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Keep out the winter chill
Elle Decor
Fireplaces add aesthetic appeal to the house as well as warmth throughout the winter season. While traditional fireplaces need ventilation, there are new types on the retail market that do not.
Smoke-free fuels derived from eco-friendly, plant-based bio-ethanol can be utilized in rooms where ventilation is not available. The Fire Line Automatic from Planika features a 31″-long, low-profile flame with 14,000 BTUs, and it can be placed on a shelf or into a recessed wall. The Avani, manufactured by BrasaFire, is made of stainless steel and ceramic. It serves as a stand-alone fire or can substitute for a traditional log flame.
But if it’s a modern version of the old fashioned hearth you want, Jayne Michaels’s New York City apartment mantel may be just the thing (pictured to the right). The custom-made concrete looks like stone, but it’s more affordable and easier to install. For more inspiration on mantel styles that may suit your home, check out Candice Olson’s 9 Fireplace Design Ideas.
Best places to live without a car
For households that choose not to own a personal vehicle, urban centers that provide public transportation systems and amenities like retail stores, schools, and entertainment within close distance can be ideal places to live and work.
24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of the top 10 best places to reside, sans automobile:
- Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH (#10)
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Denver-Aurora, CO
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Honolulu, HI
- New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
- Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (#1)
These cities, out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S, ranked highest for the following criteria — percentage of neighborhoods covered by public transit, frequency of service to those areas, the number of jobs reachable within 90 minutes or less by public transit, and the “walk score” (the number that indicates accessibility to amenities by foot).
Winter Gardening
Bottoms up
If the real estate market has hit bottom on the East coast, then there’s nowhere to go but up. The Wall Street Journal reports that cost-conscious buyers are not just surfacing in and around New York suburbs. They’re “storming” the market.
In Westchester County, the number of buyers in contract for homes has dramatically increased. Contracted houses priced under $500,000 at the close of 2011 went up by almost 40% from the same time in 2010. New Jersey shows a similar trend, where properties in contract priced under $400,000 rose by 11.3% from a year earlier. Some analysts believe the worst is over.
At least in regions of New York and New Jersey, houses on the market for close to or below $500,000 are doing better than those priced above that price point. Chris Meyers, chief operating officer of the largest residential brokerage in Westchester, says that history typically shows that “the strong markets get healthy from the bottom up.” For Claudia Ruggiero and her husband, who are both teachers in White Plains, NY, and commute at least 45 minutes one way to work, the market had shifted in their favor. They found a three-bedroom Dutch colonial for just the right price in Armonk, a neighborhood she couldn’t previously afford.
The LCD screen of the future
Samsung showcases its newest technology — a prototype of the transparent smart window. Imagine accessing travel plans, recipes, entertainment programs, music, and photos in one place. The company believes that this see-through LCD screen is the future. Not only does it connect people to the outside world, it also puts the power of technology within the touch of the fingertips.
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/01/10/t-ts-samsung-clear-tv.fortune/
