Addressing house numbers

June 30, 2008

Stop a tarheel teardown

June 30, 2008

Here's your last chance to secure a home in one of Chapel Hill, NC's most affluent historic district for less than a million dollars.

Located adjacent to the quintessential college campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, in the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District, the Edward Kidder Graham House absolutely, positively must sell before late August, or face demolition by the town of Chapel Hill, which has condemned it.

Deal of the day: Home security sale at Home Depot

June 30, 2008

Home Depot is having an online sale on select home security products.

Wall-mounted hooks will hook you up

June 29, 2008

Whether you live in a large or small house or apartment every home has a spatially challenged spot that bewilders even the most creative DIYers. From narrow foyers to cramped bathrooms to galley kitchens to limited closets to overstocked garages, finding solutions to accommodate your belongings is key, and doing so with style is a plus.

To clean up and organize your clutter, wall-mounted hooks are the perfect catchall for everyday miscellany. My current philosophy is, bring the outdoors in. Coming from me, the most nature-phobic person, means I’ve found something good. 

Live Wire Farm offers one-of-a-kind, indoor/outdoor, handcrafted timber hooks that are available in Maple, Beech or Birch.

Keeping polyurethane glue fresh

June 28, 2008

I just completed a repair this morning with a bottle of polyurethane glue I opened well over a year ago. That's  pretty amazing to me. I have never been able to do this in the past. Those of you familiar with the polyurethanes, reading this post and seeing the opening photo may already know how I pulled this off.

Creative recycler: Antique wine rack

June 28, 2008

If only I had a wine cellar. Or even better, a wine store…Ok, I like the wine. Red, in particular. Point is, if I had the space, and the cash, to amass a large collection of wine, I’d display the bounty in an antique riddling rack. This rustic, white oak A-frame one comes all the way from Epernay in the Champagne region of France. It was originally used to age and ferment bubbly, but it can be used today for storing up to 60 bottles of wine, beer, or even seltzer, if that’s how you roll. While Mike Whiteside over at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, Virginia, does get more of these from time to time, he’s only got one in stock right now; $575. So if you have the room and you share my love of a good Grenache, jump on this while the gettin’s good.

Bladder control: Water mattress protects roofs

June 27, 2008

Lose a roof in a hurricane, and chances are you’ll lose the house and everything in it. That's why metal hurricane clips, the kind that anchor a roof to a house’s walls, are now required in areas threatened by these tropical windstorms. But retrofitting those clips to an existing roof - one built before the clips were mandated - is next to impossible; it’s just too hard  to reach the point where the rafters and wall plate intersect after a house is built.

The Storm Proof Roof offers an easy solution to this hurricane-retrofit dilemma by temporarily weighing down the eaves with water-filled bladders. You simply unroll the empty, 15-foot-long, nylon-and-plastic modules along the perimeter of the roof – each one weighs only 6 pounds – then pump water into them with a hose.

iLuv this slim all-in-one music and DVD player

June 27, 2008

I'm so addicted to my video iPod that I can barely go a day without it by my side. Normally, though, I only get to use it while I commute. That's why the new il255 from electronics maker iLuv caught my eye. Not only does the slim and sleek product stream audio, video, and photo files to your TV set from CDs and DVDs, it also works with iPods up to the 6th generation. Once docked in place, you can enjoy the tunes and music videos on your player from the comfort of your living room couch. This is definitely going to the top of my gadget gift wish list. Currently available for $150.

Creative recycler: EnviroMODE terrazzo made from old commodes

June 27, 2008

I've always been a huge fan of terrazzo. It's durable, easy to clean, and looks great with all kinds of decor. So when a colleague sent me a picture of porcelain terrazzo made with busted-up commodes, I sat up and took notice.

Pssst, get your heirlooms restored on a budget

June 26, 2008

Pack rats and dumpster divers take heart: You can afford to professionally restore that cool cast-off chair, table, gilded picture frame, or lamp base, since some colleges have art conservancy programs that will mend your broken heirlooms for the cost of the restoration supplies alone! Buffalo State University, in fact, invites the public to bring their languishing keepsakes to its doorstep one day each fall for possible help.