Homeward

My sister Rhonda recently decided to sell her house outside of Denver. It was filled with furniture and belongings that she and her family had collected over decades. Getting her house ready to put on the market was a lot for one person, so our brother, Dean, his wife, Leslie, and I flew in to help Rhonda pare down her stuff and get her house staged for sale. I adore my sister. She is eight years older than me and always served as my protector.

Tile inspiration from our Reath mood board explorations. We are living in an age of “tile-drenching,” where every surface in a space from the floors to the walls to the ceilings is getting tiled. And for good reason. There’s an abundance of beautiful tile in the world. Tile has texture and heft that suggest permanence. It is also heavy, requires special installation, and can be wildly expensive. Did I mention that you also need to consider the grout color?

Today, I’m bringing you a mezze spread of renovation and real estate snippets, before a main course essay by my friend and fellow substacker, Christene Barberich. (When not writing, Christene moonlights as an advisor; her latest project is a rebrand of John McDonald’s On The House substack, where she is editor-at-large.) On A Tiny Apartment, Christene documents her vintage design hunts, home upgrades and renovations, and her inimitable style.

Creatives who start their careers living in Manhattan often end up, by mid-career, living in one of two places: south Brooklyn or Maplewood, New Jersey. So I perked up as soon as I learned that this week’s houseguest, the designer Hollie Velten-Lattrell, was based in Maplewood, the land of creatives! Then I learned that her firm, Spaces, was behind a storybook bedroom renovation that I loved. Hollie used to be a dancer.

We’re heading back to Ojai in September, so I have a few supplies and organizational projects (spice drawer, garage) in the works. I could use your help with one of them: I need a bicycle! I’m not a cyclist or mountain biker, this bike will be for toodling around town and hauling food from the farmers’ market. Here are my specs: Cruiser or city bike with a comfy seat Pedal-assist Stylish 🙂 Optional trailer for my many farmers’ market bags Got any recs?! Leave them in the comments or dm me.

New techniques or reimagined concepts periodically sweep through the kitchen (think sous vide and crispy rice salad), and the last quarter century has radically expanded the average American’s access to ingredients. But most cooking is based on a long tradition. And that’s exactly what I love about it. That’s also why I love old cookbooks and old recipes.

I was blown away by your generosity about last week’s post. Thank you for welcoming my honesty and for being here. Writing Homeward and connecting with you all has been a joy! First up this week, my journey to finding the Platonic ideal of mixing bowls. Further down, Dan Barber’s vision for a more sustainable food system, including sparkling buckwheat soda and my (future) fave new chip flavor. If I have a mission in life, it may be to design the perfect mixing bowl.

Many of you have asked that I talk about how we budgeted for our house, and I’ve promised since the beginning that I’d write about money. I don’t see how you can write honestly or compellingly about home design without addressing the question of cost. Money is the subtext of every design detail. Not just how much you have, but your attitude about it, how much you value it, what your relationship with it is like. I’m going to be very open, and I ask only that you respond to my candor with grace.

Everyone keeps saying that upstate New York is having a moment. I would put it differently. Covid and inflation caused a large group of creatives who had previously lived in places like Brooklyn and Queens to flock upstate, where living expenses are lower and creative opportunities lie in the eyes of the beholder. Many artists and makers created new workshops and studios. Others opened shops or restaurants or hotels. Upstate is flourishing and it’s going to be for far longer than a moment.

This week, I’ve got some renovation budget takeaways for you—20+ items I wish we’d reviewed during the planning stage, as well as some of the things we initially regretted but that actually turned out better. Before we dive in, some New York City updates, a word about Rec League, and a call for what I should focus my next reno recs on. Clockwise from top left: Canyon Coffee, my friend Liz about the whisk me into The Analog Stationer, and memorable dishes from Chez Fifi.