STEVE REID
Editor Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com

Somebody, a commissioner, called me “negative” the other day.

So I will add to my bad traits by being the only label that could be worse — defensive.

Perhaps I come from one of those families where we debated intensely at the dinner table but all kissed each other good night. OK, not my brother and I, but you get the idea.

The reality is I am a lover of ideas, debate and language. So to put the word negative in another context is my nature.

I call it critical; it means I come out strongly for and against what does not seem right for a situation. And in the case of this commissioner, I do not favor the over-commercialization of the Key and the dumbing down of our island’s beauty and standards to simply draw more tourists.

Tourists come to beautiful places and interesting places and places of renown. They do not make these places though, and they are a byproduct that is positive if only they do not destroy the very reason they came in the first place.

Everyone knows the old travel guide phenomenon when in Europe. If the Let’s Go guide or Fodor’s says it’s a unique and precious and undiscovered gem, by next year it will be over. The place will be full of fat tee-shirted Americans who destroy the very reason you came to travel in the first place.

I am for four and five-star resorts on the Key. I am for a redeveloped Colony that does not have to compete with overnight rentals in the residential community. I am for pristine parks and tight property and building codes that encourage all the things that every upscale community in the United States shares — differentiation.

And on that note I want to be very positive about a few things I heard at the Urban Land Institute discussion last Monday in the Commission Chambers.

First, the Town Manager laid out how the Town can proceed with some of the recommendations and suggestions.

And I was excited to hear our Town leaders support — at least in principal — some of the most significant opportunities we have as a community.

First, as the poet Yeats said, “Longboat’s center cannot hold, things fall apart …The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

That poem “The Second Coming” really is about Longboat Key even if the poet was unaware.

Staying centered

The Urban Land Institute gets it. It is apparent everywhere. We have no literal center as community. Sure we love to get together at Fish Frys and the Key Club and Harry’s and in Town Hall, but there is no Main Street, no Community Center and in a world that has and continues to grow apart and call each other friends on Facebook and text instead of speak, we need to take every conceivable opportunity to create places where we interact as humans and learn once again to enjoy and cherish each other’s company.

On that note I believe the idea that this Town and this Commission figure out how to develop the land around Publix, the banks and the Town Hall and the old, vacant property behind the banks into a cohesive place to gather, walk and meet and hold events would create something perhaps even the naysayers could embrace.

Just look at the tennis center — imagine if that was connected in a more meaningful way to all the other uses surrounding it?

We should talk and bike more and we should park our cars and walk to the bank, post office and Town Hall and tennis.

And there should be a Town Square of sorts.

I hope the non-visionary types who say like a knee jumping in the air when whacked, “Who is going to pay for it?” can realize everything significant — art, music, parks, novels, film, spirituality — has a value that goes far beyond the monetary constraints.

If we can visualize this center and hold onto the dream the implementers in the Town will help and raise money and will make it a reality. I hope Mayor Brown continues his push and Commissioners such as Jack Duncan will help take his unique skill set to drive a process and bring to fruition something we can all be proud to be part of.

Continuous and lush

The Commission said it wants to pursue these plans and at the same time it said it wants to try and implement some of the other suggestions the ULI made such as cohesive landscaping and beautification plan along Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Let’s face it: GMD is the entrance and exit. The first and final impression. We all fall in love going over the bridge and we are sad to leave the Key. That feeling is universal. We are fortunate to share in this experience daily. Mary Lou Johnson shows it in her pictures and I believe any investments made to make the GMD corridor as lush and staggeringly beautiful as possible pays dividends in property values and the desire others will have to come and visit and stay here.

Specifically, the ULI said to create a continuous landscaping experience between the bike and walking path along the entire 10-mile stretch. They also said we need to embrace some creative thinking and strategies to get Whitney Beach Plaza to its most exciting and best use whether it be as mixed use facility or a Ringling Retreat for artists. I would add to that that the former gas station on the north-end is a depressor of our Key in a very significant way. It is as if you drive into paradise and a warm turd is thrown across your eyes. These things must be rectified in a planned strategic manner.

No nightly flophouses

Also, the Commission was extremely encouraging in putting to rest the idea of relaxing rental rules. Yes, the ULI recommended that idea as a way to bring tourists and spur commercial activity, but it is an island destroyer on its face.

Those who would want to relax the rental rules either have a vested interest to do so or do not grasp the serenity, the joy and the desire for a peaceful paradise that most property owners have bought here want to protect.

Just go to Anna Maria Island this winter and see the effect of opening up the rules for rentals. They are losing their neighborhoods and longstanding residents are hopeless to fix the issue.

Thanks God our Commission took no interest in going down that path. And think how detrimental to the Key Club, the future Colony and the Hilton allowing every small condo and home to be rented by the night.

Do you really think $300 a night rates coexist next to nightly flophouses?

So on that note our Commission is taking positive forward steps.

But I almost forgot to be negative: just watch how this Commission, while it reins in trailer parking at its next meeting, will then undermine and destroy a cell tower policy that has proteced this Key for about a decade.

And guess what? I can make that argument via my cell phone from every inch of every street on Longboat Key. But no matter, if politics were pure, Macbeth, his wife and Brutus would all be cavorting in heaven.

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By David Pendered

It takes thousands and thousands of flowering plants to keep the Buckhead business district looking like a million dollars.

These penny orange violas are to warm the appearance of Peachtree Road through landscaping work planned by the Buckhead CID. Credit: fleursannuelles.com

Just last week, the Buckhead Community Improvement District went to market with a request for proposals to maintain all the greenery in public spaces within the CID. Proposals are due Nov. 18 and, keeping in step with the times, questions are being accepted only by eco-friendly email.

The greenscape request for proposals provides an insight into the level of detail the Buckhead CID pays to its common spaces. Consider the requisites for only the seasonal color on the segment of Peachtree Road from Maple Drive to Peachtree Dunwoody Road:

• Angelonia Carita – purple, 4 inch, 569;
• Caladium – Aaron 4 inch, 765;
• Duranta – Gold Edge, 4 inch, 656;
• Lantana – New Gold, 4 inch, 1,128;
• Penta Graffiti – Rose, 4 inch, 867;
• Petunia – Wave Purple, 4 inch, 787;
• Scaevola – Blue, 4 inch, 787;
• Ipomoea – Goldfinger, 4 inch, 304;
• Vinca – Cora Upright Red, 1,402.

Lavender splashes of Angelonia Carita are to brighten section of Peachtree Road through work planned by the Buckhead CID. Credit: linders.com

And that’s just in the springtime. The list for the autumn color calls for:

• Pansy – Karma Yellow, 4 inch, 2,664;
• Pansy – Delta Marina, 4 inch, 2,196;
• Viola – Penny Orange, 4 inch; 2,664
• Viola – Penny White, 4 inch, 864;
• Viola – Penny Blue, 4 inch, 1,152.

Of course the flower beds have to be blanketed with pine straw and mulch.

The proposal calls for 133 bales to be spread across all areas, twice a year; and 272 cubic yard of mulch to be spread once a year, in January. The type of mulch is not specified.

Keeping everything tidy is expected to take a lot of work.

The proposal calls for Peachtree Road from Maple Drive to be done weekly, including: “Four fungicide applications for ground cover and includes landscape maintenance and blowing of the sidewalks, beauty strips, curbs, concrete islands and center islands.” Hand weeding is required of any weed taller than 4 inches.

Charlie Loudermilk Park is a place unto itself.

The grounds are to be cleaned, “Every week to include a full chemical weed control and fertilizer program for the turf.” No mention was made of polishing the statue of Loudermilk. Nor is there a reference to the planned clock tower that’s to be installed in the park.

In addition to these specifications, the RFP calls for a wide array of aesthetic expectations.

The Buckhead CID has precise ideas for the mix of plants, ground cover along Peachtree Road. Credit: constantcontact.com

Grass is to be maintained at a height of 2 inches to 4 inches. Edging is to be done with a power edge every other week during the grass-growing season. Clippings are to be recycled, if possible, or removed for disposal.

Even as the Buckhead CID looks ahead to a three-year grounds keeping contract, the board is moving ahead with hardscape projects.

Last week, the board approved plans to upgrade a stretch of Peachtree Road south of Pharr Road. Part of the project involves improving streetscapes in the spring of 2014 so they are attractive when the Buckhead Atlanta development opens in the summer, according to its current schedule.

This past summer, the CID approved a proposal by urban designer Peter Dray to re-envision landscaping of the bridge at Lenox Road and Ga. 400. Dray designed the 14^th Street bridge, which serves as a gateway to Midtown. Dray also is working on a bridge design in Gwinnett County, to create a gateway effect at the bridge of Jimmy Carter Boulevard over I-85.

The projects by the Buckhead CID are intended to bolster the physical attraction of the region’s leading address for shopping, fine dining and offices. The area is home to gleaming structures including Phipps Tower, where Carters Inc. has located its headquarters in a move that involved terminating a lease later this year at Midtown’s Proscenium building.

TAMPA BAY – 1. It’s autumn and a Saturday so you know what that means, FOOTBALL! USF Bulls have a bye week this weekend. Meanwhile the Gators will take on Vanderbilt in Gainesville. On ABC you can watch Florida State take on the Wake Forest, Demon Deacons. After that you have Nebraska vs. Michigan and Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh.

2. The Junior League Holiday Market continues through the weekend. Head over to the Florida State Fairgrounds for all of your holiday shopping needs.  Doors open at 9 a.m. and goes until 6 p.m. Tickets are $8.

3. This weekend the Tampa Bay Home Show is open at Tropicana Field. It runs all weekend offering homeowners a one-stop-shop for decorating, landscaping and remodeling ideas.

4. The Sponge Docks Seafood Festival offers seafood lovers a chance to come out and try some new cuisine. The festival will also feature an arts and crafts show and live music. Tarpon Springs’ rich Greek culture will be spotlighted during this delicious festival.

5. We’ve got the perfect event for you and your four-legged friend. Dunedin is having their 6th annual Dogtoberfest at Highlander Park. The fun kicks off at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. It is the largest pet adopt-a-thon in North Pinellas. The event is free, but parking cost $4.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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KITTERY, Maine — Interior architect Amy Dutton has an eye for detail and design. She puts together textures and colors in imaginative ways, adding this accent, that shape to create something that is unique.

That sense of flair is evidenced everywhere in her new business, Amy Dutton Home on Walker Street. Part gallery, part store, part showroom, part dream factory, Amy Dutton Home brings together all of the ideas Dutton has been collecting over a 20-year career in southern Maine.

Anyone who has an itch to redesign a room or even an entire house would likely be inspired by what Dutton has created at her 9 Walker St. location. She has carefully selected about half a dozen artisans, mostly from Maine, with whom she has done business for many years.

“I’ve worked with most of them for ages. I respect their work and I know their quality,” she said.

Among them are furniture designer Craig White of York, rug designer Angela Adams of Portland, weavers Riverdog Design from West Gardiner and potter Zoe Zillion of Vermont. Pieces from all of them are in Amy Dutton Home, tastefully arranged. But Dutton’s own flair is present everywhere in the gallery. To inaugurate her space, Dutton designed her own line of fabrics — some graphic, almost mathematical prints inspired by architecture and other prints inspired by nature.

These designs can be reproduced in all sizes and colors. If you like the print but not the color scheme of the sample, you can chose your own. And they appear on everything from pillows to purses, lamps to curtains to bedspreads.

For instance, her white birches design is scaled small with a blue background when used as a valance. The same design, much bigger with a white background, is used for curtains. The same design may show up in lime green in a lamp and in pale lilac in an accent pillow.

Dutton clearly lets her whimsical and sense of flair guide her. She has even teamed up with Hale Landscaping in York to create an outdoor space just behind her business that brings interior architecture outside.

Homeowners are welcomed to come to Amy Dutton Home and work with her to redesign a room or an addition. But she hopes she has created a place where those in the design business are also at home.

“I will give designers or contractors or architects full access to all of my catalogs,” she said. “They can get a discount on whatever they chose, and if they want to, I would love to collaborate with them.”

“I’m trying to create something unique here. I am never going to compete with the big retailers, and I don’t want to,” she said. “But if someone buys a piece of furniture from them and doesn’t know what else to do, come on in and get inspired.

“That would make me happy,” she said.

AT A GLANCE

Amy Dutton Home

Owner: Amy Dutton

Address: 7 Walker St., Kittery, Maine

Phone: (207) 703-0696

E-mail: amy@amyduttonhome.com

Hours: Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., by appointment and by chance.

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by Fix Flip Staff Writer

Kitchen lighting done well transforms even an average looking kitchen from drab to homey elegance. With some strategic planning and creativity, you can light your kitchen for improved functionality and a sense of well-being.

A single overhead kitchen light fixture is too stark for accommodating all that goes on in a kitchen. To add warmth and illuminate all corners of the room, you need to add layers of light sources.

Laying Out a Kitchen Lighting Plan

With all the lighting options available, you could get overwhelmed. A professional victoryag.org lighting the best of the best online casinos in designer can Australia help you plan cutting-edge lighting solutions and save you money in construction and energy efficiency. But even on your own, you can find simple ways to incorporate both direct and indirect efficient kitchen lighting – for subtle and dramatic effects. Before you decide where to place lights, take the preparation time to study the unique interplay of details in your kitchen – layout, ceiling height, space above and below cabinets, surface finishes and natural lighting. As you consider dimensions and way in which you use each space in your kitchen, you can identify where to place direct lighting for task areas and where to add degrees of indirect lighting for ambience.

Direct Lighting for Kitchen Tasks

Effective direct lighting is necessary for the many tasks, which go on in a kitchen, from reading books to prepping food. For hanging kitchen light fixtures, many experts recommend low-voltage pendant lights, usually hung in versatile sizes and shapes about 35-40 inches above surfaces of sinks, islands or tables. Recessed ceiling lights can be aimed to highlight particular spots in a kitchen. If you don’t want to deal with extra wiring, ceiling track lighting is another possibility. Recessed lighting under cabinets directs lighting precisely where a person is working on a countertop.

Indirect Lighting for Kitchen Ambience

Indirect lighting creates an ambient effect by concealing the light source from view. Hidden lighting above and below kitchen cabinets is an effective way to add upscale warmth and ambient glow to ceilings, counters and floors. Miniature track lights are inexpensive and easy to install. For a soft glow from the ceiling, install indirect lighting around an existing soffit or build in a new soffit. For decorative touches, try in-cabinet lighting or other accentual lighting touches to small areas.

Keep Control of Switches and Dimming

Part of the magic of blending indirect and direct kitchen lighting is the ability to adjust each light level for different tasks and occasions. Be sure to design switches so each type of lighting can be dimmed and controlled separately. You gain optimum functionality, as well as save on energy. When you are done with cooking, you can dim the lights to enjoy your meal.

Whether you want simple or elaborate, take the time to design a plan. A well-lit kitchen will increase functionality and comfort, as well as save you money and energy over time. It will also increase the perceived value of your home. Visitors or buyers will linger over the homey and elegant atmosphere created by your uniquely designed kitchen lighting.

Need help designing your perfect lighting? Why not hire a Pro to get the job done today, just choose your project type in our ContractorConnection and we’ll put you in touch with a local expert. Click here to begin your project quote!

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