Restoration Comedy: Phoning It In
Berkeley Daily Planet, 9/20/2010
Having returned from Indiana to a typical East Bay summer (i.e. fog, or what a friend refers to as “barbeque in a parka” weather), I’m a little testy.
Restoration Comedy: Mods and Rockers
Berkeley Daily Planet, 9/20/2010
Reporter: “Are you a mod or a rocker?” Ringo Starr: “No, I’m a mocker.” Since last October I’ve been engaged in trying to get a HAMP modification for my mortgage. Read article.
Restoration Comedy: DC or Not DC
Berkeley Daily Planet, 8/3/2010
Washington DC is a swamp in more ways than one. But an estimated 30,000 desperate homeowners have or will be coming to DC in the middle of a heat wave to attend the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America’s Save the Dream event. Read article.
Restoration Comedy: Nail Salon
Berkeley Daily Planet, 6/7/2010
Today I decided it would be easier to strip the remaining trim in my kitchen if I pried it off first, since paint insisted on remaining in the cracks between the various pieces, and responded neither to sanding, scraping, heat gunning, or paint remover. Read article.
Restoration Comedy: Trial by Modification
Berkeley Daily Planet, 5/30/2010
I'm ba-aack! And I've finally come up with an actual title for my column, which pretty much describes my life as well. I'll still mostly be writing about stuff related to old houses, though it may cross into real estate, land use, historic preservation, and whatever else the editor allows me to rant about. Read article.
Population Growth Is the Problem
Berkeley Daily Planet, 3/11/2009
When God said “Be fruitful and multiply” perhaps he should have added “within reason.” By 2050, global population will exceed 9 billion people. In California, there are already 36 million people, projected to grow to nearly 60 million by 2050. Read article.
The House that Sausage Built /Bruce Aidells builds the ultimate Craftsman, adhering to a vision he'd had in mind before the land was even purchased
San Francisco Chronicle, 09/07/08
It started innocently enough - Bruce Aidells bought some English Arts and Crafts furniture from an Oakland antiques dealer and designed his kitchen in Kensington around it...Read article.
Pondering the Pillar
Berkeley Daily Planet, 6/5/2008
In my 20-odd years of studying and writing about bungalows, there are a few questions that have not been answered to my satisfaction. One of those questions is “What’s up with the big honkin’ pillars?” Read article.
Friend or Faux? Examining the Origin of House Materials
Berkeley Daily Planet, 5/8/2008
Once upon a time, houses were built with the materials at hand, or those things that could be made using the materials at hand (concrete, for instance). Around here, that tended to be wood and masonry (stone, brick, stucco, and concrete). These days, more and more construction materials are fake. Read article.
Understanding the Virtual World of Home Price Fluctuations
Berkeley Daily Planet, 4/25/2008
If your house disappears from zillow.com, does that mean it no longer exists? Because that’s exactly what happened last month... Read article.
Where Are We Going, and Why Are We in This Handbasket?
Berkeley Daily Planet, 3/28/2008
With more bad economic news being revealed daily, I think even those of us who aren’t planning to sell, buy, or refinance a house are getting rather nervous. Read article.
The Rasputin of the Plant World
Berkeley Daily Planet, 2/1/2008
Some 10 years ago I was out in my backyard pulling up ivy. My next door neighbor was doing the same. As we both neared the fence he muttered, “Gardening in California—it’s all about killing things.” He was right. Read article.
The Dilemma of a Pink Bathroom
Berkeley Daily Planet, 10/19/2007
Pink is not my favorite color. Perhaps it comes of being a redhead—while other little girls had pink frilly dresses, mine were always yellow. Read article.
How to Tell Whether You Are An Old House Junkie
Berkeley Daily Planet, 9/14/2007
I have always enjoyed looking at houses. I think it started in my childhood, when we used to visit open houses on Sundays after church. As an adult, I have chosen a profession in which I can get access to many, many homes. Read article.
What Would Stickley Do With a Computer in the Kitchen?
Berkeley Daily Planet, 8/3/2007
Go to a kitchen showroom or a home improvement store, or open up a shelter magazine, and you will see the contemporary kitchen accoutrements that we have been convinced to lust after…Read article.
Green Envy / What are the true environmental benefits of the "green" house movement?
San Francisco Chronicle, 5/13/2007
"Green building" is the feel-good trend of the moment. Cities stipulate it, builders market it and home buyers supposedly demand it. Who could be against it? Read article.
Incorporating Modern Technology Into Arts and Crafts Interiors
Berkeley Daily Planet, 4/6/2007
It’s one of those discussions that only Arts and Crafts people would have, because we’re weird. The basic question is, “What would Stickley do with a computer?” Read article.
Just What Is a Bungalow?
Berkeley Daily Planet, 3/9/2007
It really annoys me when I see a real estate listing with a picture of a bungalow which announces something like “fabulous Victorian”—you would think there are enough bungalows around here that agents would get a clue, but apparently not. Read article.
The Hue and Cry of House Paint
Berkeley Daily Planet, 1/19/2007
Of all the things you will ever have to do to your house, deciding what color to paint the outside is one of the most difficult. Read article.
Playing The Updating Game: Part Two
Berkeley Daily Planet, 06/21/06
If there is a phrase found in a real estate listing that fills me with even more horror than “updated kitchen,” it has to be “new dual-pane windows.” Dual-pane windows are probably one of the biggest scams ever foisted off on an unsuspecting American public. Read article.
Choosing Not to Play the Updating Game
Berkeley Daily Planet, 06/21/06
We have all watched Antiques Roadshow, thus we have learned that an antique which still has the original finish, parts, and such, in good condition, is far more valuable than a piece which has been refinished, modified to hold a television, or has modern replacement hardware. Read article.
Transformations / Im-peachable offense
San Francisco Chronicle, 06/19/06
This bungalow had been, one might say, im-peached. When negotiating the deal on this Rockridge house, the owner agreed to paint the exterior before closing. Unfortunately, he chose paint colors...Read article.
Transformations / As the Twig is Bent
San Francisco Chronicle, 04/23/06
A plain white-walled bathroom with white fixtures and a single window is common to many homes, and can even be classic. But it wouldn't be quite right for a rustic style house in Lake Tahoe's Squaw Valley Resort. Read article.
Ultimate Kitchen/ Over the Top and Down the Other Side/ Or how to improve the chances of getting your super-duper kitchen into a shelter magazine.
San Francisco Chronicle, 04/23/06
I do not understand the widespread fascination with cutting-edge kitchen technology. Maybe it's because I'm holding out for the Star Trek Replicator. Anything short of being able to stand in front of the Replicator, and, like Jean-Luc Picard, utter the words, "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot." is not worth bothering with... Read article.
Transformations / A backyard makeover takes the site from ivy-clad to inviting
San Francisco Chronicle, 03/12/06
A narrow concrete patio and a steep bank covered with out-of-control ivy, overgrown agapanthus and rotting wooden retaining walls did not make for a welcoming outdoor area in the backyard of this 1950s-era house in Piedmont. Read article.
Historic buildings make city unique
Berkeley Daily Planet, 02/14/06
Since buying my first bungalow in Berkeley 19 years ago, I have restored eleven other houses, consulted on many others, and written six best-selling books about bungalows, including Bungalow Kitchens, Bungalow Bathrooms, and Bungalow: The Ultimate Arts and Crafts Home. Read article.
Modernizing the Vintage Kitchen / Or how best to avoid cognitive dissonance in design
San Francisco Chronicle, 04/24/05
All kitchen showrooms, home improvement stores and shelter magazines feature endless arrays of the contemporary kitchen accoutrements we have been convinced to lust after: restaurant stoves, built-in stainless steel refrigerators with Internet access, granite counters and so forth... Read article.
