New Jersey is calling!  Here’s a tip on a great new vintage home store in Midland Park, which is a bit northwest of Paramus.  Provisions Home and Garden opened just last week and already, I want to live in the store. No really, they have it set up with sundry mid century living room scenarios that are far too inviting for a retail shop.  Why would customers ever want to leave?

But it IS a store and they sell fabulous things.  Like that tempting pinball machine. $1250 in great shape except for one busted bumper.  The bumper is in one piece.  It’s the electronics that need some fixing.  In any case, I can’t even begin to tell you the pinball envy I experienced.

The vinyl floor mats range from $138-$578.  Reminiscent of vintage linoleum, they will be the highlight of any room.  Mark my words.  Even in a big, gorgeous space such as theirs with awesome furniture, my eyes went directly to the fabulous floor.

The furniture was carefully curated and completely clean.  Everything had great lines and complimented each other.  Some painted pieces are scattered about so everything is not monochrome wood tone.

Owners Catherine and Michael are from the area and it’s clear that they put their all into the shop.  For a place that looks so high end, the prices are certainly fair enough.  Less affordable than say, Goodwill, but it’s not out of line with the quality of the merchandise and didn’t even scare off this cheap bitch (frugal shopper).

Oh, and I know this sounds like an advertisement, but please don’t confuse my inspiration with a sales tactic.  They have great smaller gifty items for Mother’s Day.  Just sayin’.

The post Mid Century in New Jersey appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Ah, it was only a few weeks ago that I was saying it wasn’t worth it to schlep for miles to shop for salvage. Well, then I lost a bunch of stuff due to the storm. Now that I have to shop all over again, I seem to have forgotten my own advice.

And so I was off to southern NJ and Philadelphia yesterday.

My first stop was Recycling the Past in Barnegat, NJ. The town is chock full of antique shops and when I pulled up to this particular architectural salvage oasis, it did not disappoint. It was like being a kid in a candy shop (see photos)! Only when I found out the prices I realized that mommy didn’t give me enough money to buy any candy. That’s not to say they are overpriced, but their prices are more on par with some of the larger Manhattan places rather than the salvage guys I’m used to in Brooklyn.

Light fixtures were in the $200’s-$1000’s. Some were really beautiful and well worth it, but when you’re working with a negative $15k budget, you ain’t buying thousand dollar light fixtures. Not that I do anyway because I am a bargain diva. Claw foot tubs in bad shape were $400. You can get one for half that at Vaccaro’s and even less at Eddie’s.

So why do I travel? Because those guys don’t have some of the newer crap that I need. Tiles and molding in semi decent shape. Kitchen cabinets. I have yet to luck out at Build it Green on those items. BTW, I’m not too impressed with BIG Gowanus prices, so I usually stick to Astoria.

In Philly, I went to a ReStore and the Urban Artifacts Warehouse which looked closed. I walked in and a couple of guys moving furniture said I probably shouldn’t be there. I didn’t argue since I realized it was one of the higher priced salvage shops anyway.

It was actually the Bucks County Restore where I hit the kitchen cabinet jackpot. Well, as much of a jackpot that I could fit into my Rav 4. So, all in all, I came back with 2 base cabinets for $55 and spent about $65 in gas and tolls.

You do the math. Yeah, I know.

The post Another Salvage Trip appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

New Jersey is known for many things…Snookie, high hair, garbage aroma, The Sopranos. Well, Bergen County (BTW, Blue Laws still exist-everything closes on Sunday!) came up with a brilliant idea this year.

The county, having reached their snow removal budget, opted for a less expensive alternative to salting the roads. Pickle juice! It seems the salt in the brine will do the trick. Sounds like an awesome idea considering it’s inexpensive (if you eat a lot of pickles) and environmentally friendly.

The problem is, your sidewalk may smell of vinegar. Not a problem if you live in NJ, because it’s probably not noticeable over all the other smells. Bada-bum!

One commenter on the CNN post I lifted this from suggested sea salt as that is free and plentiful. If you live near a beach, there ya go.

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Last we checked on Craig and Yvonne’s Victorian House, it was on the market for $799k. Well, it looks like it’s still up for grabs. Down to $699k. Totally worth every penny, but alas…still not affordable for the likes of moi.

But here’s the good news! Craig has gone pro. Blackstone Architectural Restoration LLC works in Central Jersey. There’s not much on their website yet, but hello, have you seen his house? I’d say this guy does meticulous work.

Check out the video walk through of their house. It will bring tears to your eyes.

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Jude Chavez was born with 5P- Sydrome aka Cri du Chat. Fortunately for him and others like him, his parents are taking positive steps to educate the public and increase awareness about the disorder. So, how did they get The Beat to play their benefit? Jude’s mother, Barbara, a long time fan, just approached the lead singer, Dave Wakeling and asked him after a concert last year. And he said yes!

Dave Wakeling will be on hand for photos and autographs for a donation. You can also bid to perform with the band! How cool is that? Tickets are $75 for this event and $25 for the regular concert on other nights. But I know you’ll splurge for this because you’re not selfish bastards.

So come, see a great concert (They are terrific in concert!), meet the band, dance, nosh, schmooze and do it all in the name of a good cause!

The post The English Beat for a Good Cause appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Craig and Yvonne’s Victorian home is up for sale! I read about it on Brownstoner, of all places, a Brooklyn centric blog. I have a love/hate relationship with Craig and Yvonne even though I’ve never met them. I’m just sooo damn jealous that they have such a beautiful home that they’ve actually finished. Finished?! That’s unheard of in my world!

The Fanwood, NJ house is listed at $799k with Burgdorff Realtors. The 1875 six bedroom single family sits on 0.35 acres with taxes listed at $11,633. The restoration is friggin impeccable! Go to their website and check out the before and afters. These people are mad! Mad, I tell ya!!

I’d move to NJ for this. Who’s buying?

The post Holy Crap, Look What’s For Sale! appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

1993

I put a bunch of old friends to work for me so I can come up with a quickie post for today. This is a completely unscientific survey of native New Yorkers from all 5 boroughs. They are all close to my age (early 40’s).

These were the questions asked:

1. Best affordable neighborhood
2. Where would you live if you could afford any nabe?
3. Favorite restaurant
4. Old NYC or Gentrified?
5. Best weekend getaway
6. Best kept NYC secret

The results varied widely, especially for restaurants, but there were a couple of things most people agreed on.

1. No two people chose the same affordable neighborhood. Some surprises were the Upper East Side and South Beach, Staten Island. There was an Inwood and a Washington Heights. At least that’s close. One person didn’t want to tell, because then it wouldn’t be affordable while another said there weren’t any affordable neighborhoods left.

2. Upper West Side wins! Only one person responded with the same answer to questions 1 & 2 and that answer was Crown Heights. The rest of us would rather be someplace else. Very telling. One smart ass said Paris.

3. Ok, so did I really expect to get 2 people to agree on a restaurant with all of the fine dining establishments NYC has to offer? Old Town Bar, Friend Of A Farmer and La Palina in Gravesend were among some of the answers. A Brooklyn restaurant, Al Di La, was one Manhattanite’s favorite. The same wise ass who gave us Paris said Papaya.

4. Overwhelmingly…..Old! One person said old, but with good restaurants.

5. Mostly upstate. It ranged from Dutchess to The Catskills to Ithaca and Oneonta. Only a couple of people said Long Island and a few were adventurous enough to get out of New York state for the weekend.

6. There are no secrets left! Nearly everyone agreed to that.

My answers?

1. Bed Stuy
2. West Village
3. Hangawi
4. Old!
5. Catskills
6. Used to be the Coney Island flea markets, but they no longer exist.

Ok, now that the natives have spoken….what are your answers? And let us know how long you’ve been in NY.

The post Native New Yorkers Surveyed appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

$ 179k: Crown Heights Studio

So this is what $179k buys you in Brooklyn these days. A 410 foot studio on Utica Avenue. Well, at least it’s renovated. Open house this weekend.

$ 189k: Kew Gardens 1 BR

Nicely done FSBO site. The descriptions sounds like agent-speak 101 though. Anyway, we’re talking about the apartment, not the site, so….. looks nice. Kew Gardens=not too shabby. This is a coop, not a condo. 100 amp service. Does that mean the whole building has to agree to upgrade? Perhaps a silly question, but I don’t know from coops.

$189,488: Parkchester 2 BR

Lemme tell you something. You really get your money’s worth in Parkchester. 2BRs right near the subway and all amenities. The buildings seem well cared for. If I was looking to buy my first place and I wasn’t so anti-condo, I’d consider Parkchester. Are those floors polished concrete?

$199k: Jersey City 1 BR

Hey, look at that! Da kid is getting out of the boros. See? I told you this is a tri-state blog! So, I heard JC is cool. This says it’s near Lincoln Park and the Path train. Looks like a lovely pre-war building that hasn’t been all modernized.

$139k: 3BR Condo Alternative

This came up under my condo search. Now, who wouldn’t want to live on a house boat? Forget what I said about Parkchester. If I was buying my first place, this would TOTALLY be it! I could’ve sworn I saw this ad awhile ago and the fact that the photos are not current probably means I’m correct. Maybe it never sold. Or it sold and the new owner couldn’t deal with it. Whatev. Who cares? I want it! I’d so be at KPD every night. And morning. Maybe lunchtime too. Not that I’d ever live in Mill Basin if I had to live on land.

The post Condos & Coops Under $200k appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Yeah, I like to travel BIG just as much as anyone. But sometimes an overseas vacation is more stressful than it’s worth. That’s why I’m a huge fan of local travel. Just go. Get out of the city for a few days. No better way to relax. Instead of my usual “Weekender” post, I’ll let you do your own research. Here are some planning resources for ya….

GORP covers the great outdoors. The site lists activities on Long Island, in NJ and Upstate. For those of you who can’t get away, there are resources for biking, kayaking and horseback riding right in the city.

EscapeMaker isn’t greatly informative, but it does cover lots of ground. A nice place to start before narrowing down where it is you want to go.

I Love NY. Who doesn’t?

Discover Long Island here.

And New Jersey here.

Retreats for the highly stressed.

Or follow the culture.

Parent Zone has a nice guide for child friendly weekend trips.

And Blue Sky Dogs is a travel agent. For dogs.

Cyberrentals and VRBO are THE two vacation rental sites. Filter by price, kids, pets, area, etc.

Have fun!

The post Weekend Planning Resources appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Author: Brett

We did not take the house in Westfield, NJ.

We had eventually agreed on a price, after the owners left us hanging all week. In turn, we left them cooling their heels while we called the town’s tax offices and made sure that their many renovations would neither raise our taxes nor cause the new additions to be ripped out due to a lack of permits (Shh! they had filed for some, but not all).

We weren’t sure why a house this good was sitting for so long. Sure, it was overpriced, but maybe there was something more? We checked out Property Shark and discovered that the current owners had purchased the property in July of ’06, but were already putting it back on the market in June of 2007. Suddenly, the house seemed like the one empty seat on a packed subway train—you slide into it before thinking—only to discover the big wad of gum that’s been stuck to it the entire time. Still, we did our homework and couldn’t find anything wrong.

Were we just stressed because the agent was pushing us to sign the contract before a second look? But in the end, the queasy feeling that Andrew had about living in New Jersey or about the commute (he had to transfer at Newark), or whatever it was that gave him that pit in his stomach took over.

Andrew wanted my opinion—what should we do? This was the third house that we had tried to buy in Westfield, and each time we thought we might get it, Andrew got that sinking feeling. Should I be like my mother had been to my father and guilt him into it? After all, I’ll be the one spending my days lugging laundry baskets up and down the stairs in that house, stocking up on teething biscuits and Pringles in town, and pushing our SUV-like double stroller up and down the sidewalks while he’ll be clicking the mouse in his mid-town Manhattan office 5 days a week, 9:00-5:30. As long as he has his plasma in his media room, he’ll be just fine, right?

Well, I just could not. Call it evolution. In my mind, it didn’t matter that I could have lived there. If both of us weren’t crazy about the venture, I assume it just won’t work. This, by the way, must be the definition of love. Either that or stupidity.

The kicker was that Andrew’s mother and brother also admitted that they did not want us to move to Westfield, NJ either. Guess the joke has been on me. Yes, they are a proud, but stubborn people, these Brooklynites.

So, we are benched once again. We know that we cannot afford a single family detached house in the boros, at least not one that doesn’t need a lot of work, so we thought that our next step would be to take a look at some 3 bedroom apartments. The hope is that the commute would be easier on Andrew and maybe we could avoid the 10k suburban tax bill each year.

Our first stop is Greenpoint, Brooklyn where we’ll check out some of the new constructions in the area.

The post Strike Three! appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

$289k: Upper West Side Studio

Let’s start with Manhattan. Broadway at 107th Street…awesome! Doesn’t give the square footage of this coop, but I’m assuming it’s the size of a closet. Not a walk in closet. But hey, if you just need a place to crash, this is it! I’m lovin’ this chick’s website. Adina! Is she a broker or a teen idol?

$ 300k: Ft Hamilton: 920 Sq ft, 2 BR coop

Looks like a nice renovation. They fixed up, but left some retro details. Advice to agent: Remove the litter box from the photo before taking picture. Maintenance of $668 includes gas, heat, water and tax.

$ 300k: Jersey City: 4 Family in need of TLC

The bad news is: This house hasn’t been touched for years. The good news is: This house hasn’t been touched for years. From the one interior shot it looks like there may be some detail left. Do I wear rose colored glasses or what?

$299900: Mt Vernon 3 Family

I’m drooling over this one! 3 Family, 2600 sq ft home built in 1928. Needs total rehab. Fire damage. It looks so sad and forgotten, but I see the inner beauty. Come to mamma, I’ll save you!

$297900: Beacon 2 Family

Hmm, not bad. Two 2 BR units with a little backyard. No interior shots. It’s on the “mountain side” of town as opposed to the “river side” which means nice views, pleasant area…..far walk to train.

The post What $300k Buys You In & Out of NYC appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

If the great outdoors is your thing, you might want to check out Vernon, NJ. Apart from skiing, hiking, kayaking and swimming, the town itself doesn’t offer much. Actually, I think the town center is the local A&P.

Now, this doesn’t suit me personally because I want the best of both worlds. I’d like to be able to go for a strenuous hike up a mountain and then dine in a great restaurant that evening. Oh, there are definitely ways to spoil yourself in Vernon, but where’s the village?

Vernon is 1 hour from NYC and is considered part of the metro area. It’s not really accessible by public transit. The bus goes to neighboring Warwick, NY and from there you would have to make your way over the NJ border. Taking the train sounds even more complicated. That will land you farther away in Orange County, NY.

Let’s get to some positives of Vernon Township.

42% of total 70.5 square mile area is federal or state preserved property, dedicated to the preservation of open space, natural resources, and wildlife habitat. The Appalachian Trail winds through Waywayanda State Park. The Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge offers up birdwatching, hiking and kayaking. There are a couple of stables in the area for horseback riding. Private lakes dot the area of Highland Lakes, so if you’re lucky enough to rent or own one of these homes, water access is right in your backyard.

Mountain Creek is a ski lodge in the winter and water park during the summer months. Hidden Valley’s snow sports is located on Breakneck Road. Wonder which came first…the name or the lodge? Speaking of breaking necks, see the area while in freefall with Skydive Sussex.

If pampering yourself is more your thang, there’s holistic Wildflower Spa or Crystal Springs Golf Resort. But if you’re reading this blog, the quaint Apple Valley Inn is probably more your speed.

There are farm stands, wineries and apple picking in the surrounding area. If you need the restaurants, antiques shops and galleries, Warwick, NY really isn’t far. Warwick is great!

The reason I choose to write about Vernon over Warwick this week? The house prices! Nearly $100k less.

Vernon Chamber of Commerce

The post Weekender:Vernon, NJ appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

$179k: 2BR, Needs TLC

$189.9k: 2BR Painted Log

$237.9k: 3BR Chalet

The post Vernon Listings appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

BMRA is not for profit educational and research group whose goal is to encourage the reuse of building materials during deconstruction. It is a membership based group that brings together demolition companies and recycling organizations.

So what does that mean for the homeowner? Well, the site lists state by state directories of members and non members in the business. This includes salvage companies, reclaimed lumber and demolition services.

New York
New Jersey
Connecticut

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Andrew and I have employed a couple of methods over the years in order to pinpoint the town that is right for us. Some of them are zany, like looking up the area where a certain film was shot because we liked the street or studying the train map and researching the towns within an hour’s ride from Manhattan. Then there are the times when we hear about a place through word of mouth. That’s how we discovered Cranford, NJ.

One day, I was complaining to a coworker about how long we have been looking for a house in a town with a vibrant downtown area and that we would like said house to be no more than a 20-minute walk to the train station. She mentioned that her best friend lived in Cranford in Union county, New Jersey and that it seemed to have what we were looking for.

Downtown Cranford has a varied selection of independent shops. The Rockn’ Joe Coffeehouse and Bistro is a popular place for locals seeking a caffeine fix and there’s also a chocolate shop, a stationary store, several restaurants and pub-type places in addition to other businesses.

A key feature of Cranford’s footprint is the Rahway river, which cuts through the town at several points, justifying the need for picturesque footbridges. The town boasts a bike path, which makes getting to the downtown area and its key buildings—schools, the library, and municipal buildings—easy to do on two wheels. The day we visited, we walked along the bike path.

Cranford’s housing stock includes Victorians, Cape Cods, and other post-war properties. Best of all, the prices are much more reasonable than in neighboring townships.

There is a reason, after all, why Cranford is a good bet. Although there are shops a plenty, Cranford lacks the verve of neighboring Westfield, the area’s shopping and dining destination. While it has a reputation in the county for being a quiet presence, Cranford is also a transit village, which has been working to improve the downtown area since the 1980s when they revamped the streets to restore the vestiges of its Victorian past. Up went a clock tower and period street lamps. Still, we normally make it a point to have a meal in every town we visit, but on the day we visited during Memorial Day weekend, every shop and every restaurant was closed (We visited Westfield the same day and found the opposite). Also, the same river that has given Cranford the nickname, “Venice of New Jersey” can lead to flooding problems in certain properties. Most of the town is actually in a designated flood zone. Then again, so is Manhattan.

We decided to pass on Cranford (more on that another day), but if you’re looking for more house than you can get in the five boros and you don’t mind the transfer in Newark (it’s an otherwise quick, 40 minute ride into NY Penn), then Cranford is worth a look.

Cranford Chamber of Commerce
Village Profile
Star Ledger on Cranford

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