Opening Doors Blog

When you make an offer in the form of a sales and purchase agreement, the contract will stipulate how much time the seller has to respond to your offer. Generally, you will allow at least forty-eight hours but not too much more because allowing too much time gives the seller opportunity to shop other buyers. You or the agent or attorney representing you will present the contract to the seller who must pick one of three options upon reading it. [...] Read More

All landscapes need what professionals call “a sense of enclosure.” Whether it is a low hedge or a six-foot plank fence, a backyard needs a place where you can sit and relax and feel you are not being observed by neighbors or passersby. A privacy fence is a ready-made solution and will last 10 to 20 years. But building a fence that conforms to local zoning codes can cost several thousand dollars. [...] Read More

You need to look beyond the trees, shrubs and garden beds in planning your landscape. Great gardens have good “bones.” The skeleton of a landscape is the hardscape: the paths, fences, steps, edging, patios, decks and other hard elements. When designing these elements keep in mind that hardscape should serve a function. [...] Read More

The greatest of the Modern/International-style homes are truly work of arts that have come into creation when a wealthy owner commissioned an architect to produce a masterpiece. They first appeared in the United States during the 1930s and 40s. One of the best examples of a true International-style home is the late architect Philip Johnson’s Glass House which is a see-through box of glass with a steel frame that he built for himself in 1949 in New Canaan, Connecticut. [...] Read More

Split-level homes built mainly in the 1950s, 60s and 70s are an outgrowth of the ranch-style home. They usually feature a staggered set of three levels, each only a half flight of stairs away from the other. One single-story side typically holds the living room, dining room and kitchen. [...] Read More

Many Tudor-style homes were built in the first half of the 1900s as the first ‘streetcar suburbs’ sprang up outside major cities thus allowing the financially comfortable to escape the city yet keep their in-town jobs. The hallmarks are heavy exposed half-timbering in the frame, steeply pitched roofs, tall and narrow windows as well as prominent chimneys (not to mention the prominent hearths at the base of those chimneys. [...] Read More

Do not make extensive changes to a new yard for a year or so until you understand the landscape’s peculiarities. Use a garden journal to record what you learn about the soil, drainage, shady areas and any hot and cold spots. Use the first year to experiment. Plant a few annuals, perennials, some vegetables and some plants in pots. [...] Read More

Charitable groups, including the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries as well as local churches and shelters, accept many items – flatware, dishes, toys, clothing and furniture as long as they are clean and in good condition. If you can’t get your donations to the organization, ask if there is a pick-up service. [...] Read More

The original detached houses and townhouses built in the Victorian/Gothic style date back to the latter half of the 1800s. The most striking element of these homes is that they are teeming with ornamentation, with arches and frills made of wood or stone extending from the front door to the eaves beneath the roof, even further up to, perhaps an elaborate finial topping the peaked roof of a tower. [...] Read More

Your yard and garden present numerous opportunities for creative and pennywise recycling. Reuse yard waste. Start a stick pile to use as kindling for your or your neighbor’s fireplace. Use scrubbed rocks as paperweights. Fallen leaves or flower petals make quick table decorations or when dried, mounted and framed, simple but beautiful artwork. [...] Read More