Talking Home Renovations with the House Maven

Midcentury Modern in Michigan

We've got another renovation story in this episode, a mid century modern house in Michigan. My guest is Laurie Hughet-Hiller, a Michigan architect who was lucky to find h

Residential Landscape Design

I do love talking about and thinking about residential landscape design. Steve Griggs, a straight talking landscape designer from New York, joined me to discuss one of my

How to hire the right design professional, revisited

We haven't touched on how to hire an architect or residential designer in quite a while, so here is another look at episode 68 with Jake Krowkoski. In this episode, you

Brick Colonial in Indiana

I started following Kemp Harper on Instagram a while ago, his account @thecolonial_on_park. We talked about his experience with his 1930s/40s Brick colonial in Brazil, In

Queen Anne in Pennsylvania

Frank Cesaro and Jim Jones joined me this week to talk about the project they've taken on- a Queen Anne Victorian in Scranton PA. “Frank was born and raised in New Jers

Door Refurbishment

Is your door looking a little sad and you think your only option is to replace it? I just learned that there are specialists who will take your door away and bring it bac

The Octagon House

Gabriella Somoza joined me in this episode to talk about her unusual Octagon House in Cape May, New Jersey, her love of historic preservation, interior design and advice

Insulation with Christine Williamson- revisited

This week we are revisiting episode 51. Great for women in renovations season! A listener wrote to request an episode on insulation- here it is! Christine Williamson of

Renaissance of a Maine Greek Revival

Vana Carmona tells the story her ongoing revival of a derelict Greek Revival house in Maine. We talked about clearing up titles, the importance of understanding budget

Environmentally Friendly Renovations, revisited

This episode we are revisiting episode 9 with British architect Debbie Bentley. Designing your house for the future: Build less Do you really need to build more and in

Gender Roles in Home Renovations

Mona Ying Reeves, architect, renovation coach and serial renovator, joins me in this episode to talk about gender roles in home renovations. How can we change the dynamic

Empowering Women to DIY revisited

In 2021 I interviewed designer Cara Newhart about her mission to empower women to tackle home improvement and renovation projects on their own. I'm glad to revisit this i

If and How to Start a Renovation

This episode is advice from just me, answering a listener's question about how to know if he should undergo a renovation at his house and how to start if he decides that

Pretty Good Renovation Revisited

We revisited episode 62 this week, 2 years later. High Performance Architect Emily Mottram joins me in this episode to talk about the renovation she is undertaking at her

Renovating and Renting Out Historic Properties

Laura Parrish is my guest this week, talking about her historic Massachusetts properties. She bought her 1855 Italianate mansion in New Bedford about 10 years ago, and is

Return on Investment Revisited

This week we revisited an episode from November 2021 on Return on Investments when it comes to renovations. I interviewed her about 6 months before we sold our house and

Podcasting and Old Houses

My guest this week is Katelyn Parker, an architect and podcaster working in Tulsa Oklahoma. Katelyn was my guest back on episode 54 discussing the renovation of her home

Storm Damage- Roofs and Preparation

Homes everywhere are susceptible to some sort of natural disaster. Carl Dugas of Storm Guard Roofing in Louisiana provides a firsthand account as to what recovery looks l

Modern Living in Old Houses

The last episode of season 5 is a new renovation story. Sarah and Kevin unexpectedly fell in love with an Italianate house a few hours from Toronto, which started their s

Condo disaster with a happy ending

We are taking a break for a few weeks and revisiting renovation stories from the past few years. This one is a cautionary tale with a happy ending, originally published a