Neat Features

Color is one of those funny things.  Too much and we wonder if you’re starved for attention.  Too little and we wonder if you’re kind of boring.  It’s definitely the Goldilocks Effect (not too hot, not too cold).

Of course that’s also why it’s so difficult to use color effectively.  Striking that balance is a challenge.

Take this house for instance.  In a room that’s a very neutral “brown” there’s a hint of color through an orange chair, a couple of orange pillows and a few flowers.  Notice how the orange isn’t overwhelming?  It’s just enough to accent the room, not enough to make us think you need to be the center of attention.

If you look at the rest of the house, you’ll notice that orange is a color that’s picked up in a few of the rooms.  Again it’s not dominant in any one room, but it’s a nice, subtle theme.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Today’s Neat Features post seems to come just in the nick of time for me.  Just last week I came across two large boxes of 3.5 floppy discs.  (Because back in my day when we were walking up hill both ways to school, we took our homework on floppy discs, and we liked it that way!)  Since I found those floppy discs, I’ve been wondering what I should do with them.  Sure I can’t use them anymore.  I’m not even sure I have a working floppy drive.  But it still seems like a shame to throw them away (yes I realize they are useless).

Fortunately some clever people over at Instructables may have solved my problem.  They’ve created a tutorial on how to reuse old floppies and turn them into pencil holders.

One of the things we talk about here on Neat Features is that Neat Features can be very complex or very simple.  It’s not the size or expense that matters.  It’s whether something has personality and attitude.  Does it make you want to live there.  Those are the three characteristics that make up a neat feature.

And you don’t get much smaller than floppy discs.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it. Image courtesy Liefehacker Tip Testers photo pool by user vokabre

It’s hard to believe sometimes. But our lifestyles are radically different then they were even five years ago. Just a mere five years ago most people had only a single computer in their home. Maybe, if they had saved up, they had a laptop instead of a desktop. Now, it’s not uncommon for people to have several laptops, a media server, a desktop computer for video games, a few iPod’s along with a couple of smart phones.

To further add to this change, Apple has spawned an entirely new type of computing device: the iPad.

While this has been great for our lifestyles and leisure, it’s been a challenge to power all of these devices. If you look at an old house it’s not uncommon to find only one or two electrical sockets in any given room. Why? Because 50 years ago (and certainly a hundred years ago) you only had to worry about a few electrical devices. Maybe a few lights or a TV and phone. But these days, all of our entertainment devices need plugged in.

That’s where the U-socket comes in to play. If you like gadgets, or have someone in your family who does, you know that there’s always a constant search for wall plugs. No matter how many USB ports your computer has, it’s either not enough or inconveniently located.

So what if instead of walking to a bed room or office to charge your iPhone you walk over to a wall socket and plug it in just like you would any other device.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

I live in the city.  It’s where I want to live.  In fact the closer I live to downtown Cincinnati the happier I am.  There’s something about urban life that appeals to me.  But at the same time, I sometimes miss living in the country.  Usually it’s in the spring or fall, when the weather is changing and it’s not that brutal combination of 90 degrees and 90% humidity!

I miss being able to sit outside in a yard and enjoy a nice day.  But there’s more to living in a house than just having a yard.  Homes remind us of where we’ve been and where we’re going.  That’s part of the appeal.  For me country living also reminds me of my childhood.  I loved reading stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings.  There’s always been something magical about forests and gardens.  Well at least when you’re outside of the city limits.

That’s why when I see a house surrounded by trees and forests, I’m drawn in.  It’s as if you walk into another time.  Things feel easier, simpler, and less hectic.  I can almost see C.S. Lewis sitting on the steps weaving a tale of children exploring a magical land.

City living is awesome.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  But there are times when a magical fairy tale house like this really appeals to me.  What about you?  Are you ready for a fairy tale adventure?  Or are you happy in the concrete jungle?

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Normally Neat Features focuses on the architecture of rooms or some Do it Yourself project that adds a bit of personality to your house.  Rarely do we talk about furniture.  And of course by “rarely” I mean “never.”  But I can’t help myself.  I feel like we’re living in the future when I look at the Easy Breeze Bed.

It’s a bed that cools you off when you sleep.

Is this the future or what?!

Apparently the bed draws cooler air from under /around your bed (one hopes without the dust bunnies) and once “purified” sends a gentle breeze over you while you sleep.  They claim that it will cut your AC bill by 60%.  And for a price tag of $4500 for the bed, it better!  I have to admit, the idea of being cool, but still getting an outside breeze from an open window does sound nice.

Now the cool thing here (ha ha) isn’t the climate control.  It’s the fact that the BED is doing the controlling!  What a crazy messed up world we live in!  I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bed that brings me breakfast.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

A while back we showed you a room with a pretty elaborate jungle paint job. Perfect for the 7 and under crowd. But what about older kids. (Or the older kid inside all of us?) I don’t know about you, but as cool as the jungle was, I’m not sure I really want to go with the “Welcome to the Jungle” feel.

Well here’s an office that was painted in argyle.

Neat Features don’t have to be expensive, they don’t have to be complex, and you don’t always need an engineering degree to lay them out. Sometimes you just need some paint and tape.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

I like to work.  In fact, I work a lot.  Sometimes it’s work I get paid for, sometimes it’s work I just enjoy doing for a hobby, and other times it’s work I do on a volunteer basis.  The bottom line is, I always have something going on.  And I like it that way.

But being so busy has its own challenges.  Especially when I head home.  Where do I work?  How do I keep things organized?  How do I keep track of what I am supposed to be doing?  Sure it can be nice to have a home office.  But if you’re there, you know there are distractions – TV, cleaning, and the like.  Plus if you have kids, you can’t always guarantee they are going to stay out of your office.  Do you really want your 5 year old to “improve” your newest report for work with Dora the Explorer stickers?

Because of all this, I’ve been thinking about having a separate room or office.  What got me started on this was seeing a shed on a house that was wired for electricity.  I figured a little bit of renovation and I’d have a perfect place to work.  So since then I’ve been looking for better solutions.  Which led me to this house with it’s small studio / room / office / shed.  (OK, so I don’t really know what to call it.)  But something like this would give me all the benefits of working from home (convenience, relaxed atmosphere, ability to concentrate) with a lot less of the “at home distractions.”

That’s what I would use this space for, how about you?

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

It’s funny how your perception changes.  I’ve seen pictures of painted walls before.  But until I wrote a few weeks ago about “what kid wouldn’t want to sleep and play in this room?” I never really paid attention.  But now, of course, I realize that they are everywhere!  It seems that I can’t help but turn around and see a kids room with playfully painted walls (say that three times fast!).

Take, for instance, this great image of a frog playing.

This particular image is in a Cape Cod house. Now Cape Cod’s tend to feel a little on the small side.  Add the fact that the room itself is only 12×10, and you have a recipe for claustrophobia.  But with the image, and the added sense of depth, it makes the room feel much larger.

I’m starting to wonder if my parents didn’t hold out on me when I was a kid!

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Some Neat Features appeal to all of us.  Others, though, are just for a select few.  That’s where this Neat Feature falls.  If you like country living, with nature and small woodland creatures hopping about your back yard, then you’re going to want to look somewhere else.  But I grew up in a small, rural town, and woodland creatures aren’t all they are cracked up to be.  I like city life.  And I like to do city stuff.

But even I like to get outside every now and again.  Especially when I’m hanging out with some friends or looking to entertain at home.

The problem has always been lighting at night.  Living in the city means I can’t light a fire.  And giant flood lights take all the charm out of sitting outside.  So what to do?  Well using this simple modification to an existing desk may have solved my problems.

By adding some LED lights you can create a unique atmosphere.  It’s the Goldilocks Effect, not too bright, not too dark.  And, if you get bored of the color, you can always change it.

Sure this isn’t for everyone, but for people looking to spice up their outside areas, this might be just the trick.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

I once went to a wedding where the grandmother of the bride was asked to give her opinion on what makes a successful marriage.  She said that in her 60 years of marriage, there was only one thing that guaranteed a successful marriage: separate bathrooms.

I’m not sure why that thought rings true.  But every time I go into someone’s house, I now look at their bathroom, and wonder, “how do they both fit in here?”  The modern trend has been to have multiple bathrooms.  But this isn’t always convenient.  Often multiple bathrooms end up being shared with kids or guests, which means we’re back to our original problem.

So if you can’t have separate bathrooms, maybe the next best thing is separate sides.

As you can see in the picture you have two matching counters, with matching cabinets.  It’s the symmetry of the whole room that really appeals to me.  You can also see on the right a nice shower tucked away for those of us who don’t actually like to sit in bathtubs.  The other amazing feature?  The round windows, which let in all that natural light (although after this winter in Cincinnati, I’m not sure I remember what natural light looks like.)

So what do you think?  Does a separate bathroom play into your marriage success?

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own? Consider submitting it, and we may post it.