sales of daffodils or snowdrops (safe from deer), tulips (deer food) and crocus (pale purple C. tommasinianus is said to be squirrel resistant). Plant larger bulbs like daffodils 6-8" deep; small bulbs like crocus, 2-3" deep.

While you’re shopping for bargain bulbs, pick up a couple of flats of pansies (deer food) or pots of chrysanthemums (deer resistant) to pop in prominent beds or pots. Planted in the fall, they’ll add color until winter and be set to go first thing in the spring.   

Brent Heath, legendary Virginia bulb grower in Gloucester, never fertilizes with chemicals or bone meal (which can attract critters) but relies instead on compost as an amendment and shredded leaves for mulch.

As we’re focusing beneath the ground this time of year, hold off on any nitrogen which promotes vegetative growth. Cold wood ashes are a good source of root-promoting phosphorous. A transplant solution of liquid fertilizer like “Roots,” a concentrate diluted with water, also high in phosphorous, gives a little boost to new transplants, but is used just once at planting.

Though the weather has given us a window of planting opportunity, considering the pattern we’ve seen developing over the past years, ranging from very dry to merely moderate, it’s wise to seek out plants that can withstand prolonged dry periods once they get established.

Azaleas, daphnes, inkberry, boxwood, bee balm, and most hostas won’t thrive without constant, even moisture. They can survive without it, as can we all without some necessary thing, but it’s not a pretty sight. On the other hand, butterfly bushes, some hollies, sedums, Russian sage, herbs and many ornamental grasses do fine in dry soil as long as they’re watered regularly for six months to a year while they grow their roots outside the original planting hole—i.e., “get established.”

Keeping an eye on the soil and the sky is a boon to the gardener. Check out Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s The Cloudspotter’s Guide for a revealing appreciation of the beauty of weather and clues to foretelling it.—Cathy Clary

Tough customers

African violets are pretty little things, but when it comes to lifestyle, they’re pure divas.

They want very bright natural or artificial light, but not direct sunlight. (Ideally, place them within 3′ of a southwest- or southeast-facing window.) To bloom, they need eight to 12 hours of light and eight hours of darkness per day. Weak light for a longer period is preferable to correct light level for a too-short period. They also like high humidity, but not high heat or being placed directly in water. Sheesh!

Pre-packaged African violet soil mix is available with a ready-mixed slightly acidic pH. Violets’ only easy aspect: their propagation, which can be done simply by taking cuttings and re-planting leaves.—Lily Robertson

October in the garden

-Plant shrubs, trees, pansies.
-Shop for bulbs.
-Watch the skies.

 

Pump it up

The sun may be shining and the chiggers still biting, but when the hard squashes start to show up at City Market, get ready for the curtain to fall on the summertime show. While it’s true that squash will store over the winter (ideally at a dry cellar temperature of about 55 degrees), they are easiest to prepare within a few weeks of harvest; as their rinds dry out and become difficult to penetrate, the seed cavities also become bigger and the flesh tougher.

 

The pumpkin is October’s leading squash. Most pumpkins are harvested long before Halloween, and sit in fields (or refrigerated warehouses) waiting to be adopted. For culinary use, look for a pumpkin that is slightly yielding to the touch (indicating it has not started to dry out yet). The young rind is edible, especially if slathered in olive oil and cooked in a moist environment, like braised with wine or broth or roasted in a covered pan with apple cider and hazelnut oil. Eating this gourd is a wonderful way to celebrate the season, and practicing your pumpkin massacre and preparations now will prepare you for the dead of winter, when hard squash is the only thing still hanging around.—Lisa Reeder

Knife’s edge

The only equipment equal to the task of squash slaughter is the chef’s knife. The pointed tip serves to incise; the length provides leverage and the reach necessary to attack even the largest gourds. However, longer is not always better, especially for folks who are less than tall. When standing at your cutting board, you should be able to stand your chef’s knife on its point and have your forearm parallel to the counter, elbow at a 90-degree bend. The 8" chef’s knife is long enough for most tasks, except perhaps the largest gourds, melons and onions; a longer knife is more likely to cause wrist fatigue or to feel unwieldy during everyday use.

When it comes to your chef’s knife, longer is not always better.

Chef’s knives should be washed by hand, stored away from other utensils (to protect the user and the knife both) and kept sharp and clean. When shopping for a knife, ask to hold it and examine the craftsmanship; best quality knives are a single piece of metal with a handle crafted around one end.  Salespeople will be helpful in determining the proper size, recommending brands, and passing on tips for sharpening and care.—L.R.

Pumpkin muffins

HotCakes’ Lisa McEwan gave us this coveted recipe a while back, along with instructions to bake the muffins in “very well greased” brioche tins, plus this feel-good info: “One muffin has a full day’s supply of Vitamin A.”

3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (soy or canola)
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins

3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in the first group above. Sift together all the dry ingredients in the second group. Mix wet ingredients into sifted dry ingredients. Bake in greased brioche tins, or muffin tins lined with papers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly. Makes two dozen (recipe can be halved).

 

Flood relief

Question for Debbie Halhoun with Floors are Us: What should you do if you spill water on a wood floor?
 
Answer: “Get it dry, get it quick,” should be your motto, says Halhoun. While damage is preventable, a speedy response is your best chance at saving your hardwood floor from tragedy. According to Halhoun, “If you spill water or any other liquid and let it sit, once the moisture seeps in, it’ll allow the wood to expand and potentially start to warp.” Enough warping may cause the wood to pull away from the subfloor (called “buckling”) and even, she warns, begin to crack. 

Grab a towel! You’ll save a world of trouble if you clean up spills as soon as they happen.

Here’s how it works: With its natural affinity for H2O (after all, it’s an ex-tree we’re talking about), wood typically responds to seasonal changes in humidity by expanding and contracting. One unattended spill, however, can be bad news if it soaks through the finish; your floor will suck it up like a runner, post-marathon, and start to discolor and swell. 

Still, once water has done its worst, there’s no need to give up hope: Depending on the extent of the damage and your flooring’s manufacturer, Halhoun says, floors can be “sanded down lightly” to reduce the appearance of warping and buckling. Individaully damaged boards can also be taken out and replaced. As for unsightly stains, Halhoun says that different finishes have different care requirements and water tolerances, but if all else fails, periodically refinishing is a surefire way to cover up watermarks and wear. Better, however, to keep on your toes and deal with spills right away to keep your hardwood looking like new. “It’s really best just to take it up quickly,” Halhoun says.—Lucy Zhou

Greater latitude

Is this a visual aid from your kid’s astronomy class, a machine-age interpretation of the medieval-era globe, or just a reminder that what goes around comes around? Either way, it’s a cosmic way to light up your life, courtesy of The Shade Shop.

 

Chic transparency

Goodbye, vinyl siding; hello, world. Nicky Adams’ book Glass House reveals the intimacy glass walls allow between you and your surroundings, be they wildlife or a cityscape, via a collection of homes that must surely prevent their owners from throwing stones. The photos might get you reminiscing about “The Jetsons,” or they might just inspire you to pick up a crowbar, tear down those walls, and invest in some clarity.—Suzanne van der Eijk

 

 

 

We appreciate subtlety now and then, and this place in Johnson Village has it in spades. Seemingly a standard rancher given some tasteful Craftsman-style updates, it wears its flared porch columns and front roof gable with a quiet pride. Ornamental trees help it blend with its setting, and the low, mostly rail-less porch—furnished with rocking chairs, natch—rounds out that peaceful, easy feeling.

 

 

Buh-bye, brand names

Your bathroom’s an eyesore. You’ve got that unavoidable array of brightly colored plastic bottles, with a hoorah to every hygienic brand out there. And that Dial Vanilla Honey Body Yogurt? It’s a body wash, not a snack for the shower.

Fortunately for all us brand name stockpilers, debrandedhome.com offers us a more aesthetically pleasing alternative. All you have to do is go out and get some plain, plastic bottles (try the Family Dollar on Fifth Street) and buy your favorite extra body shampoos and skin tightening lotions in bulk (Sam’s Club and Integral Yoga both offer this). Or, check out the Debranded website for some homemade soap recipes! Next, you decide between Debranded’s two styles of labels to adhere to your new bottles (each set costs $9). Their messages are simple—shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, lotion and body wash. The vinyl waterproof stickers will ensure you’re not conditioning your hair with body lotion—gross. 

Debranded Home isn’t trying to replace other big name labels with their own recognizable design. They’re ready to help give tacky the boot, and of course save you a couple of much-wanted bucks.—Suzanne van der Eijk

Kit parade

Alas, hurricane season is upon us. And while Central Virginia is no South Florida, there’s a chance that fall or, for that matter, winter will, at some point, leave you in the dark. But take comfort, scouts; local vendors carry everything you need to be prepared.
How to stock your power outage survival kit:

Forgo the batteries and kill two, three—make that four birds with one stone. Blue Ridge Mountain Sports sells a hand-crankable contraption that is flashlight, radio, cell phone adapter and 12-volt output adapter all in one. Wind this bad boy for just three minutes and get power for an hour.

Shine a light on safety: An emergency kit’s always a good thing to keep around the house.

All that cranking may make you crazy if you’re short on juice, so keep tasty foodstuffs on hand from Integral Yoga’s wide selection of dried fruit, trail mix, and energy bars (I hear the KIND bars are good). Bottled water is key, and don’t forget a manual can-opener, just in case you need to crack open that can of beans that’s been collecting dust in your pantry.
Other worthy kit additions: headlamp plus batteries, blankets, first aid kit, matches, and heck, throw in some candles—just don’t burn the house down.—Kathryn Faulkner

Happy hour

We don’t know a better way to enjoy the fleeting days of summer than with a chilly and fruity glass of sangria. As it turns out, sangria is a perfect (and inexpensive) drink to serve at your next warm weather soiree. Instead of going to the liquor store to stock the bar, consider stretching your dollar and make a big pitcher of sangria.
 
While a good-sized bottle of booze will set you back upwards of $25, you can make a whole pitcher of sangria for closer to $15. Geoff Macilwaine, manager of the Wine Warehouse (on Hydraulic) says, “I’d make it with a wine that I’d like to drink by the glass.” For sangria, Macilwaine recommends a Spanish wine like Protocolo (just $7.69 a bottle). He says, “Look for a medium-bodied red Spanish wine that is not heavily oaked and has a soft-textured finish.”

Recipes vary but most call for brandy (go for the airplane bottles—$2), ice, cut fruit (like oranges and lemons—about $4) and seltzer or lemon lime soda ($1) along with sugar. An added bonus: The fruit serves as a boozy snack.—Sarah Jacobson

We can see for miles and miles

It can be tough to decide to replace windows—it’s a big investment and a boatload of trouble. The decision’s a lot easier when the window in question is already broken and letting in the weather. Our house sported a bay window whose center section was covered only by a flapping piece of plastic. Any stiff breeze would rip it off, then we’d staple it back up. Et cetera.

We ordered a replacement at a local window shop. Though bay windows in theory are nice, this one seemed crammed into its second-floor spot, so we reverted to a flat picture window with double-hungs on either side. We are not rich, so we went for vinyl instead of wood (oh well), and low-e for the energy savings.

The new dormer window is a big improvement, especially when weatherproofed, trimmed out and surrounded by new cedar shingles!

Once the window came in and we safely transported it home, the real work began. Nothing’s square in our old house, so the saggy “rough opening” (in layman’s terms, the hole in the wall where the window would fit) had to be elaborately and creatively shimmed to make a snug fit for the window. 

The best idea we had all day? Calling our friend Alex to come over and help us maneuver the beast into place. The window is approximately 8’ long and 3’ high, so it’s plenty heavy. With Alex’s help, we got it into the opening and nailed it to the sheathing on the outside of the house.

After crawling back inside through one of the double-hungs, we admired our new view: lovely mountains, seen much more clearly through low-e glass than flapping plastic.—Spackled Egg

Floral mode

This month’s surfer: Eric Lamb, A New Leaf florist

What’s on his browser: fusionflowers.com

What it is: A U.K.-based bible for all floral fashionistas. It’s jam-packed with European flair and a taste for the trendy.

Why he likes it: Lamb says the site is great for developing high-end, artsy arrangements and keeping up with the latest developments in the flower world. The site offers great contemporary panache for your garden as well. Yes, Olympic torches lighting your backyard pathway are cool.

 

Simply slip it on

Question for John Floyd, designer at The Second Yard: How do you pick the right slip cover for your couch?

Answer: “You know you’ve got the perfect slip cover when it looks like upholstery,” Floyd says. Whether you choose to have a slip cover custom made for your sofa or you’re in need of a quick fix, you’ve got to keep in mind the size of your piece. “A bigger piece with large arms and puffier cushions might call for something a bit looser,” says Floyd. He refers to this as “shabby chic.”

A slip cover can be a time-saver, or a test run for a new idea.

In terms of fabric, Floyd suggests lighter-weight stuff, especially if there are multiple layers. If you’re going prepackaged, Floyd says “go neutral and solid.” Of course, a room that needs a little excitement can be spruced up with a vibrant color or a sleek pattern—plus it’s removable. Removability also means washability. After washing, “put the cover back on when it’s still a little damp,” says Floyd. “That will give it a snug fit.”

Treehouse Living

Did we mention slip covers are way cheaper than upholstery? You can also think of a slip cover as a test drive for a more permanent decorating change. Another bonus: Once you’ve brought your new slip cover home, all you’ve got to do is throw it on. “With upholstery, you could be out of your furniture for weeks,” says Floyd.—Suzanne van der Eijk

Knob tweak

We usually get skeezed out by the word “adorable,” but that’s the only term for these hand-painted ceramic drawer pulls made in Deruta, Italy, and sold locally at Verity blue. Think how much fun it would be to replace all the knobs on your old dresser with an eclectic flock of these things. It’s practically therapeutic.—Erika Howsare

 

Up in the atmosphere

Treehouse Living by Alain Laurens and fellow architects brings to mind the childhood thrill of being tucked away in a treetop. Hopefully as a kid you weren’t using those private quarters to sip champagne, but for adults a little niche among the branches has become the perfect venue for some much-needed privacy. You’ll peek into a writer’s sanctuary and a chocolate lover’s truffle shelter. But you’ll probably still be asking: How’d they get that up there?—S.V.