The Record Homescape 06-06-2019 | Page 2
2H ❚ THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019 ❚ THE RECORD
P
HOMESCAPE / ADVERTISING SECTION
Bulletin Board
YOU CAN BE
IN HOMESCAPE!
We invite our readers to submit
photos and background information for
four of our regular monthly features:
q CALENDAR
n “MY HOME PROJECT” — Do
you love tackling home improvement
challenges? Is it your idea of fun to
build shelves, stencil walls or refinish
furniture? Maybe you’ve even renovat-
ed a large area on your own! If you can
provide a short write up and high qual-
ity “before” and “after” photos of one
of your projects, we’d like to share
them with our readers.
n “MANSPACE” — Have you
created a unique retreat in your home
with a décor that caters to your special
interests, whether they involve sports,
symphonies, stamp collecting, etc.?
“Scouting shots” are OK for this fea-
ture, because if your Manspace fits our
criteria we’ll have our photographer
photograph your space.
n “COLLECTIONS or FAMILY
HEIRLOOMS” — Are you an ardent
collector of interesting items that fit
a theme and are integrated into your
home décor, or have you discovered
a family heirloom that you’ve restored
for display? We’d love to see your col-
lection or learn about your heirloom’s
special history.
NEW JERSEY PUBLIC GARDEN DAY
CELEBRATION TOUR
Dr. Edith Wallace will offer a garden tour
to celebrate “New Jersey Public Garden and
Arboretum Day,” designated as June 7 by
the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly.
There will also be a short video and a display
of current blooms available.
New Jersey Botanical Garden and the
members of the New Jersey State Garden
Consortium invite you to visit the many
beautiful nature spaces in the region.
Meet at the Carriage House; wear sturdy
shoes. Free, donations welcomed.
Friday, June 7, 1 p.m.
HOME DEPOT WORKSHOPS
During June, most Home Depot stores in
North Jersey will present several hands-on
learning workshops with professional advice.
To participate, visit homedepot.com, check
your local store and register online.
Following are the workshops for June:
Edible and Raised Garden Beds
Play in the dirt all summer and taste the
results of your hard work with an edible
garden. In this workshop, green-thumbed
store associates will review edible plants that
thrive in your region and hardiness zone,
show the tools you need to tend to your
garden and teach you how to spot the
Contact James Emolo, Homescape
editor, at [email protected].
perfect location and build your own raised
garden beds. You’ll learn tips on how to
prepare and maintain nutrient-rich soil and
select plants that work well together and
tricks to repel invasive insects, minimize
weeds and keep intruders from snacking on
your edible landscape so that you can collect
a bountiful harvest.
Saturday, June 15, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Charging Station
Maximize space and charge your family’s
devices with a rustic-style charging station
during the hands-on workshop. Experienced
store associates will show you how to
measure, cut, stain and assemble a charging
station that hides unsightly cords and fea-
tures multiple hubs to charge several devices
at once. In addition, store associates will
demonstrate safe practices in using common
project power tools and can help you shop
for everything you need to create your own
project at home.
Thursday, June 20, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Installing Wall Tile
Pick up the skills you need to successfully
install wall tile. This workshop will cover tile
trends — as wall tile isn’t limited to bathrooms
— options, selections and supplies you will
need to complete your tile project and avoid
common installation setbacks like tile sag.
Saturday, June 22, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Area resident’s
book highlights
beauty of barns
M
idland Park
resident and
master pho-
tographer Jeffrey
Steccato of Haviland
Photography has
announced the
release of his
new book, Barns
Across America: A
Photographic Journey.
The book takes readers on a nostalgic
journey across America with photographs
that highlight the unique beauty of barns.
The tour of the American rural landscape
includes over 200 images of dairy barns,
round barns, tobacco barns and more.
Readers will learn about the roles each
barn type has played in history and what
makes each one unique.
Barns Across America: A Photographic
Journey is available on Amazon.com and
at Haviland Photography, located at 686
Godwin Ave. in Midland Park. It will be
released at local Barnes & Noble stores
on Aug. 15. For more information, visit
www.havilandstudio.com.
EDITOR
James Emolo
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Joseph Ritacco
PHOTO COURTESY OF
SWINGSET & TOY WAREHOUSE
NORTH JERSEY MEDIA GROUP
1 Garret Mountain Plaza, PO Box 471
Woodland Park, NJ 07424
Swingset & Toy Warehouse in
Upper Saddle River offers
backyard play sets made of
cedar (pictured), redwood
and vinyl. Slides, swings, baby
swings, trapeze bars, and rock
climbing walls are among the
many accessories available,
depending on budget and
space. Abel Santos, manager
of Swingset & Toy Warehouse,
said, “Vinyl lasts longer, and
nothing ever goes wrong with
it, but most people seem to pre-
fer the traditional wood color.”
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
PRODUCED BY THE ADVERTORIAL
DEPARTMENT OF THE RECORD
AND HERALD NEWS
To advertise, call 973-569-7800
For content, call 973-569-7895
or email [email protected]
Copyright © 2019 North Jersey Media
Group. All rights reserved. Reproduc-
tion in whole or in part without permis-
sion of NJMG is strictly prohibited.
Backyard playgrounds:
STOCK & CUSTOM CABINETS
Age-appropriate accessories will
entertain kids for years to come
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1H
3 5
Contractors Welcome
Landlords Welcome
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50% OFF Most American Brand Cabinets
Convenient open stock from our warehouse inventory
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Family Owned & Operated Since 1945
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5426 TONNELLE AVENUE US . 1&9 NORTH NORTH BERGEN • 201.866.7999
Wholesale/Retail Showroom Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri 9am-5pm • Thurs 9am-8pm
OPEN SATURDAY 9-3 CLOSED SUNDAY
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moisture, humidity and damage from
insects, especially when treated with a
paint or finish. Among the cedar play-
ground models is the Backyard Adventure
Combo Set, featuring a tree house, trapeze
bar, monkey bars, fireman’s pole, rock wall
and tire swing.
Redwood play sets available at Swingset
& Toy Warehouse are aesthetically pleasing
and durable. They cost more than cedar,
but are considerably stronger – resistant
to rot, decay and insect damage — and just
as eco-friendly. From simple swingsets to
more elaborate backyard play sets with
bridges, forts and tree houses, redwood
wooden swingsets are fully customizable.
With safety in mind, Swingset & Toy
Warehouse also sells rubber mulch in a
variety of colors. Unlike other playground
surface materials, rubber mulch does
not compact or turn into a hard surface,
even after frequent use. It is non-toxic
and provides superior fall protection,
keeping playgrounds safe through many
years of use.
Homeowners should also be mindful of
the space and slope of their properties,
particularly if space is limited. It is advisable
to lean on the expertise of professionals.
“I don’t always trust pictures [of a
property],” said Santos. “I personally go
there to give customers as much as I can
in the space they have.”
Of utmost importance is the perimeter
surrounding the backyard playground,
which should be at least six feet from any
fences or other barriers.
The slope of the property is important
as well, Samolowicz added, as the sets
need to remain level. “There are a lot of
hilly properties in the area,” he said.
“We can level the sets a little by digging
into the ground or installing longer
posts on the slope, but if there’s a steep
grade on a hill, you need a professional
landscaper, which can be costly and
time-consuming.”
Space-saving techniques can be
used to make sure customers are getting
the playground experience they want.
“We go to people’s houses and check
their yards,” said Santos. “We try to
simplify what they are looking for and fit
it into the space they have.”
Swingset & Toy Warehouse sells a
variety of space-savers, including free-
standing units that are ideal for smaller
yards or townhome spaces.
Samolowicz added that slight
adjustments can be made to designs
if space is a tight. “In properties with
smaller yards, we can tweak the sets to be
space-savers,” he said. “For example, we
can install a ladder on the back of the set
rather than the side in order to reduce the
width a little.”
Recent trends in backyard playgrounds
include more accessories – windows,
bridges and other “knick-knacks,” as
Samolowicz described them. NJ Swingsets
offers a host of accessories, including
basketball hoops, trampolines, monkey
bars, tire swings, sandboxes, rock walls
and picnic tables. Swingset & Toy
Warehouse also offers trampolines and
basketball hoops, as well as toddler
swings, telescopes, periscopes, water
cannons and trapeze bars.
For do-it-yourselfers, local Home
Depot stores are stocked with backyard
playground equipment and accessories,
with in-store specialists available to assist
customers and instructional videos on the
company’s website. The company prides
itself on helping homeowners create safe
places for their children to play, allowing
them to not only have fun, but also exercise
and develop motor skills.
The beauty of outdoor playground
equipment, the experts at Home Depot
point out, is that it can grow with a child.
Parents purchasing playground equipment
for preschoolers might decide to start
with an infant swing or bucket swing, glider
and a toddler slide. As the child gets older,
they can switch out the accessories by
upgrading that infant swing to a standard
belt swing and graduate from the toddler
slide to a larger, faster slide.
The possibilities for a backyard
playground are truly endless, but the
spring and summer seasons are not.
“The biggest rush is Memorial Day,” said
Samolowicz, “followed by the end of the
school year.”
The time is now for interested home-
owners to create play areas that fit their
properties and their budgets.