CasaSugar

Call Yourself a Healthy Cook? 26 Must-Have Tools For Home Chefs

Michele Foley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:06:14 PDT

One of the easiest ways to adopt a healthy lifestyle is to start cooking for yourself. The more you learn about food and what it does to your body, the more likely you'll lean toward fresh, whole foods. And while getting into the kitchen can seem like a feat at first, having the right arsenal of tools will make every meal a cinch to whip up. Here are our picks for the appliances, gadgets, and cookware every healthy home cook should own.

Link Time: Alternative Kitchen Ideas, a DIY Picnic, and Affordable Home Finds

Angela Swinderman Elias — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:52:20 PDT

This provocative installation fills a closed mental health center with garden blooms. - Garden Design
Six great guest beds for all types of spaces. - Real Simple
Tour a Portland industrial studio filled with charming vintage finds. - Houzz
Bring these DIY butcher-paper baskets for your next picnic. - Craft
Browse these 50 home products all under $50. - Country Living
Consider a spin on traditional kitchen cabinets with these creative alternatives. - Bob Vila
You'll never guess what inspired the design of this chair. - Stylelist Home

Weekly Faves: 5 Inspiring Indoor Spaces

Angela Swinderman Elias — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:25:23 PDT

Each Spring, I get an urge to freshen the rooms I spend the most time in. Still, with the distraction of light-filled afternoons that stretch into leisurely evenings, the thought of tackling more time-consuming DIY projects isn't as appealing as it was during the Winter months. This week, I'm looking to rooms that have simple, turnkey solutions for updating decor. While some of them involve a bit of handiwork, others are as simple as switching out a lamp shade; if you discover the perfect Spring shade, of course! Keep reading for easy Spring makeover inspirations to try out in your home this season.

Spring Clean Your Kitchen in Style

Camilla Salem — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:41:31 PDT

The time has come to clean out our pantries, attack our spice racks, and throw out old resealable plastic containers. Yes, Spring cleaning has arrived. The good news is that once we're finished, we will all be left with sparkly clean and efficient kitchens that are ready to churn out delicious eats. It always feels better to cook in a kitchen that is visually inspiring and well appointed, and a few simple pieces of equipment can help you achieve just that. We've selected a few essentials for an organized but stylish kitchen. Click through for more!

10 Creative Ideas For Kitchen Organization

Laura Marie Given — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:15:43 PDT

Thanks to a range of cooking devices, piles of tiny measuring tools, plus tough-to-stack pots and pans, the kitchen can be a difficult room to organize. Still, with a few quick tricks and some smart furniture shopping, it's possible to maximize the space and make food preparation an easier task. Struggling to tidy up your cooking area? Get inspired by these 10 clever tips for kitchen organization.

11 Design Tips For Adding Personality and Style to Your Kitchen

Angela Swinderman Elias — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:23 PDT

If you're looking to spruce up your kitchen but aren't ready to commit to a costly renovation, consider transforming it with easy styling tips instead. It's possible to have a functional kitchen that still feels like an extension of your personal style. The key is to incorporate decorative details just as you would for any other room in a house. Keep reading to discover some of my favorite tips for adding personality and style to any kitchen.

Link Time: Tips for a Greener Home, Easy Kitchen Updates, and Graphic Accessories

Angela Swinderman Elias — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:16:02 PDT

Discover five pinners you should be following – Stylelist Home
Learn tricks for rearranging your furniture to achieve either a formal, feng shui, or kid-friendly layout – Real Simple
Get tips for making your home more eco-friendly – Houzz
Shop on-trend graphics for your home – Elle Decor
Find out 20 different ways to update your kitchen (without a huge remodel) – Country Living
Check out ten charming animal inspired home accessories – House Beautiful
Learn the secrets behind DIY curtains that are stylish and easy to make – Apartment Therapy

March Madness: How to Steal the Look of San Francisco's Charming Home Shop

Angela Swinderman Elias — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:45:35 PST

MARCH, San Francisco's newly remodeled home goods store, merges airy modernism with utilitarian craftsmanship for a space that has local foodies and designophiles in a tizzy. The lovely wares for the kitchen, pantry, and table, some of which are created exclusively for MARCH, aren't the only things this space sells. Even more covet-inducing is the irresistible aesthetic. Flooded in natural light and covered in the brightest white from floor to ceiling, items like handcrafted ceramics by Victoria Morris meld with Brooklyn Copper Cookware, bespoke butcher block tables with Farrow & Ball-painted legs, and table linens from Boxwood Linens, to sell a lifestyle instead of just products. Take a tour of MARCH's revamped digs, and get tips on how to re-create the look in your own home.

Photos courtesy of Angie Silvy

Link Time: Colorful Stools, the Best White Sales, and a DIY Bedroom Makeover

CasaSugar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:05 PST

A virtual rainbow of colorful stools - which is your favorite? - Houzz
Check in on the best white sales. - Stylelist Home
These winter white rooms will leave you breathless. - House Beautiful
Be bold in 2012 and decorate with red. - Real Simple
This DIY bedroom makeover is impressive indeed! - Craft
This modern California beach house is gorgeous. - California Home + Design
Try these tips for decluttering a kid's bedroom. - Country Living

Hi-Tech Living at the Stovetop

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:30:50 PST

Want to add a futuristic edge to one of the more relatively primitive parts of the house? At CES, luxury appliance company Thermador introduced the Freedom Induction Cooktop, which is the first full-surface induction appliance to let you cook on any part of the surface. Position cookware of any size and shape anywhere on the stove, and get started on that complicated Winter soup you usually have too little space to make.

All those pots and pans now crammed on the Freedom Induction Cooktop are controlled with a 6.5-inch color touchscreen display that powers the heating level, cooking time, recognizes the location of each pot on the cooktop, and instantly updates as pans are moved around the surface. Now, a stove is the last place you normally want a touch panel, but the induction heating ensures the surface remains cool, while maintaining the same power as an ordinary gas stove.

The Freedom Induction Cooktop will be available July 2012, and with a $5,000 retail price, we'll list it among our luxury dream home must-haves for now. At-home chefs, would a hi-tech kitchen appliance like Thermador's new stove make it to your wish list?