Fans of Prefab head to MOMA this Summer

In July 2008, MOMA in New York city will be presenting "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling". MOMA has selected five architects from 400 to build a prefab home for this exhibit that will take place on a parking lot adjacent to MOMA on 53rd St.

  January 28, 2008 | Comments ()

Renovation Consultant for Hire

As a follow up to Kevin O'Connor's interview last week a friend sent over this article about Bruce Irving who was the producer of This Old House for 17 years. He left This Old House in 2005 and has started up his own company that is unique to the industry. He saw a disconnect in the language between the contractors, architects, and homeowner, and he feels his experience working with people throughout all stages of the homebuilding process can help homeowners realize the potential of their projects.

  January 22, 2008 | Comments (1)

Kevin O'Connor - Host of This Old House

photo courtesy of This Old House

We're kicking off our interview series with the host of This Old House, Kevin O'Connor. Six years ago Kevin was working in finance but was also an avid DIY homeowner intent on renovating his 1894 Queen Anne. His unlikely ascension to the "dream job" as host of This Old House has become legend. "In Kevin, we found the perfect mixture of optimism and energy, two ingredients an old house owner must have to survive" says Russell Morash, creator of This Old House.

Nominated for an Emmy award in his debut season, Kevin is currently hosting his 5th season of This Old House and Ask This Old House.

  January 16, 2008 | Comments (8)

What $19.5 Million Will Get You In New York's
West Village

Apartment Therapy cued us into the sale of Jennifer Bartlett's 5 bedroom and 5 bath home/studio across the street from our offices in New York's West Village. We've always found the building a bit drab from the outside considering it's next door to the West Village's oldest building (1820's Federal style townhome) which was recently renovated and painted a bright hue of yellow/green. But from our rooftop we had spied a pool on the 3rd floor so we knew it wasn't just any building.

  January 14, 2008 | Comments (3)

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

We've waxed poetic about the benefits of energy efficient light bulbs and their advantages are many. But the backlash from designers and consumers is coming to a head and although most people want to save energy and lower their utility bills, they also want their living space to be cast in the warm glow that fluorescent lighting just can't reproduce. The New York Times House and Home section did an informal survey on "how pleasing the light is" from these energy saving bulbs and the results were not positive. Although the light from these bulbs is getting "warmer" there is still quite a gap from the incandescent bulbs. The halogen and LED's should also be considered as they tested a bit better than the fluorescents.

  January 10, 2008 | Comments (2)

Sears Kit House

The Newbury 1933-1940 (Model No. 3397); ($1,791 to $2,042)

Shelterrific has highlighted an article from Cottage Living about a family living in their 1930's Sears Kit House. The Sears archives has some more great information about these homes which were sold through mail order from 1908 to 1940. They estimate 70k-75k of these homes were sold and included 447 different home styles.

Do you live in a Sears home?

  January 9, 2008 | Comments (1)

Midcentury Ranch House Marvels

After leaving the chilly confines of NYC there's nothing better then spending the holidays in Tucson and Las Vegas with a day in Mexico thrown in for good measure. Our friends in Las Vegas are renovating their 1940's ranch house and have introduced us to a magazine called Atomic Ranch that has been instrumental in providing them with inspiration for remodeling their own ranch style home. Atomic Ranch is published quarterly and showcases early ranch houses and modernist tract homes by featuring, great interiors in a variety of styles; collectibles from the '40s to the '80s; affordable furnishings and doable solutions; landscaping and lifestyle; and restorations and appropriate add-ons.

note: Las Vegas is a bastion of tract homes and is quickly becoming a city of fiefdoms all separated by gates and landscaping, but there are a few historic districts worth checking out where homes were built with a unique identity and adhered to a style that isn't tile and stucco.

  January 7, 2008 | Comments (2)