Blog Archives

Hello again,

If you are renovating your home or building a new one, you may want to surprise your significant other this Valentine’s Day by getting him/her a Linear Shower Drain. It is an awesome compliment to the spa-like look that most new bathrooms are trying to replicate. As a matter of fact, I have specified that they be installed into a few of my more recent designs.

With the Linear Shower Drain you no longer have to install the drain in the center of the shower. This is because the floor now only has to slope in one direction. The drain can now be installed on one side of the shower; most of the time it is installed along the wall opposite the entrance to the shower. This allows you to install larger floor tiles which can be the same size as those used on the floor of the bathroom itself.

In addition, there are even Linear Shower Drains which allow you to cover the majority of the drain with the tile itself, thereby further minimizing the visibility of the drain. The drain then is very discreet, and looks like nothing more than a thin slit in the floor.

Moreover, the Linear Shower Drain allows eliminating the use of a raised curb at the shower entrance. As more of us start to age, this barrier-free entrance just makes it so much easier to access the shower. In certain situations, you may even be able to eliminate the shower door.

The Linear Shower Drain comes in many standard sizes. However, some of the manufactures allow you to customize the sizes.

There are three Linear Shower Drains I would like to recommend. The first is the Schluter Kerdi-Line Frameless Shower Grate. It is a unit designed to accept your tile. The cost is $203.49, and it comes with free shipping. I like this unit because not only is it discreet and attractive, but it is also reasonable in price. Plus, if you visit Schluter’s website, you can see they provide you with a wealth of technical information. It comes in a brushed stainless steel finish. Moreover, it is 48” long by 2 1/8” wide. The available lengths vary from 20” to 48” in length. Please see the first two photos below.

The second Linear Shower Drain I recommend is the Novalinea - 48” Linear Shower Drain. This unit is also tileable. The cost is $248.00, plus shipping. I like this unit because not only is it attractive, but it also has a removable top grate. The dimensions are 48” in length and 2.75” in width. However, it also comes in different lengths. In addition, it is made of long lasting type 304 stainless steel. Please see the third and fourth photo below.

The third Linear Shower Drain I recommend is the ACO 37240 Quartz Plus 4-Feet Wavy Grate Design. The cost is $151.99 to Amazon Prime members. I really like this unit because of its unique wavy grate design. If you are going to have an exposed grate, this is by far the coolest design! In addition, you can also get this unit with blue LED lights using their Hawaii Grate design (picture not shown). Moreover, it has plastic, easy to cut adjustable leveling feet. The dimensions of this unit are 48” long by 3” wide and are also available in custom lengths. Finally, you can get this in a polished stainless steel or oil rubbed bronze finish. Please see the last two photos below.

If you want your bathroom to look and feel like a spa, I highly recommend you click on the Amazon links below and purchase one of these Linear Shower Drains. I am sure you will be one of the very few homes in your neighborhood to have one.

Hello again,

If you are like me, you are always looking for things which beautify your home and also make it more convenient to live in. However, and just as important, you want items that are so unique your friends and family will be talking about your house forever! With that in mind, this week I will be discussing color changing mood lamps.

The first of which is the Holi Smart Mood Lamp. It is a Blue Tooth enabled multicolor lamp which can be controlled by your smart phone. Currently, it works with the I-Phone (version iOS7), Android (version 4.0), Galaxy (versions S3-S5 and Tab3), and Sony XPERIA (version 21). It also allows you to bring in your music using I-Tunes, Spotify, and Deezer.

What is really great about this product is that it can be synchronized to change colors with your music. It will give you a light show that you would normally only see at a rock concert. How cool is that?

It sells for $199.00 and comes with three square aluminum lights. The size of each light is 7.9 x 7.9 x1.2 inches and it comes in a silver finish. Moreover, the lights produce 500 lumens of brightness powered by 18 LED lights (this is equivalent to a typical 50W bulb).

I love this product because of the wow factor it will bring into your home. It is something most people have not seen before. You can program it to change colors according to your mood and lifestyle. As a matter of fact, many people program the colors to change with the colors of the seasons. Moreover, you can also import and use colors from your own personal photos.

What is also unique is that you can program it to adjust to your sleep patterns. In addition, you can program the lights to wake you up in the morning. The lights will come on slowly over a period of 20 minutes as you awake from your slumber.

These lights are very sleek and attractive looking. As a matter of fact, they look like they were designed and built by Apple, which of course they were not. I think they would look good in any home.

In my mind the Holi Smart Mood Lamp is an incredibly inexpensive feature when you consider the awe-inspiring effects it gives you. Most people, after seeing this product, will think you spent $10,000.00 to $20,000.00 on installing smart home equipment.

The second product I would like to discuss is the Hue Starter Kit from Phillips. It too is a color changing mood lamp. However, unlike the Holi Smart Mood Lamp, these are only bulbs which you screw into your existing light fixtures. Although, the effects of these lights are no less spectacular. Very few of your friends will not know what hit them when they see these lights in full effect!

This Forbes 2012 Product of the Year gives you complete control over your lighting from your smart phone or tablet. What is unique to this product is that allows you to control it when you are away from home. It also can be used with any light fixture in your home.

It sells for $199.97 and comes with the following items: three bulbs; bridge; Ethernet cable; and power cord. The bridge would plug right into your Wi-Fi router. In addition, the lights produce 800 lumens of brightness (this is equivalent to a typical 50W bulb). The bulbs will last for 15,000 hours (equivalent to 15 years). Moreover, up to 50 separate lights can be run off this system. Finally, while there is no current ability to synchronize the light with music, there are multiple companies working on developing this application.

Like the other product, you can also program your lights to come on at a set time. In addition, you can set gradual changes over time. For example, you can program it to turn on by degrees in the morning to bring you out of sleep.

I really like this product because it too will bring an unexpected coolness factor into your home. In addition, it is really convenient because it can be changed when you are away from home. It will also allow you to change the colors according to your mood and lifestyle. Moreover, you can import and use colors from your own personal photos. As a matter of fact, it even offers on screen brightness and hue modifications.

As far as bang for the buck, the Hue Starter Kit is surprisingly inexpensive and very versatile. I design and build many custom luxury homes every year, and most of my clients incorrectly assume that they would have to hire a specialist and spend a fortune to get this kind of system.

3 Comments

Linear Shower Drains

Color Changing Mood Lamps

Archives

Categories