By By Special to the Sentinel Monday, April 6, 2015

Who or what is Paragon Restoration & Building, Inc.? Paragon Restoration and Building, Inc. is a full service general contractor, serving the residential and small commercial markets. Within these markets we provide repair and restorative services for those who may have experienced property damage losses such as water, fire, collision or vandalism to name a few. But Paragons services do not stop there. Paragon also performs remodels and additions. Weve performed a number of residential and commercial remodels, residential additions and commercial tenant finish projects.

Describe Paragon Restoration & Building, Inc.s primary goal with changing the way society views contracting as a whole. With notable exceptions, the building community generally view themselves as tradesmen and contractors rather than service providers. Often times very talented and dedicated industry providers are more focused on the product provided than the people they provide them for. At Paragon were providing customer centric service, delivered by a team of industry professionals, with a variety of trade specific expertise. The goal is not just to build or repair property but to understand and meet the property owner and tenants needs in the manner these services are performed. What sets us apart is our commitment to understand our customers needs, concerns and dreams. At the end of the day its our customers that matter most. Just as structures are meant to enrich the human experience, so too are our shared experiences. We are here to serve our community by putting our customers and neighbours first.

What is the history of how Paragon Restoration was founded? Paragon was created out of a recognition that our community needed a service provider capable of providing fast reliable reconstruction services for those suffering from property damage. Most people facing a sudden loss have no experience or background to draw from when suddenly forced to navigate the world of property insurance claims and contractor selection. Otherwise excellent and qualified contractors dont understand how to deal with insurance adjusters, and insurance providers struggle to verify the validity of quotes provided by contractors. Its really a complicated multiparty transaction that takes a knowledgeable and professional approach to navigate. That is just what we at Paragon do. We provide the bridge of knowledge and professionalism necessary to expedite repairs for the property owners benefit while fairly treating all parties involved in the transaction.

Paragon has a sister company; Rapid Response. How do the two businesses complement each other? Paragon Restoration & Building actually grew out of Rapid Response. Rapid Response as the name implies is a rapid response team that specializes in addressing property damages as they occur, stabilizing the situation via water removal and structure drying, property board up or debris removal. Additionally Rapid Response provides specialty cleaning for carpets, rugs, upholstery, blinds and air ducts. And remediation services for mold, microbial contaminates, and radon gas. The partnership between Paragon and Rapid provides each company better insight into related services and the handoff between the two. It also means we can coordinate and team up on services in order to provide better solutions to our customers.

How or why did Paragon Restoration & Building transition from restoration to providing remodel and addition contracting services? As implied in its name, Paragon Restoration & Building has been focused on remodels and additions from conception. Its not uncommon for those experiencing a property damage loss to take advantage of the disruptive event to upgrade or remodel their home. Doing so requires a contractor proficient in distinguishing and documenting the division between repair and improvement in order to ensure proper and fair settlement with insurance providers. It also takes a contractor that can walk property owners through a design and selection process in the midst of an unplanned and time sensitive repair. The leap from these types of remodels and additions into preplanned projects is relatively small. Working with home or business owners on the creative design process can be hugely rewarding.

In 2013 Paragon expanded into the accessibility market. How do you feel you are contributing to our local community by doing so? As part of our push to increase private pay remodel services we happened to stumble into the growing demand for universal and accessible design. Baths and kitchens, the two most common rooms needing these features also happen to be the rooms most commonly addressed in remodels. In 2013 an opportunity provided itself to add an accessibility expert to our staff which has had a variety of impacts on our business. First is that we became licensed and active in providing adaptive improvements for projects funded through third party payers such as Medicaid, VA, Community Services and more. Next in order to meet the needs of this market weve become venders for several accessibility products such as walk-in tubs, curb-less showers, platform and stair lifts, ramps, grab bars, etc. More important though we became much more aware of the growing demand for these home features. With a baby boomer turning 55 every 7 seconds, changes in how we age including increased life expectancy, and a growing and by all accounts permanent shortage of elderly and rehab housing facilities, Aging-in-Place is and will be the major market focus for the foreseeable future. This means we need to be thinking about universal, accessible and adaptive design in everything we do. By focusing and developing expertise in these markets we hope to be a major provider of solutions for our neighbors in both the existing and new housing markets.

What dynamic exists between the three owners and what experience do you all bring to the table? Larry LaFrenierre, who owns Rapid Response, has over 20 years of experience working in and owning cleaning and mitigation service companies. His understanding of cleaning techniques and chemistry are amazing. Hes also spent some time in building trades in both new and repair construction services. Guy Skufca has spent the majority of his career in the construction trades and has previously owned a paint and drywall business and has operated a general contracting business that built and sold new homes. Dan Washington has a life-long passion with home building in particular but the construction trades in general. Despite which he followed an early career in accounting and business administration. Dan has worked both in banking and for home builders which helps him to bridge the professional spheres of business management, finance, and production. In addition our team includes a number of previously self-employed tradesmen with unique knowledge and skills. Drawing on our combined knowledge we are able to assess complex situations and develop needs based solutions that ensure thorough execution of projects.

Looking for help with your home? Call the HBA of Northwestern Colorado at (970) 245-0253 or visit http://www.hbanwco.com

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Paragon Restoration & Building

Blending his personal life with his creative output, Adrien Brody brought to this years SXSW the documentary feature Stone Barn Castle, co-directed with Kevin Ford. Filmed over nearly a decade, the film follows the Academy Award-winning actor as he buys a dilapidatedproperty in upstate New York with the goal of restoring it to its full glory and, ultimately, finding a place to call home. Check out Brodys thoughts on the film, the painstaking restoration and on his plans for the future!

CS: Tell me about how this project began, both as a restoration and as a documentary.

Adrien Brody: It was a lifetime dream to get a country house and to try and make that home. In the years that finally led up to me acquiring the place, I had experienced a degree of increased awareness of myself and my work. That was a beautiful thing, but I had been working quite a bit so I felt the need to find something that was very honest and real and in touch with nature. I wanted to retreat a bit from Hollywood in a way. To do my work, but to have a place to come home to. I also loved the idea of renovating something that was old and in a state of disrepair. That also obviously made it more affordable. I found it when I was away doing a movie in Belgrade. I found the structure online and fell in love with it. I have many friends who live upstate and my parents used to have a place when I was younger. I went home, bought it and began to rennovate. I thought it would be interesting to chronicle that journey. I brought on a friend of mine who is a fellow filmmaker, Kevin Ford. He has a wonderful, creative eye and similar sensibilities. I think we gravitate towards the same aesthetic and appreciation of a style of storytelling that is both very natural and authentic, like the Maysles. My mother, Sylvia Plachy, was a photographer in New York. She really captures moments as they occur and find the magic. If you missed it, you missed it, you know? It cant be created in a studio setting.

CS: Did you find that magic?

Brody: We got a lot of magic! It was almost a decade of my life. There were a lot of changes in my life. Somehow we managed to find the narrative structure where the Castle is the protagonist and I, perhaps, am the co-lead in the film. We told a story that I think is quite universal, this desire to find home.

CS: What was it about the property that immediately spoke to you?

Brody: It captured a lot the aesthetic qualities that Ive always been attracted to. I love period, turn of the century architecture. It was a barn and, for a long time, I had considered rennovating a barn, because its this big, cavernous creative space. I can paint. I can restore an old car. I can do grand things within that. I also love open living, loft-like spaces. I had been searching barns and spent a lot of time in Europe filming castles. I think that gave me a taste of how beautiful they all are. Those ones are far too remote, though. There are decent deals, still, but you have to be in the most remote part of the world to imagine rennovating something like that. To be a foreigner, too, makes it feel less like home. So I had been looking in the States and then this thing popped up and it was just remarkable.

CS: Were you specifically targeting a property that would require some extra love?

Brody: I guess so, but I wasnt looking for something on that level. Im very much of a dreamer, I guess. Even when I bought the place, my first instinct was to not do a rennovation of the barn structure. Theres a log house on the property and I was going to rennovate that. I lived in that for awhile while I was rennovating the main house. I was fine with that. It was a beautiful little one-bedroom house with a stove. I would get up every morning and light the fire. It was wonderful. I thought perhaps Id just do a superficial rennovation of the main structure to keep it structurally together. I thought it would be a folly. A work of art. I mean, it was built by an engineer who was ahead of his time. There are tunnel structures and lots of other elements that arent really elaborated on in the film but that fascinated me when I went to explore. There used to be a dairy barn, so he devised these underground flues that would extract the foul air from the cows and the manure. Theyd bring it up through these 60 foot chimneys. This thing was fully functioning sending butter and cream to New York City. There was an ice house where they brought these big blocks of ice from the lake. The whole history of it all is just so fantastic. Theres something also about bringing something back to life that took so much love. The family that had lived there before me had spent 30 years trying to rehabilitate it. They built up some of the outer buildings, but they never got to the main place. They didnt have the resources. It was an enormous task. I kind of took over where they left of.

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SXSW: Adrien Brody on Finding Home in Stone Barn Castle

THE CHALLENGE

Susan and Ray Tejada need to make room for their two granddaughters to bunk in the tiny home office of their Bethesda home. They will continue to use the space primarily as an office but want the girls to have a comfortable retreat when they visit.

THE SOLUTION

Designer Elizabeth Krial uses a space-saving bunk bed and incorporates the Tejadas love of Swedish design to create a space for working and sleeping. Krial, of Elizabeth Krial Design (703-435-6262, http://www.elizabethkrialdesign.com), is based in Reston.

[Tell us about your own design challenge here]

Tone-on-tone wallpaper with butterflies is sophisticated enough for an office but soft enough for the visiting girls.

Paint the ceiling a light gray, such as Passive by Sherwin-Williams, and add crown molding to heighten the space.

Filing cabinets hide the printer and provide storage for office supplies and the girls clothes.

Choose a bunk bed that can fold up when not in use, to maximize the space.

A Scandinavian light fixture and a cuckoo clock (which can be turned off to allow guests to sleep in) add fun and whimsy to the room.

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Make room for overnight guests in a tiny home office

Posted April 1 2015 11:16 AM EDT

David Letterman has waded into the controversy surrounding his home state of Indianas new Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Addressinghis CBS Late Show audience Tuesday night, Letterman took on Gov. Mike Pence, who signed the bill into law last week. Protestors say the bill is thinly disguised way of legalizing discrimination against gays and lesbians.

This is not the Indiana I remember as a kid, Letterman said.I lived there for 27 years. And folks were folks and thats all there was to it.We had things to worry about. We all breathedthe same air and now this guy throwsa monkey-wrench into the works it doesnt pass the sniff test. It may be legal, but it aint right.

Letterman than segued into a Top 10 list of people Pencelooks like. Theywere all rather jerky characterslike The guy at the bar who sends your girlfriend a drink.

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Letterman: Indiana law fails 'sniff test'

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg points out holes in the wall at the Sandburg home that will not be repaired currently due to lack of funding. The historic site now has $7.49 million in backlogged projects needing funding and the Blue Ridge Parkway has $247 million in deferred needs.

The Carl Sandburg Home and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina are facing a $255 million backlog in the upkeep of their facilities, part of $11.49 billion in so-called deferred maintenance reported at the country's national parks in 2014.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg points out holes in the wall at the Sandburg home that will not be repaired currently due to lack of funding. The historic site now has $7.49 million in backlogged projects needing funding and the Blue Ridge Parkway has $247 million in deferred needs.

Last week, the National Park Service released its list of deferred maintenance needs for its 400-plus park units throughout the U.S.

For North Carolina's seven units, the total was $395 million in 2014, not including $231 million in unmet maintenance needs along the Parkway's Virginia section.

What's happened is just the budget that we've gotten to manage the park, the funds haven't kept pace with the cost of doing business, said Leesa Brandon, public information officer for the Parkway. And every year, that gap just keeps getting bigger.

The Parkway's section in North Carolina has postponed $247.7 million in maintenance, the majority of that along the paved roadway itself. However, the Parkway as a whole has also delayed about $10.2 million in building upkeep and $37 million in upgrades to unpaved roads due to tight budgets in recent years.

We hear from visitors very regularly that they're sad and disappointed with the condition of the road, said Brandon. So many people have connections with the Parkway, through many generations, and they remember it differently.

At the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, $1.3 million of its $7.49 million in deferred maintenance needs were classified in 2014 as critical systems such as trails, pasture fences and the poet's former residence.

Superintendent H. Tyrone Brandyburg said the park was able to address a small portion of its deferred maintenance needs in the current fiscal year, tackling repairs to park's goat barn, house garage and many of its 38 other outbuildings.

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Sandburg Home, Parkway face maintenance backlog

TENNESSEE PASS Federal land managers have embarked on a $30 million project to remake a Colorado mountain valley that during World War II was transformed into an elite military training base.

The ecological restoration along headwaters of the Eagle River home of the famed 10th Mountain Division would require scooping out millions of tons of gravel and sand to turn a straightened waterway back into a river that curves through a floodplain.

It would mean yanking nonnative thistles and other invaders across 2,000 acres, recontouring and revegetating with native flowers and willows.

(Click to enlarge)

"A lot of our pristine headwaters in Colorado have had impacts. This is an opportunity to restore the ecosystem in an area that has historic value and make it better," said Marcus Selig, regional director of the National Forest Foundation, which led creation of a 50-page master plan. "Our goal is to put the area on a trajectory to be natural. We'll engineer the floodplain. We'll design it so that high flows in spring can restore a balance."

But historic preservation of scattered concrete foundations of the Army base looms as a hurdle. And water pressures complicate restoration. Colorado Springs and Aurora own rights to groundwater under the headwaters, within a 30,700-acre watershed, and to snowmelt trickling down surrounding rocky peaks.

A project proposal put forth this month by the U.S. Forest Service preserves the option of cities drilling into a re-engineered valley to reach groundwater and building a reservoir above wetlands to supply residents along Colorado's increasingly populated Front Range.

If the project survives bureaucratic review and gets funding, it would rank among the nation's most ambitious feats of ecological restoration. It reflects a growing interest among restoration ecologists in "novel ecosystems" recognizing that exact replication of nature before it was altered may be unfeasible, while embracing the role of revived natural processes.

"We're restoring it to its current potential," Forest Service fisheries biologist Matt Grove said. "We have to look at the stream we have now. We don't have the unaltered thing."

The plan incorporates post-war recreational uses of the area such as camping and skiing to backcountry huts that 10th Mountain Division war survivors built in memory of slain comrades. And it calls for state-of-the-art historical interpretation at sites around what became Camp Hale, which once had a population of 17,000.

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$30 million may flow into Mountain Valley restoration project

Wellington Better Home & Living Show Largest Ever

Jade Promotions, the largest provider of home, garden and lifestyle shows in New Zealand, announced today that the upcoming Wellington Better Home & Living Show is its largest yet. The event will see a record 200 exhibitors gather at the Westpac Stadium from 10-12 April to show case the latest innovations, trends and products in home improvement.

Director, Daniel Joll says, Our Better Homes section in particular has really grown, but across the whole show Wellingtonians can look forward to more variety and ideas than ever before, along with fantastic show-only bargains that they wont find anywhere else. Its also the only home show in Wellington this autumn and winter, so it really is a must-see event for anyone planning to build or renovate.

Kitchens, bathrooms, solar solutions, indoor and outdoor furniture, roofing, plants, awnings and canopies and beekeeping will be just some of the products and services on display throughout the Shows five eco-sections. Visitors to the Discovery Expeditions stand in the Better Bodies & Minds section can even go in the draw to win a weeks cruise in Fiordland, valued at over $5,000!, said Mr. Joll.

Highlights include a sustainable interior design feature, starring AvantGarde Interiors and Debra DeLorenzo from One Ranfurly Ltd. The display from AvantGarde Interiors will feature a dining room/lounge setting which blends contemporary and traditional styles. The stand-out pieces will be a funky red couch and a rustic dining table, with paint and wallpaper to match.

The Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association will be advising gardeners on how to manage their soil in a sustainable and healthy way. Their stand will be an autumn snap shot of Anne Dodds incredible garden on the Wairarapa coast, which is open to the public. The organic and bio dynamic gardening guru will be onsite most of the three days to answer questions.

Weltec Landscape Construction students will also be creating a sustainable landscape display garden. Inspired by New Zealands natural habitat, it will include a vertical hanging garden, a cave with imitation glow worms and mini putt, where one hole is a 3-metre long tuatara.

The Wellington Floral Art Societys Designer of the Year is a crowd favourite and attracts entries from the regions top floral designers. Its back this year, with the theme Colour as You Like It. Over the three days, industry experts will also give free, comprehensive seminars covering kitchens, bathrooms, restoration, gardening, solar solutions and choosing colour.

The Newstalk ZB Healthy You will be up for grabs again too. The $10,000 home and lifestyle package comprises home insulation comprises a top-of-the-range Fujitsu heat pump from Northern Construction and Cuttance Electrical; home wall insulation for warmer, drier surroundings from Insulmax; a whole home water filter system from HRV; plus 12 months membership (with perks) for two at Snap Fitness Te Aro. To enter, visitors only need supply their contact details on arrival.

Westpac Stadium, Waterloo Quay

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Wellington Better Home & Living Show Largest Ever

NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Restoration Hardware (RH - Get Report) shares rallied in trading today, closing up 4.06% to $96.92, after falling in after-hours trading yesterday following the release of its quarterly results after the closing bell.

The luxury home goods retailer said that the launch of two different businesses in the second half of this year hurt its revenue growth outlook as it guided revenue growth between 14% and 16%, or between $2.13 billion and $2.17 billion, short of analysts $2.24 billion expectations.

CompanyCEO GaryFriedman responded to the stock's swoon yesterday by cautioning against looking at the company's short term prospects as opposed to looking to the growth that it could experience after the company completes its expansion later this year, according to theWall Street Journal.

"We have to look beyond these (trading) bumps... (and) short-term thinking. What we are building here is a really durable building, that will stand the test of time and that will dominate its marketplace," said Friedman.

TheStreet Ratings team rates RESTORATION HARDWARE HLDNGS as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate RESTORATION HARDWARE HLDNGS (RH) a BUY. This is driven by some important positives, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and expanding profit margins. Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we feel they are unlikely to have a significant impact on results."

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Restoration Hardware (RH) Stock Rebounds From Weak Guidance

The Ayr Gaeity has received a 500,000 loan from the Social Growth Fund and a grant of 90,000.

The planned refurbishment of the B listed theatre, originally built in 1902, is now around 300,000 short of its 2.4m funding target.

The 90,000 comes from the Scottish Government through the People and Communities Fund for 2015/16.

The 500,000 loan is one of the first allocations of funds through the 16m Social Growth Fund, a fund established to provide assistance to charities and social enterprises.

The Gaiety Theatre is an historic venue, a former stage for comedians, singers, variety acts and icons such as Sir Harry Lauder, the jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, Jimmy Logan and a host of other stars.

Alex Neil, Scotland's social justice secretary, said: "This loan will help the Ayr Gaiety Partnership regenerate its fantastic historic building.

"By renovating the theatre and improving the experience for audiences I'm confident that this will have a knock-on effect on the local economy, encouraging more people to visit and spend money in Ayr.

"This Fund encourages our entrepreneurs and enterprising organisations to think of innovative ways to tackle inequalities and help us to deliver a better Scotland."

Since re-opening the theatre more than two years ago, the Ayr Gaiety Partnership has sold more than 120,000 tickets.

It has also launched a skills and employment initiative, established work with young people across Ayrshire and taken on the programming of four more venues.

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Restoration of landmark theatre in 'home straight' after Government funding boost

By Stephanie Cavanaugh March 27 at 7:25 AM

Its amazing what good lighting can do. Besides making you look more attractive, and dare we say sexier, it can be energizing, relaxing or simply illuminating accentuating a rooms best features, minimizing the unsavory and making your home a more enjoyable living and entertaining space.

With the plethora of lighting gadgets and gizmos available everywhere from Ikea to Home Depot to Restoration Hardware, just about any effect is possible, and can be done with minimal expense.

Judith Capen, an architect at Architrave Architects in Washington, said there are plenty of inexpensive sources of light that are plenty effective.

Fluorescent fixtures, which can be harsh, are great when used indirectly. Put them on top of cabinets where you dont see the fixture, she said.

This is not just a kitchen trick. Consider fluorescents on top of an armoire, or a tall bookcase, anywhere the source is unseen. Puck lights, little round battery- powered LED disks that require no wiring, are also handy for inside cabinets, under shelves and in dark corners. Its not about an expensive fixture, but what you can do with it to shape a space, Capen said.

It is possible to have it all an ambiance that invites pleasure, relaxation, stimulation and charm and even disguise a few of a homes flaws by redirecting the eye to something more pleasing.

What you want to do is layer the light, said San Francisco lighting designer Randall Whitehead. People try to do everything with one fixture, but you want different types of light to successfully illuminate the room. The best rooms use various sources of illumination to create a subtle design.

The language of light is pretty straightforward. Whitehead, who is also a columnist and author of seven books on residential lighting, said there are four lighting terms everyone should know:

Task lighting can brightly illuminate your desk, your closet, your kitchen counter, or your bathroom mirror so you dont slice your throat shaving.

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Designer tricks that will let you see your home in a whole new light