Come Watch Nation’s Oldest Football Rivalry

At 10:00 AM, Thanksgiving morning, rabid citizens from Wellesley and Needham will come to Wellesley High to root on their football teams as they play out the latest chapter in the nation’s oldest public school rivalry. Dating back to 1882, the year after Wellesley seceded from Needham, the annual contest always draws legions of families, fans, and high school alumni from the two towns. This year’s contest, installment number 122, will feature two excellent teams as Wellesley enters with a 8-2 record and Needham’s stands at 7-3. Kickoff is at 10 AM at the WHS field at 50 Rice Street, but fans are advised to arrive early to make sure they get a seat.

The story behind an important Antique Colonial in South Natick

Rutledge Properties is pleased to offer an American Masterpiece - an Antique Colonial originally built in 1750 on the banks of the Charles River in South Natick. This house on a pastoral setting, is easily accessible to Boston. Here is more information about this lovely home for sale:

SOUTH NATICK - Important 1750 colonial moved and meticulously reassembed on the banks of the Charles River in 1933 and joined to auxiliary house to achieve 14 rooms, 7 bedrooms, 4 baths. Stately facade with pedimented doorways, gracious through halls on two floors, eight principal rooms each with a fireplace, wide oak floor boards, original paneling and high ceilings. Beautifully sited on an acre with 3-car garage, this is an American masterpiece. EXCLUSIVE $1,600,000 Look for MLS # 70996901

Here is an excerpt from an article featured in the now defunct newspaper, The Boston Traveler, Saturday September 29, 1934 by Charles A. Parker, about the moving of this house to its present location.

Transfer Notable Feat
Its transfer – overnight as it were – is characterized as a masterpiece in moving. What the novice would not dream could be done has been accomplished. Last year (1933) the house, of 8 rooms and eight fireplaces, stood deserted by the Norwich Ct. town roadside abandoned after having served as an inn.

Dreams Realized
The loveliness of an early American masterpiece c.1750 has been realized as a dream come true. Outside it bears the semblance of a generous square-set English colonial with twin chimneys. The front of the house as it was in Norwich, in South Natick faces the rear, that is, the large front door opening into the lower hall faces the river – for this is the more secluded and preferable side of sitting outdoors. Window sashes all around the house are of the 12-pane type, ends of the dwelling show the “overhang” which was the Connecticut style. The ancient front hall with its black walnut stairway and black walnut banister carvings, unusual width and depth of treads, is more beautiful because of the exceedingly wide oak floor boards, wide panels, wall dado, and then a carved cornice with square and colored medallions, showing everywhere the hand work of the early day carpenter and woodcraft expert.

Be sure and contact us at Rutledge Properties at 781-235-4663 or email us at rutledge@rutledgeproperties.com to see this fascinating property. You can see extra pictures of it here.

Rutledge brokers spelling team competed in the WEF Spelling Bee to benefit Wellesley Schools

The Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) held its 20th annual Spelling Bee Nov. 5. 49 teams from every facet of life in Wellesley were there: real estate offices, law firms, banks, PTAs, student organizations, and townspeople banded together as alumni and neighborhood groups. Rutledge Properties has been an enthusiastic entry every year, never actually winning but doing our very best for our schools. The Rutledge team consisted of (from left to right), Chrissie Lawrence, Janet Montgomery and owner Roberta Swenson.

This year’s winner was from World of Wellesley (celebrating diversity in our town), strongly challenged by the high school students in Wellesley Pops. The winners received the Ruth Humphries Bee Trophy to keep for the reigning year (named after our own Ruth Humphries, who was one of the original owners of Rutledge Properties, and a broker with us for many years). Congratulations to everyone who participated!

Check out the Wellesley Education Foundation website to see pictures from this year’s Bee, and previous years too. Read about this year's Bee in the Wellesley Townsman.

Biggest Losers: 20 Home Design Features That Send Buyers Running

By Barbara Ballinger, Architecture Coach columnist and guest blogger

SOURCE: REALTOR MAGAZINE

Design glitches draw attention away from a home’s best features. Don’t let out-of-date fixtures and unappealing decor cost you a sale. While some buyers may actually appreciate “vintage” features, home and design experts say these 20 features almost always serve as a turnoff.

1. Dated and excessively bold or dark paint and tile colors, such as “Pepto Bismol” pink, avocado green, deep plum, or jet black. “Dark can be cool, but it has to be a color that’s popular today,” says sales associate Jennifer Ames, crs®, of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago.

2. Lacquered or high-gloss painted walls that are expensive to repaint and show all defects. Likewise, faux- and sponge-painted walls can be so passe.

3. Painted trim that’s very dark-and costly to remove.

4. Wallpaper, which is a lot of work (and potentially expensive) to remove. Most disliked: Dated flowered or striped patterns.

5. Kitchens that lack any dining space. Also, outdated, small-scale, and dirty kitchen appliances that look like they won’t perform.

6. Worn, cracked laminate countertops, and backsplashes or plastic cultured marble.

7. Outdated bathrooms with small sinks, short toilets, squatty bathtubs, and tight showers-all of which aren’t conducive to unwinding after a long day’s work, says Ames.

8. Lack of ample closet space in bedrooms, or no closet at all and no place to build one or add an armoire.

9. Dens, libraries, and family rooms without built-in bookcases or a space to include shelves.

10. Stained and worn wall-to-wall carpet in rooms or on stairs. Worst choice: shag. Also, worn linoleum that suggests a house was never updated.

11. Poorly built additions that don’t blend with a home’s architecture, such as a sunroom with tinted glass.

12. Shortage of windows or very small windows, which makes a home feels dark and gloomy.

13. Ceilings with so many recessed lighting spots that they resemble Swiss cheese and are expensive to remove. Worst offenders: big 6-inch diameter lights.

14. Too many rooms outside the kitchen and bathroom that have cold ceramic tiled floors.

15. Children’s bedrooms with a theme that runs through the carpeting, wallpaper, murals, ceilings, light fixtures, curtains, and furnishings.

16. Homes without a foyer or garage.

17. Too many mirrored walls, ceilings, doors, and backsplashes in a single room. The effect is dizzying, Ames says. One mirror magnifies, but many cheapen the look.

18. Skimpy molding and trim, such as 1-inch baseboards.

19. Noisy, grinding fan in a bathroom that’s attached to a light switch so it can’t be turned off.

20. Inexpensive gold-colored light fixtures in any room. Also, Hollywood-style lighting with huge bulbs in a bathroom is also out of date, design experts say.