Do you have a handy streak in you? Then why pay money for home furnishings when a number of projects are not only incredibly simple, but also inexpensive and attractive. Over on Homes and Hues, we compiled a list of ten simple and great-looking DIY furniture projects for you to try at home.
If you've never even been able to install a shelf by yourself, you probably still won't be able to do these, but if you're experienced with power tools and have a little experience working with either wood or metal, there's likely to be something you can do.
If this house looks familiar to you, that's probably because you've seen it in numerous movies, commercials, music videos and more. It was most prominently featured in the 1987 Robert Downey Jr. film Less Than Zero. Now this heavily-filmed home can be yours for a cool $7.5 million.
While that sounds like a lot, consider both that it is a mansion in LA and that it is one of the early works of famed architect John Lautner and the first of his homes to use monolithic concrete, which later became part of his signature style. The home also features one of the first infinity pools and a cantilevered driveway that was so groundbreaking that the city insisted on witnessing a stress test before approving the structure for use.
If you've been following Homes and Hues and Neatorama, you might remember our post featuring 18 Geek Chic Bedspreads, Comforters and Duvet Covers. To celebrate Homes and Hues getting 1000 followers on Facebook, we've partnered with Cafe Press to giveaway a few of the great bedspreads we featured in that geeky bedspread article. You can pick any of their designs and get them in any size -and that's not all! You can also win a NeatoShop tee shirt of your choice and a messenger bag, cell phone cover or tee shirt of your choice as well!
This couch isn't really ugly, but it's not the best-looking sofa I've ever seen. That being said, it's pretty much the best couch you could hope to have in a small space. That's because you can pull on the arms and turn one sofa into three pieces of furniture -a small bed, a chaise lounge and an armchair.
If you don't want to have a ton of furniture taking up space but wish you could have seating when you have people over here and there, it's the ultimate solution.
It's one of the best time travel franchises ever made and a rare gem of a film that people from different age groups and different backgrounds can all appreciate. But even if you can recite all of Doc & Marty's conversations because you've seen it so many times, chances are you still don't know all of these juicy trivia bits.
It Was Set In the Fifties For Simplicity's Sake
The fifties were chosen for the past setting not because writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had a soft spot for the era, but instead because they were easy. Essentially, the two wanted to make a time travel story that didn't require knowledge of the past to enjoy it. They figured the fifties would be far enough back that it would seem like a different setting, but still allow the main character to connect with people that he knew from his regular life.
It took the writers a while to come up with the perfect time machine. In fact, at one point they thought it would be cool to use a refrigerator that had to be powered by an atomic explosion to return home -until they started worrying that kids would lock themselves into them. Spielberg ended up using this idea as inspiration for Indiana Jones' nuclear safe-guard in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Ultimately, they decided on a DeLorean because the stainless steel construction seemed like a good method for flux dispersal during time displacement. Three DeLoreans were purchased for the original and another three were bought for the sequels. After the film's release, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis received a letter from John DeLorean thanking them for using his car in the movie.
It Was Both Too Tame and Too Controversial
Robert Zemeckis had to hit up quite a few studios while trying to sell the film. Since the biggest comedies at the time were much more raunchy, like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Revenge of the Nerds, a lot of studios turned down the idea because it wasn't risque enough. But then when Zemeckis took his idea to Disney, they rejected the story because they thought it was too scandalous to have a mother fall in love with her son.
I've always been a big fan of liquid soaps, especially when it comes to hand soap. That's largely because I can't stand the soggy mess that soaps become after sitting in a wet soap dish or on the corner of the sink. As if the mess it made wasn't bad enough, sometimes the soaps get so soggy that your hand sinks right through them when go pick them up.
But the Idea Works Waterfall Soap Saver solves that problem by letting the water drain out right into your sink, keeping your soap usable much longer and your soap dish less crusted with soap goo.
There are plenty of reasons to have a clothes line in your home from keeping your delicates safe to saving energy, but no one wants lines stretching across their house and outdoor lines can get dirty and won't work in the house. You can always get the collapsable versions, but they don't dry a whole load and they take up a lot of floor space. So what are your other options?
A retractable clothes line is a great solution for keeping your lines ready to go, but out of the way when they aren't in use. Best of all, you can install them anywhere -including inside a cupboard, so they can be totally out of sight when not in use.
Did you know today is National S'mores Day? Here at Neatorama, this is a real holiday with a lot of clout -which means celebrating the day to its fullest. Sure, fair weather s'mores fans will probably make a basic s'more and reflect on campfire memories from their youth, but if you really love the sweet treats, then you know there's a lot more you can do with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow than making a nice warm sandwich. In fact, we've compiled enough recipes for you to eat s'mores all day -including for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Breakfast:
Pancakes
By working some marshmallow and chocolate chips into your pancakes as they cook and then covering them with marshmallow, graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips, Bombshell Bling made a reasonably healthy breakfast loaded with all the makings of heaven. To really maximize your s'moreness, you could also try spreading Nutella and then marshmallow fluff on top of the pancakes before quickly popping them under the broiler for that toasty marshmallow magic.
Crepes
For a more traditional French take on s'more pancakes, Bombshell Bling suggests trying your hand at s'mores crepes. These are, just as you may expect, simply crepes loaded with marshmallow fluff, chocolate syrup and graham cracker crumbs, but when it comes to s'mores, simplicity is often simply amazing. Again, if you really want to up your s'mores game though, try making your crepes with graham flour.
Waffle Sliders
For those who prefer the delicious nooks and crannies of a waffle over those flat old pancakes, Mom on Time Out suggests making s'mores out of Eggo minis dipped in chocolate. Granted, you lose the graham flavor, but that delicious, buttery waffle taste more than makes up for it.
French Toast
Here's another twist on a breakfast classic -French toast stuffed with toasted marshmallow and chocolate and crusted in crushed graham cracker. BS in the Kitchen even went so far as to only use the roasted marshmallow skins since the rest of the mallow would be too much gooeyness.
Cinnamon Rolls
What's better than a cinnamon roll? How about one loaded with chocolate and covered in toasted marshmallows? This recipe by Steph's Bite By Bite sounds utterly amazing, but the pictures are even more mouth watering.
One of the most important pieces of furniture in a home is the dining table. This is where families enjoy dinner together, where dinner parties occur, where birthday candles are blown out and more. So this week at Homes and Hues, we looked around to try to find you the greatest and most unique tables on the market.
From chic to cute, we collected fifteen tables knowing that just about everyone will enjoy at least one of them.
We are super excited about the Guardians of the Galaxy, so we partnered with NerdFu to bring you a seriously cool GOTG prize pack. The prize pack includes one Guardians of the Galaxy Unmasked Star Lord Pop! Amazon exclusive (No Longer Available on Amazon.com), one Guardians of the Galaxy Pre-release Rocket Raccoon Pop! Hot Topic exclusive, a Groot Loops tee by Bamboota and your choice of Guardians of the Galaxy tees from the NeatoShop (like those in the related NeatoShop items below). We're even selecting four winners, with the runners up receiving a Guardians of the Galaxy tee of their choice from the NeatoShop (we'll even let you pick a non-Guardians tee if you see one you prefer). Here's how to enter:
When you walk in the door after work, you probably put down your purse or empty your pockets, you might shuffle through the mail you just recieved and if you're wearing a coat, you probably take it off and hang it up. Now you can use one simple home accessory to do all of this. The Cubby has a wide circle that can work to store your cell phone, sun glasses or other items. Its width also offers the additional benefit of not stretching out your coat collar or misshaping your hats. Lastly, the top section can be used to store papers, so you can set down your mail while you remove your coat.
There are those who can't live without a bevy of colors spread across their home, but for those who don't need the whole spectrum cast across their living room this Swedish home is certain to be eye candy.
Aside from black and white, the only shades you'll see repeated here are bronze and an occassional touch of blue. The end result is a timeless apartment that is refreshingly simple and incredibly eye-catching.
Comic Con was over a week ago, but for many who returned from the convention, we're just now starting to get back to our normal routine. That's because the convention itself is only one of the many geektastic activities going on in San Diego that weekend and the more of them you visit, the more exhausted you get.
This year there were stories that the number of big VIP Hollywood VIP parties was down by 40%. As it turns out, that just means there were less exclusive parties and more activities that anyone can partake in. After attending as many of these open-to-everyone events as possible (and one exclusive event), I still feel like Zeon and I barely scratched the surface of outside entertainment during the 2014 Comic Con. Here's a rundown of all the non-con events that took place that weekend.
Wednesday (Preview Night):
Preview night is still the least busy night of the convention. Some exhibitors haven't even set up yet and most out of town visitors haven't even left home yet. Needless to say, there isn't much going on Downtown that day. Even so, there was already plenty of stuff going on that night. At the Mosaic Wine Bar, visitors could pay $35 to hang out with bestselling authors Christina Lauren, Alice Clayton, Kresley Cole and Renee Carlino at the Best-Selling Author's Happy Hour. Henry's Pub hosted the annual Enchantment Under the SDCC party. Side Bar held a Super Hero Party.
The night was a particularly big night for craft beer fans as two different breweries offered entertainment options. Stone Brewery launched their W00tstout 2.0 beer with Aisha Tyler, Wil Wheaton and Drew Curtis, who appear on the bottle, as depicted by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Ballast Point Bewery held a 3DS Pokemon Tournament for Craft Beer Lovers for adults who just have to catch them all while sipping on fine suds.
The Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery held their opening night party for the "POP! Art of the Geek" show that ran through the weekend. While we skipped the opening party, I did visit the show and it was, in fact, fantastic. It was both curated by and featured art from LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya. Here are a few more pictures from the event.
All Weekend Long:
Starting Friday morning, in the Petco Parking Lot, there was all kinds of awesome action during the convention. The biggest draw in the parking lot was the Adult Swim Fun House and the Meatwad Dome Experience. The fun house was there last year, but they changed it a little since then. The whole thing was bizarre and awesome -even though Zeon and I had to karaoke "Let's Get it On" together (it was pretty painful to listen to). The highlight for me was climbing through the television set in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force's television set into the crib of a giant, creepy baby.
We've all had to deal with stale and expired food before, but preventing the spoilage completely generally requires buying an expensive vacuum sealer -at least, until now. The iTouchless Bag Re-Sealer uses heat to re-seal bags so no air can get in to taint your favorite snacks. Best of all, the item is cheap -only $16.98 for two on Amazon.
The only drawback is that the reviewers say you can only use the items on thick bags or else the plastic will melt away too much.
A few logs, some bags of sand, a little sealant and some glue is all you need to put together your own great wooden pathway like this one. Just slice up the logs into small pieces, seal the wood, clear out your pathway, fill the pathway with sand and then lay out the logs and glue them together.
Of course, the specifics are a bit more complex and the process is a bit timely, but if you like the design, you can build your own for around $30. Find out how at Homes and Hues: How to Make a Natural Log Pathway For Dirt Cheap
