Desert Life

Snow in Phoenix

In The News

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Although it’s rare, sometimes we Phoenicians have to protect our desert plants from freezing temperatures. Our Tucson branch manager, The HouseChick, a.k.a. Kelley Koehler wrote about prepping your cactus for the few freezing nights. Click on over to see  cups on cactus and the new trend, bags on cactus. Thinking of visiting the Phoenix-Scottsdale area [...]

30 December 2010 Read the full article →

Arizona crime rates up? Not really.

In The News

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Yesterday a local talk radio station aired a long interview with a local expert criminologist and a 20-year veteran Sergeant of the Phoenix Police Department. Campaigning local politicians talking about a rash of murders in the desert, but the FBI Crime Index shows crime sharply down statewide and in Phoenix since 2005. The FBI statistics [...]

24 September 2010 Read the full article →

All about the Phoenix monsoon

Glossary Posts

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This is a reprint of a post from summer 2009. When I was a kid and we moved here in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the knee-jerk reaction answer to “When’s the monsoon?” was “August”. With the heat island effect, it seems like the monsoon arrives earlier and lasts longer each year. In 2008, [...]

4 August 2010 Read the full article →

Design Ideas for Teenage Boys’ Rooms

Homeowner Help

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Sometimes looking at pictures can be a spark for inspiration, and I thought these pictures were great! I see a few common elements to most of these rooms: Lots of Storage – shelves, cubbies, and closets Going Vertical – efficiently getting the most out of the available space Clean & Organized – sort of an [...]

23 June 2010 Read the full article →

24 Rooms in a 300 sqft condo

Homeowner Help

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Think your house is too small?  Need an extra bedroom, home office, or garage bay?  We’ve written several times over the years about making the most of the space you have, but nothing compares with this… Architect Gary Chang lives in Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated cities on Earth.  But that didn’t [...]

29 April 2010 Read the full article →

Fun color in the kitchen

Lifestyle

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Heather & I have written several times about the merits of “real estate beige.” When you’re trying to *sell* your house, it’s very important to make it appeal to as many people as possible – more people who like it equals more potential buyers which also equals a higher sales price and faster sales time.  [...]

22 March 2010 Read the full article →

Desert Life – Re-Thinking your Kitchen

Op Ed

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Re-Thinking your Kitchen Yesterday we released February’s Desert Life e-newsletter, where we explore homeownership and Phoenix lifestyles, complete with lots of pictures.  This month’s is chalk-full of ideas & pictures for updating your kitchen. Read the full article here. Here’s our newsletter archive page, where you’ll find previous articles which might interest you. Here’s where [...]

11 February 2010 Read the full article →

Desert Life – Clutter, Organization, and Storage

Op Ed

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Clutter, Organization, and Storage We released January’s Desert Life e-newsletter this week, where we present ideas (with lots of pictures) for organizing your home and clearing out some of that clutter. Here’s the full article, with lots of pictures & examples. Here’s our newsletter archive page, where you might find previous articles of interest. Here’s [...]

15 January 2010 Read the full article →

Welcome to Phoenix. It is not Tuscany.

Op Ed

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I’m about to come out and say something that will tick off a lot of people, and puzzle some others. This is purely opinion. If you don’t care to hear my opinion, move on. OK now, for the three readers who are left (who are also, coincidentally, my 3 best friends)… Phoenix is NOT Tuscany. [...]

14 October 2009 Read the full article →

Sunshine is better

Lifestyle

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Our weather has been terrific lately – cool in the mornings and evenings, warm at lunchtime, hot in the afternoon, but still so dry it doesn’t bother you at all.  I’m finding myself in a better-than-normal mood lately for no real reason.. This is one of the reasons I’m so optimistic for Phoenix’s real estate [...]

15 May 2009 Read the full article →

Would you live in a shipping container?

Lifestyle

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You know those ubiquitous corrugated metal boxes you see on trains and around industrial centers?  AZCentral ran an article this morning about a local architect, Lorenzo Perez, who’s planning to build studio apartments out of them! My first thought was “come on, give me a break.”  But a little more research changed my mind. Turns [...]

14 May 2009 Read the full article →

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