Category: Newton Homes

Homes for sale in Newton, MA.

Unique Gifts for Easy Holiday Shopping

Hostess and Mother-in-Law Gifts All In One Place

New arrivals at Darby Road make holiday shopping a snap for unique gifts that make an impression. Busy holiday season coming up? Why not stock up on hostess gifts like wooden carved candle sticks? Or consider our canvas wine caddy that will make your gift of wine stand out.

Need to shop for someone who has everything? Try our stone platters or other beautiful bowls that go with any style of decor and can be used for entertaining as well as accessorizing a room.

If you are going to be hosting holiday parties, we have easy ideas to spruce up your home. Throw pillows are an easy way to change the look of a room. Lamps add soft and inviting lighting. We’re partial to these giant alphabet letters to spell out a family surname or a short message. Kids also would love their names in their rooms!

Please come by for easy one-stop holiday shopping! We hope to help you find that perfect gift before the holiday madness begins.

The carved candle sticks would make a nice hostess gift or for the woman who has everything like perhaps your mother-in-law? The large and colorful alphabet letters are fun in living rooms or kids’ rooms. Or perhaps on hallways?

These stone platters cry out for cheese and crackers. Use them for your own holiday entertaining or gift to a very lucky recipient. A hostess gift idea: gift the platter with beautifully arranged cheeses and fruit.

Just in! New shipment of throw pillows! Need quick change ideas to refresh your entertaining spaces? Throw pillows add a pop of color. The Scottie pillows are perfect for a dog owner with a beloved pooch!

Vintage animal figurines add whimsy to any room and make great gifts!

With holiday parties ramping up, plan ahead and stock up on hostess gifts to avoid last minute rushing around. Instead of just a bottle of wine that gets lost on a kitchen counter, why not gift this canvas wine caddy? Add a ribbon and a bottle of your favorite wine, and your gift will get noticed.

Darby Road is located at 1395 Main Street in Waltham, Massachusetts near Wolfers Lighting. Our store hours are 10-5 Monday thru Saturday and Sunday 12-4. Be sure to look in our 10,000 square foot warehouse too! showcases an extensive collection of vintage and antique finds. The warehouse is open on Saturdays 10-5 and during the week by appointment. Don’t forget to ask about our custom paint studio where vintage pieces can be transformed into one-of-a-kind treasures. You can also get updates on new shipments on Twitter and Facebook.

October 31, 2012
Junior League of Boston Show House in Newton

Tour Show House at 71 Walnut Park in Newton

ABOUT THE SHOW HOUSE

The Junior League of Boston is hosting an exciting month-long Show House event. This celebrated designshowcase is now in its 35th year and is expected to draw over 10,000 visitors. The Potter Estate, on the grounds of the Jackson-Walnut Park Schools in Newton, is being transformed by 35 prominent local design firms who have generously donated their time and materials. Each of the 36 design areas of this stately home and grounds is being re-designed, while maintaining the character of this 1867 property.

To view the participating designers, please click here.

TOUR THE SHOW HOUSE

The Junior League of Boston welcomes the public to tour the Show House. Tickets are $30 if purchased online before October 12^th or from a Junior League Member. Tickets will be $35 at the door. Please see theTickets and Location Tab for more information on ticket sales or purchase tickets here.

Bathroom by Ana Donohue of Ana Donohue Interiors.

October 28, 2012
82 Day Street in Newton Nearing Completion

House for Sale in Newton Soon

My husband’s real estate project at 82 Day Street in Newton is nearing completion after a large renovation. The new house specs are:

Living area: 3590 square feet and an additional approximately 600 square feet of finished basement.

Lot Size: 8000 sq ft

Number of Bedrooms: 5 Bedrooms on second floor. Possible additional bedroom or au pair room in basement.

Number of Bathrooms: 3 1/2 Bath + doggy shower! 2 bathrooms on 2nd floor, 1/2 bath with doggy shower on first floor, and full bath in basement.

AC: 3 zones central

Heat: combo hydro air/water 3 zones, tankless water boiler

Garage: Attached 2 car

Laundry: On second floor

p.s. Here are some posts on the “Before.” Framing New Addition. The Plans for New Addition.

Newly renovated and expanded, 82 Day Street has 5 bedrooms with a possible 6th bedroom in the basement. The 3.5 baths include master suite and doggy bath near the mud room.

The new front entrance is updated with pillar columns, black door with narrow side windows for safety.

The front of 82 Day Street in Newton near Brae Burn Country Club

New fireplace mantle went in today in living room.

The living room has new French Doors that open to a new large deck to enjoy the view of the 3rd hole at Brae Burn Country Club.

Here’s a view of the new deck off the living room.

The pillars sticking out mark the new huge deck that leads off the French Doors in the living room. This is a great entertaining spot with views of Brae Burn. FORE!

This is view from living room French Doors onto 3rd fairway at Brae Burn Country Club.

Back of 82 Day Street. New stone retaining wall with new deck being installed on the far left.

The kitchen is expanded from original house and will have white cabinets, white subway tile, and honed black granite countertops. The new island is in the foreground.

Master bathroom new walk in shower being installed with marble tile.

The bathtub is in. The marble tile surrounding bathtub going in now.
The master closet is spacious. This is just part of it.

The half bath near the mudroom has a dog bath for cleaning muddy paws. It’s being installed now.

This room in the basement has a fireplace. It would make a great guest room, au pair room or office space.

82 Day Street is scheduled to be completed and on the market in about a month. For more information or to schedule a tour, please email Tai at TaiTaiLee@aol.com.

October 15, 2012
Newton: 82 Day Street Renovation In Progress

The “Before”

My husband took me on his real estate development project at 82 Day Street in Auburndale, a village in Newton. It has views of Brae Burn Country Club’s third hole!

He fixed some issues with the house … namely the garage used to be basement level which meant it was inaccessible during the winter because the steep driveway was too slippery to back the car out. Now, there is a two car garage on the left on the first level so the homeowners can park their car inside during the winter and not have to remove snow and ice from their car.

He’s also adding more square footage including a master suite, enlarging an existing bedroom, 2nd floor laundry, a new mudroom and full bath. The house will end up with 5 bedrooms with 3 full baths. The 100o foot basement will also be finished — playroom, office, mancave or all of the above?!

I personally love nooks and crannies of an old house. This house will have a little nook at the top of the stairs that could be a small home office, or library with window seat reading area. If it were my house, I’d go for the library idea.

One thing that I noticed is that the house has nice flow. My husband poo poos Feng Shui, the Chinese art of auspicious placement, but he has a natural knack for it as I’ve discovered after studying a pile of books to decide what is right and wrong. He, on the other hand, just seems to know and saying “it’s obvious.” The irony! And he’s not even Chinese!

This is his last project in Newton if you want to see finishes. He is going to do the kitchen in the same white cabinet, black honed granite counters. And the flooring is going to be wide Brazilian Cherry hardwood! The dark wood should really pop against the light kitchen! I just saw the kitchen sink he picked out. Farmstead sink but made of stainless steel with apron drop. Honestly, white sinks require daily scrubbing with powder to get the black lines out. Stainless steel is much easier to keep clean. I like deep sinks to hide dirty dishes.

New addition makes house more symmetrical.

The new addition also makes the house more symmetrical. Architecture design by Peter Sachs. My husband added vaulted ceilings in parts of the new addition to make the house feel airy and spacious.

New mudroom and full bath with dog bath area.

The new addition’s framing is complete. The left side is a mudroom as you come in off the garage and behind that is a full bathroom with doggy shower. My husband didn’t think that anyone would use a shower off the first floor if there are two full bathrooms upstairs but , as we have a dog who loves swampy water (Golden Retriever), we fully appreciate the idea of an indoor dog wash area.

This is the view from the kitchen sink. Imagine looking at the view of Brae Burn’s 3rd fairway as you wash dishes. Warning: could be very distracting!

The new master suite is above the garage and will have very high ceilings and lots of natural light from all these new windows. We are from California so we crave natural light in a house. My little son said that the closet is bigger than his room. I think this is actually true.

This house is slated to be complete by the end of September.

July 26, 2012
My Dream Mudroom As Described by Architect’s Wife Without Mudroom

The cobbler’s children have no shoes and the architect’s wife has no mud room! Actually, in the case of Peter and Tracy Sachs, the architect’s wife has no mudroom now but is about the get the mudroom of her dreams. What is a dream mudroom? For Tracy, visiting the glorious mudrooms of Peter’s clients has helped her define her dream mudroom.

1) It must be spacious enough to contain all the sports equipment of three active kids.

2) It must have hooks for backpacks.

3) It must look tidy or have the illusion of tidiness by closing it off when not actually tidy.

4) She must be able to pack and unpack backpacks in the mudroom.

5) It must be near both the entryway into the house AND the kitchen.

What is your dream mudroom? Door to close it off or not? Bench? Sink to wash dog? Please share!

Mudroom Ideas

Peter Sachs says, “The client wanted a mudroom that is modest but formal and open with a bench. They did not want it to look like a funky kids’ mudroom.”

Centre Street Mudroom

The second example is a client who wanted a funky, all purpose, kid friendly mudroom.

Fairfax Street Mudroom

This is the front of the Fairfax house. The mudroom is off the side entrance car port.

The last one is a combination mudroom/laundry in a very tight floor plan. They have a small dog that gets washed in the sink.

Jordan Mudroom

July 19, 2012
Buy into Newton: Least Expensive House
3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1,485 square feet, Single Family

$415,000

79 PEARL STREET / NEWTON CORNER

SQUARE FOOTAGE : 1,485

LOT SIZE: 0.1 acres

BEDROOMS : 3

BATHS: 2 full

LAST SOLD FOR : $200,000 in 1998

PROS Located off Galen Street, close to the Mass. Pike and shops and neighbored by some very attractive homes, this property is well situated. Built in 1880, the house has antique details such as bay windows in the dining room and upstairs in the largest bedroom, as well as a lovely newel post on the staircase. A small room on the first floor makes a good office. Each floor has a full bath. The yard, though overgrown, is private and flat. Mike DelRose, RE/Max Leading Edge, 617-923-8355, mikedelrose.com

CONS The kitchen and baths are old, and an overall sprucing up is in order.

Antique Colonial style home conveniently located at Newton Corner. First floor features an eat-in kitchen, office or small bedroom and full bathroom. 2nd floor has 3 bedrooms and 2nd full bath. There is easy access to Mass. Pike, Downtown XPress bus, restaurants, & shops. The home has a pleasant yard & parking. This is a great opportunity to own in Newton at an affordable price. Make this your dream home.
Master Bedroom Information
- Dimensions: 15X14
- On Second Floor
Bathroom Information
- # of Bathrooms (Full): 2
Living Room Information
- Dimensions: 13X12
- On First Floor
Additional Room #1
- Dimensions: 10X9
- Office
- On First Floor
Lot Information
- # of Acres: 0.1
- Lot Size (Sq. Ft.): 4,175
Listing Information
- Lender Owned: No
Bedroom #2 Information

Dimensions: 13X12

On Second Floor
Bathroom #1 Information

Dimensions: 11X5

On First Floor
Dining Room Information

Dimensions: 15X14

On First Floor
Basement Information

Has Basement
Property Information

# of Rooms: 7

Sq. Ft.: 1485.00
Bedroom #3 Information

Dimensions: 10X9

On Second Floor
Bathroom #2 Information

Dimensions: 6X5

On Second Floor
Kitchen Information

Dimensions: 18X15

On First Floor
Parking Information

# of Parking Spaces: 2

Off-Street Parking
Tax Information

Taxes: $3,829.01

Tax Year: 2012
July 16, 2012
Instant Beach House from Darby Road

My friend Ann told me about Darby Road Home Furnishings which features handcrafted new & vintage furnishings, as well as custom upholstery and accessories. The store is in Waltham, just a block down the road from Wolfers Lighting on Route 117.

It’s one of those places where you want to browse … there are nooks and crannies full of wonderful furniture and unique accessories. I don’t know of an eclectic mix like this in the Boston area. It’s a little like Mohr McPherson but Darby Road is more European/ American style though there are a lot of nice Asian items there that I coveted.

It’s that time of year to dream of a beach house. In my case, it’s a fantasy Pinterest board, but for others, this is the mad scramble time to get vacation homes ready for the summer.

I thought it would be fun to take this fantasy beach room from Sea Cottage and see how Darby Road could recreate it with items in stock and ready to go. In fact, since they have such a large inventory, you can get great beach style in seven days, door to door! (Of course, this assumes your beach house is in Maine, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, the Cape, Narragansett or generally around the Eastern Seaboard.)

image from Sea Cottage

So we took this beach living room, and voila!, we recreated this look. Here’s a sampling of some fun beachy looks I found.

Darby Road has a carefully curated selection of fabrics for custom upholstery. You can buy this linen covered armchair off the floor for $850 if you need Instant Beach House.

If you have more time, you can add a pop of color or texture by choosing your own fabric on a wide variety of other upholstered frames that they offer. Armchairs with custom upholstery, from $500 to $1200. Sofas and sectionals starting at $790.

A Darby Road exclusive painted/distressed Swedish style bench $750.

Large & unique selection of down filled pillows from $39 to $125.

LARGE (40” X 32”) Coral prints @ $425 ea.

Zinc top dining table with old wood base, bring out the lobsters and gather the family round…$1750.

Stop by to see how you can make a room in your house or summer cottage an instant beach house. The courteous staff at Darby Road would love to help you create your perfect space.

June 5, 2012
82 Day Street: Renovation In Progress by Developer
TTL Development LLC is renovating 82 Day Street in the Auburndale Village of Newton. He also happens to be my husband so I have a little inside information.

82 Day Street has views of the 3rd hole at Brae Burn Country Club (and shh! There is a great sledding hill directly behind the house as well!).

His architect is Peter Sachs and he’s come up with some great improvements to the house including:
- 2 car garage at ground level. The current garage is in the basement but the driveway is too slippery in the winter to actually use it.
- Expanded and completely renovated kitchen. He’s thinking black honed granite and white cabinets like his previous project at 8 Araphahoe Street.
- A new wraparound deck is going to be added off the back that make a nice entertainment area.
- A new master suite will be added.
The new front of the house will include an addition to the left for the garage.

The back of the house will include an enlarged deck.
June 4, 2012
With Views of Brae Burn Country Club: Day Street Project “The Before”
This is the “before” house that my husband is developing. This house is slated for completion in early Fall. With a view of Brae Burn’s 3rd hole, this house in Auburndale will have spectacular views, and is walkable to:
- Peirce Elementary School
- Warren Field with off leash dog park and tennis courts
- Newton Wellesley Hospital
- Woodland T Stop (Green Line on D Line)
- Express Bus to Copley Square and Downtown Boston
If you are curious about his work, here’s his last house down the street.
May 25, 2012
Top 10 Questions to Ask When Interviewing an Architect

Peter Sachs’ Newton Historical Society Award Winning Renovation

If you look around Newton, there seems to be orange building permits on a house on every street, sometimes even more! With this renovation and building boom, it’s more important than ever to find the right architect for your project. I asked Newton architect Peter Sachs to come up with 10 critical questions to ask when interviewing a prospective architect.

What questions do you think are critical? What have your experiences been, good or bad, when renovating or building a house? Thanks for sharing!

1. Are you licensed in Massachusetts?

Although many people call themselves Architects, it is the law that you must have passed an exam and have a stamp.

2. How many years of experience in residential design?

Many offices an really commercial and fill in with residential to stay busy.

3. Are you insured for professional liability?

An important part of having a real office. A follow up question would also be how many people are in the office?

4. Design philosophy?

Are you eclectic or modern only. What experience do you have with historic homes or traditional?

5. What is your knowledge of Zoning laws?

There are many suburbs. Does your architect have experience with your building department of zoning ordinance?

6. Tell me about a time you needed to get a special permit for a variance for a client.

If you require special permits or variances what is their experience? This can be a critical question. Special permits can take a long time to obtain and can mean costly delays.

7. Very important! What is the architects experience with designing within a budget?

You want to get a sense of if this is important to them and what is the emphasis when they design? Roof line, for example, may be important to the architect but not to you.

8. Do your use the same builders?

This is particularly important questions during a building boom when an architect is taking on more work than usual. What is their history with their builder? Ask for contact information and get references on the builder too. You also want the builder to sign off on the budget; after all, they are the ones who have to deliver!

9. How do you communicate the proposed project so that I, a layman who can’t read blueprints, can understand?

Find out if your architect can provide 3D or hand sketches that will give you a sense of the final results.

10. May I get a complete lists of clients with phone numbers?

You will want to see a hefty list of clients with examples of projects that might match. I am often asked to take clients on a mini tour and to edit my references to similar projects.

May 16, 2012