A few months ago, my friend (who I’ll call Clare for the sake of this true story) was in the position to choose a contractor for the small, charming century-old house she gutted and is bringing back to life. Clare got full bids from two contractors. Contractor Artisan’s bid was more expensive by 10s of…
I’m so happy to see that the editors of Fine Homebuilding are fun, lively and enlightened enough to not only admit that workers bring their dogs to the jobsite, but to have a whole photo gallery of these furry workplace companions. I suggested such a feature to some other editors in the past and they reacted…
My heart goes out to the victims of Hurricane Irene. I feel your pain. (And I promise not ask this inane question: Why would you live/rebuild where hurricanes can hit? I’ve been to Vermont. I know why you live there.) Six years ago, when the federal levee system failed in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina,…
As you well know, the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are going the other way. The whole economy is rigged that way and you wonder how long it will go on. As our new two-class economy unfolds, it seems disgusting for rich people to flaunt their riches, doesn’t it? So why…
Tired of all the ornate cemeteries in our world? Have a hard time seeing your modernist remains resting comfortable in one of them? For those deposed in Munich, a very modern alternative exists. See the photo gallery here. On the flip side, the burial grounds themselves are lush and natural, like meadows. So it’s not…
For Round Five of its Three-Minute Fiction Contest, NPR asked listeners to send original works of fiction that began with the line, “Some people swore that the house was haunted,” and ended with the line, “Nothing was ever the same again after that.” Here is one of the favorite submissions The Remodel By Larry Herbst…
Sen. Ted Sevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, was indicted yesterday on allegations that he failed to report $250,000 in improvements that were done to his home. He has denied the charges. Among the items he allegedly got for free and didn’t report, according a story in the L.A. Times, were:…
I haven’t had a drink of alcohol or any other mood-altering drugs for a long, long time (it’s this addictive personality that’s to blame). But every now and again, when I get a feeling of total bliss, I think: Ah, this is why I drank. To feel like this. I’m feeling it now, in my…
<p><a href=”http://kathyprice.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/07/moretakidsbath.jpg” onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=504,height=756,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false”><img alt=”Here I am, shooting photos in the bathroom of a Los Angeles home.” title=”Here I am, shooting photos in the bathroom of a Los Angeles home.” src=”http://kathyprice.typepad.com/remodelingblog/images/2008/07/07/moretakidsbath.jpg” width=”250″ height=”375″ border=”0″ style=”float: right; margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;” /></a>After nearly two decades of visiting people at home and writing…
After nearly two decades of visiting people at home and writing newspaper and magazine articles about their remodels, I still can’t get over how open and unafraid these people are. And how generous. I mean, what makes people so at home in the world that they can allow a newspaper reporter into their bathrooms, for…