Posts made by author 'Badger Peabody & Smith Realty'

Alfred and Eleanor Wilcox were two of my favorite people on earth. When I was first born, our family lived with them in New York for those first years of my life they introduced me to the concept of "home". As I grew up, and our family relocated all over New England, we always found a way to get back to Alfred and Eleanor's house for the holidays. "Nana" and "Bampa" were their "real" names for all four of us grandkids. The smell of Nana's cooking and Bampa's ever-present smile were always a highlight for our visits. Of course, actually FINDING Bampa sitting down in one place long enough to see the smile was always a challenge. As I look back now it is obvious that lots of care, love, time and hard work went into creating that atmosphere that we looked forward to and appreciated so much.

Shortly after their passing, a strange...

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I'm a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes. If you haven't had the pleasure of those comic strips, run-don't-walk to your local bookstore and grab one of the collections. You won't regret it and your family will continue to enjoy it for years. One of the sadder storylines Bill Watterson told was when Calvin's home was broken into and burglarized. He did a great job of eliciting the fear and vulnerability that Calvin's mom and dad felt after coming home to that scene. You feel like a stranger in your own home. And you have certainly lost all sense of safety and comfort inside those 4 walls. Of course Calvin was mostly concerned that they stole the television!

This is the time of year when many of us are hitting the road. Whether to head off on a skiing (or more likely - beach) adventure or simply visiting family and friends for the holidays...

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I played hooky last Monday. I know! You are likely saying: "Who takes the Monday off after an extra-long holiday weekend?" This guy. That's who. We had 12 people at the house over the weekend and only the remaining 2 were left on Monday. We all decided to venture up into the mountains and go sledding. Yes, I'm talking about hiking up a mountain trail and then hopping on a sled (hanging your legs off the front to slow down) and screaming (literally and figuratively) down the trail. A more fun Monday has never been had.

This time of year there seems to be a plethora of extended weekends, holiday breaks and simple days taken off. And if you are not in the camp of those of us willing to step away from the computer, we collectively feel bad for you and are now encouraging you to take that break. We all k...

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We have learned the benefits of staging your home when selling and there is no question is pays off. Your home will look more tidy and clean and, most importantly, provide the potential buyers the ability to picture themselves living there. The reality of that task though, is that you now can't use the kitchen or the bathroom and you're sleeping on the couch because you finally got the comforter on the bed to look just right! The last thing you want to do is mess anything up for the showing coming up (in 3 days!).

OK. Let's slide back into reality. We all have busy lives. Some of you (my condolences) even have small humans running around your home. From what I'm told, they leave a swath of destruction in their wake wherever they roam. If you are raising 4-legged creatures instead (or as well!) they also bring their own chall...

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It is no secret making the best and highest use of our homes is important to us all. In general, we don't like to have wasted spaces and this time of year most certainly don't want to be heating those spaces for no good reason. For the most part I have had my home-office in spare bedrooms. Once I actually had a whole half of our basement. That was fun, but kind of wasteful and silly. I used the space heater for nearly the entire winter. One great option for optimizing the space in your home is the attic. Today I'd like to take a walk up those stairs and share a few insights for making great use of that space.

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a newer home, many of the homes around New England are getting a little long in the tooth. If the attic was never used (or even intended to be used) for a living area, it is going to b...

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