Posted on Mar, 11th 2013 By Susan Bady
Last June, Retrofit Chicago’s Commercial Buildings Initiative was launched as part of the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge. Today 32 buildings are participating in the CBI, a voluntary effort to increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings larger than 200,000 square feet. The
Posted on Mar, 4th 2013 By Susan Bady
A little off the beaten path—but well worth the drive—is Mason City, Iowa, home to the last standing Frank Lloyd Wright hotel. My partner and I had the pleasure of staying at the Historic Park Inn last week. The 1910 landmark is so named because of its location across the street from Mason City’s
Posted on Feb, 28th 2013 By Susan Bady
As a self-confessed Frank Lloyd Wright dork, you would think I already knew about the Historic Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa—the last remaining Wright-designed hotel on the planet. But it wasn’t until I received my copy of Arts and Crafts Homes magazine that I learned about this national treasure.
Posted on Feb, 18th 2013 By Susan Bady
An article in the Chicago Sun-Times this past Sunday featured the Chicago bungalow, an architectural style much beloved in the Windy City. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley launched an initiative in 2000 to encourage restoration of these iconic homes, which started to become popular in the United
Posted on Feb, 11th 2013 By Susan Bady
A new theme park just opened in Houston, and it’s not Six Flags. MainStreet America is a collection of 12 show homes, ranging from 1,800 to 6,000 square feet and representing a smorgasbord of architectural styles.
On the surface it sounds like a parade of homes, but the vision for this
Posted on Feb, 5th 2013 By Susan Bady
Michelle Jennings Wiebe is helping to spread the message that new homes are better than resales. Wiebe, president and principal designer of Studio M, an interior design firm in Tampa, Fla., offered tips for house hunters in a recent article.
Some of the items on her “what’s in” list include:
Posted on Jan, 28th 2013 By Susan Bady
Did you know that Bronson Pinchot has a show on the DIY Network? That’s right, folks — Balki renovates houses!
It turns out that Pinchot, best known as the co-star of the 1980s sitcom “Perfect Strangers,” has a passion for remodeling old homes with salvaged materials. I’ve only seen one episode,
Posted on Jan, 28th 2013 By Susan Bady
Green building has touched nearly every new-home price point in urban areas as well as the suburbs. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article touted Avondale as “the hot new West Side neighborhood.” In Avondale, an architecturally diverse neighborhood of vintage homes, walkups and new residential
Posted on Jan, 15th 2013 By Susan Bady
I subscribe to the print editions of several publications, including Architectural Digest. Go ahead and call me old school — I know I’m not the only one who prefers to flip through the pages of a glossy magazine when there’s a big story beckoning.
The February 2013 issue of AD grabbed me instantly
Posted on Jan, 2nd 2013 By Susan Bady
The luxury housing market is back, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. Some of the properties mentioned in the WSJ report are off-the-charts expensive: $88 million for a condo in New York City; a one-bedroom home in Los Angeles that sold for $20.1 million; a record $47
