#1 – Slice of the Great Outdoors

Inspired by the cross-section of a tree, this rug has been constructed with “highly durable materials.” And who would expect anything less from a “Woody Wood” rug? The outer bark is created by cutting and burning the edges, and the piece is versatile enough for limitless applications. Said creator Yvette Laduk, “My designs aren’t meant to go through life unnoticed.”

#2 – Aerial Wonderland

It takes a village to raise this carpet to different heights. A group of 29 friends helped with the production of the “Rug with Landscape Relief.” The color range coupled with contrasting heights of each foam bar create an incredible landscape scene. Amsterdam designer Laurens van Wieringen said of his rug, “The energy put in this process is also evidently felt in the result.”

#3 – Comfort Food

http://www.productdesignproject.com/index.php/le-uova-di-leon-product-design/

Not that you couldn’t tell, but “Double Bull’s Eye” by Valentina Audrito was inspired by an egg. In fact, Audrito has an entire series called, “Le Uova di Leon,” emotionally stirred from the perfection and simplicity of the object. She not only created rugs, but also seats, beds, lamps and tables. For her, the egg symbolizes the “relationship between day to day and the cycle of life.”

#4 – Pure Squish

http://www.roadsidescholar.com/2007/10/28/lasa-rug-by-jab-anstoetz/

These rugs look good enough to eat. And comparing them to any other line is like comparing apples to oranges. Thousands of felted merino wool tubes extend from a woven wool base, making the combo cushy underfoot. A dark yarn core fills each cylindrical shape, presenting a contrast in color throughout. The Lasa Merino Wool Rug, which comes in five vibrant dyes, won the prestigious Reddot Award in 2006. In other words, buy a rug from Jab Anstoetz, and you’ve also bought his artwork.

#5 – Pieced Together

If you feel like you’re missing a piece in your home décor, check out this design. You just may find what you’re looking for. A recyclable mixture of synthetic and natural rubber, “PuzzlePercer” is a set of modular flooring. German designer Katrin Sonnleitner wants to make a difference on your floors.

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Everyone has a favorite dry turkey story, but breast meat like sawdust won’t separate you from the top-tier turkey terrorists. From the fairly common rookie mistake of leaving the neck bone and giblets in a cooking bird to the rare and potentially burn-inducing deep-fried turkey melt-down, the bird is the word when it comes to major Thanksgiving game-changers.

Just ask these poor, misguided souls!

#1 – The Stubbornest TurkeyZilla There Ever Was

Says Bill McD:

Several years ago, we jumped into growing our own food by deciding to raise and then butcher the turkey. My wife came home from the feed store with a turkey chick sometime in June, declaring that the feed store said this was the time to start a bird to eat the last week in November. By October, this giant bird was running around the yard and then by November, it resembled a small elephant. The turkey dressed out at some 45 plus pounds and wouldn’t even fit into the oven on the bottom rack, as the breast bone was hitting the top of the door frame. We whacked it with a bread board to break down the breast. We invited anybody and everybody to dinner and sent everyone home with LOTS of turkey.

#2 – Soggy Hot Tub Turkey, Anyone?

From Sarah:

“With two babies under the age of 4, I decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Never having purchased a whole turkey before, I waited until the day before and found, of course, only frozen birds. Okay, no problem, I’ll just leave it out all night and we’ll be good to go. Wrong. We ended up trying to defrost it in the bathtub to no avail. Then we thought with its continuous heat and bubbles we could defrost it in the spa. Did you know turkey’s float? So there our turkey was bobbing around with the foamy bubbles outside in the spa. The moment my two young boys saw it they exclaimed, ‘Look! A boat!’”

#3 – “You’d never make it in a real kitchen.”

Says Brandi Woodall:

“At age 20, young and recently married, I decided to host my first Thanksgiving dinner. Not knowing how to even begin cooking a turkey, I opted for a turkey breast. Because I was so young… and uber excited about the crock pot I had gotten as a wedding gift, I thought, “I can save precious oven space, and just cook the turkey breast in the crock pot.” Did you know that you CAN overcook something in a crock pot?? When everyone showed up, and I began to assemble the table w/food, I lifted the lid on the crock pot to find turkey soup. It had completely disintegrated…to which my new Mother in Law replied, ‘You’d never make it in a real kitchen.’ Thanksgiving…not so much.”

Hot Dish Debacles

Keeping the myriad of Thanksgiving dishes warm before dinner is a delicate juggling act. The heat thresholds of various forms of crockery combined with the volatile, creamy substances we love are a recipe for eruption. Beware the large glass dish left warming too long on a backburner when it explodes on impact and coats the guests in a drippy green bean casserole cascade.

#4 – An Extra-Special Ingredient

“Years ago, my non-cook girlfriend (really, she was more like The AntiCook) made a pumpkin pie from scratch for my Thanksgiving dinner. As she carried her contribution proudly up to my front door, a bird in the tree above the walkway took wing – and pooped in the middle of that beautiful dessert. After a couple of stunned seconds, I said, “You know, it looks kinda like whipped cream.” And that was the year I scooped bird poop out of the pumpkin pie and filled the void with whipped cream.”

- Virginia Meyer

#5 – The Great Pumpkin Plague of ‘63

“When I was seven years old, my mom–who can’t cook to save her life–made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. She put about 20 WHOLE CLOVES in the pie. No one could understand why the pie had big black dots all over it and tasted horrible!”

Via Bite Club Beats

The Uninvited Guest

Most of our four-legged friends are content to sit out Thanksgiving, waiting patiently on the sidelines for a shot at the usual leftover turkey scraps, giblets and gizzards. But some cunning canines take matters into their own hands, or should I say huge, carnivorous jaws. To those unlucky few who’ve never experienced the pure comedic hilarity of a dog snatching the turkey off of a Thanksgiving table, you’ve never experienced genuine laughter.

#6 – The Killer Thanksgiving Tale

My own experience involves a sister-in-law who will remain nameless and blameless, her dog, Killer, and you guessed it, the Thanksgiving turkey. As Killer bolted out the door and to the backyard with his new fowl friend, the chase began in earnest. “Killer, you bad dog, you come back with that turkey right now,” echoed through the quiet neighborhood as my sides ached – not from over eating, but from ROTFLMAO. Hence forward, the event was referenced at all family gatherings as the “Killer Thanksgiving.”

#7 – And You Thought Your Houseguests Were Rude

“We had invited a couple of friends over for dinner one night. They called sort of last minute and said that a friend of the husband’s had just unexpectedly dropped in and they didn’t know what to do with him. Wanting to be a gracious hostess, I said, “Bring him with you!” Boy, what a mistake that was. This guy was the most obnoxious guest we’ve ever had in our home. I had made a lovely dinner, complete with homemade rolls and homemade dessert, and had worked very hard at it. He picked at his food (which everyone else wolfed down, so I know it was just him) and actually complained about the way I’d spiced the main course! When it was time for dessert, he loudly announced to the room, “Ewww, I hate lemon meringue pie” and proceeded to retire to the living room, where he turned on the television loudly while the rest of us finished dessert. I couldn’t wait for him to leave–and when he did leave, I was not surprised that he didn’t bother saying “Nice to have met you” or “Thanks for dinner.” We never saw him again, thank God!”

Via Word Banquet

What was your worst Thanksgiving of all time?

Share your horror stories with us – you know it makes us feel better about our own!

Happy turkey cooking, all!

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I love these little pieces of art called Green Pockets. Artist Maruja Fuentes designed these ingenious interlocking wall planters to be hung in multiples and filled by your own creativity.

Fuentes studied environmental design in Puerto Rico, architecture in Washington, D.C., and furniture and textile design in Savannah. Her well-rounded experience and obvious natural talents and imagination imbue her whimsical eco-friendly creations. Made of recycled materials and filled with oxygen-improving plants, Green Pockets are about as green as you can get.

Combined with matching flat tiles, the Green Pockets can be organized in any pattern “to the wall to create the illusion as if they were actually growing from them,” says Fuentes.

These would work well either in a gallery space on contrasting walls as in the top photo, or as a simple, natural touch to a home environment, shown below. Fuentes seems to have sparked my own creativity. As an avid home cook, I would love these as a backsplash into which I could plant my own dried herbs!

Fuentes’s other designs include drinking glasses and a “flower-pod” seating/table system, as well as other interesting objects of both form and function. She widely exhibits her work and has been featured often in the media.

Photo Credits: Inhabitat & MocoLoco

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Fires inspired these fireshields and their beauty while offering defense from that which ensued. So it went with the Great Fire of London that began one September evening in 1666 in a small bakeshop on Pudding Lane. The fire was finally stopped at the barren spot left by the fire of 1633. The reversal in destiny – fire containing fire – illustrates the providence also in the artwork of these cityscape screens.

The fires of London and Rome stirred the beginnings of this design series by BBM. When fire dances behind the laser-cut COR-TEN steel, the scenes from centuries ago are reenacted, but this time with beauty rather than fear. The shadows through the fireshield and the reactive steel to the heat are as ambiguous as the flames.

Durable and long-lasting COR-TEN oxidizes over its life span and turns from black to shades resembling the orange blazes. This natural process provides protection for the un-oxidized steel beneath its surface. And the fireshield goes on.

For more creative fireplaces, check out these designs by Anne Colombo.

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Panasonic is revolutionizing lighting as we know it. The electronics company released a 60-watt LED light bulb in Japan to replace the “old faithful” incandescent once and for all. The debuting LED wattage is bright enough for household use, low enough for energy efficiency and able to burn for 19 years if used for 5.5 hours per day. All for the low yearly cost of $3. That’s 40 times longer and 85 percent cheaper annually than a comparable incandescent bulb.

Other companies, like Lighting Science, Osram Sylvania and Philips, are working on 40-watt LED bulbs since incandescents are wearing thin on sustainability and CFLs can’t seem to shake their high-maintenance reputation for clean-up and disposal if broken. The speculated price for these bulbs is anywhere from $20 to $60 a bulb. But 40 watts at any price are not going to draw a crowd because they’re just not bright enough.

The 60-watt EverLeds are clearly the best option. The bulb could outlive all of us! And that’s a good thing, especially for those high ceilings and hard-to-reach lights over the staircase. Who wants to climb up there again? And the $40 price tag doesn’t sound half bad. With a brighter glow, longer life and serious annual savings, Panasonic may be onto something with lighting to outshine all others.

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Let’s take a look at how Pella and Andersen each stack up in the most important categories.

Overall

Pella has claimed the prestigious J.D. Power & Associates Award for Customer Satisfaction in the Window and Door category. Among the areas of rating were overall satisfaction, warranty, order & delivery and price. Although Pella has claimed high ranking on the list, Andersen ranks in the top three, particularly gaining high marks for its warranty and repair & replacement categories. Andersen has a steady approach and flawless track record, but Pella has remarkable growth and incredible popularity.

Selection

• Both companies offer a full line of window types, including specialty windows.
• Color: Only Andersen’s high-end windows, the Architectural Monumental Series, come in a wide array of colors. There are twenty-one exterior color options and seven interior finishes. Most other windows come in only three colors.
• Because Pella has a wider array of materials, they have a lower selection of color options.

Features

• Both companies are neck-to-neck with their array of features, varieties and styles.
• Pella windows come with the option of a disappearing Rolscreen, which does exactly as its trademarked name suggests.
• Andersen has a better array of color and trim options.
• Pella has more customizable options, such as screen options, specialty paint options, trim options and other small customizable features.

Materials

• Andersen uses mostly Fibrex, a sturdy composite material formed from 40 percent mostly recycled wood fiber and 60 percent thermoplastic resin. Because even Andersen wood windows are completely vinyl-clad, protection against rotting and bad weather is superior.
• Pella aluminum-clad wood windows have been noted as a slightly deficient product, though significant improvements have been made. Some water seepage and subsequent rot has caused problems for consumers and for the company. Nonetheless, they offer a quality array of wood, fiberglass composite, fiberglass and steel windows.

Environmental

• Andersen windows have the Green Seal stamp of approval. In addition, their windows are Energy Star certified and bear the SCS indoor air quality rating. Andersen windows are indisputably safe and reliable. As a charter member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Andersen products qualify for LEED and ICC 700 credits.
• Pella products not only bear the Energy Star qualification, but they have actually won the Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for the past two years. Pella is also a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, a pioneer in LEED certification and a loyal protector of the environment.
• Both brands offer maximum energy efficient windows on the pricier product lines, especially with glass customizations.

Cost

• For a standard-size, no-frills, dual-pane double-hung window, Andersen prices start around $270. The 400 Series, which boasts increased energy efficiency and enhanced features, including Low-E glass, ranges from $400 to nearly $600. The high-end Architectural windows have a base price of $2,300.
• Pella, generally speaking, has higher prices. With their giant status as American’s leading window manufacturer, they have, perhaps, earned the right to charge more. This makes the decision easy if price is the most important factor in your window-replacement decision.

Warranty

• Andersen has what they call the “Owner-2-Owner” limited warranty program. What this program offers is the ability for a transferable warranty through home sales and multiple owners. Because a feature like this enhances a home’s value, it certainly makes for an attractive investment option. Andersen protects product failure due to defects in manufacturing. The glass is protected under warranty for twenty years. Non-glass components of the window are protected for ten years.
• Pella’s warranty, devoid of the transferable feature, nonetheless offers the same ten-year coverage for non-glass components and twenty years for glass. Laminated glass, however, is only eligible for the ten-year warranty (including HurricaneShield). Pella’s warranty also covers interior paint finishes for two years, decorative between-the-glass panels for two years and screens for five years.

So the stats are in. Which brand do you think is #1?

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Like moths to a flame, we humans are some fire lovin’ folk. Something about that flickering, heat-giving, forest-burning, mysterious glow that brings out the inner caveman in us all. For example, we had a little get together at the casa last Friday night and at one point, I just happened to notice that we had the gas fireplace going in the living room, the barbeque grilling on the front deck, food heating on the kitchen range top and some of our less reliable guests stoking the outdoor fire pit with dubious combustibles.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of Al Gore’s large, levitating head glowering down at me through a cloud of C02, and was filled with a foreboding sense of green guilt because at that moment, my carbon footprint must have been the size of Crusty the Clown’s shoe. But as the monster in Frankenstein said so eloquently, “Fire. Good!” Wouldn’t it be great if someone invented a stove that merged fireplace, woodstove, barbeque and cook stove into one, efficient, attractive unit?

Wait for it…

Congratulations, your wait is over! Say “Guter Tag” to the CookCook from Swiss stove-makers Ruegg-Cheminee. Taking its cues from the cast-iron, pot-bellied woodstoves of yore and injecting a modern, compact design and innovative indoor ventilation system, the CookCook finally brings the open fire back into the kitchen – where it belongs.

As more and more homes opt for the great room concept and integrate living room and kitchen into one large space, the CookCook’s multiple use as a grill, heating system and fireplace creates a warm focal point to the home, where food, warmth and flame converge to bring friends, family and those pyros in the front yard back into the kitchen. So, if you can’t stand the heat, well, you know what to do.

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Christina Aguilera’s Funkadelic Cook Space

Pop singer and four-time Grammy winner Christina Aguilera shares this funkadelic kitchen with her music-producing husband, Jordan Bratman, and their son, Max. Since the home’s former owners were the Osbournes, this is certainly not the first round of atypical décor the house has seen.

Christina’s kitchen is an eclectic melting pot of stylistic influence. Medieval, oriental and satirist antediluvian furnishings don’t stand a chance with the modernization of graffiti artwork, kaleidoscopic rugs and metallic red and purple kitchen counter seats all vying for the spotlight. Convention shows up somewhere in there by way of stainless appliances. Her creative vision? “I wanted every space to have its own personality.” Mission accomplished!

Kristen Bell’s Bright and Sunshiny Kitchen

Kristen is best known for her role as 17-year-old detective Veronica Mars

We finally tracked down the scoop on Kristen Bell’s Los Angeles kitchen. Here it is, brightened by Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee paint on the walls and Simply White on the clean-lined cabinets. Deciding to reupholster the counter stools, she selected the same cheerful fabric that covers her living room ottoman. Girly accents like vivid dish towels, a yellow teapot and the sunflower bouquet finish the actress’s fresh look that she and her pups obviously delight in.

Seal and Heidi Klum’s Enchanting Cocina

Nothing like throwing a towel on for the camera. Seal looks as comfortable flipping pancakes for his supermodel-wife Heidi Klum as when he’s recording in the music studio.

With panoramic views of the ocean, the couple’s vacation home lies directly on the map of destination paradise – Costa Careyes, Mexico. Checkerboard tiles add a touch of harlequin and a splash of eclectic to this enchanting cocina. Light, bright walls and countertops harmonize with the square-latticed wood cabinets. And as if it couldn’t get any cooler, pro status stainless appliances adjacent to the deco-arch counter double as an island and the kitchen’s cook space. Somewhere close by is the family’s other favorite “room,” their saltwater pool. Magnífico! And, Seal half naked flipping pancakes? Bravo!

Vanessa Williams’ Charming Old World Kitchen

When Vanessa Williams isn’t playing the role of the self-absorbed, ex-supermodel antagonist Wilhelmina on Ugly Betty, she’s at her comfortable 6-bedroom Hollywood Hills home enjoying her lovely cook space.

The former Miss America’s nostalgic kitchen exhibits a desire to modernize only so far as the old and new coalesce. She’s all about mixing traditional pieces with the contemporary style of her home. Luminous black countertops anchor the taupe tile flooring and antiqued white cabinetry. The white backsplash adorned with two modest tile accents is simple yet elegant, and as the tile flows behind the sink, it creates an impressive contrast. The soft, earthy stone floors balance and unify warm with cool. Indeed, this kitchen’s tranquility is a soothing contrast to Vanessa’s fast-paced stage roles.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s Industrial-Grade Country Kitchen

Distinctive character, exquisite craftsmanship and a functional work space are all the design elements of the perfect kitchen. And that’s exactly what actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner had in mind when they purchased their new 8,800-square foot home in Pacific Palisades, California.

The spacious kitchen hosts buttery-yellow cabinets adorned with simple chrome hardware and rich, warm hardwood floors. The vintage central island boasts a distinctive thick-slab butcher block counter and chunky apron-front sink. The farmhouse kitchen carries a slight French country appeal with its design, layout and understated elegance. Special touches, including the overhead pot rack and dual range hoods accentuate the atmosphere, while the industrial-strength, oversized gas range anchors the kitchen and inspires some serious cooking.

Kelsey Grammer’s Spanish Revival Style

“That’s the heart of the home,” said Kelsey Grammer about the family’s classic white kitchen decked out with Carrara marble counters and hand-painted wraparound backsplash. A powder-blue trimmed sea grass rug frames the dining area surrounded by Spanish revival chairs and lit by hanging candelabra. Hardwood floors underfoot and paneled ceilings overhead complete the New York home’s gathering place.

Photo Credits: inStyle

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Enter MIT graduates, who developed color-changing tiles – white in summer to dispel heat and black in winter to absorb it.

This technology has obvious correlations to seasonal energy savings, and according to U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, white roofs would also drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The tiles’ creators, a group of 2009 MIT graduates called Thermeleon, entered their project in a school-run energy efficiency competition, where they took home first prize for their ingenuity.

The color-changing process is achieved by trapping a polymer liquid solution between plastic layers, the last one being black, which shows through as long as the temperature is cold enough. When the heat rises to a certain level, the polymer becomes concentrated, producing a white tile.

The tiles are still in the prototype stage and will likely undergo developments before they become saleable. Of particular consideration will be the tiles’ long-term ability to withstand temperature changes and the cost-efficiency of using them in place of traditional tiles.

Photo Credit: Greek Travel & MIT

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