Category Archives: Home

DELICIOUS DESIGN

March 20, 2012 – 2:23 pm

by Nissa Hanna Last week, Iconoculture’s Home and Outdoor Living team took the pulse of our beat at the 2012 International Home and Housewares Show. Chicago’s McCormick Place buzzed with 2,000 exhibitors and 60,000 industry attendees from around the globe. The annual show features organization and cleaning solutions, tools for wired living and wellness, and […]

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College dorms are fast becoming a singles scene

January 31, 2012 – 1:53 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Bunking with a roommate, for better or for worse, used to be a college rite of passage. These days, more students are seeking haven in private rooms. As of 2004, half of all US schools were including singles in new construction (The Record, 7 December 2011). One-third of the rooms […]

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GreenZero device chargers slay vampire energy drain

January 31, 2012 – 1:45 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING “Zero idle power” to the people. That’s what Bracketron GreenZero device chargers and power supplies deliver — a way for energy-aware consumers to automatically staunch the flow of vampire energy (the suck from devices in fully charged or standby mode). Designs dubbed Mushroom and Stone add a designer’s eye to […]

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Japanese workers warm up to cold-weather ideas

January 17, 2012 – 2:28 pm

by Misako Kitaoka WHAT’S HAPPENING Just as the Japanese government promoted “Super Cool Biz” to encourage offices and individuals to conserve electricity during the hot summer months, it is promoting “Warm Biz” this winter by asking people to bundle up, eat warming foods, and to keep the thermostat at 20°C (68°F) or lower. The result […]

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Economy turns “emerging adulthood” from phase to full-blown lifestage

January 4, 2012 – 3:33 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Thanks to a dearth of jobs and amenable Boomer parents, “emerging adulthood” is going from a blip on the sociological radar screen to full-blown lifestage. Clark University psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett identified “emerging adulthood” as a lifestage for young adults ages 18 to 25 that is about “identity exploration, instability, […]

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German service is keeper of the keys

December 13, 2011 – 3:17 pm

by Kimberly Ochs WHAT’S HAPPENING In an era when few people know their neighbours, Schluesselpate solves a problem: the company will securely store a spare house key and can deliver it within 30-60 minutes when you need it most (Hamburger Wirtschaft, November 2011). The company was started by a Hamburg-based entrepreneur after he locked himself […]

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With more grands raising kids, grandfamily housing is on the rise

November 8, 2011 – 2:06 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING The senior-friendly apartments feature wide hallways, bathroom rails and low cabinets, while the colorful playground outside is equipped with a wheelchair ramp. Welcome to Pemberton Park for Grandfamilies in Kansas City, MO, one of several new multigenerational housing developments. America’s first grandfamily apartments opened in the Bronx in 2005, and […]

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“Daycare” centres provide activities for elderly Russians

June 14, 2011 – 8:38 pm

by Anna Coppola WHAT’S HAPPENING State-funded “daycare for seniors” facilities are emerging in Moscow. These are daytime social clubs offering free meals, sleep, leisure activities and healthcare for elderly Russians. “Eat less, sleep more, wear clothes for the young, don’t lose creativity, get surprised every day” reads the slogan on the wall of one such […]

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READY, SET, GET OUTSIDE

May 18, 2011 – 9:40 am

by Nissa Hanna In Minneapolis, the smell of outdoor opportunity is finally breaking the grip of the tenacious winter air. After a few false spring starts, the race to fit a year’s worth of warm weather activities into a few short months is on. We may be the poster children of cold-climate cities, but we’re […]

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Couchsurfing lets thrifty Indians see the world

April 15, 2011 – 11:25 am

by Anindita Sengupta WHAT’S HAPPENING Indians are opening their homes to strangers from around the world. These “couchsurfers” stay as nonpaying guests, experience local culture and have an insider show them around. In turn, the Indian hosts also get to couchsurf to other foreign destinations. Websites like CouchSurfers.org, Servas.org and GlobalFreeloaders.com list 34,287 (and growing) […]

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FlexNatür condo concept makes lifestage flexibility its foundation

April 15, 2011 – 11:14 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Life changes, so why shouldn’t living spaces? In Toronto, condo buyers can invest in flexibility with FlexNatür. Instead of buying square footage with a pre-designed floor plan, buildings with FlexNatür enable residents to buy units of space, adding or selling increments and reconfiguring the floor plan as their lifestyle needs […]

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Godrej enrols Pune’s postmen to deliver refrigerators … apart from mail

March 3, 2011 – 10:49 am

by Anindita Sengupta WHAT’S HAPPENING Postmen in Pune region are delivering more than letters and money orders. Leading corporation Godrej has enrolled the postmen to market ChhotuKool, their cheap and small refrigerator for the rural market (DNAIndia.com, 12 February 2011). Postmen are being trained to educate consumers about the features of ChhotuKool. They will demonstrate and promote the product during […]

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Scratch-off map lets travelers show off trips

March 3, 2011 – 10:07 am

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Globetrotters often fill their homes with exotic objets d’art. Now they can turn their destinations into home decor. My Scratch Map lets travelers flaunt their trips by scratching off the places they visit, revealing brightly colored countries below. The classic world map is laminated with gold foil imprinted with country […]

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Glass tiles make sun power pretty

February 1, 2011 – 1:55 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Who says solar roofs have to look like giant grids? SolTech makes sun power beautiful with glass tiles that sparkle in the light like ice while heating the house below. The award-winning Swedish design is not just attractive, it’s also highly efficient. Backed by black canvas that absorbs the sun’s […]

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StorageByMail takes a load off consumers

January 19, 2011 – 2:55 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING StorageByMail takes the “self” out of self-storage. Instead of schlepping their earthly possessions to a concrete cubicle, consumers outsource the heavy lifting to the USPS and ship their boxes to a central warehouse shared by Bloomingdales and Tommy Hilfiger. After registering online, customers print out prepaid shipping labels (or send […]

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