I don’t know why this date seems like a late one to be celebrating the arrival of spring—perhaps it is because of the unusually mild winter and summer-like temperatures that we’ve experienced in the Northeast even in March and April. But it definitely is spring (summer doesn’t officially start until June 20th) and here are five reasons certainly worth celebrating the season:
Bob Vila Radio is a newly launched daily radio spot carried on more than 60 stations around the country (and growing). You can get your daily dose here, by listening—or reading—to Bob’s 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day. Today, it’s all
about the Kitchen Makeover.
Not sure what to do with old paint cans cluttering up your basement or garage? Follow this action plan to either condense or dispose of your surplus—and win back some valuable floor and shelf space in the bargain.
Leftover house paint is not the easiest stuff to get rid of. You can't simply throw it out without risking pollution and fines.
Photo: World Monument Foundation
My February trip to Havana with the Finca Vigía technical team was a short, three-day visit focused on paper conservation and the planning of a new laboratory. Ernest Hemingway’s home outside Havana was where he kept his personal library of over 9,000 books, journals, manuscripts and so on. Papa was a pack-rat and held onto all sorts of souvenirs, from bullfighting posters to shopping lists for his fishing trips.
Bob Vila Radio is a newly launched daily radio
spot carried on more than 60 stations around the country (and
growing). You can get your daily dose here, by listening—or reading—to
Bob’s 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day. Today, it’s all
about when to Hire a Pro.
I must admit to a certain hedonistic streak when it comes to bathing—be it a long hot soak in the winter or a wonderfully cool and refreshing shower in summer. So when we decided to update and renovate an existing powder room, we did not want to settle for a standard shower configuration.
The original working area was fairly small, measuring about 32 inches square, and we had no expectations that we would be able to fit a tub-and-shower combination in the space. Once we completed the demolition, however, we were delighted to discover an extra 18 inches with which to work. That would certainly be enough space to permit a more elaborate shower enclosure than we had initially anticipated installing.
We began shopping at various kitchen and bath stores to come up with ideas, although in the back of our minds, we kept comparing all of the new options to a unique solution that we briefly enjoyed in the early ’80s. Back then we lived in an 1870 Victorian home, which boasted a lovely, six-foot-long soaking tub and a separate, tiled shower enclosure. The shower enclosure was quite innovative for the time and featured three rows of jets spaced at knee, back and head heights along the three walls. When you turned the jets on, you were completely enveloped in multiple sprays of water. We had never seen anything to compare to this luxurious approach.
2020 Alton inspires major drive-by gawking. Photo: John Patron
The luxurious super-green house underway at 2020 Alton Road in Miami Beach is moving right along on its way toward LEED Platinum certification. Outfitted with top-of-the-line, energy-efficient products and systems, this project—from the Florida Green Home Design Group—strives for superlative indoor air quality and net-zero energy use.
The current asking price for the two-story five-bedroom, solar- and wind-fueled, rainwater-harvesting, totally iPad-automated house is $2.2 million. Even now, before the decorative details and finishing touches have been completed, it’s easy to appreciate 2020 Alton Road, on track to become the smartest, safest, and most energy-efficient residence in town.
Bob Vila Radio is a newly launched daily radio spot carried on more than 60 stations around the country (and growing). You can get your daily dose here, by listening—or reading—to Bob’s 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day. Today, it’s all about the Garden Planning.
Home sales are still recovering, but business is brisk when it comes to homeowners upgrading their outdoor spaces. Landscapes and lawns will always require maintenance, but more people are investing bigger dollars in adding outdoor kitchens, fire pits and seating areas.
When my husband and I lived in New York City with our two young girls, we had a single bathroom in our one-bedroom apartment. And it was small. If you’re a parent, you probably understand that for many years you almost never get to go to the bathroom by yourself. Can you imagine two adults, a toddler, and an infant cramming into one 5′ x 8′ bathroom for various duties together? Someone always needed to go potty while someone else was brushing teeth. It was the domestic version of the clown car.
