Housing Chatter delivers the news you need to know about current events in the housing market in simple terms. We have no political or institutional affiliations so you can be confident that our content and commentary is unbiased. Housing Chatter is brought to you by your professional Realtor®.

DRESS UP WITH WAINSCOTING

Ever walked into a home and felt like it's just a little more classy than your average house? Chances are that sleek interior look was helped along by crown molding, or wainscoting, both of which add depth and texture to rooms, and are available at surprisingly low price points. If you're interested in upgrading a builder-grade home, restoring a historic hom ... Read More »

10 INNOVATIVE USES FOR CHICKEN WIRE

With a name like "chicken wire," you'd think this popular metal fencing product is a bit of a one-trick pony, but it's actually anything but. Sure, you can use chicken wire for building safe enclosures for chickens and patching damaged chicken fencing, but it's good for a whole lot more than that. Especially when it comes to those random scraps and end piece ... Read More »

GO BOLD WITH EXTERIOR COLOR

You know that iconic image of San Francisco with the row of Victorian houses, the Bay stretching out beyond them? That's Alamo Square, home of the titles for Full House and a whole lot of gorgeous Victorian and Edwardian-era real estate. The homes that border one side of the square are known as "painted ladies" and if you think they're colorful now, consider ... Read More »

YOUR SPRING GARDEN CHECKLIST

I know it's spring outside because the wisteria planted by my front door has begun to burst into bloom. It started with a single delicate spray of flowers at the end of March, but now, the whole plant is starting to flush blue, and it looks stellar. At the same time, it's erupting with new shoots, showing me that despite the heavy frosts of December, it reco ... Read More »

12 CLEVER HOUSEHOLD USES FOR DENTAL FLOSS

Dental floss is something you should always have around – and hopefully you’re using it every day to clean between your teeth. But beside the dental duty, floss is also awesome as a stand-in for all sorts of common items. From hanging photos (Boston general contractor Tom Silva of This Old House recommends it over wire because dental floss does not mar wall ... Read More »

10 DISTURBING WATER SCARCITY FACTS

Friday, 21 March marked World Water Day, a consciousness-raising global event to make people aware of ongoing water scarcity, particularly in the Global South. While many of us in places like the United States take an ample supply of hot and cold running water in our comfortable bathroom remodels for granted, we enjoy luxurious circumstances in comparison wi ... Read More »

CONTROLLING SWALLOWS

The swooping, graceful flight of the swallow is a beautiful thing to watch, especially on a spring evening, and there's something charming about the young birds as they fledge and start learning to fly. What's not so great, however, is the havoc these birds can wreak on your home and garden. Fortunately, you have a number of humane pest control options when ... Read More »

POP-UP PASSIVE HOUSE

As the passive house trend spreads globally, with people building homes inspired by the standard as well as those that meet its exacting qualifications, architecture firms are getting seriously creative when it comes to building environmentally-friendly homes. The latest iteration of the passive house may just be my favorite yet, because it combines some of ... Read More »

PUSH REEL MOWERS VERSUS ROTARY MOWERS

We’re talking about a home gardener/lawn keeper situation, and NOT commercial businesses or larger-scale grounds keeping. So let’s do a bit of side-by-side comparison. Full disclosure: I own a Push Reel mower. I am a downright dirty earth-loving station wagon-driving, no wait, I mean bike-riding urban homesteading vegan. It’s true. So I’m biased. But sometim ... Read More »

7 ELECTRICAL USE MISTAKES THAT WILL COST YOU

It is remarkably easy to waste electricity in our homes. Reducing some of this waste requires replacing inefficient equipment, but much of it can be solved by low or no-cost changes, or often, just a change in behavior. It is remarkably easy to waste electricity in our homes. Reducing some of this waste requires replacing inefficient equipment, but much of i ... Read More »