The Oklahoman Real Estate

EREAL ESTATESATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

INDEX

Permits 6EStone 7E

HOUSE PLAN

The KendallThis medium-sizehome offers plenty offamily living space,both formal andinformal.PAGE 8E

LISTING OF THE WEEK

5-bedroombungalowThe Listing of the Week is arestored bungalow in the MestaPark area of northwest OklahomaCity.

PAGE 10E

CREDITSCORESATTACKEDDigital Risk, a mort-gage analytics firm,is mounting an un-usual frontal assaulton one of the lend-ing industry’s sacredcows: credit scores.

PAGE 3E

IN BRIEF

MIXING MATERocklerWood-workingandHard-warehas anew lidfor quart-size cansthat makes it easierto store, mix andpour paints andfinishes. The MixingMate has a built-inmixing paddle with acrank handle, so youcan stir the contentsbefore you open thecan. A spout with aspring-loaded trigger— much like thespout on a syrupdispenser — makesit easier to pour outthe paint or finishwithout drips orspills. Cam clampslock the lid onto astandard-size can,creating a tight seal.The device is madeof nonmetal compo-nents, so it can beused with both wa-ter- and solvent-based finishes andlatex paints. It sellsfor $14.99. It can beordered fromwww.rockler.com.

BETTERBEDROOMSCandice Olson isback, this time withthe aim of betteringour boudoirs. In“Candice Olson Bed-rooms,” the interiordesigner and televi-sion personalityshares her strate-gies in making morethan 25 private re-treats. All bear Ol-son’s classic-meets-contemporarystamp, but they stillrepresent a varietyof styles and moods,from a bedroominspired by an En-glish manor houseto a teenager’s base-ment hangout. Ol-son deconstructseach project, explain-ing the style ele-ments she chose.She provides a linkto a website thatlists the sources ofthe furniture, lightingand accessoriesused in each room.The book is publish-ed by Wiley and sellsfor $19.99 in softcov-er.MCT INFORMATION SERVICES

With immense windows tak-ing in the panorama of down-town Oklahoma City outside, itcan be difficult to focus onwhat’s inside Bill Lovallo’shome.

“Isn’t the light in here won-derful?” Lovallo said, leadingguests through the second-storyliving area. “When I first movedin here, I thought, ‘What’s it go-ing to be like to have all this ex-posure to the outside?’ Butfrankly I just love it.”

Inside are dark walls and cleanlines, a space that feels bothmodern and timeless. A free-standing kitchen work islanddominates upstairs. Downstairsis the den, where wide windowslook down the sloping front lawntoward the street. A metal stair-case, seemingly floating andbrightly colored, link the two.

“I grew up near the Holly-wood Hills where a lot of the fa-mous, what they call, midcentu-

ry modern houses were being builtin the ’50s,” Lovallo said. “For me,that was the image of the house Ialways wanted.”

Lovallo found kindred spiritspractically in the shadow of St.Anthony Hospital, in a MidTownarea referred to alternately as theCottage District or SoSA — forSouth of St. Anthony. Its bounda-ries roughly extend from NW 6 toNW 10 and from Classen Boule-vard to Walker Avenue. It sits atopa rise with an unobstructed view ofdowntown.

The original homes dated to theearly 20th century, a mix of single-family dwellings and multifamilyunits, but by the close of the cen-tury blight and crime were firmlyentrenched.

Architect Randy Floyd and herhusband, Michael Smith, helpedlead the turnaround, buying intothe area and renovating two oldbuildings, one for a home forthemselves and the other into twotownhouses for rent. They alsobuilt garages along the alley

The unusual architectural design of Bill Lovallo’s home at 825 NW 7 makes it stand out from traditional houses that line the streets in hisneighborhood just north of downtown. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bill Lovallo shows the second-story living area of his home at 825 NW7. He says it’s similar to the midcentury modern style of 1950s homeshe knew growing up near the Hollywood Hills of California.

Cottage District turning into‘playground’ for architectsBY DYRINDA TYSONFor The [email protected]

SEE COTTAGE DISTRICT, PAGE 2E

In recent years, turbulence inreal estate markets has causedmany older homeowners to delayplans to sell. But as the housingrecovery gets under way, all thatcould change in a major way.

Jan Yager, a sociologist andtime-management consultant,predicts that within the next dec-ade “tens of millions” of babyboomers will sell their currenthomes and move to differentabodes more suitable for retire-ment.

No matter where they plan tomove, boomers who’ve lived in thesame home for many years willface the enormous task of siftingthrough accumulations and up-grading their property for market.And all who try to tackle this pro-ject need a strategic plan to man-age their time, said Yager, authorof “Work Less, Do More,” a time-management book.

“Using your time wisely is piv-otal to getting your house in order,whether you’re working, retired orsemiretired,” she said.

If possible, Yager encourages

those who need to clear through avast collection of belongings be-fore selling to allow a full year forthis project. But she’s aware thatmost sellers don’t have this muchlatitude and that they may needsome help to expedite the process.

“It could be a good idea for youto hire a professional organizer,”said Yager, who recommends thathome sellers consider seeking alocal referral through the NationalAssociation of Professional Orga-nizers (www.napo.net).

These few pointers could provehelpful, if you are a time-stretchedhome-seller:

I Acknowledge your limita-tions on time.

“People are beyond busy now. If

you’re working, you’re extremelybusy at the office. If you’re notworking, you’re busy looking for ajob,” said Lee Silber, author of“Time Management for the Cre-ative Person.”

When people seek to add on totheir already busy schedules allthe work associated with a hous-ing move, many go into overload.

Silber recommends you make alist of discretionary activities thatcould be cut from your scheduleuntil your home project is done.For example, you might cut backon TV.

I Set priorities carefully.Like many time-management

consultants, Silber discouragesclients from taking an all-or-nothing approach. Rather, he urg-es them to concentrate on thetasks with the greatest possibleimpact.

To ensure that the most timeand money are focused on key pri-orities, he said your first stepshould be to ask a trusted real es-tate agent to walk through yourproperty and advise you on the

steps most worth taking.For instance, replacing a stained

living room carpet could make ahuge difference in the salability ofyour place. But fixing the stains onyour concrete walkways may not.

I Infuse fun into the homepreparation process.

You’ll gain more momentum inyour quest to ready your home formarket if you can make an other-wise boring project more interest-ing, Silber said.

He suggests you might want tothrow a “pre-sale party” featuringpizza and beer. To stage such aparty, and gain help with yourproject, simply send out invita-tions for an event to occur beforeyour real estate agent lists yourhome for sale.

“Surprisingly many people —especially organized people — liketo make their friends’ homes lookbetter. They really do want to helpyou out, so don’t be shy aboutasking,” he said.

To contact Ellen James Martin, email her [email protected].

UNIVERSAL UCLICK

EllenJamesMartin

SMARTMOVES

Timesaving tips for selling a home

KennethHarney

THE NATION’S HOUSING

2E . SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE

behind with apartmentsabove each of them. Astone’s throw away, PhilBewley recruited hisbrother Rick to help himrenovate an old fourplex,though Phil Bewley diedwithin weeks of movinginto the finished productin 2006.

Michael Smith had tospend many nights on sitekeeping an eye on things.

“There was so much ar-son and so many itinerantsand vagrants that wouldjust hang out in the neigh-borhood that he wouldsleep over there at night,and he would keep a ma-chete with him,” Floyd re-called. “And he would haveto walk the property atnight and just run peopleoff.”

By the time Floyd andSmith moved into theirfinished home in 2005,though, things werechanging. City officialsagreed to address crimeand street access issuestwo years earlier, keepingSt. Anthony from pullingout of MidTown. With afirm commitment fromthe hospital, the area be-gan to pull out of its torpor.

“So all of a sudden therewere real people on thestreet that had real jobs,coming and going, and itmakes a huge difference,”Floyd said.

One thing that sets theCottage District apart iswhat it’s not — a historicpreservation district.

Most of the neighbor-hoods ringing OklahomaCity’s core fall under theState Historic PreservationOffice’s umbrella, andwork in those neighbor-hoods are dictated bypreservation rules. Bycontrast, the Cottage Dis-trict is almost a play-ground for architects. Ifyou can dream it, you canmost likely build it there.

It’s drawn at least a halfdozen architects, who notonly build it but call ithome. The roof of archi-tect Brian Fitzsimmons’home — glinting silver andsharply sloped — is visiblefrom Bill Lovallo’s frontwindows.

“MidTown may be theone section of downtownthat’s kind in and of itself acomplete neighborhood,

so to speak, where youhave living, dining, placesof business, a park or twohere and there,” he said. “Aperson could actually sur-vive in MidTown.”

A friend brought Lovallodown to see Fitzsimmons’home while it was underconstruction, and he kepttabs on its progress. Loval-lo ultimately decided totake the plunge, leaving hishome in Jefferson Park —

bought shortly after hemoved to Oklahoma Cityin 1970 — to move to Mid-Town. Fitzsimmons evendesigned the home, whichhe moved into in 2010.

“I had always wanted amodern home, preferablysomething I could build formyself,” Lovallo said.

Things haven’t sloweddown. With Wilson Ele-mentary nearby, familieswith children have joined

the mix. The two lots oneach side of Lovallo’shome have been cleared, ahome is beginning to takeshape at the corner of NW8 and Shartel, and at leasttwo others are about to getunder way.

“It’s kind of the naturalgrowing of a neighbor-hood, like it should be,rather than just one bigmaster plan,” Fitzsimmonssaid.

One of the empty lots byLovallo’s house will some-day be occupied by Mikeand Lea Morgan’s home.It’s still on the drawingboard.

They sold their home inEdmond about 15 years agoto move to Crown Heights.They recently sold thathome and have moved intoa nearby rental for the du-ration.

“We really really like theenergy and the resurgencethat’s going on in thedowntown Oklahoma Cityarea, and just wanted tokeep coming closer,” LeaMorgan said.

With their temporaryhome just a couple ofstreets over from their newhome site, waiting may bethe hardest part.

“We basically have aroutine where we walk ourdogs by (the new site) ev-ery Monday morning,” LeaMorgan said with a laugh.“So yes, we’re going tokeep a very close eye onour lot.”

Left: Walls of windows give Bill Lovallo a panoramicview of downtown Oklahoma City from his home at825 NW 7. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Dennis and Shellee Wells’ home at 843 NW 7 is another unusual house in the Cottage District, a playgroundfor architects just north of downtown.

Cottage District: Innovative design FROM PAGE 1E

Dark walls and clean lines dominate the interior of Bill Lovallo’s home at 825 NW7, just north of downtown. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

A skylight lends its own geometry to the clean linesof Bill Lovallo’s home.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012 . 3EREAL ESTATE

WASHINGTON — Do youever get the feeling thatyour credit score doesn’tadequately portray yourtrue risk as an applicant fora home mortgage?

If your FICO score is asubpar 690 but you knowthat you are a solid candi-date for a loan, do youthink that lenders’ heavydependence on creditscores is unfair to you as anindividual?

You’ve got some com-pany. Digital Risk, a mort-gage analytics firm, ismounting an unusualfrontal assault on one ofthe lending industry’s sa-cred cows. It argues thatcredit scores such as FICOfailed to predict largenumbers of defaults dur-ing the mortgage bustyears — notably thousandsof “strategic” walkawaysby borrowers with highscores — because theycould not anticipatehomeowners’ reactions toeconomic stress.

Unless lenders use moresophisticated assessmenttools that incorporate farmore than credit histories,Digital Risk said, they maybe misjudging not onlymany of today’s high-riskborrowers but other appli-cants who are safer betsthan their credit scoressuggest.

“The mortgage industryis relying on outdatedmethods to determinerisk,” said Peter Kassabov,chairman and chief execu-tive of Digital Risk, whichis based in Maitland, Fla.“During the mortgage cri-sis, high-FICO borrowersencountering distress de-faulted in huge numbers,yet we still depend heavilyon that one score alongwith (down payments) tomake lending and loanmodification decisions.”

According to one studyconducted in 2009, some588,000 homeownerswalked away from theirhomes during 2008 alone.This amounted to 18 per-cent of all serious defaultsthat year and shocked themortgage industry. FairIsaac, creator of the FICOscore, acknowledged theproblem, and last year re-leased an “analytic tool”that lenders can use to de-tect potential strategic de-faulters — high-scoring,credit-savvy borrowersprimarily — before theystop paying.

Digital Risk, however,said strategic default is notthe only weakness of tra-ditional credit scores. Thecompany describes itselfas the “nation’s largestprovider of mortgage risk,compliance and transac-tion management solu-tions,” and claims to haveseven of the top 10 mort-gage lenders as clients.

In early August, it intro-duced a multidimensionalrisk evaluation system itcalls “Veritas,” which itclaims integrates borrowercredit characteristics withproperty and local real es-tate market data alongwith proprietary behavior-al prediction models. Thebehavioral component in-cludes what the firm callsstatistical “clusters” ofborrower, property andmarket situations, 123 inall, that give lenders a bet-ter idea of how an appli-cant will react to financialproblems.

The system is based onanalyses of more than 5million loans originatedbetween 2006 and 2011,plus a separate study ofhow 100,000 borrowersperformed after havingtheir loan terms modified,according to the company.Alex Santos, president andco-founder of Digital Risk,said in an interview thatthe models have been“validated” on largebatches of clients’ loanfiles. Veritas separated outapplicants destined to de-fault in a period of finan-cial stress from those likelyto keep paying on time,even when credit scores

and other data were simi-lar.

The value of this formortgage applicantswhose scores don’t meettoday’s high requirementsis significant. For example,according to Santos, twohomebuyer with identical690 FICO scores anddown payments might berejected — Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac both have av-erage FICOs around 760.Yet using the Veritas sys-tem, one of them could beidentified as a safe bet andthe other a future disaster.

Fair Isaac isn’t takingcritiques of its scoringlightly. Anthony Sprauve,a FICO spokesman, said,“We continually work withour customers to makesure the FICO score is thebest predictor of a person’slikelihood to repay a debt.Our customers vote withtheir feet since, accordingto (research firm) TowerGroup, lenders ask for FI-CO scores more than 90percent of the time whenbuying scores from the bigcredit bureaus.”

Veritas is already beingused by a small number oflenders, according to San-tos, but as a newcomer tothe mortgage risk-scoringmarketplace it will taketime to be validated andwidely accepted — if ever.But the issue it raises is in-triguing: Are there bettertechnologies to evaluateloan applicants than creditscores?

The jury is out. But inthe meantime, if you planto buy or refinance, keepyour FICO score as high aspossible because FICO isstill what your lender isgoing to check.

Ken Harney’s email address [email protected].

WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP

Firm mountsattack oncredit scores

KennethHarney

THE NATION’S HOUSING

When it became clearthat allergies would pre-vent Nancy B. Westfall’sinfant daughter from hav-ing a rug in her room, theAtlanta-based artist turn-ed instead to paint, a fewstencils and a plan.

Westfall used the baby’sbedroom floor much likeshe would a canvas, paint-ing on it a diamond-shaped pattern that gavethe space a custom lookyou simply can’t achievewith a kid’s area rug.

Eleven years and anoth-er house later, Westfall re-mains a big fan of bringingfloors to life with color in-stead of covering them up.

“They look pretty refin-ished, and they look evenbetter painted,” Westfallsaid.

You don’t have to be aprofessional artist likeWestfall to do it, althoughproponents of painting thefloor say it does requirepatience and nerve.

Rachel Cannon Lewis,an interior designer in Ba-ton Rouge, La., encouragesclients to consider it.Painting a floor, whetherit’s wood or concrete, canbe more affordable thantile, carpet or other floorcoverings, she said.

And in homes that dateback more than a century,painted floors are morehistorically accurate: Backthen, people frequentlypainted their wide, plankwood floors to protectthem from warping, Lewissaid.

Plus, painting just looksgood.

“I’m starting to think ofthe floor as the sixth wall,”said Lewis, who considersfloors “an overlooked op-portunity to get creativeand introduce color.” (The“fifth wall,” by the way, isthe ceiling).

Painting floors yourselfcan be a lengthy process,Lewis said, primarily be-cause the thin, oil-basedpaint she recommends re-quires multiple coats, withlengthy dry times betweeneach one. Getting fancierby, say, creating a patternwith paint or a stencil re-quires even more patienceand precision.

Even if you hire a profes-sional painter, however,

“You have to be willing toembrace the idea that it’sgoing to be a different so-lution than what mostpeople tell you to do,” Le-wis said.

“There are going to befriends that come overwho don’t get it, and yourmom is not going to get it,”she said.

Painted floors are not asdurable as some of the al-ternatives, especially inhigh-traffic areas, saidSidney Wagner, a Charles-ton, S.C., interior design-er.

“Over time, even withpolyurethane, they willshow scratches and thepaint will scratch off,” shesaid. “However, a tip tohelp combat your floorsfrom looking too shabby isto paint a contrasting layerof color underneath. Sowhen that second layer ofcolor comes through withthe scratches, the marredfloors will look plannedwith your color scheme.”

Paint can be dramatic covering

Atlanta artist Nancy B. Westfall painted the floor inher daughter’s room, in this photo provided by GreggIrby Fine Art. AP PHOTO

BY DIANA MARSZALEKFor The Associated Press Painted floors

are not asdurable assome of thealternatives.


Watching our little avianneighbors enjoy the back-yard birdbath and feeder isone of life’s quiet pleasur-es. But when night falls,they too need a place tosleep.

Designers and crafts-men have turned their cre-ative talents to the task;some of the results mightmake you wish you coulddownsize yourself andgrow some wings.

First, some general tipsabout choosing and in-stalling birdhouses:

To deter birds’ naturalpredators — hawks, squir-rels, cats and even otherbirds — BirdFeeders Di-rect, based in Guelph, On-tario, Canada, suggestsplacing the house in anopen space away from un-derbrush or hedges. Con-sider customizing, if nec-essary, with a flap, or mak-ing holes and perches toosmall for unwanted birds.

Birds can be fussy aboutwhere they’ll live. Themale house wren buildsseveral nests; he gives hisnew mate a tour and shechooses her favorite.North American birdsdon’t nest near others oftheir species; purple mar-tins are the exception.

Gene Planker of WildBird Watching offers anumber of classic cedarhouses, including a nest-ing shelf for robins anddoves. He cautions againstbuying large, multiroomhouses unless they’re spe-cifically designed for pur-ple martins.

“They’re fine as piecesof art, but not practical forbirds,” he said. “They mayattract house sparrows,which we try to discour-age, as they harm many ofour native species.” Fierce-ly aggressive, sparrowswill destroy songbird eggsand kill adults.

Robins, mourning dovesand barn swallows prefer anest shelf to an enclosedhouse — basically a bird-house without a front.Nuthatches, chickadees,bluebirds and flickers like acavity to nest in. Havingseveral different sheltersaround your yard will en-sure a variety of birds havea place to nest, roost andtake shelter from theweather.

Keep the house, as wellas feeders and baths, awayfrom windows. Windowstrikes are a major cause ofdeath for backyard birds,as the large reflective sur-face looks just like more ofthe garden to them. If yourspace is tight, at least affixdeterring decals — colorfulones or images of birds ofprey or spider webs. Alter-natively, draw the blinds ortint the glass.

When buying or build-ing a birdhouse, check forany sharp edges or materi-als that could cause injury.Make sure there’s room inthe house for the type ofbird you’ll be attracting tobuild a nest and raise eggs.Never paint the interior orbuy one that’s been paint-ed inside. Birds won’t useit, and the paint toxins re-leased in summer will bedangerous.

Mount the house on apost or pole with a squirrelbaffle if necessary, or froma tree limb, in a fairly sun-ny location. Avoid denseshade or intense sun. Makesure you clean it out thor-oughly each year — expertsrecommend doing so inlate fall or early winter.

Where to buyFor design-conscious

bird lovers, Areaware hasKelly Lamb’s BuckminsterFuller-inspired ceramicgeodesic dome house, per-fect for swallows and war-blers. Jan Habraken’s redroost is perched on a shov-el handle; each time birdsland on the house, theshovel wiggles — ostensi-

bly stirring up worms andseeds.

BestNest.com sells aclever one that convertsfrom summer nestinghome to winter roost withthe adjustment of a fewsliding panels. The web re-tailer’s houses havethoughtful features likepredator entrance guards

and ventilating gaps.Homegoods’ brightly

painted birdhouses withlittle porches are inexpen-sive and charming.

Fabulousbirdhouse-s.com offers imaginativelighthouse, beach shackand fishing lodge designs.

If whimsy’s your thing,consider Denver-based

Crooked Creations’ wonkyyet wonderful birdhouse.Designed by Chad Blechaand built by Al Mowrer,the large Hobbit-y houseeven has indoor lighting.

And if budget’s really noobject, look up Wilming-ton, Del., artisan ThomasBurke. While he does callthem birdhouses, hisstructures are more likegrown-up playhouses.The large, historically ac-curate homes can be clap-board, brick or stone, with

downspouts and other de-tails.

Burke takes customcommissions. One sold for$9,000, stood 8 feet talland weighed 300 pounds.He recently built severalbirdhouses inspired byhomes in Andrew Wyethpaintings. Perfect for artcollectors, perhaps. Butyour backyard finch willno doubt feel perfectly athome in a modest littlebox.

Designing safe, stylish backyard homes for birds

This birdhouse was designed by Chad Blecha andbuilt by Alan Mowrer of Crooked Creations.

AP PHOTOS

Jan Habraken designed this shovel bird house fromAreaware.com.

Kelly Lamb designed this bird house from Areaware.com.

BY KIM COOKFor The Associated Press BIRDHOUSE

SOURCESwww.wild-bird

-watching.com —classic cedar housesfor woodpeckers($49.94), bluebirds($37.95) and wrens($27.95), and lots ofbirding information.

www.areaware.com — Kelly Lamb’sceramic geodesicdome, $95; Jan Ha-braken’s Shovelhouse, $190.

www.homegoods.com — col-orful decorativehouses, $12.99 to$14.99.

www.crookedcreations.com —Chad Blecha andAlan Mowrer’s Hob-bit-style house,$600.

www.tfburkebirdhomes.com — Tho-mas Burke’s customdesigned houses.

www.bestnest.com — Eastern pinebluebirdhouse,$37.99; Covesideconvertible house/winter roost, $37.99;Wing & a PrayerCarriage House,$154.99.

www.birdfeedersdirect.com — goodinfo on choosing,installing and main-taining your bird-house.

www.fabulousbirdhouses.com —beach hut, light-house and lodgehouses, $14.95 to$19.95.


At San Francisco’s an-nual Pacific Coast BuildersConference in June, whichis always chock full of newproducts and ideas, agroup of architects andother home design expertsdiscussed what’s new andhot in home design trends.

Some of it was a depar-ture from past years. Ifyou’re thinking of buildingor you’re planning on a re-model — either for your-self or to make things moreattractive for a potentialbuyer — these trendsmight offer some valuableinsights to help with yourplanning.

GaragesMany home designers

are looking at ways to de-sign smaller homes withspaces that serve multipleuses, and that now in-cludes the garage. Withspace in many homes at a

premium, it’s not toomuch of a stretch to con-sider cleaning up that vastcold expanse of concreteand making it more than aplace to park the car. Ga-rages are now sharingspace with exercise areas,hobby rooms and otheruses.

One of the most impor-tant uses for the garage isstorage, but not justshelves tacked to the wall.Built-in storage cabinetswith doors achieve a cleanand uncluttered look thatalso protects the contents.There are a number ofcompanies now offeringsleek and sturdy garagecabinets, workbenches,and wall-mounted storagesystems that are versatileand quite attractive. Thereare also ceiling-mountedplatform lifts for evenmore storage.

Walls should be drywall,

textured and painted witha washable paint. Use am-ple lighting, especially inwork areas. Consider anepoxy coating for the floor,or even a garage mat sur-face to create a brighter,more attractive area that’seasier to clean.

Laundry roomAnother space in the

house that’s doing doubleor even triple duty is thelaundry room. Rather thanhaving a single room that’sused solely for laundry,many of today’s designersare looking at making thisroom larger and allowing it

to handle multiple chores,which lets other rooms besmaller or even be elimi-nated.

Once again, storage isemphasized, with lots ofcabinet space for every-thing from cleaning sup-plies to extra toilet paper.Space can be provided forjust about any part-timeuse that doesn’t require alarge amount of squarefootage elsewhere, such ascrafts or even a small homeoffice.

For most situations, un-less the bulk of the livingspace is on the secondfloor, the design pros feltthat a first-floor laundryroom was preferable. Onedesigner adds a doggydoor in her laundry roomdesigns that goes throughthe wall to the backyard.

The designers also em-phasized the importanceof a transition area be-

tween the garage and thehouse.

The transition areamight be the laundryroom, or it might be an-other intermediate spacesuch as a mud room area,with a sink for washing up.The transition area shouldcontain a bench or otherseating for removingshoes, as well as storage forhats, coats, gloves andother outdoor essentials.

KitchensKitchens, of course, are

one of the biggest sellers inhome design. Some de-signers are getting awayfrom traditional “work tri-angle” design, and arelooking more at designsthat work for specific us-ers.

But one thing that all thedesigners agreed on was agrowing emphasis on workislands. Islands are very

popular, and may incorpo-rate a cooktop, prep sink orsome other element thatmakes it easier for twocooks to operate at thesame time.

Eat-in kitchens remainpopular, with space at theisland or at a peninsula foreating. But what’s defi-nitely changed is the ar-rangement of the seating.

Designers are gettingaway from the “picnicbench” seating arrange-ment, with all the stools orchairs in a row, which isnot conducive to conver-sation. That’s being re-placed by 90-degree seat-ing, with stools along twoor even three perpendicu-lar edges of the island.

Remodeling and repair questions? EmailPaul at [email protected]. Allproduct reviews are based on theauthor’s actual testing of free reviewsamples provided by the manufacturers.

INMAN NEWS

Maximize socializing, storage during remodelingPaulBianchina

HANDY @ HOME

BLANCHARD — CentralOklahoma Habitat for Hu-manity invites the publicto an open house from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday atHabitat’s first completedhome at 591 SW 14 in itsnew Shelliebrook neigh-borhood.

From Oklahoma City,take Interstate 44 to exit107 to merge onto U.S. 277/62 toward Newcastle andBlanchard. Continue for 13miles; turn left onto StateHighway 76 and proceedto the neighborhood,which is on the left.

The addition, developedby Central OklahomaHabitat, has 30 lots, andthe organization is accept-ing applications.

“The open house is thefirst step in our excitingplan for the Shelliebrookneighborhood,” said AnnFelton Gilliland, chairmanand CEO of Central Okla-

homa Habitat for Human-ity. “With 30 lots avail-able, we are excited to jointhe Blanchard communityand look forward to help-ing families realize theirdreams of homeowner-ship.”

Habitat homes have ze-ro-interest mortgages andare built with great energyefficiency to maximize af-fordability for home-buyers.

Habitat for Humanity’shomeowner program isbased on need, ability to

pay and willingness topartner.

Additionally, applicantsmust be willing to partici-pate in financial planningand budgeting workshops,be active members of theirHabitat neighborhood andmeet other requirements.

For more information,go to www.cohfh.org orcall 232-4828. Additionalinformation and applica-tion forms will be availableat the Shelliebrook openhouse.

Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity’s first completed home at 591 SW 14 in itsnew Shelliebrook neighborhood in Blanchard. PHOTO PROVIDED

Habitat for Humanity to showits first home in neighborhoodFROM STAFF REPORTS


Oklahoma CitySodexo, 700 NE 13, medical clinic-office,

remodel, $3,000,000.Miller-Tippens Construction Co. LLC,

4801 SW 20, warehouse, erect, $1,588,000.Sodexo, 700 NE 13, office, remodel,

$1,500,000.Clark Construction, 14101 N Eastern Ave.,

medical clinic-office, remodel, $900,000.The Restoration Corp., 4928 W Interstate

40 Service Road, business, remodel,$600,000.

Huffman Construction, 11608 MilanoRoad, residence, erect, $487,019.

Alan Stuck Custom Homes, 13190 N Mac-Arthur Blvd., office, erect, $300,000.

Dave Carr Construction, 15308 CreekVista Circle, residence, erect, $275,000.

Dreamworks Construction LLC, 7617NW 135, residence, erect, $265,000.

J. Hill Homes Inc., 9901 Piedmont Road,residence, erect, $259,000.

4 Corners Construction LLC, 15024 SE 59Terrace, residence, erect, $258,000.

E-Z Living Homes Inc., 13212 NW 5, resi-dence, erect, $250,000.

Manchester Green Homes LLC, 1421 NW187, residence, erect, $246,900.

4 Corners Construction LLC, 5901Montford Way, residence, erect, $245,000.

Onpoint Construction, 7808 SW 85 Cir-cle, residence, erect, $240,000.

Jeff Click Homes LLC, 17420 Marsh HawkCourt, residence, erect, $226,000.

Heartland Homes LLC, 11209 NW 7, resi-dence, erect, $225,500.

Oklahoma Steel Building Systems, 4725 SEastern Ave., recycling, erect, $222,000.

Oklahoma Steel Building Systems, 4725 SEastern Ave., recycling, erect, $222,000.

TK Architects, 6001 N Martin LutherKing Ave., theater, remodel, $220,000.

Zi Construction LLC, 6432 SW 3, restau-rant, remodel, $219,000.

Manchester Green Homes LLC, 1425 NW188, residence, erect, $217,622.

Authentic Custom Homes LLC, 14129Kenley Way, residence, erect, $210,000.

Authentic Custom Homes LLC, 14105Kenley Way, residence, erect, $205,000.

Clayton Coker, 5600 Royal Drive, resi-dence, erect, $200,000.

G&C Holdings LLC, 6724 Pat Ave., ware-house, erect, $200,000.

Katleron Construction Inc., 19005Meadows Crossing Drive, residence, erect,$200,000.

Onpoint Construction, 7801 SW 87 Cir-cle, residence, erect, $198,000.

S&D Homes, 728 Evening Drive, resi-dence, erect, $198,000.

4 Corners Construction LLC, 10625 Gra-nada Drive, residence, erect, $192,000.

Breana and Jerad Fritze, 4601 OakwoodLane, residence, erect, $180,000.

Taber Built Homes LLC, 8612 SW 58 Cir-cle, residence, erect, $180,000.


Taber Built Homes LLC, 17401MurcielagoCourt, residence, erect, $180,000.


Taber Built Homes LLC, 2424 NW 155,residence, erect, $180,000.

Taber Built Homes LLC, 15220 Home-coming Drive, residence, erect, $180,000.

Taber Built Homes LLC, 2405 NW 155,residence, erect, $180,000.

Mashburn Faires Homes LLC, 3108 SW139, residence, erect, $178,850.

Affinity Homes LLC, 17501 MurcielagoCourt, residence, erect, $170,000.

Sun Properties LLC, 11749 SW 22 Terrace,residence, erect, $170,000.

Vintage Custom Homes LLC, 128 SW 175Terrace, residence, erect, $170,000.

Heartland Homes LLC, 17601 Red TailedHawk Way, residence, erect, $169,900.

Stanley Fine Homes LLC, 19408 Field-shire Drive, residence, erect, $169,000.

storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$4,900.

Jerald Koehn, 4924 NW 35, storm shel-ter, install-storm shelter, $4,500.

David and Elizabeth Schlernitzauer,15400 Brenton Hills Ave., storm shelter, in-stall-storm shelter, $4,475.

Betty Otugo, 200 NW 160, storm shelter,install-storm shelter, $4,295.

Jimmy Mollet, 11241 NW 100, storm shel-ter, install-storm shelter, $4,200.

Thomas and Jacquelyn Fry, 9517 WindingHollow Road, storm shelter, install-stormshelter, $4,200.

Janet Hurst, 1605 SW 78 Terrace, stormshelter, remodel, $4,000.

Kim Eubank, 2009 Norwich Circle,storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$4,000.

Sheryl Holford, 11201 N Eagle Lane, add-on, add-on, $4,000.

Vortech Storm Shelters, 905 PosadosDrive, storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$3,975.

Joe E. de la Cruz, 8713 NW 117 Court,storm shelter, install-storm shelter, $3,950.

Bobby Ribble, 8817 NW 116 Terrace,storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$3,900.

C.J. Link, 2648 SW 111, storm shelter, in-stall-storm shelter, $3,800.

Joe and Courtney di Bello, 1205 SW 131,storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$3,600.

Darrell and Shelly Kelly, 13116 SW 10,storm shelter, install-storm shelter, $3,500.

Bradley E. Davenport, 16616 MoorgateLane, storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$3,200.

Rex Montgomery, 10601 NW 41, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,200.

Red Callaway, 4505 N Utah Ave., stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,100.

Stephen Hopkins, 10713 Cliffe HollowDrive, storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$3,100.

George Hailey, 2608 SE 97, storm shelter,install-storm shelter, $3,000.

Randy Carr, 11117 Ashford Drive, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,000.

Susan Hall, 14701 SE 83 Court, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,000.

Ground Zero, 11204 Lakeridge Run, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,000.

Ground Zero, 15933 Korie Drive, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $3,000.

Randal Jones, 10801 Keen Oak Road,storm shelter, install-storm shelter, $2,995.

Robert Nolan, 19208 Canyon CreekPlace, storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$2,995.

Ground Zero, 4101 SE 89 Terrace, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $2,995.

Po-Hao Huang, 17900 Scarlet Oak Lane,storm shelter, install-storm shelter,$2,900.

Danica Arnold, 17617 Iron Lane, stormshelter, install-storm shelter, $2,800.

Alloy Building Co., 1508 SW 35, canopy-carport, add-on, $2,500.

Flat Safe, 1116 NW 197, storm shelter, in-stall-storm shelter, $1,995.

Irene F. Weaver, 2609 SW 85, residence,add-on, $1,800.

David Roberts, 3315 Dutch Forest Place,accessory, erect, $1,500.

Boots-N-Saddle, 2748 NE 23, club-tav-ern, remodel, $1,000.

DemolitionsMidwest Wrecking, 13020 Broadway Ex-

tension.Kevin Davis, 1617 NW 28, apartment.Midwest Wrecking, 4200 S Harvey Ave.,

accessory.Midwest Wrecking, 1913 E Madison, ac-

cessory.Midwest Wrecking, 1444 NE 8, accesso-

ry.Midwest Wrecking, 4 S Blackwelder

Ave., residence.Russell Lee, 4300 SE 118, residence.Ray’s Trucking, 314 SW 30, single-family

residence.

Stanley Fine Homes LLC, 19604 MeadowBend Ave., residence, erect, $167,000.

Sun Properties LLC, 11753 SW 22 Terrace,residence, erect, $160,000.

Cutter Homes, 2313 Makaila Way, resi-dence, erect, $150,000.

Jeff Click Homes LLC, 17804 Black HawkCircle, residence, erect, $150,000.

Mashburn Faires Homes LLC, 8917 NW110, residence, erect, $145,600.

Jeff Click Homes LLC, 17713 Black HawkCircle, residence, erect, $140,000.

Vintage Custom Homes LLC, 3700 Lam-beth, residence, erect, $135,000.

Ideal Homes of Norman LP, 500 GoyaCircle, residence, erect, $122,000.

Witt Construction Inc., 4008 WindgateWest Road, residence, erect, $122,000.

Witt Construction Inc., 4000 WindgateWest Road, residence, erect, $120,000.

Ideal Homes of Norman LP, 14005 WagonBoss Road, residence, erect, $113,000.

Harbor Homes, 420 SW 168, residence,erect, $110,000.

Harbor Homes, 17005 Prado Drive, resi-dence, erect, $110,000.

Rausch Coleman Homes LLC, 11801 NW131, residence, erect, $109,000.

AMF Development, 5705 SanderlingRoad, residence, erect, $100,000.



Home Creations, 11201 NW 100, resi-dence, erect, $92,500.

Central Oklahoma Habitat For Human-ity, 628 SE 26, residence, erect, $80,000.



Backyard Solutions, 9601 SW 59, caba-na-gazebo, erect, $78,000.

DCM-Dale Odum, 2815 NW 10, restau-rant, remodel, $75,000.

REO Construction, 2201 NW 122, apart-ment, fire restoration, $65,000.

Homescape Custom Interiors, 916 NW45, residence, add-on, $60,000.

Specialty Construction Services LLC,440 NW 16, residence, remodel, $60,000.

James Varnum, 612 NW 29, apartment,remodel, $40,000.

Bromley Hall Fine Homes LLC, 1127 BlueWister Cove, residence, add-on, $35,000.

Burnham Nationwide, 13726 N Pennsyl-vania Ave., retail sales, remodel, $35,000.

Covington Woodwork Inc., 3317 HickoryStick Road, canopy-carport, add-on,$35,000.

Dan Phan, 5605 SE 84, residence, add-on, $35,000.

Welcome Home LLC, 9628 NW 13 Place,manufactured home, move-on, $32,000.

Kathren Remington, 3308 SE 89, manu-factured home, move-on-mobile homepark, $25,900.

Hallman Group LLC, 2856 Guilford Lane,accessory, erect, $20,000.

Rose Creek Cottages Construction LLC,17104 Trophy Drive, residence, supplement,$20,000.

Gibraltar Construction Co., 10320 SE 55,residence, add-on, $18,000.

Micah King, 7611 SW 98, storage, erect,$17,000.

Pamcorp, 3113 Neosho Ave., tower-an-tenna, install, $15,000.

Edward Thayer, 4124 NW 44, accessory,erect, $14,000.

Rita Chandler, 1421 NW 165 Court, resi-dence, remodel, $13,000.

Clayton Coker, 5600 Royal Drive, acces-sory, erect, $12,000.

Outdoor Creative Designs, 11701 S Mus-tang Road, residence, add-on, $12,000.

Raul Estrada, 1424 SW 32, residence, firerestoration, $12,000.


Thrash Construction Co. Inc., 3400Northwest Expressway, medical clinic-of-fice, remodel, $10,000.

Ground Zero, 14301 Middleberry Road,

Permits

The Oklahoma Green BuildingSummit, a daylong conference forresidential and commercial build-ers, Realtors, architects, engineersand others in the construction in-dustry, will be from 8:30 a.m. to 5p.m. Sept. 27 at Midwest City’s ReedCenter at Interstate 40 and SoonerRoad.

Early registration is $50 per per-son. More than 400 people are ex-pected to attend. For a schedule andregistration, go to www.okgreenbuildingsummit.com.

Educational tracks will be offeredto four distinct audiences: commer-cial builders, residential builders,HVAC/code enforcement and ap-praisers/Realtors.

The lunchtime round-table dis-cussion will showcase representa-tives from Devon Energy Corp., whowill talk about the construction ofthe company’s new headquarters.

Session speakers include Okla-homa Secretary of Energy MikeMing, who will open the sessionwith “Oklahoma’s First EnergyPlan”; Justin Wilson, founder andpresident of Colorado-based Build-ing Performance Solutions, a pastrecipient of the Built Green Colora-do Builder of the Year Award; andBob Hart, a Realtor in Santa Barbara,Calif., a recognized expert in greenreal estate.

Continuing education credits willbe available for Certified Green Pro-fessionals, Certified ProfessionalBuilders and Realtors. Realtors canearn up to one-third of their Greendesignation with this class. Thestate Construction Industries Boardis considering credit hours for homeinspectors and code officials.

OklahomaGreenBuildingSummit set

NICHOLSHILLS —TuckerBrollier hasjoined Ma-rilyn TorbettCo., 6440AvondaleDrive, Suite200, as aresidentialreal estatesales associ-ate.

Tucker was a top producer forMcGraw Realtors in Tulsa since 2007where he represented a new homedevelopment company. He recentlymoved back to Oklahoma City. Hestudied communications at the Uni-versity of Oklahoma.

Brollier joinsMarilyn Torbett

Tucker Brollier


DEAR BARRY: We havecracks on an interior wallin our basement, and theyseem to be getting wider.I’ve tried to find a struc-tural engineer who in-spects houses, but the en-gineers I’ve called onlydeal in commercial prop-erties. One of them agreedto take a look, but he wasunfamiliar with the kind ofcracks that we have andwas unable to explain theircause. How can I find astructural engineer whocan help us sort this out?

ChrisDEAR CHRIS: There are

engineers who routinelyevaluate structural prob-lems with residentialbuildings. The challenge isto locate one of them inyour area. Three leads thatyou can pursue are Real-tors, home inspectors and

architects.Real estate agents often

need the services of astructural engineer tocomplete the sale of ahome when foundationproblems are disclosed.Home inspectors often be-come familiar with the en-gineers who evaluate theconditions revealed inhome inspection reports.And architects routinelyrely on engineers to pro-vide specifications fortheir plans. You mighteven get lucky and find a

home inspector who is a li-censed engineer. Makesome phone calls and seewho turns up.

DEAR BARRY: Mydaughter just purchased ahome that was a short sale.She hired a home inspectorwho pointed out a fewproblems, but nothingmajor was disclosed. Sincemoving in, we have foundevidence that the home issinking. The front entrywalkway, for example, haslarge cracks and is very un-even. If a home inspectorfails to see obvious prob-lems such as this, does thehomeowner have to pay forthe repairs, or is the in-spector financially liable?

LouieDEAR LOUIE: Home in-

spectors are liable for de-fects that are visible, ac-cessible and within the de-

fined scope of a home in-spection. However, if theonly evidence that con-cerns you is the conditionof the exterior pavement,they may be no reason toassume that the buildingitself is affected.

The first thing youshould do is to notify theinspector of your concernsand ask that he take a sec-ond look. If there are is-sues with the building it-self, be sure to point theseout. If the only symptominvolves the front side-walk, there is probably noneed for concern and noliability for the inspector.

DEAR BARRY: I boughtmy home about twomonths ago. Last week, Itrimmed the tree limbsthat had been covering aportion of the roof and wassurprised to find a lot of

roof damage, includingmissing shingles androtted wood. Is myhome inspector liablefor not disclosing this?

ZachDEAR ZACH: Your

home inspectorcouldn’t have seen theroof damage under thetree limbs, but he shouldhave pointed out thatthe roof was encum-bered with vegetationand that pruning wasneeded to enable furtherinspection. Failure toinclude that in his in-spection report couldmake him liable for re-pairs. You should notifyhim of the problem andask that he reinspect thearea in question.

To write to Barry Stone, go towww.housedetective.com.

ACCESS MEDIA GROUP

Getting cracks inspected may take legworkBarryStone

INSPECTOR’S IN THEHOUSE

Real estateagents oftenneed theservices of astructuralengineer tocomplete thesale of a homewhen foundationproblems aredisclosed. Homeinspectors oftenbecome familiarwith theengineers whoevaluate theconditionsrevealed ininspectionreports.


Arched openings accentthe graceful porch colon-nade that greets visitors tothe Kendall, a medium-size home that offers plen-ty of family living space,both formal and informal.Its tile roof and stucco ex-terior are redolent of sun-ny climes.

Owners of the homecould confine their livingto the ground floor, if theywish, since the owners’suite is on this level.

This leaves the secondfloor for children, visitinggrandchildren or otherguests. These rooms couldalso be used for offices orhobby space, if desired.

A long custom-shapedeating bar provides partialseparation between thekitchen and the nook.Otherwise this area is wideopen, and offers easy ac-cess to the screened porchand patio.

Vaulted to the secondfloor, the family room anddining room are bathed innatural light from a wealthof windows. The home hasa fireplace. The curvedsecond-floor landingforms a bridge that over-looks the family room tothe back and the diningroom and entryway to thefront.

Holiday and formalgatherings can spread outin the spacious diningroom and parlor. The frontparlor is brightened by awide bay window thatfronts the covered porch.

The owners’ suite fea-tures access to the widepatio, and has a privatebathroom with a walk-incloset, raised spa and sep-arately enclosed showerand toilet.

Two large bedrooms,one of them vaulted, share

a two-section bathroomupstairs.

Since each section hasits own vanity, two can usethe bathroom at once inrelative privacy.

The Kendall’s utilityroom and powder room areequally convenient to thekitchen and the two-cargarage.

A review plan of the Kendall 11-092,including floor plans, elevations, sectionand artist’s conception, can bepurchased for $25 by phone, mail oronline. Add $5 for shipping and handling.Associated Designs, 1100 Jacobs Drive,Eugene, OR, 97402.www.associateddesigns.com. (800)634-0123.

HOUSE PLAN

Plan provides lots of living space

In the old days, acracked driveway wassummarily patched. And aseriously broken and dam-aged driveway was re-placed with new concrete.But little about today’s dri-veways — and sidewalks —is that conventional any-more.

Homeowners now havean enormous array of op-tions, from a rainbow ofcolor choices to a range oftextural effects when itcomes to replacing or re-vamping their driveway.

Michael Dussling, theowner of Concrete Resur-facing Products in Suwa-nee, Ga., has been workingfor 14 years in the concretebusiness. In addition to of-fering a variety of exteriortreatments for driveways,sidewalks, pool decks andwalkways, Dussling offersinterior concrete treat-ments like acid stains andconcrete polishing forkitchen, basement and ga-rage floors.

“My customers are intwo different groups,”Dussling said. “One: peo-ple who just want some-thing decorative put ontheir concrete. And two:someone who has struc-tural or cosmetic problemswith the existing surfacethat they want to fix. Andthey don’t want to see therepairs, so they want tocover it up.”

There are also twoschools of thought when itcomes to resurfacing dam-aged driveways. Bill Su-dlow of Atlanta’s SudlowConcrete has worked in

the concrete business for 12years and is less inclined torepair a crack in a concretedriveway because of theimpossibility of matchingnew concrete to old.

“To repair a driveway issort of a misnomer; youcan’t really repair concretebecause the patch looksworse than the crack. Butyou can remove a sectionof the driveway and re-place it,” Sudlow said.

More often though,when the driveway is un-sightly, his customerschoose a complete drive-way replacement. “If it’san upscale house in an up-scale neighborhood, mostpeople just opt to go aheadand replace the whole dri-veway,” Sudlow said.

If cosmetic issues arethe crux of your concretecomplaints, resurfacing isoften the answer.

“The advantage of doinga resurfacing over tearingout and repouring a drive-way is it’s about half asmuch,” Dussling said.“The downside is, if you’vegot cracks in the driveway,we can repair them beforewe do it and we always do.”

Another considerationwhen planning a drivewayor sidewalk repair or re-placement is the neighbors— or the city. Some home-owners need to be aware,Sudlow said, that theirmunicipality will have toapprove any changes theywill want to make to thesidewalks in front of theirhome. “(In some cases),there’s all kinds of specialpermits you have to get,and it’s a big headache,”Sudlow said.

MCT INFORMATION SERVICES

Planning, permissionneeded in revampingcracked drivewayBY FELICIA FEASTERAtlanta Journal-Constitution


ATLANTA — While a full-size swimming pool islovely if you have the spaceand the money, there areplenty of other water fea-tures that will help yousoak tired muscles, cool offand stay in shape.

Compact, space-con-serving hot tubs, lap poolsand swim spas have ex-panded aquatic options forhomeowners.

Forget the cliche of the1970s-era party animal hottub. Today’s hot tub owneris more often an empty-nest baby boomer lookingfor decompression insteadof action, architects andretailers explained.

“The No. 1reason peopleown hot tubs is for relaxa-tion and stress relief be-cause from a physiologicalstandpoint it actually doesdilate the capillaries, low-ers your blood pressure. Itdoes relax you,” said AdamBurke, the owner of twolocations of Atlanta Spa &Leisure.

Burke carries a variety ofhot tubs and jetted swimspas at his stores, includ-ing the Michael Phelps lineof high-performanceswim spas, which use pro-pellers to create a currentto swim against.

“The swim spas havehad a big uptick as the ba-by boomers have movedinto retirement,” Burkesaid. “They have thoseaches and pains, hip re-placement, knee replace-ment, old sports injuries,”

making swim spas and hottubs an ideal zero-impactworkout.

Many older customersalso are choosing waterfeatures to create a vaca-tion-worthy experience athome, said Moon Bros. ar-chitect and co-ownerMark Fosner.

Fosner is installing a hottub and enclosing a 20-foot-long jetted swim spain one home. “And that’stheir retreat,” he said.

Architect Michael Gam-ble of Gamble & GambleArchitecture said he hasseen a definite increase inclients wanting water fea-tures like lap pools or hottubs, which are far more

affordable than a tradi-tional swimming pool.

“You can build a smallwater feature in the back-yard for a very reasonableamount of money — lessthan $10,000,” Gamblesaid.

Whether your hot tub orswim spa is placed insideor outside, architects andretailers recommend thatyou treat a water featurenot just as an experience toenhance your quality oflife, but as a design ele-ment within your home.Consider your view fromthe water, privacy, whenyou will be most likely touse it, sun angle and main-tenance.

“You’re using it to en-hance the experience ofthe house,” Gamble said.

Hot tub tipsCheck local codes to see

how to keep your hot tubor pool safe. Most areas re-quire at least a 5-foot fencesurrounding the pool.Locking safety covers alsocan help.

“Covers have improvedconsiderably,” Fosner said.Many covers are nowplaced down at the waterlevel and disappear into avault when not in use, tomake them less obtrusive,and can support substan-tial weight if someone ac-cidentally steps onto thetub cover.

When placing a hot tubinside a home, “you haveto control the humidity,”

most often with a perma-nent dehumidifier, Fosnersaid.

Burke said he prefers notto recess hot tubs, to pre-vent accidental falls intothe hot tub and to makethe tub mechanics easierto access. And when itcomes time to sell, he said,“if you don’t sink them in-to the deck, they’re a bar-gaining chip, because youcan actually take themaway.”

Make sure that yourdeck or foundation cansupport the combinedweight of the tub, waterand occupants, Burke said.That extends to any re-taining walls built to sup-port a tub or pool.

“The classic mistake ispeople put it in a prettysteep site and they don’t

do their retaining wall cor-rectly,” Fosner said.

Some hot tubs featurebuilt-in LED lights at thebase to light your way tothe tub, Burke said, butconsider how lighting canaffect things like the viewof the stars overhead.

To create a spa experi-ence, some people com-bine hot tubs and plungepools to offer a hot soakfollowed by a bracing coldplunge.

Swim spas allow you toswim against a jet or pro-peller-created current orinclude aerobic featureslike an underwater tread-mil or bicycle. Some spasand hot tubs even integratea DVD player or a soundsystem to keep you enter-tained while you exercise.


Lap pools and hot tubs offer fitness, relaxationBY FELICIA FEASTERAtlanta Journal-Constitution

This lap pool at a home in Sandy Springs, Ga., which the homeowner uses forfitness, attaches to a deeper swimming pool to allow both exercise and relaxationin one water feature.

A workout and yoga room at a home in Druid Hills,Ga., completes the spa experience when combinedwith a water feature that can work as either a hottub or plunge pool. MCT PHOTOS

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Lender. Photos & info at:www.foxruncabin.com

Convenience Store in Wilson, OK,Hwy 70. Gas, cafe & Deli, 290,000

580-668-2466 or 580-465-3308

» Cafe for sale NW OKC. Pizzarestaurant for sale SW OKC.

For inquiries » » 405-210-8449

GREAT Office Space. Various NWlocations, 300-6000sf 946-2516

1200 sq ft, 86th and South Penn$12.50 a sq ft + utilities 826-9181

K Office, K Warehouse. Varioussizes. 221 W Wilshire 842-7300

3928 E Reno $1950mo house & lg1500sf whse 601-5905 235-5028

MOVE IN NOW!Pd. water/garbage Quiet.Try Plaza East • 341-4813

Free Month Rent! 1&2bd QUIET!Cov. Parking Great Schls732-1122

3bd apt. available Sec 8, 794-02011200 NW 10th St, Moore Schools

Efficiency Apt. $350 Rent + Elec.2008K NE 16th Terr. 474-1904

$200 off1st Mo Rent Selected UnitsLarge Townhomes & Apartments

• Washer, Dryers, pools• PC Schools, fireplaces

WILLIAMSBURG7301 NW 23rd 787-1620

$200 Off1st Mo Rent Selected units

2 & 3 bed TownhousesWasher/Dryers,

Fireplaces, P.C. SchoolsPARKLANE 721-5455

8100 N. MacArthur Blvd

$99 Special1 & 2 BD & Townhouses•City bus route/Shopping•Washer/Dryer hookups

Valencia Apts2221 N. Meridian 946-6548

Large 2bd Special$549 Casady 751-8088

Furnished/Unfurnished. Bills Paid» Wkly/Mnthly. Wes Chase AptsElk Horn Apts, Hillcrest 370-1077

Brand New 2 Bed 2 Bath800 N Meridian 946-9506

800 N. Meridian1 bed. All bills paid 946-9506

•ABC• Affordable,Bug free, Clean » 787-7212»

Newly Remodeled 1&2bdNo deposit for VA, seniors &

Disability. 4708 SE 44th 677-2200

Large 1 & 2 beds. Stove, refrig,3 SW OKC Locations$345 to 420 mo 632-9849

Furnished/Unfurnished. Bills Paid» Wkly/Mnthly. Wes Chase AptsElk Horn Apts, Hillcrest 370-1077

8005 NW 8th Unit 272Thousand Oaks 1bd condo, fridge,

stove, washer/dryer, ch/a $525Fidelity RE 410-4200

Nice 1 bd, 2 din, appls, w/d hkup,2419 NW 12th, $470, 301-5979.

3/2.5/2 NICE!!! 9909 MashburnBlvd. $900, 412-8540, No Sec 8

425 SW 33rd. Large 1bd, utlty rm,appls, AC, prvt dr, no pets, $450mo, $250dep, water pd. 650-0963

Bills PaidFurnished/Unfurnished

Weekly/Monthly 370-1077

Large 3 bed 2 bath 2 car$775 a month Sec 8 OK, 330-1880

16925 Valley Crest 3/2/2 $11951321 Pennington 2/2/1 $725413 Clermont 3/2/2 $11501508 NW 179 Tr 3/2/2 $139522655 Stherly Farm 3/2.5/5 $2395Express Realty 844-6101

www.expressrealtyok.com

3/2/1 brk kit appls year leaseClean avail now $700+ deps

454-2314 or 664-3751

2bd 2ba 1car, vault ceil, fans,Extra Nice! no pets. $625

354-7413 or 642-3847

1 mi E of Tinker, 3b, 1b, 2c, ch&a,$575+$400 dep, no pets, 732-4351

228 W Pratt 2/2/2, 2 living $850681-7272

711 E. Pointe Court Lane3bd, 2ba, 2car CH&A 1600sq ft.MOL No Smoking $1,150/mo +

$900dep, 405-262-0179

Great 2 bed, neighbors, price.2217 NE 19th--405-424-2201

833 E Eubanks 3/1 + storage $495681-7272

3bd 1ba, $550 + dep, ch&a, W/D2233 NE 19th 405-225-6385

2642 NW 66 3/2/2 $12953513 Kentucky 3/1.5/1 $85011320 Eagle 3/2/2 $11952805 Kerry Ln 3/2/2 $119512305 Cedar Springs 2/2.5/2 $975Express Realty 844-6101

www.expressrealtyok.com

3410 Cameron Court, 2/2/1all appl $725 DPLX no pets

JW Rlty 755-2510

LEASE PURCHASETotally redone ,4bd/2bath/2car,

$1150 month, 308-9291.

616 NW 92nd 3bd 1ba $450681-7272

2, 3 & 4 bd House/Apt, All elec.W/D Hook-up. Sec 8 Ok 235-4328

121 NW 17th 3bd, 1.5ba, a/c, fncdyard $650mo, $650dep 524-0887

Peaceful 3bd 2ba Brick Home1900sf $1085 255-4300

2601 SE 51, 3/1K /2, ch&a, no 8/pets, refs $725 may sell 740-6072

2121 SW 27th 2bd 1ba $350540 SW 44th 2bd 1ba 1car $425

Free List ¡ 681-7272

Purcell 805 Crown Hts Ln. 1100sf3/2/2 small bk yd no pets or sec8. $1000+ dep Maria 618-0563

6809 Lewis Ln. Executive Home.Over 1800 sf. Master suite, jetted

tub, 10ft ceilings, 3 car garage,country setting, convenient toS. OKC. $1300mo ¡ 550-9097

4/2/2, 1800sqft, pool, 905 ExterCircle, $1275 mo, $1275 dep.

Mustang schl, avail 9/1, 265-0205

2 & 3 bed mobile homes, far NEOKC, near Jones, 733-8688.

Rent to Own: Nice 2 & 3bedMWC $350 & up 390-9777

3/2/2 + study 1650sf, 1.3ac $1100Home & Ranch Realty 794-7777

3bd 2ba 2car 1370sf $975+dep4/2/2, 1750sf fireplace $1350+depHome & Ranch Realty 794-7777


The Listing of the Weekis a restored bungalow inthe Mesta Park area ofnorthwest Oklahoma City.

The 2,914-square-foothome at 932 NW 16 hasfive bedrooms, 2 ½ baths,two living rooms, one din-ing room and a detachedsingle-car garage.

The home has hardwoodflooring throughout,

crown molding, granite inthe kitchen, stainless-steelappliances, central heatand air, large rooms, lots ofstorage, a large frontporch, outdoor living area,unfinished basement andthird-floor theater room.

The home has outbuild-ings, a covered porch, openpatio, storage area, securi-ty system and under-

ground sprinkler system.The home, built in 1920,

is listed for $350,000 withRyan Hukill of ParadigmAdvantEdge Real Estate.For more information, call259-6565.

Nominations for Listing of the Weekare welcome. Send a copy of the MLSinformation sheet on a single-familyhome to The Oklahoman, Richard Mize,P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK73125. Nominations may be faxed to475-3996.

The Listing of the Week is at 932 NW 16. PHOTO PROVIDED

LISTING OF THE WEEK

Restored bungalow has5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths

Bookcases are in transi-tion, just like the peoplewho own them. The print-ed word no longer needspaper, and paper no longerneeds stiffened linen orleather to contain it and bea book.

Rows of decorativespines with titles stampedin gold or black — thoseadvertisements of ahousehold’s taste and per-sonality lined up in view —might actually start look-ing a bit too 20th centuryfor people hurtling them-selves into a paperless fu-ture.

Or not.Current magazines still

recommend buying hard-backs for almost nothingat garage sales to fillshelves to make a personseem well-read. As re-cently as March 2012,Dwight Garner, after tak-ing a dig at the limitationsof e-books in The NewYork Times, thought it rel-evant to quote bibliophileand novelist Anna Quin-dlen: “I would be mostcontent if my childrengrew to be the kind of peo-ple who think decoratingconsists mostly of buildingbookshelves.”

And Benjamin Sunder-meier, designer at SpacePlanning + Design in Kan-sas City, Mo., said his cli-ents don’t seem motivatedto “shift away fromshelves” housing books.

In the books-versus-

bookless micro-contro-versy, books still have a lotof support. (In the emi-nently practical “UseWhat You Have Decorat-ing” by Lauri Ward, booksare treated as design ac-cessories that deservethoughtful, neat shelvingthat doesn’t mix in dis-tractions like photos, artobjects or gewgaws.)

Let’s say, however, thatyour attachment to someof your books (paperbacksof Jodi Picoult? First edi-tions of Tom Clancy?) isstarting to fade as you de-velop your love affair withyour e-reader. Perhaps

you’re trying to simplify orallot space to some of theother design accessoriesyou have acquired. It’shardly news that book-shelves are also the perfectvenue to display collec-tions of majolica, BlueWillow china or “StarWars” action figures,among countless possibil-ities.

Shelving has alwaysbeen about showing anowner’s personalitythrough possessions, andthere are many ways to dothis without an assem-blage of books. Snobbish-ness that books make a

household seem educatedand serious may give wayto other philosophies asnew technologies continueto gain influence.

Sundermeier has re-cently noticed a trend to-ward re-purposing book-shelves for imaginative us-es in the home. “We usedantique bookshelves in acloset for shoes and sweat-ers and boxes,” he said of arecent design project.

Another client, he said,has an iron-and-woodbookshelf “displaying hercollection of beautifulcookware and her kitchenTV.”

In another house, a Chi-nese pot rack has found itsfunction as a place to stackbooks.

Sundermeier said theserough-hewed, individual-ized shelves are part of adirection in decor thatputs special emphasis onhaving a home filled withone-of-a-kind items.

He noted that the influ-ential High Point furnituremarket in North Carolinarecently chose to reportsome of the findings of theBritish-based “Trend Bi-ble”: a move toward interi-ors that don’t look “done,”that embrace imperfec-tions and objects with apatina or well-loved wear.

It’s a reaction againstthe numbing sameness ofall things digital. That caninclude bookshelves andwhat people choose to puton them. “I have a clientwith traditional bookcaseswho put her creamwarecollection in them in herliving room,” he said.

In 2012, how you displaythe details of your decorhas just gotten a freer ap-proach. The choice isyours.

“The trend,” Sunder-meier noted, “is that peo-ple aren’t feeling locked into using books for theirshelving.”


Books jockey for space with other collectibles

Built in bookshelves hold a collection of antiques in a home in Fairway, KanMCT PHOTOS

Bookshelves hold a collection of antique decoys andvintage gun powder flasks in a home in a Kansashome.

BY LAURA K. LLOYDMcClatchy Newspapers

Documents

The Oklahoman Real Estate