To keep things toasty in cold New England weather, the Brookline homeowners wanted a fireplace—but one that would complement the open-plan layout and expanses of glass in their mid-century modern house.Solution: an artisan-crafted, black-steel Paxfocus fireplace that creates an iconic modern look and is seemingly suspended in midair. To work the magic, the TOH team had to prepare the living room wall with special framing materials—partly for fire code and partly to handle the weight of the 200-pound bell-shaped fireplace, which would be attached to a wall bracket 20 inches above floor level. Contractor Charlie Silva’s crew had built the…

With winter boots, coats, and hats strewn all over the house at this time of year, many homeowners dream of an organized mudroom. Don and Dana Powers created one in their Jamestown Net-Zero house, using the same flat-panel, Shaker-style quartersawn oak cabinets that fill the kitchen—at least, the oak cabinets were the starting point.They then customized to create cubbies, shelves, drawers, and hooks to optimize every square foot of the 9-by-14-foot space, turning a narrow corridor that runs from the back door to the powder room into a super-functional area. Another plus: The mudroom is totally hidden from view once the…

If Cereal, the travel and style, magazine were an actual cereal, it would be an exquisitely simple concoction—the result of an around-the-world exploration of flavors and textures, arrestingly packaged in shades of pale. Aesthetics matter a lot to Rosa Park and Rich Stapleton, the publication’s founders who spend half the year on the road in search of their particular brand of minimalist cool. The success of the indie magazine has led to Cereal city guides, a consulting agency, and an about-to-launch art gallery called Francis. Rosa oversees the company’s editorial direction, Rich, an accomplished photographer, sets the visual identity, and everything they…

Over the course of my career as a remodeling contractor I’ve owned a few different work truck setups. I called an old van my “work truck” for a while, and upfitted it with a customized pullout tool storage rig. It did a sufficient job at hauling our tools around, but materials were always a hassle. I then hauled a trailer behind a traditional pickup for several years, but I learned over time that this isn’t a great option for the narrow roads and heavy traffic we contend with daily. As my company grew, my needs for tool storage did too, so…