What is the largest home in the United States?

Near the beautiful mountain region of western North Carolina sits the Biltmore Mansion, considered the largest home in the United States. Quite an incredible property! For starters, it is 833 feet long. It was built by George W. Vanderbilt (born, 1862: died, 1914) , whose father and grandfather were very, very successful businessmen - shipping and railroad moguls to be exact.

Upon the death of George's father, much of his inheritance was used to begin work on his estate. More than a thousand laborers were employed from 1889 until December of 1895 when the work was completed.

Eight thousand acres remain of the original 125,000. George's widow, Edith, sold 87,000 acres to the Federal government to help create the Pisgah National Forest in 1915. Those acres today represent 5,000 acres of forest; 2,000 acres of farm; and 1,000 acres devoted to gardens, yard, and roadways.

The homes French Renaissance chateau style was the creation of Richard Morris Hunt, a famous designer of his day. Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for his design of Central Park in New York City, designed the gardens. Even the forest surrounding the estate was planned and not entirely random. The 1,800 acres of forest was designed by Gifford Pinchot, who went on to head the School of Forestry at Yale University.

A hotel and winery, said to be the most often visited in the United States, accompany the 250-room mansion.

On March 13, 1930, at the request of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, the Biltmore Mansion opened its doors to the public. This was done to encourage tourism during the Depression.

Today, 65 rooms are open to the public. Several areas you may visit are the reading room containing 23,000 volumes in 8 languages and the level below ground, which had housed the employees of the Biltmores. When the home was used as a residence, it employed 80 caretakers. What was a barn for milk cows is now the winery.

The early 1960s saw declining profits for the Biltmore Mansion business but smart planning and development by the family turned it into a thriving $100 million company in 2003. The creation of The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. "Blueprint for Success" guide now helps other family-owned companies on their path to success.

Today, this family-owned business is run by the fourth generation sibling team. Brother and sister William A. V. Cecil, Jr. and Diane Cecil Pickering employ 650 and support the company by funding profits with the help of the wood crop, and those who visit the Mansion each year. Approximately one million tourists visit each year.

This "for profit" business operates without outside funding or government assistance
Want to learn more about this National Historic Landmark, visit the Biltmore website

Dual Agency - What is it?

There you are . . . . . your coffee in hand perusing the Sunday, New Jersey Real Estate section. It catches your eye. Perhaps it's that perfect property you've been seeking.

You call and make an appointment with R.U. Ready Realty. The agent seems pleasant enough as she explains the Consumer Information Statement (CSI), but she's a dual agent for this particular property. She must be the listing agent, you think. "No" she replies to your question. Another agent within R.U. Ready Realty is the listing agent.

All agents that are with R.U. Ready Realty, in that office and offices in other towns (if they exist) represent the seller and now they will also represent you.

"Isn't that a conflict?" you ask. No, because the role of agency changes form in this situation.

• Both parties (seller and buyer) must provide consent for an agent to work
  as a "disclosed dual agent."
• The agent may not place the interest of one party over the other.
  counseling either to gain advantage over the other is prohibited.
• The agent may not divulge information such as the motivation of either to buy or sell; lowest price a seller is willing to accept; highest price a buyer is willing to offer; etc. without the permission of the party to reveal such confidential information.
  
  As always the real estate agent is to represent honestly and fairly.

Don't take it for granite!

My kitchen counters are a thing of beauty. I recently renovated my kitchen. Keeping up to date is a great way to protect your investment. Laminated countertops - even though they come in hundreds of colors - are pretty dated. My Corian was quite lovely, but it does scratch, can be gouged by knives and other utensils, burned by hot pots and stained. There are other materials that are also very attractive, but as manufactured products each has a negative.

My research into the world of granite initially put me off. Horror stories of staining that left thousands of dollars of granite irreparably scarred made me take several large steps back. There are websites almost dedicated to questions from consumers regarding everything that can possibly go wrong with installation and care.

I became a mini expert on density, absorption ranges, and the areas where they were geographically harvested. Charts reflecting percentage of mineral content were part of my bible of information. Soft stone, hard stone, quartz, mica, pegmatite, dolerite . . . . . my thoughts a swirl of too much information.

Okay, just the basics - the darker the color the less likely it was to absorb stain. My research had designated that black was a sure winner (no matter how much I preferred the light color ranges). Acquaintances objected to black's fingerprint problem. They were always wiping it down, dusting it off, shining up it's pristine beauty. Several replaced it with something else, but something else was always granite.

Off I was to suppliers who had acres of granite from around the world. Strolling through colorful aisles with a spray bottle for the lemon juice test only added to my confusion. Several months and many visits later, I made my choice. At the showroom of a small fabricator, I found a thing of beauty.

This bit of nature has not stained in the year and a half it has been part of my kitchen. It's cool to the touch, and the baker in me is delighted. You can't scratch it, cut it, gouge it, burn it or not love it.

Check out The World's Most Popular Granites

The porch is back!

The porch was a standard feature of colonial homes and those built in the South where they provided shade and coolness. During Victorian times, the sleeping porch was a retreat where the occupant hoped to catch a cooling breeze in warm weather.

The Greek Revival porch of the mid 1800's, was designed with a gabled roof sitting on large columns. This porch was mainly architectural not functional.

After World War II the porch lost its allure when families were drawn inside by air conditioning and television.

Remember gathering on the stoop with friends or that small portico with a couple of chairs, where neighbors might stop to share a story with your parents. I recall the grand home on the main street with the wraparound porch complete with rocking chairs and swing, and the screened porch where my aunt served lemonade. It's all in the picture of a time gone by, whose time has come again.

Americans are once again embracing the home and porches are popping up on new homes in developments all around us.

Interested in The Stylistic Evolution of the American Front Porch check out http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/am483_97/projects/cook/style.htm

Think your home is too small?

Homes have grown in size over the years. In a typical 1950 home, 290 square feet represented each family member. The number of square feet in 2003 was 893. Is all this space really necessary?

In comparison, consider 42 square feet, 6 feet wide by 7 feet long. Not a large area! Could you comfortably live in such a confined space?

Gypsies did at the turn of the century! As early as 1760, they travelled over the best roads in Europe. The 15,000 miles of French roads networked not just vehicles but homes on wheels. These wagons drawn by just one stocky, muscular horse also traversed the bumpy English countryside.

The vardo (wooden wagon) made efficient use of space, with a bed, stove with chimney and rear window or door. An open front entry might be covered with curtains or canvas panels for privacy, or doors with laced windows. Vivid fabric covered the interior ceiling. Of necessity, things were orderly and prized possessions displayed. Elaborately carved and painted woodwork livened the exterior.
The woman's prized domestic status symbol - the vardo.

In our consumer driven world, there are still those who feel small is ideal. No long list of builder upgrades to peruse. No debate over where to situate the sofa. A tidy, clean, orderly use of space.

Check out the links to see vardo inspired masterpieces, and another site that proves that it doesn't have to be big to be beautiful.



Want to read a bit of the history of gypsies it's just a click away.