Future House Designs

Future House Designs

The concrete pipes serve two purposes. Um, first of all, they hold up the roof - that’s the simplest function. But the other function which is really fantastic is they store the water which is collected from the roof panels.Quality design and environmental sustainability are key issues & according to NSW Govt. Architect, Chris Johnson, the project is about rethinking & improving suburban housing.

The houses feature passive solar design, natural cross- ventilation, minimal energy consumption, recycled & recyclable materials, stormwater detention, indoor-outdoor flow & so on. Although they are affordable, they profile innovative technologies being researched & tested by the University of Technology, Sydney, CSIRO, & the University of Sydney Ian Buchan Fell Housing Research Centre & supported by many industry associations & interests.

Custom Home Design Image

Custom Home Design Image

Designing a custom home may be right for you. For information on designing a custom house with our parent company, please visit their.

Future Home Appliances

Future Home Appliances

The center is open for techno tourists, but also architects and builders. The items range from complete bedroom sets with massaging mattresses and automatic light systems to induction stoves. Here's a sampling.

Future Home Design

Future Home Design

This modern design was prefabricated – a popular construction method for the eco-conscious requiring less resources and resulting in less site disruption during development. The warm, wooden design boasts low-power LED lighting which gives the home an ultra-modern appeal. Green features include a rainwater harvesting system, passive ventilation, and solar cells embedded in the expansive panes of glass making up the front facade.

Gone to the Dogs

I'm inspired to dedicate a post to my "kids," Samantha, Tilghman, and Madison.  They have added to much joy to our lives- I cannot imagine life without them!  Here are several resources that I enjoy- specifically for the dogs or from people who love dogs.

Stray Dog Designs, inspired by the couple's adopted stray dog in Mexico, offers super cute furniture, lighting, and home accessories.  I believe that most (if not all) items are made from recycled materials in Mexico or Haiti.  A portion of all proceeds goes to support selected charities, including the Sociedad Protectura de Animales in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Method, the clean people, do a great job of offering environmentally responsible and animal-friendly cleaning products.  They've recently introduced an all-purpose dilutable cleaner, which promises to be safe for pets, $4.  Because you know your dog is going to eat off the floor if given the opportunity- it's nice to know he/she isn't also licking up a bunch of toxins.

Doctor Fosters and Smith Skinny Toys, $6.99.  Made without stuffing- perfect for those stuffed-animal hunters intent on destroying... and ingesting...regular stuffed toys (Tilghman eats everything).  I also highly recommend their "Grunter" series- our dogs haven't destroyed the moose yet!  This site is also a great source for things like reasonably-priced leashes and collars, as well as other necessities like ear cleaners.

 

For more designer leashes (like the Lilly Pulitzer ones shown above), charms, beds, or even life vests, In the Company of Dogs has some great items for pets and their people.

 

I visit FreeKibble daily- it's a website started by 12-year old Mimi Ausland, featuring daily trivia questions for Dogs and Cats.  For each click/visit, Castor and Pollux will donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters.  Though it may not seem like a lot, it adds up!  

Though I've not purchased any crate covers yet, Doghouse Covers has some great-looking slipcovers for crates, $30-$55. For those who can sew, I'd think this would be a great project! For those of us who cannot, Doghouse Covers has some super cute and affordable options. Based in Charleston, SC, the company also supports animal charities (yay!)

I've never used this new airline, but I love the concept.  A pet-only airline, where pets fly in the main cabin.  Potty breaks before boarding, a pet attendant who checks on them every 15 minutes while en route, and pet lounges at departing/arriving airports.  Intro rate of $149.

Last, but certainly not least, I have to put in a plug for other furbabies needing a good home. Petfinder is a great source for adopting an animal!  Lots of organizations are on there- including the places where we got our kids.  

Samantha-Fluvana SPCA (outside of Charlottesville, VA), 

Madison- Retrieve a Golden Atlanta (Minnesota area), and Tilghman- Adopt a Golden Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia).

The Power of Craig's List... and Always a Hostess

Craig's List admittedly gives me the heebee-jeebies. Some of the things people are advertising as wanting or selling... creepy. And, I still can't get my head around the fact that people will "give" away their family pet! Yes, my perspective comes from years of volunteering with Dog Rescue groups. 

However, if you narrow your sights, Craig's List can serve a very useful purpose.  Case in point: we excavated roughly 500 square feet of sod this past weekend. Dear Mr. Southern was trying to strategize on disposing of said sod. I figured- we have sod that needs to go away, people must need sod or landscaping stores wouldn't have it for sale. We just need to work out a trade- Craig's List! He was dubious, but I posted "free sod" last night and by morning, we had over eight responses.

So right now, I have a young man rolling up the sod and loading it into his pickup truck. While it is not hot out, and he's getting free sod, I still feel badly and really want to go serve him some iced tea or lemonade- like that pictured above (I'm sure you were wondering what relevance the pitcher had to CL). What a lovely little tray.

I fear he would think I was one of the crazies on Craig's List though...

Happy Flowers

Must end the day with a happy post... Loving the 50% off sale at...

And, that their color scheme coordinates with the flowers at the end of my driveway.

I do not know what the volunteer purple flower is, but I love it!

Home Interior Designer

Home Interior Designer

Thus, it is very important that one takes extra care of one’s home and its interiors. Home maintenance does not only include keeping the ceiling, the roof, the floors, the walls, or the entire house for that matter, in good condition, which mainly involves on-time repair of damages caused by different factors; home maintenance also involves beautifying, designing, and furnishing, so that the place would be more inviting and presentable not only for the homeowners but also for the guests.

There’s no need to have huge savings in pounds to buy the latest furniture and accessories for your home improvement! The Internet is a rich source of helpful information about where and how to get quality home furnishings. So get yourself ready to surf the World Wide Web and see what it has got for your kid’s room, for your entertainment room, and for the interior of your home.

A Costly Lesson to Learn

Both Mr. Southern Aspirations and I work in some form or fashion related to the Retail world.  I am not one to bash companies- I recognize that there are some policies (return policies) that are silly or frustrating. For example, I am sad that RueLaLa changed their return policy to Merchandise Credit.  But, RueLaLa clearly states the policy and they probably had a justifiable business reason for doing it.  Intentionally misleading the consumer with tricky advertising is another matter entirely.  I managed to avoid falling for scams for most of life... until now.  

Not here to bash (entirely at least) but to warn-- Just Say NO! to Glow.  Responded to an offer for Free Hair Trial by Kronos hair, part of Glow.  I saw the asterisk next to Free Trial- it said, . "* Product is free to try for 30 days. Pay only a small $4.95 shipping & handling fee." I assumed that the asterisk indicated- it's not really free, it's $4.95.  OK, I'll bite.  Bad me, I didn't read the fine print on the order summary- I didn't think I had to since I read the asterisk.  Apparently, if you don't return the products within 30 days, Glow will bill your credit card $98.50.  And they did.

What really irks me is that they didn't disclose the $98.50 in the asterisk.  That would have been full and fair disclosure.  Is what they did perfectly legal? Sure.  Ethical or right?  I think not.

Rant over. 

Passion - That is the Key

 

"Passion - that is the key in Interior / Exterior: the urge to beautify and capture reality and to inspire others."

This is an excerpt taken from the book: INEX by Wolterinck.  It is one of my favourite books as it features the interiors of homes and shows how the surrounding gardens have been designed to compliment the interiors, creating a total lifestyle concept. This concept is especially more relevant at this time of year when the weather is warm and invites us to spend more time outdoors, thereby extending our useable living spaces.  In 1986 Marcel Wolterinck opened a flower shop in the village of Lauren, Holland. His concern for perfection and versatility later resulted in his own furniture range and his passion developed for incorporating the interior of the home with the gardens. 

The above pictures are part of the garden that surrounds an updated 70's house.  Both the garden and the house breathe an Oriental atmosphere.  The garden by the bamboo planting around the house, and a Japanese touch is provided by the oak fence which turns gray when weathered.  The garden fountain is lead produced by W, and the table in the upper left is a work of art in bronze by the Dutch Sculptor, Huub Kortekaas.  The garden chairs are teak and metal.

  

This Provencal Villa (above and below) is situated in St. Tropez. where the emphasis is placed on the exterior life.  This is expressed in an outdoor room and outdoor terraces.  How very pleasant to sit at the large, wooden table with a zinc base underneath the pergola overgrown with Wisteria.  The presence of an outdoor kitchen provides an additional dimension to being outdoors and can be used as an exterior fireplace lit on summer evenings. The planting is a combination of old and new.  An age-old olive tree dominates the view (below) and is surrounded by a row of box trees and a wealth of plants such as Santolina, Pittosporum, Senecio, Helichrysum, Laurus nobilis, lavender, thyme, and Westringia fruticosa, all creating a subtle interplay of greens and grays and a perfect match for the various local types of stone. 

 

 
 

Paradise in Algrave: This beautiful villa (above) is located in Portugal.  Wolternick arranged the seating areas surrounding the villa like rooms.  The floor lamps, tables, and chairs with cloth upholstery have been assigned a permanent place in these comfortable outdoor areas.  Taste and rhythm also apply to the exterior kitchen with its fireplace to grill dishes.  Meals can be prepared on the worktop that flanks the fireplace on either side.  At right angles with the fireplace is a bold U-shaped zinc table surrounded by delicate director's chairs.

 
 

The above photos are part of a 20-hectare estate in Bremen, northwestern Germany.  The 16th century farmhouse on the estate is surrounded by ancient trees and hedges.  The farmhouse court, where horses once stood, was all stone, but was given an intimate character by Wolterinck by means of 60 year old beech hedges, walls, and trained box trees.  The garden has many exotic varieties of plants.  "The people who used to live on estates like these traveled extensively and brought back with them plants from distant places.  This is how many exotic varieties ended up here, like Brugmansia, Hibiscus trees, Agapanthus, lemon trees, figs and Plumbagos.  In summer these are put outside in pots, in autumn they find shelter in the orangery". The teak bench from the Lister Collection in the top right picture is in the style of the English Architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) who collaborated with Gertrude Jekyll the renowned English artist and gardener.

What is your most favourite garden?
What makes a garden special to you?
Please let me know by leaving a comment.

Photos and excerpts from: INEX Wolterinck
Photography: Sigurd Kranendonk

 Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009