This Posh House

Ya know, someone ought to clue the Powers That Be over at The Boston Globe that those of us in the cheap seats know how to read too. An awful lot of us actually read the Globe, NOT the Herald, too.

What brings on today’s rant? The Globe's stories on sprucing-up-the-home, rehab and renovation projects -- that’s what’s getting on my tits this morning. The highlighted abodes are always ones that precious few of us poor slobs could ever in a zillion years afford, even if they weren’t in the most posh sections of the city or the more expensive suburbs.

Here’s one entitled ‘Turning on the Charm with a Wellesley Makeover.’ Wellesley comes in at number 4 in the top five most expensive Boston suburbs.

‘While the house has expanded to a generous 3,500 square feet — roughly 1,000 square feet was added during the renovation ...’

Sharff also converted a 12-by-12-foot screened porch at the back of the house into interior space to add more square footage to the dining room, and removed a wall to integrate the new dining space with the kitchen. A peninsula in the kitchen provides casual mealtime seating, while a second peninsula borders the new family room.

Peninsula? I guess one's home does need to be 3,500 square feet if you have to fit two peninsulas in.

What about the happy home of The Amazing Bob and I? About 1,000 square feet. Mind you, we’ve an ocean out front but that’s not so great for storage, spare bedrooms or home officey type stuff. Our fine peninsula is just down the street. No need for an indoor one.

Mudroom Makeover in a North End Townhouse

When the owners of this North End town house contacted LaFleche, the home lacked a place “where you could drop all of your stuff,” he says.

1 >A SCULPTURAL GLASS SCREEN was designed to engage visitors while providing separation from the home’s entry above.
2 >STEEL ELEMENTS bring an industrial feel to the stairway, while railing made of jatoba wood adds warmth.
3 >GRANITE TREADS on the stairs have historical precedent.
4 >MAHOGANY STRIPS fitted with hooks and mounted on an ash-paneled wall provide a place to hang jackets and gear.
5 >A SPACIOUS ISLAND topped with concrete inset with flecks of copper serves as both a drop-off point and as a workstation for potting plants and other projects.
6 >CHARCOAL DYE with a clear finish coats the concrete-slab floor, giving it an interesting textural appearance.
7 >A STAINLESS-STEEL SINK and countertop provide a place to clean up.
8 >COMPARTMENTALIZED SLIDING SHELVES are handy for storing shoes.
9 >ROOMY REFRIGERATOR and freezer drawers were the result of thoughtful conversations with the homeowners, says LaFleche. “They wanted to have a place to store a Thanksgiving turkey.”

This, THIS is a mudroom they’re talking about!

 And on Nantucket (long, long ago this was a poor island -- populated by poor fisherman. TAB spent a few years of his childhood here).

One designer has brazenly challenged Nantucket's preppy aesthetic.

They should look up the word brazen. It truly doesn’t mean what they imagine.

In Marblehead:

Barbara Goldman is no garden-variety environmentalist. When she rehabbed her luxury ocean-front Marblehead home recently, she insisted that it be eco-sensitive from the basement to the rooftop

Nice to have the spare buckos to renovate your luxury home.

Dunno if This Old House does it often or if this was just a big fat fluke but I caught one show where they did up a two family house in Eastie (East Boston). Now, multi family dwellings in city neighborhoods aren’t generally fashionable. They aren’t the cunning little pied-à-terres favored by those with primary homes in Dover, Cohasset and Rockport.  They aren’t the spacious, multi level, floor through lofts with plenty of original character (i.e. an exposed brick wall in the kitchen area, the occasional large, but attractive silver pipe running along the soaring ceiling), located in trendy, ‘revitalized’ neighborhoods favored by empty nesters moving back into town from Lincoln and Lexington.

Nope, while multi families can be found in most towns, they’re generally located in the less affluent areas (of course there are exceptions), like Dorchester, Brighton, Roxbury AND Eastie.

So then...YEA This Old House. More please.

The Globe, to the best of my memory featured makeovers/renovations/rehabs of small apartments only once. Yes indeedy, the places were in fact small. Where were they located? Back Bay, the South End and Beacon Hill. Molto costoso neighborhoods all. Opulent even.

Of course.

And how’s about you Lifestyle/Homes Feature photographers start taking pics of rooms that have books and newspapers laying about...hmmmm? Maybe a coffee cup left on a table? A pair of reading glasses? A paintbrush maybe? A cat? C’mon dudes, it doesn’t look like ANYone lives in these gorgeous homes!

That’s a rant for another day though.