Spaces for Life: Why you should be living in a blanket fort
By Lance McCarthy Remember the feeling you had as a child when you crawled into one? Remember the blanket fort? I remember exactly. These words weren’t in my 5-year-old vocabulary but it was a mix of safety (my brother can’t get me), adventure (uh, it is a fort after all), ownership (this is my space),
Spaces for Life: Door Hardware 101
By Lance McCarthy I have decided to bravely serve as tour guide to the home. Each month I dedicate one of my columns to illuminating some part of the house that most people might not know much about. This week’s topic is door hardware. I know–exciting! But this is the time of year that a
Spaces for Life: How to prioritize for a big project
By Lance McCarthy Ever seen the Steve Martin movie The Jerk? It has one of my all time favorite scenes. He has just told his wife he’s leaving, and he doesn’t need her or anything else…except this ash tray…and this lamp…and this chair…and that’s all!…and this remote control…and… That’s a lot like a big home
Spaces for Life: 5 Unwritten rules of construction cost that you need to know
By Lance McCarthy love Amazon. Type in something you want. Anything. Malcolm Gladwell book. Hot pockets. Dog diapers. Options instantly appear. Scroll and click. Wait two days. Open box. Done, and still in your pajamas. Magic! Easy. Predictable. Painless. Unfortunately there are things that should not be acquired on Amazon. A doctor for example. Or
Spaces for Life: Painting trim like the pros
By Lance McCarthy Ever have a room that needs painting? You stand there and think, “I can paint this. Tonight after dinner. I’ve got a brush and a roller, how hard could it be?” Famous last words. It’s happened to me too. The project always seems smallest just before you start. If that describes you,
Spaces for Life: How do we want our homes to change us?
By Lance McCarthy It seems that when we feel threatened, we tend to push people away instead of pulling them close. We often put up defenses instead of reaching out to connect. It’s natural to respond this way. Closing our eyes when we are about to be hit protects our eyes from getting hurt. But
Spaces for Life: 10 Tips to stay cool inside
By Lance McCarthy Staying cool? I didn’t think so. It is so hot that even my conservative friends are starting to reconsider global warming! This week I wanted to talk about the most important part of your house right now: your air conditioner. Don’t think it is the most important? Try turning it off. Yeah,
Spaces for Life: 5 Ways to pay for your home project
By Lance McCarthy The real test of a project is this simple question: “How are we going to pay for this?” That question has killed many a beautiful dream. But it doesn’t have to. Here are some of the best options for paying for that project. Cash I think you know how this works Credit
Spaces for Life: What to know before choosing a designer
By Lance McCarthy When you are getting ready for a project, the most important decision you will make is in picking the team. The contractor, architect and interior designer will be crucial to getting you the space you want. I’ve talked a lot about how to pick the contractor, but I wanted to share some
Spaces for Life: Some tips about where to buy material for your home project
By Lance McCarthy One of the big questions in any remodeling project is where to get the materials. Do we get the tile from one of the tile stores in town? Do we order our lights online? Should we save some money by buying our cabinets at Home Depot? There are so many opinions, I