Fab under feet Shopping for rugs is the home-decor equivalent of shopping for shoes: so much fun that it veers toward the addictive. Maybe that’s because what lies beneath has the potential to kick a room into a higher gear. Consider laying down one of these beauties on the floor of your choice. Cow-hide Duke […]
Fab under feet Shopping for rugs is the home-decor equivalent of shopping for shoes: so much fun that it veers toward the addictive. Maybe that’s because what lies beneath has the potential to kick a room into a higher gear. Consider laying down one of these beauties on the floor of your choice. Cow-hide Duke […]
Five years ago, David and Jordan Phemister were feeling pretty good about what they’d just bought: an 800-square-foot bungalow in a prime Belmont location. Built in 1920, it still had original flooring and plaster, plus a charming front porch. Though it was small, it was enough space for the two of them. The Phemisters travel […]
The biggest real estate kerfuffle of the summer—lowball appraisals. Many Charlottesville homeowners have had to shelve or cancel plans to refinance or sell their homes due to appraisals coming in much lower—sometimes as much as 12 to 15 percent—than expected. Why is this happening? Two reasons, explains Bill Hamrick, vice president and branch manager […]
Adventures in trim Top: Painting the trim pieces was half the fun. Bottom: The results made us feel all finished and stuff. We were very happy to get to the stage in our renovation where we could focus on trim. Nonessential, almost purely aesthetic, trim was a sure sign we’d made progress from our early […]
For pain-free painting Think you’re good to go with a gallon of paint and a roller brush? Think again, my painting friend. Here are a few extra tools to help smooth that paint on and save you money in the long run: 1. Painter’s tape. Run this along the tops and bottoms of your walls […]
Tray chic If you’re a true Recessionista, you know the benefits of repurposing. This month’s project, then, is tailor-made for you. What was once an old tray now becomes a kitschy—yet chic—bulletin board, complete with magnets, for all your last-minute reminders. The best part? It’s almost embarrassingly easy.—Caite White Materials: One metal tray (found […]
No surprise: Lynsie Steele, who owns the Waynesboro-based gourmet ice cream business Perfect Flavor, is a foodie. She owns four copies of Julia Child’s classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking—including one signed by Child. “I cried when Colin gave it to me,” she says. That would be Colin Steele, Lynsie’s husband. Their shared passion […]
Kluge, Sweely: Putting a cork in it Foreclosures hit two big local wineries Checking in with Green House Coffee, Shenandoah Joe, Hibachi Grill and the fate of Bel Rio. Mo’ than joe Bye bye bakery? News on Balkan Bakery, Chaps and Mellow Mushroom Countdown to Kluge auction continues Tobacco company investment rumor debunked by State […]
Don’t bug me Not that I would know from experience (wink, wink) but if you’ve got unwanted guests like ants, mosquitoes, gnats and flies in your kitchen, there are some ways to evacuate the varmints without using hazardous pesticides. One more use for Dr. Bronner’s: deterring pests. The simple solution: sanitation. You may not want […]
A few months ago, Andrew Rose Gregory woke at around 1am in the Brooklyn apartment he shares with his younger brother, Michael. He threw on an Oxford shirt and jacket, took a seat in front of a green screen, sang a few lines about global warming into his brother’s camera, and then went back to […]