Drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children aged 1-4 years, and while swimming pools are a major risk, not all deaths occur in or around a pool. There are many potential risks for drowning in the average home. Parents with young children should regularly conduct a home water safety audit to determine […]
home
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
A Home for Communing With Nature
It’s been said that in a well-ordered universe, camping would take place indoors. Now that’s brilliant. Imagine days of relaxation rather than housekeeping. Waves slap the shore as the stars come out. Wildlife is at your doorstep. Best of all, the plumbing is modern and there are no rocks under the mattress. That’s what happens […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
Three Key Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Contractor
Whether your project is big or small project and whether you’re building or remodeling, hiring a skilled and professional contractor is a big deal. When interviewing, there are many basic questions to ask. There are some questions I rarely hear yet they should be of importance to help determine if that contractor is the right […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
Do You Know What Your Insurance Will Cover in Case of a Repair Emergency?
On a recent Friday, I was just getting ready to leave my office when the phone rang. I picked it up and heard the upset voice of a client who had been in a home just 10 months. The client had experienced a flood in the home and had no idea what to do with […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Designer Fox Island Home Given a New Look with Small Touches
A home redesign doesn’t always have to involve demolition work and remapping of the floor plan. Sometimes changing the smaller things in a home can make a world of difference. One Fox Island couple steered clear of the more traditional sense of a home remodel and set forth to change the interior of their newly […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
Save it From a Rainy Day — Rainwater Harvesting
After the severe decline in this year’s snowpack, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought in May. By July, runoff from snowpack had disappeared and 83 percent of the state’s streams and rivers were reported running at below normal or record low flows. For counties like Kitsap, whose dominant source of water is groundwater, not […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog, Featured
Beware When Buying a ‘Completely Remodeled’ Home
I stumbled across a marathon recently of a TV show called “First Time Flippers” on the DIY Network. I was mesmerized, and not in a good way. Fred and Mary (names have been changed to protect the “innocent”) have day jobs and buy a house to flip, lured in by potential profits in excess of […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
Green living: Recycling Options Exist Outside the Blue Bin
With the changing of seasons, often comes some cleanup around the house. Perhaps you have a large amount of yard debris, a lawnmower that has “kicked the bucket,” some leftover lawn fertilizer that you don’t want to keep through the winter, or — for that matter — anything that isn’t acceptable or won’t fit in […]
Posted inFeatured, Home
Hung Up On Closets
“It looks like a bomb went off in my closet!” This is how many homeowners describe their closets. Is it too many clothes and shoes or is it lack of organization? Honestly, it is typically a bit of both. Although designers and residential contractors can’t usually help their clients with the quantity of closet content, […]