Comedy writer Larry Doyle is at peace reliving wife Becky’s Charm City childhood.
Six years ago, Larry Doyle and his wife, Becky Lichtenstein, were living the California dream in a 1920s English Tudor home in sunny Silver Lake, a hip Los Angeles neighborhood. Doyle, a former writer for The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-Head, was toiling on screenplays and pitching pilots, while Lichtenstein had retired from real estate to raise the couple's kids (Ben, now 12, and twins Alice...
We go in search of the region’s best sources of fine art, from Old World to new wave.
Whether you're a budding collector or merely in need of a conversation piece for your living room wall, there is good news, and there is bad news about Baltimore's fine-art-buying scene. The bad news is that economic forces have conspired to do in many of the old-school galleries that once so masterfully melded the showcasing and selling of art. The good news? A few still remain, and a host of...
A normally landlubbing showhouse designer tackles the ultimate small space to reinvent a BSO player’s live-aboard boat.
The home belonging to Phil and Amy Munds brings new meaning to the phrase waterfront property.
There is no yard to keep up, few neighbors, and no traffic. That's because five years ago, the Mundses sold their Towson home and moved onto a boat docked in a Canton marina. While it might not be considered much space by the typical American family, the 46-foot Silverton aft-cabin motor yacht has three...
How to turn a vacant tract into a tableau of colorful bulbs.
A reader has a sunny acre of land in rural northern Baltimore County and had the idea to plant it entirely with crocuses, daffodils, narcissus, and tulips. But after surveying the overgrown tract, he asked for advice on how—and when—to create his field of dreams.
The good news: Fall is the ideal time to plant these hundreds of bulbs. The other news: It's a big undertaking, and it's best to start...
ANTIQUES
The Antique Man, 1806-12 Fleet St., 410-732-0932, www.theantiquemanltd.com
Alex Cooper Auctioneers, 908 York Rd., 410-828-4838, www.alexcooper.com
Crosskeys Antiques, 801 N. Howard St., 410-728-0101, www.crosskeysantiques.com
Cuomo's Sparks Antiques Village Shop, 10759 York Rd., Cockeysville, 410-329-3088.
Louis Mazor, 600 Wyndhurst Ave., 410-532-1000, www.mazordesign.com.
Richard Opfer...
We found out more about the pests that have invaded our homes and gardens these past two summers
What They Are
The brown marmorated stinkbug is a pest that was accidentally imported into the United States from Asia (possibly on packing crates). The bug began severely invading Maryland in the summer of 2010. "It was really a population gain like any insect," says Steve Allgeier, master gardener coordinator for University of Maryland Extension. "In some cases, it never builds up because of...
A top architect teams with savvy owners to remake a home's exterior, sans bulldozer
Kimberly and Raymond Herman didn't purchase their waterfront home 17 years ago because they loved the house—it was all about the setting. "I went out with a Realtor and fell in love with this property," Kimberly recalls. "The views and the access to the water drew us to this house."
The location in Crownsville, on a calm creek off the Severn River, was perfect for the Hermans and their children...
Even the nouveau broke can make their homes look high end at the region's best consignment shops
Sure, the slick furniture and appointments in the glossy magazine spreads are just fab, but who can afford a whole house full of that stuff? If "not me" is the answer, fear not. Now, you can look like you had a trust fund all along by tapping into the area's top consignment shops.
We're not talking the junk shops in the iffy neighborhoods here (although these, too, can yield some treasures to the...
Roar back to the '20s
Hang on to a piece of history with this gorgeous Art Deco exterior lantern salvaged from the original 1929 Philadelphia Civic Center. Complete with working electric wiring, an irreplaceable verdigris patina, and scrolling leaf details, the fixture can easily be translated into the home. Standing over four-feet tall, the sheer size, coupled with the intricate workmanship, gives the piece a...
Redefine the urban jungle with artful row-house gardening
Congratulations: You're the proud new owner of a city row house, which, with its early 1900s chair rails, high ceilings, and elegant moldings, offers endless potential for interior design. But where's the potential in that tiny, weedy patch of dirt in front of the house?
The answer for most row houses, as well as many newer townhomes, is container gardening. Making the best first impression in...
