Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

A lot of us stay up late, watching television or plucking away at our computers (I know I’m in that crowd), and apparently this can be detrimental to our health, at least insofar as getting a good night’s sleep is concerned. Our bodies create melatonin, the “sleep hormone” and, according to LowBlueLights.com, “Melatonin is produced by your pineal gland, normally only when you are in darkness. Using artificial light [specifically the blue rays in artificial light] in the evening before going to bed shuts down melatonin production.” In short, it can harm our ability to get a good night’s sleep.

The solution?

Well, you could simply stay away from the artificial lights, tvs, and computers before bedtime, but what would one do in the dark anyway? Well, besides that.

That website offers a few solutions. You can get a filter to place over your laptop, tv, or ipad screen. You can also get wrap-around glasses to wear for an hour or so before bed (until you turn the lights out), or you can get light bulbs that are coated to eliminate the blue rays. The LowBlueLights website sells all these and has more articles on the importance of melatonin in sleep.

I’ve had an espresso maker for about a year, and I use it every day. It’s fairly compact and sits in the corner of my kitchen counter. As you’d expect, it needs to be plugged in to work, so it’s not something you’d take camping or be able to use during a power outage.

This hand powered espresso maker from Hammacher Schlemmer is another story.

This is the hand-powered espresso maker that produces rich Italian coffee drinks without electricity. Simply pour hot water into the top of the unit; pushing down both levers drives a piston downward, creating up to 10 bar of pressure to extract rich, complex espresso topped with crema. The portafilter holds one or two shots of ground coffee and its removable dual spout pours two drinks at once. The included hand-powered frother produces foamy milk for cappuccinos or lattés and the coffee scoop also acts as a tamper for ensuring coffee is firmly packed and evenly distributed inside the portafilter.

I doubt it’ll get your espresso as hot as a typical electricity-powered machine, but it might just work in a pinch.

$150: Hand Powered Espresso Maker

Wine aficionados can go a little overboard with fancy wine cellars and refrigerators and the like, but who can blame them? Wine is fun. Especially when you grab a few handy wine tools to enhance the drinking/storing/uncorking experience.

Here are three you can check out:

Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator

“Easily and conveniently enhance the flavor, bouquet, and finish of any wine with Vinturi’s Essential Wine Aerator. Wine needs to breathe to allow it to open up, release its intended aromas, and of course, make it taste better. Vinturi’s patent-pending design speeds up this process by instantly aerating with ease and convenience in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine. Hold the aerator over a glass and pour wine through for instant aeration. It mixes the proper amount of air in the right amount of time.”

Oster Inspire Electric Wine Opener with Wine Chiller

“At the touch of a button, the Oster Wine Opener easily opens up to 30 bottles on a single charge. The stylish and ergonomically designed soft-grip handle will fit into the palm of your hand for a firm grip. Also includes a foil cutter to remove wine seals and a recharging base for convenience.”

Wine Bottle Thermometer

“Use this handy, heat sensitive stainless steel cuff to find the right temperature of your wine. Clip it to the center of the bottle; the temperature of wine will appear on the thermal band. Compare with the printed guide on the cuff and serve when ready.”

If you’re hoping your young-uns will grow up liking to cook (or they’ll at least be competent enough to make more than Easy Mac and microwave dinners), then there are lots of kitchen gadgets you can employ to make things fun for the kids (adults may find them amusing too).

These frog and dog oven mitts/pot holders are made from durable silicone rubber, and they can double has hand puppets, in case you want to stage some impromptu theater shows while the cookies are baking.

The mitts feature no-slip grips and promise to protect your hands from temperatures as low as -58 F or as high as +446 F.

You can buy them individually from The Museum of Contemporary Art Store: Dog Mitt | Frog Mitt

If you like it when your plates come toasty warm at a restaurant, then you might get a kick out of these microwave plate warmers.

Toss them in the microwave for a few seconds and them put them under the plates on the dining table to keep food warm longer, or you can stack them and use them as a hotplate for a casserole dish or something else large. They’re supposed to keep plates warm for up to 30 minutes.

A set of four costs $25 on Amazon. One reviewer writes:

“These plate warmers work great, and are very simple to use, just put them between stacked plates (up to four plates) and pop them in the microwave for approx. one minute, plates and warmers come out very warm.

I have found that it works best to put a warmer under each plate at the table, this keeps the plate warm for the entire meal.

Pros: Simple to use, look like they should last a long time.

Cons: None that I have found.”

Microwave plate warmers

I have a dry erase/cork board in my home office, and it filled up with notes rather quickly. If you have the same problem (not enough space for scribbling down all the brilliance that comes to your mind, right?), then you may be intrigued by dry-erase board paint.

“IdeaPaint can turn virtually anything you can paint into a high-performance dry-erase surface, giving your family a place to interact, communicate and fully explore your creativity.”

Available in several shades of color, the IdeaPaint comes in water-based (ideal for consumer purposes) and solvent (good for high traffic use that requires longevity) versions. It costs $175-$200, depending on which version you get, for 50 square feet of coverage. Useful in work, school, and residential applications. (I just want to do one of the walls in my home office and get rid of that cluttered dry erase board!)

If you’ve joined the e-reader revolution, you may take your iPad or Kindle on all your adventures and drag it all over the house. If you like to read on the couch or in a big cushy chair and want to give your hands a rest, you could grab one of the numerous “lap stands” out there.

The $50 Prop ‘n Go – Hybrid Lap Stand for iPad & Kindle is a deluxe version that allows you to adjust the angle, features storage compartments, and offers comfortable microsuede fabric to lean against. It’s anti-slip, too, so set it on your glass coffee table without fear of electronics going sliding when the cat sashays through.

Grab your lap stand, your kindle, download the latest heroic fantasy adventure or mystery thriller and enjoy the day.

If you like fresh herbs, then you might enjoy some of the kitchen gadgets designed to keep your basil, dill, oregano, etc. fresh longer. There are some mills and cutting devices too. Hey, if you’re going to get into herbs, you have to go all the way, right?

Let’s take a look at a few fun gadgets (all available at Amazon for under $20):

Fresh Mill: Herb Storage Canister and Cutter

“Novice and professional chefs agree that mincing herbs can be a necessary but time-consuming task. Speed up the process–without compromising on quality–with help from this ingenious herb storage canister/mill. Designed with a unique built-in mincer, the handy tool conveniently prepares whole-leaf basil, rosemary, chives, parsley, and other herbs to perfection for cooking or garnishing. When finished dispensing, snap the unit shut and store any remaining herbs directly in the refrigerator or freezer for later use. Whole fresh herbs can also be stored in its generously sized compartment and minced as needed.”

Norpro Triple Blade Herb Scissors

“Snip the herbs you need quickly, neatly and right where you want with Norpro’s herb scissors. The unusual blade design features 3, sharp stainless steel blades that allow you to cut, chop or mince herbs directly into a pan or over a plate for garnishing. Large nonstick ergonomic handles for the most comfortable grip. 7-1/2-inch long overall.”

Prepara Herb Savor

“The Prepara Herb Savor will prolong the life of your fresh herbs for up to 3 weeks so you can enjoy fresh, flavorful meals every time you cook. Perfectly sized for fitting inside a typical refrigerator door, the Herb Savor keeps the ends of the herb stems in water, yet keeps the rest of the leaves cool and dry and not packed tightly together as they can be in a bag. The Herb Savor features an easily refillable water well base and removable stainless steel herb basket that keeps herbs neatly gathered together and allows for easy washing. It works with all kinds of herbs–from softer, leafy varieties like parsley and cilantro to woody-stemmed herbs like rosemary and thyme–as well as asparagus.”

Chef’n Garlic Zoom Rolling Garlic Chopper

“Simply peel, fill, and roll and the Garlic Chopper will turn out perfectly chopped garlic from your peeled cloves. Your hands will thank you later. The long lasting stainless steel blade is removable and cleanup is quick and easy. Top rack dishwasher safe. By Chef’n.”

Norpro Silicone Mini Pinch Bowls, 4 Piece Set

“This handy set of four pinch bowls is great for prepping ingredients or for serving condiments. Ideal for holding chopped herbs, spices, and sauces, the pinch bowls make cooking easier. Made of FDA-approved flexible silicone, the bowls can be pinched to easily funnel ingredients. Plus, they are colorful and attractive on the table for holding dips or condiments. Dishwasher-safe and heat-resistant to 500 degrees F, the little pinch bowls offer a variety of uses and clean up easily. They will not absorb or impart odors or tastes, so they’re always fresh for the next use. Each bowl measures 2-1/2 by 1-1/2 inches.”

If you have a big kitchen with space for all the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets, then you might appreciate The Coop.

The six-holder caddy is designed to make your egg preparation duties easier in the mornings. It can hard boil, soft boil, and poach eggs in a snap. No worrying about burning fingers or splashing hot water all over yourself.

Features:

- Egg caddy with six removable egg cups.
- A telescoping handle that extends to safely lower your eggs into boiling water and remove them once they’re cooked.
- A handle that contracts so you can store the entire unit, eggs included, in your refrigerator.
- An attachable “poaching pod.”
- Food-safe, high-temperature Polypropylene construction.

Add this kitchen tool to your collection for $23 at Quirky.com. (There’s a nifty little video on the site where you can see the gadget in action.)

Looking for a versatile and unique fireplace? Something different from your parents’ fireplace/hearth/chimney deal?

There are lots of cool options out there, such as the Roll Fire from Commoto:

“Fire in the role of its life: fiercely blazing, steady and yet quite free. ROLL FIRE provides warmth wherever it is installed. Anyone who values variety and is looking for all-over warmth will simply love the independent heat it radiates. As it rolls, ROLL FIRE easily balances its stainless steel tank, mounted on its roller bearings. The two glass panes fitted at the sides render it completely transparent. As it is held in place by magnets, when the tank is being filled with bio-ethanol the glass is lifted off in no time at all.”

The eye-catching piece can sit on the floor or be mounted on your wall. It burns liquid fuel in canisters and doesn’t require a vent to the outside.

More at Commoto.