You know what’s annoying about beach chairs? If you want to read on the beach, what do you do with your book or e-reader? Sure, you can prop the chair up and read, but what about if you want to lay down for some relaxing reading? You’re stuck with tired arms after holding the book up.

To the rescue comes the Ostrich 3-in-1 Patio Chaise Lounge Chair. It has a hole near the top (like a massage table) so that you can lie face down, put your book on the ground and read in comfort.

What do you think? Is this better living through design? Is this something you would find handy for summer? Let us know in the comments!

Image courtesy of Target.

There are few things greater than the mark a talented interior designer can leave on a home. So imagine how lucky homeowners John Larsen and Mike Stewart feel to have had 30 designers work on their 100-year-old home on the Lakes of the Isles in Minneapolis, Minn.

As owners of the 2012 American Society of Interior Designers Showcase Home, Larsen and Stewart agreed to work with Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and a large team of designers and contractors months before moving in. In fact, a total of 30 ASID designers worked on the project, which includes an underground tunnel linking the house to an office, an artist’s studio, a meditation room, a gift-wrapping room and a full vegetable garden. Marvin Windows and Doors is one of the project’s sponsors.

Before Larsen and Stewart, the home was owned by Stanley and Martha Platte and was the grounds for many fund-raisers and events hosted by the civic-minded and politically active family. Its new owners are also known for their civic engagement and charitable efforts.

“We were really searching for a home that would appeal to local design aficionados and people with an appreciation for historic homes,” said ASID Showcase Home Committee Co-Chair Holly Bayer. “Not only is the home a perfect example of great design and beauty in the Twin Cities, but John and Mike’s passion for design mixed with their philanthropic commitments make them ideal candidates for this incredible transformation.”

The ASID Showcase Home at 2002 Lake of the Isles Parkway in Minneapolis will be open to the public from 10 a.m., Wednesday through Sunday, May 19-June 10. Tickets are available online at www.mspmag.com/hometour.

If you’ve been keeping up with MLuxe, you know that over the past year we have been featuring winners of the 2011 Architect’s Challenge. And it could be your project that fills this space next year.

If you are an architect, time is running out to enter the 2012 Architect’s Challenge. Entries must be received by May 31. We want to see your best Marvin projects. Entries can be for commercial or residential projects. We welcome any kind of aesthetic from historical to contemporary.

Winners of the Architect’s Challenge will be featured in our permanent Winners Gallery on Marvin.com, be a key part of our trade- and consumer-focused media relations efforts, be showcased here and in other social media channels.

Don’t miss the chance to show off your great project and get some publicity! Enter today! The entry form can be found here.

We are certainly guilty of posting photos of spacious, sprawling kitchens. For a lot of homeowners — especially those who live in older homes — that’s just not reality. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make your kitchen feel bigger.

We stumbled upon some greats tips from Lisa Frederick on Houzz that help create the illusion of a bigger kitchen. And here’s the good news: You won’t need a sledgehammer! Here’s a few ideas we highly recommend:

Replace solid cabinet doors with glass ones. Frederick nails it: “Glass fronts lighten the look of cabinetry and allow the eye to travel through to the back, which helps the kitchen seem more expansive.” But this doesn’t mean you should cram your cabinets full, Frederick warns. “Don’t clutter the interiors with bric-a-brac — you’ll defeat the purpose.”

Choose furnishings with a small footprint. Two common casualties lost to a small kitchen — counter space and room for seating. But that doesn’t have to be so, Frederick writes. “Select petite islands, slim chairs, streamlined stools and narrow tables that don’t eat up valuable floor space.”

Recess storage. This is easily the biggest space saver and it can create some major functionality to your kitchen. Frederick writes, “Tuck a pantry, shelving or cabinets flush with the wall to keep from obstructing the kitchen’s flow.”

To see more great tips for making a small kitchen seem larger, check out Frederick’s article on Houzz. We highly recommend it!

Another day, another tiny house for us to enjoy. This one is built as a true retreat away from the world, with no running water or electricity. It’s in the middle of a clump of large redwoods, and designed to look as if it was built into the trees (it’s not).

“No water and no lights?” you might think. “Did the owner spend all the money on land and run out?” Rest assured, the owner is a former airline executive, and could probably well afford any number of luxuries. Sometimes a tiny house is beautiful for its on sake.

Images courtesy of Treehugger.

The staircase is one of the most practical elements to any multistory home, which is probably why it’s so often overlooked. For example, look at one of the great ongoing gags on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, where Phil Dumphy vows to “fix that step” every time he trips going up the staircase.

Let’s give the staircase some much-needed love, because in far too many homes, it’s a missed opportunity.

We wrote about high-end, architectural staircases yesterday, but today, we’re highlighting two fun and simple ideas for sprucing up the stairs from Gabrielle Blair at The Stir:

Painted runners. Carpet runners may be more traditional, but they can easily slip, which is a viable concern for aging homeowners or those who have kids. Painted runners (pictured above) can create depth and contrast, as well as hide nicks and blemishes if you have light-colored wood or white steps.

Staircase wallpaper. Talk about bold! Adding wallpaper to stair risers (seen below) is as simple as purchasing fresh wallpaper or perhaps using some leftovers used elsewhere in the home. For instance, if you have a hip washroom on the top floor, use the same wallpaper for the staircase to make it pop.

[Photos courtesy The Stir and The Haystack Needle]

Sometimes a staircase may be necessary to get from floor to floor. And sometimes it can be an architectural marvel. We found a round-up on MSN Real Estate that caught our fancy. Here are two of our favorites. Check out the rest here.

If you have an abundance of books and limited space to store them, why not include them in your stairs?

It can’t be denied that these stairs, seemingly supported by nothing, are chic and modern. Our concern would be safety–how do you prevent falls not only down the stairs but off the stairs?

What are the most interesting stairs you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments!

Images courtesy of MSN Real Estate.

When this rural property in Pennsylvania was recently sold, its new owners wanted to maintain its sense of history — the land is in the area of a key Civil War-era battlefield, and the house and barns on the property oozed historic charm and character.

But in an effort to maintain and update the structures, it was determined the house main — which had “undergone many unsympathetic additions and alterations over the centuries,” according to architect Jim Rill. Instead, a new house was build that fit the style of the property and the character of the area, mixing modern comforts with a style that looks like it’s aged over time.

One of the defining characteristics of the home is its use of windows (from Marvin Windows and Doors, we’re proud to say). According to a write-up on TrendsIdeas.com:

Despite the expanse of wood ceilings and walls, the interior is light and airy, thanks to large banks of colonial-style windows on both sides of the house.

“Transparency right through the house was essential,” says Rill. “The windows let the house breathe and make for an immediate connection to the outdoors. In fact, the outdoor living areas are treated as extra rooms that are as much a part of the house as the rooms inside.

Read the full story here.

[photo courtesy of TrendsIdeas.com]

A recipient of an “Award of Merit” for Adaptive Reuse in the 2010 AIA New York State Design Awards, this project from James McKinney of Sacco + McKinney Architects was selected as a winner for showcasing adaptive reuse, historic preservation and high performance.

The Mayo Smith, Seelye and Hitchcock Houses at Amherst College are viewed as local historical landmarks overlooking the town common. This project assures their preservation while looking to the future through the use of high performance building envelopes, solar energy for hot water and high efficiency mechanical and electrical systems.

These restored buildings provide attractive living environments with many of the same amenities as the new dorms on campus, including compliance with safety and accessibility standards.

Floor plans include a mix of room types preferred by upper class students, including singles, two-room doubles and suites. Also, common social and study space, music practice rooms, laundries and bathrooms. Existing floor plans were revised to improve space utilization, reclaim under-utilized space and accommodate new egress stairs.

Amherst’s “High-Performance Buildings Guidelines” called for technologically advanced systems and materials. While architecturally preserved on the outside, thermal and air barrier technology was applied at the inner face of the walls and integrated with window replacement to achieve a high performing envelope. Both open- and closed-cell foam products were used in response to differing wall construction in the various buildings. Existing windows were replaced with custom high-efficiency clad units matching existing profiles and sight lines. Marvin’s custom profiles and products, combined with their super energy performance, made them the perfect fit for meeting preservation requirements while addressing future needs.

New mechanical and electrical systems include high efficiency boilers, low flow plumbing fixtures, DDC controls to allow facilities to monitor performance of systems, energy recovery from ventilation air and high efficiency LED lighting. Roof top solar panels provide most of the hot water for showers and laundries and serve as a visible component of the school’s commitment to reducing carbon emission.

Modifications to accomplish modern accessibility were done with minimal impact on the historic nature of the buildings. New accessible walks flow with the site contours and porch decks were raised to eliminate the one-step barriers found at entry doors. Existing doors and entrances were selectively altered to meet width requirements in an architecturally sensitive manner. And historic main stairs were modified to meet current requirements, while maintaining their historic character.

Mayo-Smith, Seelye and Hitchcock Houses are proof that historic buildings can be fully effective in responding to the energy and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Marvin products used in this project included double hung windows, custom configurations and historical replications.

Photography courtesy of James McKinney.

Check your local movie listings and you would have a hard time finding a ticket for less than $10. Over the past few years, movie night has become absurdly expensive.

At the same time, media rooms are becoming more popular as home-theater systems have not only improved in quality but become easier to plan a room around. (Remember those bulky big-screen TVs from the late 1990s? Oy vey.)

Whether you’re finishing a basement or you’ve included a media room in your new home, planning includes more than a visit to your nearest home electronics retail store. Here’s a list of tips from Houzz to create the perfect media room for your home:

• Include storage and shelves for all of your favorite books and movies
• Have fun with the paint scheme. Go with a mural like a star-speckled sky or dark, rich colors to accommodate dim lighting
• Prioritize comfort when choosing furniture
• Create theater-like acoustics by using sound paneling or wall upholstery
• Include a bar or kitchenette to serve as your at-home concessions stand

Do you have a media room in your home? What’s your favorite feature?

[Photo from Deep River Partners]