Holyoke Home

Tags for Holyoke Home: row house holyoke massachusetts gardening

Holyoke Home is one couple. One dog. One garden. One achingly lovely historic brick row house in Holyoke, Massachusetts. One very cool city. One VERY LONG renovation 'wish list.' One project at a time? We'll see.

Professional Guidance: An Interior Designer

Authors: Holyoke Home

My life is better because I hire professionals. I don't do my own taxes because DUH. I don't review legal documents because DUUUUH (Yes, I have a lawyer. Loooooong story on how that came to be.) And when my rat wheel of a brain alights on obsesses about an especially tricky problem, I don't try to solve it with the rat wheel...

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Little Nuggets of Life

Authors: Holyoke Home

Last year my mom gave me a gift certificate to White Flower Farms for my birthday. I knew I wanted EARLY flowers. I wanted bulbs whose 'FUCK YOU WINTER!' boldness shakes off the greybrown (it's one word around here in March), giving one hope that warmer days really are around the corner. Like, the next corner, not the down the...

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40 and Fabulous. Period.

Authors: Holyoke Home

Is there ANY. THING. in the world better than enjoying people you love? While they sit at a table around you? Singing? To you? On your birthday? I think not.
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Happy Holidays from a Pagan

Authors: Holyoke Home

All is well here in Holyoke. In 2012 we've made a few stumbles and made a few leaps. But love continues to reign. Love for you, our readers, love between me and Mr. Man, love of a well decorated tree, and love of a very sausage-y looking Boston Terrier (how did he get so ROUND?!)
 Wishing peace, joy and love to you and...

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Perfect Floor Find

Authors: Holyoke Home

I found this scratchy door mat on sale at Pier One and thought to myself, 'Self. I think that yellow is exactly the yellow of the kitchen floor. "
Yup. And the blue brings out the walls. Boo yah!
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Frosted Glass Lowers Your Blood Pressure.

Authors: Holyoke Home

Remember this view?
How about this one?
Not to 'yuck' someone else's 'yum', but YUCK.

Based on your suggestions, I decided to frost the glass partition between our house and our neighbor's. It's not a big deal - it's her front porch, she can do what she wants. But the ghetto ceiling is depressing and the whole cat situation...

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Insulation Wrap-Up (Still On Lock Down)

Authors: Holyoke Home

Welcome to our row house front porch. See how we keep everything locked down? At least we have a nice place to sit down after all that sweating and cursing about insulation. Let's have a little glass of wine as the sun goes down and I'll tell you more. White or red?

If you live in a row house, you MUST insulate your crawl...

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The Big Blow: Part II

Authors: Holyoke Home

When last we left off, our intrepid, innocent, gung-ho home owners received two pallets (40 twenty-five pound bags) of cellulose insulation. The next step? Actually installing the stuff.  Look closely at their excited faces. BECAUSE THEY ARE ABOUT TO DIE. SWEAT TO DEATH. SWEAT AND CURSE TO DEATH. Be really sorry.

Actually,...

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The Big Blow: Part One

Authors: Holyoke Home

Mr. Man and I are using Cel-Pak - cellulose insulation made RIGHT HERE in western Massachusetts by National Fiber. I wouldn't use ANY OTHER cellulose. Wouldn't. And I'm not being compensated in ANY WAY to say that (I'm happy to show doubters the receipt from RK Miles showing what we paid for insulation & delivery.)...

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Insulating Our Row House

Authors: Holyoke Home

Like a lot of kids, I grew up in an un-insulated old house with an attic crawl space.

In warm weather, the roof gets sizzling hot during the day and radiates the heat into our living spaces at night. We spent many summer nights falling asleep with our heads lolling out the window to catch a breeze, listening to the Northern...

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