Neat Features

Sometimes the Neat Features don’t have to be inside your home – they can be on the outside.  Or maybe even on the curb.  That’s what it is with today’s Neat Feature: plants.

One of the great things about modern city living is how effective the roads are at draining off rain water so we don’t get standing pools of water on the road – or worse – around the foundations of our homes.

The problem is that all of this rushing water can carry with it quite a few toxic chemicals.  Everything from that cleaner you spilled on your deck to the pesticide you used in your yard, become fair game for rainwater to pick up.

In small quantities these aren’t much of an issue.  But the more the rain water gathers in one spot, the higher the concentrations become.  That’s why some homes, and now some cities, are taking steps to use plants along the curb to “clean” the toxic chemicals by absorbing a lot of the rain water before it hits the city’s sewage system.  (As you can see in the picture above.)

image from This Old House

A few weeks ago I spoke about the Dionaea House, and how I wished more buildings had unique architecture instead of the cookie cutter style we see so much of today.

Well today we’re back to look at the garage.

That’s right.  The garage.

Much like houses, most garages are uninteresting.  They’re designed to cut costs or to blend in with the house.  But there’s something about a garage (especially a 3 car garage) that stands up and says, “Hey look at me!  I’m interesting!”

And so Mr. Garage, I’m listening and I’m looking.  Since the house is almost 110 years old, it wasn’t likely an original part of the house.  (If it was, it meant someone owned 3 of the first cars ever made!)  Instead, it was likely a later edition.  Which means someone had the foresight to mirror the house’s architectural design into the garage.

Frankly I’d be happy just living in such an awesome looking garage.  Especially since no one has come forward with that $1.5 million I asked for.

Growing up I had a tree house.  Actually I had a tree house that was built on stilts.  We didn’t have a tree big enough to hold much more than a bird feeder.  It was great and my friends and I spent many hours playing in that thing.  (It was awesome, right up to the time it collapsed under too much weight and jumping.  Oops!)

Of course ever since then I’ve dreamed of having another tree house.

Apparently I’m not the only one.  Because the “luxury tree house” market, according to The Wall Street Journal, appears to be taking off.  With such celebrities as Sting and Julianne Moore getting into the swing of things.  (Get it?  Swing of things.  Ah, good times.)

Of course a luxury tree house is nothing like your traditional tree house that’s filled with spiders and other multi-legged creatures.  These new luxury tree houses are filled with all the amenities of a ground house, including plush seats, roomy views, pillows and even windows.

Of course these also can retail for well over $100,000.

photo from flickr user emdot

Some neat features on this blog are inspired by dreams.  Others are inspired by necessity.  And still others are inspired by the cold hard reality of a leaking roof.  That’s where I found myself recently – with an unexpected expense and an unexpected series of decisions to make.

Now living in Cincinnati we live in a weird temperature climate for making certain technical housing decisions such as insulation, moisture barrier, and roof color.  As we all know, darker color absorbs more heat, while lighter colors reflect heat.

Since I live in a 100 year old house, without any insulation in the ceiling of the finished attic, my house really feels the swings from the brutal Cincinnati summers and the bitter Cincinnati winters.  And whether I like it or not, the color of my roof makes a difference.  If I go with a dark shingle, I will save on heating costs – but at the price of not being able to use my third floor in the summer.  The flip side is a more live-able attic during the summer, but higher heating prices in the winter.

Not exactly a winning selection of choices!

Fortunately for some (although not for me) scientists may be coming to the rescue with heat-responsive color-changing shingles.  Say that three times fast!

These tiles will reflect about 80% of the sunlight in the summer (and only 30% during the winter.)  Meaning your cooling bills might be reduced by about 20%.

While these tiles are probably a few years from market, they still represent a great blend of technology and functionality.  Plus, who doesn’t like the idea of spending less on heating and cooling costs?

Now if only my roof could change colors….

Unplggd had an interesting story about Christmas lights.  While I personally don’t like going outside in the cold to hang lights, I always appreciate neighbors who take the time to go over-the-top with their Christmas decorations.  (Although for the record, I don’t believe that there’s such a thing as “over-the-top” when it comes to Christmas decorations.)

But what does it cost those families?  Well according to HGTV, the Faucher Family Christmas House uses 1,000,000 lights.  Yes.  That’s as in a million.  Or to put it in other terms, about a million more lights than I have on my house.

The cost of that little endeavor is, according to Unplggd, approximately $82,000 / month.

Check out the rest of the Unplgged article to hear about a few other houses.

Images come from fllickr. Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

It may be the last few days of summer.  But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up without a fight!  So here as we say good bye to the last days of summer-warmness, I present the hidden patio.

If you live in a city of any size, yard size is at a premium.  That’s how it is here in Cincinnati.  So what do you do when you don’t have a sprawling back yard?  You can do what one innovative homeowner did – you can use your garage as an anchor point to make your patio seem more private.

In small spaces it’s all about how you use the surrounding objects and landmarks.

Let’s face it.  This isn’t the fanciest patio you’ll ever see.  It’s probably not going to be featured on the cover of Home & Garden.  But you know what?  It’s a neat feature because it uses what’s available.  Not all of us have 30 acre lots to have scenic garden landscapes.  Not all of us have $100,000 to spend on landscaping.  Most of us don’t have anywhere close to that.  In an economy that’s been hovering around 10% unemployment, it’s exciting to see that you can do something neat with your property, on a smaller budget.

When we talked about what makes a room great – three principles stood out:
1.    Worth living in
2.    Attitude
3.    Personality

It’s those three things that make this outdoor patio a neat feature.