June 15, 2005
Air Purifying Patio/Floor Tiles
Oxygena, by Gambarelli, is a floor tile designed to lessen the pollution around your home. How does it do this? According to their site:
"It is the only tile to contain titanium dioxide, an invaluable element which, through a totally natural process, reacts to and eliminates polluting gases thus rendering them harmless. Oxygena is designed for outdoor applications (buildings, balconies, walkways, squares and public works) where it cleans the air of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide produced by vehicle exhaust, central-heating systems and domestic cookers but it can also be laid indoors (bathrooms, kitchens and domestic environments)."
Oxygena
Source: Engadget
May 30, 2005
Clocky, the Alarm Clock that Defies Sleeping In
I'm not sure alarm clocks fall under luxury housing trends, but when I heard about "Clocky," I knew I would have to have one when they come out. Designed by an MIT student, this robotic alarm clock rolls off your nightstand and bounces around the floor when you hit snooze, thus forcing you to get out of bed in order to turn it off after your nine minutes are up. For those of us who have mastered the art of reaching over and hitting the snooze button without actually reaching consciousness, this may be just the thing... Of course, the shaggy brown carpet encasing it on the MIT home page isn't the trendiest thing out there. Let's hope it comes in other colors when it hits production.
Clocky
May 23, 2005
Bread Maker with Bar Code Scanner
We've mentioned microwaves with bar code scanners, but now there are bread makers with bar code scanners. One example is the Beyond Bread Maker
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The Beyond Bread Maker "takes the guesswork out of baking bread." To help you get the perfect loaf each time, it scans the bar code of your bread mix and automatically sets the temperature and timer that's right for that recipe. It can handle up to 2.5 pound loafs of bread (that's a biiig loaf), and you can--if you buy the special kitchen entertainment center--hook it up to the Internet to download new bread mixes and bar codes as they come on the market. A bread maker with Internet access, now you've heard it all, right?
May 05, 2005
Wine Refrigerator? Naw... Wine Vault!
Been waxing nostalgic about old houses with giant wine cellars? Thinking of installing a wine refrigerator under the counter in the kitchen or bar? Well, GE's new wine vault presents an inbetween alternative with hot technology to boot.
The General Electric wine vault is a 8x9 ft stainless steel structure that can go anywhere in your home. It holds up to 975 bottles and comes with a built-in computer that tracks your inventory for you as well as printing out wine tags. The price for this high end wine chiller? $30,000. But if you can afford 975 bottles of wine, this should be no problem. In vino veritas!
More on the GE Wine Vault:
The New GE Monogram Walk-In Wine Vault
Minding the Wine, at Home
April 03, 2005
Spin Sweep Pro by Hoover Makes Outdoor Cleanup Easier
I never understood the point of a leaf blower. Why push a leaf around when it makes a lot more sense to suck it up and be done with it? Well, the Spin Sweep Pro from Hoover is designed to tackle more than just leaves. It's sort of your own personal street sweeper. It's designed to work without cords or gas and can sweep up everything from leaves to beer cans. Best of all (at least for your neighbors) it doesn't make any noise.
Hoover® Spin Sweep Pro
March 24, 2005
Light Tiles
Light Tiles from Villergoy & Boch are both practical and cool. They are floor tiles with embedded LEDs (light-emitting diodes). LEDs, previously used mostly in electronics, are nice because they don't consume much energy, they don't emit much heat, and they don't have filaments that burn out like light bulbs.
This gives them a lifespan of 100,000 hours or about 11 years. The Light Tiles use a 12 volt LED that is wear-resistant and coated with a stainless-steel frame that protects it from wayward shoes. The LED is flush with the tile, so you don't notice any difference when walking on them, but they emit a soft floor lighting, perfect for guidance at night or in darkened media rooms. You can use Light Tiles to create ambiance or stylish floor designs.
Light Tile
Color Washer/Dryer
Ever notice how most washers and dryers are white? Or--if they're daring--"bisque" (off-white). How... boring. Kenmore's new HE4t washers and dryers are breaking new ground, or new colors at least. Sears is introducing three colors for 2005: champagne (beige), sedona (burnt orange), and pacific blue. Both heavy-duty appliances are front-loading and can handle big loads (23 towels in a single load).
Also read: Infusing Bright Colors into Home Appliances
February 28, 2005
Humidifiers of the Future
Humidifiers add humidity to a home's interior which can be useful in a dry climate, but the noisy hum of the machines can be a turn off. The Humidifall combines a humidifier with a piece of art and a soft rippling waterfall that can add not only a cool new look to your home but a pleasant background sound that you won't mind.
Humidifall
February 22, 2005
Laser Lawn Mowers
Your traditional lawn mower cuts grass with a blade. The Wolf-Garten Zero Laser Mower cuts grass with a laser, then mulches the grass into small particles that are dropped back onto the lawn. The Wolf-Garten is a quiet system since there's no noisy motor rotating blades. The technology is still fairly new (read: expensive), but it will be interesting to watch.
Articles on the Zero Laser Mower: WOLF-Garten striving to ready laser mower, Wolf-Garten: Zero Laser Mower, and You've never seen a lawn mower like this one!
February 20, 2005
Digital Art Meets TV
Television, long considered by many the antithesis of art, is becoming a new way of displaying art in your home. Digital artists are creating original pieces for display when there's nothing on TV. You can get software art (the art is actually computer code that controls sounds and images on the television), collaborative Internet-based pieces (collectors from around the world can view and modify the artwork), or DVD art (video art that plays off a DVD).
http://www.softwareartspace.com/ -- An art gallery for buying digital art.
http://www.markamerika.com/ -- An artist's site with DVD videos and Internet-based artwork.
http://www.bitforms.com/ -- Software and Internet-based pieces that allow user modification.
Not interested in turning your TV into an art frame? Look for digital art coming to your cell phone, too.
February 07, 2005
Microwave Ovens That Read Bar Codes?
The Beyond Microwave comes with a barcode scanner. It stores over 4,000 products in its database (yes, a microwave with a database--who'd'a thunk?), then knows just how long and at what setting to cook the product. The Beyond Microwave, following the latest trend of kitchen appliances, can be hooked up to the Internet if you add on the "Home Hub." This ensures the microwave stays up to date with the latest products and their barcodes. The microwave itself is available at Amazon and other stores for less than $250, but the hub is quite pricey.
Beyond Microwave Oven with Barcode Scanning
February 04, 2005
Bose + iPod
The iPod may have started out as a portable mp3 player, but Bose has teamed up with Apple to create a dock that can pump your iTunes through your house. The Bose SoundDock Digital Music System has a slim, sleek design that will fit most decors. It works with both iPod and iPod mini. The system costs about $300 and outputs Bose quality sound. The iPod charges as it plays for uninterrupted play.
Bose SoundDock System
January 29, 2005
Front Load Washers/Dryers
Though washers with lids that open from the top are most common, today stackable washers and dryers or front-load washers and dryers are becoming more popular since they take up less room and can be built into cabinetry or under counters. Bosch Appliances is just one of many manufacturers making these machines. Epinions' What You Should Know About Front Load Washing Machines is a good resource and worth reading before you buy.
January 25, 2005
Simple Programmable Thermostats
Ever tried one of those new smart thermostats where you're not sure if you're programming the air conditioning, the heat, or telling it to order a pizza? For a user-friendly, programmable thermostat, the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of Smart Homeowner suggets the Honeywell VisionPro thermostat. Its touch-screen interface walks you through the programming much like an ATM.
January 07, 2005
NuTone VacuSweep... Let the Walls Do Your Vacuuming
With dual-income families becoming the norm, who wants to take responsibility for the mundane stuff like vacuuming? NuTone's VacuSweep system rests inconspicuously in the basebooards and sucks the dirt off hard floors (doesn't look like they have something than can handle carpets yet). Most pictures show it in the kitchen slurping up spills (liquids are no problem) and crumbs. The VacuSweep units can be installed all over the house and dust is collected in a central bin that only needs to be dumped out a couple of times a year.
