The Norwegian painting tradition of Rosemaling is a perfect fit in the Northfield community, home to St. Olaf College and the beloved Ole Store Cafe, among others. Careful Painting first practiced the technique back in March, with crew member Jolene Robertson painting a chair for display at the local Home and Garden Show. Since that time, Jolene has used Rosemaling at home to embellish a table, but is now taking it to the next level by decorating a home with the fanciful swirls and strokes.

Ann Larson and Bruce Anderson’s Northfield home — on St. Olaf Avenue, nonetheless — was due for some touch-up work, which is where Careful Painting came in. After talking with owner Mark Lange, the couple agreed to embellish their front porch with Rosemaling, so Jolene and fellow employee Cassy Simon immediately began sketching out ideas. Jolene started painting this morning, using four different exterior colors from Young’s Paint Center in Dundas. The design features various flowers and swirls to add a bit of decorative whimsy to the home. Both Jolene and Cassy have studied fine arts, Jolene graduating from the U of M and Cassy from UW-River Falls.

The Careful Painting crew has been busy scraping, priming, caulking, and painting the Northfield home of University of Minnesota professor “Chick” Woodward. The home features beautiful details, such as the corbel below, which is highlighted with the decoration of several colors.

While working there today, the painters were joined by this friendly moth, who found his way into a paint can and decided to stick around.

Tuesday, May 24, I stopped by the home of Bonnie and Wade Baumberger to photograph yet another project by Careful Painting. Mark and Jolene recently completed painting the main level of the Baumbergers’ home in “crouton,” a warm, golden hue. The color looks beautiful against the woodwork, and highlights Bonnie’s amazing decorating. They have a beautiful home that illustrates how color and accessories can truly transform a space. Bonnie and son Alex were gracious hosts — thanks, again!

On the left, a floral arrangement designed by Bonnie’s sister fills an opening between the living and dining rooms. On the right, guests are welcomed with this fabulous vignette in the foyer.

Careful Painting crew Jolene Robertson and Mark Lange completed their multi-weekend painting project at the clinic complex at 1381 Jefferson. The interior colors match those found at the new hospital, reflecting the buildings’ relationship to one another. Mark and Jolene have been working after hours — Saturdays and Sundays — so as not to upset business, and will likely welcome going back to their normal Monday through Friday routine.

Highway 3 construction has started in our neighborhood. The Minnesota Department of Transportation started taking trees down in preparation for construction of an eighty foot high retaining wall across the street from Careful Painting. My neighbor Arlene reports that she had no idea that this was going to happen. Bernie down the street at the River Legacy Motel is negotiating the sale of his property to Mendota Homes for the 140 townhomes planned for the old Kump property. Rumor is that he will take 1.1 million for his riverfront parcel. Arlene and I will each gladly accept one million for our river frontage!

View from my yard with the old Tom Thumb in the background

Cannon Valley Colors highlighted the Northfield Home and Garden Show at the new Middle School last Saturday. Our unique color pallette, designed by Sarah Mensink and custom formulated by Jolene Robertson, highlights color from our local scenery. Some of my favorites are the deep browns and reds that you also find in Prairie Style Architecture.

Many people stopped by the booth to check out the new pallette. While Careful Painting envisions Cannon Valley Colors as an ongoing project, our selection presently consists of seven hues: Brick Red. Earth Brown, Norwegian Blue, Sandstone Yellow, Southwest Salmon, Nature Green, and Gilded Gold. Of course we also work with colors from various national paint manufacturers such as Benjamin Moore. We can also help your find just the right color to express your own sense of place, of dwelling. Look for more on Cannon Valley Colors in future posts.

Sarah Mensink and Mark Lange

Jolene Roberson has been working with us for about a month now. She has a degree in art, and has experience with painting portraits in oil. She lives with her husband Jason and her daughter Lana in LeCenter. For the Northfield Home and Garden Show on March 26th, I asked her do a little decorative painting on an old chair. The base color is Benjamin Moore 2004-70 “Light Touch.” This she embellished with some Telemark styleRosemaling in artist’s acrylics. For durability we added a coat of Benjamin Moore Stays Clear acrylic polyurethane.

If you come to the Home and Garden Show at the new middle school, stop by our booth and check out the new Cannon Valley Colors palette designed by Sarah Mensink. She has been working hard at pulling colors out of our local scenery. Jolene and Sarah mixed up some samples which will be on display at the show.

We recently refurbished a bedroom for a good customer. The ceiling in this stately older home on the East Side had been textured during an earlier remodeling. We removed the texture, repaired the cracks, and applied a fresh coat of gypsum joint compound, which we then sanded smooth, primed, and painted.

We sanded the woodwork and primed the new Marvin sashes with Bullseye 1,2,3 primer. The windows, doors and wide baseboard were topcoated with two coats of Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo, “Antique White.” All the paints came from Young’s Paint Center in Dundas. The plaster walls were repaired and finished with two coats of Regal Aquavelvet HC-149, “Buxton Blue.”

The owners wished to refinish the old pine floor which had been carpeted over years earlier. On inspection the existing top coat was delaminating– it had probably been applied over a dirty or glossy surface. The safe choice was to remove this coat, which we did using Moore’s Finish Remover. While we did not have the dust associated with sanding, or the fumes that come with many strippers, we did enounter difficulties removing the old finish.

Here you see Chris Klein scraping the softened paint with a Warner carbide scraper. Chris, Jolene and I worked very hard on this project.
After removing the old topcoat, we washed the floor, filled holes, and applied two coats of M22 Urethane Enamel, HC-154, “Hale Navy.”

The finished room presents a simple and cozy charm, without going to the extreme of gutting the plaster or tearing up the old floor. This project expresses our ideal of Good Stewardship: we honed our old-fashioned painting and decorating craft skills while improving a treasured family home. And we started on a Monday and finished that Friday!

Circa Restoration Studio is opening tomorrow at 16 Bridge Square. A couple of weeks ago we helped the Lisa Ebert, who is opening the antique shop and furniture restoration studio, prepare to move into her new space. Here are Lisa and the Bart DeMalignon–the building’s owner–inspecting the new color for the studio. The new gold color will really show off her oak, cherry, and mahogany pieces. We had to fill some holes in the walls.

I hope you will visit Lisa in her new shop. Circa Restoration Studio will particpate in the Northfield Art Crawl Friday, October 1st, from 7-9 p.m.

Below Cindy Brooks applies the first coat of eggshell finish latex enamel over our spackled and primed repair areas.

When Carleton College Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics Tammy Feldman purchased this house at 315 Elm Street the walls and woodwork had all been painted gray. The lower ceiling in this room was still a cool teal from the original 1950s color scheme. From Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tammy brought colors that her decorator friend had helped her choose over two years ago. Note the Summerdale Gold on the ceiling. The woodwork has all been primed with Zinsser Oderless Oil bonding primer, followed by two coats of Moore’s Satin Impervo in “White Chocolate.” Here we have the new red birch hardwood floors protected with plastic and heavy canvas.

In the the East facing bedroom Tammy chose Benjamin Moore “Timothy Straw,” again with the White Chocolate accent on the woodwork.

Note the Pella windows with oversized cranks and built-in screens which roll up into the wall when not in use.

We are very excited to help Tammy get comfortable in her first house. Later this summer we will be washing and sealing the exterior redwood.