Many communities along the U.S. East Coast have started to evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, which is expected to gain Category 4 strength this afternoon. Major cities like Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are located right in storm’s projected path,  leaving millions of Americans concerned about hurricane insurance, disaster preparedness and what they just might come home to should they choose to evacuate.

Fortunately, now more than ever, homeowners have access to building products and materials created to withstand extreme weather conditions, giving them a fighting chance against unforeseen catastrophes like Hurricane Irene.

Storms like Irene are why Marvin Windows and Doors offers its StormPlus products, which offer all the luxury and elegance Marvin is known for, but the brute strength to take on hurricane winds upwards of 140 miles per hour. For instance, the Impact Zone 3 products were created for coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast. All IZ3 products are tested to endure wind-borne debris and intense changes in pressure. As a show of strength, IZ3 products must endure an 8-foot 2 x 4 stud shot at 50 feet per second.

To better understand the importance of a fortified home and disaster preparedness, we recommend visiting disastersafety.org for tips on weathering Hurricane Irene and future storms to come. Among other things, they have created this video that shows what hurricane-force winds can do to a home whose windows break compared with a home whose windows stay intact.

We sure hope everyone out there is safe!

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)

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!

Images courtesy Archipods

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]

Home cleaning checklist and cheat-sheet
Curbly
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve been offering free, downloadable check lists and cheat sheets to make your spring cleaning efforts simple and effective. First, we shared a list of tasks and DIY, green cleaners for the kitchen, and last week, an easy way to make it through that most dreaded of rooms, the bathroom. Today, we’re tackling everything else: carpets/rugs, windows, furniture, walls, and odors.”

Modern Kitchens Worthy of The Jetsons
CalFinder Blog
“We’ve shown how a kitchen renovation can give you the biggest return on investment in your home. Yes, even simply replacing your dishwasher and oven can majorly revolutionize the function, efficiency and beauty of your space. Well. These kitchens go above and beyond in their modernization. Not only do they incorporate the latest and most efficient appliances (steel, think steel), but they have added cabinetry and other beautiful materials to make the entire space positively out of this world.”

A sink made of leather
DigsDigs
“What is that? A sink made of leather?! It’s not, actually, this sink is made of copper. This sink is made by a California-based company Native Trails. The sink is manufactured of special copper, it’s recycled copper from pipes and wirings which are melted down. The rest of the process is made by an artisan, so it’s hand made.” And it looks like leather!

Home safety tips for travelers
DIY Life
“In the craziness of planning for our holiday travel and vacations, we often forget to take the necessary steps to safeguard our home from intruders. It’s not necessary to have a home security system such as a home alarm or security camera, although those types of precautions are a great deterrent. Here are some tips for homeowners who don’t have home security systems but want some piece of mind before locking up.”

FSC Reclaimed Teak by IndoTeak Design
Jetson Green
“California-based IndoTeak Design has what it calls “the greenest teak products on the market.“ Its FSC-certified, post-consumer, recycled teak products — flooring, paneling, siding, and decking — come from Indonesian structures up to 300 years old.”

While the American Institute of Architects convention in New Orleans is filled with fascinating items to see and discuss, a lot of it is geared toward a professional audience. The show isn’t as consumer-oriented as some others that Marvin attends.

However, our trend-spotter Maura Williams did find this very cool tile from an Italian company called FAP Ceramiche.

In this photo, the wallcovering in the glassed-in shower area is replicated by the tile around the sink. It looks seamless and is an amazing demonstration of the kinds of complex designs that are now possible with computer technology married to production.

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.

We recently showed you Karim Rashid’s very cool egg-shaped chair. In another cool chair entry, we found this this beauty on Design Milk. From Spanish company Joquer and designed by Ramón Esteve, its  space age sexiness would add interest to any room and serve as a real conversation point. It looks comfortable too! What are your opinions on bold furniture such as this?

We’ve seen some cool home products lately and thought we’d share them here. Because we believe you, like us, appreciate cool things for your home.

At a recent electronics industry trade show, Samsung showed off a television with a transparent screen. It sounds kind of cool, but it looks even cooler:

That photo is courtesy of Geek.com, which points out, “a transparent wall-mounted display in the home would be desirable. At the moment, when the TV is turned off, you are left with a big black rectangle on the wall. With a transparent display it would be possible to hang a picture behind the screen which would be seen whenever you aren’t watching the TV.”

Take a look at this clock by Umbra, which features an orb of walnut wood that seems to float underneath a glass dome. The good folks at Dwell magazine write, “We can’t cop to knowing how the heck this walnut clock face hovers, seemingly without support, inside its domed glass cover. But we will admit it caught our eye and we can’t stop thinking about how cool it would look on a mantle, making every time check a mystifying experience.”

Karim Rashid, famous designer and friend of Marvin, has designed a neat egg-shaped chair that would be equally cool in a kid’s room or in any other space designed with a modern feel.

Included in a Wired.com round-up of gifts for the handy do-it-yourselfer in your life was this gorgeous wood cabinet on wheels. It’s tough and useful and could function as anything from a utilitarian kitchen island to a stylish workshop toolbox. It has a hefty price tag ($549), but as they say, you get what you pay for.