Design | Wellness | Cabinetry
Late Thursday, President Trump shocked markets by threatening to slap 5% surcharges on Mexican imports beginning June 10, as part of a demand that the country do more to contain a surge of migrants streaming across the border. Continue reading “Concerned About Tariffs?”
According to a recent new Zillow Digs analysis, real estate listings mentioning keywords like “barn door,” “shaker cabinets,” or “farmhouse sink,” sell faster than other listings—and for up to 13% more than the original listing price. Continue reading “Craftsman-Style Upgrades Will Bring More Value to Your Home”
Sometimes people ask me what I read when I’m surfing the web. Here’s a collection of posts that I found worthwhile.
Over on Hadley Court, Leslie Carothers put together a great post discussing the true remodeling costs and important remodeling considerations for kitchens based on data from industry professionals, Houzz, and Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs Value Report.
The Founder of KBCULTURE.com, Leslie Clagett always covers what’s new in appliances and innovative technology. I liked her post showing GE’s new combination of their Café Refrigerator with hot water dispenser technology with a Keurig K-Cup Brewing System. I think we all like the idea of being able to remove one more appliance from the countertop area. Sadly, it won’t be available until later this year.
“As an innovator in the personal beverage system industry, Keurig is excited to partner with GE and to be the first to offer hot single-cup technology right from a refrigerator.”
In addition to Blogs written by designers, I also read Blog posts from manufacturers. I recently discovered that Systempool, part of the Porcelanosa Family, offers the new Attica shower enclosure collection.
A large part of the value of an Attica enclosure is the availability of customization. Systempool realized that not all bathrooms are shaped the same – some have sloped ceilings, steps or structural columns that have to be addressed.
Jeanne Chung is a gifted Interior Designer whose blog is titled Cozy•Stylish•Chic. Her posts are fabulous and I hope one day soon we will meet. (We’ve both been on Modenus BlogTour trips but not together.) I am sharing her post on 3 Must-Have Luxury Kitchen Appliances from Thermador.
My favorite of the three is the Freedom Induction Cooktop which is the first full-surface induction appliance with the flexibility of a natural-mapping user interface. This technology recognizes cookware size, shape and position, and delivers heat to these targeted areas (up to 13″ x 21″),while all other areas not in contact with a pot remain cool.
The new trimless model with first full-color touch-screen interface can heat up to four pots at a time. The 36″ cooktop is built with 48 individual 3-in. heating elements below the surface of the appliance, which translates to a 63 percent more effective cooking area on the surface.
With all the talk about VOCs, tighter homes and the need for make up air, who isn’t concerned about indoor air quality (IAQ) these days?
Many things in a home’s interior can off-gas — including new furniture, paint, carpeting and cabinets. New aldehydes can also be brought into the space through air fresheners, cleaning agents, clothing and other daily household items. Breathing in these chemicals on a regular basis may be dangerous to one’s health.
CertainTeed offers a drywall that actually improves indoor air quality. AirRenew’s new technology takes VOCs out of the air and converts them into safe, inert compounds. Once they are captured in the board, they cannot be released back into the air.
Rather than off-gassing formaldehyde and other VOCs, AirRenew Gypsum Board has industry-first VOC-scavenging technology that removes these chemicals from the air, breaking them down and storing them inside the wall through a process that’s effective for about 75 years, the company says.
The gypsum board also features M2Tech technology, which provides enhanced protection against moisture and mold.
There’s no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment, but using AirRenew with dual technologies greatly reduces the potential for mold problems.
AirRenew continues to effectively clean air even when used with multiple coats of water based acrylic or epoxy paints and breathable wallpaper.
The AirRenew portfolio of products includes a wide range of performance attributes, such as resistance to fire, mold, moisture, abuse and impact. The product line up features: AirRenew Essential, AirRenew M2Tech®, AirRenew M2Tech Type X, AirRenew Extreme Abuse as well as AirRenew Extreme Impact. Each product handles the same as regular gypsum board and does not require special tools to install or finish.
AirRenew Essential comes in a 1/2-inch gypsum board, and AirRenew Essential Type X, a 5/8-inch fire-resistant gypsum board.
AirRenew boards are GREENGUARD® Gold Certified, can contribute to LEED building credits and contain up to 99% total recycled content.
Improves indoor air quality and protects your walls from everything life throws at them.
Recently, celebrity remodeler Mike Holmes and son Mike Jr. featured the product in his two-hour episode “Mike’s Ultimate Garage” on HGTV Canada.
Holmes used CertainTeed AirRenew Extreme Impact Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Gypsum Board as the interior walls of the 1850 square foot garage.
“I’ve been planning my dream garage for years. My son MJ went over and above what I’d even envisioned to make sure I ended up with an amazing man cave. I know I’ll be spending every minute of my downtime there,” said Mike Holmes. “With the cold Canadian winters I’ll have to keep the garage doors closed most of time. It’s good to have peace of mind that AirRenew will help keep pollutants out of my lungs. And the extra durability is a great thing, in case I am hard on my workshop.”
Mike knows the ultimate man cave requires quality materials.