Going Long
Easy-to-extend tables accommodate summer crowds
Thursday, May 31, 2007
If you’ve ever had to make room at the table for unexpected guests, you’ll love the extendable tables from Hülsta. The extension mechanisms are light and easy to operate. Best of all, a table that has already been laid can still be extended.
The glass-topped (yes, you can have an extendable glass table!) ET 600 table pulls out in one movement to 3.12 meters (almost 10 ¼ feet). To extend the velvety smooth solid alder or beechwood ET 800, push back the tabletop, slide out the extension panels and unfold. Voila!
That these features come from Hülsta is not surprising. This is the company that designed the first modular living room units. Check out Hülsta.com for dealer and purchase information.
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Now You See It …
Now You Don't. The Disappearing Wall
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
It’s a wall! No, it’s a door! With the NanaWall folding and individual panel sliding glass door systems, it can be both.
NanaWalls are structural glass walls that blend the divisions between the outdoor and indoor spaces. Walls can be fully or partially opened, or completely closed. If you’re looking for a ‘’Wow!’’ effect, this will do it.
Folding systems are panels connected together in a train. When open, the panels remain in the plane of the opening and stack 90 degrees to the track. With individual panel sliding systems, each panel is supported by two carriers and moved independently into position. Panels can be stacked outside the plane of the opening and into a parking bay. The arrangement allows multiple options including swing doors and double French doors.
All NanaWall systems have been independently tested for air infiltration, water penetration, structural perfomance and forced entry.
Five of the systems are manufactured here in California; the remainder are produced in Germany by Solarlux, NanaWall’s partner company. Contact NanaWall for the name and phone number of local sales representatives and installers.
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Il Bagno Bello
Bathing Italian Style
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
We love contemporary Italian bathroom design. And the aptly named Agape is one of the best practitioners of the art. Their Spoon bathtub is, you guessed it, spoon-shaped: wider at the top and narrowing to a delightfully smaller curve at the foot. According to the company, the tub’s inclined concave internal profile allows optimal water distribution. We love it for its clean, sculptured lines.
A different kind of curve shows up in the Chiocciola shower in the form of a nautilus-like spiral, suitable for free standing, corner or recessed locations. Access can be from the right or left and the screen wall can be transparent or translucent.
The Ufo is an extra-large stainless steel bathtub that uses industrial components adapted for use in large bathrooms. Available in polished stainless steel or with a white enamel interior and black enamel exterior, it does rather resemble a flying saucer. The company likens it to a space-age version of traditional cast iron tubs.
Agape also gives a contemporary twist to a traditional material with their Woodline tub in waterproof birch plywood with light, medium or dark oak veneer. The ergonomic interior section is modeled as a chaise longue.
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Go For the Burn
Unique Fireplaces Put Flames Front and Center
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
So many of today’s fireplaces are more about the place than the fire. Not a Wittus fireplace. These sleek creations are all about the fire.
Wittus, which imports fireplaces and stoves from Europe, specializes in free-standing fireplaces which themselves resemble contemporary sculpture. Designers from Italy, Denmark, Holland and Germany have contributed to the Wittus lineup.
Their fireplaces combine the most modern manufacturing techniques with old fashioned hand craftsmanship. Steel, handcrafted ceramics and Finnish soapstone are among the materials used in construction. And they’re not just beautiful; they are extremely functional. Sophisticated burning systems include double-chambered burning compartments and adjustable air control, ensuring a clean and efficient burn (the company quotes combustion efficiencies from 71% to 74%).
Wittus offers gas, wood and electric models. Some, like the Sueno gas stoves from Holland, can be mounted flush to the wall for a built-in look. A signature Wittus feature is a pedestal that rotates so the flames can be viewed from any direction, and large viewing areas — even the smaller units have large windows.
If you want the flames to be the main attraction, you can’t go wrong with a fireplace from Wittus’s collection. The company also offers unique cookstoves and outdoor grills. Check Wittus.com for dealer locations, catalogs and contact information.
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On a Roll
Hanging With the New Wallpapers
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Every couple of years, you hear the prediction (or is it a threat?): “Wallpaper is coming back.” It hasn’t quite happened yet, but at least one design studio is working to make consumers look twice at wallpaper.
Trove uses photographs to create wallpaper the likes of which you’ve never seen – it looks more like wall painting than paper. Images of flowers, grasses, petals and other themes from nature are repeated in an all-over pattern using color shifts that at times lend an other-worldly quality to the designs. Use them liberally or make a statement with an accent wall.
Trove offers not only custom colors and color matching for their existing range, but will also design a completely custom paper for special projects.
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A Royal Flush
When The Standard Loo Just Won’t Do
Sunday, October 15, 2006
TOTO’s new Double Cyclone flushing system is definitely fit for a king. The company’s engineers redesigned the standard flush, getting rid of those hard-to-clean pinholes under the rim. A Double Cyclone flush begins with a high-speed stream of water from a nozzle tucked at the back of the bowl. This scours the rim while another nozzle fires a second high-speed water jet to provide a second rim scour. Finally, a siphon jet whisks away any remaining debris.
A redesigned rim makes it all possible. Traditional hollow rims overhang the bowl and release water through those pesky pinholes. It can be hard to clean trapped waste or bacteria from up under the rim. With TOTO’s new concave rim design, water from the primary and secondary nozzles fires around the concave rim removing debris and bacteria with each flush for a virtually self-cleaning toilet.
The Double Cyclone flushing system is available in the new 1.6 gpf toilets in TOTO’s Guinevere and Soiree collections.
TOTO products are available in San Luis Obispo at Pacific Coast Kitchen & Bath.
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