The Making Home Affordable endeavor offers homeowners assistance in creating their mortgages more affordable and preventing foreclosure. MHA is jointly run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development… [Continue Reading]
In its first sense, pickling — such as whitewashing — is a means to preserve wood by coating it with caustic lime. The coat creates a translucent finish that enhances… [Continue Reading]
Flax lilies (Dianella spp.) and sweet flags (Acorus spp.) Resemble each other superficially because both have a somewhat grasslike aspect with clumping growth. They differ from each other in most… [Continue Reading]
Our son and daughter-in-law just bought their first home. It is in a location that makes it possible for an easy sail to Boston, where our son operates, and is… [Continue Reading]
I am constantly on the lookout for native plants I don’t find in gardens but that I do see outside in the wilderness. Ironweed is a unique plant that is… [Continue Reading]
The allure of raised garden beds is not new, and although they are remarkable focal points, their roots are a lot more practical than aesthetic. Raised beds were originally created… [Continue Reading]
Just like with any inside area, a gorgeous backyard is about those personal touches. Unlike with living rooms, however — in which furniture swaps and family accessories make a large… [Continue Reading]
A dado is a channel cut throughout the width of a plank. It can be made with a dado blade set designed for a table saw or a router with… [Continue Reading]
Renovations to this colonial-style home in the 1970s and ’90s had left some strangeness inside. “The home had grand spaces, 10-foot ceilings and five fireplaces, although not the ideal kind… [Continue Reading]
I’m not talking modern tropical or rattan furniture. I am discussing the lush, steamy, full-to-bursting appearance of the jungle. Pattern on pattern, green anywhere. Big, bold blossoms and layer upon… [Continue Reading]