Uncategorized Archives | House and Hammer

Finders, fixers.

Homemade ant traps and other ways to keep insects out of your house

Last year at this time, we were just overrun with ants. I mean, we’ve always seen a few stray ants around June when the weather warms up. But this was an absolute infestation: parades of little pavement ants traipsing along ant highways in our dining room and kitchen. I don’t know what changed, apart from…

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We’re just back from an amazing 9-day trip to Morocco, which I’ll be sure to write about at some point (and whose traditional salons, with their custom and comfortable built-in bench seats lining every wall, will surely inspire a post of their own and maybe even a complete overhaul of our dining room). But, mere hours before that trip began,…

view from the summit of Mount Holyoke in Western Massachusetts

Happy spring (at last)! Here’s what I’ve been up to.

It’s been a busy month (or two), so I haven’t had time to post much (at all)! If it’s any consolation, here’s some of my favorite stuff that I’ve written elsewhere in the past couple of months. Enjoy! Want to Buy in a ‘Good School District’? Look Beyond the Rankings (Boston Globe): While everyone wants to do…

delivery at boston building resources center

Shopping the Habitat ReStore and Boston Building Resources Center

One of the challenges of owning an old house — and there are many! — is finding stuff that matches your home. It can be tough to find doors that go with the ones in your 1890s Victorian or window molding as wide or as detailed as the trim in your 1920s bungalow. And that’s…