CasaSugar

In the News: Grad Student Bakes Green Power in Pizza Oven

CasaSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:00:48 -0700

One of the main reasons that green power hasn't taken off is its high price tag, but Australian PhD candidate Nicole Kuepper may be changing that. This green-thinking student has discovered a way to produce solar cells using a pizza oven, nail polish, and ink jet printers.

According to the The Sydney Morning Herald:

Ms Kuepper realised a new approach would be needed if affordable cells were to be made on site in poorer countries: "What started off as a brainstorming session has resulted in the iJET cell concept that uses low-cost and low-temperature processes, such as ink-jet printing and pizza ovens, to manufacture solar cells."

While it could take five years to commercialise the patented technology, providing renewable energy to homes in some of the least developed countries would enable people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines". And it would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The inspiring Kuepper was awarded the British Council Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental Issues and Climate Change for her solar power development, as well as a $10,000 study tour to Britain. I'm always proud of girl geeks, and since women are underrepresented in the sciences, I am doubly impressed by this young inventor. Congratulations, Nicole!
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Preview Metropolitan Home's Modern by Design Showhome in San Francisco

CasaSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:25 -0700

Yesterday, I toured Metropolitan Home's Modern by Design showhome in San Francisco, a historic, 7,700-square-foot house in the heart of the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood, which has been transformed into an exquisite example of contemporary design with the help of a savvy developer and a handful of the country's top designers.

The house, known as "Baker Acres," was originally built in 1904 as a single-family home, but over the years has served as a boarding house for service men and women, a guest house for recent graduates and San Francisco transfers, and a hotel. Along the way, the building's exquisite architectural details, grand rooms, and dramatic staircase were destroyed, and the home was stripped down to a shell. In 2007, San Francisco-bred developer Regina Callan of RBR Development purchased the property, and updated and restored it with the latest technologies, building materials, appliances, and surfaces. The building's eco features now include a GreenPoint rating, recycled brick, solar panels, and energy-efficient appliances.

To hear which designers participated, and see many photos from my tour, read more.

As for the design, Met Home called in 14 of the most sought-after interior designs to bring this home into the 21st century with a unique modern living and design interpretation. The team includes Martha Angus, David Olydroyd, and Greg Steart of ODADA, Min | Day, Jiun Ho, Gary Hutton, Jay Jeffers, Dowling Kimm Studios, Nicole Hollis, Erin Martin, Steven Miller, Phillip Parton, Sand Studios, and Surfacedesign. Each designer applied his or her vision to a room or set of rooms.

If you live in the Bay Area, you can tour the showhome on weekends from June 20 to July 12, any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets cost $25 and proceeds benefit the San Francisco Ballet. Find more information here. If you don't live in the Bay Area, take a peek at my photos for a tour.

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Casa Interview: Interior Designer Leslie Bamburg (Part 2)

CasaSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:30:00 -0700

On Monday I brought you the first half of my interview with Labexperiment founder Leslie Bamburg. Two years ago, Leslie Bamburg formed her company Labexperiment, an interior design business that offers an affordable professional decorator option to the design fiend who lacks mad cash. Labexperiment works on the premise that beautiful design can be affordable, individualized, and integrated to meet the resident's needs. Leslie notes that she doesn't believe there should be separation between people's fashion, media, tech needs, music, and interiors. With this philosophy in mind, she makes diagnoses of clients' homes, notes what they need to add, subtract, or rearrange, and then prescribes the elements needed to improve a room or home. Check out the rest of Leslie's interview below.

CasaSugar: What are some of the ways you’ve integrated technology into your prescriptions? I see you’re not a fan of hiding televisions, etc. How do you make them part of the big, cohesive picture?

Leslie Bamburg: Technology can be really beautiful, or really out-of-place, just like anything else you’d buy for your home. I spend as much time thinking about what technology looks like as I do any other piece of furniture or accessory. Just like you’d want a high-quality, well-proportioned and beautiful oven or refrigerator in your kitchen, the TV in the living room or the computer on the desk doesn’t deserve any less consideration. I am a huge geek, so I know that technology is a big part of our modern, futuristic lives.

Want more advice? Then read more.

CasaSugar: What’s the biggest dude decorating faux pas?

Leslie Bamburg: Stereotypically, I think guys tend to not use enough softness in a room. There is a welcoming, comfortable quality in a room that has pillows on the sofa, a throw over the arm of a chair, a cushy rug and soft drapery. They tend to think more functionally, and are the primary target market for large, black leather sofas.

CasaSugar: What’s the biggest lady decorating faux pas?

Leslie Bamburg: Conversely, some women use too much softness. I like a balance of soft and hard lines, and I do think there is a place for black leather, if not used in huge quantities. I think a room should reflect the client’s personality, but still be welcoming to guests - male, female and everyone in between.

CasaSugar: What have been some of the reactions from your clients that have surprised or delighted you?

Leslie Bamburg: Every time a client tells me they are happy with their design, it makes my day. And even though it happens often, I’m still always surprised when a client who claimed to not be interested in design gets inspired after we work on their home. The next time I see them they might have bought lime green patterned pillows for their sofa, for example, which totally work. You know who you are.

CasaSugar: How do you recommend a reader do a home prescription of her own? How can she look objectively at a room and see what’s missing/wrong?

Leslie Bamburg: You can never be objective about your own home. So get a prescription from Labexperiment. Seriously, though, it’s really hard to get distance from your own stuff, so the best thing is to bring in a friend you trust who will give you an honest opinion. You can also start tearing out magazine photos of rooms you like, then lay them all out and think about what is different between your space and those, and see if you can implement changes to make it feel more like the rooms you like. I don’t mean just copying the photos, but if a room you like has a focal element like a wallpapered wall, think about your space to see if you can make a similar statement in the same scale, like hanging fabric panels on the wall, or just painting it with stripes.

Check out some of Leslie's work in the gallery, and then head over to her site to start your prescription.

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