If people make a run on emergency supplies and the store shelves are empty try these little tips.

Your top-loading washing machine can be used as an extra cooler.  The built-in drain is very convenient.

Heavy appliances like the oven and dryer are great for storing items you can’t pack up.  Just remember to take them out before the next time you turn the oven on.

Solar powered garden lights are a great way to light your home at night without adding heat.

Putting a hot water bottle out in the sun during the day will give you warm water to wash your face.

Your SUV may use a lot of gas but it makes a great make-shift tent for sleeping.

Lastly, the number one thing people forget to stock up on…condoms.  Remember all the hurricane babies after Charley?

Cuban-American designer Tomas Frenes has created Arestone decorative tiles. 

These 12×12 decorative tiles are made from  natural elements to give a sandstone finish.  The modules can be installed as is or painted to suit any interior.

With nods to geometry, nature, Zen Buddhism and Frank-Lloyd Wright, these tiles can go almost anywhere.

The economic slowdown and a push to reconnect with nature will result in simpler design styles and color choices heading into 2009.

Architecture and design emerging next year will be taking cues from four concepts: “raw,” “urban silence,” “simplexity” and “private identity,” says a color and design specialist with Benjamin Moore Paints.

“We are going to see more of a ‘make do with what you have’ attitude and paring down austerity in design,”

Raw- This palette is derived from unfinished wood, cinder blocks and other “make-do” materials and includes shades of white, sand and gray. The raw palette will layer white on white, with textures and shapes to add visual interest. Gray and monotones will be embraced with tonal shifts ranging from beiges to near-black.

Urban Silence- This group of colors reflects the changing delineation between life in the city and life outside the city.  As more urban buildings incorporate rooftop gardens and shipping containers are converted into living spaces, the city becomes a softer, more livable place. These changes are reflected in the palette by mixing the gray tones of urban living with vibrant, organic colors like green, rust and terra cotta.

Simplexity- The best way to think of “simplexity” design is repetitive patterns clustered into simple formats.  The repetitive pattern brings order to chaos. Simplexity colors are very complex, they have a lot of depth to them, but they’re easy to use.An example is a color that looks black, but it’s really purple. It’s almost black but it has an undercurrent of blue and red running underneath it and the way that the light hits it, you start seeing the nuances of how those colors flip underneath it.

Private Identity - deals with how we express our individuality and differentiates between the individual and the world. Colors will include organic brights teamed with pales to create unusual pairings. Metallics will be warm and cool, while surfaces, especially blacks and vinyl, will have slick, wet looks. Denim and brass will be key features in this forward-thinking trend.

I have a love/hate relationship with the great people who write for the Appliancist blog. 

They feature some of the coolest products, like this gas cooktop from Neff.  The problem is that most European appliances are not made for export to the US.

European appliances are not like automobiles.  You can’t fly over, buy them and ship them back.  They won’t work.

There are two basic standards for voltage and frequency in the world. One is the North American standard of 110-120 volts at 60 Hz, which uses plugs A and B, and the other is the European standard of 220-240 volts at 50 Hz, which uses plugs C through M.

Using a 50 Hz appliance here means anything with a motor will run faster.

Yes, if you have the know-how, you can attempt to install transformers.  However, it is my understanding that this should only be attempted with small power-consuming eclectic items like mixers.  Electronic items will not function properly at all with a converter.

Your local building code may not allow it either.  I don’t suggest you take the risk.

How impressed would you be if during your remodel project your tile setter showed up with this mirrored diamond blade tile saw?

The new Revolution XT tile saw from Gemini Saw Co. will cut inside and outside radius curves because the ring blade allows cutting action more like a scroll saw.  The double sided diamond blade also allows for forward and backward cutting.

Price: $945

With more people entertaining at home these days, people no longer want a simple cabinet to hold their bar supplies. 

Homeowners want wet bars that their friends can gather around.  They also want their wet bars to make a statement about who they are and how they like to live.

The Fiesta Bar Sink from Native Trails will be the center of conversation in your wet bar.  It doesn’t look like the typical undermount bar sink.  The Fiesata has a round apron front. 

The Fiesta sink is available in Antique Copper for a traditional look or a Brushed Nickel finish for a more contemporary look.  This sink is a functional work of art.

Native Trails is pride themselves on bringing beauty and function  together. 

Most of their hand hammered vessels contain recycled copper.  They work closely with highly skilled artisans from small villages in Central Mexico to produce many of their products, and those roots show in the finished products.

Art Deco is the term given to the decorative and architectural style from 1919-1939. 

Art Deco’s geometric designs, accompanied with playful ornamentation contrasted with the earlier organic forms of the Art Nouveau Movement.  Unlike modernist design, Art Deco was not overly concerned with issues of functionality or technology.  Art Deco was primarily a fashion oriented style.

Art Deco style was popular for hotels, theaters, restaurants, ocean liners and World’s Fair exhibits.  By the 1930s, Art Deco style in the United States was adapting to mass production rather than the luxurious products originally shown at the Paris exhibit Les Arts Decoratifs.

Walker Zanger’s Luxe Vanity recalls the 30’s Art Deco style with it’s rich Espresso finish and brushed-nickel accents.  This large single bowl vanity available in honed marble or white onyx will make a grand statement in your bathroom retreat.

56 3/4″ w x 24″ d starting at $5,600

House Beautiful is running a series called 30 Days of Kitchens on their website. 

Here’s one from the 1960s that reminds me of the kitchen I grew up with. 

We didn’t have a large enough kitchen for an island or separate ovens.  We had the hi-lo oven in black, harvest gold and eventually bisque.  Thinking back, it appears my mother was tough on ovens. 

We had postform countertops and wallpaper with gold flecks in them which were most popular at the time.  The floor was vinyl and the kitchen phone had the extra long cord that was standard for any busy family.

I do think that HB missed the mark on some of the kitchens they featured or rather didn’t feature.

I always think of pickled maple when I think of an 80’s  style kitchen. 

The appliances in this photo are newer but the wood edge countertop is spot-on.  Face-framed cabinets were still very popular as frameless cabinets had not yet taken over.

The non-flush cabinet ends were also typical.  It wasn’t until the 90s and the popularity of frameless cabinets did manufacturers start offering flush ends on framed cabinets.

In the 90’s Accoutrements became the buzzword in kitchen design. 

People were running away from the 80’s contemporary design that was too cold and sterile.  Clients demanded ornamental moldings and carved onlays. 

Kitchens were also becoming larger with taller ceilings.  Designers started mixing finishes and woods in kitchens

Terms such as unfitted and furniture-style became popular adjectives.

It will be interesting to see which kitchen styles will be remembered for this decade.  I’m sure exotic veneers will be featured.  I think we might also see kitchens with Asian influences featured.  What do you think will be remembered?

This 22″ x 16″ chandelier is made from recycled plastic spoons by Studio Verissimo of Portugal.  Artisits Claudio Carduso and Telma Verissimo strive to make people smile with their creations.

From a distance the chandelier looks like it is made from Lucite.  Very luxurious for only $300 from Eekowire. 

Place this in your eating area and you will have an instant conversation piece.

I’d like to see an extra long chadelier with more lights inside.

Bazzeo by NY Loft not only boasts good looks and clean lines, it is Eco-friendly too.

The boxes are made from 1/4″ Paperstone with wood veneer, laminate or aluminum fronts in their NJ factory.  The manufacturing process employs energy saving techniques, recycling of scraps and low-VOC lacquers.

I’d worry a little about aluminum on lower cabinets scratching but I can’t deny it’s beautiful.

http://www.paperstoneproducts.com/