Around The Home

There are numerous dawn simulation wake up solutions currently on the market, but Pure is claiming a first with its dawn simulator and digital radio combination. Twilight uses half a dozen bright LED lights to help combat the nasty effects of seasonal affective disorder by mimicking a gentle sunrise before an alarm kicks in to make sure you get out of bed. The device can also help create different soothing moods using sound and light and see youngsters off to sleep with a selection of lullabies. Read More

Christoph Thetard has developed a mechanical flywheel drive to power a set of kitchen appliances for his Diploma in Product Design at Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany. The kitchen machine, coffee grinder and hand blender chosen for this device would under normal circumstances need to be plugged into an electrical wall socket, but there's no electricity needed for R2B2. Pumping the pedal spins the flywheel, which in turn provides the energy needed to operate the three cooking aids. Read More

Modern technology has advanced so quickly, so why shouldn’t it also advance our cake decorating skills. The Cricut Cake printer will do just that ... and it might inspire a new wave of neighborhood cake competitions and children’s parties. The printer is designed to make cake decorating as simple as printing a piece of paper, but instead of using paper and ink, it cuts shapes, words, motifs and decorations into frosting sheets, cookie dough, modeling chocolate and soft candies. Read More

Having chickens and vegetables in your backyard is great for self-sustainability, but what if I want both in a small space? Seattle-based architect turned-self-starter Traci Fontyn has the solution in the form of the Kippen House; a modular chicken coop with a rooftop vegetable garden that creates a looped ecosystem to benefit both your home-grown veggies and eggs. Read More

Oh, choices, choices... do you grow vegetables, raise worms or raise fish? Well, the just-released Fishy Farm is designed to do all three in one hit. The small-scale aquaponic set-up is based around an ecosystem in which fish-waste-infused water fertilizes the veggies and feeds the worms, which in turn filter the water before it returns to the fish. All that users need to do is feed the fish, top up the water, and gobble up the bounty... except for the worms. Read More

Tea is the world's most popular drink and for the last 5000 years was made by placing tea leaves in boiling water. Over the last fifty years, the convenience of the tea bag has captured more than 90% of the tea market in many countries and the evolution looks set to continue. The world’s largest beverage company is moving into the tea market for the first time, pioneering a new pod-style machine which calculates the perfect brewing time and temperature for each individual tea variety and reproduces the perfect brew every time. Throwing tradition to the wind in every way, the EUR129 (US$180) Special.T by Nestlé machine and EUR0.35 (US$0.50) pods will ONLY be sold via the internet, with fulfillment within 48 hours. Read More

Italian furniture design company Florida has created the perfect bed for those mornings when you just want to grab a coffee and run out the door. All that you have to do is simply get out and zip it up – no more making your bed in the morning. At night, you just unzip it and climb back in. If you like the snugged-up feeling, you can even be “zipped-in." Read More

It’s one of those dilemmas you probably never even realized existed... short scissors are better for fiddly cutting, and for cutting through tough materials, while longer scissors are faster on light materials, and better at cutting in a straight line. What are you gonna do, buy two pairs of scissors? Designer Jie Weng has what is apparently a better idea: scalable scissors. Just set the blades to the length you need and start cutting. Read More

Swedish company, Soltech Energy, recently received the gold medal for this year’s hottest new material at the Nordbygg 2010 trade fair in Stockholm. The award was fitting because it was for the company’s home heating system that features roof tiles made out of glass. The tiles, which are made from ordinary glass, weigh about the same as the clay roof tiles they replace but allow the sun to heat air that is then used to heat the house and cut energy bills. Read More