Setback to where you once belonged At a recent Houses That Work seminar, where local builders gathered to learn about building energy-efficient houses, the topic of thermostat setbacks came up. Setbacks are simply the automatic settings that let you program your heat system to run cooler at certain times, like when you’re asleep or […]
Crozet’s latest LEED dwelling Back in our April issue, we wrote about a house Upstream Construction was building in Crozet for Brian and Joan Day. It’s notable not only because it’s a custom house with many green features, but because the Days are both environmental professionals who decided to open their house to the […]
Future fab This month’s surfer: Jane Fisher, CCDC executive director What’s on her browser: inhabitat.com What it is: A photo-heavy blog, coming at you live from the future of design. Green living, high-concept prefabs, interior design, super-stylish treehouses: It’s all here. You can also sign up, as Fisher did, for a daily e-mail from […]
Rain reprieve Weather comes at us fast—immediate as a hurricane—but it doesn’t last long. A month ago, we were on the verge of severe drought after an encouraging spring and early summer; yet as of this writing we’ve had several good soakings from northbound tropical storms, and all of a sudden the idea of […]
Pump it up The sun may be shining and the chiggers still biting, but when the hard squashes start to show up at City Market, get ready for the curtain to fall on the summertime show. While it’s true that squash will store over the winter (ideally at a dry cellar temperature of about […]
Flood relief Question for Debbie Halhoun with Floors are Us: What should you do if you spill water on a wood floor? Answer: “Get it dry, get it quick,” should be your motto, says Halhoun. While damage is preventable, a speedy response is your best chance at saving your hardwood floor from tragedy. […]
We appreciate subtlety now and then, and this place in Johnson Village has it in spades. Seemingly a standard rancher given some tasteful Craftsman-style updates, it wears its flared porch columns and front roof gable with a quiet pride. Ornamental trees help it blend with its setting, and the low, mostly rail-less porch—furnished with […]
Buh-bye, brand names Your bathroom’s an eyesore. You’ve got that unavoidable array of brightly colored plastic bottles, with a hoorah to every hygienic brand out there. And that Dial Vanilla Honey Body Yogurt? It’s a body wash, not a snack for the shower. Fortunately for all us brand name stockpilers, debrandedhome.com offers us a […]
Simply slip it on Question for John Floyd, designer at The Second Yard: How do you pick the right slip cover for your couch? Answer: “You know you’ve got the perfect slip cover when it looks like upholstery,” Floyd says. Whether you choose to have a slip cover custom made for your sofa or […]