We are
starting to enjoy the warmer days of spring.
The Fusion crew has been moving a bit slower
when that warm sun breaks through the
clouds. It is hard to think about home
projects when you are soaking in those rays
after the long winter. Still, this is the
perfect time to tackle those projects. We
hope this week’s show gets you motivated to
get out and get busy!
Choosing Art
If you are decorating your home or apartment
you may be having some trouble picking the
right art for the walls. We were joined at
the
937 Condominiums in the Pearl District
by Amy Troute of
design for home (503-805-0811) to see
how she chose the art for the condos there
and get her tips for picking the right art
for any room. Amy showed us how she designed
around the painting ‘Cowgirl’ by Sidonie
Caron. Amy had to take into account the wide
windows along one wall and the starkness of
the walls on the other side. It was a very
complimentary piece to the overall retro
design. If you have a piece of art that
doesn’t fit in as well as the piece by
Sidonie you may want to incorporate some of
the same colors as the art into your other
designs around the room. This will help tie
it all together. If you are looking for art,
find something that you love. Don’t just buy
a piece based on its value (or what others
would call an investment). You will be
living with this art for a long time and you
should enjoy it every time you walk into a
room. A quality designer or gallery will
work with you and your space to find a piece
that will fit your tastes and your décor.
And remember, the things in your room, the
carpet, the furniture, the paint, are much
more flexible and easily changed than some
of the larger art you may find. If you are
looking for some of the art that we featured
in the story you will find these artists at
Heidi McBride Gallery & Art Consultancy. The
artists are Sidonie Caron, Nick Van
Grainger, Gabe Fernandez, Therese Murdza,
Ani Licia Thompkins, Michael Hensley, Molly
Cliff Hilts and Eugenia Pardue. If you are
interested in seeing the art for yourself,
the 937 condominiums are having an open
house on the weekend of April 17th. Stop by
and check them out.
Refreshing Your Cushions
If you are looking to change the look of
your deck or patio furniture it is easy to
do with a quick and simple change. Just
replace your cushions on the furniture. It
is easy and inexpensive. You can find
replacement cushions at many local furniture
and variety stores. We found a huge
selection at the
Al’s Garden Center (503-726-1162) in
Sherwood. When you go looking for new
cushions look for ones that are water
resistant and UV protected. Get a couple of
different patterns and then you can have 2
or 3 different looks all summer long.
Naomi’s Fluorescent Lights
A lot of us are trying to do the right thing
by replacing our incandescent bulbs with
energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
But these bulbs can create some problems in
your fixtures. Bea from
Naomi’s Lampshades and Lamps
(503-636-1884) told us about some of the
concerns about these bulbs. The first
problem that some people run into is the
size of the bulb. Some of these new bulbs
can be too big for the fixtures that you use
them in. Bea recommended that you bring in
your lamp and they can help you find the
right size of harp to make it fit. The
second concern is the color of light from
the new bulbs. The color of the fluorescent
bulb is a bluish color and it can change the
whole look of your room. You may have
designed the room with one color scheme and
now it is totally different. If you are
looking in a mirror in your bathroom, you
may not like how it makes you look. Most
women would prefer and ‘truer’ color light
for applying makeup. The best tip is to take
the bulbs to different areas in your home
and try them out. If they work, then use
them. If they don’t seem to add to the feel
of a room or they seem out of place than
don’t use them. If you have any questions
you can always check with the experts at
Naomi’s!
Venetian Seafood Fettuccini
There is a
great little place in downtown Hillsboro
that can offer you an entire evening of
entertainment. The
Venetian Theatre and Bistro
(503-693-3953) has a restaurant, theatre and
bar filled with great ambiance! We caught
co-owner and chef Saxony Peterson in the
kitchen and convinced her to share one of
her favorite dishes, a seafood fettuccini.
In this dish the prawns get top billing, but
there is a lot of crab in there as well,
which really gives the dish a boost of
flavor. Saxony started on the cream sauce
first, which took no time at all. While the
sauce was reducing a little, she sautéed the
prawns in a combination of butter, olive
oil, garlic, white wine and lemon. It
smelled so good! During this she prepared
her pasta noodles. It all finished around
the same time and came together in a bowl
for a tasty and beautiful presentation. If
you would like to try making this dish on
your own,
check out the recipe here. Better
yet, stop by on the weekend and taste their
version or one of the other wonderful
dishes.
Venetian Cocktail
We finish off the show this week with a
return to the
Venetian Theatre and Bistro
(503-693-3953) for an ‘after-show’ cocktail
with Saxony Peterson. She decided to make us
a Lemon and Mint Martini. This is one of
their signature cocktails at the bistro. We
start with a glass of ice and a few slices
of lemon. She added a few mint leaves and
then she muddled it together. She used a
plastic glass so she didn’t have to worry
about breakage. She then added lemon vodka,
some triple sec, and a splash of ‘sweet and
sour’. It is shaken and strained into a
martini glass. If you would like to make
your own,
check out the recipe here.
Basic
Plumbing Tools
Dealing with plumbing can be nerve wracking,
but the real frustration comes with a
plumbing emergency and not having the right
tools to make a repair (or limit the
damage). We found all the right tools at the
parts department at
George Morlan Plumbing (503-224-7000)
and the always friendly Dave Charvet to
teach us about them. The first tools in our
bag of tricks were shut-off tools. If you
have an emergency you will want to know
where the water shut-off is. It could be
near the street, in your garage or even
under your house. Once you know where it is
then you can get a meter key to help you
shut of the valve. You should also have a
meter key for your gas line in your kit as
well. Next we talked about X-treme Tape.
This is a tape that sticks to itself,
creates a water-tight seal and can stop most
leaks for quite awhile. To perform simple
repairs to most pipes we talked about
SharkBite fittings. These fittings are
pressure sealed once you use them and are a
permanent repair for most jobs. You can use
the SharkBite fittings with flexible PEX
pipe for jobs that need a bigger repair.
Next we looked at tools for drain clogs. The
first one was a pressure valve that uses
water pressure to force the clog away
instead of using chemicals. The other tool
was a Closet Auger. This is a mini-snake
that is easier to use and easier to store.
Hard
Countertop Choices
In the past we looked at the less expensive
countertops that you can chose to have in
your kitchen or bath. This week we met up
with Fabio at the
Parr Cabinet Outlet (503-614-2655) again
to chat about granite, man made stone and
other options for the homeowner. We started
with the granite tile. This is granite, but
because it is tile it can be a little
cheaper than you would normally pay for a
stone countertop. You can use this type of
stone anywhere. Floors, baths, kitchens,
pretty much anyplace you want a decorative
surface that will last. You can find it in
many colors and sizes. Next we looked at the
new quartz countertops. This is 95% natural
quartz and 5% man made. It is popular
because of the consistency in color. With
all natural stone, you never know what you
are going to get. The natural stone can
change as the stone changes. The newer stone
is called ‘engineered’ stone. One of the
other choices is Corian. This is a plastic
based countertop and it is designed to
handle just about everything. You can cut on
it and even place hot pans on it. It can
even handle the toughest of cleaning
products.
