Crews use helicopter to install new AC units in Trapper Gym

Bystanders on the Northwest College campus and residents of surrounding neighborhoods were treated to an unfamiliar sight Tuesday morning: a Bell UH-1 helicopter, commonly known as a Huey, landing in the parking lot of the Johnson Fitness Center.

The aircraft from Sky Aviation in Worland was on hand to assist with the installation of a pair of new air conditioning/heating units in the Trapper Gym.

David Plute, NWC facilities director, said the installation was the first part of a two-phase renovation project for the Johnson Fitness Center complex.

The helicopter portion of the work had been originally scheduled for Monday afternoon. But as you might expect, getting the green-light from the Federal Aviation Administration to land a Huey in a residential area turned out to be a bit of a process.

We encountered a bit of a delay with the FAA processing what they call the restricted area, Plute said. You have to get a congested area plan to chopper in to basically a residential-type setting like that.

At first glace, an industrial crane may have seemed the logical choice for installing the units. However, according to Plute, the helicopter proved to be more cost-effective.

We would have had to bring in a big crane with a lot of stick to be able to get to that high roof and to get the reach from that parking lot, he explained. Bringing in a crane from Billings, with the travel time and setup, it was actually cheaper to the project to use the helicopter for the lift. The cost of the crane and the helicopter were pretty close to the same, but where the contractor saved a lot of money is that his guys would have been tied up pretty much all day [if they had used the crane].

As it was, the helicopter was on site for less than an hour, accomplishing in that time what could have been an all-day process.

That thing went even quicker than we thought it would, Plute said. The contractor is in charge of means and methods as part of our contract. We just assisted with coordinating with the FAA, making sure we had all the insurance and approvals, then coordinating with the campus and the Powell Police Department so that we were able to close off the streets and secure the area.

The contractor for the renovation project is Jims Building Services in Powell; the HVAC project is subcontracted to Schrader Metal and Design in Cody, which enlisted the services of Sky Aviation.

Plute said everything went off without a hitch and, as an added bonus, people in the area were treated to something they dont see everyday in their neighborhood. The helicopter even assisted with a little campus housekeeping.

As a side benefit, they blew some of the leaves on the sidewalks and in the gutters away, Plute said. But if we ever have to do it again, Im bringing the Visine concessions, because it got pretty dusty here standing around.

Other work on the gym this summer involved taking out old, combustible insulation, Plute said.

We have plans next year to re-do the gym floor, make some repairs, as well as improvements to the ceiling of the fitness center, he said. That and some other things will be phase two for next year.

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NWC takes to the skies to install new equipment - Powell Tribune - Powell Tribune

Raf Simons reworking of the Calvin Klein brand reached a new high with the reopening of its Madison Avenue flagship space in New York City. Coinciding with the arrival of Simons debut collection in store, the three-storey space originally designed by John Pawson has been transformed with an immersive floor-to-ceiling installation by the American artist Sterling Ruby.

The artists concept for the boutique plays off two other interiors projects hes previously created for the label the 12th floor showroom and the ground floor space of its 205 West 39th Street headquarters. It also echoes the brands new space at Dover Street Market New York. Filled with artfully arranged scaffolding, hanging sculptures by Ruby and awash with bright, traffic-sign yellow, the boutiques interior is charged with a transient feel that straddles both realms of art and industry.

Calvin Kleins NYC boutique is flush with dazzling traffic-sign yellow. Photography: Elizabeth Felicella/Esto Photographics

Rubys sculptures, which are made up of everyday objects and materials, also occasionally feature Calvin Kleins 205W39NYC logo, reiterating the Peter Saville-designedmoniker for Simons new vision. Vibrant, youthful and concurrently capturing the gleam and grit of American culture, the boutique visually epitomises the progressive energy of the iconic brand.

Filled with Simons A/W2017 mens and womens collection for the label, and new denim, underwear and accessories offerings, the boutique brings the previously disparate facets of Calvin Kleins universe effortlessly under one roof. A specially selected assortment of home objects, which include Homer Laughlin coffee mugs, ceramic vessels by ceramicist Rose Cabat and vintage Italian glassware, are mixed in throughout the store. One-of-a-kind vintage quilts also serve as a contemporary foil for the brands new all-white bedding collection.

Simons says, I wanted the store to generate a very immediate physical experience that could as well be intimately connected to the collections. It is also a continuation of the language I am creating with Sterling for Calvin Kleins visible and physical identity.

RAF SIMONS, NEW YORK ARCHITECTURE, RETAIL DIRECTORY, CALVIN KLEIN

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Reborn in the USA: Raf Simons unveils Sterling Ruby-designed Calvin Klein flagship - wallpaper.com

Truck suppliers are preparing for when clients decide to make the move

Its no secret that most sports broadcasting still features stereo sound, and there might be more mono listening going on than some in the industry would like to think. But the mixes from the onsite production need to remain at the cutting edge, and discrete 5.1 on-air sound has been the standard for the basic mix for at least major-league shows for the better part of a decade. However, sports broadcasting is on the cusp of its next transition: from multichannel to immersive sound.

Such systems as Dolbys Atmos, Fraunhofers MPEG-H, and Barcos Auro are competing to deliver seven to 22 channels into the home. Atmoss 5.1+4 iteration (a standard surround array plus four overhead channels) has been the leading contender in the U.S. since the inclusion, in late 2015, of Dolbys object-capable AC-4 format as part of the ATSC 3.0 standard.

The audio compartment in production trucks like Game Creeks Madison will have to be retrofitted with additional speakers for immersive sound.

Consumers, many of whom have been confounded by surrounds six channels, seem to be embracing soundbars as an alternative to adding even more loudspeakers into the living room. But, in the trucks on the front lines of sports production, immersive sounds extra speakers will have to go somewhere.

Just Talk for NowAt Game Creek Video, a few sports clients have expressed passing interest in immersive audio, according to VP, Engineering, Paul Bonar, but thats as far as the category has gone in remote-productiontruck design. Weve had no requests for anything concrete and just limited discussions about the topic, he says.

Many truck audio compartments already house seven or more speakers: the standard L-C-R and L-R rear arrays, plus more subwoofers on the floor (the .1 channel) and, most recently, more transducers dedicated to production input from producers and directors.

[A1s] want to hear that kind of audio coming from dedicated speakers in different parts of the room, Bonar explains, so they know whos talking just by the direction its coming from.

Sometimes another stereo pair is installed just for pre-fader monitoring. (Speakers can take the form of either conventional bookshelf types bolted to walls and ceilings or speakers embedded in A/V monitoring units, such as Wohlers AMP Series rack-mounted systems.)

Other key hardware and software elements to support immersive audio, such as audio consoles, are also still over the horizon, notes Jason Taubman, VP, design and technology, Game Creek. Clients are also still working on how they want their audio monitors configured in relation to their video monitors [in the audio compartment]. There are a lot of pieces still being moved around, so adding more for immersive audio will complicate that.

However, Bonar says, its not inconceivable that Game Creek could make at least provisional accommodation for additional immersive speakers in the near future in designs. Its something we might consider. And it would not be a big deal to retrofit [our trucks] for the extra speakers in the ceiling. We know where theyd go if they want them.

A Large Number of VariablesNEP Broadcasting also has had little direct customer input on the immersive front. VP, Systems Integration, Joe Signorino says his team has been considering various approaches to speaker placement in the event that the call comes for an Atmos- or Auro-capable audio compartment. The number of variables is considerable, he notes, ticking off the different form factors of various speaker brands and models, how much more bulk the powered versions of speakers take up, and how the installation of ceiling speakers the signature piece of next-gen audio is complicated by how dense things get behind each compartments ceiling.

Retrofitting existing trucks could be especially challenging, he explains. And, with more and more speakers into the same amount of space, you could start to encounter problems having enough space to achieve proper imaging.

Gerling Associates fabricates most of the rack-ready and turnkey production vehicles used in the U.S. President Fred Gerling says he has not heard any specific inquiries about speaker-array designs for immersive audio. However, he notes, the instructions coming from his clients, including NEP and Game Creek, lately increasingly specify more provisions for speakers that is, the trimmed cutouts into which the finishing companies will install the actual speakers than in the past and for more monitors in the audio compartments ceilings, which would be the location for most dedicated immersive-sound speakers for broadcast applications. Its a trend that might hint at what the future holds.

The number and locations of additional speakers is changing lately, he says, adding that that can complicate the esthetics of the trim around those additional speakers, as different configurations for these new audio monitors get worked out. Audio is changing, but what doesnt change is that they still want these trucks to look good.

Truck developers waiting to see what their audio compartments will look like in the future have little definitive to go on at the moment. But they are aware that there only will be more speakers in them than ever before. For now, theyll be mostly cutting virtual holes in the ceilings of CAD designs while waiting for their clients to make some long-range strategic decisions.

Click here for Tech Focus: Audio Monitoring, Part 2 Speaker Options for Road Warriors

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Tech Focus: Audio Monitoring, Part 1 Road Warriors Transitioning ... - Sports Video Group

If youve been thinking that you just cant go on, darn it, without the Bobcat Den and its soup and salad bar, breakfast buffet, Bates Burgers, midnight confabs, etc. take heart.

Its predicted that the Den will reopen for business by Sept. 1, as the HVAC upgrade that has kept the semi-subterranean eatery closed since June 11 will be largely complete by then.

The silvery metal box above the ceiling rails is one of four fan-coil units that will heat or cool the public area of the Den. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

The Chase Hall project has entailed the installation of new heating and cooling equipment serving both the Den and Memorial Commons, upstairs. From the comfort standpoint, that will mean a substantial improvement to air conditioning in the Den and, for the first time, the delivery of AC to the old high-ceiling dining room, now a multipurpose space.

Under the direction of John Rasmussen, who is wrangling the HVAC project and is also the colleges energy manager, the undertaking will also loop Chase Hall into the campus-wide monitoring and control system for space heating.

Finally, the project will unify all of Chase under a single heating technology, rather than the dual systems forced hot water and steam heat that have done the job for more than a decade.

This is one of two new HVAC units in the Den that will bring in, and heat or cool as needed, air from the outside. They replace units installed in 1950, when Memorial Commons was added to Chase Hall. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

The current project has touched much of the building, but the Den has gotten the brunt of the attention. Technicians for Damon Mechanical progressed by leaps and bounds (unfortunately, we took no pictures of the leaping and bounding) through July.

They put two new air handlers into closets, flanking the Den entrance facing the Library Quad, that had housed the 67-year-old original units. (The obsolescence of those old warhorses, in fact, is what precipitated the entire project.) The air handlers pull fresh air into the building and heat or cool it.

Damon also hung from the ceiling several fan-coil units that, employing so-called hydronic technology, use hot and cold water to heat or cool the ambient air. Four were installed in the Dens public area, along with one each in the Den prep kitchen and staff lounge, sultry spaces that had never been air-conditioned.

Much of the HVAC work in the Bobcat Den had been completed when this photo was taken on July 26, 2017. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

When we visited on July 26, all the pipes connecting the fan-coil units had been fitted and the wiring was about done. Sheet metal workers were fabricating air ducts that will move air where its wanted, and boxes of pipe insulation awaited installation.

In short, Rasmussen expected all the mechanical work in the Den and environs to be finished this week. Then comes the end game: Jackies Cleaning & Maintenance of Lisbon, Maine, will come in to dust and clean floors; the furniture and fixtures will be put back where they belong; and Dining Services staff will come in to sanitize the dining room and service spaces. That will take about a week.

Shown are new and old openings providing outdoor air for one of the Dens air handlers. The old vent, at right, simply allowed air into the air handler space. Dirt, dead leaves, and other detritus tended to clog it, and it will be closed. The new vent, at left, will be louvered and ducted directly to the handler. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

Still outstanding is the implanting of sensors and controls for the campus heating control network. Deferred to avoid disrupting Bates Dance Festival classes scheduled in Chase for six summer weeks (the dancers are noisy too, but at least they have rhythm), that work will be finished after the festival season ends this weekend. Ditto the installation of fan-coil units in Memorial Commons.

Plumbers, meanwhile, have been piping their way southeast from the Den toward the Chase mechanical room, where a new heat exchanger will extract heat from the campus steam loop to feed the fan-coils. (Cold water for cooling the air comes from a chiller that serves several buildings.) In a sort of Promontory Point moment, albeit without the golden spike, that connection was made within the last week.

The black pipes at top center will carry water from the Chase Hall mechanical room to fan-coil units that will heat and cool the Den and Memorial Commons. Project manager John Rasmussen is standing by the fiction section of Bates former bookstore. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

The installation of the heat exchanger and related machinery is about half complete, Rasmussen says. With pressure on to reopen the public spaces, weve been trying to get everything done except the mechanical space.

The history of heat in Chase Hall is nearly as convoluted as the building itself, which has been much altered and added onto during its 98 years of existence. For instance, the failure of a steam pipe from Muskie to Chase in 2013 cut the building off from campus steam until last year, when the bad pipe was replaced. During the intervening years, a backup boiler in Chase heated the building.

Whatever the primary heat source, campus steam or backup boiler, two different technologies have been distributing warmth throughout Chase for years. A heat exchanger installed about 15 years ago provided hydronic heat to the older section of Chase, facing Campus Avenue, while radiators driven directly by campus steam served the Den and Memorial Commons.

Visually underwhelming, this 6-foot-long heat exchanger will nevertheless play an essential role in heating Chase Hall. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

The fan-coil units and new heat exchanger will supplant that system, as well as the Dens old and feeble air conditioning. So Chase henceforth will be all hydronic. (And just to confuse things even more, domestic hot water in Chase the water for sinks, dishwashers, etc. is supplied by a separate heater.)

Much of the new heating equipment has been moved into the mechanical room two red-painted pumps that will circulate water for heating around the building, the deceptively plain heat exchanger, a large expansion tank that will buffer the water pressure created as cold water, heated by steam, expands. But Rasmussen expects that it will take most of September to finish connecting and testing the machinery.

That means the new air treatment system will likely not come to life until the end of September, hopefully by the time we need to turn the central steam plant on. And so, just as Den fans have had to delay gratification until late summer, we may not get to experience the comforts of an effectively air-conditioned Den until late spring.

Can we talk? Campus Construction Update welcomes your questions, memories, and comments about campus improvements. Please e-mail Doug Hubley, stating Construction Update or Could you explain that again? in the subject line.

Rolls of insulation ready to be wrapped around pipes serving the Dens new HVAC system. (Doug Hubley/Bates College)

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Campus Construction Update: Aug. 4, 2017 - Bates News

following extensive renovations, calvin klein reopens their 654 madison avenue flagship store in new york city, with the interior now completely covered in a bright yellow color. as a fresh re-imagination of the american brand, artist sterling ruby as chosen by calvin kleins new creative driector, raf simons has created a floor-to-ceiling installation, which displays the high end clothing within an under-construction environment. these outfits, including calvin klein jeans est 1978, underwear and accessories, announce the debut of raf simons 205W39NYC collection that was first and only seen at his fall/winter 2017 runway.

the bright yellow interior creates an eye-catching contrast onthe grey stone madison avenueall images courtesy of calvin klein

Im taking the calvin klein flagship store from minimal to maximal; my design should be seen as a marker to celebrate the future of the brand, says sterling ruby. I wanted the store to glow from within, representing a new day for calvin klein.

the installation presents a fresh re-imagining of the american clothing brand

I wanted the store to generate a very immediate physical experience that could as well be intimately connected to the collections,raf simons explains. it is also a continuation of the language I am creating with sterling for calvin kleins visible and physical identity. the use of very direct and familiar references common to the american visual experience creates a simple and emotional connection with the brand.

raf simonsfall/winter 2017 collection debuts at the flagship store

sterling rubyscolorful and bright transformation of the calvin klein madison avenue store contrasts uniquely and boldly with the grey stone exterior that defines the new york boulevard. on entry into the store, the radiant yellow is seen to adorn not only the floor, walls and ceiling, but also the make-shift scaffolding shelves. continuing this theme of building work, construction platforms that are painted in primary colors, display items such as handbags, shoes and additional accessories.

primary colored construction blocks provide a platform for shoes, handbags and other accessories

under-construction scaffolding has been used for shelving

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raf simons & sterling ruby makeover calvin klein's madison avenue store - Designboom

John Davis, 55, worked for Merrill Construction and was paving a driveway when the vehicle he was driving went down an embankment and rolled on top of him.

It's unclear if anyone currently lives at the single-family home where the work was being done.

Webster Police Chief Benedict Liberatore said only construction workers were at the residence Saturday.

A state medical examiner and first responders went to the scene at Deer Meadow Road shortly before noon Saturday.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also notified of Davis' death, and will be sending an investigator there Monday, officials said.

"It appears while working the victim lost control of the dirt roller-type vehicle causing him to go off an embankment and causing the equipment to roll on top of him," said Webster Officer Aaron Sparks.

The workplace accident occurred near the Concord-Webster line.

Deaths in the newsConcordWebster

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Construction worker killed while paving driveway in Webster - The Union Leader

WILLOW, AK Two local companies are helping a woman in Willow who says she was duped out of $76,000 dollars for a driveway repair job that a local contractor says should have cost only around $20,000.

Marlin & Sons Construction and Emulsions Products donated labor and materials Friday to seal Robin Egdell's driveway, which was paved recently by a company called Edwards Asphalt.

"What I've seen is just a complete mess of a poor lady's driveway that got completely taken advantage of" said Curtis Marlin, owner of Marlin & Sons Construction.

Edgell says a few weeks ago, Edwards Asphalt arrived in the neighborhood and claimed its crew had left over asphalt they needed to get rid of. She says she thought they quoted her a price of $4,750, but later told her the actual price was $47,500.

Edgell claims the next day, when the job was finished, the company gave her an additional bill of nearly $25,000. In all, Edgell says she paid the company about $76,000.

Edgell says she was unaware at the time of how much paving work costs. "And at this age, I feel like a fool for being duped by somebody...that I should know better."

Tonya Burritt of Emulsion Products said "everyone in our company was just heartbroken over what happened to her."

Marlin says the material used by the company that did the original work was poor, as was the workmanship.

Channel 2 News called the toll-free number for Edwards Asphalt. A man, who refused to give his name, declined comment and rejected repeated invitations to do an interview.

The Alaska Attorney General's office said recently it's received at least 10 reports from Alaskans who were taken advantage by paving schemes. State officials say "the individuals claim that they are knocking because they have leftover materials and are able to pave driveways or sidewalks for a discounted rate. They cite a price that is attractive to homeowners without giving the required written notice that the homeowner has a right to cancel any written or verbal contract without penalty for five days."

According to the state's Consumer Protection Unit, the names of the questionable businesses cannot be released because the reports they receive are in the form of consumer complaints.

Although many of the people Channel 2 spoke with regarding Edwards Asphalt gave scathing reviews, we did speak with two people who had good things to say about their experience. True Value in Glennallen had its driveway paved in June, owner Ernie Christian says he was satisfied with the price and quality of their work. A homeowner in Seward echoed those feelings after her driveway was paved.

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Driveway scam: local companies help Willow woman - KTUU.com

Times Telegram

UTICA The New York State Department of Transportation has issued travel advisories for area counties for the week of Aug. 7.

HERKIMER COUNTY

Town of Frankfort: Route 171 between Gulf Road and East Main Street. Motorists will encounter a road closure with a detour in place due to rock wall repair. The detour will be East Main Street to Cemetery Street/Higby Road to Albany Road to Gulf Road.

Village of Middleville: Route 28 over Maltanner Creek between Route 29 and Park Avenue. Motorists will encounter north and south one-way alternating traffic with a temporary signal for bridge reconstruction.

Town of Stark: Route 168 bridge over Otsquago Creek between Route 80 and Hoke Road. Motorists will encounter a road closure with a detour in place for bridge work. The detour will be Route 168 to Route 167 to Route 20 to Route 80.

Town of Schuyler: Route 5 between Elmwood Road and West German Street in Herkimer. Motorists will encounter one way alternating traffic with flaggers in place due to culvert repairs.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Town of Fonda and town of Amsterdam: Route 5 at Stoner Trail Road in the area of Tribes Hill. Motorists may encounter shoulder closures due to the installation of conduit and signal equipment.

Village of Canajoharie: Route 10 between Old Route 10 and Cliff Street. Motorists will encounter a full road closure with a signed detour in place due to culvert replacement.

City of Amsterdam: Route 30 northbound at Main Street. Motorists will encounter a left turn lane closure due to water valves being installed.

FULTON COUNTY

Town of Salisbury and town of Caroga: Route 29A between Cemetery Road and Route 10. Motorists will encounter one way alternating traffic with flaggers in place due to guiderail work.

Town of Gloversville: Route 30A between North Comrie Avenue and Harrison Street. Motorists will encounter intermittent shoulder closures in both directions due to culvert repairs.

Town of Perth: Route 30 between Voorhees Road and County Route 106. Motorists will encounter a lane shift with flaggers in place due to culvert repairs.

Town of Fonda to city of Johnstown: Route 30A between West Main Street and South Kingsboro Avenue. Motorists will encounter a lane shift with flaggers in place due to guiderail repairs.

ONEIDA COUNTY

Utica North-South Arterial Project: Motorists can expect to see lane closures on Oriskany Street as work continues on center median prepping and pouring stamp concrete, and temporary lane closures on the Route 5/8/12 north and south passing lanes between Noyes Street and Court Street off and on ramps. Closures are planned for the next two weeks while the contractor reconstructs the center island on the south end of the project. Closures may stay in place overnight.

City of Utica: Route 5/8/12 Arterial at Burrstone Road. Motorists will encounter a shortened deceleration lane for the south Burrstone Road exit ramp due to bridge rehabilitation. The speed limit is reduced to 40 mph from Oswego Street to Burrstone Road.

City of Utica: Route 5/8/12 north ramp from Burrstone Road, on which motorists will encounter a right shoulder closure of the acceleration lane to the Route 5/8/12 Arterial.

City of Utica: Route 5S between Broad Street and Broadway. Motorists will encounter east and westbound passing lane closures due to work in the median.

City of Rome: Route 69 between Gore Road and Pinebrook Lane. Motorists will encounter shoulder closures due to water line installations.

City of Rome: Route 825 (Griffiss Parkway) between Ellsworth Road and the Mohawk River. Motorists will encounter one way alternating traffic with flaggers in place between Ellsworth Road and the bridge over the Mohawk River due to miscellaneous construction and utility work. Market Street will be closed between Route 825 and March Street until November.

City of Rome: Route 825 (Griffiss Parkway) between the Ellsworth Road and Geiger Road intersection to the Floyd Avenue and Brooks Road intersection. Motorists will encounter a full road closure with a detour in place due to railroad work. The detour will consist of North on Route 825 follow detour signs to Ellsworth Road to March Street to Brooks Rout South onto Route 825 follow detour signs to Brooks Road to March Street to Ellsworth Road. Local Traffic to enter businesses along closed portion can enter at the Floyd Avenue and Brooks Roadd intersection.

Village of Clinton: Route 233 between Route 12B and Route 412. Motorists will encounter one way alternating traffic with a temporary signal.

Town of Trenton: Route 12 between Route 28 in Mapledale to the Route 1228 interchange in Alder Creek. Motorists will encounter shoulder closures and possible lane closures due to topsoil work, median work, driveway paving and sign installations throughout the project area.

MADISON COUNTY

City of Oneida and town of Vernon: Route 365A between Route 5 and Route 365. Motorists will encounter east and westbound one-way alternating traffic with flaggers due to miscellaneous road construction. Minor delays are expected.

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This week's area roadwork projects - The Times Telegram

Kim Hasty Sunday Life editor @hastykim

Gallons of fresh paint, solid new floors, gleaming appliances, state-of-the-art technological touches. So much thought and effort went into updating this stately two-story Colonial which sits in amazingly tranquil fashion just off busy Bragg Boulevard.

And yet, the real key to making this extensive renovation sing is the blue-eyed, curly-haired little pixie bouncing, twirling and dancing from one room to the next.

Four-year-old Remy Barrington's perpetual exuberance even manages to outshine all the new stainless, granite and mood lighting.

You have to think her late great-grandparents would approve.

Carl Adam Barrington Sr. built this home on Barrington Circle in 1946 after returning from serving in the Navy in World War II and opening a law practice that would endure for 25 years. He and his wife Pat went on to serve as the welcoming hosts for years of Christmas Eve dinners, Easter egg hunts and energetic grandchildren.

"My best childhood memories were of coming to this house for holidays,'' said Fayetteville lawyer Adam Barrington.

Adam shared the stories of the Norman Rockwell-worthy gatherings with his wife of 10 years, Beth, including how his grandfather would gather the grandchildren around the fireplace on Christmas Eve, then rap on the mantel to call forth the imaginary character "Ragbag.''

"Ragbag lived in the attic,'' Adam Barrington said. "He was as big as a horse, but lived in a peanut shell. Anything we grandchildren would ask he would discount by saying, 'Aw, horse feathers.' I loved it.''

The elder Barrington died in 1994. Pat Barrington continued to live in the home until she died in 2009. An uncle lived here until his death in 2014, but the house sat vacant for over three years.

By then, it had fallen into disrepair. Yet, the young family was game.

"I knew it had a lot of potential,'' said Beth Barrington, a mental health counselor. "It had good bones.''

And all those good memories.

"Obviously, there was the sentimental factor,'' Adam said.

But bringing the home back to life would take 15 months of work for the family and Johnny Cain Builders, including knocking down walls to create an open floor plan that flows from kitchen to living area.

"We love to entertain, so we wanted a big island in the kitchen,'' Adam Barrington said. "But people didn't have big kitchens back then. They had formal dining rooms and living rooms.''

The house, originally 2,200 square feet, is now about 2,500 square feet and sits on about an acre lot. Mature hardwood trees remain, along with new sod, but gone are the 14 pine trees that were threatening to fall. A red door with frosted glass welcomes visitors, as do the gas fixtures that frame the door with soft lighting.

Inside, a 14-foot granite-top island spans nearly the length of the kitchen and includes a commercial-grade gas stove and open cooking surface. Lights underneath the new kitchen cabinets not only add soft illumination, but also delight Remy in their ability to be changed to a rainbow of colors on a whim. The walls are painted a soft neutral gray throughout the home, and the floors are constructed of engineered, hand-scraped birch. The Barringtons added technological touches that include a refrigerator that offers recipes and a daily planner, and a voice-activated device that allows for everything from music to turning the lights off and on.

A gas fire pit is the center of the covered outdoor living space out back, where the Barringtons opted to put their well-loved leather pieces to good use instead of typical outdoor furniture.

They were finally able to move into the home in June, where they are now able to start making memories of their own with their little girl.

"God willing, she'll get married and have kids of her own and bring her kids here,'' Adam Barrington said. "And I'm sure there'll be a Ragbag sighting or two.''

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Restoration of 1946 two-story Colonial a labor of love - Fayetteville Observer

Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

Restoration Hardware unveils teen design gallery

GREENWICH Many a selfie has been taken from the furry orb chair near the entrance of Restoration Hardwares recently opened gallery for teenagers.

That might as well serve as a seal of approval for the new space, according to Restoration Hardwares Greenwich galleries leader Heather Knox.

This summer, Restoration Hardware's Baby and Child gallery located at 264 Greenwich Ave., partially revamped the store to include designs for teens. Within a few weeks, the Baby & Child section was consolidated so it fills just half of the space, while RH Teen was rolled out in the other half.

Like all of Restoration Hardwares galleries, RH Teen in Greenwich is meant to serve as design inspiration, Knox said. So teenagers interacting with the new space by encouraging their parents to visit with them and snapping photos of themselves inside prove the gallery is fulfilling its mission, she said.

It made sense to make Greenwich an early adopter of RH Teen, Knox said, as many customers have said theyre happy to have a teen-specific design gallery. The layout of RH Teen is important to inspiring creativity, she added while guiding visitors through pocket rooms showing vignettes of girls bedrooms and study areas. They represent an eclectic mix of items from Tibetan and Mongolian furs to faux antler decor and sparkling white orb chandeliers.

Teenage girls drawn to these styles are glamorous but understated, Knox said, describing the style as Bohemian and beachy with distinct natural elements.

The girls spaces flow into pocket rooms showing off boys bedrooms and studies. Given Greenwichs reputation for producing athletes, its sporty style appeal to many customers, she said.

On a recent weekday afternoon, several mothers browsed catalogs and bedding swatches at the back of the store in its design atelier while several boys and girls roamed the rooms nooks. One visitor told his mom that he wanted one of Restoration Hardwares bunkbeds, and it would fit perfectly in his room. Since its opening, both male and female teenagers have visited the gallery in roughly equal proportions, Knox said.

Greenwich joins a handful of locations around the county to incorporate the brands teen offerings. Others include Atlanta, Chicago and Denver, but this is the only one within the tri-state area for now.

RH Teen marks a relatively new venture for the brand, and its expected to help with its growth, Restoration Hardwares chairman and CEO Gary Friedman said in statement announcing its first quarter results in June.

Last year was, the first full year of many new business initiatives such as RH Modern, RH Teen, RH Hospitality, the redesign of our RH Interiors Source Book, the roll out of Design Ateliers across our retail Galleries, and the addition of Waterworks, Friedman said in the statement. All of these new initiatives are expected to contribute to growth in 2017 and beyond. ...While 2016 was a year of transformation and transition, 2017 will be a year of execution, architecture, and cash.

Contact the writer at mbennett@greenwichtime.com; Twitter @Macaela_

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Restoration Hardware unveils teen design gallery - GreenwichTime - Greenwich Time