Showcase Home: Foxbriar family paradise features many entertainment options | Home & Garden

Showcase Home: Foxbriar family paradise features many entertainment options | Home & Garden

by Home And Garden


Scene staff talks getting your home organized in the New Year; an upcoming Betty White celebration movie; Tulsa’s Kaitlin Butts; and the area’s growing number of barbecue restaurants







Nestled in the private, gated Foxbriar at the Oaks community is this week’s showcase home, a spacious estate on a massive 1.21-acre lot adjacent to the Oaks Country Club. The beautiful neighborhood is known for its unique and distinctive architecture as each home is custom-built, as well as its access to nature (residents often report deer and red fox sightings). This five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom home was built in 2013 with family entertaining as the goal.

Perhaps the most standout feature of the home is its outdoor oasis, which contains a gunite pool, a slide, a diving board and a hot tub, making this the perfect pool to enjoy year-round. Adjacent to the pool is an oversized covered patio for the backyard barbecue of your dreams, complete with a fireplace, outdoor grill and smoker.

Four of the home’s bedrooms are on the first floor, while upstairs lies the guest suite and a multi-level game room. The game room is a great place for people of all ages, containing a pool table area, a separate shuffleboard and pinball room, a home gym and a wet bar facing a separate TV and gaming landing.

Downstairs in the master suite, parents have access to their own private office, perfect for working from home or reading. The master bedroom has its own cozy stone fireplace along with French doors leading out to the pool. Inside the master bath is a large stone bathtub, two vanities and heated tile floors.

Kirkwood architects reconfigure 1928 home for modern family living | Home & Garden

Kirkwood architects reconfigure 1928 home for modern family living | Home & Garden

by Home And Garden

It often takes a strong vision to see the potential in an older home with an imperfect layout. For Jonathan and Katie Wirth, holding degrees in architecture allowed them to imagine what their 1928 Kirkwood home could be. Katie had noticed the house, in the Corona Park neighborhood, listed online in early 2015, but it quickly went off the market. It was relisted in April of that year, and she quickly contacted her real-estate agent.



Katie and Jonathan Wirth reworked the first floor of their old Kirkwood home to reflect a more modern use of space. Video by Hillary Levin






Hillary Levin






“What I liked about this neighborhood was that it was so close to the high school and the park. I was very much taken with it because the original houses in this neighborhood all have this storybook charm,” Katie says.

What wasn’t charming was the home’s dated and confining layout. The kitchen was tiny and closed off, tucked away in the back of the house. When Katie went to look at it with her two young daughters, their agent just shook her head and said it would never work for them.

“I said, ‘Well it has to work because I want to live in this location; this house is the right price, and it’s the right square footage for us.’ I went home and started drawing. … That night is when I had the idea of taking apart the biggest bedroom and turning it into a kitchen,” Katie remembers.

After Jonathan went back with her to look at the house, he said, “OK, show me those drawings.” With his architect’s eye, he was able to see how it could work and told Katie they should go for it.

Madison family decorates home for Christmas for nearly 30 years

Madison family decorates home for Christmas for nearly 30 years

by Home Decoration

Sisters Lindsey Rowe and Lauren Rowe-Hobbs are wellbeing treatment staff in Jackson and have noticed the actual physical and mental toll the COVID-19 pandemic has experienced on sufferers and other health and fitness care personnel. 

To minimize worry and rejoice the vacations, the girls have centered on a spouse and children tradition which is just about 30 decades in the making. They assistance their parents, John and Sheri Rowe, decorate their Madison residence with around 100,000 lights, inflatable decorations and handmade picket layouts of Disney people and other figures small children figure out from television and movies. 

“Coming dwelling and seeing all the lights coming up is normally inspirational and encouraging mainly because it’s a little something that we all completed with each other and we know it provides joy to men and women,”  Lindsey Rowe stated. 

The lights are on Indian Pines Lane in Madison. This 7 days, John Rowe is dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy canes to those people who go to.

Lindsey Rowe, from left, Lauren Rowe-Hobbs, Hollis Hobbs and Sheri Rowe pose for photograph with Santa near the Christmas lights on Indian Pines Lane in Madison, Miss., Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The family has set up the holiday lights display at their home for nearly 30 years.

Lindsey Rowe treats grownups with COVID-19, and her sister is a pediatrician. 

Early in the pandemic, there have been fears about getting the virus at function and brining it house, explained Rowe-Hobbs, who failed to see her mom and dad or bring her son to see them for a several months to avert them from having sick.

Just about two many years into the pandemic, there is nevertheless worry, but Christmas lights and the holidays are a good distraction and a supply of contentment, she said. 

Handy Family Takes Us ‘Holmes for the Holidays’ With Home Decorating Competition

Handy Family Takes Us ‘Holmes for the Holidays’ With Home Decorating Competition

by Home Decoration

Mike Holmes and his little ones Sherry and Michael Jr. took a crack from aiding home owners burned by shoddy contractor workmanship on Holmes Loved ones Rescue for a tiny friendly levels of competition. The 3 set their respective construction and style techniques to the exam in Holmes for the Vacations.

The HGTV specific sees them function together with their respective spouses to generate the greatest Xmas-adorned home and general knowledge. Uncle Billy in the end decides the winner, who walks away with all-vital spouse and children bragging rights. We bought with each other with the fam to chat about their festive showdown as nicely as how these occasions deliver them closer with each other.

Sherry, you had this plan to have a Christmas household decorating level of competition late in your pregnancy.

Sherry Holmes: Christmas is my preferred time of yr. I appreciate the holidays. Expecting or not expecting, I’m going to do the very best I can do. 1st of all, it is a competitiveness and I want to gain. Second, there is one thing so magical about the holiday seasons. I just cannot physically do as significantly. It can be complicated. I’m hefty. I’m tired, but I also have a toddler. So Xmas indicates a large amount, and I want her to practical experience all the magic like I did when I was more youthful. It was pretty complicated, but I had a great deal of terrific assistance. I had a great time.

Mike Holmes: It shows how competitive she is that she is performing a level of competition when she is expecting, and appropriate at the finish of her being pregnant.

You are so used to functioning on other people’s jobs. How was it putting that exact power into this challenge at home?

Michael Holmes Jr.: Just about every house we did was just us. We did what reflected what we appreciated and what was specific to us. You truly see that by way of the decorating. We experienced so substantially exciting carrying out it, sharing those activities with each and every loved ones member and touring each individual household. Owning that component of level of competition was fun. You get a minor deeper perception into who we are and what we like, and see a small unique side of the Holmes loved ones.

Sherry: It was nice to do anything that was not the norm for us or on a building web site. Viewers get to see what we’re like outside the house of development. It was also really enjoyment seeing my daughter operate by means of the Christmas decorations and see the pleasure on everyone’s faces.

Mike: In the conclude, Michael and Lisa Marie’s was stunning. Sherry and Blake’s was wonderful. I thought mine was attractive. I had not dressed up my place considering the fact that I lived there, which is 16, 17 a long time. It was an excuse to in fact do it. Now that it’s finished, I want to do it each 12 months.

Holmes Family Rescue

HGTV

Is this now an once-a-year tradition?

Sherry: Perhaps we will make it that. Although I would want to do it not expecting.

Michael and Sherry, developing up I’m certain you got some fantastic Xmas items from dad. How did all those items foster your adore of following in the household enterprise?

Michael Jr.: That’s a superior query. There were being years my dad would get us things for design. Years that would get us things we can enjoy alongside one another. It was usually about loved ones.

Sherry: I keep in mind one particular year he bought me a wet noticed. That was pretty great.

Mike, have you gotten any memorable items that they’ve designed them selves?

Mike: My son produced me a desk a person year. All their life I have always crafted them one thing. Sherry is ready to make one thing way too. It’s neat that we can do these factors for just about every other relatively than obtaining a pair of gloves or socks or a bottle of alcoholic beverages for a celebration.

By Holmes Relatives Rescue you’re finding the likelihood to do some genuine excellent. Via these home-owner tales, viewers are also learning a great deal.

Michael: There are a lot of people who [relate to] what the house owners are heading by on our display. I’m positive my dad would be a pretty loaded gentleman if he experienced a dime for every single time another person claimed they experienced a terrible experience with a contractor. Heading in and displaying how to stay away from a terrible contractor. How you can seek the services of a superior contractor and the factors to seem for to have the greatest experience. All people desires a great contractor when you do a renovation. The truth is when you go for the least expensive or negotiate and consider to get so significantly carried out for low-priced or totally free — you do not go to a physician and say, Can I get a crack on this? Can I get this for less expensive? There are contractors who are definitely good. There is a purpose they demand for what they charge, and we have to see them for that price. Which is what we are seeking to showcase — the very good contractors on our present.

Sherry: I like to pressure there are superior contractors. Not all contractors are out to get you. We do highlight the lousy kinds because we want to convey instruction, that if you do your homework you can avoid these circumstances. There are some fantastic kinds who truly do care and want to do a good job. At the stop of the day, a contractor is a human becoming as properly. Address them nicely and we’ll deal with you properly. It is a substantial expenditure. Acquire your time. Teach oneself on almost everything and it really should go perfectly for you.

Mike: Do it appropriate the initial time. It can be the one most costly expense of your daily life. If you don’t do it appropriate, it is going to cost you far more to correct it. It definitely is as simple as that. Do it correct.

Holmes Family

HGTV

How would you say working collectively brought you closer jointly?

Michael: We have discovered each and every other’s boundaries. We’ve gotten closer on a personal and professional degree. We have so much pleasurable collectively. We’re nearer now than ever.

Sherry Performing with each other has unquestionably aided as a spouse and children simply because conversation is truly vital, but to be able to communicate truthfully and open collectively is really handy on a career internet site. It has completed wonders for us on and off the work website. I appreciate operating with my spouse and children.

Mike: The greatest chance as a father teaching their little ones in my vocation is seeing them excel in their own route. Sherry represented gals in proficient trades. We want to see extra women in the qualified trades like we do adult males. Michael is the up coming era of ability trades. I’m saying that as a father and relatives member. What we do together is be as skilled as we can be. Generate encouragement for absolutely everyone out there, to exhibit that there are alternatives for you. You can get into the experienced trades. When you glance at entire world abilities, it’s type of like the Holmes relatives. If you do not realize the world’s skills, glance it up. It is the Olympics in the trades. It need to be on television.

Holmes for the Holiday seasons Particular, December 18, HGTV

Holmes Relatives Rescue, Saturdays, 8/7c, HGTV

Inspired by family, Costa Mesa Realtor re-creates citywide holiday contest from 1960s

Inspired by family, Costa Mesa Realtor re-creates citywide holiday contest from 1960s

by Home Decoration

Kendra Fisher was clearing out the garage of her grandparents’ Costa Mesa home during the pandemic, when she discovered a box of trophies and Daily Pilot newspaper clippings that shed light on a lesser-known part of her family history.

From 1959 well into the ’60s, John and Rosalie O’Brien were recognized as the winners of a citywide holiday decoration competition, even nabbing top prizes in an “Inter-city Yule Contest,” for large-scale displays that would have families lining up around the block just to get a glimpse.

“My grandpa was super creative — they built a train set and a huge rocket — people knew he was going to do something special, so they looked forward to going to their house,” Fisher said.

The O'Brien family at their Molokai Place home in Costa Mesa, known for larger-than-life holiday displays in the 1960s.

The O’Brien family at their Molokai Place home in Costa Mesa, known for larger-than-life holiday displays in the 1960s.

(Courtesy of Kendra Fisher)

“I knew about it vaguely but didn’t realize the extent of it until I was cleaning out their garage,” she continued. “Then, I was like, wait, why don’t we do that now?”

A new member of the Torelli Realty team, Fisher decided to try and resurrect the contest by creating a brand-new holiday decoration competition in Costa Mesa.

“I feel like there’s this sense of tradition behind it, and tradition is so important in cities, neighborhoods and towns,” she said of her inspiration. “It’s an easy way to bring the community together.”

To help pull off the feat, Fisher enlisted the help from local business owners, including Ally Garvin, who owns Neat Coffee on Pomona Avenue. Together, the pair have been passing out fliers to let people know about the contest.

Kendra Fisher, right, with grandparents John and Rosalie O'Brien, of Costa Mesa.

Kendra Fisher, right, with grandparents John and Rosalie O’Brien, of Costa Mesa. Fisher was inspired to host a holiday home decoration contest after finding old trophies in the O’Brien’s garage from a similar competition in the ’60s.

(Courtesy of Kendra Fisher)

Families and individuals, or even entire streets, can enter the competition. But to cast an even wider net, judges have committed to driving through the streets of Costa Mesa on Friday, Dec. 10, in search of stunning holiday displays.

Individual trophies for Best Theme, Most Creative and Best Overall displays will be handed out Dec. 11 in a special ceremony and movie night with hot cocoa and refreshments at Neat Coffee. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m., and the movie will start at 7 p.m.

Garvin said she hopes to help Fisher create a new way for people from the local community to come together and celebrate.

“It sounded like a real fun to create a new tradition and make it feel a little bit more like a hometown,” she added. “A lot of people already decorate their homes for Christmas, and it brings so much joy to the neighborhood.”

In an interview Thursday, John O’Brien said he had no doubts his granddaughter would be successful in her attempt to resurrect, in some manner, the competitions of yore.

“She’s unique — she goes full speed ahead in everything she does,” he said.

A Daily Pilot clipping shows the O'Brien family of Costa Mesa receiving an award in an Inter-City Yule Contest in 1961.

A Daily Pilot clipping shows the O’Brien family of Costa Mesa receiving an award in an Inter-City Yule Contest in 1961 for the best holiday home display.

(Courtesy of Kendra Fisher)

He recalled the very first year he and his wife entered the citywide contest in 1959, having moved to a house on Costa Mesa’s Molokai Place from Glendale. He worked on the yard while Rosalie decorated the door and sewed clothes for the elves in the display.

Little did they know that decision would snowball into local fame.

“We saw an advertisement for it in the paper, so we got going on it and had really good success with it for a few years. It became like a tradition to enter,” O’Brien said, recalling the time he built a huge train in the yard.

“It had an engine and an open boxcar that had presents and toys coming out of it,” he said. “The locomotive had a smokestack with steam coming out of it and wheels turning. It brought joy to a lot of people.”

As for Costa Mesa homeowner Alli Talley, she, her husband, Bobby, and 1-year-old son, Jude, are all in. They’ve decorated their 19th Street home with lights and inflatables — all the things as a young married couple they sweared they’d never do.

“We’re just embracing it all. It’s so fun,” she said Friday. “I don’t think we’ll win any awards with what we have, but we’ll totally be in it.”

Those interested in entering the holiday decoration competition can call Fisher directly at (714) 606-3376 or email Kendra@torellirealty.com. Participants can also sign up at Neat Coffee, 1922 Pomona Ave., in Costa Mesa, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bobby Talley, and his son, Jude, with an inflatable Frosty the Snowman at their house in Costa Mesa on Friday, Dec. 3.

Bobby Talley, and his son, Jude, with an inflatable Frosty the Snowman at their house in Costa Mesa on Friday, Dec. 3.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

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Suburban Family Still In Shock After They Hired Home Improvement Contractor Via HomeAdvisor, Only For The Contractor To Smash Up Their Property

Suburban Family Still In Shock After They Hired Home Improvement Contractor Via HomeAdvisor, Only For The Contractor To Smash Up Their Property

by Home Improvement

FOREST PARK, Ill. (CBS) — A suburban backyard was left in tatters with the garage and furniture hacked apart – and you won’t believe who was responsible.

As CBS 2’s Tim McNicholas reported, Jonathan Moody does not need video to remind him of May 15 – but there is video of what happened.

READ MORE: Chicago Police Officer Shot, Wounded In Calumet Heights; One Suspect Also Shot

“What are you doing?” his wife is heard yelling in horror as a man smashes the windows and siding on their garage – with their patio furniture already lying wrecked behind the man.

“It brings up just a lot of the trauma of that day,” Moody said.

He can’t forget that day, thanks to the missing window and cracked siding that greet him in his backyard each morning now.

“Especially for my wife, she’s had a really hard time with it,” Moody said. “She’s having trouble sleeping, she’s barricading the doors at night sometimes. We ended up going to therapy for trauma, and it’s just been really rough on her.”

The story starts in April, when the Moodys were looking for a contractor for improvements to their home in Forest Park. The search took them to HomeAdvisor.com, a website that claims to match homeowners with trusted local pros for any home project.

HomeAdvisor even boasts of an “extensive screening process to ensure every business in our network is reputable.”

“I felt like this was a great way to get a quality contractor to do this work,” Moody said.

But quality is far from what Moody got.

“While he was packing up his tools, he just started screaming and yelling – and broke all the patio furniture and threw it through the windows of the garage,” Moody said.

Moody said he was not satisfied with the work the contractor did before the rampage. Nonetheless, Moody had already paid the contractor in full, and has no idea why he did such a thing.

The couple asked us to hide the contractor’s identity, because they don’t want to anger him any further.

In a police report, an officer described the contractor as “physically violent,” “sweating profusely,” “frothing at the mouth,” and possibly “in a state of delirium” – so paramedics took him to a hospital.

“We really don’t want to give him any more reason to come back,” Moody said.

After the incident, Moody started to wonder about HomeAdvisor’s “extensive screening process.”

We did our own background check and found the contractor’s criminal history. He was found guilty of felony burglary in 2008.

Moody did some digging as well, and discovered another customer complained to HomeAdvisor about poor workmanship from the same contractor in April – before HomeAdvisor matched him within the Moodys.

READ MORE: Chicago Weather: Partly Cloudy And Breezy Overnight

That other customer is now suing the contractor.

“This all could have been avoided if they just did what they advertise that they do,” Moody said. “These contractors are coming into your home. This is a safety issue for each of the users of this platform, and I think they really need to take that seriously.”

HomeAdvisor and its parent company Angi would not agree to an interview.

A spokesperson told us in an email their screening process allows for certain felony convictions if they’re at least seven years old — including that 2008 burglary conviction.

As for the prior complaint? The company said they started to investigate it on April 29, and they suspended the contractor on May 3 – a day before Moody would pay for the project through the Angi app.

A suspension means no new work can begin, but already-scheduled projects like Moody’s are allowed to proceed.

And no one told the Moodys about that first complaint.

The Moodys kept their appointment, and on May 15, the “trusted local pro” wrapped up his work, grabbed his tools, and then went on that backyard rampage.

“It seems like they should have removed him, or at least suspended him from the service immediately when that happened,” Moody said, “and I think they should contact the other clients that he has – the other referrals that have been made – so that they know what to expect.”

HomeAdvisor says they finally booted the contractor from their platform for good after they saw the Moodys’ video. But by then, the Moodys’ backyard was already trashed.

“There like was a metal pole at one point that he started using to hack at the garage,” Moody said.

Now, Moody is in a months-long back and forth with HomeAdvisor.

The company offered to pay for the damage to the garage and for the shoddy work that needs to be redone, but they and Moody are thousands of dollars apart on what the dollar amount should be.

So for now, Moody said, “We really feel like we’ve lost a lot of our security living in this neighborhood – it doesn’t feel, like, safe anymore.”

And he is stuck with those daily reminders of a day he’d rather forget.

HomeAdvisor says they are disheartened by this incident, which they call rare. The company says their offer to the family went above and beyond the scope of the original project, but again, the Moodys disagree.

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HomeAdvisor’s full statement is as follows:

“HomeAdvisor has a thorough screening process, including a criminal background check on the owner or principal of the business, which this particular pro passed due to his conviction falling outside of our 7-year lookback period. We provide our customers with options of vetted, qualified pros to complete the specific projects they need done in their homes. We also provide coverage for projects booked and paid through our platform. Ultimately, you’re hiring the pro for work you need done, and we provide an easier, better way to do so.

“We were as disheartened as you to hear about this incident and have worked hard to try to make it right over the past few months, but unfortunately the customer has declined our offers, which covered above and beyond the scope of original project. We take customer complaints very seriously and this situation was no different. This contractor has been removed from our network to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“This was a rare instance, but we assure you that we did and will always do our part by screening the pros on our network, holding them and their work to high standards, and backing your projects when they’re booked and paid through our platform.”