KNOW IT: When Sarah Van Assche, principal of Chicago’s Sarah Van Assche Interiors got her first look at the Maywood Fire Department South Station on 17th Street in Maywood, she said to John Cadagin: “Chief, this is a 911 design emergency!”
Van Assche, whose Chicago design firm was selected to execute the makeover of the Maywood firehouse’s lounge, says the fire chief cracked up. His station won $10,000 for the re-do as the local winner of “Spruce Up Your Firehouse,” a national firehouse makeover contest sponsored by HGTV and Maxwell House. Nine other firehouses around the U.S. are getting similar facelifts.
How bad is it? “They call it the dungeon,” says Van Assche of the cinderblock basement room with one tiny window and leaky pipes in the ceiling. The design her firm created for the makeover will turn it into an in-house theater.
“The firemen are going to do a lot of the elbow grease themselves, rip up the old tile, do the flooring installation, paint,” she says. And fast. The firehouse has to be totally transformed by June 26. Stay tuned for the result. For more information, visit http://www.maxwellhouse.com.
— Mary Daniels
READ IT: You’re apt to come down with a case of wanderlust from reading Douglas Keister’s “Mobile Mansions: Taking Home Sweet Home on the Road” (Gibbs Smith Publisher, 160pages, $24.95). Keister explores the history of the recreational vehicle and takes readers inside some intriguing examples, such as an oak-trimmed Gypsy Cruiser camp car from the 1920s and a Thompson camper sedan that looks a little like an armored hearse with a pop-up roof. You can see the mobile dressing room Jane Russell used while filming “The Outlaw” and the camper in which John Steinbeck explored America with his poodle, a trip that inspired his best-selling memoir “Travels with Charley.” Keister also included a resource section for RV aficionados.
— Mary Beth Breckenridge/Knight Ridder Newspapers
BUY IT: Here’s a great last-minute Father’s Day gift idea: “Dad’s Own Housekeeping Book” (Workman, 196 pages, $10.95). It’s a tongue-in-cheek guide to doing things “the guy way” — quickly, efficiently and with as little fuss as possible. But the book doesn’t just serve up witty one-liners; it also includes some great tips, from making the bed under a minute to a 30-minute emergency housecleaning that passes the mother-in-law test. We especially enjoyed the “Dad Does Dinner” chapter, which includes a handy supermarket checklist, quick-prep tips, recipes and smart shortcuts (for dads who love to cook and hate to clean). Mom might even learn a thing or two.
–Tran Ha
BUY IT:Show your support for the Gay Games VII Sports & Cultural Festival taking place in Chicago from July 15 through 22 by purchasing a Gay Games street-pole banner. For $150 (plus shipping), you can get any name printed on the bottom of the green-and-blue banner, and, when the games are over, your banner will be shipped to you. The banners can be purchased until Thursday at www.GayGamesChicago.org. For more information, call 773-907-2006.
— M.D.
WATCH IT: HGTV’s “Landscapers’ Challenge” filmed its first episode in Chicago and what an episode it is. Three premier Chicago landscape designers vied for the opportunity to landscape the space with a budget of $50,000. First, there’s the challenge of the site, a 1,400-square-foot expanse of concrete with an unobstructed view of downtown. Second, the garden-to-be is on a roof six stories above North Wells Street. Third, the building has no freight elevator. Tune in to find out which designer wins the couple’s approval. Will it be Mimi McKay of McKay Landscape Architects; Stephen Prassas of Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architects; or will it be Carol Heffernan, Heffernan Landscape Design? And see just how green a roof garden can be.
8:30 p.m. Thursday on HGTV, repeated at 12:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
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— Marjorie C. David
SURF IT: Whether you’re planning a wedding or your next dinner party, find the makings of a centerpiece, parting gifts and a lot more for less at www.save-on-crafts.com. The site carries candles and candle holders, ribbons and tulle, vases and glass bowls, floral supplies, the list goes on. Offerings range from the very elegant to the slightly cheesy, but great finds in the previous category and a savings of 20 percent to 50 percent make it worthwhile. A tip: For even more savings, buy in bulk. For example, 7 1/2-inch bud vases, $1.75 apiece, are $1.68 each when you buy 12 or more. (The bud vases, by the way, also make great nontraditional champagne flutes.) Having ordered from the site, we can vouch for the quality. Happy shopping.
–T.H.
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