Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Summer vacation guide to clean rugs
I hope I’m not too late with this advice, because the children in these parts have been off from school for summer vacation since June. Because the kids may be around the house a little longer than usual each day this time of year, there is increased opportunity for things to get messier.
The best, but more expensive, solution is to send them to sleepaway camp for several weeks. If that option isn’t available, however, Derek Niederquell of 1-800 Water Damage — a national U.S. property restoration firm specializing in water, fire and carpet cleaning —offers some tips for keeping your rugs in good shape.
Let’s start with chewing gum in a plush carpet. Niederquell suggests applying a bag of ice directly over the affected area and allowing the gum to completely freeze. Once that has occurred, peel off the frozen substance using your hands or a dull butter knife.
For Gatorade or soda, even red wine, Niederquell recommends blotting the stain using cold water and a clean white cloth. Once that has been done, apply a generous amount of salt to draw out the stain’s moisture and let it stand for a few hours. Afterward, discard the salt and vacuum the carpet, he said.
For grass, Niederquell recommends vacuuming up any dry particles, then applying a detergent solution composed of warm water and dish soap. Let this treatment stand for five minutes and blot the rug dry with a clean cloth.
If it rains and the kids respond by making mud pies and then stepping in them, Niederquell suggests letting the mud dry, then vacuuming up as much of it as possible. Once you have done that, Niederquell says, apply a mixture of warm water and vinegar using a clean white cloth, then blot it until all the liquid has been absorbed.
— The Philadelphia Inquirer
Renovation & Design
Must-have pool floats and accessories
There’s no such thing as a boring pool party, but you can really make a splash at your next dip with good buddies if you pick up some clever and colourful accessories for the occasion.
1. THE EMPIRE TAKES A DIP
In the movies, it’s an armoured space station built to destroy planets, but in your pool, the Star Wars Death Star Light-Up Beach Ball is just the best way to get your favorite Lukes and Leias geeked out to play in the pool. The impact-activated LED lights within will give revellers incentive to stay past sunset. Available for US$6.99 at swimways.com.
2. FAB FLOATING
There’s no way to feel like an ugly duckling when you’re sitting pretty atop an amazing float like this Funboy Alex Yanes Swan Float (US$128). It’s art, it’s a conversation piece, and perhaps most important, it’s a floating nap station. Also available in white, gold, silver, black or in patterened artist editions for US$99 at funboy.com.
3. ORANGE YOU GLAD
Graduate your festivities from red plastic cups without risking shattered glass on your pool deck with these dishwasher-safe, stackable glasses made of a cheery tinted lacquer. US$1.49 each; ikea.com for store locations.
4. TUNE IN
Can’t hear your favourite jam over all that splashing when it’s broadcasting far off on dry land? Keep your pool party rocking with the Ivation Floating Bluetooth Speaker, built to stay 33 per cent above water and stream signals up to 10 metres away. Available (on sale) in white with orange, or black with gray for US$49.99 at skymall.com.
5. SIP ‘N’ SWIM
You can venture away from the edge of the pool and keep your thirst quenched thanks to the GoFloat Inflatable Palm Island Drink Holder. A pack of three is available for US$7.83 on amazon.com.
6. POOLSIDE PAPARAZZI
Just because you’re wading waist-deep in fun doesn’t mean that your social media fan base should suffer hours without a visual update. Banish the thought of leaving the world without photographic evidence of your latest plunge with the Sony TX30 waterproof —up to 10 metres — camera. Available for US$229; sony.com for more information.
— Chicago Tribune
Renovation & Design
Designers pine for natural wood
Using wood in design is nothing new. Keeping it natural — without a stain or a single stroke of paint — isn’t new, either. However, a growing number of designers and woodworkers are putting the natural aesthetics of bare wood centre stage, to great effect.
In the home-design world’s very recent past, paint was everything. Find a vintage wooden chair at a flea market? Strip it, then paint it. Now, straight from the design shows in Milan, New York and Los Angeles, designers have opted to keep their wood pieces au naturel or with minimal processing to maintain a sense of purity, substance and authenticity.
"The natural colours of walnut, cherry, maple, sassafras, hickory and oak are so beautiful, I can’t find any reason to cover them up. The designers and woodworkers that I draw upon as influence all work that way," said Ohio-based furniture designer Freddy Hill when discussing his new Townsend Credenza. "What’s most important to me is trying to distill my designs down to their barest element. Nothing is added simply for the sake of decoration."
Of course, designers sometimes have to use a clear stain for comfort, safety or manufacturing reasons, but for the most part, many modern woodworkers are keeping it simple.
John Pemberton, founder of San Francisco-based Carlysle Manufacturing, uses tung oil to keep his wood furniture pieces clean and protected and to bring out the grain’s natural richness. "I’ve never cared for the appearance of one wood species being stained to look like another. It takes away the uniqueness and detail of each board," Pemberton says.
However, Los Angeles-based designer Shin Okuda, whose Waka Waka project focuses on handmade wood furniture, thinks of the material as "a blank piece of paper." Baltic birch plywood, used with his new rocking chairs, "is a material that doesn’t speak first," Okuda says. And that’s just fine. Bare-wood designs are perfect for creating a relaxed energy in a space because of their neutrality. They’re not loud or quiet. Rather, they fit into any space without being a blatant distraction.
There are dozens of reasons designers choose wood. Sure, it’s a readily available material that’s easy to manipulate. But some of the latest designs are proof of the particular pride woodworkers take in using raw wood in natural ways. In other words: keeping the piece’s origin story a major part of its final design.
— The Washington Post
