"Garden Girl" to speak at Boston Public Library

Don't miss Patti Moreno, Roxbury's "Garden Girl", speaking about urban gardening and sustainability on December 16, 6:00 pm at the Boston Public Library's Rabb Hall as part of the Boston Society of Architects Exploring Design free lecture series. 

Patti can be found on GardenGirlTV.com and in her ezine Urban Sustainable Living promoting back-to-basics sustainable gardening, farming, and homemaking practices for the city and suburbs.  For me, to be a house enthusiast is to be a garden enthusiast.  Each contributes to the other, much as my mother's in-town house and garden do.  If you haven't the time or opportunity to attend the Boston Public Library event, check out Patti's online offerings.  You'll find plenty of food for thought.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

2009 Salem Open Studios

KHS Photography is happy to be part of the Salem Open Studios tour this year.  The event is Saturday, December 12 from 10:00 am-6:00 pm and features 26 artists at 17 locations.  Print out the event map and explore the work and spaces of Salem's creative community.  I'll have framed and matted prints plus note cards available for purchase, a fire in the hearth, and the door to my loft studio in the c. 1768 Captain Edward Allen house open.  Tell a friend and drop by.

Christmas in Salem House Tour celebrates historic preservation and sustainable design

I make a living poking around people’s homes.  As a residential architect in New England, I often find myself exploring antique attics, basements, and living spaces with a tape measure in tow.  I carry the same curiosity about houses into my personal life.  When I visit friends’ old houses, I’m not shy about tapping on a chase to hear if it’s hollow or peering into a fireplace to check out the firebox.  So, naturally, house tours suit my proclivities.  Especially the Christmas in Salem House Tour, which celebrates its 30th anniversary the first weekend of December 2009.  It’s always a treasure trove of intriguing historic properties. 
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Drawing Toward Home: Designs for Domestic Architecture from Historic New England

Alexander Esty, Unidentified house, c. 1855, Courtesy of Historic New EnglandFor those of us who grew up here, the older homes of New England typically have the first and greatest architectural influence on us.  Those who move to New England later in life often quickly come to appreciate the unique language the houses of New England speak.  It’s a language worthy of study and appreciation which is exemplified in Drawing Toward Home, Designs for Domestic Architecture from Historic New England now on show at the Boston University Art Gallery.

Since I mostly draft by hand, as all architects did prior to the advent of computer-aided drafting, it was with great delight that I perused the architectural drawings from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries on display at B.U.  Most are presentation drawings while some are study drawings meant primarily for the architects’ review.

Well known and little-known architects are represented in the 100 exhibited drawings culled from Historic New England’s collection which contains the work of more than 400 architects.  I found myself drawn to three striking drawings which collectively reflect three areas of interest to architects: constructed elements relative to landscape; the house: its plan, exterior elevations, sections and representation in perspective; and its interior.

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Winter 2009 holiday house tours

Recommended upcoming New England tours

Gloucester Home for the Holidays Tour (Gloucester, MA) Saturday, November 21, 2009 11:00 am-4:00 pm

Marblehead Holiday House Tour (Marblehead, MA) Saturday, December 5, 2009 10:00 am-4:00 pm and Sunday, December 6, 2009 noon-4:00 pm

New Bedford Holiday House Tour (New Bedford, MA) Saturday, December 5, 2009 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm and Sunday, December 6, 2009 1:00 pm-5:00 pm

Plymouth Holiday House Tour (Plymouth, MA) Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, 2009 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Christmas in Salem House Tour (Salem, MA) Friday, December 4, 2009 5:30 pm-7:30 pm, Saturday, December 5, 2009 10:00 am-4:30 pm, and Sunday, December 6, 2009 11:30 am-4:30 pm

Stockbridge Holiday House Tour (Stockbridge, MA) Saturday, December 5, 2009 11:00 am-4:00 pm

Scituate Coastal Holiday House Tour & Boutique (Scituate, MA) Sunday, December 6, 2009 noon-4:00 pm

Westport Holiday House Tour (Westport, CT) Sunday December 6, 2009 11:00 am-4:00 pm

Essex Holiday House Tour (Essex, CT) Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Newburyport Holiday House Tour (Newburyport, MA) Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:00 am-4:00 pm

West Falmouth Library's Holiday House Tour (West Falmouth, MA) Sunday, December 13, 2009 noon-4:00 pm

Woodstock Holiday House Tour (Woodstock, VT) Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Portsmouth Holiday Home Tour (Portsmouth, NH) Sunday, December 13, 2009 1:00 pm-5:00 pm