What better to welcome guests than H. macrophylla ‘Glory Blue’.

Let me introduce you to my colorful friend LEONA . . . the acronym for five types of hydrangeas that will give you blooms for half the year or more: Limelight, Endless Summer, Oak Leaf, Nikko Blue, and Annabelle.

Hydrangeas are native to the Appalachian region of the U.S. and to the islands of Japan. H. quercifolia (Oak Leaf) and H. arborescens (Annabelle) are the only two North American natives; these species have made the Southeastern U.S. and Appalachia their natural habitat, growing from Florida to Pennsylvania in pockets of shade, in understory plantings, forest scenes, and on river banks. Gardeners in zones 6–9 can grow hydrangeas with ease.

In zones 7 and 8, blooms will stretch from May to October if you remember LEONA and site plants well. In my Georgia garden, Oak Leaf hydrangeas start blooming in May. After Oak Leaf, Nikko Blue and Endless Summer kick in, along with Annabelle. All three bloom close together, but the Nikkos turn green and shades of aqua after their classic blue shade, and may even show coral, rust, and chartreuse.

Not sure which zone you live in? Look up your USDA Hardiness zone.

Endless Summer blooms multicolored on each plant, with blues, pinks, and lavenders. Endless Summer will blossom again well into summer to finish up in the fall. (I count on their russet, coral, and aubergine blooms for autumn arrangements.) Annabelle blooms hard through June, and then the white flowers turn chartreuse green for added color in July and August. Limelight, a new offspring of H. paniculata, provides the grand finale from July through September. Creamy white panicles turn lime-green, with coral-pink edging.

H. macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’ cut short for a crystal globe vase: a single flower can be elegant.

As cut specimens, hydrangeas are a mainstay in floral décor. (Although the blooms of some hydrangea and viburnum—“snowball bush”—species resemble one another, the hydrangea is the better cut specimen, as its blossoms last longer.) Large, spherical, and colorful, hydrangea blossoms add drama to arrangements, and are dependable for months after they’re dried.

When you cut blooms, do so early in the morning, then allow the cut stems to condition in warm water before your handle and arrange them. A sharp, angled cut allows more surface area to be exposed on the stem, so that more water can be absorbed. Ask your floral supplier for a product called Hydraquick, which helps open the vascular tissue for greater water uptake.

Landscape, floral, and interior designer James T. Farmer III, arranging white ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Forever Pink’ blossoms.

In the garden, native soil amended with rich organic matter is the foundation for flourishing hydrangeas. Sunlight is key for bloom quality and quantity. For those of us in zones 7 and 8, Limelight, Oak Leaf, and Annabelle (or the paniculata and quercifolia species in particular) tolerate exposure to sun with plenty of water, but in the South these plants appreciate some high shade and solar relief, flourishing in spots with morning or late afternoon light. Though shade-tolerant and even shade-appreciative, hydrangeas, like all flowering plants, do require sufficient light to produce blooms.

The amount of water they need depends on the amount of sunlight: in full sun conditions, these plants need regular watering for hydration, leaf rigidity, and flower fervor. A hearty soaking two to three times per week ensures thorough watering of the roots.

The soil’s pH—whether it is naturally acidic or alkaline—is a major factor in cultivating hydrangeas. A more acidic soil, with a pH less than 7, keeps the blooms blue, especially with H. macrophylla cultivars such as ‘Nikko Blue’ and ‘Endless Summer’. A basic or alkaline soil with a pH greater than 7 will bring you pink and red blooms. To change bloom color, you may use aluminum, applied as aluminum sulfate. Coffee grounds, vegetable peels, and pine bark will mildly change pH. Adding lime de-acidifies soil, making it more alkaline. Acidic fertilizers do the opposite. By playing around with these, you can broaden the palette into jewel tones including amethyst purple, lapis blue, and peridot green. Given pockets of nutrients in soil layers, you can have multi-colored flowers on the same plant.

Dried specimens make a classic composition in a silver julep cup.

Hydrangeas root very easily. Simply stick cut stems into potting soil or directly into garden beds. Prune your hydrangeas twice a year, once during dormancy (I use Valentine’s Day as my benchmark, and remove spent flower heads and thin stalks at this time), and again during bloom—when you cut for arrangements. Canes removed during dormancy can be used for propagation; in mild climates, just stick the stems in the ground. Cutting during bloom encourages new growth and further bloom.

From the daintiest of lacecaps to the massive panicles of mopheads, hydrangea blossoms are spectacular grace notes in the garden. Plant wisely and you’ll have lots of bloom time as well as a year’s worth of table centerpieces.

Welcoming guests in the hall: a corner banquette inspired by Colonial Revivalist Wallace Nutting.

I will always remember the built-in banquette in my grandmother’s kitchen. It was a narrow bench covered in shiny red vinyl, nestled up to the kitchen table, where I sampled cookies while doing my homework. “Banquette” derives from the French word for an upholstered bench placed up against or built into a wall. Whether for dining or gazing out a window, a banquette is intimate and casual. Banquettes have been popular since the French aristocracy put benches in their dining rooms and covered them with tapestry cushions.

Outspoken American decorator Elsie de Wolfe, who was famously fond of all things French, popularized “la banquette,” building them into libraries, parlors, and ballrooms (but not kitchens) for her well-to-do clients.

This banquette from Crown Point Cabinetry doubles as an impromptu mudroom, the perfect spot to put on coats, boots, and galoshes.

It was during the bungalow era that built-in seats became more common. Entire breakfast nooks with bench seats were built into the family kitchen, which was likely to be the domain of the housewife, no longer of servants. And of course, space-saving built-ins were used throughout the houses of the period—underneath windows, in fireplace inglenooks, alongside staircases. Bench seats often had hinged lids to accommodate storage. (Others were open underneath, sometimes with shaped brackets supporting them from below.) Seats with high backs created a sense of privacy, a room within a room. The popularity of banquettes continued for several decades, especially in the historical revival houses of the late ’20s and until World War II.

Think outside the kitchen if you want to add a banquette today. Several of the photos in this article show the work of designer Barry Dixon, who has used the idea to add elegance to an entry, a “secret hideaway” for children in an upstairs hall, and an upholstered breakfast nook in a pantry. Don’t limit yourself to straight lines, either. Curved and L-shaped corner banquettes soften spaces and bring unused areas back to life.

Off the parlor, the open porch has column capitals wrapped in copper.

The daylight-starved Pacific Northwest has always inspired architects to design houses with lots of windows. But what if you are a serious collector of poster art from la Belle Epoque? You want not just light but plenty of wall space, too.

Before finding this 1910 house in Portland, “We must have seen 50 or 60 places!” recalls Dan Bergsvik. “Our realtor was on her way to get a new listing from friends, and asked if she could bring us along. Well, the house never went on the market, because we signed a purchase contract 15 minutes after we viewed it.”

When Dan Bergsvik and Don Hastler retired in 2006, they left San Francisco to return to Dan’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, where both men have family. The San Francisco house they left was an 1800 square-foot. Craftsman, and they had a fondness for Arts & Crafts houses. This one in Portland had been expanded to 3,100 square feet of living space by the previous owners—serial restorers who’d done much of the work
themselves.

An upstairs view down to the breakfast nook is a riot of poster art; several of the large pieces were framed specifically for this stair hall.

An attractive selling point was the finished basement, which provides private guest quarters with a modern laundry and bath (and also a room for flat storage of posters). A portion of upper and lower porches had been turned into sunrooms off the dining room and master bedroom. Having discovered evidence of the original foyer staircase, the previous owners restored it; now it leads up to a new breakfast nook and garage before heading back down into the kitchen.

When Dan and Don moved their furnishings into the house, everything fit perfectly. With plenty of wall space for display, they had Art Media frame more of the posters in their collection. “The outstanding ones—by Mucha, Lautrec, Bonnard, and Chéret—were hung in rooms where we spend the most time,” Don says.

Dan’s very first poster, purchased in 1973, was one of the 256 prints from the Les Maitres de l’Affiche series: the 1890s “Exposition Russe” poster. For just 27 francs a year, subscribers to the series by publisher Imprimérie Chaix received four prints (maitres) each month, from 1896 until 1900. “After we met in 1978, Don and I made annual trips to Paris—treasure hunts to find all 256 in the series,” says Dan. “We were well past the halfway point when a poster dealer friend chewed me out: ‘Why aren’t you buying the originals?’”

The restored entry staircase is visible beyond the parlor. A Toulouse-Lautrec “La Revue Blanche” faces off with an Alphonse Mucha “Job” poster. An Eastlake settee is paired with a post-WWI floor lamp with a handmade mica shade by Sue Johnson Lamps of Berkeley.

From that point, they began to attend auctions and the biannual International Vintage Poster Fair (held in Chicago in March, and in New York and San Francisco in October). Exhibitors are members of the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association (IVPDA). In Paris, they met Mireille Romand, owner of Galerie Documents and great-great-grandaughter of Edmond Sagot, an influential print and poster dealer of the 1890s. “Mireille has become a good friend and also the source of some of our best pieces,” says Don.

“Getting to know the IVPDA dealers from around the world was crucial to building our collection,” says Dan, who has been buying antiques since he was 17. He spied the Eastlake overmantel in a Portland antiques store when he was 20, and it has graced each of his homes.

Period-inspired millwork and reproduction fixtures soften the transition from the restored house to the remodeled kitchen, where a clerestory window in the gable lets in plenty of light. The original fir floors were stained in a dark cherry color. Cabinets, hardware, and lighting are all very much of the Craftsman period. Practical granite countertops have a honed finish for a soft sheen and feature a classical edge detail. The exuberant period-style gas range and refrigerator are modern reproductions by Heartland Appliances.

The 1889 American clock hanging in the kitchen belonged to Dan’s great-grandparents, who were homesteaders in Oregon. “I was told they packed their belongings onto the backs of mules and headed to the coast. At one point, a mule slipped and fell, but the clock survived because they’d wrapped it in a feather mattress.”

Everything in this household gets that sort of attention, including the 300-plus hollow glass tubes on the early 1900s French chandelier, which was crated by a Parisian dealer at Le Louvre des Antiquaires and shipped to San Francisco in the 1980s, ending up in this Portland dining room in 2006. It takes a full day to clean all the glass tubes and rehang them, but that’s what keeps history alive.

Rivet and Mortise

These hand-forged andirons were inspired by the visible connections in the timber-frame home for which they were made. (The ginkgo leaf motif comes from a tree in the yard.)

From blacksmith Joel Sanderson, (517) 639-5635, sandersoniron.com

For the Home Olympics

A combination sculpture and fire pit in mild steel, the Berkeley “fire feature” cleverly conceals a natural or LP gas tank within. Sculpture includes fire ring, igniter, and all connections.

From Raw Urth Designs, (866) 932-7510, rawurth.com

Tailored Pilasters

A traditional mantel with fluted pilasters is a standard for this builder of authentic reproduction colonial houses. It appears in the Federal-inspired Emmaline Gabrielle farmhouse, built in 2001.

For a house with similar details customized to your specifications, contact Connor Homes. (Photo: Jim Westphalen Photography)

Leaf, Poker & Tongs

The Leaf fireplace set includes hand-forged tongs, poker, shovel, and broom, all on a matching stand. Each piece is 30” tall.

From Historic Housefitters

Sunset Effect

Blue–green art glass and pine-tree silhouettes grace the Tiffany Tall Pines fire screen. Measuring 72” wide by 32” high, the folding screen has a black powder-coated finish.

From Meyda Tiffany

For the Modernist

The Valor H4 direct-vent fireplace goes almost anywhere you want a fire. The 24,000 BTU unit ignites without electricity and comes in several sleek surround and finish choices.

From Miles Industries/Valor Fireplaces

The Colors of Water

Tiles from the Watercolors series offer a sense of depth and fluidity, like water itself. The 4” x 4” field tiles are $32 per square foot. Acanthus cap tiles cost $40 each.

From Pratt & Larson Ceramics, (503) 231-9464, prattandlarson.com

Now You’re Cooking

The wood-burning DEVA 100 cookstove in durable cast iron has a ceramic glass cooktop and nickel and chrome details. The 46,000 BTU range is large enough to hold a 20-pound turkey.

From HearthStone, (802) 888-5232, hearthstonestoves.com

Soapstone Classic

With its detailed iron castings and double soapstone walls, the Fireview wood stove has been a favorite for more than 30 years. It’s capable of heating up to 1,600 square feet and needs no electricity to operate.

From Woodstock Soapstone, (800) 866-4344, woodstove.com ]]> http://www.oldhouseonline.com/for-fireplace-stove/feed/ 0 http://www.oldhouseonline.com/geothermal-heat-pump-systems/ http://www.oldhouseonline.com/geothermal-heat-pump-systems/#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:00:17 +0000 Lori http://www.oldhouseonline.com/?p=26275

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Geothermal pertains to the earth’s heat—and harnessing it is nothing new. Until the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, Pompeii was warmed by a sophisticated geothermal heating system. Italy was first to produce geothermal electricity in 1904.

Today, cities from Boise to Reykjavik use geothermally produced electricity. Klamath Falls, Oregon, captures ground heat and pipes it under roads and sidewalks to keep them from freezing in winter.

Geothermal power comes from heat stored in the earth—from the planet’s formation and the radioactive decay of minerals, and, nearer the surface, from the sun. A few feet down, the crust’s temperature is relatively constant at 45 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit, year round. Geo-exchange heat pump systems take advantage of this by circulating water or other liquids through continuous loops of plastic pipes buried in the ground (or a water source like a pond). Those are closed-loop systems; an open-loop option uses well or surface water as the exchange liquid, which is returned to the source.

The cutaway shows how an indoor, split-system pump delivers warmed air and preheats household water.

The fluid collects heat from the soil during winter and carries it through the system to a heat pump in the building, where the heat is compressed to produce more heat that warms air to 90 to 105 degrees, which is moved through the house via standard ductwork. Or it can send heated liquid through an under-floor radiant system.

During summer, a reverse process occurs as circulating fluids transfer heat from the building back into the earth. The very reliable, efficient system provides pleasantly even heat and year-round humidity control, and it’s much quieter than air conditioning.

Ground-source heat pumps also can be used to heat a portion of the hot water supply. In winter, the heat pump reduces water-heating costs by about half. In summer, heat taken out of the house is used to heat the water at great savings.

Pumps are the size of a small refrigerator or furnace and can fit in a closet (no venting is needed). When space is not available, a small, unobtrusive exterior unit such as that from ClimateMaster does the job. Maintenance is simple (e.g., filter changes). Underground pipes are expected to last 50 years and perhaps much longer. Ground-source heat pumps may be added to existing fossil-fuel furnaces to increase their efficiency.

The drawing depicts a closed-loop, liquid-to-air system using vertical loops—deeper but not as space-consuming as horizontal pipes.

Retrofitting an older house for geothermal heating is not complicated, but it may be expensive. The system can be installed in all but the smallest lots, under lawns, driveways, even the house. Pipes can be run horizontally or vertically, depending on the amount of land surface available. Horizontal installation involves laying pipes in trenches four to five feet apart at depths of three to four feet; this trenching will, however, disturb established landscape and tree roots. In space-efficient vertical installations, more expensive and perhaps complicated by the substrate, deep bore holes are drilled 10 to 15 feet apart.

The air handler houses compressor, air coil, blower, filter, and electronic controls; sizes and configurations vary.

Geothermal heat is cleaner than systems that burn fossil fuels on site and is considered easy on the environment. (You won’t be off the grid, though, as electricity is used to run the pumps.) Many states offer tax credits for installation of geothermal systems. A ground-source heat pump can be expected to decrease energy use 25% to 40%, sometimes much more. Upfront cost is high, however; units cost about $2500 per ton of capacity, or $7500 for an average house—almost twice the cost of a conventional system. Drilling can add $10,000 to $30,000. And depending on the particulars of the system, pumps last only about 15 to 25 years. Nevertheless, many homeowners are able to recoup initial installation costs after two or three to seven years. Some experts claim that, in the case of existing homes, it will take 16 to 20 years for a closed-loop system to pay for itself (in lower operating costs).

So. . . is geothermal heating and cooling for you, yes or no? Every site and situation is different. If you are truly interested in switching, consult local experts and installers. General guidelines, given current costs and technologies, look like this:

Do consider a ground-source heat pump if you are building new (or are substantially remodeling and adding space) and you have available land; if your current systems need to be replaced, you have already insulated, etc., yet your energy bills are high, and your property lends itself to trenching or boring; if you are a die-hard believer in going green by example (there’s a Prius in the driveway).

This sort of system is probably not for you if you have working heating and cooling systems in place and are not adding on; if you have little land or are sited on or near ledge (bedrock); if you would need to retrofit ductwork or radiant pipes; if you plan to sell before payback (three to 20 years, depending on installation costs).

The Middleton Inn is an elegant brick house built early in the 19th century.

Among the vast number of places where George Washington is reported to have slept, Rappahannock County is one that has proof. In the mid-18th century, 17-year-old George came to what was then a western outreach of Virginia, to survey a parcel of land in the foothills.

Rappahannock, then part of Culpeper County, was among many small parcels formed by land grants that created burgeoning farming communities. When Washington surveyed the town (which is now the county seat of Washington, the first community of 28 in the U.S. to be named for the President), its population numbered 200. During the Civil War, the community grew to 500 people; today, 150 years later, the town’s population is once again at about 250. It never expanded beyond the five by two- block grid that Washington the surveyor plotted in 1749.

Washington, Virginia, was the first of more than two dozen communities in the U.S. named for our Founding President.

Indeed, what makes the county unique is how little it has changed. The view from hilltops, across pastures and farms, is startlingly like it was two centuries ago. This is nothing short of amazing given its proximity to the nation’s capital, just 75 miles to the east. The four-direction panorama takes in orchards, heirloom vegetable farms, grass-fed livestock, and a growing number of vineyards and wineries that sustain the local eateries: the farm-to-table offerings have made Rappahannock a foodie destination.

This rustic, unchanged agricultural county attracts travelers, and tourism is a major source of revenue. Today the county hosts a thriving arts community and a very large (per capita) number of bed-and-breakfast inns, as well as four-star and five-star hotels. Galleries and antiques shops abound, along with music and theatre.

An art tour takes place the first weekend in November; a new summer music festival has been established at Chateauville (headed by Lorin Maazel, former director of the New York Philharmonic and now a Rappahannock resident). Historical markers describe Civil War events, commemorating figures such as General Pope, Stonewall Jackson, and Mosby’s Raiders.

A brick sidewalk leads to the County Courthouse.

Unforgiving zoning is what has restricted growth, both in the outlying countryside and within town borders. The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (one of five environmental non-profits here) is one of the oldest conservation organizations in Virginia. Such organizations, a pro-active historical society, and several individuals have worked to shield the area from the maelstrom of development prevalent just outside its borders.

Electricity didn’t arrive here until the eve of World War II, and Rappahannock remains delightfully, purposefully behind the times. The “McMansion craze” missed the county, as even well-heeled weekend and retired residents prefer homes, restored and new, that fall within local architectural traditions. Many structures predate the 20th century, and go back to the 1700s. Typical colonnaded brick colonial buildings are surpassed in number only by Virginia’s vernacular, two-over-two farmhouses. Victorian residences add to the mix.

This farmstand in Sperryville sells produce and cider from local orchards. Owner Roger Jenkins packs a crate behind his father-in-law, Randolph Clater.

Of the five villages here, only three have sidewalks. In the county seat—locally called “Little Washington”—two or three blocks have walkways paved in brick. Nearby Sperryville and Flint Hill have two sidewalked blocks each.

You will find no big-box stores, franchises, retail chains, or traffic lights. Instead the county offers mile after mile of unpaved roads to explore, rivers for fishing or canoeing, and many hiking trails.

Radiator covers made by cabinetmakers are a specialty of Fichman Furniture Inc.

There’s no need to put up with flimsy vent covers, or radiators with flaking paint. Period-friendly products let you gussy-up the less-than-attractive evidence of your HVAC system, and many choices are quite affordable. That’s especially true for grilles, the wood or metal faceplates that cover heat registers and cold-air returns. A quality cast-metal version with a perforated design can cost as little as $30. In oak or another hardwood, prices start at about $40.

The ‘Victoria’ register in cast brass from House of Antique Hardware.

Cast-metal grilles are available in an ever-expanding range of period-inspired styles and in steel, aluminum, bronze, even copper. Most of these grilles feature perforated designs descriptively called basket-weave, honeycomb, or teardrop.  Classical designs include scroll—any design with figural, openwork curves—and Grecian, an openwork radial pattern found in Greek architecture. Styles in wood tend to be basic, such as the straight-slotted, directionally louvered pattern sometimes called “Rickenbacker”, and the classic egg-crate grid.

The circular vent covers associated with high-velocity HVAC systems can pop up anywhere, even in the midst of deep cove molding. While both SpacePak and Unico offer a choice of outlet covers, you may want to swap them out or cover them with decorative, medallion-like covers from Decorators Supply or Beaux-Artes.

Mission-style wood cabinet from Central Radiator Cabinet Co.

What to do about those behemoths of yore, the upright radiator? (True, the ornate Victorian ones were pretty; Burnham still makes them, with updated functionality.) Companies like ARSCO Manufacturing and Monarch Products offer radiator covers in the now-classic cloverleaf, cane, and Grecian patterns of the 1920s and ’30s.

As for those ugly baseboard units that invariably have lost, bent, or rusty covers, give them the slipcover treatment with a decorative baseboard cover. Radiant Wraps, for example, offers parquet, trellis, and an alternating dashed “cobble stone” style. A more expensive tack is to conceal the radiator as part of a built in bookcase or wall unit. The Wooden Radiator Cabinet Co. has been doing customized wall units for years, and now offers an affordably priced, do-it-yourself kit.

A baseboard heater is turned into room trim with a cover by OverBoards.

Did you know you can replace a balky or missing upright radiator with a baseboard unit? Less noticeable and quieter than many vintage radiators, they’re also easier to keep clean. Other options include close-to-the-wall radiators with traditional styling from Steam Radiators, and a host of flat fin, hoop, and even corkscrew units from Runtal North America. The unit can blend in with the décor or make a clean, updated statement.

See more heating products in the Products & Services Directory.