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Brilliant UFO abduction lamp.

Your blood puddle pillows are in.

Clean your dishwasher with Lemonade Kool-Aid.

Clever light bulb design.

Days Ago digital day counters are small gadgets that attach to your food containers via suction and magnets to keep a running count of how many days ago you put your leftovers in the fridge.

Scrabble furniture.

Handy way to skip all the intro crap on DVDs that is usually forced on you when you throw a disc in your player. Apparently the chapters on DVDs that you can't skip (FBI warnings, copyright stuff, etc.) are flagged, on the disc, as UOP, or User Operation Prohibited. This site lists some of the techniques you can try to skip the ennui.

This colour coordinated bookshelf looks cool, but you might have a hard time finding a particular title.

For chewie edge lovers or corner brownie fans - it's the Edge Brownie Pan. All edges, all the time. Via BoingBoing

Puzzle carpet.

This to That is a handy site that will tell you what adhesive to use when attempting to glue various objects together.

Super creative bathroom tiles.

Skinny house in Brazil.

Apparently there are many LED lightbulbs available already. Via TreeHugger

WiiRoomba. YouTube of a guy controlling his Roomba with a Wii remote.

Hardcore Lost fans have a party and repackage the snacks and beer as Dharma Initiative rations. Make your own with the PDFs that they've so generously shared.

Here's a nice set of home improvement videos with the energetic and snappy Eric Stromer.

Faucet Fountain turns your regular faucet into a drinking fountain.

Kids and the Home Office. Here's a list of tips for the parent that works from home.

Save the Internet.







Househacker/tags/concrete

Making Concrete Countertops Flickr Set

Here's a very interesting photo set that nicely documents the process of making concrete countertops (previously) for the kitchen. There are 64 pics in the set so you get a pretty good idea of what's involved in the project, including the mixing, pouring, grinding and subsequent application of a finishing sealer/enhancer. It at least looks to be a doable project for the brave novice, but the authors seem to know a lot of the tricks and techniques that usually come from experience (or maybe just a lot of pre-work research).

See also:
  • More slick examples of what people have done via the concrete countertop tag on Flickr.

  • This couple is making a countertop that will have an embedded 'stream' of glass in the shape of the Mississippi River which will be lit via fibre optic cables running below!

  • Gorgeous Concrete Countertops

    Concrete countertops seem to be becoming more and more popular, and with example galleries like this one (and previously this one) it's easy to see why. Concrete combines solid, chunky beauty with a lot of flexibility-through-moldability, enabling designers to create some stunning countertops in both kitchen and bathrooms.

    The site does a nice job of describing a concrete countertop's personal value to its owner:

    But remember, don't fall too deeply in love with anyone else's piece. You can have the exact same design and color as they have, but yours will be yours alone. Because as the mixture of sand, stone, water and cement cures, it captures a moment in time that's unique. The pattern of stone will always be different. The color will always vary slightly. And that's what makes it uniquely yours.

    See also: Concrete Countertop HowTos
           



    Concrete Floor Staining HowTo

    CathyMoore.com shows you how to stain concrete on the cheap. After some initial testing, trial and error, her floor seems to turn out very warm and inviting (and professional). The procedure seems relatively straight forward, although it looks as though there is definitely room for mistakes or misplaced mop strokes. This informative site, Decorative Concrete, says that the age of the concrete is not an issue, but the concrete's condition is. They also go on to caution:

    Also remember this is an acid. PROTECT yourself from accidental splashes, spills and fumes. I like to have a 5-gallon bucket of water close by should I need to neutralize myself or anything else. Protect vegetation and other concrete surfaces. Don't inhale the fumes from the concentrate or your mixed solutions.

    Also check out their gallery of possibilities.

    Concrete Countertop HowTos

    Here is a nice howto on making your own concrete countertop from the diynetwork that covers template construction, mold making, pouring, and finishing up.

    Here's another very detailed tutorial from NaturalHandyman.com. Both are good, but the diynetwork breaks down the materials needed in a nicer format.

    For some inspiration, take a look at Cheng Design to see some amazing examples of what's possible to accomplish with concrete.

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