Oct 28, 2023
My friend Sue Watkins has bought, fixed up and sold more homes than just about anyone else. The daughter of a local developer, Watkins loves a challenge and enjoys remodeling.
I met Watkins in 1995 when she bought and remodeled the Tudor home—once owned by her grandfather—next door to us on 33rd Street facing McKinley Park.
Before her move to East Sac, she lived in a 1950s Fair Oaks home she bought from the original owners. She remodeled the kitchen and kept most of the design intact. “I loved the neighbors, the neighborhood and the easy access to Fair Oaks Village,” she says.
When she sold the home three years later, she never imagined returning. But after many years and several life and home changes, including a move to Bodega Bay and Sebastopol, she longed for Fair Oaks.
Oct 28, 2023
Wind and sunlight allowed grandma to dry clothes on an outdoor line. Passive solar architectural principles were used by ancient cultures to warm and shade homes thousands of years ago.
Today, housetraining the elements of weather stirs a dust devil of options for gardens. Wind and the sun deliver clean, renewable energy for gardening tools and decorative outdoor products. Some are utilitarian, others save energy. Many are simply art.
As gift-giving season approaches, neighborhood nurseries and home centers stock a variety of jaw-dropping options powered by nature and created by clever minds. And you thought sun was for tanning, and wind for flying kites?
Sep 28, 2023
Robert Puleo and Dan Gentry purchased their San Antonio Way home from the original owner in 2018. It was built in 1923.
Puleo went to school with the owner’s granddaughter. The couple bought the home from her grandmother, who was born in the house. When new, it was the only residence on the street.
Sep 28, 2023
Stone is not fragrant. It doesn’t bloom or sway in the breeze. Bees and butterflies treat it like a flyover state, settling on flowers. It’s not plucked and tucked in a vase, and rarely photographed. Moss and lichens find it, but gardeners too often ignore it. Yet it commands that other indispensable garden design group, hardscape.
Hardscape is any structure or feature unrelated to plants. Gardens stir conversations about trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses. Stone, should you look beyond plants, is stacked, mortared and set into patios, pathways, retaining walls, water features and dry stream beds, or placed for decorative purposes. Stone serves garden whims and fundamental needs.
Aug 28, 2023
In late 2019, Karen Blaise and Matthew Shigihara purchased their midcentury modern home in Sierra Oaks. The couple previously lived in Land Park, where Blaise bought her first home in 1984.
“The home was in original condition, and we were excited to start a major redesign and remodel,” says Shigihara, an architect known for his design of two Sacramento water intake structures. “We were thrilled to give a new life to the home originally built in 1960.”
“After we met in 2007, I vowed I’d never leave Land Park,” Blaise says. “Matthew even designed a striking contemporary home that we considered building in place of our older home on Fifth Avenue. But sadly, the city’s design ordinance didn’t allow what we had envisioned.”
Blaise’s brother lives in Wilhaggin, and the couple visited Arden often. In their eyes, it lacked Land Park’s appeal. “But when this Huntington Road home came on the market, we both agreed we’d found the perfect project,” Blaise says.
Aug 28, 2023
Sacramento’s majestic urban forest is a shady embrace. As fall approaches, return the love by replacing or adding trees to the landscape.
Trees, arm in arm with farm to fork and tomatoes, are as Sacramento as it gets. We jog, nap and dine under trees, often not acknowledging the benefits our woody friends provide.
The urban forest accommodates family gatherings, recreation and relaxation. It yields food. Trees purify air, cool homes, save energy, provide wildlife habitat and prevent soil erosion. Trees are beautiful, boosting property values.
The city’s Urban Forestry Division reported 305 street trees lost and 191 park trees downed during January storms. Officials lack precise figures for tree losses on private property, but estimate 1,500 were swept away last winter. Many more vanished from drought, stress and diseases.
