Three Aeron chairs by Herman Miller are on Craigslist for $550 each. The ergonomic office chairs—which have earned a spot in MoMa’s collection—usually go for more than $1,000.


More good finds:

• Bar-height table and four chairs from Storehouse for $500 ($400 without chairs)
• Two BoConcept bedside tables for $100
• Coffee table from Crate & Barrel for $175
• Antique bench for $400
• Pair of Ethan Allen armchairs for $75 each

Thanks, Craig! 

The Box Score
Virginia: 6
DC: 2
Maryland: 1

$2,902,319—10628 Rivers Bend Lane, Potomac
$2,295,100—2721 28th Street, NW, Woodley Park
$2,000,000—770 Potomac River Road, McLean
$1,950,000—1930 Rhodes Island Avenue, McLean
$1,900,000—8501 Centreville Road, Manassas Park
$1,849,000—1728 Q Street, NW, Dupont Circle
$1,700,000—11366 Seneca Knoll Drive, Great Falls
$1,675,000—3049 Cedarwood Lane, Falls Church
$1,625,000—3911 Persimmon Tree Road, Potomac
$1,355,357—9361 Berry Hill Court, Springfield

Last summer a garage spot in a condo building on Kalorama Road in Northwest DC sold for $50,000. At Rosslyn’s Turnberry Tower, each condo in the new, 26-story building comes with one spot. Want to buy another? It will set you back around $50,000.

At Bethesda’s Lionsgate, a luxury-condo building opening later this year, prices aren’t much better. Eighty-five percent of the units come with two parking spots. But if you should want to buy another—or sell one of yours—you’re looking at about $40,000.

Prices are steep on the rental side, too. A scan through Craigslist’s parking and storage page showed that Georgetown, Dupont Circle, U Street, and Adams Morgan are the priciest, with spaces listed for up to $250 a month. If you’re a Nats fan, you can rent a spot near the new stadium for the not-so-bargain price of $2,000 for the season.

If this is all a little heavy on your wallet, you might want to check out Zipcar. Even if you rented one for 24 hours every day of the year, it would only set you back $21,500. That’s getting not only a car, but also gas, insurance, and yes, reserved parking.

It’s an understatement to say the mortgage process is confusing. Sometimes I felt like I was talking to my Army Reserve sister, who speaks fast and only in acronyms. Did I want a five-year COFI ARM? How about a 30-year IO? Maybe an 80/20 piggyback loan to avoid the MPI?

As a fairly educated person who just went through her first mortgage process, I find the current housing mess easy to believe. Yes, homebuyers must educate themselves before signing papers, but it’s almost like telling people they need to pass a computer-programming course before buying an iBook.

The March issue of The Washingtonian, on newsstands today, features a package of articles on great home design. You can take a peek inside the homes of eight top area architects, including those of modernists Hugh Newell Jacobsen and Robert Gurney as well as traditional masters David Jones and David Neumann. This picture shows the remodeled home of local architect Ben Ames, who spent two years living in a tiny pillbox-style home before transforming it. Huge trapezoidal windows take advantage of the woodsy setting and flood the ultramodern home with natural light.

We also list 37 architects who design beautiful homes, additions, and renovations, and let you know where they shop for furnitre accessories, rugs, lighting, kitchen fixtures, and custom cabinetry. Click here to browse project photos from some of the top architects featured in the magazine.

Every year the chain of Design Within Reach furniture stores holds a “champagne chair” contest, inviting anyone 18 years or older to submit a design for an original miniature chair made from two champagne bottles. In December, DWR opened the contest; 500 digital entries later, the top 50 are on a national tour.

According to the contest guidelines, the chairs could be no larger than four inches tall, wide, and high. Contestants could use materials from two champagne bottles—the foil, label, cage, and cork, but no glass. Entries were reviewed by a panel of designers, who judged them on craftsmanship, creativity, character, and innovative use of materials.

On Monday, February 25, at 6:30 PM, head to Design Within Reach in Adams Morgan to take a look at the top 50, including the three winners: one grand-prize winner, one DWR staff favorite, and one chosen by votes on DWR’s blog.

While you admire the chairs, toast the winners with a sip of champagne and enjoy a chocolate tasting from Biagio Chocolates.

Design Within Reach, 1838 Columbia Rd., NW; 202-265-5640.

Three months ago I bought a fixer-upper in Columbia Heights. Before that, I’d never even considered purchasing a piece of property, loved my apartment and landlords, and was substantially paying down credit-card debt I’d acquired paying for law school.  So what changed?  Why did I suddenly decide to sign away a few hundred thousand dollars to a mortgage company, give up my cozy rental for a drafty rowhouse with no heating system, appliances, or even floors?

Good question.  And one I’m still answering myself.