Here are a few cool products we’ve seen featured around the blogosphere. Share some of your recent favorites in the comments below!
The Pebble Collection from Karim Rashid (via Design Milk): Karim’s at it again with a fun new Post-It dispenser for 3M.
Want a super sleek-looking toilet or just want to save some space? Geberit’s tank goes inside the wall! (via Re-nest)
If you want a modern-looking garden, then you’ll like Terra Trellis’s cool shapes! (via Dwell)
In this video from his HouseSmarts TV series, home improvement expert Lou Manfredini shares a couple of great home innovations that you might find useful in your own house.
With visits to a couple of interesting product manufacturers, Lou shares details about how tankless water heaters work — even when demand for water is high — and about the impressive features offered by a new digital thermostat that does much more than control the temperature in your home.
Watch the video below, check out the HouseSmarts YouTube channel, and be sure to read all of Lou’s articles here on MLuxe for more tips and information.
Home design and decorating website DigsDigs does a great job of digging up some of the greatest finds in the world of modern design, interior decor and architecture. If you’re interested in modern style, you could spend hours clicking through the site’s many categories and photos and blog posts.
Today, though, we’re going to focus on just one small segment of DigsDigs’ modern tastes, sharing some highlights of the site’s finds in for the bathroom. Specifically, we wanted to share some of the great modern tubs and showers the site has featured.
For starters, check out this shower and bath combo from Twinline2. It’s certainly stylish, but it also deploys a rather simple element of universal design: a full-length door that eliminates the need to step over the high tub wall, a common cause of bathroom accident.
This freestanding oval-shaped tub from Castello certainly looks elegant, but that’s arguably more due to the color — sleek, shiny black — than the shape. As DigsDigs writes, “Black bathtubs always look very elegant and refined. Such bathtubs attract an attention and make people to dream about bathing in them.”
For fun, here’s a rather similar tub in bright, bold red, and another made of wood but with a pattern that makes it look like black marble.
This white tub with a wood “skirt” does a great job of marrying sleek, modern elegance with a more traditional (by way of the wood) feel that’d fit just about anywhere.
Speaking of wood tubs, here’s something from the funkier side: a wardrobe combined with a bathtub. DigsDigs explains: “Thanks to the specially designed joints that expand when they become wet the bath closet remains fully watertight. The wood, taken from a single larch tree, can be used in combination with water and gives out a pleasing pine aroma when the bath is filled.”
Could you ever see yourself using something like this?
Thanks to DigsDigs for digging up all of this great stuff!
If you do any work at home, you know how important it is to have a space dedicated to work. You don’t want to be distracted by household noises in the living room right as you on an important conference call. Sometimes though, there’s just no room in your house and an addition can be expensive. Luckily, Archipods has the solution!
Via Charles and Hudson, we found these innovative home offices. They go in your yard, so there’s no need to tack an extra room on to your house. Their exterior is cedar shingles, so they’ll fit into most types of gardens. The interior is a cool, modern look.
If you’re looking for a unique place to work at home, Archipods just might be the ticket!
What you’re looking at could be the future of home energy usage.
Sustainable Industries unveiled its ten favorite green building products of 2011 last week at PCBC 2011 in San Francisco, and this device — called Modlet by ThinkEco — is a stand-out.
The device reduces the power pulled by appliances and electronics when they’re not in use, which saves more energy than you might think. Modlet is plugged into an existing outlet and is controlled by a wireless connection through a user’s computer. From there, homeowners can choose to cut power to items not in use, giving them more control of their energy usage.
“It’s a great way to get started with energy management,” said Mei Shibata, one of the company’s founders. “It’s the perfect first product to get people used to energy efficiency.”
The Modlet is only available for commercial use right now, but a consumer version is on the way. According to ThinkEco, the Modlet can reduce overall energy costs by 10 percent.
[photo from Sustainable Industries]
Articulating a vision is one of the most difficult aspects to building a home or planning a remodeling project. For those who are not interior designers or architects, Autodesk Homestyler has come to the rescue. The 3D design software is free, entirely Web-based and easier than hammering a nail.
With Autodesk Homesyler, users can create their dream home from scratch by choosing from a wide range of floor plans and more than 22,000 name-brand products from the product catalog (including Marvin Window and Doors). To kick-start inspiration, users can browse the design gallery to view and tinker with designs made by other users. There’s also a series of advice videos from professional interior designer Nadia Geller.
No more flipping through design magazines and spending hours perusing real estate websites. A mental picture isn’t good enough. Check out Autodesk Homestyler to render your dream project. It just might be the first step toward completion.
During the 2011 International Builder’s Show, we mentioned that the DIY Network’s Kayleen McCabe stopped by the Marvin booth to check out our new Clad Ultimate Glider window.
Well, the episode of “Cool Tools” for which that segment was shot aired this weekend on the DIY Network, and they’ve posted the clip online, as well.
You have lots of choices when it comes to replacing your windows, and as many of you regular readers know, I work with Marvin Windows and Doors promoting their fine products. But for the purposes of this article, I want to focus on the “how” of window replacement, not the “what.”
Replacing your windows can be categorized into two buckets: inserts and full-frame.
Inserts are when the new windows go into the actual frame of your old windows. The installer will remove the sashes and trim that holds it all in place. Now the key here is that the frames need to be sound and in good shape. The new window will have its own frame that will be custom sized and made to fit that exact opening. The new window may be slightly smaller than what you currently have, but this type of installing goes much quicker and can be less messy.
The new units are screwed to the existing frames, insulated, caulked and trimmed. Typically the exterior will be wrapped in aluminum if you have installed some type of low-maintenance exterior on your new insert windows. The interior trim will be the same that was there before; only a small stop or additional strip of wood will be added to finish off the interior.
Full-frame is the method that removes the entire window frame and all to expose the rough opening of the window as it was when the home was first built. This method is especially beneficial if there was substantial wood rot around the windows. This also allows you to get the maximum glass space available, perhaps even more than you had before because modern window frames and sashes have thinner rails (though very strong) to bring in more light into your home.
Full frame installation also offers a better opportunity to insulate around the opening and gives you more options as to the overall size of the window you install. Sometimes an opening can be enlarged depending on how it was originally framed.
As far as pricing, the general rule is that insert products are less costly than full-frame because labor time required for inserts is much less. Either way your new windows will help make you more comfortable, save you some money on your energy bills and add real lasting value to your home.
Note: You can learn more about the window replacement process, what to look for when shopping for windows, and more with this video series, Learn From Lou.
Now that it is “officially” (not officially meteorologically of course) summer post-Memorial Day and we can do things like wear whites and play croquet, it’s time to start thinking of how to cool ourselves with some refreshing libations. The days get hot, and it’s important to keep hydrated!
One hot trend is infused waters. Take a pitcher or some other container and add water and your infusion ingredients. These can be almost anything. You could go for the classic lemon and mint or get really wild with pineapple and cinnamon sticks. The possibilities are endless! Love To Know has some ideas to start you off.
Infused water amps up the taste of regular water and allows you to be creative. Plus its calories are negligible. So mix up a pitcher, or grab a beverage dispenser for your next party. We’re partial to this one from Crate & Barrrel:
Happy sipping!
Top image courtesy of wtfclem on Flickr.
Marvin Windows and Doors brought its newest products to the annual International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida. The show is the biggest in the homebuilding and remodeling industry, and this year’s event featured Marvin’s Clad Ultimate Glider — a classic window redone with Marvin’s touch for style and quality.
Take a tour of the booth and Marvin’s newest products via this video.
