We've been featured yet again on the Ikea Hackers Website for our custom clock for "The Office Remodel Project"! We're excited that others get to see the clock and can use the idea in their own creative projects.
www.ikeahackers.net
Custom Clock
For a fun clock for the pop-art inspired home office in a previous post, we decided to go custom. From spare fabric used on pillows and curtains in the office and a $10 clock from Ikea, we created a fun and coordinated clock for our clients. If you’re interested in making one for yourself, here’s how:
STEP 1: GATHER MATERIALS.
A wall clock that is suitable for taking apart and accepting of glue and/or tape, scissors, fabric glue, fabric, an inexpensive paintbrush, paper adhesive (such as double-sided tape), computer drawing program (such as Photoshop, Paint, GIMP, etc.), a box cutter, and small hand saw.
STEP 2: FABRIC STRIPS.
Cut strips of fabric to cover the plastic area of the clock. Allow for about a half-inch (or 1 centimeter) of fabric on the clock face, to about a half-inch to an inch (1-2cm) over the edge on the back. The first strip can be the pattern for the rest. It doesn't have to be too exact.
STEP 3: GLUE THE FABRIC TO THE CLOCK.
With some fabric glue and the paintbrush, squeeze glue onto about 2-3 inches of the plastic clock area and brush it to cover evenly. A larger size area is possible but the glue may dry prematurely. Lay the strips across. They will have to overlap - it is best to put a little glue on the underside of the overlapping pieces. Wrapping the pieces around the back of the clock a little bit ensures a clean finish. Be sure to pull any extraneous threads off before adhering to the clock.
STEP 4: ADD A FINISHING BAND TO THE UNDERSIDE.
This is optional, it just gives a nice finish to the clock and helps prevent the fabric strips from coming off and threads from unraveling. More fabric glue and a 1 to 1.5-inch strip of fabric finishes off the jagged edges.
STEP 5: CREATE A NEW CLOCK FACE.
Remove the clear plastic face of the clock and the hands. A Google seach for “clock face template” will help you find a good template with which to begin. Find a good font and type the numbers in. You may have to print, cut the center hole, and position it on the clock a few times making sure the numbers are in the right place. Using basic inexpensive printer paper lets you see the original clock face through your printed face, allowing you to line up the new numbers to the original. A few tries may be necessary. When you print, print the numbers and the center hole, but not the border. Our final clock face print was on thicker stock paper. If you prefer to go in the lo-tech direction, just go to the next step and cut out the face circle from some heavy paper stock, then draw the numbers on yourself with a marker, paint, crayon, whatever looks fun. Options such as photos of your kids' faces, roman numerals, fruit, letters, buttons, flowers, any kind of photos, cartoons, etc., are fun in place of numbers.
STEP 6: CUT OUT THE CLOCK FACE.
Using the clear plastic clock part as a stencil, draw a circle around it on the back of your clock face paper. Cut a little on the inside of the line. For the center hole, a box cutter knife works pretty well.
STEP 7: PUT ON THE NEW CLOCK FACE.
Using double-sided tape or a tape runner (available at a craft store in the scrapbooking section), attach the new clock face right over the old one, which will also cover up the raw fabric ends. Make certain your "12 o'clock" is at the TOP of the clock (look at the underside and find the mounting hole).
STEP 8: ASSEMBLING THE CLOCK.
Put the hands back on. The next part might be a bit more difficult. Due to all of the fabric and the overlapping, the clear plastic may no longer fit back in the clock. To get it to fit, we sawed 6 small grooves into the plastic which allow the plastic to compress a bit when fitting it back in. Only cut the grooves about half way down, or they may start to split. Once this is complete, put the plastic back in the clock carefully and evenly.
*An alternative to this method is to glue the fabric to the end of the clock plastic but not down and onto the face of the clock. A paper or fabric circle can be used to finish the ends and the clear plastic will fit just the same as it originally did. You can also leave the clear plastic off the clock if you choose, just be sure you don't have any jokers around the place or you might find you're curiously late often.
STEP 9: HANG THE CLOCK.
Grab an appropriate battery, set the time, and hang the clock. An easy way to hang a clock or piece of art is to screw a screw half way through a paint stir stick. Hang the clock onto the screw in the stick, then put the stick up to the wall and position the clock. Once you have the perfect position, remove the clock and tap the screw in the stick into the wall just a bit to make a mark. This is where you will put the screw on which the clock will hang.
Art by Form & Function
Art by Form & Function
"Cayman Sunset"
(c) 2008
"She Comes Swimming"
(c) 2012
Above are two paintings of art commissioned by Form & Function for our clients. As in our blog, "It's All About The Art", we sometimes create custom pieces of art for our clients.
It's All About The Art
Sometimes a design project calls for custom artwork, and sometimes a project calls for budget artwork. A simple solution to either challenge is to make it yourself. It may sound daunting, but it's actually easy and can be a lot of fun. Below are some tips.
Supplies: Inexpensive paints, brushes, and canvases can be found at local craft stores like Michael's. If you'd like to frame your art with a regular store-bought frame (not a canvas frame, buy flat canvases - they're the least expensive option and often come in packages of three or four.
Supplies: Inexpensive paints, brushes, and canvases can be found at local craft stores like Michael's. If you'd like to frame your art with a regular store-bought frame (not a canvas frame, buy flat canvases - they're the least expensive option and often come in packages of three or four.
Paint Mediums: Mediums such as gel, stucco, sand, etc., are an inexpensive and fun way to jazz up your art. Simply mix them in with your paint to give different effects.
Multimedia Projects: Use a variety of items such as paper, newspaper, beads, plant pieces and leaves, and fabric strips and incorporate it into your art.
Involve the Family: Make it fun and personal by letting your kids have a go. Give them a subject or idea to develop into art and see what develops. Kids make the most exciting abstract art. One client of ours who has three children wanted some art in her kitchen. She asked each of them to paint an apple. She got three completely different images of apples - each child's own interpretation. Framing each and placing them above the sink together not only makes a cohesive and creative display, but makes her smile every time she looks at them.
Other Options: If you'd prefer something other than painting, here's a few other ideas.
• Book Bits: For a child's nursery or kid's room, find a book with thick, cardboard-like pages with simple graphics, such as animals, drawings, etc. Find a frame that is approximately 2-4 inches larger than the book page. Mount it in the center of the frame with double-stick foam tape. The extra space in the frame acts as your mat, Deep frames work best and give a gallery-like look. Mounting multiple pieces from the same book in one area becomes an art display that looks professional and feels cohesive.
• Fabrics & Papers: If you've got some pretty fabrics or papers, you can frame them as art. It's a beautiful alternative! Fabric stores often have small inexpensive pieces of beautiful fabric in front of the large rolls. Craft stores have fancy papers in the scrapbooking aisles which are inexpensive and beautiful.
• Leaves & Flowers: First, press under a large heavy book until dry and flat. For framing, the easiest and most simple solution is to use the board that comes in the back of a frame. Most are either white or black and are pretty nice, and you can mount them directly to this. Poster board or cardboard is another option, and you can even cover that with paper or fabric before you place the leaves and flowers.
If you've got any other ideas for making your own art, we'd love to hear about them!
What Exactly Is ReDesign?
In today’s economy, it’s getting more and more difficult to afford to have one’s home completely designed. Let’s be realistic, shall we? Wouldn’t you rather get the latest iPhone or streaming television box than pay someone to tell you what furniture you should have or where you should put this or that or what color your walls should be?
Design-related television programs are turning more toward showing people affordable options, people are buying more home products from stores such as Target, HomeGoods, Ikea…but not all of us are design-oriented and we could still use a little help.
So, where’s the middle ground? Most of us like to live in a nice place, but don’t necessarily know how to achieve that, and really don’t want to pay a lot for it. We get that. So, here's where redesign comes in.
What is redesign? It’s designing your room or home with furniture, accessories, and textiles (rugs, curtains, etc.) you already own. It’s adding form and function to what already makes your home comfortable. It’s bringing in a designer with a fresh look on your room – with design skills, with organization skills – to help you get your home up to your liking. It works to fit your budget – you can purchase items to add to the design – or you don’t have to purchase a thing. The designer provides you with ideas, advice, floor plans, and even a list of recommended stores in your area to help you find what you need at a price you can afford. And the bottom line…our designer’s fees are affordable.
So try it. Give us a call. Let us redesign your home. Feel the fresh and new…and feel the familiar…all at the same time!
Form & Function Featured on Ikea Hackers Website
Our "Office Remodel Project" shows readers a unique photography/art display created by printing and mounting art inside glass cabinet doors.
We really appreciate all the kudos and comments!
Check it out for yourself at www.ikeahackers.net!
The Office Remodel Project
We've been busy here at Form & Function working on an interesting project. This is a home office for a husband and wife who work from home in photography, graphics, and web design. It's also their home gym. While we started from the ground up painting the walls and trim and installing laminate wood flooring, it also draws from our other methodologies such as redesign, home technology design, and cable management.
We spoke in-depth with our clients to determine what they wanted to get out of the room. They wanted an open, airy, modern space where they could both work. They wanted not a single electrical or computer wire on the floor. They wanted an open space where they can do aerobics, lift free weights, and use their elliptical machine.
A modern, urban-inspired, pop-art style was the way to go. We first painted the room and installed the flooring. Since they don't have any kids or pets, they saved money on a lesser expensive laminate wood floor, which we ran throughout the entire second story. White glossy cabinets and a desk brought light into the room and reflected it around. Wall cabinets added much-needed storage. LED lighting below the cabinets provided an amply lit work area, and additional lights above the cabinets added ambience. Sheer curtains allow light in while retaining some privacy, since there is a restroom and dressing area right off of the office. They also cut the glare from the sunlight on the computer screens. A custom-made set of colorful curtain panels frame the window and bring color into the room. Matching custom-made seat cushions and a chair pillow keep the theme going throughout the room.
A white leather Barcelona chair was put in the back of the room for relaxing and reading with a mid-century modern lamp overhead. The two desk chairs are reproductions of the Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chair. A small locker adds whimsy and provides storage for their exercise equipment. Two removable anti-fatigue exercise mats provide a large 6' x 5' surface for exercising and aerobics. While our clients are minimalists, they do love the giant "WORK" letters, taken from old neon channel signs at antique shops, which we cleaned and repainted and mounted on the wall.
We worked with our clients to improve their wireless technology - increasing their wireless network speed, providing them with an automated backup solution for all of their computers, showing them how to connect their computers to each other on their home network, and bringing in a wireless printer and wireless stereo speaker which will play wirelessly from any of their computers and iPhones. The speaker is also wireless itself, and is moveable throughout the home. The clients didn't want to see a single cable on the floor. All of the lighting cabling as well as the computer cabling is hidden neatly in wall conduit. This helps make the room very easy to clean.
Then came time for the personalizing. From our photography collection, we created digital artwork from five city-based scenes and had them printed and mounted them inside each of the glass cabinet doors. A magazine rack holds 12 of their favorite reads. A magnetic whiteboard strip holds notes, business cards, and other useful and important items. Inside the drawers and cabinets are boxes, bins, and other organizers to keep everything in its place. Custom-designed mouse pads and white matching coasters were just a few of the fun items we added to the room.
This is a lively, bright, light, and inspiring place to work and have a fun time! We really enjoyed helping to create it.
Photography by Pierre Comtois Photography
(c)2011 Form & Function
There's an App for That
Sherwin Williams Color Snap
This is a free app which lets you take
color inspiration from your photo library or camera. It keeps track of your
chosen paint colors.
Behr ColorSmart
This free app not only lets you draw from
your existing photos, it will match the colors from those images. It also includes a paint calculator, helping
you determine just how much paint you’ll need for your project.
iHandy Carpenter
This multitool app has a surface level, a
bubble level, a steel protractor, a steel ruler, and a plumb bob.
Many major home improvement and home
furnishing stores also have their own apps.
Online window shopping is a great way to get ideas, prices, and
measurements of products for your home.
Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Etsy,
Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ikea all have their own apps.
For those interested in design, there are
many good design apps which offer inspiration from photos, videos, galleries,
and blogs. Below are a few.
Houzz – tons and tons and tons of photos
Dwell – slideshows, videos, events,
products, homes, ideas
California Design – the app that goes along
with the exhibition “California Design 1930-1065 Living in a Modern Way”, which
is the first major study of California midcentury modern design. It
contains photos and info about the exhibit.
SRSLY – discover all sorts of interesting
products and browse products in shops near you.
Mark On Call – helps you plan your space
and your interior design by letting you build floor plans, add furniture, make
shopping lists, and add measurements.
Home Design 3D – helps you create a 2D and 3D layout of a room, add doors, windows, and furniture from their object library, add color to the walls.
Color Schemer – lets you browse tons of color palettes.
There are more and more apps available every day. Look forward to future blog entries with
recommendations and reviews!
iDunno...Liquipel
Well, here's an interesting product. Liquipel is the next thing in waterproofing your mobile device.
According to their website: "Liquipel is a revolutionary process that applies a waterproof coating to your electronic devices to protect them in the event of accidental exposure to liquids. It is not visible to the human eye, virtually undetectable and Liquipel will not compromise the look, feel, and performance of your electronics.
Liquipel penetrates the entire device as a whole, including all of the vital components inside and out to provide optimal protection against accidental contact with liquids."
Exhibitions: January 2012 - June 2012
Here are some design-related exhibitions in the Los Angeles area.
Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945–1985)
1/19/2012 – 6/3/2012
Chinese American Museum
25 N. Los Angeles Street Los Angeles, CA 90012
click for info
California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way"
10/01/2011 – 05/31/2012
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036
click for info
Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California
10/01/2011 – 04/02/2012
Norton Simon Museum
411 West Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91105
click for info
Trouble in Paradise: Music and Los Angeles 1945-1975
02/22/2012 – 04/02/2012
The GRAMMY Museum
800 W. Olympic Blvd. #A245 Los Angeles, CA 90015
click for info
Naked Hollywood: Weegee in Los Angeles
11/13/2011 – 02/27/2012
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
250 S. Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90012
click for info
Eames Designs: The Guest-Host Relationship
10/1/2011 - 2/20/2112
A+D Architecture and Design Museum
6032 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036
click for info
Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974 - 1981
10/02/2011 – 02/13/2012
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
152 North Central Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012
click for info
Extra Credit
So, what’s going on with your credit?
How do you know if your credit is safe?
What about your identity?
These days, it’s all too easy to get hacked, and in so many ways.
Credit may seem daunting, but let’s make it simple.
And once you understand it, you can take control.
Now, that’s a good feeling.
First, let’s understand three important things about credit:
- Credit Report: This is a report of your credit history – both good and bad - which serves to inform lenders of your creditworthiness. Credit reports come from consumer reporting agencies (companies which gather and sell credit information). Your credit score is derived from your credit report.
- Credit Score: It’s an overall score of everything credit-related about you. It covers your borrowing, charging, and repayment activities. Pay that cell phone bill late? It may be on there. Close an account? It’s on there. As for the score…the higher the better. How high? Generally, scores over 740 are considered excellent. Most credit scores fall between 600 and 750. If your score is in the mid to upper 600s, you should consider working to get it higher, but you’re not doing too bad. 620 is often considered the cut-off point for lower interest rates. Scores below 600 indicate a relatively high risk level for the lender and you will most likely be subjected to high interest rates or denial. The highest score one can achieve is said to be 850. I doubt if anyone knows for sure.
- Credit Agencies: There are three credit agencies: Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. They all keep information on you, and most often, their information isn’t exactly identical. It’s important to know what information each has on you, so you know nothing is in error. Often, a lender will only use one credit agency when determining your eligibility for a loan.
What is on your credit report?
- Personal information: your name, address, birth date, social security number, etc.
- Credit information: accounts with banks, retailers, credit-card issuers, utility companys, and other lenders.
- Public Record Information: bankruptcy information, tax liens, or monetary judgements.
- Recent Inquires: identifies those who have checked your credit report within the past year.
What makes up the score?
- Payment history: Whether or not you pay your bills on time.
- Debt: How much debt you have currently.
- Age of accounts: How long your credit history is.
- Types of credit: the variety of accounts you have.
How long will it stay on there?
Seven years. Bankruptcy remains for 10 years.
How can I improve my score? That’s a great question.
- Start at the bottom of the ladder and climb up slowly. Life’s never as simple or easy as we’d like it to be, and bad credit can happen to good people. But you can improve your credit slowly.
- Pay bills on time. Automatic payments, smartphone reminders, online banking – take advantage of today’s technology to help make life easier. Most people know they must pay their credit card bills on time, but they often overlook the smaller bills like their cell phone, gas company, water bill, etc. Those count, too.
- Keep your credit limit high and your balances low. This not only affects each card individually, but all of your debt. It is a good idea to only owe 25% of what your overall credit limit is.
- Don’t close old unused cards. That old Visa in your desk drawer that you never use may be doing your credit history a great deal of good. Credit reports take into account how long you’ve had credit history. So, even if you have a department store account card since you were sixteen, don’t close it. If you don’t want to use it, just cut the actual card up and throw it away.
- Don’t open new accounts just for a one-time discount or for a better interest rate. This one’s kind of a no-brainer. Having too many accounts is just bad
- Don’t have too many accounts of the same kind. Do have accounts of different kinds. While it’s not good to have ten credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc.), it is good to have different types of credit – credit cards, department store cards, an auto loan, a home mortgage. Having too many of one or missing one or two types can work against you.
- Try a secured credit card. Credit cards are needed to do all sorts of things, even if you plan to pay cash. If you think your credit is too bad to get a credit card, consider a “secured credit card”. This is a credit card which requires a cash collateral deposit that becomes the credit line for that account. For example, if you put $500 in when you open the account, you can charge up to $500. Over time, paying your bills to this card will improve your score, and you will begin to notice regular credit card offers appearing in the mail.
- Are you an impulse buyer? Your freezer is your new best friend. For this trick you will need a large gallon freezer bag, some water, and your credit card. Put the card in the bag, fill it with water, zip it up, and put it in the back of your freezer. From now on, any time you try to buy anything on impulse, you’ll have to take the time to thaw out the card first. That should give you ample time to determine if you really need that fourth Snuggie. Tip: Don’t write down the credit card number anywhere, that’s cheating. Extra Tip: Don’t thaw out the card in the microwave.
- Only charge it if you have the cash to pay for it. This is a good mantra, and I stick by it. Amazon is great – but you have to use that credit card. Credit card companies offer benefits and insurances which cover purchases made by the card. You feel safer carrying less money. There’s lots of reasons to use a credit card. But it’s best to try to pay your balance off in full each month if you can. Not only will you be building your credit (provided you pay the bill on time each month), but you’ll be saving on interest fees too.
- Soft vs. hard inquiries. Credit inquiries DO go on your credit report. Inquires like ordering a credit report for your own use usually don’t affect the score. Don’t do it more than once a year, though. Similar inquiries from existing lenders, potential employers, or solicitors also don’t affect the score. The inquiries which affect your score come from lenders to whom you give your social security number along with authorization to check your credit. Multiple inquiries from auto, home, or student loans (aka rate shopping) usually occur within a short time period and are typically treated as a single inquiry. They will have little impact on your score.
Ok, now, how to take control. Errors in credit reports DO happen. Even the smallest error could cause a big problem.
- Review your credit report and score: It’s best to check your credit score and view your credit report once a year. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, you’re entitled to a free look at your credit report once a year. Organized by the three credit reporting agencies, you can get it at AnnualCreditReport.com. Make sure that not only things like your name, address, employer, etc., are correct, but that any and all activity in your report was in fact done by you, and not someone else. What if you find an error? Call the place who reported it (store, lender, credit agency immediately. They are then responsible for investigating the issue. You can also write a brief statement clarifying the inaccuracy to the credit bureau to attach to your credit file.
- Communicate and negotiate: You fell and broke your leg. You either don’t have insurance or your insurance is pretty thin. You end up owing a lot of money. Don’t stress, there is a way. Call the responsible party of each bill and explain to them that you don’t have the full amount but you can pay $XX each and every month and will continue to do so until the debt is paid off. This happened to me in college. I think I paid $25 on four bills every month for two years, but they were fine with that as long as I paid on time.
- Pay someone to watch it for you. There are companies which provide quarterly credit report/score reviews for a low monthly fee, usually around $11-15 per month. While not the cheapest option, this does provide you with year-round knowledge that your identity and credit are safe. Some may provide additional services like immediate notification of any changes to your report, credit report dispute forms, and credit advice/counseling.
I hope this has been of some help in simplifying the credit haze. Everyone has their own opinions on the subject and I don’t boast to know any more than the next person. But I'm always happy to answer any questions.
AppFind: HeyTell
What can be cooler than free text messages between iPhones or iPads?
Free VOICE messages between ANY phone!
Ever hop in the car and want to send a quick text to a loved one or friend to say you’re on your way? Grab the phone, find their name, type in the text, hit “send” and then get going. Then, if they happen to text you back, you’ve got to somehow read it without the cop down the street seeing the light of the phone glaring in your face in the dark of night.
There’s a better way. Check out HeyTell on the iPhone App Store or Android Market. Available for Apple and Android phones, this FREE app uses data (wifi or cellular) to send a voice message to anyone on either of these platforms. Just select a friend, push the big record button, and speak a short message. The voice message is sent right to them, and they can set up notifications to be notified just like they would if they received a text message. It’s quicker and easier than texting, and helps conserve your number of texts. If you’ve got a limited data plan, you can combine using this along with your texting to help save on both.
Check it out! http://heytell.com/
iRecommend: DIY Gym Mat
If you’re an avid home exerciser, or even someone who just likes to get a little fitness in once in a while, here are two great low-cost solutions for a home gym mat. Lowe’s Home Improvement is often overlooked for home décor, but they do have great deals in their rug department. They offer a grey exercise mat which comes in four 2-foot pieces (totaling a 4’x4’ mat) for $20. It can be taken apart for easy storage. There is also the “Surfaces 3’x5’ Gray Anti-Fatigue Mat” also for $20 which is an amazing mat to work out on. Think “Tempur-Pedic” for your feet! It’s thin enough for aerobics and comforts your feet with every step. If you don’t like the size, they also have it on a roll – you can get any length custom-cut. And even on a slippery laminate wood floor, it won’t budge. Sweet!
iRecommend: Zazzle.com
In addition to the usual items like custom photo mousepads, coffee mugs, T-shirts, and sneakers are more unique items such as customizable cases for mobile devices and tablets, postage stamps, even mini speakers!
Most noteworthy is their customer service. If it’s not right, they will take it back, no questions asked. They’ll work with you until your 100% happy. They even send you a follow-up email to make sure you’ve received everything in good order. http://www.zazzle.com/
TechTalk: AirPlay
What can you do with AirPlay? AirPlay works with any newer MacBook Air/Pro laptop, an iPhone 4 or 4s, an AirPlay compatible speaker, an AirPort Express, or an Apple TV.
The Apple AirPort Express: This is a nifty little gadget, available for $99, which allows you to stream music wirelessly to an existing wired audio system. All you do is plug the AirPort Express into a wall plug next to the wired audio system and connect it to the stereo with a standard 1/8” audio cable. Once you’ve set up the AirPort Express to be on your home network, you can now stream anything in iTunes from your Mac or iPhone to the AirPort Express, which will play it out of the wired audio system.
The Apple TV: Also for $99, is this super-nifty slightly larger gadget, which not only works just like the AirPort Express, it also lets you stream movies and photos from your computer to your TV. Via HDMI, you can connect the Apple TV to your television to watch movies and listen to music there. You can also use the optical audio connection on the Apple TV to connect to your wired stereo system for music listening. Added bonus: you can also rent movies and tv shows and purchase tv shows directly from the Apple TV, and download them later to any of your Apple devices for no extra cost.
The AirPlay Wireless Speaker: If you happen to have one of the new AirPlay wireless speakers available these days, you don’t need any kind of adapter. The speaker connects directly to your home network, and you can stream from any Mac or iPhone directly to the speaker. You can have multiple AirPlay speakers throughout the home for whole-home audio. There is one caveat to this though, while iTunes will support streaming to multiple AirPlay destinations, the iPhone will only stream to one.
One noteworthy item is the iW1 wireless speaker by iHome. https://www.ihomeaudio.com/iW1BC/ Priced at $300, this is a great all-in-one speaker which provides decent sound to any room in the home via its wireless connection. It has a remote which controls not only the volume of the speaker, but a few controls in iTunes on your Mac or iPhone as well. It even does “next song” in Pandora (iPhone only).
TechTalk: Wireless Everything
The whole wireless thing has really been blowing up lately and more and more products are coming to the market. Prices are dropping and options are growing. There's wireless internet, wireless printers, wireless speakers, and even cell phones which backup to computers wirelessly. If you don't quite understand it all, hopefully you'll have a better idea of everything in just a few minutes.
MODEM: This brings the internet into the home. It enables a computer to transmit and receive data over a cable or telephone line and is most often provided by your internet provider. With just a modem, you can connect one computer to the network. You must use a cable, called an ETHERNET CABLE, to connect the computer to the network.
ROUTER: If you have multiple computers in the home as a lot of us do, you will also need a ROUTER. This will allow you to split the internet off for multiple computers to use.
WIRELESS ROUTER: This not only splits the internet off for multiple computers, it creates a wireless access point to which any computer with a wireless card can connect. Most computers these days have wireless cards in them, but if you have an older desktop computer, you can still connect to the wireless router with an Ethernet cable. You can, however, purchase a wireless card for it. Pick it up while you're out purchasing your wireless router, as you may not get one from your internet provider. Some internet providers have an all-in-one unit (modem + wireless router) which is super easy to set up, and some will provide you with the modem.
IP ADDRESS: Just like each of us has a home address, each computer in your home will have an internet address (called an IP address) at which they access the internet. A typical address would look something like 192.168.2.1.
WIRELESS NAME AND PASSWORD: You can give your network a name. It will default to whatever the router calls it, like "2Wire225", but it is best (and more secure) to name it. You should also set up a password for your home wireless network, so the neighbor (or anyone else for that matter) cannot access your home network (and also your computers). Your computers will remember this automatically, and if you have a friend who brings their laptop over and wants to connect to the internet, all you need to do is give them your network name and the password.
WIRELESS PRINTERS: A lot, if not all, of the printers sold today come with wireless networking capabilities. They aren't any more expensive than their wired counterparts of a few years back. They enable you to print from any room in the house, from laptops without having to use a cable, and even from a smartphone. Setup is simpler than ever: through the on-screen display on the printer, you choose your home network and enter your network password. Done. Simple as that. The printer will remember your network and password every time you turn it on. A number of printer manufacturers have applications (apps) for smartphones allowing them to print directly from the phone.
WIRELESS SPEAKERS: One of the coolest wireless products is the wireless speaker. Usually an all-in-one speaker (stereo - tweeters & woofers in one speaker), they connect to the home network just like a wireless printer does, and allows you to stream music from your smartphone or computer directly to the speaker with no cables. Some of those speakers are even wireless themselves, sitting on a charger when not in use, and able to be carried all over the house when listening to music. More on this later.
Hopefully things make a little more sense now.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Clean
There’s little objection to having a clean house, it’s the actual cleaning (and finding the time to do it) that’s the problem. Here are a few ideas to help “keep it simple, keep it clean”.
Size: With regard to décor, having a lot of clutter and small décor items around a room make it daunting, difficult, and time-consuming to clean. Do you ever look around and think, “I need to clean. But ugh, it takes forever. There’s so much”? Keeping décor to larger items, and less of them, helps make cleaning simpler. Need to clean the mantle? Moving one large photo frame and two candles is much easier than moving ten small figurines, some fake ivy and three small photo frames.
Texture: Furniture with clean lines with legs allows you to easily sweep or vacuum underneath. Items which are smooth – like glass and ceramic – have less texture and tend to collect less dust – and are easy to clean.
Color: Dark items also tend to show more dust. That’s another reason to opt for lighter furniture. In a comparison between medium brown and dark brown hardwood floors, the dark brown floors showed dust faster than the medium brown floors.
Size: With regard to décor, having a lot of clutter and small décor items around a room make it daunting, difficult, and time-consuming to clean. Do you ever look around and think, “I need to clean. But ugh, it takes forever. There’s so much”? Keeping décor to larger items, and less of them, helps make cleaning simpler. Need to clean the mantle? Moving one large photo frame and two candles is much easier than moving ten small figurines, some fake ivy and three small photo frames.
Texture: Furniture with clean lines with legs allows you to easily sweep or vacuum underneath. Items which are smooth – like glass and ceramic – have less texture and tend to collect less dust – and are easy to clean.
Color: Dark items also tend to show more dust. That’s another reason to opt for lighter furniture. In a comparison between medium brown and dark brown hardwood floors, the dark brown floors showed dust faster than the medium brown floors.
Make It Brighter – Adding Light
Electrical: The first thing that comes to mind when considering adding light is to literally – add light. Having the proper lighting around the home not only provides light to see and function, but adds atmosphere and affects mood. A small table lamp can provide light to a dark corner without taking up much real estate in the room, and for an even lighter feel, try one with a glass or crystal base – it adds light without adding much bulk. Floor lamps come in all sizes shapes and colors, and ones with a small footprint or those on tripod legs help reduce visual weight. Hanging pendants provide good light and take up zero space on the floor. Without much effort, a simple plug-in pendant can be plugged directly to a wall outlet, and then hung on a hook (called swagging) on the ceiling exactly where you want it. Another option is LED lighting, which is being used for under-counter lighting in kitchens and offices. These types of lights are typically cooler in color (more bluish) than halogen or incandescent bulbs, but the newer versions are getting warmer. They never burn out, use minimal electricity, and provide good lighting over a kitchen counter or work surface.
Mirrors: Adding mirrors to a room helps reflect light (both natural and artificial) around the room and adds a feeling of depth and space. There are all sorts of mirrors and art using mirrors that can be used in the home. Placing a mirror behind a lamp or across or near a window will help reflect that light around.
Furniture, Rugs, Window Treatments, Etc.: It may not seem that obvious, but everything in a room has visual weight and color. Put a lot of big, bulky, dark furniture in a dark room and you’re not helping it any if you want that light and bright feeling. Furniture which is light in color and has clean lines has less visual weight in the room. Pieces which have reflective surfaces (like mirrors or glossy laminate) function like mirrors and reflect some of the light around. Furniture which is up and off the ground on legs lets air and light circle around the room and visually feels more crisp, not to mention is easier to clean under. Lighter color rugs and window treatments don’t weight down the room as well. Sheer curtains are great for letting light in but retaining privacy. Layering is fine to add texture and depth, just keep it light in color. If you do desire a darker curtain, keep those to the sides, and use sheers in the center to let light in. To let your windows seem larger and let more light in, extend the curtain rod past the sides of the window a bit – maybe a foot on each side – and let the curtains hang from the ends just covering the outer sides of the window, with sheer panels in the center.
