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How Many Places Do You Call Home?

CasaSugar — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:00:27 -0800

Some lucky ladies have a "summer house," a "weekend house," or a "country house." Some have time-shares in addition to their primary pads, and others just rent but still call their parents' places home. What about you?

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Houseboat Beautiful

CasaSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:42:15 -0800

Over four years, Todd Biernacki and his wife Krissy renovated their small houseboat on Seattle's Lake Union to make room for their growing family. While the family saved money by using salvaged and recycled materials and doing the majority of the work themselves, they also splurged on items such as huge windows and skylights, which in turn would help save money down the road by cutting down on electricity use, thanks to the natural sunlight they'd provide. Overall, the addition cost them $250,000.

To find out details about this renovation as well as to see a gallery of photos, just read more

The extra weight from the addition required more floatation devices for the houseboat, which had been originally built on a "raft" of old-growth cedar logs 100 years ago. The solution came with 80 new 55-gallon plastic barrels, recycled from a local soda-bottling plant. The family used recycled and salvaged materials throughout the home, including recycled wood floors. They saved space throughout the renovation by using multiple built-in cabinets and drawer systems. Undoubtedly, one of the coolest parts of the addition is the inch-thick, two-foot-square Plexiglas window in the floor, where the whole family can check out fish as they swim through the boat's raft timbers.

View 9 Photos ›

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This Just In: Al Gore Wins Nobel Prize

CasaSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:47:04 -0700

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president, and to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their work in educating the world about the dangers of climate change. I'm so proud of Al and the U.N. for their work on this issue!

If you're wondering what climate change has to do with Casa (and your casa), consider this: Commercial and residential buildings contribute 38% of the U.S.'s carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change, which is already causing some pretty un-fun side effects in our lives, including wonky weather patterns and increased fires.

I know: depressing, huh? But I've always believed that dealing with a problem directly is better than letting it fester and grow into a mammoth, uncontrollable beast.That's why we should all try some small, simple ways to deal with curbing climate change in your home, such as replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs and insulating our homes better.

And just to prove to you that energy efficiency and greening our homes isn't all doom and gloom, check out this inspirational Treehugger video about a green urban home.

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Are New Houses Getting Too Big?

CasaSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 04:20:13 -0700

According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, some U.S. cities are restricting the size of new homes to curb the "McMansion" trend. Boulder, Colo., for instance, is charging homeowners extra if they want to build a home larger than 3,000 square feet. Do you think the big house trend has gotten out of hand?

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Home Library: Majestic Metropolitan Living

CasaSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:10 -0800

Just a week after the fold of Metropolitan Home, I've got my hands on another city-centric design volume: Sue Hostetler's new book Majestic Metropolitan Living: Visionary Homes in the Heart of Cities. The shelter and design editor for magazines like Gotham, Hamptons, and LA Confidential, and the host of Plum Homes With Sue Hostetler on Plum TV (which "targets the most active, influential, and educated audience in the world"), Hostetler has tapped her cronies for tours of their unique and luxe urban dwellings.

The American dream of retiring to the pool and tennis courts in your countryside home is squashed by this book, which showcases a range of sprawling, real-life city homes. Each has an original sense of style, a warmth that defies traditional conceptions of "cold urban modernism," spectacular views, and in several cases, an outdoor space complete with a pool or lush garden. Many of the homes were created, not surprisingly, by converting former warehouses or other nonresidential buildings, or combining apartments.

Continue reading . . .

Coveted Crib: Kate Walsh's Lovely LA Home

CasaSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:17 -0800

Kate Walsh's 1920s Spanish-style Los Angeles home is featured in this month's issue of InStyle, and I'm blown away by how glamorously laid-back it is. While elements like a Steinway grand piano, lush fur throws, and a 1960s Lucite console offer that prim Old Hollywood look you see in many celebrity homes, there is something really layered and livable about it that I found unusual. Turns out, Walsh eschewed her usual interior designer route and hired the set decorator of Private Practice, Melissa Levander, to put the space together. Come take the tour!

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Ladies' Home Journal: The New Nicole Kidman Is a Woman's Woman

babysugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:28 -0800

Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress, producer, and vocalist are just a few things Nicole Kidman can rattle off from her long list of accomplishments. But the role the gorgeous red head relishes most is being a mother and wife in her new hometown of Nashville. As country crooner Keith Urban's partner, she is happy to sit back for a bit and let the spotlight shine brightly on him while she spends the majority of her time raising their young daughter, Sunday. The 42-year-old mother recently took time to sit down with Ladies' Home Journal where she talked about her content lifestyle and her desire to give back to the community.

On living in Nashville:

I love living here. . . . It's a long way from New York and Los Angeles, but that's part of the attraction. I feel protected here, especially now that I have the baby. . . . There are certain limitations to my career because I'm based here. And that's cool. Keith has enormous ambitions, which I support. His tours and albums are much bigger than what I'm doing right now.

On how she cherishes her new life:

I was running from my life, in a way. . . . My imaginary life was better than my flesh-and-blood life. That's a sad thing to say, but it was. Now I love my real life so much it requires an enormous belief in a film to want to take it on. . . . I think that we're in the world to connect. Because that's what you're left with. You're not left with your houses or awards or money, you're left with the people that you built relationships with.

On UNIFEM, a charity she has worked with for years:

It's so they'll [battered women] have a place to call. A lot of women are so terrified; they'll go to the police or court and don't win. We can set up shelters and raise money. . . . I'm constantly trying to find new ways to give back. . . . Women are nurturers. There's so much we can do with the power of our feelings, the power of our sensitivity.

To see what the leggy lady has to say about being a strong woman, her past divorce, and her marriage to the hunky, honky-tonk star, just read more.

On how she was raised to be a strong woman:

She wanted us to have a sense of our place in the world. . . . She didn't want us to be shaped by our relationship with boys. She wanted us to focus on our intellect instead.

On how she and her sister Antonia made it through their divorces:

A lot of it was literally holding each other and listening. . . . Our motto is, "Just get in there. Don't retreat. Stay in it."

On her marriage to Keith Urban:

Keith and I have a very honest, profound marriage, which we both contribute to every day. . . . We have a phrase, "Does this contribute to the good of our union?" Because that's what's most important. I love being in love. I believe in the power of love, the way it can heal. The more you keep choosing it - because there are times when you can choose to be angry at the person or to love him - the more it nourishes a family.

Home Away From Home: The Madonna Inn

CasaSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:30:01 -0800

Looking for a kooky, kitschy hotel experience? Then check out San Luis Obispo's own Madonna Inn. This 51-year-old hotel is an absolutely unique experience for visitors, featuring an overwhelming pink color palette and rooms with themes including "Love Nest," "Caveman," and "Portugal."

If you're in the market for a unique wedding reception venue, the Madonna Inn can handle your reception. Fully equipped with a steak house, day spa, convention center, and bar, the Madonna Inn can supply all of your needs - especially if those needs involve gaping at the Swiss-Alps-meets-Old-West decor. One last piece of advice: don't forget to direct your male friends to the rocks and waterfall urinal if they need to take care of business - it's apparently a tourist must-see.

Take the full tour.

Cool Idea: Under Stair Storage

CasaSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:00:35 -0800

Since I live in a relatively small home, I'm always on the lookout for smart storage solutions. This system of drawers really caught my eye, and now I'm thinking about ways to use already available home features in smarter ways.
Even if you can't take advantage of a staircase, like this household did, you can think about smarter ways to incorporate storage into your home. Consider adding extra shelving and baskets to hall closets, or line a hallway with narrow bookshelves that can be customized with storage containers. Before you know it, you'll have your house in order!

Source: Flickr User this_could_be_my_house

Do You Worry About the Quality of Your Home's Materials?

CasaSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:55 -0800

A study by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has linked Chinese drywall to not only the corrosion of metal and electrical components in US homes and a "rotten egg" odor, but to a whole slew of respiratory problems. Yikes! When I'm shopping for supplies, the last thing that I want to think about is whether materials will cause health problems, so I always try to buy eco-friendly, chemical-free products. But some materials just don't have a non-toxic replacement, and obviously, these homeowners had no clue their homes would be built with faulty materials.

Source: Flickr User retropc