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Snazzy Tubs

It’s a girly thing to admit, but I love baths.  Don’t get me wrong—I’m not goin’ for any pink foo-foo scented bath salts and such.  But there’s something just plain awesome about soaking in a tub with a book or TV show and a glass of wine—or a decent beer (none of the light crap).

But I don’t know if I could bring myself to even get near one of these tubs.  They’re just . . .too artsy looking to even be tubs – even if they ARE tubs.  Check these out:

SNAZZY TUB # 1: The WS Bath Epoca Free Standing Bathtub

That’s just plain daunting.  I feel like one of the King’s bath-boys would be hovering over me with some sort of tiny bath towel.  And the bathroom would have to be the size of a football field.

This sucker comes in gold as well.

SNAZZY TUB # 2: The WS Bath Milo Glass Bathtub

Yeah, I know.  WS Bath again.  But this thing is really cool.  You know it.  I know it.

But what wouldn’t be cool would be someone walking in while I’m taking a bath.  It would be like viewing a hairless albino seal through a viewing port at Sea World’s Seal Encounter.  Type that many S’s in a sentence and you know how serious this would be.

SNAZZY TUB # 3: Bagno Sasso X Line Free Standing Bathtub

Okay.  This is a bathtub I can wrap my head around.  Or sink my behind into. It’s somewhere behind the built-in towel and soap shelves.  In this case, the tub can be either freestanding or nestled against a wall.  And the taps can be mounted on the wall, floor, a Pillar column, or on the edge of the tub itself.

This is just the tip of the melty iceberg, if ya’ know what I mean, when it comes to the world of designer bathtubs.  I’ll be back with more!

by John Barker

Written by editor on August 30, 2010 at 10:20 am
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Duct Tape to Match Your Mood

How many times have you wanted your duct tape to reflect your mood? Never, you say? Well, that isn’t stopping the good people at Duck from creating a few options for you.

Put away those Sharpie pens. Now, duct tape comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Duck just announced a few new flavors of the craft/work favorite, making for over 20 different options.

Some of the new patterns include animal prints like Zig-Zag Zebra and Spotted Leopard, a trippy Cosmic Tie-Dye pattern, the flame-filled Hot Rod, and the military-inspired Digital Camo. They already have a ton of colors, such as red, yellow, aqua and purple as well neon shades Funky Flamingo (pink) and Island Lime (green).

Perfect for that duct tape  prom dress. . .

 

Duct car . . .

 Or a duct couch . . .

 If you are looking for something special to do with that new funky duct tape (maybe a duct basketball hoop) the Duck website has plenty “Ducktivities,” which also include step-by-step instructions. They’re also always looking for new, creative uses, and invite submissions to the Duck website.

The new Duck patterns are on sale now. You should be able to find them at craft and home improvement stores, as well as anywhere else you’d find duct tape.

 by Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on August 16, 2010 at 10:43 am
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Chandelirium

It’s nice when form and function collide to create a practical device that’s easy on the eye.  In this case, I think collide is the operative word:

This is the Chandelirium,  a high-tech collaboration between designer Aaron R Thomas and Artist Anne Ewen.  Each custom made Chandelirium is constructed from  reclaimed American made cast acrylic.  The acrylic is sculpted into interwoven strips of clear and white and twisted into a chaotic ball.  In the center rests a 7” globe light in a fixture of polished nickel.

Each handmade lamp is approximately 30” high by 20” wide.  You can also commission the artists to build custom Chandeliriums in different sizes and colors.  I could see a blue and silver one hanging in a casino in Vegas—though I’m not sure how much light would escape all of the craziness.

While I admire the artistry involved, to me, the whole thing looks sort of like the egg sack of a giant spider.  Don’t get me wrong.  I think it’s very cool in a Chaos Theory sort of way.  But you’d have to have the right room to hang it in.  And even then. I’d walk past it and get the jitters just waiting for millions of little spiders to scurry out.

But that’s just me.

 by John Barker

Written by editor on July 13, 2010 at 10:47 am
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Reading in the Round

While I’m not sure how practical this circular bookshelf would be, it looks like it holds quite a selection of texts.

It is part of The Archive Series, designed by David Garcia as an exploration of space and books with a goal of muddying the line between form and function.  As such, this shelf is designed with both exercise and relaxation in mind.  You can either walk in it down to the local mini-mart for a six-pack, or do what this guy’s doing:

Either way, I think my back would hurt.  According to the designer, this bookcase holds a half ton of books.  That’s a lot of reading, my friends.

But I have to admit I’m enticed by the idea of a “nomadic library.”  Sure, it’s bigger than my iPhone, but there’s something to be said about good ol’ hardback books.

If only I’d had this thing in college.  I could have plowed over everyone in my path and actually made it to class on time, rather than graduating with the uneven shoulders I incurred from the 9 million pounds of books I carried on my back. 

The Archive Series currently resides at the University of Roskilde’s Main Library, and includes some other unique furniture related items.  Check out that crazy thing in the background:

If I had to traverse something like that in order to get a book, I’d probably never read again. . .

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 25, 2010 at 10:28 am
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Kitchen Sweets

What’s a must have item for any fine kitchen? 

Star Wars Cookie Cutters - that’s what!

Okay.  Not really.  Finishing a fine kitchen usually involves something along the lines of hooking up the 5 burner convection oven, or (in my case) installing a breakfast nook.

But cookies are proven to boost the morale of any hard working FIYer!  Tell me these don’t look delicious:

While it may require the skills of Picasso to decorate these yummy looking treats, the making and baking certainly can’t be any more difficult than regular cookies.  And even though three of the cookies are bad guys, something tells me The Force would be with you when it comes to baking up goodness.

Available exclusively from Williams-Sonoma, these cutters come in four shapes (in case you don’t recognize them):  Boba Fett, Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, and Yoda.  Each cutter is spring-loaded to allow a clean stamping of the cookie dough—simply press down to create the edges then press the stamp to make the faces.

While I am quite a good cook, I’m definitely no baker.  If you’re like me and the cookies come out tasting like bantha poodoo, then you can simply toss them into the R2-D2 trash can.

Or do what I do: eat them anyway.

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 23, 2010 at 10:22 am
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Art? Garbage?

You’ve probably all seen the soup can as art.  And probably some of you know about sand castle art, but can we talk for a minute about garbage bag art?

 

Tokyo-based MAQ, Inc. is  promoting the Garbage Bag Art Work Project featuring their very own decorative garbage bags.

The idea is simple—and pleasing, in an odd way.  Instead of being littered with piles of nondescript plastic bags, garbage pick-up sites are being turned into areas of temporary artistic expression.

Garbage bags manufactured by MAQ are imprinted with a variety of images inspired by nature:

 

Other prints include various animals (some realistically depicted, others extremely abstract), company logos, and a certain Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can.

As strange as this project sounds, I think it’s great in concept.  It’s the execution that I find lacking.  While these garbage bags are definitely more pleasing to the eye than the usual black bags, I think it’s a stretch to call the end result “art,” even if they are stacked in an eye-catching pattern.

My opinion of  decorative trash bags hasn’t changed.  They’re still bags of GARBAGE.

Then again, the Garbage Bag Art Work Project seems geared more for kids.  And you have to admit that the little bunny garbage bag is too cute…

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 22, 2010 at 10:08 am
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Spooning

The fine folks at Studio Verissimo have figured out what to do with all of those plastic spoons we throw away: make furniture.

Yep.  That’s a table made of recycled plastic spoons, aluminum, and glass.  It comes in three sizes.  While red is the most eye-catching of spoons used to construct this furniture, white and black are also available.

And what accessory goes perfect with a table made of recycled spoons?

 

 

A lampshade made of recycled spoons, of course!  This item comes in red, white and black.  Two sizes are available.  I can’t figure out why the spoons don’t get melted by the light bulb.

I can’t help but think of how cool this furniture would be in a coffee shop…

I’m all for making furniture and other items out of recycled materials.  What’s next?  A bookshelf made of used CD jewel cases?  Housing made from reconstituted newspapers?  Or maybe just spoons recycled to be used as spoons.

If a line of clothing can be made out of recycled cigarette butts, nothing is impossible.

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 10, 2010 at 2:38 pm
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Smokin’ Hot

Okay, what you’re about to see isn’t a home-improvement topic.  But it is environmentally friendly—even though it’s also insanely disgusting at first glance.  Bear with me.

 

That hat is made of discarded cigarette butts.

Hang on for a sec.  I just puked.

When I think of cigarette butts I think of this:

 Which makes me think of this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brainware3000/4251449/sizes/o/

Not this:

Designer Alexandra Guerrero and her company Mantis combine purified cigarette butts (10%) with natural sheep wool to create clothing.

I’m hoping that purified doesn’t mean that they’ve got some little old guy chained to a wall hot-boxin’ cartons of smokes, then dropping the butts in bleach.  I’m sure it doesn’t—but my imagination gets away from me sometimes . . .

While I can’t quite wrap my noggin around wearing something made of cigarette butts, I have to applaud Guerrero’s initiative.  According to an interview on GreenMuze, Guerrero collected 5000 butts to make just five items of clothing.  Her back really must hurt from picking up all of those butts.

You can find the rest of the interview here.  It’s worth checking out—if only to see how now bizarre ideas can turn something so nasty into art.   Remember this?   

Hmmm . . .bizarre ideas.  Many a home improvement project starts the same way.  Are you inspired to follow suit? 

Suit.  Get it?  Yeah, I know it was bad… but it’s been a long day.

by John Barker

Written by editor on May 10, 2010 at 2:56 pm
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Mailbox Chic

Be it cute, silly, or just plain ugly, a mailbox is a window to the homeowner’s personality.

Take this mailbox, for example:

 I think the message here is broadcast loud and clear.  I not only want to avoid this house, but  I also want to sing praises to the brave mailman for sticking his hand in the barrel to drop off the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes letter.

Then there’s this guy:

Either this homeowner is into bicycling or proctology – and really, I’m not sure which.  All I know is that the mailman had better wear a rubber glove for delivery.

The next mailbox isn’t in front of a home—but those of you who follow any of my blogs know what a Star Wars geek I am, so I couldn’t resist.

 It looks like R2 has suffered from a little bowel problem in this picture.

Lastly, I had to include the perfect mailbox for the Fix-It-Yourself offices: 

 

 

I, unfortunately, have just a plain old mailbox that won’t stay closed, has numbers falling off of it, and a flag that needs to be wedged with a stick to stand upright.

For more crazy mailboxes, check out All4YourFun and NewsPip.

by John Barker

Written by editor on April 30, 2010 at 11:49 am
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Spring Cleaning

If I had the budget, I’d decorate each room in my house with in a separate theme.  One room would be dedicated to movies, another to history, another to nature, etc.  But, since I literally eat hot dogs and Raman noodles every day, the odds of this happening are slim.  No . . . let’s just say impossible.

But this mat gave me an idea.

 

Designed by Nguyen La Chanh, this beautiful living bath mat is made from plastazote, a rot free foam, which is  populated with three types of moss: ball, forest, and island.

 

I think it’s really cool (given that I have a gray thumb) that the only maintenance to keep the moss alive is your (hopefully) daily bathing habits.  The mat absorbs its sustenance from the humidity that fills the room during a bath or shower. 

Well, hell.  That’s easier than setting up a tiny sprinkler system in your bathroom.  Or sprinkling when you tinkle . . .  that would be unsanitary.

 Oh, yeah!  My idea. . .

I’m gonna tear out the carpet in my living room, throw in some dirt and seed, and make my living room into a “living” room.  I’m thinking that this will get me used to living outside after I get evicted later in the year.  Plus it will minimize the cat fur in the carpet, because there will be no carpet.

 My girlfriend may like this idea.  She’s allergic to Buster (my cat) and is something of a hippie. 

Yeah, I can see it now.  And if it doesn’t get me into BH&G, I’ll call it spring cleaning.

by John Barker

Written by editor on April 20, 2010 at 9:51 am
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