What: Parker Flats at Gage School

Where: 2035 2nd Street, NW; 202-299-9223

This 1,100 square-foot, fully-furnished Georgetown apartment comes with two garage parking spots. If you’re not wild about the furniture, there’s a storage unit where you could stow any unwanted items. The  two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment has parquet floors, recessed lighting, central air and heat, and a stacked washer and dryer. The apartment’s biggest perk (besides the low rent) is the balcony, which has views of the Potomac River and Arlington.

Address: 3210 Grace St., NW
Price: $1,300 a month, including all utilities.
Move-in: Available now.

Long before I bought my place, I craved paint. Placing furniture and hanging curtains was not satisfying enough to make my rental apartments feel like home. Unwilling to repaint my places white before moving out, I came up with the novel solution of hanging red fabric as if it were wallpaper.

If only Wall Flats existed back then! These clever tiles go up much easier than wallpaper (or fabric), can create an awesome accent wall, and won’t damage what’s beneath them. They can even be painted. Inhabit living has them on sale for just $4.50, down from $10 but the web site says the sale tiles may be slightly damaged.

Courtesy of visualtour.com.

According to the Wall Street Journal, FDIC chairman Sheila Bair removed this 14-room Colonial in Amherst, Massachusetts from the market earlier this month. Bair and her husband paid $355,000 for the 150-year-old house in 2002, which they later renovated. The house listed in April for $795,000, dropped to $745,000 three weeks later, then dropped again to $695,000.

List price: $1,895,000
The Basics: Five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms
Address: 2719 P Street, NW

In these times, it’s not uncommon to come across price reductions in the real-estate market. This Victorian in Georgetown is no exception. Going for $155,000 less than the 2006 purchase price, the house is listed for $1,895,000. When it originally hit the market in May 2008, the asking price was $2,850,000. It has since dropped four times. “We’re simply very motivated to move the house,” says listing agent Chris Ferguson of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

The property’s low(er) price isn’t its only draw. It’s in the heart of Georgetown close to Rose and Montrose parks, Rock Creek Parkway, and Dupont Circle. It was built in 1904 and has off-street parking for two cars. The five-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom property was renovated in 2005, adding a new roof and new heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and electrical systems. The bathrooms have Waterworks fixtures.

What do you think? Still overpriced, or will the most recent price cut do the trick?

More pictures below. 

Are you expecting? Decorate the new baby’s room with this four-piece cherry bedroom set which includes a crib, changing table, hutch, and dresser for $990. The buyer says the set originally retailed for close to $4,000.   


More good finds:

• Glass display case for $400
• A Pier One wrought-iron dining set for $250
• Chandelier for $50
• This set needs some work but could be a good fit for a first kitchen. It includes a table, six chairs, buffet, and china cabinet for $100.
• If you’re decorating an ancient Greek garden, this $50 plaster statue will fit in next to your Venus de Milo replica.


Thanks, Craig!

The only thing that bothers me about Viva Terra is that it knows me too well. You think you are special and creative with your carefully calibrated design tastes, and then some online store puts a bazillion objects that you love in one place. And yet, here I am, ever so excited about the dining and kitchen sale that runs until next Thursday. I am deeply in love with this $32 Wine Decanter, although I’m suspicious that it would be hard to clean. The Flowered Enamelware pitcher, now $38, looks like the perfect thing to deliver Pimm’s Cups or Mint Juleps on a hot day.