&uuid=(email))
I can't help but notice that Grindr is full of hungry creatures, reaching out to take whatever you can give. They're insatiable. I'm talking about plants, to be clear. My Grindr grid is covered in [...]
Once I graduated college, I packed my bags and didn’t look back. My dreams to study abroad had been dashed by the pandemic, but with a diploma to my name, I was ready to see [...]
You don’t hear the name William Dorsey Swann often enough these days, but Dorsey was a trailblazing 19th-century Black activist who carved out a space for not only himself, but other individuals like him. He [...]
When I decided to move my entire life into a 1979 Coachmen RV, most people thought I’d lost my mind. Moving 27 years' worth of my life including my two giant dogs, Zeus and Apollo, [...]
For Marissa Klee-Peregon, 27, Nimblewill Cooperative in Kalamazoo is a space where she can practice interdependence, instead of independence. A cooperative home, or “co-op,” which centers the experiences of queer and trans people, Nimblewill, Klee-Peregon [...]
You’ve heard of a bed-and-breakfast. But have you ever heard of a bud-and-breakfast? Copper House is, holistically speaking, an oasis in the middle of northwest Detroit for the conscious cannabis consumer. And if you need [...]
It’s the newest show on the HGTV network and it’s filmed right here in Detroit. “Bargain Block” stars personal and professional partners Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, transplants from Colorado, and follows the couple as [...]
Home is where the heart is, but sadly too many people are heartless when it comes to those who are homeless. Especially when those people are trans women of color. Ten years ago when Kayla [...]
A couple of blocks east from Manhattan’s Empire State Building in the neighborhood known as Murray Hill, 25-year-old Taiwan-born photographer Hsiang-Hsi Lu fires off a Grindr message. “He’s Taiwanese!” Lu remarks with a tinge of [...]
Whether settling down to start a family, putting down roots in a great location or simply expanding one's space, home ownership can be a thrilling part of anyone's life regardless of their reasons. However, it's an unfortunate reality that LGBTQ people often must take extra care to ensure that the place in which they choose to settle down is affirming of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The LGBT community is aging and, as a result, its elder care needs are growing. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be over 7 million LGBT adults aged 65 or older in the U.S. who will need to find inclusive housing options.
Though real estate can make for a great investment, it's not always easy to start building a robust portfolio. Like many other real estate investment firms, Jeddo Corp seeks to help clients develop one, however, its methodology is unique: artificial intelligence. A wife and wife team based out of both Ann Arbor and the San Francisco Bay Area, Nada and Sabra Djomehri saw an opportunity for their business to blend both of their specialties.
Finding the right home in the right neighborhood can be difficult, especially if you’re hoping to find a progressive and safe space that is accepting of anything that isn’t white and heteronormative in nature.
Littered with historic architecture, it's not difficult to find shining examples of craftsmanship from the 19th and early 20th centuries in Detroit neighborhoods like Midtown, Indian Village or Boston-Edison. Even outside of specifically historical spots, [...]
As more rental properties appear across Michigan it is more important than ever to keep the tenants in your rental properties happy, comfortable and, most importantly, in place. Your favorite tenants are probably the ones who care for your property and pay their rent on time and possibly may just have the means to purchase and move away from your investment.
It’s a Monday morning and Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, the visionaries behind the Taylorsville, N.C.-based, eponymous company that bills itself as “classic modern home furnishings,” are looking at another long work week ahead but excited about the weekend’s events.
Berenice Abbott once said, "The world doesn’t like independent women. Why, I don’t know, but I don’t care." It's that attitude about life that made Abbott one of the major figures of 20th Century photography. [...]
With the help of 3D printers, IKEA is making furniture better for people living with disabilities. The project, dubbed ThisAbles, started off in the IKEA store with a hackathon of product engineers and disabled people [...]
Jeff Hammerberg is the founding CEO of GayRealEstate.com, a service connecting clients with compatible agents, and is releasing his new e-book "Real Estate Tips for the LGBTQ Home Buyer: Your Guide to Purchasing the Home of Your Dreams" for free download.
If Alexander Weyer had to put a postmark on when he decided to build a tiny home, he’d guess it started about three years ago just as most of his thoughts begin: under the stars. Weyer, an openly gay practicing astrologer and herbalist, was visiting a friend one night in Detroit, thinking about life’s grand design and how freeing it would be to downsize.
The group is called Phoemale and, for anyone wondering, is pronounced just like the word "female." The unique spelling represents the words “phoenix” and “female” combined and the group celebrates women rising from the ashes. More specifically, Phoemale is a non-profit organization that enables women to empower fellow women in Metro Detroit who are rebuilding their lives after overcoming domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or homelessness.
It has been more than three years since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, paving the way for the continued increase of LGBTQ married couples purchasing homes, according to the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals’ second annual LGBT Real Estate Report. NAGLREP, with more than 2,000 members, is one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ trade associations.
Buying a house is a major financial commitment. You want to be certain you’re getting the best mortgage rate and terms, and that you will be able to afford your mortgage payment now and into [...]
Lack of LGBTQ Protections in Fair Housing Act Leave LGBTQ Residents Vulnerable Finding a good location, comparing rent or mortgage prices and debating whether to use professional movers or getting a self-driven truck rental should [...]
PRRI Research Reveals Need for Anti-Discrimination Language The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in March it is revising its mission statement to remove anti-discrimination language. The proposed draft of the new HUD [...]
Hagopian Cleaning Services Adds Air Duct and Dryer Vent Cleaning Members of the community will begin to see new purple trucks on Michigan roads. Hagopian Cleaning Services, a Michigan company since 1939, is growing again. [...]
Thirty-four of Michigan’s most stunning architectural gems are on full display in the new book “Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy,” a passion project of author Brian D. Conway and photographer Jim Haefner that took more [...]
Event Attendees Reflect on Progress, Discuss the Long Road Ahead If every neighborhood is to become a place of opportunity, it's time for fairer housing - to include the LGBTQ community - and stronger enforcement [...]
BY BTL STAFF The 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing marriage equality has paved the way for more LGBTQ home purchases, according to the 2017 National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) Homeownership [...]
BY BTL STAFF The Village Workshop in Northville exists for those looking for a place that has everything they could ever think of to make anything they could ever think of. It's like a garage, [...]
BY BRAD BELL When I hear friends talk about the local real estate market, the word I hear over and over again is "hot". For buyers and sellers its means fewer homes are on the [...]
Based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Paul Feiten is an interior designer who is all the rage with numerous awards to his name, including the prestigious Detroit Home Magazine award. And he has a message for [...]
When it comes to increasing a community's property values, gays add more than curbside appeal, says author Ross Benes in his new book, "The Sex Effect." Published by Sourcebooks last month, "The Sex Effect" undresses [...]
Members of the community are invited to Detroit's historic Palmer Woods neighborhood at 8 p.m. on May 20 for the Latin Jazz Garden Concert featuring Orquestra La Inspiracion. The concert will be held in an [...]
BY EMELL DERRA ADOLPHUS When it comes to increasing a community's property values, gays add more than curbside appeal, says author Ross Benes in his new book, "The Sex Effect." Published by Sourcebooks last month, [...]
Members of the community look forward to the eclectic, diverse group of artists invited to Detroit each year for the Palmer Park Art Fair. The neighborhood event May 6-7 is produced by Detroit-based Integrity Shows [...]
It was never Jeff Mitchell's intention to move to Hamtramck, but he found and fell in love with a "hidden gem" on Yemans Street. The Chicago-style home was built in 1999 from the ground up [...]
BY EMELL DERRA ADOLPHUS Jared Peña on learning to throw the cookbook out the window Jared Peña likes to cook from cultural experience. He's traveled to more than 50 countries, including India, Peru, Thailand, Burma, [...]
BY BTL STAFF DETROIT - Midtown Detroit is undergoing some changes with major construction to revitalize the downtown area. There has been a push to bring new life into the Midtown neighborhood known for its [...]
BY AJ TRAGER When Ken Russell, a London native, spent a summer in San Francisco a little over a decade ago, the experience of exploring the city and spending time with a talented drag queen [...]
BY AJ TRAGER Founder of the Heidelberg Project Tyree Guyton (center) with some of the many volunteers who donate their time and energy to cleaning up Heidelberg Street. Photo by Geronimo Patton. DETROIT - [...]
By Emell Derra Adolphus John Corvino and Mark Lock have been proud residents of Sherwood Forest since 2002. BTL photo: Andrew Potter For Kari Kildow, the city of Ferndale has come to mean family. [...]
BY AJ TRAGER Paul Hickman is the owner and founder of Urban Ashes, a unique furniture and frame manufacturer that employs Michigans transitional and disabled labor force to create frames and moulding from recycled and [...]
BY BTL STAFF Owner Jim Cyr and partner Cindy O'Flynn BERKLEY - Love of antiques and attention to unique value is reflected in the ever-changing inventory at Evergreen Antiques. Owner Jim Cyr has been in [...]
This year's March issue of Architectural Digest -- for 95 years an international interior design authority -- features as its cover story, "Power Players: At Home with Neil Patrick Harris + David Burtka." The Conde [...]
By Lyndsay Wilson "I'm good with color" you tell your friends, and you truly believe that in another life, you could have been an excellent interior designer. Then how did it happen that your living [...]
BY BTL STAFF ROYAL OAK - The story goes that a small, dark painting innocently acquired during a pleasant afternoon's shopping in the Royal Oak Farmers Market turned out to be something more. Cleaned and [...]
BY EMELL DERRA ADOLPHUS While some houses may be sold on features alone (pool, garage, backyard), it takes a realtor to sell a "home," says Christopher Ayers of Shain Park Realtors in Birmingham. "A house [...]
By Emell Derra Adolphus Congratulations! You're moving in with your partner and are about to enjoy two to five years (depending on if gays or girls) of uninterrupted living-together bliss. But before you even think [...]
BY AJ TRAGER James and Teddy Washington recently moved to Brightmoor. While living at their previous home they faced constant harassment and threats and say that moving to the new place is like night and [...]
