Around The Home

Most U.S. shoppers will be familiar with the Nutrition Facts label on foods which, amongst other things, tells consumers how much fat and salt is in their food. With the Digital Food Scale from Perfect Portions, users can obtain that information whilst weighing out their serving. Ten key nutritional elements are displayed when users type in an appropriate food code from a database of nearly 2,000 foods, empowering users to take control of their daily intake or cut down on foods that may do more harm than good. Read More

If small is beautiful, then the 320 square-foot EDGE house from Wisconsin’s Revelations Architects is absolutely gorgeous. EDGE stands for Experimental Dwelling for a Greener Environment, and true to that acronym, the award-winning little modular home includes Earth-friendly features such as rainwater collection, geothermal heating and cooling, air-to-air heat recovery, passive solar windows, and insulated exterior shutter doors that minimize nighttime heat loss. Making the most of every square inch of interior space, the house has multi-functional transformable furniture, plus two overhead bedrooms. It's also made for easy construction and relocation, to the point that the prototype has been assembled, taken apart and moved three times in six months. Read More

Many readers would be familiar with the electrical blackouts that occur in the summer months resulting from the extra load placed on electricity supplies by air conditioners. A new “smart” metal being developed by researchers at the University of Maryland (UM) could help cool homes and refrigerate food 175 percent more efficiently than current technology, not only giving strained electricity networks a bit of relief, but also drastically cutting summer electricity bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Read More

It’s down to the final eight in the Electrolux Design Lab 2010 competition. Around 1,300 designers from all over the globe entered the competition this year, with the brief being to create space-saving home appliances that would be suited to life in the heavily-populated urban environment expected by 2050. The finalists will present their designs to a jury in London on the 23rd of September with cash prizes and an opportunity of a six month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center up for grabs. Will it be the virtual kitchen helmet, the gel refrigerator or the portable ultrasonic dishwasher that impresses the judges, or will it be one of the other five fantastically futuristic designs? Read More

My name is Loz, and I have a problem with tool lust. I find it very difficult to leave a hardware or auto shop without a heat gun, or a ratcheting spanner set, or some new air tool on top of the three bolts I went in there for. And while I've never had to screw a wall together or install a deck - and I have no plans to start in the immediate future - I'd still find it incredibly hard to resist one of these things if I ever saw it in person. It's a belt-feed screwdriver. A freakin' belt-feed screwdriver. Load it up with a strip of screws, and you're ready to screw more things in quicker succession than you'd ever have dreamed possible. Just watching the Quik Drive promo video after the jump sent me into a shuddering toolgasm. Read More

Most of us at one time or another has lost our keys and know the stress that it causes. Compounding things is the cost that comes with calling out a locksmith to replace all the locks on the windows and doors of your house. But what if you could change your locks simply by inserting another key? That’s just what the Matrix Key System designed by Australian locksmith, Stuart Webb, does. Inserting a new key into the lock effectively changes the lock, rendering the old key useless and saving the hassle and expense of calling a locksmith. Read More

Rice is the second highest produced grain in the world after corn. With a large portion of corn crops grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice takes the title of the most important grain with regards to human nutrition and caloric intake. It is especially important in Asian counties such as Japan, however, the consumption of domestic rice in Japan has decreased by half compared to 1962. In an effort to arrest this decline, Japan’s Sanyo has committed to creating products that contribute to increasing rice consumption. The latest is the GOPAN, the world’s first home cooker that makes bread from rice grain. It should also appeal to those on a gluten-free diet. Read More

If you’re a guy who shaves in the shower, you no doubt know the frustration of trying to keep your shaving mirror fog-free. In some bathrooms, even just the installation of such a mirror can be tricky, as can positioning yourself to use it. Squarely addressing these conundrums is the Reflect, a combination showerhead and non-fogging mirror. Read More

Whether it be high-tech automation or just clever design, I love gadgets that make life in the kitchen easier. So you’ll understand why I’m enamored with the Bowlboard – it’s a clever take on the chopping board which will have you preparing food like a real professional in no time. Read More