Trillions of dollars of real estate capital are waiting on the sidelines. Developers, investors and homebuyers are asking, “When will the housing recovery begin?” and when it does, “What will it look like.” When is the tougher question. Clearly, there are signs of a housing recovery now, but it’s crawling forward. At this moment, domestic [...]
Recently, a friend invited me over to see her remodeled kitchen. First, the good news… they opened things up nicely by knocking down some walls and improved the flow between spaces. Expensive custom-made cabinets, a massive butcher block island, tumbled travertine stone on the floors, and the latest Viking appliances was a good upgrade. Now, [...]
After infidelity, a home remodel is the greatest single cause for couples breaking up. Okay, I just made that up, but it could be true. At a minimum, just the thought of tearing apart drywall in the family home is sure-fire cause for a head-splitting migraine. Fortunately, there is a cure: Hire a licensed Architect [...]
And don’t spend your time lookin’ around For something you want that can’t be found When you find out you can live without it And go along not thinkin’ about it I’ll tell you something true The bare necessities of life will come to you Lyrics from The Bare Necessities, The [...]
Sailing… It’s not far down to paradise At least it’s not for me And if the wind is right you can sail away And find tranquility The canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see Believe me Christopher Cross was right. He realized that living on the west coast offers amazingly-vast expanses of deep [...]
As seen on The LA Times. Pro Portfolio: Architect Matthew Hofmann remodels Airstream into live-work space March 7, 2011 | 7:52 am Every Monday, we post a new home whose design is presented in the designer’s or the builder’s own words. This week: Design: Matthew Hofmann, Hofmann Architecture Location: Roaming, currently Santa Barbara Project goal: [...]
10 advantages of living and working in tiny spaces (with wheels) 1) Mobilization I rent space on a view lot on a burned home site in a 25-foot Airstream trailer. When I want a change of view I pack up my home/work place in less than 20 minutes. There are dozens of inexpensive places to [...]
“I have too much of what I don’t need,” Grampa Hofmann likes to say. He was born in 1927 – a generation known as Depression Babies – and raised during the Great Depression. Today, there are 40 million Americans of German ancestry. They represent one of the finest collections of diligent workers and disciplined immigrants [...]
The reality of living in 160 sq.ft. Why would anyone choose this? As seen on the online magazine Tiny House Blog. The nostalgic Airstream still gets grins from the gold era of travelers who trekked in Bonnieville station wagons towing their “drag-alongs.” Today, this 1978 Airstream is the home, office and access to the [...]
I’m an architect. I know, it’s ironic, but I don’t prefer designing a brand new home. Like you (I hope!) it’s our job to take care of the earth by our own behavior. The most unsustainable thing one can do to the earth is to design and build a new home where there wasn’t one [...]
