Most people know Terry Wood as a 24-year veteran of the International Falls Police Department, but he is also making a name for himself as a painter and landscape design consultant.
After working four days of 12-hour shifts, Sgt. Wood puts his police uniform away and puts on his painter’s cap as he readies himself to work at his hobby-turned-business known as Rainy Lake Designs.
Wood said he has always had an eye for home interior and landscape design. He recalls a passion for art in high school and says that might have helped him develop a natural eye for color schemes, painting and landscaping design work.
“Some people can’t envision the final outcome and I can,” he said. “It’s a natural thing, you can or you can’t.”
His interest led to online courses and a lot of reading. But, he said the journey has mostly been about trial and error. His hobby evolved from helping friends with painting and landscaping, when word of mouth brought referrals for his service, which he describes as reasonable and quick.
“I am getting phone calls frequently from private individuals and just recently named my business,” said Wood.
Referrals also came from the lumberyards and furniture stores. His first big commercial job came last year when he helped Kris Lemieux design the interior of her Northern Exposure beauty salon.
Lemieux added track lighting and luxurious furniture in a vast waiting area and at workstations. Wood selected the color scheme to enhance the walls and bay windows to create a relaxing atmosphere with the track lighting.
“She knew me well enough and said I could do what I want to do and was fine with it,” he said. “I got a few referrals just from that.”
The most recent project for Wood was a Sha Sha Resort makeover for new owners Jeff and Jodi Herberg. He said the challenge was working together to visualize the “Rainy Lake rustic” look they were after. They selected from about five shades of blue and red that he suggested for the two dining rooms.
“A little compromise is good,” he said. “As long as I can see the outcome — it works.”
He also helped with the wall decor, using antique fishing tackle, boat motors and netting.
“Most of the stuff on the walls in here is original, but is now displayed differently,” he said at the resort.
Wood describes his landscaping methods as rustic and appropriate for Rainy Lake. He doesn’t like using retaining walls or block systems. He prefers using natural rock that can be brought in or found during home construction.
One of his favorite jobs was a two-month landscaping of a Dove Island property belonging to Thomas Hepperlen. He built earthen berms to close a circular driveway, and placed big rocks along a dry creek bed for natural drainage to the lake.
Wood said that as homes settle, drainage issues occur. His work is an opportunity to combine beauty and function.
Some people may be reluctant to hire a professional painter, but Wood said it is an investment in the future of the home.
“I don’t leave a mess,” he added.
A lifelong Falls resident, Wood said he is happily married to Tammy and they have two children, Jenna, 21, and Zach, 16.
Peace officers have a higher divorce rate and often suffer from work stress related issues, he said. As a child abuse investigator and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, he said that color is a kind of therapy that helps as a personal coping mechanism.
“This is my preventative maintenance,” he said.
“My wife says it is also a curse, because I keep changing things all the time,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wood said simple things make a big difference in the appearance of a home and yard. He offers the following suggestions:
• Prune existing shrubbery as an often overlooked, but important detail to make a good first impression.
“It should be manicured and well kept,” he said. “Put potted plants on the steps, the sidewalk or to add some pizzazz to the entryway.”
• Keep it native. Common errors in landscaping occur when people try to recreate something that isn’t natural to the area.
“You can’t bring the pink flamingos to Rainy Lake,” he said.
Instead, he said, loons, totem poles and woodcarvings are popular and can work in Borderland.
• Plant perennials that return bigger and better each year, instead of spending money on annual plants every spring. Be sure the plants you buy outside the area are for planting in Borderland’s 3A growing zone, not the Twin Cities, a 4a zone.
• Plant flowers and shrubs about three feet from the home’s foundation. If they are too close, water runoff damage and root problems can occur.
He also encourages planting in curved and rounded lines, instead of one shrub deep, perhaps try go about three deep.
“Everything people do seems to be in straight lines and that can be cold to look at,” he said.
• Consider the size a plant will be when it matures. Will it be too large or too small for the area? He encourages a mix of flowers and shrubs that will reflect the owners flare for bold or conservative colors.
“There are no rules to nature,” he said. “A lot of things can go together and you can have a mixture.”
• Don’t skimp on paint or brushes, because “you get what you pay for.”
Low-cost paints often splatter and run, he said. The good paint will also more often look like the color sample they selected, where cheaper paint may not, he added.
“It doesn’t cover properly,” he said. “I have learned that higher quality paint makes the job much easier and the finished product is something to be proud of.”
• Know that flat paint does not have the dry, chalky base it had 20 years ago, and can now be washed and wiped, and used in kitchens and bathrooms. He recommends a flat paint to hide imperfections on walls.
“If you use a semi gloss on a wall, you will get a reflection and see every dimple and imperfection,” he said.
• Consider a softer earth tone over a flat white.
“I always tell people that paint is only a color and if you don’t like it, it is very easy to change it,” said Wood.
As long as priming steps are taken, he said painting over paneling in older homes is an option to tearing out or adding new sheetrock.
