The Aidan Olive Zen Bench is the perfect addition to any backyard that needs a simple place to enjoy the greenery. All you will see is the kiln dried Western Red Cedar - the stainless steel connectors and hardware is concealed. Put one on your lawn and grab a coffee and newspaper. $1,100.
Raumhochrosen’s Birdfeeder is what the birds have been waiting for. A remodel of their old box, your birds will now enjoy modern architecture. Spice it up a bit and bring the wildlife closer. Wake up to birds chirping out your window, live happier. If you buy it, they will come. House €164, Stand €81.
Need to relax? Try grabbing inspiration from the Peaceful Buddha statue. Whom better to take your cues from than a man who had it all as a prince and warrior, and gave it up to find nirvana. Maybe this will inspire you to see what’s really important in life - and if you’re up for it, a little meditation. Great art for any spot. Maybe next to your stock ticker just to even it out. Possible lifelong happiness, for only $135.
Ever wonder if it’s just the racket that is holding you back? Wonder no more. Use the same racket the champion uses and hopefully perform like him, Roger Federer’s choice - the Wilson K Six One Tour 90″. If you want to conduct your experiment scientifically, string the racket to 53-60 pounds tension (depending on your opponent and surface - as Federer does) with Wilson Natural Gut Strings. $230 for the Racket, $45 for the Strings.
The TurboChef 30″ Oven does the unthinkable. Using high speed (60 mph heated wind) convection, it can cook your Thanksgiving Turkey in 42 minutes, not 4 hours; your Chateaubriand in 11 minutes, not 1 hour; and your steamed asparagus in 45 seconds, not 8 minutes. Not only that - it has a touchscreen with 500 pre-programmed profiles to determine cook time and temperature. So all you need to do is go the store, buy something - tell your oven what it is, and a few minutes later it’s cooked. So what’s stopping everyone? Price. It does come with a normal convection oven below the top magic unit. Amazing…as it should be for $7,900.
Not enough room for a designated wine cellar in the home? Spiral Cellars has you covered. They’ll build a winding staircase below your floor, as deep as over 9′ to hold as many as 1600 bottles. Comes with an air cycling climate control system an optional sisal matting and rubber footing. It also can be disguised in the floor of any room, including your kitchen or home office. Put this in your walk-in humidor and you’ll never have to leave. Around $10,000.
iRobot’s newest machine will be the Connectr, which essentially is pitched as a human replacement when you want to be somewhere to see someone, and you can’t. Meetings, checking on disabled or elderly, seeing family members etc. With a camera, speaker, microphone and wireless connection - you control it via the internet with joystick like instructions, you see what it sees, hear what it hears, and can talk to those near it. Does include a privacy button so you can’t just roll it into someone’s bedroom. We think a name like Rosie, HERBIE, or HAL might have been better. If only it hovered, as in the photo (it rolls). Expected to run around $500.
No hybrid convertibles are currently for sale in the United States. However, PGO has just announced a clean natural gas version of it’s speedster, the PGO Cevennes Turbo which can also run on biogas. Modeled after the 1950s Porsches, it looks fantastic. Six gear manual transmission and a turbo-charger - to compensate for the four cylinders. Top speed of 130 mph and 0-60 in just over six seconds. Unfortunately, it’s sold in Euros - and with the dollar where it is: €48,000 is…brace yourself, $75,000.
While it can’t be the best sound - we think the Phonofone II from Science and Sons would be a great way to play old jazz or Django Reinhardt at any dinner party. Your iPod headphones provide the sound, which is amplified through all you see. Made of ceramic, there is even a placeholder for your iPod (of any size). Product is in production, pre-orders can now be taken. Even better, no electricity needed. $500. Buy. Read more »
Marantz RC9001 controls it all. Via Wi-Fi or Infrared, this touchscreen remote will command your home. It even comes with software to customize the layout and look on the screen. With 64mb of flash memory, it will store any sequence of commands for lights, speakers, even the shades if you have electronic ones (don’t worry - we’re already researching some) all at once with one push of a button. Get a fireplace with a remote, and you can link that into this one as well. Hell, you could hook the kegerator up to this…maybe that’s going a bit far. $1,500.
So you need one anyway - in fact you might have one, but HomeHero’s fire Extingisher is by far the best looking - and more importantly has some better technology than traditional fire extinguishers. Single handed operation means - in theory - you could have one in each hand, next time that grease fire starts to look a bit forbidding. Rubber foot protects countertops, wall mounting bracket included. Home Depot sells them, but sells out quickly. $25.
Technology now lets us get in shape faster and more efficiently - thanks to Garmin’s Forerunner 305. This watch is wirelessly connected to a heart rate monitor strap (included) and has a GPS to track your distance, time, elevation, and calories burned. It even has pre-programmed workouts and comes with training software so you can customize how hard it will be on you, and can give you a “virtual partner” to race against. Has different modes for running or bicycling. You can also set alerts at different heart rates, to keep you in the “zone.” Efficient exercise - doesn’t get much better. Retails for $377, but it’s 43% off right now at Amazon (click here to buy).
So we’re going in the opposite direction of the La-Z-Boy seat here, which some might be more accustomed to. The Kohler Hatbox just looks too good not install one in your pad. Sits in the center of the floor, comes in a variety of colors, slow falling lid and seat and has soft touch “actuation” which we believe is the industry euphemism for “flush.” $3,200 list price, but available online for $1920.
If you do get the skis, you’ll probably want to grab Ortovox’s S1 Avalanche Beacon. Sensor can show the location of up to four others, while telling you how deep they are as well. Once the first person is found, you can easily delete that signal from the display. magnetic north is used to calibrate direction. Included is a slope measuring device, to help avoid using the main features of the gadget. Slope feature might be worth it alone. $529.
For a great breath of fresh air, get out and backcountry ski. Easy enough when you hike up the mountain, take off the skins, and head down. And what better to do it with, than some of the best backcountry and telemark skis available. Dynafit’s FT Mustagh Ata Touring Skis are made of eco-friendly Paulowina lightwood (warp-resistant), and lightweight carbon reinforcements. Some of the best. Good exercise, adventure, clean out the lungs. $450.
