Episode 60 – Indoor Air Quality and Radon
This week, indoor air quality expert Andre LaCroix joined me to talk about potentially harmful substances in our houses – off gassing paints and fabrics among them – and what we can do about it. I don’t know about you, but topics like indoor air quality and radon make me want to hide. They just […]
Episode 59 – Driveways
A listener sent me a message asking about their driveway options: “We are thinking about redoing our cracked asphalt driveway, and there are so many things to think about. I want it to be more environmentally friendly, last a long time and be attractive and affordable…and it is on a slope, so far I’ve had […]
Episode 57 – Home Improvement Shows vs. Reality
We architects talk a lot about what we call “the HGTV effect”. For us, this refers to how HGTV has set up false expectations for homeowners, making our jobs more difficult. The process takes longer than on TV. The prices are higher (at least here in Massachusetts) than the ones they quote on the shows. […]
Episode 56- Renovation Story – Indianapolis 1939
Jeff Echols met me over Zoom to discuss the experience of renovating and caring for his Indianapolis house built in 1939. This is a great example of an old house renovation in Indianapolis. Jeff is the Director of Brand Strategy at EntreArchitect, and we met through his daily Context and Clarity sessions – now we […]
Episode 55 – Design-Build with Peter Feinmann
Contractor Peter Feinmann joined me to discuss design-build. Design build is like anything else, you need to know who you are hiring. Who is on the team? How much service do they offer? Why not get multiple bids for free? “Feinmann is an award-winning design-build firm in Boston, Massachusetts, that delivers innovative kitchen and bathroom […]
Episode 54 – Renovation Story – Tulsa Bungalow
Architect Katelyn Parker and her husband Brian bought the Curtin House about 10 years ago in Tulsa Oklahoma. They were new to the city and “young and stupid” but they fell in love with the house and they went for it. They sent me some photos of their Tulsa bungalow renovation. Katelyn shares what she […]
Episode 53 – Renovating during a pandemic
Jodi Schwartz and I are in the same meditation group, a group of construction industry professionals. In a recent meeting we were discussing compassion and the great need for it at this moment in time when it comes to everyone involved in the renovation process. Jodi had written a blog post about the challenges of […]
Episode 51 – Insulation
When a listener wrote asking to learn more about insulation, I immediately thought to ask building scientist Christine Williamson to be a guest on the show. Maybe the listener was originally hoping for information about the common types of insulation used in residential projects – fiberglass batt, cellulose, foam insulation, and so on. Christine goes […]
Episode 49- Maximizing Creativity
In this episode I speak with architect Donald Rattner about his research into how our environment impacts our creativity. Who doesn’t want to be more creative, as creative as possible? His book My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation contains 48 easy-to-implement tips for maximizing creativity in your […]
Episode 49 – Maximize Creativity
KM: Selfishly, I’m hoping you can give me some pointers on how I can make my office more- Is it more conducive to my creativity or making me more creative, or how would you characterize your specialty in that way? DR: We are in possession of a lot of knowledge about how our physical environment, […]