Maybe I don’t get out enough, or maybe it’s the altitude, but when I’m in an airplane and I pick up Sky Mall magazine, I get excited about home gadgets and stuff. Here’s a taste, clockwise from above left: Pet chair — Where I live, the other human on the premises (a.k.a. my husband) doesn’t…
Perhaps it was on the same the day scientists figured out how to nanotechnologize (a new word, you read it here first) Dockers slacks to repel all wrinkles and stains that home designers decided we no longer needed a place for an ironing board. Au contraire! In fact, some of us prefer natural fabrics like…
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…
In case a new deck is in your future, your decision-making-process just got more complicated. Here are some new products being introduced by TimberTech: BuilderRail (top photo) is kind of cool looking with black metal balusters and composite rails. It was introduced at the 2008 International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., and the rails are…
With-it people probably already know this, but I just found out: Some modern ceiling fans have remote controls, not pull chains. I discovered this while watching "Find Your Style" on HGTV, and I think it’s a pretty good idea. The upside: no chain or string hanging down. The downside: yet another remote in our lives.…
As I asked in an earlier posting, what do you do if your front entrance is without distinction? Or your side or rear entrances, for that matter? Arnie and Lily chose one route to solve that problem at their Downey home. But here’s a neat plant-on solution I saw at the Builders Show. Offered by…
Just kidding. I think. But nosy visitors reading the labels on prescriptions — or even "borrowing" a few — was the first thought that popped in my mind when I saw this clever hidden cabinet on the Charles and Hudson blog. I mean, I don’t even have any prescriptions. But if I did, I’d certainly…
From what I could tell at the International Builders Show earlier this month, GE’s research and development department has been working overtime. The new products introduced at the show number in the dozens. Here are a few to take note of: • Smart frontload washer and dryer: With these latest editions to the smart appliance…
Trends are a big deal here at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla. That’s because the housing market is down, way down, and builders need to figure out what buyers want. A trend forecast conducted by researcher Gopal Ahluwalia, with the National Assn. of Home Builders, and Gayle Butler, editor-in-chief of Better Homes and…
And that price could be "electrical shock and burns," according to a recent recall notice by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This device, called a Crafters Square Hot Melt Mini Glue Gun, was made in China and about 253,000 of them were sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only One $1…