On A Mission...

The Beauty Is in the Details in This Mission-Craftsman–Style Home Written by Jeanine MatlowPhotography by Douglas Hill Sometimes an opportunity comes along that is simply too good to pass up. That was the case for Venice, California–based architect Lewin Wertheimer and his clients, who were collaborating on a remodel/addition project when a double lot became available across the street. After careful consideration,...

The Far Reaching Benefits of Trees...

Albert Einstein once observed, “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago-and the second-best time is now.” For being a nuclear physicist and not a landscape architect, he certainly had that theory right. Einstein surely wasn’t alone in his appreciation of trees and his understanding of their importance in our landscapes and our lives. Everyone loves to sit under the shady canopy of a mature tree...

The Big Picture...

A Manor Style Home in the Midwest Settles into Its Surroundings with the Help of Visbeen Associates Written by Jeanine Matlow Photography by William J. Hebert While the contents of a home may be considered the core, nothing sets the tone like the exterior. In the case of this abode in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wayne Visbeen, AIA, IIDA, managed to give his client a beauty that will stand the test of time. The president of...

A Home-Grown Park in Pittstown...

A New Jersey landscape design specialist incorporates more than one hundred types of plants to create a park-like landscape surrounding his home.   WRITTEN BY MARESA GIOVANNINI PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAY ROSENBLATT   “A landscape can be an evolving thing, and there’s no need to feel this sense of forcing it,” says Howard Roberts.“Sometimes things reveal themselves that you didn’t even expect by being a little...

Owning a Home Essential to the American Dream, Sur...

RISMedia, June 10, 2011—Despite the ups and downs of the housing market, home owners and non-owners alike consider owning a home essential to the American Dream. That’s the key finding of a recent survey of people likely to vote in 2012 that was conducted on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Va., and Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C. “The...

Keeping Your Home Cool in the Hot Summer Months...

As the temperature rises, so does the cost of cooling your home, especially if you use an air conditioner. Obviously, the best way to keep your home cool during the summer is to use an air conditioner to keep the temperature down, but there are other options that don’t raise your energy bill quite significantly. Air conditioners may offer tempting temporary relief from summer heat, but they’re a huge environmental no-no....

April Housing Numbers Show Hints of Progress...

RISMEDIA, May 10, 2011—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the April edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. Officials caution that the latest housing figures underscore fragility in the housing market and highlight the importance of the Administration’s...

6 Mistakes Made by Home Sellers...

Selling a home during this real estate downturn can be stressful on the seller. It’s not unusual for some homes to sit on the market for months on end, and many areas are still working through a backlog of foreclosure inventory, which also drives down home prices. Fact: 36 percent of homes nationwide sold for a loss in January. As we enter spring’s home shopping season, buyers are in the driver’s seat in many markets,...

Home Improvements for $1,000 or Less...

Make Over Cabinets, $1,000 Give your dowdy kitchen cabinetry a lift with paint and new hardware. Proper preparation — cleaning, sanding, priming and painting with an oil-based or 100% acrylic paint — is key to a good-looking, long-lasting result. Using a paint sprayer helps, too (rent one from a paint or home-improvement store). Pros charge an average of $547 to do the job with one coat of paint on 150 square feet...

Use Your Home’s Curb Appeal to Create a Grea...

RISMEDIA, March 9, 2011—(MCT)—Now that virtually all the winter’s snow has melted (in some areas of the country) and it’s easier to navigate the streets, let’s consider something calculated to get people slamming on the brakes: curb appeal, that special something that makes prospective buyers stop for a better look at a house for sale. In normal market times, the National Association of REALTORS®, 49% of buying...