What’s new in paint
It’s one of the miracles of home improvement that one of the least expensive moves can have such a profound effect on a room, and can be pulled off by a (patient, careful) amateur to boot. In a world...
View ArticleA New England Icons chapter to warm you up for the holidays
Boston Magazine is calling the book a “must have” for holiday gift-giving–available at Amazon and independent booksellers everywhere. Click the link below for a sample chapter to cozy up to: Sample...
View ArticleRadio interview about New England Icons
I was interviewed earlier this week on WCAI (the NPR station for Cape Cod and the Islands) by the delightful host of The Point, Mindy Todd. Listen here by clicking on the New England Icons show under...
View ArticleTerrific book reviews
Been getting some very nice reviews on Amazon, where the book has a 5-star rating. Here’s a recent one, by Paul Spring: This is a terrific little book for so many reasons, and it makes a great gift...
View ArticleCover story, Design New England magazine
My article about a highly energy-efficient and ultra-low-VOC house in Concord made the cover of the latest Design New England magazine. One feature: paint that you can literally drink for breakfast...
View ArticleFebruary 2012 House of the Month
At 992 Memorial Drive, a classic 1914 elevator building overlooking the Charles River, this penthouse condominium is a one+ bedroom, one-and-a-half bath unit with 1036 square feet, and one of the...
View ArticleGood info from a good firm
Doug Hanna and Alex Slive are the H + S of S + H Construction, one of the best and most successful general contracting companies around. I’ve known them a long time (they fixed a flat roof on my very...
View Article“Bring me your tired…”
I had a great experience recently at one of those crunchy spots that make Boston such a good place for old things. My wonderfully cantankerous grandmother had a set of eight English rush-seat spindle...
View ArticleJuly 2012 Houses of the Month
TOH 4 SALE! Back in 1979, America had never seen the likes of what was about to be broadcast on Boston’s public television station, WGBH. The station had recently purchased a dilapidated Second Empire...
View ArticleCommon sense protection for DIYers
This is a guest blog by Brian Turner, a toxic substance safety advocate. More of his blogs can be found here. Eliminate Asbestos Before Beginning Home Renovations Asbestos can pose serious problems to...
View ArticleJanuary 2013 Cottage of the Month
In a western suburb of Boston sits an enchanted English Tudor cottage with a romantic history and a future in question. Built in the 1920s as a gentleman’s retreat on a large estate, it eventually...
View ArticleNew newsletter online
Just click here for info on rot-proof wood, smart bathroom fans, the real estate market, and more.
View ArticleApril 2013 Deconstructed House of the Month
The 1761 Yale farmstead is being dismantled–very carefully–to make way for the current owner’s agricultural business. Architect Leonard Baum is supervising deconstruction and providing full...
View ArticleMay Manor of the Month
Just across the Mystic River from Tufts University is lovely West Medford, Massachusetts, a bedroom community with a proud past and a rosy future. Perched on a south-facing hillside half-acre is...
View ArticleJune House of the Month
It’s amazing what your money can get you in different parts of the greater Boston area. Here, for the price of a *meh* Cambridge condo, is a stately Queen Anne single-family home in Roxbury, with 5...
View ArticleJune House of the Month, Cambridge
I’m excited to be listing 39 May Street, a rare single-family on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Cambridge neighborhood of Strawberry Hill. Owned by the same family for decades, this simple 1887 Queen Anne...
View ArticleHouzz survey: 12% of renovating couples consider separation or divorce
Zoicks! Mitchell Parker has written a great Houzz.com article (with some quotes from me) describing the findings of the online design/renovation/architecture giant’s latest survey of couples who’ve...
View ArticleMountainside House of the Month
This month’s house faces southeast from a 25-acre lot just north of Pawlet, Vermont. Built by the current owners in 1990, it features a soaring frame by the excellent craftspeople at Green Mountain...
View ArticleOne-of-a-Kind House-of-the-Week
An oft-cited figure is that less than 5% of the houses built in this country are architect-designed, and many inside and outside the profession think that part of the problem has to do with folks’...
View ArticleModern -> Contemporary
This week’s houses span the short-but-sweet architectural timeline that began with the arrival of a German architect named Walter Gropius at Harvard in 1937. There he promoted a new kind of...
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