The first weekend of summer just wouldn’t feel the same if it wasn’t on the water.  Typically I can be found among the masses fighting the traffic to get to the Cape, but the truth is I can be made ridiculously happy with any body of salt water, and get by in a pinch with fresh.

Boston Yatch Club – Waterbug Race

This weekend I find myself in Marblehead blogging to you from my lounge chair overlooking the harbor, waving to my neighbors the Boston Yatch Club.  I do love sailors, they are a handy bunch, rigging, splicing, tying knots.  I may have mentioned a time or two before that while I am happy to make polite conversation with a man that knows how to make a phone call, the one that wins my heart is the one that knows how do to things, build things, carry heavy things.  I digress.

Lobster Shacks … I could tuck in here for the night.

“Call it unique, picturesque, cussed, distinctive, pixilated, fascinating – that’s Marblehead, a town in love with liberty and rugged individualism, its people and its history, its crooked lanes and irregular houses, its customs and humor defy conformity and dullness.  The irreligious settlers, the adventurous fisherman, the zealous patriots of 1776, and the daring Privateers of 1812, the clipper ship captains, and yesteryear’s fish peddlers, imbued their town with a spirit as rocky as the peninsula itself.” – Opening paragraph of Marblehead – The spirit of ’76 lives here by Pricilla Sawyer Lord and Virginia Clegg Gamage (1972)

Room with a view.

These gals were right about the winding roads, and crooked houses.  The streets make Boston’s one ways look like Washington DC, but getting lost in Old Town will likely end with you finding something out about yourself, and the history of this quaint New England town.

It’s no surprise that Marblehead is home to so many architects, the buildings – from lobster shacks to mansions are irresistible.  I’d love to get my hands one, strip it down to the studs, and give it a whole new lease on life.  I think I can smell the sawdust, or is it the salt air?  Either way, two of my favorite aromas.

Happy Summer Sunday to all you salt water babies.

That’s signature Cape Cod – more specifically Old Cape Cod.  These little gems, rather like doll houses, were quintessentially the Cape, where one was meant to spend their time on the dunes or seaside, rather than seated on the sofa watching a Real House Wives marathon.

When the rain came down, or night fell, the interior – walls paneled in pine with built in bookshelves, laden with board games and puzzles, beckoned, offering comfort and good old fashioned entertainment.  It’s funny how the walls don’t close in on you when the room is filled with laughter.

Color me….

Yards were meant for entertaining and didn’t require the newest outdoor furniture line release from Restoration Hardware (sorry RH, I love you, you know I do!) to tender an invite, a couple of folding chairs and a card table sufficed.  A holler over the fence, a last minute plan hatched on the beach, a run-in at the grocery resulting in an extra package of hot dogs, another bag of chips, and a few more bottles of wine.  The more the merrier.  Another reason to love these gatherings…they were come as you are.  Off the beach, after a round of golf, having whiled away the hours swinging in the hammock, reading a good book – no worries, you’re perfect.  Just the way you are.

The Priory circa 1910

While the Cape isn’t know for pastel painted shutters, and flower boxes, I will admit those that have a little pop of color have my heart.  Once those shingles weather, which they are known to do, they need a little happy to soften the grey – in my opinion.

To all the Dad’s this Father’s Day – I hope you found your own uncomplicated hap[py with your family.

I love looking at real estate, which is a good thing because when you’re flipping, you need to be in tune with the tiniest nuances of the market.  I start big.  What’s happening in China?  The election?  Luxury properties in New York and Miami.  Who’s hiring, who’s laying off?  State Street – Golman. Where are interest rates going.?  As a professional and skilled worrier I can cover a lot of ground.  One might ask what the heck any of that has to do with real estate prices in Boston’s South End.  The answer is of course, perhaps everything…perhaps nothing.  I could talk to you about global unrest and perception impacting the markets.  I could discuss the implications of increased regulation on banking and the end of an era of gross bonuses, corruption, and excess.  I could walk you through my logic regarding luxury properties in other major cities and the trickle down effect to my little neighborhood.  I could, but when even the best and the brightest only get it right a fraction of the time, it seems pointless that I would try.  My worrying is very personal you see.

Boston’s South End

Once I’ve run through global points of concern, I bring it down to a local level.  Plenty to be concerned about here too, but also much to get excited about.  I love stats, and there are some good ones being developed in this spring market.  Last week’s home’s sold in the neighborhood included:

• 20 sold
• 8 over $1M
• 5 over $1000. a foot
• The highest at $1218.58 a foot (a brownstone)

This is good news.  I bought at over $1000. a foot.  at $1008.75  Very high, very risky.  Now if I planned to hold for a long time, that would decrease the risk, but a flipper can’t be hanging onto properties.  It’s contrary to the objective…which if you’ve forgotten, is to retire some day.

The Unit in my Building . Staged for Sale

Now none of those properties are on my street, but the unit above mine sold a few weeks ago.  I had the opportunity to visit it before it was cleaned and staged.  Here are the stats:

• 2 bed (both small)
• In unit washer and dryer
• small rear deck
• marble working wood fireplace
• lovely architectural detail
• 815SF
• Listed at $725,000.
• Sold at $817,000.
• $92,000. over asking price.

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This is very good news for me.  This unit, to my estimation needed between $75,000. – $150,000. worth of work.  The kitchen and bath both need to be gutted.  Floors and baseboards need to be replaced, doors and hardware need to be replaced, bedrooms retrofitted with closets, rear deck needs to be replaced, windows in this unit replaced in the front.

My Unit – Coming Along.

What my unit needs is air conditioning – nothing else.  What it doesn’t have is a second bedroom.  Which is a big selling point – even if the room is undersized, people will pay considerably more for a two bed.  Still, I’m not sure I can resist the frenzy.  It may need to go on the market in the fall.  Timing is everything in this life.

Thank God for Home Goods.  I continue to be amazed by the design quality, the prices, and the knock-offs.  They have them on the shelves before the trend even reaches its peak.  It’s impressive and I am happy to be the beneficiary of the creatives that are in their employ.

Home Goods – $69. Sculptural Elegance on its way to Dallas.

As I work on my friend Melissa’s Dallas Living Room project I thought I’d pop into Home Goods one more time before I make final selections.  As always, I consider the overall budget from which I am working.  Nothing makes me happier than finding a steal of a deal on an item or two, allowing me to splurge on a statement piece.

Both of the above from Home Goods at $69. each.  It’s true!

One might think that all Home Goods carry the same products nation-wide.  As a frequent traveler that has visited Home Goods in multiple states within the same week, and many in-state within the same weekend, I can regrettably report that isn’t the case.  I am still pining for a console table in faux eel skin – the turquoise color and brass fixtures calling my name.  $150. bucks but it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase and a search of three HG’s Stores in my area turned up bupkis and has me convinced that when you see something you like, you’ve got to take it.  The wares are a bit like an elusive unicorn, capturing them requires speed, vision, and leaves no room for indecision.

Carpets from Home Goods $299. and $199. Respectively.  Ca Marche. They work.

A pair of the first lamp featured, which are beyond fab, will be packaged up and shipped west to their destination.  At just $69. each, it’s worth the extra effort, as none of the local HG Stores had them in stock.  A lamp like this could easily run $600. a piece, which makes this bubbly bargain tres excitement, non?

Ballard Designs Valentino and Fine Rug Collection Oushak

We have been in search of a rug that will help tie it all together.  Oushak is our preference but we’ve been resistant to spending more than $3k on one.  With two little ones likely to smear yogurt, and grind Cheerio’s into the delicate fibers, not to mention the wine I am likely to spill when I visit, and the desire to change things up from time to time, this price seems reasonable.  But wait, I found a number of ridiculously inexpensive carpets at HG that would give the overall design feel we are trying to achieve.  With out doubt they aren’t going to win any quality or craftsmanship contests, but at $199. and $299. they will win A prize.  To be fair we are still considering a lovely carpet from Fine Rug Collection.com at just $1170. and yet another from Ballard Design at $2299. (on sale right now for an additional $20% off) – Valentio Carpet.

One Kings Lane – Sara Table $659.

Now if I play my cards right I could get a couple of these sublimely pearly side tables – Perla Table Kabibe at $1530. found on Melodyinteriordesign.com, and this lovely OKL Sara 55″ Coffee Table at $659.  It’s starting to feel like a Good Home – or is it a Home Full of Good?  You be the judge.

Perla Table Kabibe $1530.