SPRING 2019

SPRINGTIME

HACKING IKEA

INTERIORS READY FOR

SPRING WITH KATIE BALDWIN

INSIDE BUNNY WILLIAMS’

LATEST RENOVATION

HOW MICHAEL TRAPP’S

DESIGNS BREAK THE RULES

FROM THE GARDEN TO

THE MARKET, WHAT’S
YOUR ECO IMPACT?

THE LAKEVILLE JOURNAL COMPANY LLC — Publishers of The Lakeville Journal, The Millerton News, Compass, www.TriCornerNews.com
 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 3

Editor’s Notes On Paint

I
’ve become obsessed with
home interior paint, and just
how complicated the simple
task of selecting a shade can be.
I read countless interviews with
interior designers, and even
pause films to inspect the wall
colors in the backgrounds of
dramatic scenes, making notes
when a vivid moss green or a
perfect Hampton’s house gray
catches my eye.
Ira Glass, host of NPR’s “This
American Life,” has some advice
on writing that I believe ap-
plies to paint as well. He warns
that beginner writers will often
struggle with comparing their
good taste in literature to their
own work, anguishing over the
divide. With paint it may seem
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER WILBURN initially simple to envision an
Paint chip cards are useful sources of inspiration, but to truly test out what ideal color, but as soon as you’re
a color looks like, the next step is purchasing a sample to paint on your presented with choices, say over
wall. Hues can vary greatly depending on light sources and the time of day.
two dozen tones of cornflower
blue possessing varying, indis-
tinguishable undertones of
green or gray or purple… well,
nothing starts to look right.
For a not-all-together brief
period there were so many dif-
ferent color samples splashed
across my bedroom wall that
it began to look like a child’s
smock after art class. I confess,
I may have gone sample mad.
Samples are, however, terrifi-
cally handy — and absolutely
necessary. You really can’t trust
the paint chip fans or what you
see photographed in glossy
magazines.
There are two local stores
where I became a bit of a regu-
lar — Herrington’s in Lakeville,
which carries Benjamin Moore
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… notes on paint Benjamin Moore, but there’s a

Continued from page 3
paint samples and Meta44 in
Millerton, which carries sam-
ples of Farrow & Ball.
Benjamin Moore is American-
made paint available in thou-
sands of colors and appears to
be geared toward personalities
that lean toward the perfection-
ist side. With Benjamin Moore,
my advice is to have a clear plan.
Remember it. Keep it in your
mind as if a magician has asked
you to remember your card. You
are the ace of spades. You are
“Palladian Blue.”
With so many selections, it’s
all too easy to do what I did:
walk into Herrington’s looking
for a sample of Avon Green and
walked out with Chippendale
Rosetone (pink), Sleigh Bells
(gray) and Collingwood (off-
white). The better strategy is to
pick one color to test, then buy
samples of the next lighter and
darker shade to compare. This
will look a bit mad on your wall.
You may find yourself thinking,
“Aren’t these the same color
with only slight, slight differ-
ences?” But sit with them for a
few days. You may be surprised
by which one becomes your
favorite.
Farrow & Ball, found at
Meta44, is a British paint manu-
facturer so tied to the sense of
history and charm found in
market towns in Dorset like the
one John Farrow and Richard
Maurice Ball came from, that
it’s almost a lifestyle brand. For
those in the know, Farrow & Ball
is as much about status as own-
ing a pure-bred Labrador.
It costs twice as much as
lovely selling point — less than
200 shades. If you want a Far-
row and Ball yellow, there are
only 11 to choose from. That’s
nothing! For those struggling to
trust their eye, the Farrow & Ball
catalog can be like a guide book
from an interior designer. While
the names are as fanciful as
they come — “Borrowed Light,” ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER WILBURN
“Nancy’s Blushes,” “Mouse’s
Back” — some are so self-explan- painting your sample on dif-
atory they read like hints. Who ferent walls within the same
could fault you for following the room as well, and watching
instruction of “Breakfast Room the way it changes wall to
Green” or “Gallery Room Red?” wall, morning to evening.
I find Farrow & Ball colors Paint is tricky business, and
particularly temperamental while a color may look per-
however. Some may disagree, fect in a well-lit professional
but I found their shades can photograph at a certain time
depend greatly on the light, and of day, you want a color that
the neutral shade that works in you can live year round,
a south-facing room will likely from the darkest day in win-
appear drastically different, ter to the brightest morning
even cold, in a low-light room in spring.
facing north. I recommend — Alexander Wilburn

Springtime
Spring 2019

Notes on Paint Bunny Williams

By Alexander Wilburn ...........................p. 3
Michael Trapp
By Debra A. Aleksinas ............................p. 5
Rethink Your Gardening
By Janna Siller .........................................p. 7
Koi Pond Revisited
By Debra A. Aleksinas ............................p. 9
A Designer’s Window
By Anne Day ............................................p. 11
By Alexander Wilburn .............................. p. 14
No Waste Shopping
By Alexander Wilburn ......................... p. 17
Spring Cleaning Isn’t A Chore
By Sophia Kaufman ............................ p. 20
Do-Ikea-Yourself
By David Wilburn .................................p. 22
Plant Like An Expert
By Leila Hawken ...................................p. 25

Published by Alexander Wilburn Editor

The Lakeville Journal James Clark Production Coordinator
Company, LLC Libby H. Hall-Abeel Advertising Manager
April 18, 2019 Caitlin Hanlon, Olivia Montoya
PO Box 1688, Lakeville, CT Composing
800-339-9873 Cover photo of designer Katie Baldwin
www.tricornernews.com By Anne Day, see story on page 11

©2019 The Lakeville Journal Company LLC

 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 5

Michael Trapp
And The Traveler’s Eye
By Debra A. Aleksinas

E
very home can use a sea-
sonal refresh, and spring
inspires beauty and cre-
ativity. So where to start?
I recently asked West Corn-
wall designer Michael Trapp,
who specializes in antiques,
ancient artifacts and textiles,
for a few pointers. Even though
he was jet lagged, having just
returned from a buying trip to
Asia, he was excited to share
some tricks of his interior
design trade at his circa-1830’s
Victorian revival home over-
looking the rushing Housatonic
River, which also doubles as his
antiques shop.
First and foremost, he said,
PHOTO BY DEBRA A. ALEKSINAS
decorative items do not need
Outdoor items indoors, like statuary, urns and ceramic pots, can refresh
a home, said designer Michael Trapp in his West Cornwall kitchen.
to be expensive in order to have
visual impact. Second, home-
owners should not get hung up
on design rules.
“It’s about the creative aspect
and getting people to look at
things differently. There is no
right way or wrong way, and
there are no taste police. If you
get tired of something you can
just change it.”
Judging from his distinctive
style, Trapp practices what he
preaches. His home/shop is
filled with surprising objects
collected over decades of world
travel.
Each winter he spends
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6 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

“There is no right way or

wrong way, and there
are no taste police.”

… Trapp
Continued from page 5

months in exotic places, in

search of objects that catch his
eye. Some are for clients, and
others are for his home or shop.
His recent trip to Asia yielded
Ming dynasty plates from a
shipwreck, and 18th century
cabinets from an apothecary
store in Jakarta.
Trapp is especially fond of
natural objects like shells,
animal bones, Spanish moss, as
well as natural containers filled
with branches or plants, which
can give a home a feeling of the
outdoors. “Something outside
that you can bring in, like statu-
ary, urns or pots, always give
you the feeling that you can
push the season ahead.”
Most of all, be creative, said
Trapp, and if live plants aren’t
your style, consider other op-
tions. Urns and pots can be
filled with all sorts of inter-
esting materials and objects:
dried branches, pieces of coral,
stones, a glass jar filled with
bird eggs, a grouping of figu-
rines.
“A lot of people like to stick
to convention because it’s safe,” PHOTO BY DEBRA A. ALEKSINAS

but a little creativity can go a
long way toward finding your
personal aesthetic.
As spring starts to blossom,
so do requests from clients
looking to create rooms within
a garden, said Trapp, an idea
which allows for movement
from one space to the next and
expands the overall feeling of
Trapp’s West Cornwall home features a mural made from antique Portuguese wall tiles depicting “The Last Supper.”
your home. Over the decades quarter-acre footprint. can go a long way. “Sometimes
he has transformed his West “It’s not about what you you just need to look outside
Cornwall property into an Ital- have, it’s what you do with it,” the box, and be more free.”
ian villa-style garden with lush said the designer, who noted Michael Trapp is an antiques
landscaping, outdoor garden that homeowners don’t need dealer and interior and garden
rooms and a reflecting pool. The to reside in palatial homes in designer. His retail store is in West
enormity of its visual impact order to create an inspirational Cornwall. For more information
belies the site’s compact, three- environment. Creativity, he said, go to www.michaeltrapp.com

Could This Approach
Make You Rethink
Your Gardening?
By Janna Siller
C
an vegetable gardeners
who avoid digging re-
ally grow more on less
ground as the emerging no-till
movement promises? To get at
this question, I’ve been planting
side by side trials of organic veg-
gies for four years at Adamah
Farm in Falls Village.
Plowing, rototilling, and
plain old digging with a spade
are all methods of destroying
non-crop plants while putting
biomass into the soil where it
can break down and feed crops.
Called tillage, these are consid-
ered crucial steps in the process
of growing healthy vegetables.
Whether growers approach a
plot of fresh grass or one that
has been a vegetable garden
for years, they need some way
to remove the competition and
make way for new crops.
On our farm we use a roto-
tiller and it works beautifully.
We grow cover crops, some-
times called green manures be-
cause they enrich the soil, in be-
tween our vegetable plantings
and we integrate them with the
rototiller so they can compost
right there in the bed. Rototill-
ing introduces a quick shot of
oxygen to the soil and makes
a nice smooth seed bed after a
couple of passes. Our vegetables
grow beautifully without the
use of expensive manufactured
fertilizers.
If we are seeing such lovely
results from tillage, why do I
continue to bother with no-till
trials? Tillage releases carbon
into the atmosphere, which is
exactly where we don’t need it
SPRINGTIME, April 2019 7
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good for the climate, it’s great
for plants too. Undisturbed
soil has a greater ability to host
microbes that benefit plant
growth, to hold nutrients, and
to store air and water, increas-
ing resilience whether the
season is wet or dry.
The tricks of the no-till trade All Lines
are quite simple. If you’ve ever
left a bucket out on the lawn Of
and come back to find a circle
of grass dead underneath, you
Insurance
are familiar with the method Contractor Liability
known as occulation. No-till gar- Commercial Auto
deners smother weeds, lawn, or Personal Auto
previous vegetable crops with Home - Renters
black tarps, cardboard, plywood Farm - Life
or even biodegradable mulches
like thick layers of compost or
William J. Cole Agency, Inc.
straw.
If you’ve ever felt like you VICKI BENJAMIN
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the windshield all day, you 1 John Street
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Continued on page 8
8 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

Sheldon Masonry & Concrete, LLC … rethink your gardening

Mathew Sheldon Continued from page 7
Owner

Serving CT, NY and southern MA are familiar with the method
known as solarization. No-till
860.387.9417 gardeners put clear plastic over
plants they want to eliminate,
Lakeville, CT concentrating the UV of the sun
sheldonmasonryconcretellc@gmail.com and killing plants root and all to
sheldonmasonry.com make way for the next crop.
Some growers use a mechani-
cal method called roller crimp-
ing that allows you to grow your
Arnold’s Garage & Towing own mulch plants with cover
2 North Elm Street Canaan, CT 06018 crops. Others use chemicals to
(860) 824-5802 suppress plants. Of course if
your garden is small enough,
April is national car care month you can simply clear weeds and
Time to Spring into vehicle maintenance! previous crops by hand. No
Winter takes a toll on your vehicle so be sure to have your brakes, tires, wipers, matter which no-till method
cooling system and wheel alignment checked. Spring is also the time to have you choose, you’ll likely want to
the A/C system checked before the hot summer months ahead! use a lot of compost to renew
Call us today to make an appointment. the fertility of your soil without
integrating cover crops.
*AAA member arnoldstow@comcast.net
discount available* So, like Hamlet ruminating,
I’ll flip the question from a few
paragraphs ago on its head: if
no-till has so many benefits and
The Johnsons the methods are so simple, why
haven’t we transitioned from
the trial stage to being a full
fledged no-till farm at Adamah?
While no-till may be workable
in the end, transitioning on
our scale takes a great deal of
extra labor, extra compost, and
equipment. While a couple of
unfolded trash bags will equip
a gardener for occulation, the
cost for hundreds of square
feet of tarps adds up! It has also
taken the soil itself time to ad-
just and to show us the benefits
OLD
OLD MILL
MILL OF IRONDALE
IRONDALE of no-till.
After our first year of trials
I sent my borrowed copy of a
Antiques
Antiques • Furniture
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almost abandoned the project
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bed. I’d used no-till methods
for another- smothering weeds
with a tarp and planting into an
unloosened bed. The tilled plot
grew the kind of lettuce we are
used to: lush, green, bug-free,
newborn-baby-sized gorgeous
heads. The no-till plot grew
small, bitter heads that attract-
ed aphids.
I guess I believe in the prom-
ise of long-term reward for
patient attention to soil health
because I checked the no-till
books back out of the library
the next season. I’ve kept up the
experiment. Our no-till plots
have not only caught up in their
ability to grow gorgeous vegeta-
bles, they often perform better
in stressful conditions.
My recommendation for
gardeners interested in no-till
is the same as my recommen-
dation for gardeners about
everything — experiment! If you
Google “no-till gardening “you
will come up with all kinds of
advice to guide you. Learning to
garden in new ways is just like
learning anything- you have to
make a lot of mistakes along the
way. What discourages a lot of
would-be excellent gardeners is
simply that, unlike learning to
cook or knit, it often takes a full
season to get to try again after
a gardening mistake and some-
times it takes many seasons to
see the benefits of new meth-
ods. The more you play around,
the more you’ll find the path
forward. Dig a little in one area,
smother with a tarp a little in
another, but most importantly
watch the plants and the soil
closely and notice.
Janna Siller is the director of
Adamah Farm in Falls Village.
For more information go to www.
hazon.org/adamah
 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 9

My Koi Pond Revisited:

This Time It Will Work!
By Debra A. Aleksinas

L
ong ago kept as pets by
Chinese and Japanese em-
perors, koi are today prized
for their beauty and reputation
for bringing happiness, harmo-
ny, luck and love.
Some species of koi even have
a lifespan of up to 200 years.
Unfortunately, mine lasted all of
two months before ending up
as sushi to a back yard predator
a few summers ago. A novice to
water gardening, I enjoyed the
beauty and tranquility four koi
brought to my garden pond,
which I built inexpensively
using a heavy-duty liner, basic
filtration/pump system, live
plantings and natural stones.
PHOTO BY TIM DORN
Most mornings, before start-
These Japanese koi are among the 80 fish stocked in Tim Dorn’s 23,000
gallon pond. Dorn is the owner of Kent Koi Ponds & Waterfalls.
ing my day, I would take my
cup of coffee out to the small
pond to visit and feed the three
orange and one white koi,
which are known not only for
their playful demeanor (yes,
fish do have personalities), but
also as harbingers of good luck,
prosperity, courage and success.
Unfortunately for my young
fishies, luck and prosperity
were not in their future. I can’t
speak for their courage, but I
definitely lacked success.
On one of my morning visits,
much to my shock and dismay,
the pond turned up empty.
Broken-hearted and more than
Continued on page 10

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… koi pond revisited
Continued from page 9
a tad guilty for not having ade-
quately protected the fish from
their untimely demise, I retired
PO Box 1206 from water gardening. The next
Sharon, CT 06069 day I backfilled the pond and
860-364-0773 re-planted grass.
As it turns out, there were
ericnelsonconstruction@gmail.com two problems: I hadn’t dug the
pond deep enough, nor did I
provide adequate places where
the fish could hide from curi-
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before shovel meets soil, I de-
cided to do my homework and
consulted a Kent expert on the
topic.
Tim Dorn, owner of Kent Koi
Ponds & Waterfalls, graciously
offered the following key point-
ers for building and maintain-
ing a backyard garden pond.
For those more serious garden-
ers, Dorn, whose 23,000 gallon
pond holds about 80 Japanese
koi ranging from four to 48
inches in length, also shared
basic information on maintain-
ing larger koi ponds.
To begin with, placement,
he said, is key. Consider a loca-
tion close to your patio, deck or
window, so that you can enjoy
watching your fish. As for the
size, the bigger the pond the
more filtration is needed. He
suggested taking a garden hose
to outline the general shape
you envision, and then stepping
back to see how it works with
the landscape. or go to www.kentkoiponds.com
For larger pond projects, “It
should be deep enough to keep
animals away, and be below the
frost line,” which is roughly
three feet to five feet deep, clos-
er to the latter in our area, said
Dorn, who designs, installs and
maintains ponds for clients. He
has even transformed former
swimming pools into koi ponds.
The next consideration is
filtration. Ammonia, nitrate and
phosphate are all toxic to fish.
Dorn said he uses a skimmer
box/waterfall filter box with an
external pump for small garden
pond installations, and all of
that plus a bead filter and UV
filter for larger pond projects.
A few other considerations:
garden ponds which are about
two feet in depth should in-
clude mostly live plants, where-
as more elaborate koi ponds,
at a depth of about five feet,
should not contain plant life,
as koi tend to uproot and eat
them. Also, keep in mind that
as fish grow, they create more
waste, so you may eventually
need to upgrade the filter.
For me, the start of spring
means fine-tuning my plans for
a new pond and dreaming of
the tranquil mornings to come,
coffee in hand, when I walk out
to my garden to visit the gleam-
ing fish as they dart about the
sparkling, cool waters. They will
have plenty of plants to keep
them shaded, help regulate
water temperature and control
algae growth. Most of all, the
pond will provide adequate
shelter from curious wildlife.
This time around, the sushi
bar will be closed.
Kent Koi Ponds & Waterfalls de-
signs landcape water features. For
more information call 203-564-3474

The Bright View From
A Designer’s Window
By Anne Day
Y
es, people do change win-
ter slipcovers for summer
ones, said Lakeville interi-
or designer Katie Baldwin, when
I asked her about affordable
ways to brighten the house for
spring and summer. Though I
was with Baldwin to learn about
window treatments — she man-
aged to slip in lots of other hints
for brightening up a winter-
tired house. More on that later.
Baldwin, a graduate of Salis-
bury Central, Housatonic Valley
Regional High School and Fash-
ion Institute of Technology, had
worked in fashion merchandis-
ing in New York and San Fran-
cisco for years and said she’s
now happy to be back home
860-824-1161 | www.stantoneq.com
SPRINGTIME, April 2019 11
and designing living spaces for
old friends and new friends.
After working with “an amazing
mentor and inspiration,” New
York/Salisbury/Florida interior
designer Robin Bell, Katie has
been in business as an interior
decorator for five years. Though
about 75 percent of her clients
are weekenders, Baldwin also
loves to help people who want
to live here on a budget with
their home decorating needs.
One way to date a house,
Baldwin said, is to hang on to
old-fashioned window treat-
ments. The heavy chintz drapes
of the ’80s and ’90s have given
PHOTO BY ANNE DAY
Continued on page 12
Interior designer Katie Baldwin was mentored by celebrated
designer Robin Bell before opening her own studio in Lakeville.
12 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

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Linen shades are a specialty of Baldwin, who enjoys their simplicity.

Dealer

Specializing In: Prompt Professional

… designer’s window
Continued from page 11
• Gas Warm Air Service
way to simplicity — natural fab-
Systems ric shades, wooden blinds and
Carlson… sheer curtains without heavy
• Central Air
for Customers valances. Sometimes, said Bald-
Conditioning win, when privacy isn’t an issue,
who insist on a naked window is best.
Safety & Quality This designer said updat-
ing windows doesn’t have to
be expensive — making small
room or a sun porch.” Baldwin
is flexible with her clients and
she said, “I have a few custom
window workrooms that I work
with that can do custom shades
for any room — roman shades,
custom blinds— whatever
works in that space. I have a
huge library of fabrics so we can

800-542-2422
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800-542-2422
changes makes a big difference.
Using new fun colorful fabrics
www.carlsonpropane.com — or just adding trim to exist-
ing window treatments can be
a room-changer. She suggested
removing a heavy valance that
blocks too much light.
Baldwin loves using linen
shades for simplicity and light.
Also, she said, “I love how fresh
bamboo shades look in a garden
work with the colors already in
the rooms.” She likes to design
window treatments with per-
formance fabrics so that the sun
does not damage the material.
She also always recommends
lining the fabric to prevent sun
damage and to increase the
amount of blockage when they
are pulled shut.
On a visit to a client’s newly

Leaving behind the heavy drapes of the past, Baldwin’s
recommendation for windows is to let the light in.
purchased house in Lakeville,
Baldwin showed me a before
and after. In a room she has
not worked on yet, the win-
dows were covered by heavy
damask drapes which puddle
onto the floor and were topped
by a matching heavy valance
— even with the curtains open,
very little light got in. In the
room Baldwin has just finished
designing, the natural colored
linen shades were pulled up to
let the afternoon light in and
the place felt bright and invit-
ing, and one sensed that spring
is around the corner.
Though window treatments
are a relatively inexpensive way
to brighten a room, there are
even more inexpensive and less
permanent ways, like changing
out your pillows or changing
SPRINGTIME, April 2019 13
PHOTO BY ANNE DAY
the accent color. In her Lake-
ville office, Baldwin’s working
with navy and saffron but if she
wanted to change the warm
mood of the saffron-accented
room, she’d swap the saffron
throws, pillows and vases for
some similar accessories in a
fresh springy citron green —
suddenly you’d have an entirely
new feeling in the room.
Baldwin is a decorator who
prefers to collaborate rather
than dictate. She said, “I like
partnering with clients, I want
to help people realize their
vision — to bring their dream
to life — not mine. It’s all about
collaborating.”
Katie Baldwin Designs is in
Lakeville. For more information
call 917-536-5365 or go to www.
katiebaldwindesigns.com
14 SPRINGTIME, April 2019
Bunny Williams
Continues To Leave Her
Stamp on Falls Village
By Alexander Wilburn
I
n a town as small as Falls
Village, practically painted
as miniature portrait of New
England living, residents notice
exactly when the holiday flags
have been taken down from
the lamp posts, and if those
lamp posts are lit at the right
hour. It’s easy to spot changes,
especially when those changes
are happening to the very quiet
Main Street, typically free from
foot traffic apart from home-
owners taking their dogs out for
a walk.
Luckily, Fall Village’s most
recent change isn’t disrupting
the quiet town. It’s a renova-
tion project helping to renew
the street’s sense of aesthetic
cohesion. 100 Main Street, a one-
story commercial space with
a gray-blued industrial facade,
had served various functions for
the community, including a gro-
cery store, before settling into
its role as vacant eyesore. That
is, before it caught the eye of
celebrated decorator and taste
maker Bunny Williams.
Williams made a home for
herself in Falls Village 36 years
ago after purchasing a neglect-
ed Victorian in need of a revi-
talization. It was in her Falls Vil-
lage backyard that she founded
Trade Secrets, the massively
popular plant and antiques sale
that benefits Women’s Support
Services in Sharon. She’s gone
on to purchase additional prop-
erty in Falls Village, including
her studio and a Greek Revival
home across the street for her
friend. Williams designed the
“There are is so much
talent around here,
it’s unbelievable the
beautiful things that are
made in this area. I want
to support the glass
blower who isn’t selling
wares at Barney’s, or
the potter who isn’t at
Bergdorf’s.”
interiors for the 2010 reopening
of the historic Falls Village Inn,
built in 1843, free of charge.
“I wanted to help the Falls Vil-
lage Inn because it was impor-
tant for the town, and I think
this newly renovated building
is going to be important for the
town.”
Sitting by the fireplace in
her conservatory for a Sunday PHOTO BY ANNE DAY
morning interview, Williams Celebrated decorator Bunny Williams has lived in Falls Village for 36 years.
discussed her affection for Along with founding Trade Secrets in the town and designing the interiors
small town life. “I fell in love at the Falls Village Inn, she has recently purchased a Main Street building.
with this house. I fell in love
with it before I even turned in in 2005 by Harry N. Abrams, “I would like it to be a co-
the driveway. I loved the allée “Any rational being would have operative of high-end local
of trees, and I loved the way it considered all the work that had artisans. Art, furniture, china,
sat up on a hill over this little to be done and walked away.” pottery, weaving — there are is
village. I thought Falls Village Equally undaunted by the shab- so much talent around here,
is an untouched little part of by exterior of 100 Main Street, it’s unbelievable the beautiful
New England that’s really quite Williams saw the potential for a things that are made in this
special. Now I’ve come to have a space to draw buyers to Falls Vil- area. I want to support the glass
long history with the town. ” lage and establish a retail hub blower who isn’t selling wares
As Williams wrote in “An that celebrated and invested at Barney’s or the potter who
Affair With A House,” a coffee- in the sophisticated work of isn’t at Bergdorf’s.”
table account of the effort she skilled Litchfield County craft- Implementing William’s vi-
poured into the estate, printed ers and artists. sion of the building is Churchill
 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 15

Building Company, who can

still be seen working to finish
the project for this summer.
“The design process was cer-
tainly interesting,” explained
Seth Churchill, craftsman and
owner of the custom building
firm in Lakeville. “We had to
transform the building from
something nobody wanted
to touch, and in fact, I think it
was considered for being torn
down, into something that
Bunny created to be not only
a functional space, but some-
thing that architecturally fits
into the Falls Village Main Street
landscape. That’s not easy to do.
She has great vision and design
sense, while being sensitive to
the surrounding architecture
was important.”
It turns out, reimagining the
building started from the top.
“We ended up having to
ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF DRAKE DESIGN STUDIO
Continued on page 16 Illustrated plans for the completed exterior of Falls Village Workshops by Drake Design Studio,
a landscape and architectural design firm in Lakeville, founded by Sarah Drake Weihman.

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16 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

“Looking around Falls Village really guided us…”

… Bunny Williams
Continued from page 15

do the whole roof over, that England homes with columns

was big job,” said Churchill. tying in imagery from the Greek
“The original building had the Revival architecture of the town
trusses, but this portion on the — while still maintaining an in-
right was part of the expansion dustrial edge that feels modern
that buried the right side of instead of downtrodden.
the truss. Once we squared off “I think when Bunny bought
the facade. It’s hard to explain, it the thought was, ‘Now I own
but every building knows what this thing. Oh my god, what am
it wants to be. Once we clean I going to do with it?’” Churchill
it up, there was a blank canvas said. “We had a certain respon-
for us to work with, and look- sibility, especially if you’re
ing around Falls Village really Bunny Williams, and you have
guided us and told us what it a reputation of doing wonder-
should look like.’ ful things. There was a sense of
The once anonymous 100 responsibility to not fail and to
Main Street, now Falls Village keep up that bar, that expecta-
PHOTOS BY ALEXANDER WILBURN AND ANNE DAY
Workshops, infuses the classic tion. That’s a tough one. But she
Above, 100 Main Street as it appeared in fall 2017, before being
purchased by Williams. Below, Falls Village Workshop in March 2019
white clapboard color of New did it.”
as Churchill Building Company worked to complete the exterior.

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 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 17

No Waste Shopping
For A Colorful, Vegan
Spring Salad
By Alexander Wilburn

T
he best thing about driving
in the country is that you
can be ready for anything.
Unlike in the city, where any
small bag you pack may have
to last you through your morn-
ing subway ride, your day at the
office, your post-work-catch-up
with friends, your last minute
shopping… with your car you
can be prepared and that means
there’s no excuse to still be
reaching for paper or plastic
bags when shopping for food.
A canvas bag, packed with a few
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER WILBURN
essentials and tucked into your
glove compartment will save
the day every time.
That said, it’s not always easy
to eliminate excess plastic and
paper from your food shopping
— meat will be wrapped in pa-
per, and commonly used ingre-
dients like salt will most often
be packaged in cardboard. For
most people, there will always
be waste with grocery store
shopping. Still, there are four
Continued on page 18

See page 19 for the full recipe for this roasted pepper and chickpea salad.

Fifteen years goes by

in a flash
We’re pleased to let you know that the Bank
of Millbrook is now offering a 15-year, fixed-
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18 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

“There are four items you can use to greatly decrease

your paper trail…”

… no waste shopping
Continued from page 17

items you can use to greatly that the website lists as made
decrease your paper trail. from organic cotton, sustain-
The first, of course, is the can- ably sourced beeswax, organic
vas tote. These are easy to layer jojoba oil, and tree resin.
up and fold, Marie Kondo-style, Last on the list is an item so
so they take up relatively little synonymous with millennial-af-
space. This is something many fection that it might feel a little
shoppers already do, but it’s silly to carry, but the mason jar
worth going the extra step and is still handy. Grocery stores like
also carrying reusable produce Guido’s Fresh Marketplace in
bags. For frequent vegetable Great Barrington have loads of
buyers, the plastic produce bags seeds, oats and sweets you can
can really add up and create a buy from bulk receptacles, so
lot of trash to throw out once your can use your own reusable
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER WILBURN home. Reusable draw string glass jars to get your chia seeds
No waste items like canvas shopping bags, cotton mesh produce and Bee’s bags are available in linen or or steel cut oats for breakfast
Wrap reusable bread and sandwich paper all help cut down on excess paper cotton mesh. Look for bags that without taking home any un-
and plastic use when shopping for food on a weekly basis. come in a set of different sizes necessary plastic containers.
and have their weight printed For my no-waste shopping
on the side or on a tag, so the trip to Guido’s I gave in to an
grocery store cashier can de- instinct that overtakes me in
duct the weight of the bag if the the warmer spring and sum-
produce is priced per pound. mer days — vegan cooking. In
The next item is a little strang- New York City I had a number
er: Bee’s Wrap. A reusable wax of vegan friends, and Saturdays
paper made for food storage, were spent heading to the 79th
this is a great paper substitute Street Greenmarket near the
for buying loaves of bread. Bee’s American Museum of Natural
Wrap is a company that was History to shop for a for a big,
founded in 2012 in Middlebury,
Lakeville/Millerton 5 x 2.5_Layout 1 3/25/19 fi11:58
llingAM
springtime
Page 1 salad.
Vt., and offers an assortment For this recipe I’m adapting
www.alrci.com of bread and sandwich wraps
Lakeville/Millerton 5 x 2.5_Layout
very loosely from Martha Stew-
5 x 2.5_Layout11 3/25/19 11:58AM AM
PagePage 1
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 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 19

art, as it would seem we have
at least one thing in common:
we both love watercress. Wa-
tercress is something I started
appreciating while living in
Ireland. It’s great as a salad or
on sandwiches, and seems to
be used much more frequently
in the British Isles as opposed
to stateside. Martha’s recipe
calls for all sorts of things like
cheeses, honey and maple
syrup, none of which are vegan.
So out they go.
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ROASTED PEPPER, CHICKPEA
AND WATERCRESS VEGAN SALAD
1 bunch of watercress
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
2 plum tomatoes (a basket
cherry tomatoes might
have been preferable, but
I could not find any that
weren’t packaged in plastic)
2 cups of chickpeas
1 teaspoon of blue agave
nectar
1 teaspoon of extra-virgin
olive oil (I like L’Extraverte
olive oil from Oliviers
and Co., which is made in
France but sold in Grand
Central Station. It’s flavor is
vibrant and grassy instead
too buttery)
2 teaspoon of lemon juice
Set your oven to 400 degrees
Fahrenheit and roast your
peppers on a baking sheet
with a little olive oil. Bake for
20 minutes, or until black-
ened. Flip your peppers, and
add in one of your plum
tomatoes. Bake for another 20
minutes.
Remove peppers from the pan
and dice. Set aside half of
your diced peppers for the
salad and throw the rest in a
food processor .
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Arrange your watercress,
chickpeas and diced roasted
peppers. Dice your second,
uncooked plum tomato and
add it to the salad. Pour the
dressing over the salad and
add salt and pepper.
I toasted slices of a baguette
topped with salt and olive oil
for some scooping.
This is a great salad to make
when you want to linger in
the kitchen without doing
too much work. Open the
windows on a sunny day and
open a light bottle of wine,
like a chardonnay or a rosé.
There’s plenty of downtime
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20 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

Spring Cleaning Isn’t

A Chore, It’s A Culture
By Sophia Kaufman

S
pring brings with it a lot
of things: more greenery, a
poetry unit in school, a re-
newed effort towards New Year’s
resolutions, the promise of
summer. Something about the
return of the sun might make
you want to fill your house with
lemons and cherry blossoms, or
air everything out so it smells
like fresh linen and vanilla. And
of course, there’s always the
promise (or threat, depending
on your point of view) of spring
cleaning.
The concept of spring clean-
ILLUSTRATED COLLAGE BY ALEXANDER WILBURN
ing is self-explanatory — a
PHOTOS, IMDB.COM cheery change in season brings
Netflix personalities Marie Kondo of “Tidying Up” and Antoni a desire to start anew — but its
Porowski of “Queer Eye” have became cultural figures of origins may not be. There are
betterment by turning domesticity into a reflection of the self.
religious ritualistic precedents
for it all over the globe; some
attribute the concept to the Per-
sian New Year, Nowruz, which
falls on the first day of spring, or
the Jewish practice of thorough-
ly cleaning the house before
Passover. The Catholic Church
also cleans the altar thoroughly
before Good Friday.
The timing of spring cleaning
historically has also been based,
in some places, on climate and
weather patterns. In continen-
tal climates, such as the United
States, before the invention
of mechanical cleaners, early
spring was often the best time
for cleaning as it was warm
enough to keep windows and

Locally grown …
Each week The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News
are produced locally by staff who live
in the Tri-state area communities.
It is a connection to YOUR communities and what is
important to YOUR lives that make our publications unique.
Subscribe or advertise today!
circulation@lakevillejournal.com • advertising@lakevillejournal.com

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www.TriCornerNews.com & Regional News Website
 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 21

doors open but not hot enough
for insects to be an issue yet
— accumulations of soot from
fires throughout the winter
could be beat clean from the
furniture and tidily disposed.
Some theorists believe that even
daylight saving time plays a
role: the more sunlight we have,
the more energized we are, and
likely to have the enthusiasm to
do the chores or carry through
with New Year’s resolutions that
feel more energy-consuming in
the winter.
The future of spring cleaning
is as fascinating as its historical
trajectory. Despite the hectic
nature of everything all around
us, or perhaps because of it,
there seems to be a growing
cultural trend toward active,
holistic self-improvement,
often with more than a shade
of minimalism in its organiza-
tional focus. Netflix shows like
“Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”
and the reboot of “Queer Eye” “Despite the hectic nature of everything all around us, or
(now in its third season) are
hugely popular. Pinterest, Tum-
perhaps because of it, there seems to be a growing cultural
blr and Instagram have large trend toward active, holistic self-improvement, often with
D.I.Y. communities that revolve more than a shade of minimalism …”
around reusing and repurpos-
ing, adding an ecological bent
to self-improvement.
Perhaps most interestingly, a As technological production member watching “The Wind in
growing number of people are continues to increase, and the the Willows” as a kid, and being
actually cutting down on the urgency of confronting climate so enamored of the idea of
kinds of technological applianc- change continues to escalate, spring cleaning — particularly
es they invest in — some going it is interesting to think about whitewashing — that I took a
so far as to choose flip phones how we — as individuals and as piece of white chalk and began
over smartphones. The practice a society — might have to start industriously scribbling over all
of spring cleaning is evolving to rethinking how we approach of our walls with it. While the
include even the intangible ar- “spring cleaning,” as something color blended in (quite nicely,
eas of our life that feel cluttered, other than a habit with religious in fact), for days afterward there
as people choose to unfollow or or historical precedents. But would be a chalky residue. I’ve
unfriend Twitter and Facebook it’s not impossible to imagine definitely given up that particu-
acquaintances, spend less time changing certain habits in a lar spring cleaning tradition —
Spring Tonic
on social media, and use less short period of time. for which, I’m sure, my parents
5”W x 5.5 “H
smart technology in general. For example, I vaguely re- are thankful.

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 22 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

Do-Ikea-Yourself:
The Cheap Bookcase
You Can Make Look
Custom Made
By David Wilburn

I
kea bookshelves remain one
of the best values around.
The Swedish furtinuture and
appliance manufacturer has
probably sold almost as many
Billy bookcases as Apple has
sold iPhones. But what if you’ve
outgrown laminated, assemble-
it-yourself furniture? Or you’re
tired of white, birch, black-
brown and brown ash as your
only color choices?
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER WILBURN Anyone can transform a ge-
Ikea bookshelves arrive ready to be assembled, so their individual parts neric Ikea bookcase into a piece
of furniture that looks hand-
crafted and custom made for
your decor. How? With paint.
It’s actually very easy — but also
a little complicated.
First, you’re going to paint all
of the pieces before you assem-
ble them. Use sawhorses with
two-by-fours, kitchen counters,
extra tables or anything else you
can find. The pieces will be laid
flat, so no worries about drips
or runs if you’re careful with the
edges. And you’re going to use a

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are easy to paint and touch up before putting the bookcase together.

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doors, electric
verhead
radio Doors
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fell throughout the day to add a visual wintry sistent top-three finisher, took third p
operators, radio controls,
cial & industrial doors, electric
MADSEN
ns to fit any budget! Residential,
radio controls, sales & service.
sales &
Years
service. JACK APICELLA
touch, and the lack of sunshine (ice’s mortal en-
Over 30 Years Experience
ancing 23 N. Main Street
Pixie.” “Thor” was the title of t
Sharon, CT 06069

Years
emy) helped preserve the competitors’ 300-pound by second-place winner
cial & industrial doors, Madsen electric
Overhead Doors offers numerous allcraftjack@gmail.com (860) 364-5413
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to fit any budget! Residential,
the ice enough to make it difficult for the carvers tic Beach, N.Y. And Chad
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ERHEAD
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since
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1954
service since radio
1954 controls, sales & service. Years
to fashion sharp details in their sculptures. Still, Gasiorek from Shohola,
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operators,
MADSEN
the finished works were spectacular in both the Pa., won first place with
ERHEAD
friendly serviceDOORSsince 1954
(518) 392 3883
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In the increasingly competitive your average
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(518)
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since
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 SPRINGTIME, April 2019 23

“Anyone can transform a generic Ikea bookcase

into a piece of furniture that looks handcrafted
and custom made for your decor. How? With
paint. It’s actually very easy — but also a little
complicated.”

4-inch trim roller frame with a able at any hardware store.

high-density foam roller (you’ll
need two of them) and a pair of
plastic disposable roller trays,
so the work will go really fast.
You will need to thoroughly
clean all the surfaces with a
solution of TSP (trisodium
phosphate) to make sure there
is nothing on the surface of the
laminate. Ikea pieces are lami-
nated with plastic, so you need
to prime all the visible lami-
nated surfaces. Acrylic paint
will never stick to laminate,
Salisbury Winter
soSports
use Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Based
(Don’t buy the newer advanced
synthetic shellac — stay with
the original.) This primer does
not need to be thinned, but will
require two coats. It cleans up
with ammonia and water.
Lay out your pieces and
give each one a first coat. Ap-
ply virtually no pressure with
the roller or the paint will just
smear around. Make sure you
paint the finished edges with
a pretty dry roller so the paint
doesn’t
drip. Let2009
Association it dry for
2745
PHOTO COURTESY OF TINA HILLIER

Annie Sloan draws inspiration for her paint colors from travel and history, so
White Interior Primer; it’s avail- Continued on page 24
each shade carries with it a design aesthetic, like the blue David Wilburn chose,
reminiscent of Cycladic landscapes.

404 Ashley Falls Road (Route 7) Canaan, CT

onors went to
. (J.P. is also (860) 824-5467
www.deckerandbeebe.com
th his “Flying
Conn., a con- Featuring:
place with “Bal- Sub-Zero • Wolf • Viking • Miele • Bosch
the sculpture
Vent-a-Hood • Fisher & Paykel • GE
Hotpoint • Miele Vacuums

SINCE still printing

12 Casey Hill Rd
1992 still copying Canaan, Ct 06018
lauRelbRook.weebly.Com
FOR ALL YOUR PRINT NEEDS
Stacey L. Moore

reciation of SWSA
17 Dutchess Avenue
P.O. Box 880 Full Color Copies
Mon.-Fri. 9-5
Phone: (518) 789-4508
monday-FRiday 7:00am-4:30pm
s gift to our community
Millerton, NY 12546 up to 12x18 Fax: (518) 789-4509 satuRday 7:00am-12:00pm
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24 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

“Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan, which has nothing

to do with chalkboard paint, is the brand name of
a decorative furniture paint developed by British
designer Annie Sloan that is quick-drying, mixable
and named for its matte finish.”

… do-Ikea-yourself
Continued from page 23

minutes and apply the second

coat. If you did drip on an edge,
sand it out with a little piece of
sandpaper before the final coat.
After an hour, turn everything
over and repeat. Let it dry over-
night.
Here is a useful trick and
why we have two roller frames
and rollers: I don’t clean the
roller between coats. I put the
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER WILBURN

It takes a few days of the work, but the end result brings vibrant, and
roller in a fold-top clear plastic
inexpensive color to any room in your home. sandwich bag and put it in the
refrigerator. It will stay moist
almost indefinitely. I don’t try
and clean out the roller tray PHOTO COURTESY OF TINA HILLIER

with the primer — just scrape

the paint back into the con-
tainer and cover it with plastic
wrap. For the acrylic paint (see
below) I wash out the tray in the
sink with warm water and soap.
The roller still goes in a bag and
in the refrigerator.
Now start with the fin-
ish paint in the color of your
choice. I use Chalk Paint® by
Annie Sloan finished with a coat
or two of wax applied with a
fine steel wool pad and buffed
with a towel. Chalk Paint® by
Annie Sloan, which has nothing
to do with chalkboard paint, is
the brand name of a decorative
furniture paint developed by
20 percent water in order to roll
it smooth. You can choose to
use any premium acrylic paint
(I prefer eggshell to semi-gloss)
if you don’t want to wax. This is
very subjective.
Your first coat will not cover
very well because the primer is
really slick. The second coat will
completely cover if you are care-
ful. Sometimes the edges and
corners need a final touch up.
That’s it! Assemble as usual
and touch up or wax any spots
you missed. Wait a few days for
the wax and/or paint to cure
before your use the piece. And
dare anyone to spot it as Ikea!

LAKEVILLE INTERIORS British designer Annie Sloan

that is quick-drying, mixable
and named for its matte finish.
7 Holley Street Lakeville, CT • Tues-Fri 10-4 Sat 10-3 Chalk Paint® is very thick
www.lakevilleinteriors.com and very flat and made to show
brush strokes, so I thin it with
Visit our showroom to find furniture, gifts & home accessories.
For more information on British
designer and author Annie Sloan,
and to shop for Chalk Paint® by
Annie Sloan, available in 42 colors
inspired by travel and history, go
to www.anniesloan.com

Noreen Driscoll of Sweethaven Farm led a workshop on planting succulents
for spring, but her easy to follow advice can be applied from home.
How To Plant Your
Succulents Like
An Expert Gardener
By Leila Hawken
S
weethaven Farm, once a
significant draw for seri-
ous gardeners throughout
the region when it was located
in Salisbury, is still creating
gardening beauty, even though
this gardening and floral busi-
ness no longer has a brick-and-
mortar location.
“Sweethaven is wherever I
am,” Noreen Driscoll explained
during a recent succulent plant-
er workshop she presented at
Noble Horizons in Salisbury.
Although she has previously
opened a pop-up shop in Salis-
SPRINGTIME, April 2019 25
captivating landscape solutions
PHOTO BY ANNE DAY
garden center
design install : maintenance
bury for the Christmas season
KENT
(At the closed Chaiwalla tea
house in 2018 and at Sweet Wil-
liam’s Bakery in 2017), Driscoll
said for the rest of the year she
has customers who ask for land-
scape gardening. She explained GREENHOUSE & GARDENS
her clients often own either
recently purchased homes or
ones that have been neglected,
or need extra care. 30 south main street kent connecticut
She also creates floral designs 860.927.4436
for public spaces in the North-
west Corner, including the kentgreenhouse.com
Continued on page 26
26 SPRINGTIME, April 2019

… how to plant
Continued from page 25

planters at LaBonne’s Market in Noreen Driscoll fills

Salisbury. She also maintain sev-
eral public gardens in Lakeville,
including Bauer Park.
Driscoll has been in business
since 1986, when she started
out by selling herbs and other
products at farmers markets.
Currently, Sweethaven Farm is
a floral and event design busi-
ness, including floral design for
weddings.
When filling a planter,
Driscoll adheres to a favorite
concept, practiced by successful
gardeners: thrillers (something
taller and eye-catching), fillers
(to fill in around the featured
planting), and spillers (to trail
over the edge and downward).
That’s all there is to it.
To make a container garden
PHOTO BY ANNE DAY
a planter with three
things: “thrillers, fillers
and spillers.”
simply put a bit of gravel in the
bottom of the container, and
then fill half-way with soil. Suc-
culents can include sedum and
chicks and hens. Add more soil
and top with a few stones. Water
infrequently. Succulents do not
need much water, and they are
fairly foolproof.
“There are no mistakes in gar-
dening — just start over,” com-
mented Jan Honick of Salisbury
who was attending the event.
To learn more about Noreen
Driscoll and Sweethaven Farm go

Driscoll advises you to care for your succulents by watering them infrequently.
of succulents, Driscoll said, to www.sweethavenfarmct.com

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