Chilling out on A/C Cranking the central air yet? We all know it’d be better not to heat up the planet just to cool our houses. Here are the best strategies for minimizing your house’s solar gain in summertime, courtesy of Reed Muehlman, a designer with Bushman Dreyfus. This way, you won’t need to […]
Chilling out on A/C Cranking the central air yet? We all know it’d be better not to heat up the planet just to cool our houses. Here are the best strategies for minimizing your house’s solar gain in summertime, courtesy of Reed Muehlman, a designer with Bushman Dreyfus. This way, you won’t need to […]
“It was freaky,” says Marijean Jaggers, describing the point in her life when she began working at home. It was early 2006 and her husband had been transferred from St. Louis to Charlottesville; she’d decided she would keep her job with a public relations firm and telecommute from her new home in Hollymead. Friends kept […]
Clear the decks Question for Bates McLain, general manager of Spray and Wash: What are the best ways to maintain a wooden deck? Answer: The biggest mistake people make when cleaning a deck is using bleach, says McLain. “It breaks down the lignin, which holds the wood fibers together, causing the wood to fall […]
Spring chicken If you want to feed yourself and your family, reduce the number of bugs in your yard, and find a good home for your food scraps, consider the humble chicken as a backyard pet. Chickens have been domesticated for thousands of years, and whether bred for meat or for egg production, they […]
Summer’s easy Now that daffodils have faded we are faced with the telling dilemma of what to do with all that lush foliage. Whack it down immediately? Twist and tie it into cunning little braids or loops? (Gardening personality hint: If you have the time and patience for this, you might also enjoy training […]
When Elizabeth Birdsall was a young girl, growing up in Florida, she would spend summers in a cabin on family land in western Albemarle. It’s a lush spot along a small river—a leafy contrast to the more settled area where she lived the rest of the year. She and her sister used to spend hours […]
For situations like the current credit crisis, there are always two stories. You’ve got your long story of the economic drivers and credit-market discombobulations, one that recently took NPR’s “This American Life” an entire hour to explain. Then there’s the short story: I’ve got a mortgage that—very soon—I will be unable to afford. People who […]
In 1975, Nellysford native Frederick Pershing Phillips began work on a tiny shopping center right off Rte. 151 where he once ran a fruit stand, selling bushels of apples for $3. “I dug the foundation with a roto-tiller,” he says. “My uncle and I built the cinder-block, I helped a neighbor do the plumbing.” Four […]
You’ve probably seen this house; it begs to be noticed by drivers coming down the steep bend on W. High Street. The stucco exterior is a break from your more typical brick and vinyl, and it gives the place a slightly Old World vibe. (Prosecco, anyone?) Everything stands out here—from the carefully groomed plantings to […]
Friend of ABODE reveals how to go green around here: Better World Betty green living made easier in the Charlottesville area