Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
If your renovation is costing more than you paid for your house, something is wrong. You shouldn’t have to sell your first born to update a home. Sure, there are certain large ticket items you wouldn’t want to skimp on….roof, windows, facade, boiler, structural. But semi-skilled work? Come on. As you know, I’m a big… Continue reading Renovating on a Tight Budget
Now that we’re getting down to the wire on the renovation, I’ve been too tired, busy and stressed to blog effectively. I may have to throw in some cheater posts (like this one). Reclaimed Post, if you will. Not Your Average Stencils. Coolest Furniture Ever. Barbi’s Dream House. Upcycled Furniture. Lighting Countertops.
How to Build a Dog Gate. This Old House DIY Concrete Countertops. Charles and Hudson How to Make a Pillow Case. Brick City Love DIY Solar Panel Video. Solar Power Homz
Hey, dy’all know about Old House Web? It’s a mega website that has just about any information you need to find on older homes. Although some of it is paid advertising (no problem with that-they have to make money), there are blog posts and diy tips that are pretty handy. My favorite section of the… Continue reading Old House Web
When reader Amanda wrote to me asking for recommendations on what to do with her 1950’s kitchen, I said “Let’s see some pictures!” So here they are. Leave your own ideas in the comments. Here’s my input: I still dream about those cabinets from this post and I think Amanda has to go PINK,… Continue reading Pimp My Kitchen
This month’s quick, cheap and easy DIY counter top choice comes from The Hardware Aisle. What is it? Plywood! There’s no need to remove your existing counter top to feed the landfill. Furniture grade veneer can be affixed to existing material. Edges should consist of solid wood and surface can be coated for protection. Full… Continue reading Plywood Countertop
Emilia will be working with me every Sunday. The coldest day of the year didn’t keep people away from the Brooklyn Flea. What happened to the sun yesterday?! Man, was it cold out there!!! So, that’s my excuse for this semi lame post you are about to read. I didn’t get around the whole market… Continue reading Brooklyn Flea: And So It Begins
VitraStone manufactures sinks, countertops and tiles. The material looks like concrete, but in fact it’s a blend of ceramic cement, fly ash and recycled glass. 70-85% of the material is recycled glass. The glass is pulled from the local recycling center. It’s crushed there and then delivered to the VitraStone facility. The fly ash used… Continue reading VitraStone Eco Friendly Surfaces
Bamboo flooring is the choice for many a green renovation. Personally, I haven’t gotten used to the look of it. I prefer classic looking floors that have withstood the test of time. I mean style wise, not durability. Since bamboo is probably here to stay, let’s take a look at the pros and cons, shall… Continue reading Bamboo Flooring
Yes, we live like this. And we have for years. If you’re a germaphobe, please look away now. Our long term plan is to completely redo the kitchen. We’ll probably end up adding an extension as the layout here is difficult to get around. There are windows and doors in every wall. It would be… Continue reading Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen
Caroling. Ribbon cutting. Blessings. Nine new affordable condos in Bed Stuy are complete now, thanks to Habitat for Humanity. Each owner contributed 300 hours of labor with help from 4,000 skilled volunteers. Habitat hired a professional contractor for the exterior, core and shell of the buildings. The owners learned skills while basically building their own… Continue reading Habitat’s Eco Homes In The Stuy
Via Get With The Green Meld USA, a concrete manufacturer out of North Carolina launched a line of recycled concrete countertops a few month ago. Eco X is comprised of 76% recycled content from post-consumer bottle glass and post-industrial fiberglass in a cement base. The raw material used in the process comes from suppliers located… Continue reading Eco X: Recycled Concrete
Via Moco Loco 3 Form is the manufacturer of many products: beautiful countertops, backsplashes, room dividers, furniture, hardware and even jewelry. Furthermore, they use a variety of materials, such as resin, glass and gypsum, which makes it difficult to roll into one tidy blog post. So let’s just focus on the company. 3 Form is… Continue reading 3 Form Eco Friendly Material Solutions
Debra Salomon, the principal of 408 Design Group who organized Anatomy’s events, presented with Pietro Calabretta, owner of All Renovation, NY. The two have partnered on several projects. Pietro spoke of the Greenstone Project, at 695 Degraw, which he worked on with Eitan Baron. The home features Caesarstone countertops, dual flush toilets, energy star appliances… Continue reading Anatomy of a Brownstone:Salvage Design
If you think I’m not going to take advantage of the holiday to get a couple of days off, you’re wrong. The readership for this blog has been slowly climbing since we launched in September. That means many of you weren’t around since day one. Take this opportunity to catch up on everything you’ve missed.… Continue reading Review and Surprise Quiz