June 23, 2011

Architect William Rogers Designs a Green Oasis in the Village

Architecture, Homes

Thanks to thoughtful architects and forward-thinking lawmakers and city planners, New York City keeps getting greener, particularly in the Battery Park City neighborhood (take a look at a piece in the summer issue of Downtown magazine on the greenest community in the city and its impact on the real estate market—the magazine is due out later this week). The newest buildings, like the Visionaire or Riverhouse in BPC where actor Leonardo diCaprio lives, are as green as they get. But talented architects like William Rogers are building green in other parts of the city, too. Will shared images of a … Read Post

September 9, 2010

Choosing Bathroom Plumbing Fixtures with Confidence

Homes

After taking note of the posts I’ve written on my own home improvement projects, a reader and freelance writer, Nancy Bhupathi, sent me the following thoughts on her own experience in planning for a bathroom renovation and choosing fixtures. So clear was she in her praise of Hangrohe fixtures, that I’m running excerpts of her note as a guest post. I also know where I’ll be going when the time comes to take on my own bathroom reno. Meanwhile, here are Nancy’s thoughts: By and large, bathroom renovations give me jitters. Choosing Hansgrohe for plumbing fixtures made the process less … Read Post

September 7, 2010

Prepping Walls for Paint (Plus a Giveaway from the Kilz Brand of Primers)

Homes

After clearing out the contents of our closets over the weekend in preparation for the crew of painters who will be coming to our home later this week, I found a small oily mark on the wall near the baseboard in one of the closets that must have been made by some wood stain I had stored on the floor. It’s nothing a little Kilz primer can’t cover, so I’m not worried about it. Thankfully the Kilz company has just launched Kilz Clean Start, a new zero-VOC primer, which means the product is not only superb for prepping walls for … Read Post

August 19, 2010

Great Go-To Design Guide

Homes

Davis & Warshow, the venerable kitchen and bath supply house in New York, is celebrating 85 years in business this year. And to commemorate the occasion, the company produced “Guide 85: Resources for the Resourceful,” which includes information on many of the talented architects and designers the owners have worked with over the years, including Alexa Hampton, Emmanuela Frattini Magnusson, Thom Filicia, and Eric Cohler, among others. It also includes some of the architects’ and designers’ favorite resources, such as the Center 44 antiques resource, L’Olivier floral artists, and Plateau Painting, professional painters who, says Alexa Hampton, take the stress … Read Post

August 2, 2010

Making Eco-Friendly Flooring Choices

Homes

One of the most appealing products I’ve found in doing my flooring research is a new 100% Reclaimed American Oak floor from HomerWood Premium Hardwood Flooring. Not only is it a sustainable choice—it’s made of slow-growth timber, which came from forests in the Appalachian Mountain region and was used to construct barns across areas of Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania in the early 1800s—it’s also beautiful and filled with character, including nail holes, cracks, mineral streaks and saw kerfs. The flooring is also offered with a natural oil finish in brown, whitewash, natural and slate-colored options. This kind of finish gives … Read Post

July 26, 2010

Getting Estimates on Refinishing or Installing a Wood Floor

Homes

After asking for referrals and scoping out various online sites that list pre-screened flooring contractors, I found four contractors who came to our home last week to give me estimates on refinishing or replacing our mildly water-damaged wood floors. Interestingly, they all had different opinions on what could or should be done, and all offered very different quotes on fixing our floors. Here’s a summary of what I found: Experts often disagree. Two of the contractors said it wouldn’t be worthwhile to refinish the floors. Two of them said it would be no problem. You don’t always have to pay … Read Post

June 25, 2010

Finding a Contractor

Homes

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to Matt Knox, one of the founders of an ingenious Web-based business called DiggersList.com, which launched in 2008. Essentially, the Web site functions as an online source of home improvement classifieds in 30 cities. Now there’s one for New York, and the site will be rolling out in 224 more cities across the country over the next 12-15 months. When I told Matt about my plans for refinishing or replacing my floor and updating my kitchen, he said that a visit to DiggersList.com could help me find a contractor … Read Post

June 17, 2010

Eco-Friendly Dream House

Homes

A country house in New York City? That’ll catch your eye. And if it’s brimming with eco-friendly ideas like this one is, it’ll capture your imagination, too. The house is actually a sustainable show house developed by Country Living magazine in conjunction with New World Home, a producer of environmentally sensitive housing. I noticed it last weekend near the boat basin in my neighborhood in lower Manhattan, and I walked over to tour it today. What was so appealing about the charming house is that it merges historically inspired design with the latest generation of green building products and furnishings, … Read Post

June 16, 2010

Wood Floor RX

Homes

Before I commit to replacing my worn and damaged hardwood floors, I’ve decided I should explore the less extreme (and less costly) option of repairing or refinishing it, so I called my friends at the World Floor Covering Association to see if they could offer some expert advice. The WFCA is a font of flooring wisdom and can provide you with information on just about anything you’d ever want to know about all kinds of flooring materials. They referred me to Len Daubler, the director of technical services for Anderson Hardwood Floors, a division of Shaw Industries. Len used to … Read Post

June 15, 2010

Renovating to Add Value

Homes

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to Armando Montelongo, a real estate professional and the exuberant host of the A&E television show Flip This House, about the long- and short-term value of making certain home improvements to your home. After a briefly chatting with him about the plans I have for my own home, he told me I was a sea urchin. It wasn’t about name-calling. It’s just the way Armando sized me up based on my personality type, which he says influences how I make important investment decisions, like buying or renovating a home. Since Armando dedicates … Read Post