Neat Features

They lurk, in unassuming innocence.  They seem peaceful and tranquil until, when you least expect it, they attack!

What are these hidden menaces?

Stairs, of course.

But then you probably figured that out from the giant picture of stairs right next to this post.

It seems that everything gets a chance to be “re-imagined.”  If it’s not the A-team, or GI Joe, it’s Rapunzel or Planet of the Apes or Hawaii 5-O.  Well stairs are no different.

Now I’ll admit, I’m not really the target audience when it comes to “modern” architecture or design.  So I’m not the target market for stairs like these (made by HSH architects).

But they do bring up two immediate questions.

1.  What happens if you miss a step?

2. Do they give you vertigo when you’re looking at them?

Okay, they also make me want to ask a 3rd question: am I the only one who wants to play Q*bert after looking at these stairs?  Yeah.  I went there.

So what say you?  Are these the type of stairs you’d want in your home?  Do they intimidate you?

image from design-milk.com, stairs designed by HSH architects

When I lived in an apartment I always knew where my keys were.  I just didn’t have a lot of space, so the keys always went in the same place.

Then I bought a house.

Suddenly there were so many tempting places to set my keys on the way to their “home” location.  Would I leave them in the back room?  How about the kitchen on the way to the dining room?   And if my daughter was excited to see me, maybe they’d just get left on the mantle in the living room.

So many places to lose my keys.

That’s what I love about this light switch cover.  If I could just turn off the light and hang my keys at the same time, I’d be set.  As long as the light was off, I’d know where my keys were!

If you have any crazy key-losing stories, feel free to share them in the comments.

Design by Jake Frey

I don’t consider myself claustrophobic.  Around my own home I’ve squeezed myself into some pretty nasty and pretty small spaces.  (Hello basement crawl space!)

But this house, located in Warsaw Poland, is only 4 feet wide.  I’m not even sure a 4 foot wide house would hold my DVD collection, let alone allow me to stretch in the morning after rolling (wedging?) myself out of bed.

For comparison here are a few things that are wider than this house: your car, a broom, your desk at work, a 10 year old boy (if laying down).

Certainly it takes a special type of person to be able to live in such a confined space.  What do you think?  Do you have what it takes?

image provided by flickr user chefranden

Now this is a good idea from Think Geek – it’s a “safe” that’s made to look like a wall-mounted plug.   Although I don’t know I’d want to lock my toothbrush up.  If you’re going to steal my toothbrush, you’re welcome to it.

Yuck.

image from ThinkGeek.com

A few weeks ago I spoke about the Dionaea House, and how I wished more buildings had unique architecture instead of the cookie cutter style we see so much of today.

Well today we’re back to look at the garage.

That’s right.  The garage.

Much like houses, most garages are uninteresting.  They’re designed to cut costs or to blend in with the house.  But there’s something about a garage (especially a 3 car garage) that stands up and says, “Hey look at me!  I’m interesting!”

And so Mr. Garage, I’m listening and I’m looking.  Since the house is almost 110 years old, it wasn’t likely an original part of the house.  (If it was, it meant someone owned 3 of the first cars ever made!)  Instead, it was likely a later edition.  Which means someone had the foresight to mirror the house’s architectural design into the garage.

Frankly I’d be happy just living in such an awesome looking garage.  Especially since no one has come forward with that $1.5 million I asked for.

Watching the news it’s easy to get the impression that the weather has turned against humanity.  Whether it’s tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods, it seems there’s some major disaster in the news on a weekly basis.

This brings up the question of whether you can build structures to withstand these forces of nature.

Fortunately, when designed properly, buildings can withstand even a 9.0 earthquake like the one Japan experienced a few months ago.  Despite the fact that its exterior is made almost entirely of glass, the Mediatheque in Sendai, Japan, was able to do just that.

And because we’re in the internet age, you can even experience what it was like to be inside that building as an earthquake struck.

Personally I can’t imagine what that would have been like.  If you’re interested in learning more about the Mediatheque or earthquake construction, the Wall Street Journal has a great article exploring that topic.

There’s a great story on the internet called “the Dionaea House.”  It’s a story about a house that is alive, and well, acts more like a venus fly trap than a place you’d want to vacation.

When I read that story a few years ago it really captured my imagination.  (Which, the story says, is the first sign that the house is hunting you.)  So while I might eventually be eaten by a house, it has really given me an appreciation for great “monster” houses.

And that was the first thing I thought when I saw this house.  What an great building to film a movie!  Or stage an Agatha Christie mystery dinner.  Or even just an awesome place to trick or treat.

Now obviously this house isn’t haunted.  But in an age where housing architecture can be so cookie cutter, it’s thrilling to just see something different.  It’s fun to let your imagination run wild.  (Or if you’re not a fan of monster movies, just picture Jane Eyre or Sherlock Holmes.  It gives the same effect.)

So if anyone has a spare $1.5 million laying around, let me know, because I’m totally going to buy this house.  And I’ll invite you over for Trick or Treat.

The house that the movie Home Alone made famous is for sale in Chicago.  Now’s your chance to buy a piece of American cultural history (if you have $2.4 million.)

A few things you might not have known about the house:

• It’s been owned by the same family since 1988
• The family lived there during most of the movie
• Home Alone came out in 1990 – 21 years ago
• That last fact makes me feel old

So to relive all those old memories, check out one of the original Home Alone trailers.

If you live in Cincinnati, and you’ve want to know a bit more about building a green home (or maybe just making your own home a bit greener), this is a great way to check it out.

While my own 100 year old home will never be carbon neutral or even energy efficient, I do love the idea of saving money on energy costs.  Plus if it can help the environment at the same time, what’s not to like about that kind of solution?

So if you’ve got some spare time this weekend, you might want to check out Greenarama.  In the meantime here’s a Greenarama video showing how to seal your house to make it more energy efficient.

Growing up I had a tree house.  Actually I had a tree house that was built on stilts.  We didn’t have a tree big enough to hold much more than a bird feeder.  It was great and my friends and I spent many hours playing in that thing.  (It was awesome, right up to the time it collapsed under too much weight and jumping.  Oops!)

Of course ever since then I’ve dreamed of having another tree house.

Apparently I’m not the only one.  Because the “luxury tree house” market, according to The Wall Street Journal, appears to be taking off.  With such celebrities as Sting and Julianne Moore getting into the swing of things.  (Get it?  Swing of things.  Ah, good times.)

Of course a luxury tree house is nothing like your traditional tree house that’s filled with spiders and other multi-legged creatures.  These new luxury tree houses are filled with all the amenities of a ground house, including plush seats, roomy views, pillows and even windows.

Of course these also can retail for well over $100,000.

photo from flickr user emdot