Archives for August 2014

Who Says a Dining Room Has to Be a Dining Room?

Screen Shot 2014-08-20 at 9.38.25 AMChucking the builder’s floor plan, a family reassigns rooms to work better for their needs

Cathy Zaeske’s kids had moved on from their Lego blocks and taken up musical instruments, so it was time to get rid of the playroom that had taken over what had once been designated the dining area. Clearing things out gave her a good chance to rethink her home’s layout.

“Since the traditional dining room is right off the kitchen and has become the throughway to the screened-in porch, it receives lots of traffic and activity, not to mention the afternoon sun,” Zaeske, a decorator, explains. “I’m a big believer in designing a space for how people will live in it, not how they should live in it.” She refused to let the fact that her builder had written “dining room” on the floor plan fence her family in. And she didn’t let the same plans make her feel like she had to have a formal living room either. Repurposing and swapping spaces resulted in a functional layout tailored to her family.

PUC | WIFI MIDI INTERFACE

puc-wifi-midi-interfaceFree your music from tyranny of wires with the PUC, a Wireless MIDI Connection. Designed specifically for iOS devices, the PUC allows you to wirelessly connect any MIDI device such as keyboards, synths, dj controllers, drum machines, floor pedal controllers, plus other gear, wirelessly to your iPad, iPhone or Mac, and easily control your music making apps. It has a low latency system as fast or faster than the wire, and includes the free PUC connector app. 

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History of Home Heating

History of Home Heating

Rethinking the Master Bedroom

Screen Shot 2014-08-05 at 12.26.39 PMBigger isn’t always better. Use these ideas to discover what you really want and need from your bedroom

For some time now, it’s been the norm in new construction to include an enormous master suite in the plans. Is it a blessing, or is it just overboard? The answer is, there is no cookie cutter answer — it depends on you.

Zeroing in on what you personally want and need from your master bedroom can help you build the just-right space (or tweak the one you have). These tips can help.

Yes, You Can Use Brick in the Kitchen

Screen Shot 2014-08-11 at 12.22.17 PMBrick can lend a wonderful historic look, warm up a kitchen or make you feel like you’re in an urban loft. On the other hand, you fear you’ll wind up with a stack of greasy, hard-to-clean masonry stacked behind your stove. Or perhaps you suspect that a thin brick veneer will look oh so faux. There’s no need to fear. Here’s the lowdown on brick and brick veneer: whether or not to seal it, how to make a brick veneer look authentic and how to maintain and clean it — it’s much easier than you think.

CASA RAMBLA | BY LAND ARCHITECTS

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Casa Rambla is a spectacular weekend house designed by Chilean studio LAND Architects. Located on the seafront in Zapallar, a town close to Santiago, the idyllic seaside residence has an harmonious connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, making the most of the scenic location. The open space property features glazed walls on all sides so the living areas can be either completely enclosed or opened up to the elements.

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Preparing Your Home For A Natural Disaster [infographic]

Natural-Disasters

7 Kitchen Flooring Materials to Boost Your Cooking Comfort

Screen Shot 2014-08-07 at 7.33.44 AMGive your joints a break while you’re standing at the stove, with these resilient and beautiful materials for kitchen floors

love the look of polished concrete floors in kitchens, but concrete — along with other nonresilient floor surfaces, such as stone, ceramic and porcelain tile — can take a toll on your joints. I’ve heard complaints from many homeowners who regret putting in a hard flooring material in their kitchen because of the subsequent knee, hip or back pain they feel after standing or walking on it for a long period. Fortunately there are plenty of softer, resilient kitchen flooring types available that are as functional as they are good-looking.

Coastal Home Captures Every Inch of Ocean View

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Set on the coast of Chile, the Catch the Views House from LAND Arquitectos was designed to perfectly frame the beautiful seascape and landscape surrounding it. Volumes are stacked one atop another, like playfully stacked stones at the beach.

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The exterior of the home is colored to match the stones at the beach, and the home’s volumes are arranged on the hillside in a way that lets them capture as much of the surrounding natural beauty as possible.

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The home’s interior is similarly arranged around the goal of “catching the views.” Oversize windows, a long terrace, and unlimited sunshine make this coastal home almost unbelievably bright and airy.

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