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Casa Verde: Greening Old Homes
Richard Moe, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recently wrote an article for The New York Times, This Old Wasteful House, outlining the benefits of greening old homes instead of building newer homes.
In the article, he asserts:
Never before has America had so many compelling reasons to preserve the homes in its older residential neighborhoods. We need to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Definition: Insulation
Insulation is a category of materials used in homes and other buildings to help them retain heat (or more technically, to help them resist the flow of heat).
The effectiveness of insulation is measured by its "R-Value." The higher a material's R-Value, the better it resists the flow of heat, and therefore, the better it insulates the building.
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How-To: Insulate Your Water Heater
Even though we've already wrapped up (har har) House Warming month, I thought I'd show you how to insulate your water heater. After all, Winter's still ahead of us, as are those expensive heating bills. This project improves your hot water efficiency by keeping water in the pipes warmer, delivering hotter water when you run the hot faucet.
Would You Buy a Fixer Upper?
When you have more skills than funds, a fixer-upper can be the perfect solution to your housing dilemmas. Talented home renovators can avoid the costs associated with hiring workers to put in wood floors, replace cabinets, and tear out walls.
My brother and sister-in-law are currently fixing up their farmhouse, and have just laid red oak floors throughout the living space.
Nice and New: Gardener's Fall Finds
Vermont-based gardening company Gardener's is one of my absolute favorite resources for gardening and landscaping supplies and advice. I recently received its Fall catalog in the mail, and I was impressed with all of the great Fall-related gardening finds that are currently available through the retailer.
I'm totally coveting this Orchard Rack ($99.95).
Casa Quickie: Mulch Your Fall Leaves
When your trees' leaves have all fallen to the ground, it's customary to bag them up to be hauled away by your garbage man. But before you go there, consider mulching them to help enrich or insulate your soil. To turn them into mulch, all you have to do is run your lawn mower over them, which acts like a food processor! It helps to spread them out in long rows instead of one big clump.
Kate's Chic, Budget-Beautiful Sun Room
Kate Abney, an editor at Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine, recently sent me a TwitPic of her fabulous sun room. I asked her if she'd send me a few more photos, and some background on her room and decorating style, and she graciously obliged.
Kate's apartment is on the second floor of a large, historic (1916) yellow-brick apartment building in the heart of midtown Atlanta.
Home Away From Home: A Wigwam Holiday
Want a cheap vacation? Well, if you're a Brit, you can take your family on a wigwam holiday. Apparently, in-country vacations are increasingly popular on that side of the pond, due to the economic recession.
Home Away From Home: The Maidstone in East Hampton
If you live in the New York metro area, you know very well of the Hamptons' reputation as THE place to be in the summertime. If not, you've probably caught a glimpse of the glory of the Long Island townships in movies like Something's Gotta Give and Grey Gardens. Unless you're a lucky dog who owns a home in the popular seaside locale, most visitors rent a Summer share or score a bed with a friend, as hotels in the area tend to be overpriced and lacking in looks (and personal BBQ grills).
Casa Verde: Greening Your Heating
Casa reader and TeamSugar member Tdamji writes an excellent green living blog called Minimal Harm. She tells me that she'll be officially launching a new version of the blog in early 2008, which I'm very excited about. Tdamji recently posted about greening your heating, which she adapted from a Treehugger post.
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