B+A Greater Boston - August 2019
Copy featuring Archwright Homes and Estate Management
B+A Greater Boston - June 2019
Page 10. Copy featuring J.P. Gallagher Construction and Development.
B+A Greater Boston - April/May 2019
Copy features Out of the Woods Construction & Cabinetry, Inc
B+A Greater Boston - February 2019
Copy features Pandolfo Builders, Inc.
Set a warm and inviting harvest table this Thanksgiving with these ideas.
The harvest table is normally my favorite to decorate but I admit struggling with it this year. We’ve hosted my parents (and some version of my family) for as long as I can remember and this past year they’ve all moved across the country. Decorating the table without my mom to see it now seemed anti-climactic. And yet, with or without my family present, we’ll celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, feast on the fare, and entertain friends. I still need a dressed table.
So, no mum and da, but… I do
Welcome guests to your home with fall porch decor ideas.
We finally packed up the remnant ocean blues of summer and made fall introductions. The porch was initially reluctant to bid its vibrant friend adieu but soon warmed to the golden mums and burnished reds of autumn. When decorating outside, I go for bright. I realize many prefer the muted tones of whites and pale greens that pair nicely with that farmhouse aesthetic and I myself appreciate those color options inside where I have to work with the mess I already own. Outside though, I can be bold.
Entertain outside right through fall, by creating warm and inviting spaces.
I’m usually a hold out for Indian Summer – a true believer that it will come and temporarily relieve us of the fall chill. Not this time; fall seems to have dropped in a few weeks early. With that, comes my foreboding about the months ahead, being locked in the house with my loving but rambunctious brood. I can picture too the commotion in our kitchen, the bottleneck around the island at every future gathering we host and I long for a few more weeks with the option to push them out the back door
Showcasing Kid's School and artwork helps them feel supported and proud
With the return to school, we’ll take up arms once again. We’ll stand firm in our decision not to purchase that $100 pair of sneakers that ‘other loving and rational parents’ have graciously bought their child. So it shall be with the newest iPhone. We’ll brace ourselves for the lunch discourse that ensues daily upon unpacking the box’s nearly untouched meal. We’ll clear our calendar for back-to-school nights and sports team meetings. We’ll put the shredder on alert. For, despite this digital a
Planning Your Kitchen Remodel - Choosing Appliances •
There are a number of factors to consider in selecting those kitchen appliances that work best for your home and family while not busting your budget. Before window shopping, first know your budget for all your appliances. Having an overall budget and a price range for each respective appliance will help keep you on track. It’s all too easy to fall for the new, deluxe model and want, in that moment, to throw caution to the wind and the budget with it. If you decide to splurge on one or even tw
Planning Your Kitchen Remodel - Choosing Flooring •
The kitchen is usually the hardest working room in the home and the floor the hardest working surface. Your kitchen is the place where family and friends come together to celebrate life’s big and small moments. It is the space in which you nourish your family, where you welcome them in the morning, and reconnect with them in the evening. The kitchen floor is the backdrop for all these goings on; it need be functional and dependable. It need tie together each of the design elements you’ve agonize
Office Overhaul, Industrial Shelves, File Cabinet Facelift, File Cabinet Makeover,Bracketed Shelves
This is the third piece in the Office Overhaul Series. This is what the office looked like after we dumped the old rug and removed a ton of clutter, but before we started the overhaul.
We filled that doorway to nowhere and installed a wood-planked feature wall.
We then painted the windows and doors black. Adding this geometric, bright colored rug made the room less stark, more fun. Nice aesthetically, but where do we put the actual stuff? Storage forth.
I feel the need to say now, if you’ve
Pool Patio Makeover •
We tackled a project last summer that I was loathe to do, but after years of praying to the Yard Crasher gods to no avail, we plunged into the pool patio project. Our inground pool is surrounded by a paver patio that pre-project resembled an animal pen. By that, I mean the metal fence that runs the perimeter was very, very close, allowing just enough space for two people to pass but certainly not to comfortably seat anyone. I don’t know how it is that I cannot locate a photo of the before, to il
Office Overhaul Part II - Painting Black Windows and Doors •
As stated before, I live in a 1865 farmhouse. The decor is more traditional than modern, owing to the trend at the time we purchased our furniture. Those were carefree days: no kids devouring our time or impinging upon our decision making, and two incomes to blow on furniture we foolishly thought we’d be mad about forever. Dark days they were. (Smiley face).
The point is we live in a transient world – wanting always to be moving and exploring, discovering the next great thing, or great look. T
Office Overhaul - Wood Plank Feature Wall •
Most of the rooms in our home are lived in. Our office, however, has become an avoidance issue. With neither my husband nor myself regularly working from home, the kids now working in their bedrooms, and the desktop computer having been rendered all but obsolete, its only purpose has been that of storage. Until recently. My husband had to take a video conference call from home one day and no matter where he attempted to place his laptop in the room, there was a mountain (or more aptly a landslid
10 Tips for Tackling the Brimfield Antique Spectacular •
The Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Mass, an hour west of Boston, is the country’s largest outdoor show of its kind. It spans some 20 acres, with tents housing an estimated 6,000 vendors, to which another 200,000 antique and flea market enthusiasts flock. It is nothing short of spectacular!
It began in 1959 and has run annually since, offering three opportunities to catch the show: May, July and September. The event always runs Tuesday to Sunday, in freezing rain or sweltering sunshine. I
Save a Throne, Save the World: Upcycling •
In honor of Earth Day, this Saturday, April 22nd, I thought it apropos to talk on the topic of upcycling. Recycling we know to be the process of stripping down consumer materials to their foundation to manufacture new consumer products. Upcycling, however, puts the innovation in your hands. Find something no longer being used: a dresser, a table: update, reconfigure, repurpose and you’ve granted it new life. Sometimes, walking the aisles of big box stores -whether home improvement, furniture, or
Pretty Pantry Remodel •
Space and Storage. Everyone wants it and no one ever seems to have enough of it; excepting for the small, small-house contingent, who’ve made their tiny Murphy bed and can now lie in it. The rest of us relish our personal and family space, our work and storage spaces. Messy lives crave order in some capacity, even if only in our garage or our pantry. And no matter the Facebook impression, everyone’s got a mess.
After a home renovation a few years ago, we were left with this vacated space off ou
10 Charming Farmhouse Features •
Do you have the fever for the flavor of a farmhouse? You’re not alone. The fervor has swept the country. And why not? The farmhouse mood is easy and relaxed.
The historic farmhouse may, however, be a far cry from the image your mind conjures with its open floor plan and shabby chic flourishes. Farmhouses were historically small in scale and designed for practicality. As families and needs changed, small rooms were opened to allow for more family and multi-purpose space. Perhaps, our love of the
