No excuse for bad water with the new PUR 2-Stage

March 19, 2010

Shocking reports about declining water quality ought to have Americans out in the streets—this is the nation, after all, that launched Earth Day. But these days citizens prefer to take the self-help route by shopping instead of lobbying for solutions. Some install a fancy filtration device (check this video for under the sink how-to ) while lazier people, such as myself, go for plastic filter pitchers. I'm attached to my dependable Brita, but for comparison purposes I’ve been using the new PUR 2-Stage 7-Cup pitcher, above, at work and the new ZeroWater pitcher, below, at home.

I like the PUR's simple, rounded shape, easy handling, and cobalt accents. It also claims to do a superior job of removing “microbial cysts” – whatever those are. About the highly engineered ZeroWater I have mixed feelings. With its beaky spout and sucked-in silhouette, it cuts an aggressive profile, and its "ion exchange" filter, advertised as able to turn wine into water, is so weighty it looks ready to take on the entire Haitian water supply. Extras include a push button that allows you to fill your glass (slowly) while standing in the open door of the fridge, and a device that looks like a thermometer, which can measure “dissolved solids”—whatever THOSE are—before and after filtration.

Spring cleaning the bathroom with Scotch-Brite

March 15, 2010

I don't know a single person who enjoys cleaning the bathroom. In fact, just about everyone I know puts off cleaning the bathroom until it absolutely has to happen (i.e. it just gets too gross and/or company's coming). So, when the good folks over at 3M and Scotch-Brite sent over their new line of bathroom cleaning tools, and issued a "Bathroom Challenge," I accepted. Here's what went down.

Will Corian make a comeback?

March 4, 2010

DuPont would like to say good riddance to the stone age and hello (again) to good old-fashioned man-made materials like Corian, a DuPont product that dates to the 60s and more recently was crushed by the granite competition. Today Corian has a kind of reverse-snob appeal, or what Mark Woodman, a color and design consultant, calls “pedigree without pretense.” Put another way, you’d have to be in the know to recognize this solid-surface material as not only practical and available in many colors, but also pretty expensive (up to $80 a square foot, installed). And thus its following in certain design-conscious circles. Architect Richard Meier challenged kitchen fashion victims five years ago by saying of white Corian: “Whatever you put on it looks good,” and anyway “marble is too busy.” Two years later came the Corian Walking Table by Pol Quadens (above), and now Corian is being turned into concept pieces.

Addressing a group of trend watchers this week at Corian’s Manhattan showroom, where he was surrounded by fanciful items like a digitally etched Corian wall panel and polka-dot Corian light fixtures, Woodman suggested that this smooth substance also fulfills today’s need for pleasant textures. (Shoppers like to pet sample materials, he noted, even when it's flooring.) And this year Corian comes in what he called on-trend colors like blue, copper, and olive, plus a new white. You can order samples at countertops.dupont.com or by calling 800-426-7426.

For most homeowners, of course, designer cred will be less important than having a seamless, easy-care work surface that may scratch but won’t chip or immortalize wine stains. Still not sure? Check out other non-granite options at this TOH gallery. 

It's not fake wood, it's real porcelain

March 2, 2010

It’s not that you’d never believe it’s not wood. More like, it looks like wood only better. Think of Nemo Tile Bioessenze as a sly joke about the snob appeal of natural materials and the fabulousness of fakes that one-up them. Made in Italy with the help of digital printing and new pressing methods, this subtly textured, glazed porcelain is durable and dyed all the way through so chips don’t show, says Raymond Moore, director of architectural sales and marketing at Nemo, the New York tile emporium. And the edges are rectified, or utterly flat, so you can use the thinnest lines of grout. Naturally, tile like this comes in planks, not squares, either 3½ by 36 inches or 8 by 48 inches, depending on the grain. (Shown above, Bianco. Below, Rovere.) And At $11.75 to $14.25 a square foot, not too expensive for a bath, galley kitchen, or well-trod foyer. It's so new you won't find it yet at Nemo's website; to order, call the store: 212-505-0009.

Fun, hidden cutting board

February 19, 2010

Sometimes, I swear the appliances, pots and pans in my kitchen are multiplying before my very eyes. That's why I just love surprising little space savers, like this Merillat cutting board hidden in a drawer. One of several new additions to their Classic line of cabinetry and built-ins, it's an instant countertop extender.

Puzzling questions about plastic

February 4, 2010

It’s one thing to learn that plastics could be leaching the chemical BPA into our food and drink, and another entirely to part company with one’s treasured Tupperware and even brand X food containers. I’ve been known to extend the lives of battered plastic water bottles and takeout containers, never mind my vintage Martha Stewart Airtight Food Containers from Kmart, with their cunning ability to nest and their soft, sage-green lids. In my next life they will no longer be jammed in a lid-snagging drawer but neatly organized in one of these clever cabinets. For now, however, there are questions about plastic’s safety so, armed with a confusing array of tips from various things I’ve read, I tried to identify and eliminate the BPA suspects. More

Patterned glass for kitchen cabinets

February 2, 2010

An upcoming issue of This Old House quotes a homeowner who likes her vintage-style kitchen cabinets to have glass fronts cut from old windows. Adds character. I wish I’d known that was even an option when I ordered my plain see-throughs eight years ago, mainly thinking it would be nice to reveal the location of the coffee filters – house guests are always so grateful. Now I find there’s an entire world of glass-front options – some 156, if I counted correctly — made by Bendheim Cabinet Glass, including flutes, herringbone, ridges, and tree bark. Some of the more discreet patterns are made with Japanese rice paper (above). They might hide the coffee filters but they would also hide the chaos, allowing you to have your light-channeling glass and some privacy too. The one shown costs 34 cents a square inch, plus labor. You could do it yourself, but after reading instructions provided by Bendheim I’ve decided some jobs are best left to pros. For more inspiration, check out a superbly designed chef's kitchen with textured glass cabinet fronts, featured in a back issue of This Old House. As for that upcoming issue, stand by.

Good-bye soggy soap

January 28, 2010

While on a remodeling job recently, I struck up a conversation with the tile contractor, who was busily tiling the shower walls. Well, he was busily tiling until I showed up and started asking questions.

We talked about thinset mortar, tile sizes and patterns, and the advantages of using cement backerboard, as opposed to moisture-resistant drywall, as a substrate. 

Then we discussed a seemingly mundane subject: where to mount the soap dish.

As it turns out, soap-dish placement is quite a hot-button topic for many homeowners.

Towel-warming radiator

January 23, 2010

When I designed and built our master bathroom, one of the biggest challenges was finding space to install a baseboard heater.

You see, our home has hot-water baseboard heat, but after installing the whirlpool tub, shower stall, toilet, bath vanity and doors, there was absolutely no floor space available along the walls for installing a baseboard heater.

I called plumber friend of mine who suggested putting in a kickspace heater, which is a low-profile hot-water radiator that fits underneath the vanity.

But those units require an electric fan to blow the heated air into the room, and I didn't want to run both hot-water piping and electrical cable, and then have to listen to a fan whirring away all winter.

Then one day, as I was discussing this problem at the counter of my local plumbing supplier, the salesman proposed a brilliant solution; a solution that came all the way from Switzerland.

Bamboo, and wheatboard, and coco! Oh my!

January 22, 2010

Those of you familiar with Kirei USA—a green line of building materials made from reclaimed sorghum straw—have yet another reason to swap wood for bamboo panels, wheatboard, and coco tiles. In addition to being low-VOC and high in renewable, recycled content, the entire line may now qualify for Class A Fire Ratings through treatment with specialized nontoxic flame retardants.