Home and Garden Archives

The blizzard of 2016 blankets Kroll Manor in nearly three feet of snow

Manor Makeover: That time it snowed penguins and polar bears

Let's start off this installment of the Manor Makeover series with a confession, so as not to cloud the integrity of the text that will follow. I do not like…

Dan J Kroll January 23, 2025

Home and Garden Personal

My scandalous Christmas Tree

Recently -- November 1st to be exact -- I did something controversial that scandalized several of my family members, friends, and neighbors. While visions of sugar plums danced in my…

Liz Masters November 19, 2024

Home and Garden Personal

Manor Makeover: The bathroom renovation that took five years

When you live in an old house, you have to expect that anything can happen at any time. I originally wrote that sentence a different way, but I am slightly…

Dan J Kroll November 15, 2024

Home and Garden Personal

Manor Makeover: The windows are the windows to the world

I have to say that windows never really excited me. Sure, when I pass by a church and see the beautiful stained glass I will often stop and admire them.…

Dan J Kroll October 30, 2024

Hess Mansion/Kroll Manor front landscape, seven years later

Home and Garden Personal

Manor Makeover: Changing the landscape of the Hess Mansion

It is hard to believe that today marks the ninth anniversary of the founding of Kroll Manor. Sure, the house stood for nearly 100 years before that... but I have…

Dan J Kroll October 9, 2024

Kroll Manor, also known as the Hess Mansion.

Home and Garden Personal

Manor Makeover: Ghosts of the Past

In a couple of weeks, it will be nine years since I made the move from Philadelphia to Kroll Manor, in my hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The reasons why are…

Dan J Kroll September 23, 2024