Home & Garden
Old meets new in this project on Windsor Lane, an example of a project deemed a successful compromise by the then-preservation planner and the projectÕs architect. A home from the 1920s was combined with new construction. (Photo by MICHAEL HASKINS)
Fran and Bob Decker bought their home on Elizabeth and Southard streets in Key West because of the neighborhood’s historic appearance and the city’s Historic Architectural Review Committee’s commitment to keep that look from changing.
Posted - Sunday, October 12, 2008 04:00 AM EDT
A Middle Keys home staged to be more attractive to potential buyers. (Photo courtesy Wanda Brock, Coldwell Banker Schmitt)
You’ve listed your home for sale and now you wonder if a little (or a lot) of touching up is in order. What kinds of things can be done to make a house and property more attractive to a Keys buyer? Which home improvement projects yield the most bang for the buck? Is there a return on investment on fixing up costs?
Posted - Sunday, October 12, 2008 04:00 AM EDT
When times get tough, homeowners may be tempted to skimp on home maintenance to save a buck or two.
Posted - Sunday, October 12, 2008 04:00 AM EDT
Habitat for Humanity ReStore Manager Tom Greenwood says the china pieces in the case in front of him are collectibles.
Florida Keys homeowners, renters and do-it-yourself aficionados take note: if you’re in the market for affordable household furnishings, appliances or remodeling supplies, you need not drive to the mainland to score a bargain. Chances are good that your friendly neighborhood thrift shop, outlet, secondhand store or recycling group has just what you’re looking for, and at a price that won’t require you to seek a government bailout.
Posted - Sunday, October 12, 2008 04:00 AM EDT
Many Keys homes are on stilts, making it difficult for residents to get up and down stairs. One solution is a stair glider that moves a chair up and down an incline. (Photo by MICHAEL WELBER)
In August, Marathon resident Robert Giffen fell and broke his hip. For most people that would be a serious inconvenience. For Robert, who is elderly, it meant spending a considerable amount of time in a nursing home in the Upper Keys. Now his wife, Lois, who must travel the 40 miles to see him, needs to find a way to make it possible for her husband to live at home.
Posted - Sunday, October 12, 2008 04:00 AM EDT
Tiny white blooms appear on Spanish stoppers, a native species of small tree, around this time of year.
Outdoor notebook: Lots of summer weather left
In many places, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, or at least a strong indication that the warm season is winding down.
Posted - Friday, August 29, 2008 07:00 AM EDT
Tony and Cyndi Chatman
(Photo by BERT BUDDE)
Georgia duo crafts dramatic redo
A couple featured in September’s Architectural Digest for the redo of their Georgia home are already deep into the redo of their next project, their new home on Georgia Street in Key West.
Posted - Sunday, August 24, 2008 10:28 AM EDT
Container gardening works just about anywhere, as this Boot Key Harbor boat slip shows.
Container gardening
When we bought our first Keys home – a condo that was part seasonal rental, part weekend getaway — gardening was out of the question. A few years later, our first Keys house came with a yard full of limestone cap rock and very little topsoil.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
Winning fruit at the 2007 Tropical Fruit Fiesta.
Tropical fruit
The warm ocean currents surrounding the southern tip of Florida create a climate ideal for growing nutritious, delicious tropical fruits. Many of these fruits cannot be grown anywhere else in the continental United States.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
Ikebana uses a wide range of materials besides flowers in arrangements, says expert Miekeo Kubota.
Bringing East and West together through flowers
While American gardeners who create flower arrangements in their homes tend towards large and lush arrangements, the tradition in the Far East is much different. Their style, particularly in Japan, tends toward a spare and much simpler, style. Often the approach is integrated with the flower arranger’s own spiritual life.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
