Talking Home Renovations with the House Maven

Missy was a first time home buyer and faced with a daunting full gut renovation. I happen to have been her architect. Join us as we discuss her experience renovating her old house. *********************** Visit Talkinghomerenovations.com for episode enhancements, containing photos and more information about the episodes as well as transcripts. There you can leave a voice message through speak pipe...

A listener wrote to request an episode on insulation- here it is! Christine Williamson of Building Science Fight Club explains the factors to consider when insulating your house. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the subject. Christine is an accomplished building scientist who has a large following on instagram through her account Building Science Fight Club (@buildingsciencefightclub). She can...

Gabe and Cristina joined me this week to tell the story of their late 1700's settler's log cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains of central VA. Check out the episode enhancements for photos or their instagram feed (@bellwetherfields) or their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaq5kxmgrsVS-6PDT0DsVYQ/featured ************************************************* Visit Talkinghomerenovations....

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. We talk about a few of these tips and more. about our guest: Architect Donald M. Rattne...

If you're looking for a tiny house, is it best to build your own, buy a pre-made house or find one to renovate? Are tiny home renovations a good idea? Ethan Waldman joins me to discuss these questions and more. About our guest: Ethan Waldman is a tiny house author, speaker, and teacher. He built his own tiny house on wheels in 2012, and has been passionately helping future tiny house dwellers on t...

In this episode I'm joined by Tigrilla Gardenia, a nature inspired business mentor. Tigrilla is a World Ambassador for Plant Intelligence and champions connection to nature as the basis for long-term health, happiness, and success. We discuss what plant intelligence means to the average homeowner who is planning their landscape and why those choices are more important than people think. About our...

Mark R. LePage joined me to tell the story of his little cottage in the woods of Chappaqua. Mark and his wife Ann Marie were young architects when they took on the cottage and the house grew with them as they raised their family. About our guest: Architect Mark R. LePage is the President & CEO of Gābl Technologies, Inc. & Gābl Media, Inc., the founder of EntreArchitect ™, and the Partner i...

Cara Newhart of the Make Space Podcast joins me for a conversation about her work in the diy space. About our guest: Cara Newhart is a designer and diy queen and the host of the Make Space Podcast.  After losing her dad to cancer and without his contractor-expertise to guide her in customizing her first home, she decided to dive in without fear and tackle epic diy projects all by herself- tra...

Tom Reynolds is TikTok architect, a real architect who shares his experience and love for architecture with his audience of almost 15,000 followers on TikTok. Tom and I had a long talk about what to expect when you will be renovating your house, his own home renovation experiences, his career, why to hire an architect, and more. About our guest: Tom Reynolds is an Artist, Architect and Activist cu...

Jess Jones is a designer in Georgia who fell in love with her mid century modern house at first sight. Join us as we discuss the history of her house and neighborhood and what makes her house special. I met Jess through her account @tinymightymidmod on instagram. Follow her account for updates on her great house. *************************************************************************************...

Dennis Stinson of Fujitsu joined me to discuss the latest in residential HVAC. He addresses the "Full House Family Dynamic” trend and offers a series of practical, innovative and creative tips and useful information including the latest HVAC systems, leveraging “smart” technologies, maximizing energy efficiency, minimizing utility cost, as well as a some easy, inexpensive changes homeowners can ma...

Amy Heavilin joins me this week to discuss her experience with her 1902 Queen Anne Victorian that she and her husband Doug have been bringing back to life. I first became aware of her project on instagram, where she can be seen @amyleigh_1902 victorian. Her blog www.vivaciousvictorian.com is full of fascinating materials and beautiful photos. About our guest: Amy Heavilin is a high school music di...

So many countertop choices these days to choose from, what is best for your situation? Lili Morris and I discuss the mainstream options, pros and cons of granite, marble, soapstone, quartz and other composites as well as laminates. In the episode enhancement I discuss alternatives as well. About the guest: Lili Morris is @house_on_everett_hill on instagram and has been helping homeowners choose th...

If you are looking for a house to renovate and really have no idea how to identify the home inspector who is right for you, this episode will help. James Brock of Boston Home Inspections joined me to discuss what home inspectors do, how their work can differ, what to look for in an inspector and inspection report and how to find the home inspector that will meet your expectations. Jim started an i...

Della Hansmann is an architect who lives the experience of a mid century ranch. We discuss how she came to specialize in the housing type, what she values about ranch houses, her approach to helping homeowners and her advice about bringing one back to life. Her podcast mid-mod remodel is a great resource for all those planning a ranch renovation https://midmod-midwest.com/subscribe/ Check out her...

The idea for this episode came from a listener question. The question was- How to expect the unexpected? I immediately thought of asking the men at Behind the Studs, a home improvement podcast that I have been listening to lately. We discussed architect/contractor relationships and the importance of working together, and narrowed down what can come as a surprise during construction. About the gues...

Join me as I speak with landscape designer Carol Moyles about how to go about planning your landscape renovation. About this week's guest: Carol A. Moyles is a landscape designer with more than 25 years of work and 300 completed projects. Her portfolio includes a wide range of academic, recreational, real estate, and residential projects. Carol strives for conceptual clarity in shaping landscapes,...

This episode is the first in a new series called Renovation Story. My guest for this renovation story is Kim Tierney, owner and caretaker of Bloomfield Farm, a beautiful stone house in Virginia built in the 1700s. I have been following her account on TikTok and am grateful that she took the time to record her story of acquiring the house, her approach to preservation, the history of the house and...

Now that many of us are doing business out of our homes, is it time for an upgrade to your home network? What does that look like? Should you be concerned about cyber security? Michael Oh of TSP joins me to answer these questions and more. Check out TSP's website for more information about available smart home services tsp.space Here is a link to his podcast Grepcast A link to an interesting tech...

In this episode Anthony and Abbey Maschmedt of dwell development in Seattle join me to discuss sustainable construction and high performance renovations. Dwell development is an award-winning sustainable residential builder, and they strive to create the most energy efficient homes in the world. They believe that sustainable efficient design can create a better tomorrow. Learn more about their awa...

This podcast is intended resource for homeowners hoping to learn as much as they can about home renovations before starting their own. In this episode I have a very enjoyable conversation with George Smart- the founder and executive director of US modernist and NC modernist, non profit organizations dedicated to the documentation, preservation and promotion of modernist design.&nbsp...

Architect vs. Interior Designer with Amy Everard Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an architect and an interior designer? Amy Everard is an interior designer working in NYC and is the host of her own helpful design podcast, Soft Landing. She and I discuss how our jobs overlap and differ. About this episode's guest: Amy Everard is an interior designer sharing over a decade of ex...

The exterior home is the face shown to the world, but how often do people consider changing the look of their home to express their personalities? Kriss Swint of Royal Building Products discusses exterior renovations and what they can do for your property. Check out their very helpful website at www.royalbuildingproducts.com you'll find design tools and a great blog- worth exploring! About this ep...

Ward Schraeder has noticed that many of us don't really know how to complete simple projects ourselves and he is giving us the opportunity to learn. Through his YouTube series Working with Ward he is reaching out to people who did not grow up learning how to build and create. Link to his YouTube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9wLuLpwyBX_PkNXmvrBJZg/videos Ward is also the co-host of Ba...

Paul Dashevsky, of GreatBuildz in California, takes time out to talk about how he connects homeowners with contractors, how to go about hiring a contractor and how to make the construction process smoother. The main focus of his visit is his advice about how to build an ADU- accessory dwelling unit. ADUs have been in the news lately as a way to gain additional living space on your property without...