Home Construction

By George T. Comeau An 1885 view of the James Lucas Draper House on Washington Street. The sentinel pillars are now in Sharon. (Courtesy of the Canton Historical Society) James Lucas Draper was 36 years old and had become quite wealthy as a result of his business acumen and being born to the right family. The sixth child of James and Anne Draper, James was entrepreneurial and successful. The mill that he and his brother inherited from their father employed over 200 workers and encompassed a quarter of a million square feet of floor space and 25 acres of land. The Draper Brothers factory exported their goods across a global network that brought great wealth to the family. Draper was born in Melbourne, England, on June 30, 1849. In 1851, the family, moved to Canton, where his father established a knitting business with his brother Thomas Draper. Upon the death of his father in 1873, James L. Draper and his siblings took over ownership of their father's knitting business and renam...

Fancy escaping to a cosy log cabin in Scotland and relaxing in the hot tub? Of course you do. Whether they're up in the rugged Scottish Highlands, or beside a peaceful loch, there's no better place for a relaxing Scottish staycation. We've found a selection of the best ones currently available on booking.com. A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. This cute cabin resides in the coastal village of Carsethorn, not far from the English border. Sunset Retreat With Hot Tub has free parking, free wifi, and is moments away from a cosy village pub. It's a centrally heated 'garden room' for up to four people, with double bed, two singles, a shower room and kitchen facilities. Photo: booking.com Enjoy views over Lochinver Bay and the Assynt mountain range from your hottub at this charming lodge. The Hideaway has a w...

Glasshouse Images/Getty Images 1. Special Plumbing for Farmhouse Sinks Farmhouse sinks are beloved for their deep basins, but that feature can also present a challenge. "Many design professionals don't realize that those fixtures need specialized plumbing and fitting, since they take up more room underneath the sink," says Matt O'Rourke, president of national plumbing, sewer and drain repair company Z Plumberz. If you're consulting with a designer or architect on your remodel, it's worth bringing in a plumber to review the plans, so you have a clearer picture of what work needs to be done to achieve the look you want. (O'Rourke recommends budgeting $1,000 to $3,000 for kitchen plumbing in general, just to be safe.) 2. Delivery Fees In the Amazon era, doesn't everything come with free, two-day ship...

3d house design software is a great way for all interested parties – designers, architects, and builders, as well as owners and their friends – to preview new houses or renovations before they are even started.  Offering speed, flexibility and user-friendliness, these 3D House plans don't only provide all these stakeholders a previously impossible opportunity to decide whether or not they like what they are seeing before they commit.  This makes them an excellent marketing tool. On top of that, importantly, they also provide specifiers and industry professionals with an opportunity to avoid mistakes and problems before they arise. How does House Design 3D work? Similar to tools used in the film industry, 3D House Design software incorporates sophisticated lighting, camera and rendering techniques and also things like HTML, to deliver realistic 3 dimensional representations of rooms and buildings.  What's more, the representatio...

Andrea Stetson  |  Special to Fort Myers News-Press There is modern, contemporary, transitional, coastal, Key West, West Indies and  Mediterranean. Then there is the lesser seen farmhouse, cottage, colonial, Cape Cod, craftsman, ranch, Tudor, split level, art deco, Victorian, log home, mid-century modern,  Asian, pueblo, and more. So people building or buying a home have a lot to choose from. Back in the 1990s and early 2000's it was simpler. Most people were selecting the Mediterranean look with its rounded arches and columns. But that's fallen out of favor, and what's replaced it, isn't one style anymore, but a variety of styles with some common traits. "The trend today is not the trend," said Gary Aubuchon, owner of Aubuchon Homes. "There is not a predominant style today as it was in the mid 2000's when virtually everything was Mediterranean." John Cooney, a partner with Stofft Cooney Architects in Naples,...

Faced with a blank wall, most of us think paint or wallpaper. But there are more interesting possibilities to consider. Facing a blank wall can be daunting. Often, we instinctively fall back on the most familiar option: "What color should I paint it?" Or maybe: "Should I add wallpaper?" But there is a world of possibilities beyond basic paint and wallpaper that can make a dramatic change to a room: You could paint a blank wall with a mural, coat it in lime wash, install paneling or add decals. "When you paint a wall with flat paint, you just see color," said Genna Margolis, the founder of Shapeside, an interior design firm in Los Angeles. With other wall treatments, you see something more: a graphic pattern, a texture, a sense of variation. And while some showstopping wall finishes involve precious materials and laborious techniques that are better left to professionals, others are easy enough to pull off by yourself. Designers and manufacturers recently s...

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