Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Home briefs

Kitchen island is friendly gathering place

The kitchen island is like a magnet, creating an informal gathering space for family, friends and “spectators.” The island is the line in the sand to keep friends from tripping over each other in the actual workspace triangle between the range, sink and refrigerator. This raised granite island offers plenty of room to serve snacks or drinks, and is the perfect grandstand seat to watch the magic prepared before their eyes.

 

Fix loose pipe with foam sealant

Often, the entire showerhead gooseneck pipe in a tiled bath comes loose. Getting it fixed could easily cost $300 to $400. During a recent kitchen remodel, we were using an expanding foam sealant in walls to control air infiltration and noticed that it dried rock-hard.

Our customer also had a loose gooseneck pipe in a shower stall, which was next on our list to fix. In a blast of brilliance, we tried spraying foam sealant into the wall and watched it lock the gooseneck pipe in place — rock-solid, right before our eyes. Many years later, it’s still there — solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, spraying away. Try it.

 

Riding high

So you’re ready to shut out the lights and head upstairs to bed. Just hop aboard your elevator and take a ride. It’s the latest status feature for homes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Sure you could have put in a pool or invested in a redesigned bathroom with a television built into the mirror. Maybe you considered a theater room.

But your friends are bound to be impressed, and the ride is a gift to your knees or your aging pet’s joints. The WSJ says baby boomers in part are driving the trend. And it’s a way for older people to stay in their homes longer.

At the same time, some people simply view it as a symbol of luxury, like a Mercedes in the garage. And they think it brings value to the home.

What’s more, technology has made the cost of the pneumatic lift more reasonable. They run about $20,000 to $28,000. Otis elevator told the WSJ that residential sales have increased 12 percent to 15 percent a year in the last three years.

Let’s hope they aren’t inclined to malfunction between floors when you’re on your way to work.

 

Middle road is best for gas water heaters

Q: I have a gas water heater, and someone told me not to turn the flame up too high, as this wears the heater out quicker than normal. Can you tell me what setting would be the best to set the heater at for longevity of the heater and yet provide sufficient hot water for normal household needs?

A: Medium is the best temperature, at about 130 degrees. Any less than that, the bacteria will not be killed.

 

Garden variety

The new food pyramid from the Department of Agriculture is all about eating your vegetables. You can haul home pounds of salad makings and broccoli stems, but are you meeting the guidelines yet? One more serving of Brussels sprouts and it’s back to the produce department.

So it’s a good time to think about growing your own.

Even if you live on the 21st floor of a high rise, you can nurture the good-for-you stuff with the New American Garden Kit, notes the Daily Candy bulletin.

The package includes 14 varieties of seeds including snap pea, purple peppers, Tiny Tim tomatoes, parsley, okra and probably more of those veggies you used to push around on your plate when you were 7. They are packed in a water-proof box with instructions on planting indoors or out.

Order the kit for $24 at www.wishingfish.com.

 

You drop, it mops

The first arrival was the robotic vacuum, a little flat disc named Roomba that scooped up dust and hair as it scooted around the floor all by itself. The manufacturer, iRobot, says it has sold 1.2 million.

But mopping the floor may be an even less appealing chore than running the vacuum. It’s not surprising to see a Wall Street Journal report that the same company is about to introduce a robotic mop. It’s called the Scooba and, like the Roomba, it vacuums debris, but then it releases cleaning fluid and water, scrubs up the mess and — the best part — it then channels the dirty water into a separate chamber. It covers the floor multiple times in a 45-minute cycle while you lunch on the terrace.

It is expected to be on the market this year at a slightly higher price than the $280 Roomba.

 

Bamboo lumbers in

Maybe it’s because of a growing environmental awareness or the ongoing reach for something unique?

Perhaps for both reasons, bamboo is getting high marks as a natural material used for a range of products. It’s not just for stuffing into a pot to decorate a room.

Newsweek magazine puts it at the No. 10 spot in a recent “Design 2005” feature on top innovative ideas. It is used for economical, eco-friendly flooring and plates.

It’s also showing up in the natural clothing market, often combined with organic cotton. Bamboo fiber fabrics are said to be softer even than cotton, which makes it especially appropriate for the baby clothes and blankets made by Bamboosa, a South Carolina company.

Bamboo is also emerging as a high-fashion textile. Los Angeles designer Linda Loudermilk, who used to show in Paris, is putting bamboo-fiber clothing decorated with sea images in her upscale eco-themed 2005 collection.

 

Living well is the best revenge

When business slows, designers go into fast-track overload to create new enticements for their products. So it is with big kitchen appliances, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Now that everyone has stainless steel, manufacturers are trying to pump up interest with something different (and expensive).

The Kitchen/Bath Industry show in Las Vegas birthed a new crop of ideas. General Electric was sending a giant computerized wine vault that keeps an electronic log of inventory on more than 900 bottles.

LG Electronics plans to launch a refrigerator with LCD display screen so late-night snackers won’t miss sitcoms or Web surfing. (Go figure.) And to keep you looking fresh without high cleaning bills, Whirlpool was to show a $249 Fabric Freshener that steams out wrinkles and removes odors.

And for the bath, square-shaped tubs and sinks put you in the modern mode.

But innovation may be going a tad far with the French company Herbeau and its “Dagobert” throne toilet patterned after chambers used by French kings. It will cost a little over $12,000, so only true royalty and corporate CEOs can afford it.

 

The invisibles

Transparent clothing has come and gone. Not so with furniture.

The new retro decade to watch is the ’70s, and the clear plastic once mocked as, well, tacky, has come back, says Rick Marin of The New York Times.

As testimony, consider an acrylic chair featured in a Versace ad with Madonna. And Philippe Starck did a Louis Ghost chair for Kartell, the Times reports

Call it Lucite or Plexiglas. In any event, items such as see-through coffee tables, lamps and clocks are getting new attention. In Miami, vintage furniture stores are filled with it. High-end design shops in the Northeast are taking note. Marin boasts of an acrylic chess set and a recent purchase of a clear coffee table. Expect the look to move into the Heartland soon.

One of the charms is you can see through it to your windows. On the downside, scratches are not removable. Look for the clear, not the milky, the writer counsels.

And if you have a yen to sit on a chair that looks like air, move fast. Prices are going up.

 

Master bath considers Mr. and Mrs.

This lavish master bath (above) has something most wives would like: their own lavatory and makeup area they don’t have to share. The cabinet that houses the dual lavatories is designed with a twist. They are not side-by-side, but rather on opposite sides for partial separation and convenience when both spouses are scrambling to get ready simultaneously. The free-standing clawfoot tub includes a curved glass shower curtain. — Wire Services