Get the Look: The Art of DIY Decorating

by Melissa Labberton on Jan 5, 2012

Use this '50s custom-built house as your DIY inspiration. • Photos by Chad Bremerman

Take a classic ’50s custom-built house, add a terrific floor plan with 3,300 square feet of living space, stir in creative owners unafraid of taking design risks, and you have the perfect recipe for do-it-yourself decorating at its best.

We asked three local interior designers how any homeowner can get the look of the local midcentury gem featured on these pages.

DIY experts, the owners of this home bought it five years ago with a “What can we make of it” approach. They painted all of the rooms themselves. Their décor — a mix of antiques, estate sale finds, flea market discoveries, family hand-me-downs and furniture store splurges — combines for sophisticated results. Some pieces of furniture were diamonds in the rough, such as an old chair with great structure and lousy upholstery. A simple recover in designer fabric nets a fabulous new chair at a fraction of the cost.

How can you use these tips in your own house? Using this home as inspiration, Yakima magazine asked our panel of experts for some DIY advice. Here’s what they had to say.

Marissa Tegen, design specialist for Standard Paint, said that paint — of course — can make all the difference.

“Look through magazines to find paint colors that jump out at you,” she said. Emotions can play an important role in picking paint, and Tegen advises choosing a color that makes you happy or at ease. Don’t jump on the exciting or edgy bandwagon too quickly; some colors that seem fun but out of your comfort zone may end up irritating you later. If you see a color you like at a business or at a friend’s house, don’t hesitate to ask what it is. Our feature home uses “Marie Yellow” in its living room. A friend of the owners suggested the paint formula, insisting that “everyone looked better” in a room painted this color.

Tegen added that gray is becoming the new neutral beige, and darker or even metallic paint is becoming popular for ceilings as well as high gloss for moldings.

Nancy Melcher calls herself a “re-designer.” She said she often finds herself inadvertently teaching clients about DIY decorating while helping them with their interior décor. She encourages DIY decorators to ask themselves: “What’s my goal? What mood do I want to create? How do I want my home to reflect my interests?” Simplifying and editing objects and furniture in a room can be a first step.

A master at finding great furniture bargains, Melcher said, “If you’re willing to hunt, you can find a good piece of furniture in the most unusual places. I once bought a great book shelf, used for display in a clothing store, because I talked the owner into it!”

She feels “collections” reflect the homeowner’s interests, but should be meaningful and small. Family photos can personalize any décor, but using the same color frame and grouping black and white or color photos together creates more impact. “Not so long ago I helped redesign a hallway with a wall of photos. Unfortunately the frames were all different colors, so I spray-painted all of them black and arranged them on a caramel colored wall … they literally popped,” she said.

Judy Lyon, design partner for The Village Shoppe, gives this advice to DIY decorators: “We often find that the addition of one very special item of furniture can be the ‘spark’ that brings a room to life,” she said. “Although it may be a splurge, a well-chosen piece will help define a design style, and always reflects the homeowner’s unique taste and personality.”

If you’re bent on DIY decorating, arm yourself with plenty of home and garden magazines for ideas on what you want to achieve, be brutal about what stays and what goes, pick colors that make you happy, don’t be afraid to mix and match, think about original artwork (Yakima has so many wonderful local artists) and, most importantly, have fun. Often the easiest and least expensive solution turns into the best DIY design choice.

Come Fly With Me

by Melissa Labberton on Jan 5, 2012

Upon entering Ola Vestad’s hangar, visitors are struck by the beautiful red and white planes parked in front of a giant mural by local artist Rick Fuller. • Photos by Chad Bremerman

When asked how he became a pilot, Ola Vestad said, “I like to be like a bird.” With a twinkle in his blue eyes, he explained how he was ski jumping in his native Norway by age 5, and as a young adult he parachuted for the military. It’s not difficult to understand why he became a pilot.
Tom McMahon, a retired captain for United Airlines, learned to fly as a teenager from Warren Anderson, a Lower Valley crop-duster. “For my 50th birthday, my family found and bought the plane I’d learned to fly in,” McMahon said. It took him six years to restore the old bird that proudly sits waiting for its next sortie in his Yakima Airpark hangar.
Vestad, McMahon, Dick Hester, John Davis and Harold Johnson were all instrumental in creating the Yakima Airpark, located on the south side of the Yakima airport’s property just off Ahtanum Road. The pilots, some retired from their careers and some still working, wanted to build more than a bunch of airplane hangars. What they hoped to achieve was a place where private pilots could enjoy every aspect of flying with like-minded friends.
But it wasn’t easy.
The first step was finding a piece of property near the airport that provided a taxiway to the runways used by the Yakima Air Terminal. Fortunately, there was some undeveloped property off of Ahtanum Road that included the end of an abandoned WWII runway. Once used by Northwest Airlines, the abandoned runway intersected the airport’s main runway, making the property a perfect fit. After jumping through more than a few bureaucratic hoops, the group eventually secured a lease from the Yakima Airport board.
Then the hard work began.
A part of the old runway was broken up in order to reclaim bare ground.
“Harold Johnson dug a mile of trenches for water, sewer, gas and electric,” McMahon said.  After analyzing other hangar complexes, the group mapped out their own with spray paint after the prep work was finished. Construction began in June 2006. It took eight months to complete the first five units, and the pilots did much of the work themselves, along with a slew of volunteers.
Today, the Yakima Airpark boasts 20 hangars and seven buildings.
The main building serves as a de facto clubhouse for those who own hangars. The first floor has a kitchen and small meeting room. “Every Saturday we put out coffee and doughnuts for the pilots,” Vestad said. The adjacent hangar is often used for large social events, like their annual Christmas party.
A spiral staircase leads up to the tower room, which provides an expansive view of the runways and the Valley beyond. “We come up here and tell lies,” McMahon joked.
But it’s the hangars that truly reflect the personalities of Airpark members. Upon entering Vestad’s, visitors are struck by the beautiful red and white plane parked in front a giant mural by local artist Rick Fuller, depicting the owner flying the same plane near the Cascade Mountains.
In a far corner of the immaculate space, a half-built fuselage sits waiting for its wings. It turns out that many of the Airpark occupants are members of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and are in the process of building their own airplanes. Vestad said it’s terrific to have access to other pilots who have either built their own planes or are currently involved in the process. The myriad parts meticulously laid out are a testament to the complicated steps it takes to assemble a plane that one day will actually fly.
Local dentist Tommy Holbrook, who learned how to fly from a P51 pilot named Buck Wheat, has been instrumental in getting the Yakima Airpark pilots involved with the community. In October, the group offered 15-minute flying sessions to kids involved in YMCA’s after-school Aspire program. The local EAA has also offered free flights to children in the Valley. “Some of these kids have never seen the Columbia River,” Holbrook said.
But it’s not all community service for Yakima’s “flight jockeys.” This fall, the Airpark sponsored a Poker Run with 12 pilots participating. The aeronautical card game commenced when the planes took off from the Yakima Air Terminal and navigated to five designated airports in Eastern Washington. Upon landing, each team picked up a playing card from a bucket and flew on to the next destination. When they finally returned to Yakima, bragging rights went to the team with the highest hand. The winner got all the entry fees too, but the pilots really didn’t care. They’d won even before their planes had left the tarmac: After all, it was one more chance to fly.

John Gorman: Goodwill Ambassador for Yakima

by Melissa Labberton on Jan 5, 2012

A beautiful day in Venice * Travel photos courtesy of John Gorman

The cool and breezy August evening didn’t stop Yakima’s John Gorman from playing the consummate host to a group of business associates he’d invited to his Yakima home for dinner last summer. Folks had traveled from Washington, D.C., Singapore, Malaysia and Katmandu just to enjoy his hospitality — which speaks volumes about the man.
As senior director of sales for John I. Haas Co., Gorman, 69, has spent his entire career working in the brewing and hop industry — and traveling around the world. Haas is a sister company of the Barth Hass Group, the largest supplier of hops and hop products in the brewing industry.
But he loves his hometown so much that when he’s on business trips he takes on the unofficial role of goodwill ambassador, making sure to show photos of the Yakima Valley and extolling the virtues of Eastern Washington.
Gorman’s the guy you see chatting with friends at the local coffee shop one day, and the next he’s on an international flight to almost anywhere in North America, Europe or Southeast Asia.  His territory is global, giving him a chance to make friends in the farthest reaches of the world.
His trips are also filled with adventure.
In Katmandu, Nepal, where Gorman does business with Mount Everest Brewery, he has endured rolling electrical blackouts, wild jungle animals and 105 degree temperatures — all part of the Katmandu experience. During his first trip, in March 2008, he quickly learned the pitfalls of picking a hotel off the Internet, finding himself in less than one-star accommodations. Today he stays at Nepal’s Yak and Yeti Hotel, and although that might conjure visions of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the property was a favorite of the famous explorer Sir Edmund Hilary.
On that first visit to Katmandu, Gorman also met Shrestha Shanta, managing director of Mount Everest Brewery, when Shanta picked him up for the 18-minute flight (that’s six hours by car) to the brewery. Shanta’s first words: “I must treat you like a god. That’s my duty.” Overwhelmed by his client’s declaration, Gorman has attempted to return the favor ever since.
“I love the business, and along the way customers have become friends.” he said.
“I try to learn everything about a culture before I go there,” Gorman explained. That might be a lesson learned from a trip to Singapore, when Gorman handed out travel alarm clocks as gifts. After the presentation, the organization’s supervisor thanked Gorman, but said in his culture, “When you give a clock, you’re waiting for their death.”

John Gorman at his home. He's standing in front of some of the many items he has collected travelling around the world selling hops as Senior Director of Sales for John I. Haas Company. • Photo by Andy Sawyer

A 1964 graduate of Boston College with a B.A. in English and History, Gorman’s no stranger to the beer business. His father worked as sales manager for the Schaefer Brewing Co. in Brooklyn, N.Y. After a bit of gallivanting after college, Gorman followed in his dad’s footsteps, apprenticing to become a brewmaster.
Working in the field, he learned the industry inside and out. His gift for gab, along with a knack for making friends, helped him realize that sales was his talent. But with sales comes travel, and Gorman explained, “I was putting 1,500 miles a week traveling around five states and living in hotels. I was so regimented that on Monday I’d leave and not come back until Friday.”
Although his schedule was taxing, Gorman loved every minute, since it allowed him to meet new people all over the Northeast. “The brewery industry … people were wonderful.” Because of his many contacts, Gorman eventually met the owners of Western Hop Co. of Yakima, and they offered him a job in 1983. He quickly flew his family to Yakima and it was love at first sight. After a few years, he moved his family to Wisconsin to take the position of vice president of sales for the Schreier Malting Co., now Cargill Malt.
“But I never stopped dreaming about Yakima,” Gorman admitted.
Fortunately in 1988 a job with Haas brought Gorman, his wife and his two children to the Yakima Valley for good.
Because of his frequent travels, Gorman treasures the time spent at his Yakima home with his wife, Patsy. In fact, he loves it so much that he turned even an unfortunate event into a positive: When his house was burglarized 22 years ago, instead of ranting, he quickly joined the Yakima Police Department as a reserve officer. He has patrolled the Yakima streets during his free time since then, recently retiring as a lieutenant. It’s hard to imagine anyone doing that difficult job after jetting around the world all week, but John Gorman makes it look easy.

Gorman at home with his West Highland Terrier, Winston. • Photo by Andy Sawyer

A French Cottage Christmas

by Melissa Labberton on Nov 9, 2011

Milford’s family and dining rooms are decked out for the holidays with her “rustic romantic” style. Photos by Andy Sawyer and Chad Bremerman

When Jane Milford first stepped through the door of a charming 1914 French cottage located on a quiet midtown Yakima street, she knew instantly that “God had answered every prayer I’d had for such a house.”

Milford, who owned a home décor store called Found Collections in Seattle, moved to Yakima four years ago. She now creates the displays in Yakima’s Garden Dance/raindance. When Milford moved here, she wanted to find an older home so that she could decorate it with the antiques, vintage furniture and curiosities she had collected over the years.

Back-to-the-Future Remodel

by Melissa Labberton on Sep 8, 2011

Karen and Jim Gilbert raised the ceilings on their new kitchen, installed skylights, and replaced dark cabinets with white cabinets, brightening a formally dark room. (by Sara Gettys/Yakima Herald-Republic)

By Melissa S. Labberton

How do you transform a 1970s house, complete with a rabbit warren of dark paneled rooms, in order to suit a 21^st century lifestyle? That was the question that confronted Karen and Jim Gilbert in 2008 when their Realtor showed them just that in Terrace Heights. The home, while dated, was close to the Yakima Country Club, where Jim works as the golf pro.