What is the most critical, dangerous, life-threatening problem of our time? Carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Everything else — political discord, economic downturns, loss of freedoms — can be changed fairly quickly. But once those greenhouse gases become trapped in the atmosphere, they will be there for a long, long, long time. And…
I’ve been especially enchanted with several house photos in my collection, and I finally realized what they have in common: All of the homes use natural light to make the journeys from room to room more pleasant. The top photo shows Claire Gunning, 8, walking down the stairway in her family’s Hermosa Beach home, which…
A soon-to-be-released light bulb developed by General Electric uses cutting-edge technology to last — get this — 17 years! Let’s put it into perspective. Imagine you have a baby, and you install the soon-to-be-available Energy Smart LED (light-emitting diode) bulb in the baby’s room. That baby will grow up and graduate from high school before that light bulb burns out…
The latest recall from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Name of Product: Discovery Kids™ Animated Marine and Safari Lamps Units: About 360,000 Importer: Innovage LLC, of Foothill Ranch, Calif. Hazard: A defect in the lamp’s printed circuit board can cause an electrical short, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Incidents/Injuries: Innovage has…
Hadn’t realized what I was missing until I saw it — a website showing an art-glass pendant lamp both lighted and unlighted. Think about it: While most lamps look best lighted, half the time, in daylight hours, the lamp will not be switched on, unless you’re selling your house and showing it to potential buyers,…
Each year, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) holds a competition for the coolest building products. This year, 125 products were entered into the contest and were voted on by 679 home-building professionals. Here are the 2008 cool-product winners in the green building category: 1. Rinnai LS Series tankless water heater Rinnai’s LS Series tankless…
Well, why not use outdoor lanterns inside? There’s no law against it. I saw this budget design trick last night on “Designed to Sell” with Lisa LaPorta. She’s a SoCal gal, in case you didn’t know. In this particular show, Lisa wanted to punch up the sconces on either side of a vintage fireplace and…
Patti here, blogging about the kitchen remodel I’m helping my friend and fellow nurse Joni accomplish in her SoCal condo. I blogged about the beginning of this project last week. On Saturday my husband, Gary, and I stopped by to help. And Joni’s next-door neighbor helped as well. I appreciate all your votes on the…
These lamps were designed by Deniece Duscheone, an award-winning lighting designer and a LEED-accredited professional. Her most recent project was the $56 million renovation and re-design of the US Grant Hotel in San Diego. The four lights above are named, from left to right: Stem, Firefly, Cocoon and Flur. They are made for Duscheone’s company…