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Wonder Island Kitchen Concept Brings a Dose of Style to Your Cooking

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:34:12 +0000

The Wonder Island kitchen concept is a great piece of furniture for your small apartment. It has everything you need to get your cooking started. In fact, besides the obvious cooker and the washbasin that will let you quickly cook your favorite foods and do the dishes at the same time, the Wonder Island also offers you some storage space for your kitchen utensils not to mention an actual table, or at least a miniature table that will be just enough for letting you enjoy your meals while at home. All we need now is to see this all-in-one kitchen furniture item in stores before we get too excited about its hidden powers. Via Blue Strawberry

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Wonder Island Kitchen Concept Brings a Dose of Style to Your Cooking

KBIS 2011: What’s New, Who’s There and What It Means For Your Kitchen

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:08:40 +0000

Filed under: Kitchen & Bath , Big Projects , Products & Materials Today marks the last day of the 2011 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, where builders, designers and home enthusiasts take to Las Vegas to preview everything you’ll want for your home in the next few months. KBIS, for the uninitiated, is like Fashion Week for kitchens and bathrooms. Companies are presenting their new and best wares, looking to impress and inspire designers and design fiends alike. But while Fashion Week is all form, KBIS is heavy on the function. Every year, the companies introduce products that aim to make your life easier through Jetsons-style technology. Here’s what’s happening so far: The Builder Buzz At KBIS 2011… The winners are announced ! The winners of the “Best-Of” awards, that is. 500 entries came in across 19 categories, ranging from the simple “Best Kitchen” to more specific ones like “Small Bathroom.” That’s one of the winners in the above photo — Best Bathroom by Holly Rickert of Ulrich, Inc . in Ridgewood, NJ. At KBIS 2011… The stars are out: Great kitchens deserve great chefs, right? The Food Network’s “Cooking for Real” host Sunny Anderson and “Top Chef Masters” winner Rick Bayless are at the show, along with celebrity chef Curtis Stone . Yum! Also attending: Designer Jeff Lewis of “Interior Therapy With Jeff Lewis”, “celebrity carpenter” (who knew that was a title?) Ed Sanders of ” Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ” and the always charming Eric Stromer . Lastly (and perhaps, most surprisingly): Mariel Hemingway , who will present on keeping families healthy through the best local food and products. At KBIS 2011… New product introductions, galore. There’s the NanaWall Kitchen Transition , a custom window-door combo that has the ability to turn your kitchen into an indoor-outdoor paradise. NanaWall Also new, Dacor’s new Distinctive Series , which focuses on affordable luxury in appliances. LG also has announced the new Studio Series a line of energy efficient appliances, from microwaves to dishwashers. And Arne, over at Useful Spaces , has been blown away by a SileStone sink made of a single piece of quartz and the new Hybrid line of outdoor grills from Kalamazoo . Grill with gas, charcoal or wood and have designated areas for fish, beef, chicken and pork. Genius! And just in time for good weather… Want more? Keep checking in on KBIS’s Twitter . And if you want more kitchen trends, check out… 2011 Kitchen Trends – Shelterpop 5 Kitchen Trends We’re Pretty Sure You’ll Regret All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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KBIS 2011: What’s New, Who’s There and What It Means For Your Kitchen

Sustainable Retreat with Charming Design Details: Caterpillar House

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Caterpillar House was designed by Feldman Architecture and is situated in the hills of the Santa Lucia Preserve, California. According to the architects, “Caterpillar House implements sustainable elements while exploring a contemporary version of the ranch ideals: massing that is low and horizontal, an open plan with a strong connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, and main living areas which center informally on the kitchen. Connecting literally and figuratively to the site, excavated earth was repurposed for the construction of the walls. These rammed earth walls gently curve in response to the site’s contours and also act as a thermal mass, regulating temperatures from day to night. Capturing rainwater for irrigation, three tanks proudly sit close to the home – a clear sign of the available water resources for landscape. Large south-facing glass doors open the main living area to a large covered contemporary porch and to an outdoor patio with sunshades that expand and contract to allow for a flexible entertaining area that responds to the client’s needs. The glazing, natural ventilation and operable shading also act as a passive heating and cooling system, cooling the house in the summer and warming the house in winter. Integrated photovoltaic panels enable the house to produce all of its energy requirements without compromising the graceful curve of the low roof against the hill.”(Photos by Joe Fletcher Photography) Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Solar Decathlon Sustainable House in Ithaca, New York A Beautiful and Inspiring Home Family Design Delightful Kitchen Design from Arrital Cucine Modern Home in Bainbridge Island with Sustainable Features: Ellice Residence Charming Traditional Greek Home on the Island of Tinos Sustainable Luxury Living : Aura at Camelback Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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Sustainable Retreat with Charming Design Details: Caterpillar House

Winners Announced! – Silkscreen Print Calendars Giveaway

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:15:47 +0000

Thank you Freshome readers for telling us who your favorite artists are, as well as why you deserve to win Epic Studio ‘s hand pulled silkscreen 2011 calendar prints on Hahnemühle fine art paper, size 42 x 59,4 cm. This edition is limited to 100 prints. Every single one is stamped, numbered and signed. Thank you Epic Studio for offering these one of a kind calendars, and we know the 10 winners below will enjoy them! The Winners are : 1.) Ro Clunies-Ross James Turrell – Because he makes light work of everything… because i will appreciate it as only an ex graphic, now interior designer could! 2.) David Boling My favorite artist would have to Larry Boling. I am sure that is not a familiar name because his work has always been reserved for the few that has had the privilege of knowing him or has been around his home. For thirty years he channeled his artistic abilities into cartooning and raising the morale of those in the blue collar industry. The very limited other works hang on the walls of his home and those of his friends and family. But his greatest artistic achievement is his outlook on life and the artistic value that he has instilled in his family. For that I am especially thankful because he is my father and by far, my favorite artist. This calendar would be a welcomed edition as unique and functional art in my home. 3.) Rachael Buresh Daniel Rybakken – I ADORE his tinted mirror. I just purchased an octagon house (super cool) and one of my rooms is black and white and the silkscreen would look fabulous next to the bed. My house is unique and the silkscreen print calendar is unique and functional:) 4.) Sungas K. KOBY ‘s my favourite artist, I know your website from him. So,I need 1st your calendar because I see your mistake on its and I ‘ll tell you when I get its .please do not hesitate to contact me. I’m looking forward to your reply. 5.) Jon Paul White My favorite artist is Frank Gehry.The design, creativity, and originality he has put into his work is beautiful. His buildings have stood out from the beginning of his work. They are so expressive and he does what he believes in and he doesn’t follow the same standard as others. Which I believe is what an artist should do. His work shows you that you can think out side, around and threw the box. I believe I should be one of the finalists because I can and have always appreciated other peoples work. The Calender is more then a time table. This Epic Studio calender expresses who the artist is. It expresses who the owner is. There is so much thought and passion put into the design of this piece. Its a piece of art and not a piece of paper 6.) Nydya Mora Favorite artist:Travis Bone! Why: his work is very inspiring to me! From his illustration style to his color palettes, his screenprinting style is remarkably original. As a screen printing enthusiast, Travis Bone is a favorite for sure! I’d love to get my chaotic life back to order in a beautifully efficient way! What better way to achieve this than to hang one of these unique beauties on my wall! 7.) Pearo My favorite artist right now is Lauren Clay, She work with painting and sculpture. I’m particularly interested in her sculptures, they are very simple yet complicate. She use stripe of colourful paper and paper mache them into a beautiful sculpture. The simplicity of the work draw me into looking at the material which draw me closer in looking at the detail of the work. It’s quite wonderful. I should win this calendar because I love prints. I’m a student artist focusing on sculpture and print making. I love the simplicity of the print work. (And I love the smell of the print studio, all that paper and paint!) Where everything look so clean and simple but so much work have been put into the design, in a way, it is simple but it really isn’t. I think this calendar will be a great wall piece in my apartment which I am redecorating in a minimalist kind of way. It will also be a great conversation starter, who wouldn’t love an interesting calendar like that? 8.) Robert Metoyer I have always had a fondness for the minimalist work of Donald Judd. It was never so much about the forms that he presented, but rather the spaces he created with them. It inspired me as a young architecture student and I still try to think of his work when I approach a project. The calender reminds me of that same dynamic. The plain black and white lettering gives the notion of positive/negative space that I really enjoy. Your meant to look at the lettering, but you can’t help but notice the space around it. 9.) Arete Design My favorite artist is Remedios Varo. She had a wonderful sense of imagination and humour. Her surrealist paintings tell a story, and I love what I can read into them. (Other than that it would have to be Botero, for all those fat feet ) I guess I should win one of the calendars because I have absolutely no idea what day it is. 10.) Kent Banksy; because confusion is art in itself. Official Guidelines: Contest will run from Monday, April 18th – Monday, April 25th. 10 Winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 27th. Each winner will have 24 hours to contact Freshome at: Admin @ Freshome . com to claim your prize information. Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Limited Edition Silkscreen Print Calendars Giveaway 3 Winners Announced: Giveaway for 500 Business Cards! Inmod 4 Right On Chairs Giveaway – Winner Announced Winner Announced! Luxury Exotic Bedding Giveaway Freshome Giveaway: Win 3 x 500 Business Cards! Giveaway : Win 4 Right On Plywood Chairs Offered by Inmod Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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Winners Announced! – Silkscreen Print Calendars Giveaway

Protect Your Home With… Dinosaurs?

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:58:06 +0000

Filed under: Living Spaces Home security system feeling a little stale? A Japanese company’s been trying to use plastic dinosaurs to stand guard. Can you imagine? Check out this piece from our friends at Charles & Hudson ! We stumbled upon this little interesting little tidbit stemming from this year’s CES and thought we’d share with you: how’d you like a pet robot dinosaur as your home security? Plastic Pals via Charles & Hudson Back in 2002, Japanese robotics company TMSUK developed the “Banryu” (or “Guard Dragon”) line of robots intended for home use. The prehistoric crime predators were designed to patrol homes and photograph would-be intruders using a camera installed in their snouts, and some were designed to even detect carbon monoxide in your home! The robots supposedly automatically patrolled buildings, and, in an emergency, could be remote-controlled to fire fight in an early stage. Available in two styles (triceratops and stegasuarus), and could go up to 15 meters a minute to chase down intruders in your abode. It should also be noted that they were designed to be controlled with a mobile device — including a mobile phone. Do you remember what cell phones were like in 2002? We do, and the fact that they could control anything more than calls or maybe a text is mostly mindblowing. At the staggering price of $18,000 US, obviously these items were not the utmost in affordable home security technology. Some models were available for rent as well, but unfortunately the Banryus didn’t catch on as the next best thing since guard dogs. It bears stating that in 2002, home-robotics were just beginning to become possible, and perhaps the “trend” of robotic pets with purposes were a wee bit overestimated at the time. Still, can you imagine? A pet dinosaur robot home defender — without all the mess of an actual pet? Only in yesterday’s future. And tighten your home’s security with other our other home security stori es: DIY: Home Security System Secure your Home for Summer Vacation All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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Protect Your Home With… Dinosaurs?

Cleaning Out the Closet With "Pawn Stars"

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:58:03 +0000

Filed under: Storage & Organization , Know-How Wonder what the junk in your closet is worth? Our writer got a crash course from ” Pawn Stars “‘s Rick Harrison… and found out just how much money she’s sitting on. My mother always says that she’s going to leave all of her possessions to my brother when she dies, because she knows that I’ll sell everything once she’s out of the picture. Look: Sentimentality isn’t my strong suit. I prefer new to old and money to no money, thanks. I’m not one of those people who think that whatever it is inside that old hope chest is going to get me so rich that I’ll be able to dive into a pile of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck in the ” Duck Tales ” opener. But I took the opportunity to enlist the expert help of Rick Harrison from The History Channel’s smash hit show ” Pawn Stars “. He knows all about finding hidden gems — from the inventory in his Las Vegas pawn shop to the show itself. Courtesy of The History Channel “I pitched ” Pawn Stars ” out for four years,” says Harrison. “Everyone told me that no one wants to see a show about four fat guys in a pawn shop.” Now they’re the number one show on cable. You just never know. So, I sent some old junk I found in my parents’ house to get Harrison’s expert opinion as to whether or not I can quit my job and spend the rest of my days laying on my couch and keeping up with the Kardashians (it’s a full time job in itself, really). Here’s what I found… http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=997770&pid=997769&uts=1303855522 http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf What Treasures are Hiding in Your Closet? Remember when cameras had film? Yeah, me either. But apparently, they did. This movie camera probably documented countless family memories, but who cares? I know what those jerks looked like. My genius brain stores all the documentation I need (there’s no “off” switch). “This is a mass-produced camera,” says Harrison. “They probably produced millions of them so it’s not really that valuable.” Think about it like this: if it’s something that was inexpensive and accessible to the masses, it’s probably not going to be worth anything. “Other cameras from the 1960s, like an original Nikon that’s in really good shape can be worth up to $2,000,” says Harrison. “But something like this isn’t going to get you very far.” What Treasures are Hiding in Your Closet? So you’re sitting on the couch, eating your feelings in the form of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and you see a commercial for something that is “valuable,” “priceless,” and “collectible.” Limited time order, they say. Buy now, they urge. Only 42 easy payments of $19.99, they promise. Put down the phone. This junk isn’t going to be worth anything, ever. “When you buy something that’s already deemed a collectible when it’s brand-new, it’s never going to be worth anything,” says Harrison. “It’s the things that people never thought would end up being worth money that end up being the most valuable. I’ve sold Zippo lighters for over $3,000 and people carry those around in their pockets every day.” The lesson here? You should always be skeptical when someone shouts from the rooftops how rare and collectible an item is, especially when it’s on a TV commercial on Lifetime at 2AM. If only my grandfather had known this when he bought this sculpture. And the 30 or so other ones we have lying around the house. What a financial wizard he was. What Treasures are Hiding in Your Closet? When looking for antiques, remember this: just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s valuable. Need an example? Take a look at Joan Rivers. “I have three billion-year-old rocks in my backyard, but no one’s willing to buy them off of me,” Harrison laughs. In other words: don’t make assumptions. The pupils in my eyes had already turned to dollar signs when we unearthed this old phone from our crawl space. This thing doesn’t even have buttons! It looks like something that would be in an old Western movie, or at least in a restaurant that’s trying to manufacture old-school charm. I will be rolling in dough, like a baker (is that an expression? It should be). Wrong. “These types of things aren’t worth as much as you would think,” says Harrison. “They’re definitely collectible, but you have to remember that every house had one, so they’re not that rare.” What Treasures are Hiding in Your Closet? The word “rare” isn’t always synonymous with “big money.” Your weird cousin might collect unusual bocce balls, but just because something is rare or strange doesn’t automatically mean it’s worth anything. “I’m sure dinosaurs turds are pretty rare, but I don’t imagine that they’re worth a lot,” laughs Harrison. This cash register was stationed on the bar in my grandparents’ restaurant for years. “They would call this a candy store cash register, because the highest amount on here is $1,” says Harrison. Because it’s functioning, in good shape, easy to clean up, and in relatively high demand, my ship has finally come in. BOOM! What Treasures are Hiding in Your Closet? Total value: $1,720 But out of four old, seemingly rare items that I dug up, only one was worth the effort involved to drag them out of the basement. Harrison says that this is something that happens all of the time. “People always seem to think that grandma’s wedding ring has a perfect diamond in it,” says Harrison. “When I tell them it’s not, they get mad at me. I have to say to them, ‘I’m sorry your grandpa was cheap,’” laughs Harrison. Is this really all that surprising? Unrealistic expectations make the world go ’round. Moral of the story? I’m not getting rich any time soon. By Amanda Waas Not ready to get rid of your old things? Try repurposing! Check out… Bright Idea: New Uses For An Old Ladder New Uses for Old Kitchen Cabinets Give Old Books New Life All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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Cleaning Out the Closet With "Pawn Stars"

Kitchen Utility Cart for Storage

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:26:14 +0000

Carts and baskets are convenient for storage purposes. Plus, when you have a cart on wheels, you can always whisk it away to the pantry or a closet to keep odds and ends out of sight when guests arrive. The Rubbermaid White Kitchen Utility Cart is perfect for entertaining, because you can use it to transport drinks and appetizers. However, you can also keep it as a semi-permanent fixture in the kitchen for housing bowls, small appliances and other things that you use frequently. Or, you can keep your pets food, dishes, treats and other accessories on it so you can have access to it more easily. This cart has two shelves and a bottom cabinet to conceal supplies. Plus, it’s on wheels and has two handles for easy maneuverability.

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Kitchen Utility Cart for Storage

Expandable Fish Trivet for Pots and Bowls

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:19:32 +0000

Trivets are essential for the dining room table and kitchen table. It’s important to keep hot bowls and pots off the table so they don’t cause stains, burns or water marks. When you’re entertaining guests, you’re going to want your accessories to be stylish and unique. Impress the people you’re having over for dinner with these Expandable Fish Trivets . These trivets have a “school of fish” design, which expands so they can accommodate a variety of pots, bowls and serving dishes. Protect your countertops and tables from heat and scratches with these darling yet functional trivets. This fish trivet must be hand washed, but it’s made from 18/10 gauge stainless steel, which will give it longevity.

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Expandable Fish Trivet for Pots and Bowls

How to Install a Kitchen Tile Backsplash

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:00:15 +0000

Before you start installing the kitchen tile backsplash, you should plan everything. Home Improvement, THE source for home improvement information.

Dry Ice Blasting 101

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:00:13 +0000

Dry ice blasting refers to a cleaning process which involves dry ice. Remember that dry ice is actually carbon dioxide in its solid state. Home Improvement, THE source for home improvement information.

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Dry Ice Blasting 101