Category: Eclectic Homes

With a new school year upon us, now’s the best time to provide that teen lair an overhaul — and eke out a bit of excellent bonding time in the procedure. To make this an effective decorating experience, it helps to maintain an open mind about your teenager’s creative direction. Recognize that he or she has great ideas, and in the exact same time set clear limits that work for you (a project budget, paint but not wallpaper etc.) for results which will make both of you happy in the end.

Ready to get started? Watch how to transform the chaos into an enjoyable and functional teen space in 12 simple steps.

RLH Studio

1. Begin an ideabook and make a floor plan. Gather inspiration images and collect the best in an ideabook on . Looking at all the images together should help explain what your son or daughter desires. Once you’ve the overall style nailed down, then workout ideas for the new floor plan.

Style notes: A taller-than-average bedside table may do double duty as a desk — a great space saver in a little room. Additionally, consider adding a focal point across the headboard. A unique sculpture, art or a fairly textile are great choices. Just be sure anything which may fall on the mattress is well secured and not overly thick.

Shannon Malone

2. Think about colour and lighting. Once you know the look you’re after, it’s time to consider paint. Use extra-large paint swatches or get sample-size amounts to test out colours directly on the wall prior to buying enough for the entire room to avoid a misstep.

Lighting can instantly make the biggest change in a room, so now is also the time to make a lighting plan. Add ambience with café lights strung across the ceiling, install a dimmer switch to get an overhead fixture and don’t forget appropriate task lighting to the prep area.

3. Decide which furniture to maintain. Since you’re going through the room, note which pieces you wish to maintain and that will be offered or given away. But before buying anything new, think about updating existing furniture with fresh paint knobs, and look round the rest of the home (such as in the attic and the cellar) for abandoned treasures.

Jennifer Young

4. Shop for products that are brand new. Search for pieces which could also be utilised in a first flat (or dinning area) to get the maximum bang for your dollar. Small side tables, cushions, throw blankets, lamps, and small-scale armchairs will be welcome in those very first digs away from home.

Annie McElwain Photography

5. Go on a “cool crap” search together. Create a date to hit a flea market or antiques and collectibles fair to find out what you may find. Bring cash (just as far as you want to spend), measurements of key areas and a dolly or cart to carry home your own finds.

Style note: Cable storage lockers such as those displayed here are superversatile — use them for everything from scarves and shoes to craft supplies and books.

Jennifer Young

6. Incorporate photographs of friends. Among the downsides to taking largely digital photographs is that we have a tendency to publish photographs less often. As part of this undertaking, make sure to give your teen the chance to get some recent pictures printed — some to framework and others to tape in a rotating screen.

Style note: Japanese masking tape (also called washi tape) comes in a mind-boggling collection of colours and patterns, is readily removable from most surfaces and may be utilised in tons of ways (such as in the photograph screen seen here). A set would make a lovely gift for your teen if this project is complete.

Lauren Donaldson

7. Try out a DIY project. Air plants and succulents are with a true moment in layout, and they have the benefit of being easy to care for. If you and your teen are in the mood to tackle a catchy job, I really like that this DIY air plant terrarium tutorial on . It’s posh and easy, the best mix!

8. Update the homework zone. Ground the job area with a creative and helpful chalkboard wall, or include a huge bulletin board for pinning up lists, inspiration and photos. Focus on the ergonomics of this room also, ensuring the chair and desk are at the ideal height. Good task lighting is essential, and any additional storage you are able to squeeze in the space will help preserve order. At least contemplate a little filing crate and a basket for recycling.

9. Insert an entryway. In my experience, most messes come from the crap we put down when we enter into a space. Help prevent the big chaotic pileup before it begins with a few preventative steps: A coat tree or wall hooks will retain those coats and bags off the ground, and a dresser or table placed close to the door can be a fall zone for mail, keys and other odds and ends.

Alex Amend Photography

9. Provide hangout space. If you’ve got the room, bring in a retired couch from the cellar or attic. If space is tight, try a fluffy area rug with a few huge floor cushions instead.

Shannon Malone

11. Insert an unexpected signature. Every area should have some thing which immediately catches your eye or makes you grin, and your teenager’s room is no exception. Make the room shine with a cluster of cheap and chic paper lanterns, scoop up a lovely neon sign or a classic marquee letter in the flea market, or frame a portrait of a favourite pet.

Annie McElwain Photography

12. Give hobbies and interests pride of place. Skater? Guitar player? Surfer? Chess champion? Whatever makes your child’s heart sing should get top billing in the room.

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Daydreaming about spring? The forthcoming season is all about color, so now’s the time to start infusing your own wardrobe, your house and your decoration with splashes of your favorite colors.

Spring colours do not necessarily have to be pastels, however. To get a more modern palette, consider combining brights like citron, salmon, lime, persimmon, teal and aquamarine. While working on this ideabook, I watched those color mixes all over the stores and online. I believe this palette will be popular this year.

To celebrate the modern and to welcome the new season, throw a tea party with those 20 brilliant finds. — Lauren from Lauren Elise Crafted

American Blinds Wallpaper and much more

Bistro 750 Wallpaper – $28.06

This illustrated background was my inspiration for this entire ideabook. For me personally, the concept of a tea party pops up pictures of doilies and tea cozies and kitschy floral prints. The modern, bright colours here are quite the reverse. A tea party with this color scheme could be all fun, not frumpy.

French Bistro Furniture

Fermob Bistro Metal Chair – $198

Vintage French bistro chairs are my chair of selection at any given tea party. However, a bright citron bistro chair are the punch of color that this avant-garde fete needs.

Etsy

Choose Your Color Dipped Mug by Tilly Maison

A simple splash of color really makes these dipped mugs fantastic.

Leah Duncan

Dish Cloth Set of Three – $36

When it is time to tidy up, use tea towels that are equally as colorful as the rest of your decor. The hand-drawn examples on those are the perfect addition to any modern abode once the party is finished. You might even wrap up these individually and gift them to your guests.

Sweet Lulu

Biodegradable Plastic Spoons – $2.50

These colorful spoons just made ice cream eating considerably sweeter. Sure, they are not conventional tea party fare, but guests may adore scooping gelato with those environmentally-friendly utensils.

Etsy

Cupcake Plate, Stitch Pink by Jeanette Zeis Pottery – $28

If you’re going to serve gelato in your tea party, you might as well serve cupcakes too. A female stand will display your desserts in fashion.

Etsy

Simple White Porcelain Hanging Wall Pocket from Hideminy New York – $50

You need to have some flowers at a tea party, even a modern one. Skip the conventional vase and display your in-season types in such Hanging Wall Pockets. They do not take up cupboard space, which means you won’t have to think about finding storage for them later.

Anthropologie

Sweeping Angles Apron – $38

A dull apron just won’t do when you’ve got all this bright color. This apron has amazing salmon tones but also a stylish chevron pattern. Your ensemble formally has some competition.

West Elm

Café Bowls – $4

These little bowls have easy details in just the right colours.

Etsy

Rustic Wood Flowers by Uncommon Handmade – $14

If you prefer to invest in faux flowers that can last through all of your tea parties, then these wooden daisies are what you need. They are sometimes cheerful all through the year.

Etsy

Kitchen Utensils Letterpressed Paper Coasters by Ruff House Art – $12

All these letterpress coasters are almost too pretty to use. Your guests are sure to see them, and hopefully they will remember them as well (for the sake of your wood surfaces).

Etsy

Interesting Fringe Garland DIY Kit by Ollie Bollen – $7

A party wouldn’t be full without bunting — that is my motto, anyway. This garland feels a bit vintage, but I love the juxtaposition of new and old in a modern space. Embrace it!

Etsy

Ceramic Serving Bowl, Salmon from Ceramica Botanica – $75

A salmon serving bowl could be a wonderful addition to the dining table. Should you fill it with lemons, limes and oranges, the fruit can get edible decoration.

Etsy

Fringe Position Card Collection by Potter + Butler – $15

Fringe is young and fun, and these Fringe Place Cards are definitely for the young in mind. You can DIY lots of other fringe details also — garlands, invitations, stir sticks — to present your decoration some cohesiveness.

Cube Marketplace

Wobbly Biscuit Stoneware Bowl – $22

Stoneware is seldom considered delicate, but these wobbly bowls using a pressed-lace pattern would be the exception. Guests might find it challenging to fulfill their plates and hide the particulars.

Sweet Lulu

Assorted Mini Tapers – $4

Candles do not need to be reserved for birthdays and vacations. Your tea party can gain from them, also. If your plan is to have your afternoon party change in an evening soiree, colorful candles will create a magical ambiance.

Etsy

Sunny Skies Felt Ball Garland by Made Mary – $28

This felt billy ball garland is all modern.

Anthropologie

Color Coil Pot, Small – $28

These coiled jute baskets have an earthy texture to them. They’d be great for the modernist who also loves nature. Fill them with easy plants like succulents or cacti.

Etsy

Feathers and Flowers Collector Tea Towel by Elkhorn Design – AUD 24

Should you feel as though you have too many bright colours, tone down everything with neutrals. White and grey additions will pair nicely with the colours but not battle them. This tea towel is a gorgeous combination of grey and citron.

Etsy

Gift or Party Bags, Small Striped Paper Bags by Chicken and Custard – GBP 2.50

Colorful, striped handle bags are the perfect ending to your party. Each guest will be delighted to see the goodies that you ship them home with.

Next: 50 Great Ideas for a Garden Party

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Table lights produced by famous designers usually have a date stamp, a item number or the company’s name listed on them someplace. By establishing the date of an antique table lamp, you can discover its value or locate any replacement parts needed. Begin by identifying the manner of table lamp you have, like an Art Nouveau, an Art Deco lamp or a hurricane boudoir lamp, to establish the manufacturer and its era.

Maker’s Hallmark

One of the first places to search for a date stamp or the maker’s hallmark starts with an examination of the base of the lamp which sits around the table. Pick up the lamp and look for a manufacturer’s emblem, name or date stamp embedded into the base. Also look about the lighting fixture itself; occasionally, the manufacturer includes a sticker that includes the name, or date of manufacture.

Antique Lamps

If you’ve got a vintage table lamp and cannot discover a hallmark, a date stamp or another identifying feature, locate a collector’s book on lights to identify the manufacturer, which might help you discover the date that the lamp was made. You can also check auction sites for lamps similar to yours to get an idea of how old it might take or take the lamp to an antiques dealer or collector to get help.

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It is a mess, it is uncontrollable, and you need space. You are going to handle the entire thing, and you’re not going to allow sentimentality weaken your resolve. You have had an epiphany, and you’re ready to clean out your clothes closet!

But as you pull out this first item, it happens: Your ever-so-rational mind starts building an ever-so-rational situation for keeping almost every article of clothing you were just prepared to throw.

We have all been there, so don’t despair. Whether you’re fueled by enthusiasm or trembling with trepidation, these tips tips will start you on your path.

1. Notice the explanations. Such as:

“I really paid a lot for that.” “I just haven’t gotten around to sporting that yet.” “That only needs altering.” “I will fit back to that among these days.” “Fashions always return around. “Sound familiar? We all have things we hold on to. Notice the reasons that pop into your mind, because once you understand your motives for holding on to these things, you will be better able to proceed and make space — literally and figuratively.

Start by eliminating 10 items (or five — simply select a number that isn’t zero). In one quick sweep, you might be amazed what you may throw without a struggle. If you’re terrified of biting off more than you can chew, be assured that you may accomplish a fantastic deal nibble by nibble, drawer by drawer, row by row.

Monarch Renovations

2. Unburden yourself of the unworn. We have all heard that unless it is a cocktail gown or your wedding dress, you ought to eliminate it if you haven’t worn it in a few months. For a lot of us, that’s easier said than done. It might even seem downright unreasonable. However there are ways to put this in perspective.

Our memory can be faulty, so try using these nifty tricks to keep track of everything you really wear. Buy pretty fresh hangers, and every time you wear something, put it on one of these new hangers. You can achieve the same effect without investment by turning all of your hangers backward. As soon as you’ve worn something, replace it with the hanger hung forward.

Cabinet Innovations

If it comes to your drawers and shelves, it is likely that the stuff squashed in the corners and crumpled on the bottom are items you truly don’t use. But if you want to be certain, take everything out and put a small, brightly colored decal (the type you find at an office supply store) on every clothing tag and remove the decal after you have worn the item. You’ll soon see what you really like to wear and what is just taking up valuable real estate. Then shift accordingly.

Also, take a closer look when you trade out your seasonal clothing. If you didn’t wear it a year, odds are good that you’re not going to wear this season, so don’t hang it up and do not pack it up — contribute it. You know you will find more things this year, so go ahead and make space for it.

Andrea Gary/Queen of Kerfuffle™

3. Multiply your distance by reducing the multiples. Have you got five white blouses, black skirts or pink stripes? Various styles for different outfits — I know, I know! But at least one generally remains unworn or is ill fitting. Toss merely one of these multiples and you have instantly gifted yourself with 20 percent more distance.

4. Dump the damaged goods. Is it pilling, tattered, snagged, threadbare? If it’s sentimental, wash it, fold it and put it into a box. If it isn’t, throw it. Is it at a heap awaiting stain treatment, repairs or alterations? Looking at a heap of things you haven’t cared may create guilt and add to anxiety. Give yourself one week to see to the things, take it to the seamstress or transfer it out. You’ll be rid of a heap and will take pleasure in the singular satisfaction of checking something off your to-do list.

California Closets of Indianapolis

5. Unload the unfashionable, unflattering and unhealthy. Certainly, some items are authentic classics and endure the test of time. But clothes worn at a job you no longer have or in a environment you no longer frequent (state, outfits out of the clubbing days) simply need to go, particularly if this job or environment has bad feelings or reduction attached to it. In addition, don’t keep gifts given by people that you do not really like (the clothes or the people). If the tags are still on, go back. Otherwise, consign them and use the cash or store credit to find something you love.

All Things Home Organizing™ by Gayle Grace

Here’s a tough fact: The 1980s are long gone. Even though that has been the most exciting decade of your life, it is time to ditch the clothes and get up-to-date. Since we aren’t always able to see ourselves clearly, another opinion may be a superb mirror.

If you don’t have a buddy to review your wardrobe with you over a bottle of wine, use this time-tested strategy: try on a costume and picture bumping into an old flame. Would you feel confident and sexy wearing it, or awkward and embarrassed? What you felt good in then might not be leveraged today, so embrace who you are today and work with everything you have got.

Snobz Design

We’re not all fashionistas, nor are we all prepared to completely reset our wardrobes. But the bottom line is that the closet needs to be a place of inspiration, not pressure. So lighten your load and keep only what you enjoy and feel beautiful in — whatever your style may be.

Tell us : What do you’ve got trouble eliminating?

More: Easy Ways to Receive Your Closet Organized Right Now

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Copper has a long background in the kitchen; it’s been used as a material for kitchen sinks and butter for centuries. As a result, its benefits and disadvantage are well established and agreed upon. This gorgeous metal makes an instantaneous statement when employed for kitchen sinks, and it garners a unique patina over time due to its reactive nature.

Nowadays copper sinks can be found in a vast range of shapes, sizes and styles, allowing them to work beautifully in your kitchen, no matter what your kitchen design is. Here are some basics to assist you determine if this is the kitchen sink material for you.

Signature Hardware

Aberdeen Smooth Double Well Farmhouse Copper Sink – $926.95

The fundamentals: Hand-formed copper is full of character as a result of its color, malleability and ever-changing patina. Copper sinks include varying thicknesses: 14 gauge (thicker and high in quality) to 18 gauge (thinner and less expensive).

Cost: $450 to $1,000 on average.However, costs can certainly increase for thicker-gauge copper and more complex sink layouts.

Lasley Brahaney Architecture + Construction

Benefits: Copper is powerful but easy to shape, therefore copper sinks can be found in a vast range of styles, shapes and dimensions, and can be made quite large and deep.

Based on the gauge, copper can last for several decades. Fragile dishes will also be less likely to break if dropped to a copper sink, since it is malleable and not as hard as ordinary stones.

And best of all, aluminum is filled with antimicrobial properties, making it an superb choice for bacteria-filled kitchens.

UB Kitchens

Cons: Not all copper sinks are created equal. The thicker the copper, the more durable the sink. Thin copper sinks are more likely to dent, scratch and even warp with time.

Be aware that copper is an extremely reactive metal, and its finish will certainly change over time. A sink’s natural patina and finish can be ruined by acidic fluids, sexy dishware and abrasive cleansers.

In Detail Interiors

Sustainability: Copper is 100 percent recyclable. It can be melted, forged and shaped as many times as required. In fact, according to the Northwest Mining Association, about half of the copper products purchased annually in North America come from aluminum. Premium scrap copper has at least 95 percent of their worth of freshly mined copper.

Epiphany Design Studio

Maintenance: Copper is known for its sanitary benefits (germs can survive on copper for only a matter of hours). Plain old hot, soapy water cleans it all best. Additionally, it is constantly changing color and developing interest and variation, but you are able to slow down this process with wax treatments a few times a year. You will also want to avoid abrasive cleansers.

Bellacor

Ballard Smooth Weathered Copper Kitchen Sink

Are you really a lover of copper kitchen sinks? Share your thoughts in the Remarks section below.

See the way the copper sink can work with your home’s design

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Popular game consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii U and Microsoft Xbox 360, aren’t connected with sophistication or minimalism. They are more correlated with all-night, caffeine-fueled shoot-em-up video games. But game consoles are now extremely versatile, strong, all-purpose computers made expressly for incorporating to living rooms and dens, and they can help you streamline your home computing and entertainment systems. They even offer activities that can fundamentally improve your lifetime.

Plus, there are a number of quite powerful and fun things that just gaming consoles can do.

Nintendo

Nintendo Wii U Deluxe Set – $349.99

Nintendo has announced plans to send its next-generation game program, called the Wii U (pronounced”we, you”) on November 18, 2012.

The Wii U ought to be a great gaming system — and an odd one. Contrary to the recent Wii, which can be operated by some motion-detecting controller which looks like a TV remote, the new Wii U will include a controller using buttons and a touch screen. The handheld touch screen may be used for controlling what’s on the TV. But it may also be utilized rather of this TV display. Therefore the Wii U will be a complete gaming console and a somewhat portable gaming device all in one.

Wii U owners may become members of an upcoming Nintendo Network, whereby Nintendo will maintain an app shop (which Nintendo is calling an eShop) for downloading all kinds of software that will work with the gambling system.

In addition to all the regular stuff you would find in a controller — gyroscope, accelerometer, haptic feedback and so on — the Wii U controller will have an integrated microphone, speakers and camera, as well as electronics that will allow you to use a wireless credit card to make purchases. It will also support stylus input, which means you need to have the ability to sign things and draw images.

It’s this blend of controller capabilities and an eShop which makes the Wii U so full of promise for non-gaming applications. The gambling system will likely enable the constraint of your current TV and videos using the touch screen and buttons on the controller. While watching TV, by way of example, you need to have the ability to move the display to the controller and take it with you all around the house.

You can also expect a lot of internet shopping software, in which you can quickly scan products and purchase by tapping your charge card on top of the controller to make the buy. And finally, it is almost certain that the Wii U will have the ability to replace your telephone, working as a speakerphone for internet calls along with a videoconferencing system at the touch of a button.

Microsoft

Xbox 360 Media Remote – $19.99

Contrary to the brand new Nintendo Wii U, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform has existed for decades and is about to go right now with many nongaming capabilities.

An Xbox device, which begins at $199, can play video DVDs on your TV just like a dedicated DVD player can. It may also show you films, TV shows, music videos and Web videos through Netflix, Hulu and Microsoft’s own content assistance, similar to an Apple TV apparatus does. It may play PC films on a home Windows network or through a regular USB flash drive, like a PC. Plus it can get ESPN3 sports content — even letting you watch two games simultaneously — similar to satellite networks do, in case you’ve got a $50 annual Xbox Live Gold subscription.

You’re able to interact with this all round home entertainment system using an Xbox controller if you want, but you likely won’t desire. Alternatively, you can purchase an Xbox-specific remote control, for example Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Media Remote. You can even search for films and other entertainment using search.

Xbox

Xbox can replace an whole music collection. Microsoft this month declared Xbox Music, a new service for downloading digital audio to Xbox consoles and enjoying with them over home music programs.

Xbox Music costs $9.99 per month and enables ad-free music streaming from its own catalog of 30 million tunes and 70,000 music videos. On top of that, it’s a feature that gives you an artist-based radio flow, like Pandora does. So you pick a band or a singer, and Xbox Music will perform not just tunes from the choice, but other artists with a similar style.

If you’ve got old audio CDs in your collection, you can set those from the Xbox and play them as if it was a CD player.

Microsoft

Nike+Kinect Coaching – $49.99

An Xbox can even be a personal trainer. Microsoft intends to launch an Xbox program called Nike+Kinect Training at the end of October 2012. The software utilizes your Xbox, and a Kinect sensor, to get your performance and shape while exercising, and it will even customize your workouts according to your skills and progress.

Microsoft

Kinect for Xbox 360 – $149.99

To be able to use Nike+Kinect, then you’ll require a 149.99 Microsoft add-on called Kinect for Xbox 360, and it is a sensor which uses cameras to track your moves as you use Kinect-supporting games and software.

Microsoft

Xbox 360 Chatpad – $29.99

Xbox can even replace your telephone, giving you communications capabilities right out of the Jetsons.

Whenever you have the Xbox Kinect, then you may use it along with your TV to possess live video chats with friends and family who also have Xboxes. An agency called Video Kinect utilizes one of the cameras in the Kinect addition to broadcast you and your living room to the home of another person on the call.

But Xbox gives you many different means to communicate also. You can chat, which can be like text messaging, and use Twitter and Facebook, with the societal networks appearing on your TV. Communicating on Xbox is a lot like communication on your computer, but you are relaxing on the couch and the communication is taking place on your big TV.

Some of the communication requires a computer keyboard, so it is a good idea to purchase an Xbox 360 Chatpad, a little, wireless keyboard made to be held as you type.

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When the first cold nip in the air arrives, it’s the perfect time to spend a weekend putting summer equipment in order. The end of summer always feels disgusting, and I find the time I take moving through all of those soggy towels, seashell collections and vacation photos signals a clear end to the summer season, letting me welcome the joys of autumn. As programs become more complete and vacations end, it also feels good knowing that I am starting with a clean slate, ready for whatever comes next.

From sorting, cleaning and repairing to arranging and saving for another year, these 10 tasks will help you get the task finished.

Interiors Studio Martha’s Vineyard

1. Toss broken pool toys and beach equipment. Inner tubes and other inflatables do not last forever, so be sure to check for holes or other damage prior to saving them. Give items that have been at the beach a thorough scrubbing and toss anything that’s cracked or broken and cannot be repaired.

Tongue & Groove

2. Make the most of end-of-season earnings to fill gaps in your equipment. As soon as you understand what you need (a new umbrella to substitute the one that blew away?) , think about stocking up today instead of waiting until the next year.

Not just will you get the lowest cost today, but you can prevent that last-minute shopping frenzy on the way to the shore next year.

simple thoughts

3. Edit your shore treasures and keep them safely. Beachcombing is a wonderful summer pastime, along with the paintings you accumulate can become meaningful mementos of your journeys. When you’re finished exhibiting your own shells, beach glass and driftwood, give everything a once-over to get rid of broken bits and pieces, then keep everything in a hard container with a lid to protect the delicate contents from breakage. If your collection has gotten too big, think about giving a package of treasures to a friend who you know would appreciate it.

Kimberly DesJardins Interiors

4. Sift through holiday photos. With digital photography, it is so easy to dump photos on the computer and forget about them.

I recommend creating a seasonal date along with your hard drive to edit photographs. It retains the task (comparatively) manageable, and you could easily purchase a photograph book online to include all of the summer’s memories.
Pick a few to print as nicely and rotate your own favorites in simple frames.

Organize Pictures in a Flash

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

5. Sort board games and check for lost pieces. Following a summer’s worth of game nights and play dates, the board game scenario in almost any family home is certain to be a pitiful state.

Enlist the children to help sort Monopoly money and Scrabble tiles, then treat yourselves to ice cream cones.

Vidabelo Interior Design

6. The grill prior to barbecue season ends. It’s accurate, there’s still some prime grilling weather before us, but that barbecue likely got a great deal of use this summer, and it’s time for a small deep cleaning. Most of us understand how to clean the surface of the grate with a wire brush but Lifehacker has a great video tutorial on how best to clean all of the parts of a grill.

Flow Wall System

7. Inspect sports and outdoor equipment for damage before storing. Outdoor adventures such as camping, hiking and fishing rely on your own equipment’s staying in good form. Carefully look over every product and fix minor issues as you come across them. Clean out coolers , air out tents and sleeping bags, and type sports equipment before neatly packing it off.

LDa Interiors & Architecture

8. Say goodbye to summer accessories that have seen better days. Sun, sand and salt water are hard on fabrics. Rather than keeping things past their prime, take a minute to sort through your shoes, hats, bags and shades, and give those old, crusty flip-flops and worn outside shore bags that the heave-ho.

Kailey J. Flynn Photography

9. Switch upward summer bedding (and clothing). When you feel that the first chill in the air on a crisp morning, that’s a fantastic sign it’s time to swap mild blankets for thicker colours and duvets. Launder your lightweight coverlets prior to keeping them in an out-of-the-way spot. While you’re at it, then pull those summer clothing from rotation to generate space for the comfy sweaters and boots of fall.

10. Thoroughly clean sandy towels and swimsuits. Sand can wreak havoc on washing machines, therefore allow beach towels to dry out and shake them well to remove sand prior to bringing them to get a wash. I like to pack my beach towels and swimsuits inside a beach bag, so everything remains together and will be easy to find come next summer.

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Wireless technologies have been transforming domestic life since the accessibility of home radios in the 1920s. Ever since then every new type of wireless technologies and each new application has attracted more transformative changes to the home.

Television, by way of example, used to get its signal wirelessly, which allowed its rapid adoption in the 1950s. As the use of cable TV spread, altering a wireless signal into a nonwireless one, wireless remote controls added another advantage.

Vacuum telephones altered when and where you could make and receive calls. Wireless garage door openers and other special-purpose wireless devices subtly enhanced people’s lives in tiny ways. You probably have a Wi-Fi community in your home, which you use to connect computers, laptops, telephones and your TV into the web.

You likely also use another wireless technology called Bluetooth. If you’ve got a wireless headset with your mobile phone, or a wireless keyboard or mouse with your pc, you are using Bluetooth.

Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are geeky technologies functioning invisibly and also behind the scenes to profoundly change houses all over the world. They have eliminated cables, reducing clutter. And they have freed you to put consumer electronics devices everywhere.

Now a technology that is new is going to really change things.

Why the new, enhanced Bluetooth will change your property. The fourth generation of Bluetooth technology is revolutionary. It is not only a bit better than the Bluetooth you are currently using. It is massively better.

Today most chatter about Bluetooth 4.0 is all about complex gadgets, such as the highly anticipated Pebble E-Paper Watch (revealed). The device will utilize Bluetooth 4.0 to let you control your phone, as well as household appliances and press devices like your TV, from the wrist.

Bluetooth 4.0 is also called Bluetooth Smart Ready, and among the greatest things about it is that it uses much less power.

Should you use a wireless mouse or keyboard, you understand that the batteries must be changed or recharged every couple weeks or, at most, every few months. Bluetooth 4.0 would allow them to never need to do anything using batteries. These devices are charged when you start the box and stay charged for more years than you would want to utilize them.

This really is great news, and not simply for idle wireless keyboard users. I will tell you why in a minute.

Where Bluetooth 4.0 comes from. Bluetooth 4.0 is not something you buy at the shop. At some point, one by one, a gazillion gadgets may add or upgrade to the new technologies. The most competitive organization to build Bluetooth 4.0 into its goods is Apple. This is astonishing, since Apple often lags behind other companies in the introduction of new standards and new technologies.

The iPhone 4S was the first phone ever to support Bluetooth 4.0. The present iPad (revealed in usage over) is your first tablet to support it. In fact, every important Apple product, such as notebooks and laptops, shipped in the past year includes Bluetooth 4.0 support.

From the close of the year, we can anticipate every important Bluetooth apparatus, from telephones to tablets to peripheral devices, to support the brand new Bluetooth 4.0 standard.

And that is only the start.

Control4 7-Inch Mobile Touch Screen – $999

What happens when all is connected. The motive Bluetooth 4.0 will totally change everything in the home is that it’s going to accomplish the following feats:

1. It will replace proprietary technologies. A wide selection of home gadgets, from TV remote controls to room temperature thermostats into doorbells, use nonstandard technician to communicate wirelessly. New capabilities in Bluetooth 4.0 will mean all these gadgets may only use the new standard. When that happens, you will be able to easily connect to, monitor and control things with your phone and tablet. Present tablet goods, such as Control4’s 7-Inch Portable Touch Screen (revealed) utilize Wi-Fi or proprietary wireless technologies. Due to these technologies, the use of tablets for controlling things is uncommon. Bluetooth will make home tablet controls and control panels commonplace.

2. It will enable more things to become wireless. Bluetooth 4.0 can allow it to be cheap and easy for companies to add wireless connectivity to random things: lamps, washing machines, refrigerators, coffee makers, air conditioners, ovens and a lot more. You will be able to control and monitor things from your phone or over the Internet that you previously had to control by touching the object.

3. It will let you automate things. Once a product or piece of functional furniture may be controlled through Bluetooth 4.0, it is easily automated. You simply need the software to command it. Your smart mobile and tablet computers are based on an “program” economy, and that means you can expect literally tens of thousands of home-control apps to come out there during the upcoming few decades.

4. It can help appliances speak to one another. With all your stuff connected through Bluetooth 4.0, the appliances in your home can speak to other appliances without your involvement. The thermostat may turn on the air conditioner. An incoming phone call can pause your TV display. The alarm clock by your bed can turn on the coffee machine. The mobile phone in your pocket may turn on the lights in and around your home as you pull in the driveway.

Futurists have been making bold predictions about the coming era of the “smart home” for decades. These visions involve wireless technologies for connecting devices to the world wide web, to user control devices and to each other.

Bluetooth 4.0 is that technologies. And now it’s here.

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With the potential exception of Simpleton’s golden goose, the trendiest fairy tale home accessory ever has got to be the wicked queen’s magical mirror in Snow White.

The Grimm Brothers’ description of this mirror is positively medieval. But in the speech of Silicon Valley, that magic-mirror gadget has been a augmented-reality display with face recognition and a voice-controlled artificial intelligence virtual helper that has been capable of querying remote databases of females ranked by fairness.

Don’t look now, but magical mirrors are not only for wicked queens.

Magic mirrors and magical windows — actually, magical glass surfaces all around the home — will become commonplace, as a result of breathtaking advancements in computers, computer interfaces and, of everything, glass.

It is all about the glass. The top U.S. innovator in glass to consumer electronics, Corning, has developed a technology which enables it to fabricate elastic glass as though it were printing background. The elastic glass is going to be used as a computerized touch coating, theoretically turning any surface — from fridge doors to countertops to entire walls — to smart-touch displays that function like iPad devices. This glass is going to have the moisture permeability, temperature tolerances and clarity of glass but the flexibility and reduced cost of vinyl.

Corning can be developing glass which kills bacteria and viruses on contact, and all different sorts of smart glass technologies. It generated a

#!”> Video about the near future that showcases exactly what will probably be possible when its present research comes to market.

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Five years ago I learned about the website Walk Score, which utilizes Google Maps to figure out the walkability of a location based on local shops, restaurants, schools, parks and so on. Input an address or a neighborhood, and the Website ends up a Walk Score on a scale of 1 to 100, from “Car-Dependent” into “Walker’s Paradise.”

The scoring and programming are far from ideal. Distances are as the crow flies; the tool doesn’t consider street design and terrain. Climate, safety and neighborhood quality are not considered, either. But the site is still beneficial in determining the ability to do things with no vehicle.

I looked in many different homes on to ascertain their various scores. They all are ones that I could ascertain the exact address or at the block on which they’re situated. Neighborhood scores are potential, but I noticed that scores can vary by plus or minus 10 points inside a neighborhood. So they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

To have the ball rolling, I will offer up the scores for where I grew up and where I live today. I grew up in an old suburb of Chicago using a gridded design in addition to proximity to the commuter trains and “village green.” It scores 69 (Somewhat Walkable), but newer suburbs certainly score lower, as they’re developed based on proximity to freeways, not trains. I live in Astoria, Queens, a 20-minute train ride from midtown Manhattan. My speech scores 88 (Really Walkable), but other areas of the area closer to the shopping roads venture into Walker’s Paradise.

Kendle Design Collaborative

Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, Arizona
Walk Rating: 3
Car-Dependent

Golf course developments are easily the very car-dependent parts of suburbia. This home on a large lot benefits from the controlled scenery of this course, but one must push past the boundaries of the evolution to do anything besides play golf.

Belzberg Architects

Beverly Glen, Los Angeles
Walk rating: 34
Car-Dependent

It’s not surprising that L.A. is a very car-dependent city, although a lot of people may not understand that its ancient, comprehensive streetcar community enabled the sprawl now served by freeways. These broad rights of way cut up the city, so even short trips need circuitous travel by car. That circumstance is also the end result of the landscape, especially the hills overlooking the city’s sprawl. The allure of this house in the Hollywood Hills is clear, but walks are likely restricted to exercise.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Throggs Neck, Bronx, New York
Walk rating: 37
Car-Dependent

It may be a surprise that a home in new york would score just marginally above the previous case. This home, beside the Throggs Neck Bridge from the Bronx, is just about as secluded as you can get in NYC while still being at the city limits. This means you have to drive even to reach public transport, typically the best way of getting about the city.

Kaplan Thompson Architects

Deering Center, Portland, Maine
Walk Score: 52
Somewhat Walkable

With this “in city” home, we venture from the Car-Dependent and into the Somewhat Walkable realm. The architects testify to the proximity of universities, dining and shopping, but the home is tucked near a cemetery and a park, meaning the places to walk are not inside a 360-degree circle of the location.

Make Architecture

Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles
Walk rating: 65
Somewhat Walkable

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, nearer into the Pacific, the rating is about twice as Large as at the Hollywood Hills. This home illustrates one attribute (although not a mandatory one) of walkability: density.

Universal Joint Design Associates

Brentwood, Austin, Texas
Walk rating: 65
Somewhat Walkable

When we compare this home in Austin into the previous one in L.A., the simple fact that they have the identical score may be surprising. One is essentially a rowhouse, and one is a freestanding home on a generous lot. Each owes its relatively high score into a gridded network using a mix of uses within an easy walk. This Austin home, it needs to be pointed out, is located in the midst of a brief block, which could typically be vacant or used for a garage. It is a way of infilling the suburbs to include more density while decreasing sprawl, 1 piece at a time.

Kenny Craft, CNU LEED AP

South Main, Buena Vista, Colorado
Walk rating: 66
Somewhat Walkable

An ideabook centered on walkability needs to incorporate a brand new urbanism development. South Main occupies a 41-acre region between the town of Buena Vista and the Arkansas River. The programmers envisioned a “walkable, pedestrian-friendly community” with “tree-lined roads, mixed-use homes, green construction and also a conscientious land-use layout” The effect clearly has more density compared to a typical suburban area but not enough to reach Very Walkable status.

Dean Nota Architect

Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles
Walk Rating: 71
Really Walkable

Near Manhattan Beach sits Hermosa Beach, a compact community that includes a “boardwalk” (The Strand, really paved and not made of wood planks) on the Pacific. Here we enter the next kingdom, Very Walkable. This home benefits from proximity to Pier A Avenue, which runs perpendicular to The Strand and that is where most of the community’s commercial offerings are located.

Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects

Windsor Road, Austin, Texas
Walk Rating: 72
Really Walkable

This multifamily project is located near the University of Texas in Austin and, more immediately, near a boulevard with a Great Deal of commercial amenities. This means the project is still somewhat suburban, with a lot of trees on a large lot, but I can’t help but wonder how walkable the boulevard is, or whether it’s geared more to cars than pedestrians.

Nic Darling

Kensington, Philadelphia
Walk Rating: 74
Really Walkable

This LEED Platinum project lies north of Philadelphia’s Center City district, however is only a few blocks from a subway line that connects the residents to a lot of this city. Walk Score does offer a Transit Score as well, but it’s limited to cities whose information is open source, if they have public transit to start with. This usually means that Transit Scores are not available the majority of the time. Regardless, proximity to buses and trains is equally as crucial as walkability for anyone seeking to live someplace with little to no car usage.

John Maniscalco Architecture

Cole Valley, San Francisco
Walk Score: 74
Really Walkable

San Francisco is a hilly but still very walkable town, particularly taking public transport into account. This home is located near Golden Gate Park, one of the city’s best amenities.

Kaplan Thompson Architects

Westover Village, Arlington, Virginia
Walk Score: 75
Very Walkable

Created by the exact same architect as the Portland, Maine, home revealed previously, this “subway green” house is west of downtown Arlington. The home is very close to the core of Westover, which is home to lots of commercial amenities.

Searl Lamaster Howe Architects

Lincoln Park, Chicago
Walk Score: 80
Really Walkable

Having lived in Lincoln Park (carless, as is still the case at Astoria) for a number of years, I can attest to the area’s walkability. This home is located a little bit farther from commercial strips compared to other parts of Lincoln Park, but it’s nearer to the elevated train that connects the area into the Loop and different areas of the city.

LAB+

Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Walk rating: 89
Really Walkable

So where must one go in L.A. to reach Very Walkable standing? In this case, it’s West Los Angeles, which is between Beverly Hills on the east and Santa Monica around the west coast. It is a somewhat compact and built-up area with a number of commercial strips.

Schwartz and Architecture

Potrero Hill, San Francisco
Walk Rating: 89
Really Walkable

Launched in San Francisco, we see a higher number resulting from more density and an immediate mix of applications — a little grocery store is next door to this home.

John Hill

Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York
Walk Score: 98
Walker’s Paradise

This Upper West Side town house designed by workshop/apd eventually gets us into the Walker’s Paradise. It’s not surprising that Manhattan is where it happens. This residence is located less than a block from Broadway and its own commercial amenities. It’s also about halfway between Riverside Park and Central Park, making it an perfect location for walking as well as other diversion.

John Hill

Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York
Walk rating: 98
Walker’s Paradise

But other boroughs score just as high, most notably Brooklyn. Fort Greene is just one of several neighborhoods in the borough that has been gentrified into a greater or lesser degree in recent decades. This home is a little bit of a trek from Prospect Park (Brooklyn’s answer to Central Park, also designed by Frederick Law Olmsted), but it’s very close to the neighborhood’s own Fort Greene Park.

John Hill

West Village, Manhattan, New York
Walk Score: 100
Walker’s Paradise

The ideal Walk Score appears back in Manhattan, at the West Village and neighboring Greenwich Village. Individuals who have visited the region definitely understand that its walkability is the end result of greater than proximity to shops, restaurants and so on. It is also because the area is a beautiful urban place, using a mix of short blocks at bizarre angles, a small scale and older trees. The area was home to author Jane Jacobs and motivated her influential Death and Life of Great American Cities. The social diversity has changed in the 50 years since she published it, but the physical personality has been staunchly preserved, making the area a delight to walk in and, for people who can afford it, to live in.

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