Category Archives: Home

More households headed by 75+ consumers, many of whom live alone

December 4, 2012 – 3:05 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING The graying of America is picking up steam as Boomers cross into Medicare country. But that trend was well under way before the first Boomer turned 65. In 2010, 1 out of every 10 US households was headed by a consumer age 75 or older, according to Census Bureau data […]

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Lunar Design gets creative to help consumers prepare for a quake

October 23, 2012 – 11:37 am

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING Natural disasters are serious matters. But must preparedness efforts take a dire tone? San Francisco-based design firm Lunar’s SF Prep concept is geared to help unready 20- and 30somethings overcome their emotional and logistical inertia with an approachable and creative system. Turning the traditional earthquake kit into an interactive and […]

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UK: Eco-homes get digitally designed and built on-site

October 2, 2012 – 1:41 pm

by Kelly Stevens WHAT’S HAPPENING Home is where the art is — or in this case, the design. London-based Facit Homes claims to be the first company in the world to digitally fabricate a bespoke home on-site, starting with its design (GizMag.com, 24 Aug 2012). A 3D computer model contains every detail of the house-to-be’s […]

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On-site cafeteria rapidly rises as Korea’s highly desired apartment amenity

September 11, 2012 – 1:21 pm

by Jeongmae Choi WHAT’S HAPPENING The vast majority of Koreans eat meals at home, supplemented by occasional lunches in restaurants, food delivery or takeout. Now a new way of eating meals has appeared: apartment canteens. SK Leaders View, a high-end apartment building in Daegu, began offering a daily breakfast buffet in 2011. Both Korean and […]

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Keeping up appearances: Lawn painters make the grass greener during droughts

September 4, 2012 – 2:07 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Drought has turned your prized green grass brown. Who you gonna call? Lawn painters! With two-thirds of the US suffering from a drastic lack of rainfall, yard-proud consumers are springing for paint jobs on their home turf. While lawn painters have long been a fixture in the parched southwest, the […]

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Savvy, sustainable innovation is trickling up from crowdfunded roots

August 28, 2012 – 11:58 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING A growing number of lauded, oversubscribed Kickstarter projects are aimed at solving sustainability issues like energy and construction. “Savvy” is the watchword as these inventions emerge from smart entrepreneurs and gain support from discerning fans. ReadySet Solar Kit, developed for Africa, is coming to the US after asking for $20K […]

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Men in Sheds helps older Brits build and bond

August 28, 2012 – 11:52 am

by Rebecca de Vaux WHAT’S HAPPENING A hands-on community project to help meet the emotional, physical and social needs of older men has been given £262,876 funding after a two-year pilot project (BromleyTimes.co.uk, 2 August 2012). Based in Eltham, south-east London, the Men in Sheds project has more than 50 retired male participants who are […]

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The Rucksack House creates additional space for apartment dwellers

August 14, 2012 – 12:13 pm

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING The option to add on is typically a homeowner luxury, available only to those apartment owners who fortuitously score an adjacent vacancy. But German-based designer Stefan Eberstadt thought outside the box to create the Rucksack House concept, an external addition for high-rises. Placed in front of an existing window for […]

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Lennar debuts a blueprint for balanced multi-gen living

May 29, 2012 – 1:45 pm

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING To accommodate the changing family structure, Lennar’s NextGen home is a multi-generational blueprint for privacy and independence. The “home within a home” designs vary in square footage and layout, but all feature two adjoining self-contained living quarters that share either a main entrance and foyer or a front porch with […]

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Spanish smart bed makes itself in less than a minute

May 15, 2012 – 12:57 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Making one’s bed could be a thing of the past for tired, busy or just plain lazy consumers who invest in an Ohea smart bed (Ohea.eu, March 2012). The Spanish-made bed is equipped with a device that automatically straightens the bedding in a mere 50 seconds once it has been […]

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“Just walk away… and walk right back.” Strategic modifers emerge?

May 1, 2012 – 1:57 pm

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING They came to be called “strategic defaulters”:  US homeowners who could afford to make mortgage payments but chose not to because their homes were deeply underwater. They simply walked away from those homes, mailed the keys, and took the hit to their credit scores. Now analysts say there may be […]

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iGrill app lets backyard chefs cook remotely

April 17, 2012 – 1:11 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Outdoor entertaining is a backyard tradition. But why should the grillmeister miss all the fun? iGrill, a Bluetooth-enabled thermometer, lets chefs mingle with the guests instead of hovering over the coals. iGrill works as a standalone thermometer but earns its keep with remote apps. Once they set the desired temperature, […]

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Popularise asks residents, “What would you build here?”

April 3, 2012 – 11:44 am

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING Popularise is turning neighborhood planning over to the people. The website lets building owners and developers ask residents for their business wish lists and put the suggestions to a vote. Washington, DC developer WestMill Capital is using Popularise to solicit business ideas for its purchase of a 4,250-square-foot former convenience […]

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100 Mile House brings locavore principles to architecture

March 20, 2012 – 2:27 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Raise the roof for local! Sustainable architecture is taking a lesson from the 100-mile diet to build the 100 Mile House. Done right, every material used, from the foundation on up, is sourced, new or recycled from within 100 miles. The Architecture Foundation of British Columbia has launched an international […]

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