Archives:

The Great Compact Car Search of 2014

The Great Compact Car Search of 2014: Scion IQ

09/04/2014

The Great Compact Car Search of 2014: Scion IQ | This American House

We’re in the market for a new car and we’re taking you along with us! It’s time to retire our 2005 Honda Element after 170,000 dependable miles. We’re going to keep the Element for hauling but it’s time to take it out of daily use. Since we’ll still have the Element for cargo, we want to replace it with a compact car. Follow along as we go on the great compact car search of 2014. First up…

2014 Scion IQ

We’re the kind of guys who were thrilled when the Smart Car arrived in the US. Those cute little two-seaters had us swooning on a trip to Europe back in 2001 and we contemplated getting one when they landed stateside. The Smart Car’s terrible service record and bad handling were enough to keep us from pulling the trigger. (Although it didn’t stop us from buying a Mini Cooper, a car that came with its own set of problems.)

Continue Reading…


Warning: Undefined variable $post in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22

Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22
American made, bedroom, setting up home

10 Sources for American Made Bedding

09/03/2014

7 Sources for Bedding Made in the USA | This American HouseIf you get the suggested eight hours of sleep per night, you’re spending one third of your day in bed. If there’s any place to try to buy American, surely the bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. And yet finding sheets and duvets that are made in the USA can be a difficult task. I know this firsthand because I’ve been trying to buy only American-made goods for This American House.

In searching for new bedding for the house, I learned that there are a number of companies that are still producing goods stateside. Here are ten companies to help outfit a bedroom with everything from sheets and duvets to mattresses and pillows, all made in America.

  • The Company Store has been producing sheets, duvets, pillows and other bedding basics in their LaCrosse, Wisconsin factory since 1911.
  • AJ Moss has a Made in the USA section on their online shop. They offer everything from luxury sheet sets to modern duvets to old fashioned Martha Washington bedspreads.
  • Kelly Green Organic offers organic hemp and cotton sheets, pillows, mattress covers and even kids bedding and diapers, all produced in Ashland, Oregon.
  • Brahms Mount blankets and throws are made in Maine using premium cotton, linen and wool that’s woven on antique shuttle looms.
  • Celia Rachel has blankets, comforters and sheet sets – including jersey knits sheets – that are made in the company’s Mohican Mills plant in North Carolina.
  • Holy Lamb Organics creates organic cotton and wool bedding – and even some US-grown sheets! – in their factory near Olympia, Washington. They also make mattresses, pillow toppers and pillows for a completely domestic sleeping experience.
  • American Made Dorm, as their name would suggest, specializes in US produced duvets, comforters and other bedding and soft goods. Headquartered in Kentucky, the company works with suppliers and mills in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
  • Rough Linen produces natural linen bedding that is individually hand finished. The company was a Martha Stewart American Made nominee and has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Remodlista and a host of other trendy home and design blogs.
  • Cuddledown’s comforters, pillows and feather beds are all made in the USA. Their sheets, however, are imported.
  • Linoto has been making linen sheets, duvets and other home goods in their New York City workshop since 2007.

Image: This American House


Warning: Undefined variable $post in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22

Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22
before & after, landscaping

Before & After: A Summer’s Worth of Landscaping Progress

09/02/2014

Before & After: A Summer's Worth of Landscaping Progress

On this day after Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, it seems fitting to reflect on the progress we’ve made on the landscaping. We’re not even close to being finished and we’ll probably change it all again next year, but we feel like we’ve made some really good progress over our first summer at the house.

Continue Reading…


Warning: Undefined variable $post in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22

Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22
Uncategorized

This Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Cat House is Purrfect!

08/28/2014

Frank Lloyd Wright Cathouse | This American HouseFrank Lloyd Wright was responsible for a lot of human houses but, as far as I know, this was his only commission for a kitty. Painted in Wright’s signature Cherokee Red, the cat house was included in the commission for the Tonkens House in Cincinnati, Ohio. This awesome space age cat house was recently sold on ebay and will now live at the Feline History Museum.

Continue Reading…


Warning: Undefined variable $post in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22

Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22
history, Our Story, small town life

Pioneer Cemetery: Rossville, Iowa

08/27/2014

Pioneer Cemetery: Rossville, Iowa | This American House

One of the many things The Mister and I have in common is an appreciation for cemeteries. He spent his teen years exploring old cemeteries along the plains of North Dakota and I spent mine discovering forgotten burial grounds on the back roads of rural Ohio. Mind you, we weren’t goth kids and there was nothing macabre about our appreciation of cemeteries. The Mister was interested in the history of the crumbling tombstones and I was just happy to escape to someplace that offered solitude and silence.

Continue Reading…


Warning: Undefined variable $post in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22

Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/hemlock-core/inc/social_share.php on line 22