Dressing Your Home

Elberta Peach Tree Facts

Matthew Kirkhope — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:34:28 +0000

The Elberta peach is one of the most known peach varieties in the United States. The tree produces large, yellow fruit with a reddish blush. The Elberta peach is a favorite for the home gardener or backyard orchardist as it delivers a juicy or high quality fruit. The peach can be used for desserts, canning, freezing and jam, making this variety a favorite for its versatility.

The Elberta peach tree is an excellent pollenizer and is self-fruitful, perfect for a small backyard setting where room only allows for one peach tree. Requires 800-950 chill hours. For planting in hardiness zone 5 – 9.

IKEA Classifies 7 Different Types Of Sleepers They Have Mattresses For [Video]

Gabriel Hanslow — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:09:47 +0000

In this humorous mattress campaign from IKEA Swedish sleep expert Alvar Karlsson claims to have identified 7 categories of sleeper in Australia. There is the starfish (requires a mattress with a larger surface area) the log (common in students impossible to wake up) the black belt (highly unpredictable) the snuggler (loves to be close to a companion) the hokey pokey (sleeps with one leg out of the bed) the chatterbox (talks and gossips during sleep) and the tosser and turner (fights the stress and struggles of the day). There are also links to individual videos for each type with mattress suggestions for each. The campaign aims to show that no matter what kind of sleeper you are IKEA has the perfect mattress to suit your needs. Check out the video below:

Small Outdoor Kitchens

Declan Pottinger — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:03:14 +0000

Small outdoor kitchens are as practical as they are fun. Cooking outdoors during the warm months of the year means we prevent heating up our homes and are smart about how we use energy. For this reason, many warm climate cultures use outdoor kitchens as their main cooking space. It’s also a whole lot of fun and doesn’t require a big budget or a ton of space to set one up.

In addition, some of these inspirational outdoor kitchens have great eco-friendly features. Photo 3 features a watering can used to collect waste water for plants. It’s DIY, designed by Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama, so you can significantly raise the green features of this project by building it with reclaimed or FSC certified wood, and recycled parts. Photos 1, 2 and 4 also display great green features like repurposed items, recyclable materials and multifunctional items.

Outside of eco-friendly features, the Cuebe, in Photo 5, stands out as the winner of size.

Bathroom Accessories and Efficient Spaces

Gabriel Hanslow — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:19:22 +0000

As we mentioned last week, it is possible to create a zen-like bathroom simply by design, and through smart storage too. So, to follow up one some of those thoughts, guest writer Sara Fletcher is here to focus on some of the prime culprits of bathroom clutter bathroom accessories.

How do you corral all of those containers, bottles, brushes, and other assorted denizens of the bathroom? Sara explains

Bright White Kitchens

Matthew Kirkhope — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:27:57 +0000

Whether what you want to engage in a partial kitchen remodel or you are seeking to completely revamp the whole kitchen, there are plenty of bright white kitchen design ideas available. Search for inspiration both offline and online to create the perfect kitchen for your home. Bear in mind that white cabinets in your kitchen simply reflect cleanliness. The popular bright white kitchen environment is found mostly in country and all-American kitchen styles. Transforming Your Kitchen If you are among the homeowners who desire jolly and bright kitchen environments, then it is time to start planning your very own bright white kitchen. Even the most subtle of white accents can transform your kitchen from drab to fab instantly! This stems mainly from the fact that white is one of the best timeless colors you can use in your kitchen. When you make use of wood stains or even color tones in your kitchen, there is every possibility of them getting outdated with time. However, white colored kitchens can stay contemporary when properly designed.

Peace Art Project Cambodia Twists Gun Metal into Furniture

Declan Pottinger — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 04:57:10 +0000

From swords to plowshares, as they say, or in this more contemporary case: from guns into tables and chairs .

The Peace Art Project Cambodia was founded in October 2003, starting with art students from the Royal University of Fine Arts focusing on 20 and 21 st century metal sculpture who took their trade on the road to address what to do with 876 destroyed weapons from a Khmer Rouge weapons cache in the Cardamom Mountains.

The PAPC workshop was set up in a warehouse in Phnom Penh run by the Development Technology Workshop , which has developed peace-oriented technologies including a brush cutting machine used by de-mining agencies to clear vegetation before mines are detected and removed

12 Easter Treats to Bake

Gabriel Hanslow — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:21:03 +0000

If you thought Christmas was the highlight of the baking year, just look at these Easter treats! Colorful and full of life, I can’t think of a better way to usher in the season.

Pops…is there anything cuter? Certainly not if we’re talking about Bakerella’s sweet creations. Start with her basic pop recipe and then go here to find out how to make chicks, here to make bunnies and eggs and…

here for sheep!

From if you like your pops to be the push variety, check out these hilarious ‘Down the Bunny Hole’ push pops Hungry Happenings.

Food Network gets its Peeps on with these Chick and Egg Cupcakes. (Did you know that the Peeps website actually has a recipe section? It’s true! Al

The Fickle Season

Matthew Kirkhope — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:47:00 +0000

Magnolia blossoms from a variety called Leonard Messel.

Those late-winter/early spring snowfalls can be hard on a gardener. But spring is that way. It comes; it retreats.

This year’s early warmth wakened our magnolia three weeks ahead of schedule. And over the weekend, it burst into bloom, providing a scented backdrop for weekend garden chores.

But we woke this morning to snow, and lows of 21 degrees F. are predicted for tonight. I know the blooms will be browned and blackened by frost. If I were ambitious, I’d have been out there last night with garden fabric, wrapping the 10-foot shrub for protection.

Instead, I went out with a pruners and cut several large branches for indoors: one bouquet for the living room and one small one to bring to the office.

Here in my cubicle, a little coffee cup of magnolia blossoms reminds me that spring is coming.

Fire burns former Bassett plant, but warehouse is spared

Declan Pottinger — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:56:53 +0000

BASSETT, Va. — A Bassett Furniture building that had been undergoing demolition here was destroyed by fire on Thursday, according to a report in the Martinsville Bulletin.

The fire occurred at Bassett’s former Superior Lines plant, which closed in 2007, the report said.

Local public safety officials had not determined a cause for the blaze. Much of the plant had already been taken down, the report said.

Firefighters made a priority of keeping the fire from spreading to Bassett’s Central Warehouse 2 nearby, which was described as full of furniture. The Roanoke Times reported that the warehouse was not affected by the fire.

How Can We Make Technology More Natural? [PSFK NYC 2012]

Gabriel Hanslow — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:20:06 +0000

At the PSFK CONFERENCE NYC 2012 today our diverse lineup of speakers are sharing valuable insights and ideas about technology business and creativity.

Steve Clayton is a regular contributor to PSFK and a Microsoft storyteller. In this role Steve works with teams across Microsoft to highlight the work of product groups Microsoft Research incubations teams and individuals – all with the aim of providing an insider’s view of Microsoft and showing people what’s next in technology.

At todays conference Steve talked about how in the future Microsoft envisions that every surface will become a digital display and how in the future technology will be more intuitive invisible and anticipatory.

Intuitive with voice control enabled by technology with human abilities to recognize; invisible with cameras that see gestures and project screens onto any surface; and anticipatory using insights gathered from big data that are curated to predict the needs and wants of tomorrow.

Steve commented:

An increasing amount of technology has human abilities they can see recognize and hear. We can bui

Bulbs that chipmunks do not prefer

Matthew Kirkhope — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:24:56 +0000

Chipmunks can eat bulbs, steal your strawberries, and tunnel in you garden beds. Chipmunks have a great fondness for tulip, crocus, and lily bulbs. If you cannot control those little critters, consider planting bulbs that they will not bother. Those bulbs include daffodils, glory-of -the-snow, grape hyacinths, and Siberian Squill.

You can also use a organic chipmunk control manufactured by Natural Guard.

A Skull Carved From Old Software Manuals! Colossal

Declan Pottinger — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:22:38 +0000

Even if skulls aren’t in your decorating repertoire, you have to admit this is a pretty darned cool project. Most of us who work in the computer industry have more outdated hardware and software manuals than we know what to do with. I’d certainly be more inclined to keep them around if they could take the form of a sculpture like this!

Christopher from Colossal spotted the work by Canadian fine artist, Maskull Lasserre. The near perfect rendering of a human skull is impressive.

Other examples of Maskull’s work with books can be seen here and here.

For the full article: Colossal Art & Design – A Skull of Books

Removing Wallpaper While Saving Your Sanity

Gabriel Hanslow — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:47:58 +0000

One way to see to the transformation of your space is to take down the old to make way for the new. Sometimes, the taking down part is pretty easy. But, sometimes its not. Take wallpaper, for instance. That job can be intense, and kind of messy.

So, how do you manage that job without burning up all the energy that you should be spending on your vision for a new space? Writer and home improvement expert Ryan Tupper is here to talk about how to tear down your old wallpaper without tearing your sanity to shreds

Siding Trends

Matthew Kirkhope — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:49:21 +0000

Recent research has shown that more homeowners are opting to re-side their homes. With the current economy, lots of homeowners no longer plan on leaving their homes anytime soon. This line of thought has invariably moved the home construction market trend from the building of dream homes to renovation of existing homes to suit the homeowner’s current needs and dreams. This is great news for those in the building materials market since the increase in the demand for siding materials has led to increase in sales. Furthermore, homeowners have a larger variety of materials and styles to choose from than ever before. Mix-Matching Materials With increased interest in siding trends, the production of siding materials of various sizes, designs and colors has considerably gone up, what with the desire of homeowners to combine various materials in order to achieve the perfect look they want for their remodeled home. You are bound to see some people opting for a combination of stone, aluminum, steel or brick with fiber cement or vinyl siding in order to achieve that great look for their home. Yo