Water Gardens to Swim in
A stunning lily pond landscape feature would be a dreamy addition to any backyard. How much more magical would it be to have a water garden that we could swim in? A natural swim pond is a chemical free pool with a natural aquatic plant filtration system to remove...
Student Project: $2 Monthly Energy Bills with Craftsman Architecture
This delightful post from Grist features a student design Grand Prize winner in the Department of Energy's Challenge Home Competition. It is a gorgeous Craftsman with a universal access floor plan, boasting $2 per month energy expenses. Even better, there was actually...
Stylish Details: Decorative Switch Plates and Vent Registers
Recently I took my children to visit the Eisenhower Farm. The 18th or 19th century home adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield was renovated and added on to 1953. Because it was about the same time my grandparents built their own home, it reminded me a lot of their...
Building with Paper
Earlier today I stumbled across something that made my jaw hang in awe. Slate-ish it is called, and it is a tile for floor or wall application that looks impressively like slate, but is made from post-industrial paper waste. I was introduced to Paperstone through...
Attractive High-Traffic Flooring
We are looking at making a large unfinished room in our walk out basement into a bedroom. Once our kids are heading off to college, the basement area will be reconfigured to take advantage of the walk out into the yard so it can be used for entertaining. Hopefully our...
April Showers Bring Landscape Alive
As the home I have been posting about nears completion, the landscape design is the next thing in the works. These April showers should be softening the ground for some new landscaping to go into the soil. This will make the beautiful front porch setting and fabulous...
Delight is in the Details
The home the Harmon team is wrapping up for retirees gave me my first opportunity to see a completely custom home in the completion stage. I keep returning to that sense of awe as the custom details were being installed--the vision behind the home coming alive before...
Retirement Home Design Details
The home the Harmon team is finishing up for soon-to-be retirees was especially interesting to see as the finishing details were beginning to go in. The culmination of the design choices was striking: a structure was magically becoming a home right before our eyes....
Ceiling Fans for All Seasons
I can remember back in the days of watching Trading Spaces designers ripping out fans on nearly every show. Coming from Texas, I was always thinking, "There is no way these homeowners will stay sane and happy without that thing!" The truth is that the fan is your...
Snow Day! Tips for Digging Out
As I sit watching rapidly accumulating snow, I realize I am already breaking maybe the most important rule of snow removal. I definitely should have made a pass...or three...over the walk out front to stay ahead of this thing. This storm is going to be a tough workout...
Windows and Indoor Comfort
As I sat here without electricity, I found myself (for at least the tenth time this winter) glad for our lucky timing. We replaced our old nearly 100 year old windows for modern, low-E, double paned ones just this past summer. Ahhhh. Summer. But I digress. Immediately...
Piping Hot Water!
Whether building a new home or replacing a worn out appliance, a staggering array of water heater technology is available for modern households. Water heater selection may seem like the dullest of tasks, but choose wisely and you can see tremendous energy savings....
Four Seasons on Your Deck or Patio
Now that it is the season to consider construction projects that may come to completion during the warmer months, this tends to be the time for homeowners to start dreaming of a new deck or patio. As you think about this while it is still chilly outside, it is...
Energy Efficient Lighting
LEDs, or light emitting diodes, are currently the most efficient light bulb technology available. Compact fluorescent light, or CFL, bulbs are an efficiency improvement over incandescent lights as well, though not as efficient as LEDs. CFLs also contain a small amount...
Basement Remodeling
One of the joys of a basement remodel is the opportunity to work on a space that is enclosed from the elements and not subject to the whims of the weather. These can be relatively economical projects that enhance the livable area of a home without the expenses...
Lionel Lloyd of The Painted Finish
It is a great feeling when someone working on your home becomes a person you look forward to chatting with every day. Lionel Lloyd of The Painted Finish is just that kind of guy. Lionel's house painting company evolved out of a business partnership with a friend. They...