
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.

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.