Wow Brizo, now that's a shower!

This is my brand new Hydrati™ 2|1 shower from Brizo. It arrived yesterday and I installed it in about five minutes last night.

I tested it after I installed it to make sure I had no leaks and waited to take a full shower with until this morning. Holy cow. Now that's a shower.

As a matter of disclosure, Brizo gave me this shower head. With that out of the way, let me describe some of the Hydrati™ 2|1 shower's features and benefits.

The new Hydrati comes in four primary styles and what I'm showing above, the "Euro Round," is the one I have. The head's certainly large enough and through a combination of button pushing and lever selecting, the Hydrati™ allows a user to select from four settings. They are: full H₂Okinetic spray, massage, H₂Okinetic spray with massage and pause. I'll explain what H₂Okinetic in a bit but in the meantime I have to say that the pause built into this shower system is something my father would approve of.

When I was a kid he maintained that proper showering consisted of getting wet, turning off the shower, soaping up with the shower off and then turning it back on only to rinse off. We thought his suggestion was ridiculous of course but he did have a point. Brizo's pause function allows anybody to follow my father's suggested showering method without having to readjust the water temperature.

The Hydrati™ 2|1 shower gets the two in one portion of its name from the fact that it's a convertible --it's a wall-mount and a hand-held shower and the spray patterns are adjustable on each component.

Here's an example of a Hydrati™ 2|1 Euro Square in the middle of uncoupling.

The independent function of the hand-held and wall-mount components allow a user to turn off the main head and use the hand shower, use the main head only or to use them both. When the hand-held shower's not being held in someone's hand, it locks into the main head with Brizo's MagneDock® magnetic docking system There's no eyes closed fumbling involved. All someone has to do is hold the handheld up to the main shower head and the magnets take care of the rest. Pretty slick.

Now back to H₂Okinetic Technology for a second. H₂Okinetic Technology is something that Brizo (and its parent company Delta Faucet) developed with the Bowles Fluidics Corporation and what it does is harness the kinetic energy in moving water to alter and enhance the way water droplets are delivered. Each spray outlet on a H₂Okinetic fixture uses the pressure of the water passing through it to take on a very specific pattern of movement. This pattern makes a shower feel like it's using more water than it is and the effect is amazing. This video from Delta Faucet describes and illustrates what this means particularly well:


You can read more about it on Brizo's website too. While you're on their site, look over the rest of their offerings too --they make beautiful and highly functional fixtures.

As always Brizo, thanks!

Lights! Camera! Blanco!

Recently, I had the good fortune to visit my friends and colleagues at Blanco on the set of a photo and video shoot. The folks from Blanco's marketing department is working on the catalog shots and video footage they'll use when they roll out a new campaign in a couple of months.

While I was on set I saw some old favorites and a lot of new stuff I can't talk about. But brace yourselves.

Listen, I get it that many people's eyes glaze over when I start gushing about innovations in sink design. But think about it. What component do you use more than any other in your kitchen? The smart money's on you answering "the sink." So why not spend some time considering this heavily utilized and underappreciated feature in every kitchen?

Blanco does that and more. Every aspect of how people use their products is thought through and and analyzed. Their research informs their finished designs to an alarming, though understated way.

For example, on most flat bottomed stainless sinks the sink walls and the sink floor meet each other at a sharp, 45-degree angle. You know what you can't do with a sharp 45-degree angle at the bottom of a sink? That's right, you can't clean it very easily. On a Blanco flat bottom sink, the joints between the sinks walls, sides and floor meet at a gentle, 10mm radius. You know what the average radius of a human being's index finger is? That's right, 10mm.

Flat bottomed steel sinks such as Blanco Precision™ Sinks are engineered around the dimensions of the human body to make them easier to clean.

Another great example is from my favorite sink in the universe, the Blanco Modex™. The drainboard built into this sink is pitched in two directions (backward and toward the sink) so water can't get anywhere but down the drain. That's more solid thought expended on a sink that makes it easier to use and live with.

While I'm gushing over the Modex, here's a video that 'splains it all:


As cool as the Modex is, just wait'll you see the new stuff Blanco has coming.

My on set visit with Blanco took place at the Shadowlight Group and I was absolutely blown away by their skills and their facility. Have a product you want to have photographed or filmed? Give them a call.

As always, it was great to see my friends from Blanco. I'm fortunate to know first hand that with a company like Blanco, I know that the great products they produce are backed by some of my favorite people in the industry.

Hordes of marauders

It's been a while but this post has been rattling around in my head for the last few months.

I've devoted a significant amount of energy this summer to learning how to garden in the northeast again. In a lot of ways it's like riding a bike --it is after all the climate I grew up in. Yet at the same time, it's come with its own challenges.

One of the things I grew this summer is Swiss Chard. I grew it as an ornamental more than a food crop because it's beautiful. At the same time, I've eaten from my ornamental chard more than once. Here's a photo of it I Instagrammed when it was in its prime.

Lovely, isn't it? I should say, "wasn't it?" because it's been decimated by the most unlikely of marauders.

Meet the American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis.

via

My bird guides assure me that goldfinches are strictly seed eaters.

However, I now know that goldfinches like to supplement their meager diet of seeds with fresh, succulent Swiss Chard. Here's a photograph I took from the kitchen window during one of the finches' nightly raids.

©Paul Anater

I've seen as many as four goldfinches perched on the remains of that Swiss Chard at the same time, so I know it's not just a single bird with a taste for salad greens. It's wasn't just a one time thing either. The neighborhood goldfinches, and only the goldfinches, descend on that poor Swiss Chard every evening at dusk.

I like to think of myself as a pretty aware guy when it comes to what happens in the world around me. I know a lot about the birds and bugs with whom I share my part of the world. With that said, I have never heard of goldfinches raiding a garden. Rabbits and chipmunks I expect and know how to handle. But chard loving goldfinches? Who ever heard of such a thing? Gangs of marauding goldfinches --what's next?

Why you should install a sliding door in your home

A great way to make your space look modern and chic is by installing sliding doors. Modern sliding doors have been around since the 19th century and were mainly used in barns and castles. Some archeologists believe that they were used as early as the first century CE in Roman houses. Obviously things have changed dramatically since then and sliding doors are a lot more advanced. There are two main types of sliding doors; hanging doors which require a wall or ceiling mount of some kind and bottom rolling doors that have hardware that is attached to the floor. Both are great for any sized home and can be used indoors or outdoors.

Some great contemporary designs are made out of stainless steel and can be used in any modern home. If you are into a more “shabby chic” look then there are many designs that are made of wood and have a more antique look.

What’s really great about newer models is that they are very versatile. Any size door can be installed in any sized home. In some cases there is sliding door hardware that can support up to 2500lbs. This is great if you are looking to install doors for a mansion sized house or if you are looking for an opening gate at the entrance of a large estate. There are also models that are ideal for smaller setting such as bathroom doors, bedroom doors and even closet doors.

Another great thing about these doors is that they are real space savers that anyone can use. When you open and close a traditional door you are basically unable to utilize the space that the door takes up. Traditional doors might slam and damage your walls and if you have younger children they are more likely to run head on into an open door and get injured or even damage their limbs, but with sliding doors these issues are less likely to occur. Sliding doors are also great if you have seniors in your home who are unable to operate doors because of arthritis or joint injuries. They move smoothly in one easy motion.

Sliding doors are a great way to make your home look great and serve as a very practical solution for all kinds of households. They can be customized to fit any sized home and are available in many different styles. So if you are looking to change the look of your home without making a drastic change to the architecture, consider installing a sliding door.

Shabby Chic -- a history of style and decor

The term “Shabby Chic” was initially coined by The World Of Interiors magazine back in the 1980s, but first became really popular in The US in the 1990s, when there was a surge in decorating styles, especially in cultural metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Furniture that takes on the description of shabby chic is usually designed to feel like it has been through the ages, and been painted and repainted to give it a natural layered look. Often an item will be painted, before having parts of it rubbed or sanded away to display the underlying wood or base coats. This process is known as “distressing” a piece of furniture’s finish.

There are multiple opinions on what shabby chic items should really be in the furniture world. Some purists believe that real shabby chic items should be naturally old pieces of furniture that have been handed down from person to person, and can often be found in auctions or car boot sales. In the world of shabby chic, a scratch or imperfection on a chair or table is seen as something of a bonus instead of a problem that needs to be repaired.

A great example of how shabby chic’s popularity grew in the late 90s onwards, is when it became the main focus of a famous episode of Friends called “The One With The Apothecary Table” which originally aired in 2000. The storyline of the episode surrounds Rachel attempting to imitate the shabby style décor look in her flat by visiting Pottery Barn and purchasing a couple of items of furniture. Her housemate Phoebe detests the idea of the store so Rachel lies and tells her she just picked the furniture up from a flea market. Phoebe eventually finds out the items are new and goes on to fall in love with more furniture at Pottery Barn. This episode nicely demonstrates the irony of the shabby chic design philosophy – even though shabby chic furniture looks old and unique, it can still be mass produced.

Shabby chic can be wonderful for those on a budget, as well as for those who have young children or animals, who may not be as kind to your furniture as you would hope. You can beautifully imitate a rustic country home feel and give your interior décor an antique and vintage feel. You can find lots of shabby chic items at flea markets and also online. In fact, there are some gorgeous shabby chic inspired furniture and home accessories from Sylvester Oxford.