Ah, the humble shower. It’s the way most of us choose to get clean every day, but it’s usually a pretty simple affair: you stand and the water pours over you. If you wanted to lie or sit down in the shower, you would end up with a face full of water and would probably end up just choosing to take a bath.

Luckily, there’s a (luxurious) solution: Meiré und Meiré, a German company, offers “…a private spa, presenting the architectural inspiration for a tour through water competence.” They even have a solution for anyone who has wanted to lie down and take a relaxing shower.

What do you think? Would you ever want something like this to give you more showering options?

Images courtesy of Meiré und Meiré.

It seems like Japan often leads the way when it comes to small but innovative housing. It’s no surprise of course, since this island nation has a large population and often limited land. However, Japan has long been known for its impeccable aesthetics. Combine that with an efficiency obsession and you’ll find that some of the best tiny houses in the world are from Japan.

This house (via Apartment Therapy) is especially cool–squeezed between two highrises, it still manages to have five stories and gardens on every floor. It might not be the most practical house, but it sure is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city!

Images courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

25 Heart-Melting Decorating DIYs for a Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Bash
Casa Sugar
“If you’re still toying with the idea of inviting your girlfriends over for a last-minute celebration this weekend, see if this roundup of super-stylish Valentine’s Day DIY decorations is the deciding factor.”

Valentine’s Day Menu Inspiration
Martha Stewart
Some great ideas for a romantic meal for two!

Lolilla Chair by Ahsayane Design Studio
Design Milk
Looking for the perfect chair for your Valentine’s party? This might be it.

How to Make Cake Pops
The Kitchn
The cake pop: the cutest dessert for the cutest of holidays.

MLuxe is now on Pinterest! If you’re on Pinterest too, consider following us.

Pinterest is an online “pinboard.” You can use it in the same way you might use a bulletin board or inspiration book to gather tidbits of things you like for anything from a remodeling project to a wedding. When you find something that strikes your fancy, you “pin” it to your Pinterest boards. You can re-pin other people’s pins and they can re-pin yours. It’s a great way to get inspired and share ideas!

If you’re looking for another way to interact with MLuxe or Marvin,  follow us on Pinterest!

Over at Architectural Digest, they are featuring some beautiful celebrity kitchens. We recommend checking them all out and imagining how your favorite celebrities whip up gourmet meals, but we have to share the one we loved the most. Feast your eyes on this unusual kitchen:

No, it’s not in a European dungeon — although you probably figured that out from the stainless steel appliances. It’s Gerard Butler’s New York kitchen and it manages to be subtly masculine and cozy at the same. It seems like the sort of kitchen where you might roast a whole pig just as easily as you could boil up some pasta.

During the colder months, this kitchen would be especially nice to warm up in. It’s not the typical light and bright kitchen we’re used to seeing, but it works. We’re jealous of Gerard! You can read more about it here.

What do you think of his kitchen?

Image courtesy of Architectural Digest

Attention  to our building-professional readers! Are you headed to the International Builders’ Show next week? Are you ready to see the latest in cutting-edge fenestration innovation? Then you need to make sure to stop by the Marvin booth!

We’re in booth W2339 and will be showing all of our latest and greatest as well as old favorites. If you love Marvin, want to tell us something or just want to see what all the fuss is about, stop by! There’s always someone there to talk with.

Safe travels to Orlando and see you at the show! If you’re not able to make it, we’ll be covering the show on MLuxe next week, so stay tuned…

At Marvin, people are our most important asset since they make the beautiful products that we sell. Take a look at this video and find out why…

Today, we have two very cool DIY fiber arts ideas, both via Curbly. If you want to add some personalized flair to your home, consider these!

First up is this duvet cover featuring doodles. It’s a bit labor intensive, but the end result is very cool. You’ll need whatever drawings you’ve doodled. After photographing the drawings, the creator of this duvet cover traced them on to fabric. You’d probably want to buy a solid-colored duvet for this. Lots of work, but you end up with a duvet cover that no one else in the world has.

The second DIY idea is also a great way to reuse old clothing. Using old pairs of jeans, cut into whatever pattern you like, you can make some fun wall art. Just sew on to a fabric back and voila! Jeans and art on your wall.

What do you think of these ideas? What’s the coolest DIY fiber arts project you’ve ever done?

Here’s a new thing that can be recycled and re-purposed: stuffed animals! Tree Hugger tells the story of an artist, Augustina Woodgate, and her rugs made out of the “skins” of stuffed animals.

To make the rugs, she removes the animals’ heads and the stuffing from the bodies and uses the skins, together with other stuffed animals’ skins, to create a rug that looks almost like no other rug you’ve seen before. Its trippy look could work well in a family or living room (we’re picturing it in a mid-century home) or even a child’s room.

What do you think? Weirdest rug material ever or ingenious use of old materials to create usable art?

Photos courtesy of Tree Hugger.

A stunning restoration and renovation of a historic plantation home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by Stephen Muse and William Kiwan of Muse Architects, this project was awarded because of its meticulous attention to detail, authenticity and preservation.

Originally constructed in 1784 and expanded in 1829, the brick-ended clapboard structure with twin Georgian entry porches follows a one bay deep linear plan typical of Tidewater homes.

Along with complete renovation and restoration of the original house, the scope of work included removal of recent out-of-character additions and construction of additional living space capturing the view of nearby Hungar’s Creek.

To accomplish this, the twin porches from the drive side of the house were replicated on the waterfront side and a new kitchen with breakfast bay was connected to the existing structure by a one-story hyphen.

Additional work included the restoration of all outbuildings, construction of a new garage and the restoration of all driveways, walkways and gardens.

Marvin products used in the project included Ultimate Double Hung Windows, French Casement Windows, Ultimate Casement Windows, Stationary Windows and Transom Windows.

To see more winners and learn more about the Architect’s Challenge, please visit Marvin.