Archive for the ‘The Places’ Category

Revamp Your Porch

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Having a porch in Boston is definitely something to be proud of.  The extra versatile space has the potential to be used for anything from a barbecue haven to a private garden oasis.  Here are some tips to make the most of your porch this summer!

  • Adding a rug is a quick and easy way to tie together the outdoor décor.  Bring the coziness from indoors to every aspect of your home.
  • Take advantage of yard sale season.  Whether you’re out in the suburbs or thrift shopping in Central Square, there are plenty of secondhand hidden treasures perfect for both your porch and your wallet.
  • Use fabric made for the outdoors.  Find durable fabrics for your furniture that will withstand anything the summer will throw at it, from grass stains to sangria.
  • Make your own curtains.  Recycle your old favorite blankets, fabrics, or even that impulse buy you know you won’t ever wear to create a curtain set unlike any other. Your custom curtains are the perfect way to add extra protection and privacy, while holding together your color pattern.

  • Coordinate a color scheme.  Test out fun popular colors that are “in” this summer including sunshine yellow, refreshing lime, nautical navy, and sky blue.  Incorporate your color theme of choice throughout all of your porch décor.
  • Mix and match furniture.  Spice up your entertainment space with a variation of love seats, whicker chairs, and benches galore.  These conversation pieces will ease your hosting needs.
  • DIY Flower Pots.  Just moving in to your home?  Reuse all of those paint buckets as the ideal potters for your plants.  You can find a paper or fabric pattern of your choice to wrap around the paint bucket to create your custom plant potters.
  • Let the games begin! Simply find your board game of choice and attach the board to the top of a stool.  Your new unique table piece is ready for your next game night.

Political Real Estate (Romney vs. Obama)

Friday, October 5th, 2012

Click to enlarge!

The Estately Blog recently created a fun and playful comparison of the housing situations of the two presidential candidates (excluding the White House). The website compared Obama’s Chicago home with the five homes Romney has owned in the past few years. Both the presidents live in high-end houses. The average American home value is $221,800, but Romney’s (in total) is $32 million and Obama’s is $1.6 million. Check out the image above for all the info Estately gathered—including information on their neighbors. While Obama has had political neighbors in Chicago, Romney has had some rather interesting neighbors in Utah—including Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong. Both candidates have some luxe amenities in their homes. For instance, Obama has a 1,000 bottle wine cellar and a third floor ballroom. Romney is doubling the size of his La Jolla, CA beach home and adding an elevator for his cars. Decide for yourself who has the better digs!

The White House is the most luxurious. It has a bowling alley, basketball court, a missile defense system and lasers for security, and a home brewery. It is 55,000 square feet, has 11 bedrooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, and is worth a whopping $100 million dollars.

East Cambridge Courthouse Gets a Makeover, Maybe?

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

The Courthouse as is right now

I’m going to stray just a bit outside of the city today and talk a little bit about a new development in East Cambridge. The Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse is no longer in use, and thus is sitting upon some valuable real estate that developers are practically drooling over. Currently three developers/investment firms have submitted plans to the city, DivcoWest, Legatt McCall, and HYM. Although little is known about the plans Legatt McCall submitted, DivcoWest and HYM seem to have big ideas for the 22-story court house.

DivcoWest has even released renderings of the imagined new building, which appears to have a fairly modern and sleek exterior. Apartments have been a consideration, as the city and the neighborhood would love to offer more housing, and affordable housing at that. Beyond this the plans anticipate 460,000 square feet of office space, and 30,000 square feet of retail space under DivcoWest.

HYM’s plans are far more drastic in terms of a transformation, as they hope to strip the entire building down to the steel skeleton and start all over with an emphasis on a glass exterior. This plans includes 50 apartments, removing the top three floors of the building, a town plaza with outdoor seating, some retail space, and an excess of office space, 40,000 square feet to be more exact.

There’s no doubt that Legatt McCall has something big up their sleeve too, but now we must wait in anticipation to learn which plan will be selected and to watch the new building come to life.

The Braemore

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Today is about highlighting a great building here in Boston with a whole range of condos and apartments.  We’ve rented several of the units and currently have a couple new listings that are expected to hit the market in The Braemore this week! We’re excited and we just wanted to share a little bit about this wonderful building!

The Braemore is a former luxury hotel converted into wonderfully convenient condos located almost directly in Kenmore Square. Situated right on Commonwealth Ave you truly have access to all of Back Bay. Many of the units offer beautiful views of Fenway Park, the Charles River, and Comm Ave.  With Kenmore Square right there you have access to many fine dining options including the Eastern Standard, and Island Creek Oyster Bar. Beyond this, night life is not too far away with Fenway Park just a short walk away. You’ll be living with the true Boston experience and taking in all of Back Bay!

691 Massachusetts Ave makes it in the Boston Herald!

Monday, July 2nd, 2012

Hello All,

We know many of you are already of vacation or getting very close to vacation but we have some exciting news! Over the weekend the Boston Herald ran a story about one of our favorite buildings, 691 Massachusetts Avenue! Reporter and journalist, Paul Restuccia, visited with us during an open house and spent a lot of time learning about the units we have available. He’s written a great article that really captures the essence of the building and the units. An excellent narrated slide show also offers an inside peak at the building and displays its great modern look and versatility! So here’s the link, let us know what you think!

Thursday, March 17th, 2011
The Places
Map Allston/Brighton

Back Bay/Beacon Hill

Brookline

Cambridge

Charlestown

Dorchester

Fenway/Kenmore

Jamaica Plain

North End/Waterfront

South Boston

South End