So, there went Valentine's Day. And what are the chances of this almost divorced, hardworking, under-appreciated, mother of four being sparky about a holiday that truly only works for so few people in the universe? You're right. The chances are slim.
This historic red house which has been the Huss family home for the past 42 years, was built in 1725 by Samuel Lee, Jr., a local “housewright” who owned a large tract of land on what is now School Street.
Jen Coles takes on the decorating power of bookshelves in her column on home decorating, At Home Now.
It’s January, and what should we be doing with our homes? Oh let’s see… checking our weather stripping, analyzing our heat loss, watching for ice damns. Ugh… such drudgery. Me? Cozy, cozy, cozy! That’s all I want. Wake-me-when-its-over cozy.
See you later 2020. It’s so nice to see you go, that I almost feel bad. I was on an elevator once when someone brought on an ancient service dog that looked so sweet as he entered, but that made my eyes water by farting his way up to his floor. As he was being led out, he looked up at me as if to say, “Sorry lady, I’m just doing what I do.”
With the pandemic keeping people sheltering at home, more people are extending their outdoor time in the winter by adding fire pits, outdoor heaters and other features. Even in the wintertime, it’s important to take care of your yard.
Every family has their favorite holiday specials. Ours was A Charlie Brown Christmas, and this year it feels more poignant than ever. Here’s Charlie Brown talking to Linus: “I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.”
In 1782 this lot was owned by Mrs. Abigail Leach. Prior to the building of a house, later owners included Tyler Parsons, Nathaniel Hildreth, Horace Grosvenor and Delucena Bingham.
It's official. With "holiday season" kicking off at Thanksgiving, it's time to acknowledge that you are the boss, the leader of your home space. Act like one. You'll never feel better, writes Jen Coles in her column this week.
In the beginning we buy, and then we nest. And that can all be part of this long process of wrestling chaos to the ground. Getting organized, getting renovated, making space - they are all really important steps. But sometimes, we can try so desperately to create a place for everything and have everything in its place that we may miss out on a little bit of magic.
This pretty red house currently owned by conscientious house stewards Nancy and Don Halgren was built c. 1796. There are stories that it may have been moved from Essex, however, there is no evidence of such. Noted historian and researcher Robert Booth concludes it was likely built onsite in the post-colonial Georgian style.
I recently had some family over for dinner, COVID and all. I thought we’d eat in the living room, and had our socially distanced chairs all set up. But my guests came in as a group and while I was busy with the bustle and the greetings and the coats, they had all plopped themselves around my dining room table. It was so organic and so perfect that I just quietly swapped the buffet setup for place settings, and took a seat myself.
I had the pleasure of spending last weekend with three of my four grown children. Over breakfast we were laughing about some of their old Halloween costumes, and I was asked which one I thought was my biggest flop.
Your tired kitchen might be a trigger for your "project sprawl." Designer Jen Coles tackles how to address the tired, without the sprawl.
There are precious few things we can say are "benefits" of social distancing. One of them is a micro-group tour at Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House on Eastern Point. The Historic New England property has long been a pilgrimage for award-winning interior designers seeking inspiration and history.
Amesbury born Samuel O. Boardman was apprenticed to become a shipwright around 1816. In 1823 he moved to Manchester to begin work in Manchester’s thriving furniture making center as a cabinetmaker for John Perry Allen.
Bring it on Septober! I’m not finished with my outdoor-socially-distanced-appropriately-sized-small-gatherings yet, so your brisk weather doesn’t scare me. All I need is a good fire pit!
Why is it a she-shed and not a he-shed? Because us women have given you your man caves. And we also know that even if we had a basement woman-cave… we would still be found. There needs to be wet grass and gravel between you and someone wondering where the mustard is. And even then, there are no guarantees.
When, in 1819, John Allen bought a parcel of land fronting on what was then “High Street,” his $500 purchase bought him an elevated view to the south that was little more than marsh and cove a distant view of the ocean, where he had spent much of his life.
Sexy headline aside, today we are talking about screens. I hear you, boring, boring, boring you say. But I am championing them anyway! They are under-acknowledged, under-understood, and under-appreciated.
“Simple and True” are key design themes here. Don’t buy a cheap glass vase that is trying to be fine crystal with its scalloped rim and fluted body. Just save up and buy the fine crystal if that’s your thing. But, if you are buying cheap, do buy the one that has one idea.
The historic yellow colonial house at 13 School Street was witness to the birth of our nation. When Captain Daniel Leach built his house in 1786, the American Revolutionary War had just ended two years before (January 1784) and the new United States of America was trying to figure out how to govern itself. George Washington was not yet President and the Constitution of the United States had not yet been drafted.
I’ve designed many kitchens - and I always label and identify the junk drawer. It’s usually a pretty big one in a central location. Because our lives are filled with buttons, and pressure gauges, and rubber bands, and sharpie markers, and mystery keys.
Here we are about three months into living with our new neighbor, COVID-19. And, in some ways, we are at one of those turning points because COVID-19 will have forever changed us. Will we ever go back to giving bear hugs and kisses to those we love? (I hope so.) Will we ever go back to thinking that world events won’t affect us personally? (I hope not.) And have we forever changed the definition of "I'm at work"? (Yes, we definitely have!) So, let’s take a look at those at-home workspaces and see if they actually are where we want to work because the home office, in some form, looks like it’s here to stay.
The Queen Anne style house at 12 Bridge Street, designed by well-known architect Cornelius Russell of Roxbury, was built for Frederick J. Merrill and his wife, Mary Sayre Merrill, in 1896. Its completion was mentioned in the January 30, 1897 Cricket, which describes it as “one of the handsomest and most convenient private residences in Manchester.”
Painting may be the last thing on people’s mind. That’s a mistake, says one expert. Interior painting is one of the easiest ways to make a fresh, dramatic change for the new season. Exterior jobs stop by November, because of the cold. But fall and winter can the optimal time for interior painting. It’s easier to achieve the right balance between hot and cold temperatures that allow paint to dry and bond properly.
Stacey Clarimundo is an interior designer who in 2018 opened her studio-slash-store in Essex. We met her when asking local home design experts how they view the seasonal design reset and share some advice from them on what’s practical, what can have great impact and make a familiar environment a little more exciting.
Evelijn Rijke, owner of Cargo Unlimited in Manchester advises that using a proper design professional so it’s done right, even if it's a day-rate basis, which she says is an easier and less intimidating way to work with a designer.
Well into the new season, it’s now less “out and about,” and more “in and around.” Life at home. Entertaining. The holidays. Winter. Coziness. All that.
This marks our first foray “Home”, with two special sections before Thanksgiving with a local take on home life and food. We focused the section on the things that make our lives inside a little nicer, a little more enjoyable.
Nor’east Frameworks in Manchester is showing a series of paintings by Charlie Hunter, one of the artists who participated in the fourth annual Cape Ann Plein Air painting competition this past October. Using water-mixable oils and a tonalist technique, Hunter’s work is simultaneously journa…
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