Switzerland or Columbus Ohio? How to choose… October 6, 2011

National Geographic recently came out with the “Best Fall Trips of 2011″. The list begins with an enticing shot of the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces in Switzerland –a 2,050 acre mountainside vineyard started, oh, just in the 11th century by Benedictine and Cestarcian monks. Hikers can sample grapes I guess as they hike about this amazing place along the northern shores of Lake Geneva. Cited also is a fall beer drinking event in Stuttgart Germany , stunning Zanzibar Tansania, Dublin, Ireland, Manitoba, Canada… included in this list of  exotic locales is–wait for it– Columbus Ohio. Yes. I am not kidding. Here is what National Geographic had to say:

Ohio’s capital and largest city celebrates harvest season with a bounty of traditional fall festivals, farmers markets, and corn mazes. Pick your own apples (September) and pumpkins (October) at Lynd’s Fruit Farm in Pataskala, and, the first weekend in October (contingent on the harvest), jump in the barrel to stomp whole grapes at Via Vecchi Winery’s annual grape crush. Enjoy east-central Ohio’s spectacular fall colors by walking, biking, hiking, or camping at one of the 17 Columbus-area Metro Parks. The largest, Battelle Darby Creek in Galloway, covers more than 7,000 acres of flowering prairies, restored wetlands, and forests, and is home to diverse wildlife, including six female bison introduced to the park in February. In October, Columbus also hosts thousands of migratory birds at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The 72-acre Scioto River oasis, built on a reclaimed industrial waste site, is a ten-minute walk from downtown. Other areas to explore on foot include the brick-paved streets of the historic German Village neighborhood—originally settled by German immigrants in the mid-1800s—and the Short North Arts District, home to galleries, restaurants, pubs, and one of the hometown-favorite Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shops.

Can’t make it to Tanzania this year? Enjoy the riches of Columbus Ohio! Is this awesome or what!?

The list can be found on-line at http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-fall-2011/#/jenis-splendid-ice-cream_37632_600x450.jpg   Go from image to image(nobody does pictures like National Geographic) to read about these destination spots!

On the Road in a Cricket September 16, 2011

I am in love with the Cricket camper! This ingenious slightly off-kilter space-saving travel dream mobile is the work of George Finney, former “habitation modular designer” (awesome job description) for NASA.  A guy used to designing for people who have to live in teeny tiny spaces in zero gravity!

Super cute, green, and reasonably priced–especially considering the style and thoughtful design. It makes ME want to go camping! Check out all photos and features in Dwell Magazine’s “Snug as a Bug” article on-line–http://www.dwell.com/articles/snug-as-a-bug.html?utm_source=thisweekfromdwell&utm_content=090211&utm_campaign=newsletter

 

IRS Top 10 Tax Tips for Sellers August 23, 2011

In early August, the IRS published 10 helpful tax hints for home sellers. If you are selling, or have recently sold, make sure you reap all of the tax benefits you can! May be a pleasant surprise for those who experience a gain in income from the sale and have lived in their home for a while.  The ten tips are below can be viewed on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/content/0,,id=104608,00.html

 

1. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.

2. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).

3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.

4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.

5. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.

6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.

7. Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.

8. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.

9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return.

10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

Need a lot of Green to Build Green? Maybe not. August 11, 2011

The following post was written by an architect/builder who is a certified green professional.  Can it be we can build green without spending way too much green? See below to see the 5 MYTHS about green building.

By
Kevin Holdridge KDH Residential
Designs, LLC

1.
Green Building is a Fad.

Green building is a fad as much as high energy costs are a fad. This always gets compared to the 1970’s gas crisis and the emergence of solar panels on homes. The truth is that the ruling bodies in residential building code creation are pushing to have net zero homes by 2030. When organizations like ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) and USGBC (United States Green Building Council) are setting goals for homes to be net-zero by 2030, I would say that green building is going to become the new standard and trying to sell an old energy pig will be very difficult in the near future. Because of this, updating and remodeling older homes to be more energy efficient will continue to be a growing trend.

2. Building Green is Expensive

Green Building is about education. Yes on the surface certain items that go into a green home can be expensive. Some people will even try to sell these features to you by saying that they have a great pay back. These are things that I call gadgets. Getting the latest technology gadgets will always be expensive and that is true with anything. The latest cell phone may cost $500 and a year later, when something better is out, you can buy it for a quarter of the price. The education comes into building as a way to save money in one area in order to be able to spend it on another. This is general accounting. The home can be designed in such a manner as to maximize the materials used. This cuts down on waste and saves in framing costs. An experienced home designer and builder can work together with the trades to make sure that the home is designed and built in the most efficient manner. A little up front planning will go a long way in saving on construction costs, usually enough to keep some gadgets in the budget. Be smart with your gadgets. A solar photovoltaic system that costs $20,000.00 may only save you $70 a month in energy bills so it may be that there are other less expensive ways to save on monthly utility bills like installing a high efficiency pool pump or low flow water fixtures. Generally you can pay for high efficiency items with pre-planning design or by simply making the house smaller. Having your designer work with your builder to create a team around your project is a key. If they refuse to work together, my advice is to find a new team. Also, make sure that you look at the whole house as a system, as your framing costs go down your insulation costs may go up but your HVAC costs should also come down.

 3. A tight house will trap toxic fumes

 In order to have an energy efficient home we must be able to control the air exchanges. The biggest argument against building a tight home that I hear is
that a house needs to breathe. This is true, but how does it breathe is the question. I equate this to my boat theory. Every boat needs a drain plug. One
hole that you can control when it is open and closed. What the theory of “let the house breathe” equates to on my boat is that it’s ok to have a few holes
(that you can’t see) that will let in some water because when you lift the boat out of the water it should just leak right back out the same hole. Never mind
that because you can’t see the leaks you can’t tell what kind of damage it is doing to your boat. Is the water getting trapped, so when it freezes it will
expand making my problem worse next year? Chances are you never know the answer to questions like these until it becomes a larger problem. In humid climates we have to use air conditioners to pull the humidity out of the air. Think of all of that unwanted humidity that is coming into your leaky house every time the air conditioner kicks on. The rule of thumb that needs to be followed here is, ”Build Tight, Ventilate Right”. Common sense should take over here. Have your lot tested for things like radon and if you have radon you should simply design a radon mitigation pipe into you home. Make sure that all of your combustion appliances and fireplaces are properly vented and accounted for in your HVAC calculations. Building a tight home makes the HVAC system more efficient by taking out the random variables of leaky construction. It also solves a lot of the maintenance issues that occur from having unwanted air and water intrusion. Remember that wherever air can go so can water.

4. Green Building techniques can’t be done to custom houses

This is the biggest myth of them all. Large or small, green building techniques can be instituted on every house built. Custom designing your home to your lifestyle needs is the best way to be efficient. The designer can specifically tailor the home to your needs thus reducing wasted unused spaces and rooms. This coupled with using design techniques that use the building materials to their maximum to reduce construction waste should be enough to pay for the design itself twice over. Advanced framing techniques and value engineering alone can save 15%-20% of the overall framing package. The most important part of designing and building a custom home is to have a team of professionals that are well versed in building science and green building techniques.

5. There is too much paperwork for certified homes

Certifications are important to have as proof of building an energy efficient home. There are several different certification programs, each with the same basis premise of energy efficiency. LEED is probably one of the most well know and was originally just for commercial buildings. Now the LEED for Homes is out and this seems to be the most arduous program for paperwork and fees. There are other programs out there that are a little more builder friendly like NAHB Green, EarthCraft, Healthy Built Homes and some locations have their own local green building programs. Generally it is best to have your designer speak with a local third party verifier early in the design process to see which program would best suit your needs. The verifier should do a lot of the documentation and testing but will ultimately define the duties of each of the build team members. Building a team of professionals around your building process is the best way to insure that your home will perform at a high level.

Magical Alchemy August 8, 2011

Alchemy Architects have grown from just “wee” to Wow! Modern pre-fab with ec0-conscious flair and innovative style. The designs, in particular the Bungalow Loft,  are crazy fun. No box here but “design alchemy”!

WeeHouse grows up!

Check it out: www.weehouse.com

 

Monotype Series-One of a Kind! August 3, 2011

Phoenix Rising Printmaking Cooperative is offering a Montoype series starting next week. Sign up for just one or all three. Phoenix offers classes throughout the year that can enhance, or even awaken, the artist in you! Always wanted to learn more about print-making? Great opportunity to create art!

Check out their website too at: http://www.phoenixrisingprintmaking.com/

August Monotype Week

August 9, 11 and 13; from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm

Take just 1 class or sign up for
all 3 sessions!

Tuesday,
August 9: Watercolor Monoprints with Cindy Davis   

Thursday, August
11: Painterly Monotypes with Anne Cushman 

Saturday, August
13: Three Color Reduction Monotypes with Joan Tallan

All class sessions run from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm

Individual Sessions are $40. person  OR  Complete Series
fee is $100. per person   

   

Reservations are required.  Space is limited.   

Email phoenixrisingco-op@sbcglobal.net  

Registration Now!    

Renewed Retro! Charming Home in Indian Hills August 2, 2011

5912 Litchfield Rd is a charming and spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath 4-level split in convenient Indian Hills. Newer windows and updates, character of original details remain. Truly a swingin’ pad!

Close to Antrim Park and 315, lots of shopping and dining!

Check out the youtube vid! We would love to show it to you!

http://youtu.be/DocSbes0vus?hd=1

 

 

i-love i-house June 15, 2011

Sigh. You know my affection for modular green construction. Finding a realistic and affordable modular design is difficult–going green is not inexpensive.  Clayton Homes has the “i” series, and, I gotta say, it has appeal.

Currently available are two options: the i-house I  and i-house II that can be combined with a “flex” module. The flex module is a separate bedroom/studio/office or whatever your needs are space, with a bathroom–roof deck above. Lots of outdoor space involved here, which is awesome, and highly customizable interior space in both i-house models (clayton homes assures).

When i was poking around “building” my i-house II, the proposed cost with shipping and add-ons, including solar panels, was $168,000 and change. Would the cost likely be more when it is all said and done? Of course. But realistically, and this does not include land or site prep, which is site specific, the home cost should be well under $200,000. If you have any familiarity with modular contemporary construction–that is a pretty good number.  Make sure when you click on the link below that you check out the i-house 2.0 video. The 2.0 version is more style-defined and incorporates some changes requested by consumers interested in the i-house concept.  Really awesome.

Check it out! http://www.claytonihouse.com/

1926 3-story in Bexley June 10, 2011

Are you or anyone you know looking for a move-in ready 4 bedroom one block off of Main Street in Bexley? Check out 720 S. Roosevelt Ave, 43209. Walk to everything, dining, shopping, park and school.  Loaded with charm and updated–great price too!

www.panningribar.com - click on listings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBCV7d2g-7g

Creativity and the CMA June 9, 2011

The art experience is about making connections between the art  and the visitor. Social norms, values,  injustice throughout history and throughout the world, views on love, war, politics, scientific and technological advances–all of this can be seen and connected to via art.  Art tells a story, makes a statement and what it says can be different depending on the viewer. Engaging in an art experience can be done anywhere there is art –but the CMA philosophy of creating themes and age divergent tools to interact with the art is innovative and approachable for all.

Visiting the CMA is an opportunity for everyone, teachers, school groups, families, seniors, juniors–everyone to engage in creative interaction with the museum and their own imagination. You are invited to Create your own art experience, to “use” the museum instead of just “visiting”. To that end, the Museum is thinking of ways to bring the community into the museum in personally creative and fun ways, such as today’s Craftacular Spectacular! I hope some of you will attend!

Craftacular
Spectacular

Today!

June 9, 2011

3:30 – 8:30 PM

Come to the Columbus Museum of
Art for an evening of art, craft, food and fun. Mingle with other crafters,
spend time working on your projects, and explore CMA’s newly renovated
galleries. The Museum will provide great work spaces, some crafting supplies, a
digital technology lab, tools, and dinner. You should bring your projects,
friends, and creativity!

Drop-in workshops will take
place throughout the evening, including felting, scrapbook and cardmaking
techniques, and knitting. As a special treat, Etsy will be providing free swag
for participants!

$45 general public

$35 CMA members

$25 students with valid ID—available
at CMA front desk only

Registration is requested,
but not required. To guarantee your spot, please register at:

http://craftacularspectacular.eventbrite.com/

For more information, please
contact

Dayna Jalkanen at 614.629.0356
or

Dayna.Jalkanen@cmaohio.org