TIFFANY MEYERS

Yellow fever takes over the home
By Tiffany Meyers  |  March 08, 2009

Once color authority Pantone named yellow a hot trend for 2009, we didn’t stand a chance: Yellow fever spread through this office like a giggle in a kindergarten classroom. And we’re not talking about the underfed, knock-kneed shades you see on legal pads and sticky notes. Don’t think office supplies. Think: Rubber duckies, marshmallow peeps, daffodils. Think: Flakes of gold in a prospector’s pan. This is the color of confidence and hope-plump with pigment, brimming with cheer. PDF of complete article coming soon.

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House & Homes
Sell it to me: Southport Corridor  
Smaller space wins this square-footage addicts’ heart.
By Tiffany Meyers  | November 16, 2009

If there were a detox center for square-footage addicts, I’d admit myself. I lived for years in a Manhattan studio, which housed my entire inventory of family heirlooms—a futon and microwave—only with some doing. So when I moved into my comparatively palatial Chicago apartment, I got hooked on space. “I can fit two couches in my new place,” I told a New York friend, conspiratorially, “and I don’t sleep on either of them.” 

But I surprised myself recently. When Realtor David Panozzo, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, and I visited three lofts, all in the Southport Corridor and listed under $450,000, I fell under the influence of the first and smallest we saw… Read more.

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House & Homes
Sell it to me: Southport Corridor
Heavenly touches make South Loop condo worth wait.
By Tiffany Meyers  | November 16, 2009

Wouldn’t you know it? After being presented with two perfectly viable options, the condo that finally turns my knees to jelly doesn’t actually exist. Not, at any rate, until summer 2009, when The Roosevelt Collection will start delivering its 342 one- and two-bedroom condos, priced from the $300Ks to the $650Ks.

With Realtor Lindsay Fath of Century 21 Sussex & Reilly’s Lowe Group, I spend an afternoon viewing South Loop lofts priced at $450,000 or less. Our first stop: A condo that needs slightly more love, I’m afraid, than I have to give. The second option is–very nice. So I poke around: Nice view. Nice appliances. Stainless steel and so on. But I wonder: If I’m going to pretend to spend $450,000 of my hard-earned play money on a condo, is “nice” really the best I can do?  Read more.

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House & Homes
More seek roommates to offset sour economic conditions
By Tiffany Meyers   |   March 01, 2009

When the economy forced Michael Jones to close his Chicago-based event production and floral company in 2008, he realized that roommate living would provide financial relief. But at 34, he wasn’t exactly enthralled with the prospect.

“I think recent grads or students are used to having roommates,” says Jones, now a systems analyst. “But it’s harder on [older] adults. We’ve earned our portion of the American dream, whether that’s home ownership or renting your own place. Suddenly, you have to give that up.”

Actually, Jones’ current living situation achieves levels of harmony not even the Brady household managed to reach in its day. He cooks dinner nightly for his two housemates, who do the dishes-and call ahead if they’re running late. Read more.

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House & Homes
Cashing in on that empty pad
By Tiffany Meyers | October 26, 2008

Maybe it’s unlikely. But if eBay, Facebook and Apartmentfinder.com got together one night to make a cyber baby, they would no doubt issue forth a site like Roomorama.com, a new online service that makes it safe and easy to rent out your home for a few days or weeks at a time.

Whether you’re hawking the whole apartment or a spare bedroom, you start by creating a free profile-with details on your digs, dates available and even information about yourself, since you can link to your Facebook profile, if you choose. Read more.