A FEW weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch with
two very hard working, civic minded North Shore citizens.
As lunch was on them, I shall try not to reward them with
too much unwanted attention.

Much as I would love to public-
ly commend them for their ef-
forts, I shall refrain from praising
them by name and thereby avoid
making them targets for even
more work. It is enough to say
that their efforts and those of
others like them enhance the
character and charm of our North

_ Shore conimunities.

It was over this tasty meal that
they introduced me to the next in
their string of com-
munity-boosting projects. I think
the North Shore Block Beautiful
Awards '91 is a great idea.

Although proclaimed not to be
a contest, this appears to be a
natural evolution of the North
Shore Garden Contest of previous
years. The ‘‘NOT-a-contest”’ idea
of the awards appears to be an at-
tempt to reward the efforts of an
entire block rather than a com-
petition over who has the greenest
thumb; moot, but commendable.

Now, why do I think it such a
great idea? How many streets
have you driven down and been
consciously impressed by the level
of ‘‘curbside appeal.’’ Neat,
well-edged lawns, manicured trees
and shrubs, well-tended beds with

Geoff
Tebiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

effective splashes of colorful
flowers, all work to promote a
general display of neighborhood
pride.

This is a wonderful opportunity
to pay our respects to those of our
citizens who have worked hard to
enhance the neighborhon’s and
communities we live in. If you
think about the financial aspect of
their undertaking, you can soon

Advertisement

SOME PEOPLE can walk in-
to a room and know
instantly how it should be
arranged.

News Report

Lynda MacLachlan, a resident of
North Vancouver, redesigns living
space using the owner's existing
furniture and possessions.

“There are different’ areas
where this can work. For people
who are selling a home vr mov-
ing into a new home its a good
time to redecorate,” says
MacLachlan. Here, MacLachtan’s
experience in real estate comes
into play. “I! know what it’s like
to go into home that doesn’t sell”
she confides. Often all that is
needed is a thorough cleaning of
walls, drapes and furniture and a
rethinking of the living arrange-
ment. What any home needs, she
believes, is ‘emotional appeal’.

Other applications include
rearranging living space for peo-
ple who want to make a state:
ment but don’t know how or who
don't want to pay an interior
designer and invest in more fur-
nishings. “People want a total
look, but dant know how to yo
about it. Usually, they can’t see
the forest far the trees, The pro-
blems are usually proportion,
light, color and clutier””

Her phiiosaphy is to use the
persan’s awn possessions for dd

Friday, ‘December 7, 1990 North Shore News

NV home designer
puts good eye to good use

a minimum of new ones} to make
it their environment.

MacLachlan says most of her
ideas for redesign arise out of
sheer necessity. Ifa client is ona
limited budget or a room poses
certain limitations, a creative, and
not expensive or drastic solution
is called for.

With her background in in-
terior design from the Ontario
College of Art, MacLachlan brings
a sensitivity for color, porportion
and light to her transformations,

Simple rearrangement of one’s
living quarters can meen the dit-
ference between a place to eal
and sleep anda reai home. Peo-
ple are surprised at the difference
a good eye can make.

How does Macbachlan view
this challange? “As an incredible
high. Chere is nothing better, And
every time a client goes into their
home, they think of me/” she
laughs.

lor turther information, contact
Lynda Machachhin at) Creat
Design Resource, 988-9280.

see why | believe we can’t reward
them enough.

Take a look at sections of Keith
Road in Pemberton Heights as an
example. If it were not for the ef-
forts of those house proud
gardeners along this beautiful
street, I would not be surprised to
see homes selling for perhaps 20%
less than they currently are.

ff this isn’t enough of a
motivator for you, think of those
unfortunate souls who are re-
quired to live in one of the other
extremes. How would you like to
live beside one of those eccentrics
who can never seem to throw any-
thing away. Or maybe you're the
poor old sou! who ended up next
to the ‘native plant gardener,’’ or
shuuld I say, lazy weed collector |
wrote about last week.

This awards program will pres-
ent a gold, silver and bronze cer-
tificate for each house on the ac-
knowledged streets of each of the
three North Shore municipalities:
The District and City of North
Vancouver and The Municipality
of West Vancouver,

There is even talk of specially
designed street signs which herald

A VARIETY OF
CHOICES IN
GARDEN
RETAINING WALLS

Time to recognize ‘curbside appeal’

North Shore Block Beautiful Awards °91
aim to acknowledge neighborhood efforts

the awarded block for all to see.
The awards will likely be pres-
ented by your local mayor and the
street will probably be featured on
Shaw Cable.

As mentioned above, the goal is
an awards program rather than a
contest; however, there is nothing
wrong with a little block to block
competition, is there? How about
the Jones’ against the Chester-
fields (avenues, that is)?

Friday. July 12, 1991 - North Shore News - 13

them: their efforts must be
rewarded.

{f you are one of the leaders in-
stead of the lemmings of your
neighborhood, this may be just
the opportunity you need to in-
spire your block to make a con-
certed effort towards sprucing
things up. One or two of you
could even form an action com-
mittee to motivate the less
motivated weed and scrap iron

44 This is a wonderful opportunity
to pay our respects to those of our
citizens who have worked hard to
enhance the neighborhoods and
communities we live in. 99

If you happen to be one of the
fortunate who live on a well-cared
for street, count yourself lucky
and get yourself a nomination
form. If you know of a street oc-
cupied by more modest folk, get a
form and do the nominating for

collector down the road.
Nomination forms are available
at your nearest municipal office,
library or some garden centres.
The form is also being published
on page 22 of today’s News
and in the Real Estate Weekly.

7x9-8'
USED
RAILWAY
TIES

$11.00

EACH