CasaSugar

Would You Take a Farm Vacation?

CasaSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:00:12 -0700

If you're looking to get away from it all, Feather Down Farm Days offers family getaways on beautiful US working farms, and its sister sites offer the same opportunities in Europe. So far, there are only three farms on the US list, including two in New York and one in Illinois, but I have a feeling that number will rise in the near future. I love the idea of getting away from civilization and spending a few days in the great outdoors, living in one of these cool tents, gardening, and gathering eggs. What about you?

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10 Great Urban Farms Across the United States

CasaSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:00:42 -0700

Who says that farming has to happen exclusively in rural areas? These 10 farms prove that you can grow veggies in any city in the country. Better yet, many of these farms also run substantial education programs, providing city kids with great information about where their food comes from. Check to see if your city's urban farm made it in my slideshow, and then go volunteer!
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Do You Have a Gorgeous View?

CasaSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:00:08 -0700

I wish this were the view from my front porch! It's actually the view from a farm stay at a cabin I visited in New Zealand a few years ago.

I also love the view from my home's deck, but I've lived in a few other places where the view was less than desirable. What's it like at your casa?

Nice and New: Simrin Farmyard Placemats

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:30:30 -0800

You may not enjoy the scent of cow manure or the sound of a rooster's crow at the break of dawn, but you can still bring a little farm life into your home without counting Babe as one of your dependents. Velocity has introduced Simrin Farmyard Placemats ($36) into its collection of fashionable table linens, and I think they're just the thing to give us all a taste of the old days, short of rearing animals ourselves. The placemats are made from 100 percent cotton, and can be easily machine washed and dried. But that shouldn't prevent you from line-drying them out in the pasture, if you so please.

In the News: Farms Sprout in Suburbia

CasaSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:00:40 -0700

The Wall Street Journal's "Green Acres II: When Neighbors Become Farmers" reports that a growing number of Americans are "turning grass into edible greens and maybe even greenbacks," by growing food in their front and backyards. Since 2006, in Boulder, CO, school-bus driver Kipp Nash has "uprooted his backyard and the front or backyards of eight of his Boulder neighbors," and spent his afternoons "planting, watering, and tending" these minifarms, growing vegetables like tomatoes, bok choy, garlic, and beets. Although not everyone in the neighborhood finds this suburban farming aesthetically pleasing, particularly not during the Winter months, the locally-grown food market has grown, leaving yard farmers with an opportunity to sell to nearby restaurants and other neighbors. Since land is expensive, and nearly a third of residential water goes to landscaping, the financial advantages of suburban farming are clear. But, environmentalists also support it because it "cuts the distance - and the carbon dioxide - needed to get food from farm to consumer." To see a video on the topic, read more.

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Midday Muse: A Home at the Top of the World

CasaSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:53:43 -0700

I snapped this picture of a small mountain farm last September when I was visiting my brother in the Western fjords of Norway. It is so remote and beautiful. Sometimes I dream about living in a place this far up and away from the bustling urban world.

Cool Idea: NYC's Floating Farm

CasaSugar — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:22:58 -0700

Since more than half of the world's population now lives in cities, it makes sense that we try to grow more of that food within the cities themselves.

Enter the Science Barge. The barge uses a system of recirculating greenhouse hydroponics to grow tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers. Hydroponics doesn’t use soil, and the barge irrigates with rainwater and river water. The Science Barge itself is powered with solar, wind, and biofuels.

To find out how to visit the barge, and for more pictures, just read more
Taking nearly a year to build, the Science Barge launched in May of this year, and is on a tour of waterfront parks through this year and 2008.

Have any New Yorkers out there visited the Science Barge, or plan to in the future?

via Inhabitat.

Good, Better, Best: Farm Tables

CasaSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:30:05 -0700

Nothing says "family" to me as much as family dinners do. I love gathering family and friends around the table to share a good meal. That's why I'm also partial to big farm tables. They allow room for a crowd and that extra relative who always shows up late for holiday dinners. So, before you plan your next big family shindig, consider one of these tables that I've rounded up at varying price points. See my favorites when you read more.

Good: The Provence Extension Dining Table ($1,699) is handcrafted in France using tongue and groove joinery with wood pegging, and is made of solid oak from the Burgundy region. Finished with a honey-colored stain and a varnish, it's polished with beeswax, which adds a deep shine to the table. Extension leaves will ensure that this table is always ready for a few more folks - up to eight can sit comfortably at this chair when its leaves are used.

Better: The Centerbrook Farm Table ($2,900) can seat a crowd (10-12 people, to be exact), and offers a modern interpretation of the classic design. Featuring crisscrossing leg detail, this beautiful table is crafted from Appalachian black cherry in a choice of the five hand-applied wood finishes

Best: If you don't own property in Brooklyn, at least you can own a little piece of the borough with the Brooklyn Farm Table (custom orders start at $400 a linear foot) tables. Made in Brooklyn, NY, these gorgeous pieces are handcrafted by owner Ralph Gorham and his team. Buying one of these thoughtful, beautiful tables truly is a way to preserve a piece of historic Brooklyn, since the wood is salvaged from turn-of-the-century wood reclaimed from buildings on the Brooklyn waterfront and adjoining neighborhoods. The Brooklyn Farm Table is finished with nontoxic, spill-resistant Tung oil.

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Cool Idea: Portugal's Wave Farm

CasaSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:00:15 -0700

A lot of countries are figuring out ways to green their power production through solar, biofuel, and wind power. In fact, Sweden has pledged that they will be oil-free by 2020!

I love that Portugal has taken another renewable energy route by creating the world's first commercial wave factory, which I read about over at Inhabitat. Opening off the coast of northern Portugal at Agucadoura, the expected total output of the wave plant should be enough to power around 2,000 homes. The wave farm is expected to be operational within the end of the year.

Before and After: A Traditional Swedish Clock Gets an Update

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:10 -0800

Su Casa member dezignerwannabe recently decided to update her traditional Swedish Mora clock. In case you didn't know, these Scandinavian floor clocks were created near the town of Mora, Sweden, around 1750, after bad farming seasons forced the Mora farmers to find another way to earn income. Many of the clocks were decorated with painted faces, but now, hardly any of the original artwork remains on the clocks, and most have been painted over with inferior, rosemaling-type designs.

Since dezignerwannabe wanted to update the look and color of her traditional clock, she decided to go for it, and, as she wrote in the title of her post, "I hope I don't regret it but after so many years it needed an update."

To see the update, read more.

I, for one, can't see how dezignerwannabe would have any regrets over this update. The teal-and-gold paint combination with rosemaling designs was really holding this piece back, and while it stood out, it didn't do so in a positive manner. The real beauty in this piece is its gorgeous shape, and the simple, white paint update that dezignerwannabe gave it allows its beautiful curves to really stand out.

Have you made any updates to any home accents, like a clock, credenza, or cupboard? If so, then share it in the Su Casa group.