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Cool NEW Gadget: Zoku Quick Pop Maker via [coolhunting and thekitchn]
Be the first in your friends to like it
Zoku Quick Pop Maker
A nifty gadget that makes homemade popsicles in minutes
by Wendy Dembo
With gourmet popsicle brands all over Manhattan touting newfangled flavor combos (see Popbar, People’s Pops and La Newyorkina), the Zoku Quick Pop Maker steps in with a DIY way to concoct your own—three at a time—in less than 10 minutes.
Fun to use and loved by kids, you can keep it simple or (with patience) you can make pretty pops by pouring in one liquid, letting it sit for a few minutes and then adding another layer or two of a different juice. Tipping the machine leads to wavy lines, and experiments with fruits and yogurts, or even more adventurous fixings like carrots and beets, present limitless options for creativity.
The only downfall is that you have to freeze the Zoku for 24 hours before you can start to make your own personally-designed chilly pops. Pick it up from Zoku or Williams Sonoma for $50.
Remember the agony of waiting for popsicles to freeze when we were kids? Using technology similar to an ice cream machine, the folks behind the Zoku Quick Pop Maker have all but eliminated that wait time. Instant gratification is ours!
How It Works
The Zoku consists of a sturdy hard-plastic base filled with the same kind of liquid found in ice cream makers. There are three individual wells for popsicles set into the base. These are made of non-stick cast aluminum so the pops are easy to remove once frozen. The popsicle sticks are made from plastic and specially grooved to grip the popsicles. (Six popsicle sticks are included.)
You first have to freeze the base overnight. Once it’s frozen solid, you insert the one popsicle stick into each well, pour in your popsicle base of choice, and wait for it to freeze. A special device called the Super Tool screws into the popsicle stick and helps to lift the frozen popsicles from the mold, which are otherwise difficult to remove by simple pulling. Snap on a drip guard and the popsicles are ready to eat.
Testing It Out
Check out the slide show above for a visual walk-through of the product.
Just as the instructions said to do, we froze the base overnight and took it out when we were ready to make our pops. Shaking it, the base felt completely solid and we heard no sloshing of the liquid inside.
We made a variety of popsicles to really put the Zoku through its paces. In the first round, we did a basic lemonade pop, one with slices of strawberries, and one with some of our leftover cranberry jelly. In the second round, we tried making yogurt pops layered with pomegranate juice following the recipe we talked about yesterday.
All of the lemonade pops froze solid in about 9 minutes. The yogurt pops took a little longer, about 12 minutes for the swirled pops and 20 minutes total for the layered pops. We were able to do two batches of the lemonade pops before the base needed re-freezing. With the yogurt pops, we only got one batch.
Both the lemonade and the yogurt pops were easy to remove from the mold using the Zoku Super Tool and made perfectly formed popsicles.
The instructions recommend not washing the device between each use, but it was pretty darn sticky after our few batches! We couldn’t help splattering the top while pouring and the outside also filmed over with frozen condensation. The insides of the wells stayed pretty clean, though. Since the Zoku instructions are also adamant about making sure the Zoku is completely dry before putting it back in the freezer, we used a plastic spatula to scrape off the splatters and condensation, and then used paper towels to make sure everything was dry before re-freezing it.
The Pros
This device really was as simple and straight-forward to use as promised. There are no cords to plug in, and no fancy parts to figure out. Using the Zoku is almost completely self-explanatory. Kids can definitely use it, though we’d recommend having an adult around for children under the age of 8 or so.
It made lovely popsicles and seems to work well with a lot of different base ingredients. Since the results are so instantaneous, it was really fun to play around with adding fruit, making layers, and combining flavors.
The texture of the pops was really amazing. Since it freezes so quickly, the ice crystals stay very small. This makes for a smoother, more evenly-textured popsicle. Biting off a piece was almost like eating a spoonful of ice cream or sorbet.
The Cons
The Zoku was also trickier to use in some ways than we expected. Anything that touches the sides of the mold freezes instantly. So if you’re making a layered pop or adding fruit, it can be challenging not to drip on the sides and to position fruits where you want them. Our pops definitely did not look as perfect as the pictures!
The instructions also say to insert the popsicle sticks before pouring in any of the ingredients, but we found that the sticks were really in the way and made things messier. It was far easier to fill the mold nearly full and then insert the sticks. The middle doesn’t freeze for several minutes, so as long as you leave a little headroom to allow for the stick, this was fine.
The promise that pops will freeze in 7-9 minutes and that the base can be used for three batches before re-freezing is a bit misleading. This might be true if you are making three batches of all-juice pops in very quick succession. But if you’re doing anything more complicated (like layers or making pudding pops), if you don’t take the pops out as soon as they’re ready, or if you wait a little too long between batches, a second batch starts to become iffy.
Subsequent batches also take much longer to make. This is expected as the base thaws in your warm summer kitchen, but can be frustrating if you have a line of neighborhood children wanting to know why they have to wait so long!
Overall Impressions
This is a good product with a solid design and lots of fun applications. We think it’s ideal for small family gatherings or an afternoon play-date with a friend or two.
Since you can only make three popsicles at once and since they have to be eaten right away (meaning you can’t make pops in advance or save ones that aren’t eaten), we think this is less ideal for larger parties and gatherings.
Do you have a Zoku? How have you liked it?
Check It Out!
Zoku Quick Pop Maker from Zoku
Zoku Quick Pop Maker, $49.95 from Williams-Sonoma
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
(Images: Williams-Sonoma and Emma Christensen)
23 Pieces of Glowing Furniture via [trendhunter]
OPULUXE Lounge Grooves™ PlayList
There’s a growing wave ofdesigners with a fascination with illuminated textiles. We’ve seen
this in fashion before, including glow in the dark clothes and accessories, but this time we’re focusing in on furniture.
Trend Hunter has featured a bevy of phenomenal designs for the home that light up, some functioning like innovative lamps, others giving the ability to set custom moods, while others act as regular furniture, just with a very modern twist on design.
Check out some of the brightest ideas on Trend Hunter below.
Seats and Sofas
Modern Louis XV Furniture – The Neo Neon Collection (GALLERY)
Louis XV furniture has been given a modern spin by Lee Broom. The designer describes his six piece trendy fusion collection as “art that is ultimately functional.” The fantastically eclectic concept plays… [More]
Glowing Ice Cube Furniture – Moss LED Sofa
The first thing that comes to mind when I see this LED-illuminated Moss couch is that it looks like it belongs in an igloo. This makes a stunning compromise for anyone intrigued by the aesthetics of the… [More]
Eudora Lamp Chair
At just under $3,000, the Eudora lamp chair is a fiverglass chair that is upholstered in fabric and then encased in resin. It’s illuminated from the inside and made by hand. You can choose from a variety… [More]
Tables
Illuminated Furniture – Ambient Luminescent Lounge Table
A dimmer foot switch adds to the excitement of this sexy illuminated lounge table. It has a high gloss finish, is UV resistant, and features a stow-away cable. The price tag is $779.00 [More]
Interactive Furniture – LED Coffee Table In Action (VIDEO)
For that extra punch of ambiance in your living room, consider getting an LED coffee table. The creation from the Evil Mad Scientist Lab consists of a glass-top table embedded with LEDs that are motion-activated.… [More]
Awe Inspiring LED Table by Ingo Maurer
Brilliant LED table glitters more than your candle-lit dinner. “led table designed by ingo maurer in 2003. this beautiful table is limited in production. this table is a true example of modern design.… [More]
Lightable LED Dinner Table – Create a Halo of Light Around Any Object (VIDEO)
This transparent LED table was designed by Julian Appelius and Fabien Dumas. When you place an object on the table, the object become illuminated by a halo of LED light… even if that object is your… [More]
Cabinets
Glow in the Dark Furniture – Fullmoon Cabinet (GALLERY)
Sotirios Papadopoulos designed this Fullmoon cabinet for Ennezero using ecologically-friendly paint. The Fullmoon glows in the dark and in that sense, as far as I am concerned, this is a creation that… [More]
Fiber Optic Cabinets – Horm Voltaceleste by Salvatore Indriolo (GALLERY)
Horm Voltaceleste is a glowing cabinet by designer Salvatore Indriolo. The cupboard has lighting inside and its wooden doors feature optical fibers of various diameters whose positions are governed by… [More]
Other
Inflatable Furniture – New Inflatable Bar For Sale or Rent
The new inflatable collection from Bubble Miami proves that inflatable furniture can be hot. Interestingly, you can also rent the inflatable bar, making sure you have the hippest pool party on your block.… [More]
LED Prayer Rug Glows When Facing Mecca – Sajjdah 1426
Not only does this high-tech prayer rug look super funky with its glowing design, but its LED lights actually offer functional properties. Embedded inside the Turkish tapestry is a compass that enables… [More]
Generate Light: LTT Illuminated Bathtub & Furniture
Generate offers a full line of illuminated furniture, including illumniated bath tubs, illuminated sinks, illuminated lamps, illuminated coffee tables, and illuminated everything. “This illuminated, self… [More]
Mood Sensitive Design – The Mood Bowl Changes Color (GALLERY)
This pear glass, which plugs into the wall, changes color according to your mood. The mood bowl is capable of going through a cycle of 8 different colors but it can also remain on the same color of your… [More]
Luxury DJ Booths – The $5500 Homelander (VIDEO)
The ‘HOMELANDER’ is a high end DJ Booth by DJ Furniture. It comes with a customized high gloss finish, integrated air cooling fan, and in the color of your choice. The 3 LED lights and the 2 color powerleds… [More]
Ondine Illuminated Shower: Reenact Your Alien Abduction
There’s nothing more relaxing that having a nice shower and letting the blue rays of light fall on your body.
“Sitting in the relaxation room, you are displaced to a garden setting in your Tuscan mansion,… [More]
Chromotherapy-Equipped Shower
Now you can shower with chromotherapy! [More]
Illuminated Door Handles
We won’t need “do not disturb” cards anymore to indicate the room is occupied. Stockholm-based company, Brighthandle offers new door handles including lights to encode room privacy. Various models can… [More]
Semi-Precious Illuminated Counter Tops
Seen at the recent Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas, exotic solid surfaces made of translucent semi-precious stones can be combined with under-counter lighting to create custom, eye-popping… [More]
Glass & Walls
Furniture Hacks – LED Glass Door (GALLERY)
These days, incredible interior design is all about originality, and sometimes the only way to do that is by modifying the supplies available in store. Take this door for example. Instead of leaving… [More]
Illuminated Eco-Chic Windows – Lightway (GALLERY)
It appears that light bulbs may soon become obsolete if Damian Savio, a Sydney design student, has his way. The Longueville designer invented Lightway window louvers that illuminate dwellings without… [More]
Wall-Integrated LEDs – Disguised Torn Lighting (GALLERY)
Torn Lighting by designer Billy May creatively integrate and disguise LED lights within your walls for a seamless and clean interior light solution. Painted the same color as your walls, the Torn Lighting… [More]
Light Canvases
Art Coincides With Your Mood – MoodSpace by Interactive Art (GALLERY)
What if you could design your own moods? For only $25,000 you can add an entire wall that shimmers and glows to your living room decor. Now imagine being able to fine tune it. The MoodSpace by Interactive… [More]
Paint with LED Light – Philips Imagination Light Canvas (GALLERY)
They should have this up in all waiting rooms in hospitals and offices. Philips Electronics introduced their Imagination Light Canvas— an interactive light wall that uses touch screen and Philips technologies… [More]
#1 on The Weary Traveler’s Wishlist is the NEW Dream & Fly. Mini Hotel Pods! via [ifitshipitshere]
Dream & Fly. Mini Hotel Pods For The Weary Traveler.
Barcelona based company Dream & Fly has invented luxury low cost accommodations for busy people in transit who haven’t the time to find a hotel nearby. By creating individual prefabricated micro-hotels (modular pods), complete with a bathroom, a weary traveler can nap or rest in a clean, comfortable, private and even wired space.
The Dream & Fly “bubbles” are modular accommodations intended to be installed within busy airports, sea ports, train stations or other areas in which large concentrations of people are constantly traveling and need a small comfortable private place to sleep or rest.
The modern luxury pods come with a complete bathroom and can be rented by hour. Inspired by the nature of a womb, the pods are meant to shield you from the frenetic pace of places like airports and seaports.
There are three sizes; the Simple Bubble measures 5 meters square, the Single Bubble measures 7 meters square and the Family Bubble is 10 meters square.
Exterior:
Interior:
A passenger can sleep for a few hours in a comfortable bed which can be either single or double, lie down on the pillows of the reclining headrest and work on a fold-out table with access to the internet. He or she can consult the boarding details of their flight on an LCD monitor on the wall and rest all of their newspapers on a shelf next to the bed, which is totally equipped with stations for mobile phones and mp3 players, with ambient sound and electric sockets.
The passenger can take a shower, in the privacy of their own space, where they can find a sink, toilet and modern shower made of stainless steel, reminiscent of airplane bathrooms.
For the family, the larger pod consists of a space with a sofa that transforms into a bed for a body and a half, a cradle or nappy changing facility for babies, and other comforts which demand more space.
above: the Micro-hotel pods as seen at a trade show
Visit Dream & Fly to learn more.
I Wanna Futuristic Space-Age Dining Room Set Pod Unit! via [dornob]
Table-and-Chairs Set
For now
it is simply a design, but there is very little preventing this
futuristic dining room table-and-chairs
furniture set from becoming a present-day reality. The pieces fit
neatly together and a simple pneumatic system would make the central
lift possible – providing a cosmetic overhang that doubles as a central
light fixture.
Cute, convertible and space-saving though it may be, this design does
have some drawbacks. Namely, there is an object in the center of the
table that obstructs views and the seats don’t appear to be fully stable
on their own. Still, as a concept design it is certainly some good
designer eye-candy either way.
Beam Me UP to the House of Chanel Mother Ship via [Dezeen and cpluv]
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Chanel Contemporary Art Container
Chosen by Karl Lagerfeld to create the Mobile Art CHANEL Contemporary
Art Container by Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid is one of the most talented
architects of our time, awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered to be the
Nobel Prize of architecture, in 2004. Each of her dynamic and
innovative projects builds on more than thirty years of revolutionary
experimentation and research.
The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel, initially inspired by Chanel’s
signature quilted bag and conceived through a system of natural
organization, is also shaped by the functional considerations of the
exhibition.
Chanel Contemporary Art Container, a
travelling art space designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, opened
in its first destination, Hong Kong.
The pavilion, commissioned by Chanel head designer Karl Lagerfeld,
hosts an exhibition of artworks inspired by Chanel bags by 20 artists
and called Mobile Art.
The project was unveiled at the Venice art biennale last year – more
details and renderings in our story on the Design Museum’s
Zaha Hadid Blog.
The following information is from Zaha Hadid Architects:
–
The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel by Zaha Hadid Architects has been
inspired by one of Chanel’s signature creations, the quilted bag. Chanel
is renowned for its layering of the finest textiles and exquisite
detailing to create the most elegant and cohesive pieces for each
collection. In her quest for complex, dynamic and fluid spaces the work
of Zaha Hadid has developed over the past thirty years through a
rigorous integration of natural and human-made systems and
experimentation with cutting-edge technologies.
Hadid’s architecture transforms our vision of the future with new
spatial concepts and bold, visionary forms.“I think through our
architecture, we can give people a glimpse of another world, and enthuse
them, make them excited about ideas. Our architecture is intuitive,
radical, international and dynamic. We are concerned with constructing
buildings that evoke original experiences, a kind of strangeness and
newness that is comparable to the experience of going to a new country.
The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel follows these principles of
inspiration,” states Zaha Hadid.
Continuing to arouse one’s curiosity is a constant theme in the work
of Zaha Hadid. The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel is the very latest
evolution of Hadid’s architectural language that generates a sculptural
sensuality with a coherent formal logic.
This new architecture flourishes via the new digital modelling tools
that augment the design process with techniques of continuous fluidity.
Zaha Hadid explains this process, “The complexity and technological
advances in digital imaging software and construction
techniques have
made the architecture of the Mobile Art Pavilion possible. It is an
architectural language of fluidity and nature, driven by new digital
design and manufacturing processes which have enabled us to create the
Pavilion’s totally organic forms – instead of the serial order of
repetition that marks the architecture of the industrial 20th century.”
Hadid’s innovative architecture is the reason Karl Lagerfeld invited
her to create the Mobile Art Pavilion. “She is the first architect to
find a way to part with the all-dominating post-Bauhaus aesthetic. The
value of her designs is similar to that of great poetry. The potential
of her imagination is enormous,” Karl Lagerfeld explained during the
launch of the Mobile Art Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Art Biennale.
Zaha Hadid Architects’ recent explorations of natural organizational
systems have generated the fluidity evident in the Pavilion for Chanel.
The Mobile Art Pavilion’s organic form has evolved from the spiralling
shapes found in nature. This system of organisation and growth is among
the most frequent in nature and offers an appropriate expansion towards
its circumference, giving the Pavilion generous public areas at its
entrance with a 128m2 terrace.
The Pavilion follows the parametric distortion of a torus. In its
purest geometric shape, the circular torus is the most fundamental
diagram of an exhibition space. The distortion evident in the Pavilion
creates a constant variety of exhibition spaces around its
circumference, whilst at its centre, a large 65m2 courtyard with natural
lighting provides an area for visitors to meet and reflect on the
exhibition.
This arrangement also allows visitors to see each other moving
through the space and interacting with the exhibition. In this way, the
architecture facilitates the viewing of art as a collective experience.
The central courtyard will also host evening events during the
exhibition in each host city. The organic shell of the Mobile Art
Pavilion is created with a succession of reducing arched segments. As
the Pavilion will travel over three continents, this segmentation also
gives an appropriate system of partitioning – allowing the Pavilion to
be easily transported in separate, manageable elements. Each structural
element will be no wider than 2.25 m. The partitioning seams become a
strong formal feature of the exterior façade cladding, whilst these
seams also create a spatial rhythm of perspective views within the
interior exhibition spaces.
MOBILE ART PAVILION FOR CHANEL
ZAHA HADID
The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel, initially inspired by Chanel’s
signature quilted bag and conceived through a system of natural
organisation, is also shaped by the functional considerations of the
exhibition. However, these further determinations remain secondary and
precariously dependent on the overriding formal language of the
Pavilion. An enigmatic strangeness has evolved between the Pavilion’s
organic system of logic and these functional adaptations – arousing the
visitor’s curiosity even further.
In creating the Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel, Zaha Hadid has
developed the fluid geometries of natural systems into a continuum of
fluent and dynamic space – where oppositions between exterior and
interior, light and dark, natural and artificial landscapes are
synthesised. Lines of energy converge within the Pavilion, constantly
redefining the quality of each exhibition space whilst guiding movement
through the exhibition. The work of selected artists has been
commissioned for the exhibition. Hadid created an entire landscape for
their work, rather than just an exhibition space. Visitors will be
guided through the space using the latest digital technology developed
in collaboration with the artists.
“The fascination of the Mobile Art Pavilion is the challenge of
translating the intellectual and physical into the sensual –
experimenting with completely unexpected and totally immersive
environments for this global celebration of the iconic work of Chanel. I
see the Pavilion as a kind of a total artwork that continually
reinvents itself as it moves from Asia, to the USA and Europe,” states
Zaha Hadid.
For The Tea Voyeur… Sorapot’s Glass Tea Pot via [elitechoice]
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Enjoy The Beauty Of Tea-making With Sorapot
Now is the time to say that tea is sexier than coffee! With John
Roth’s stylish Sorapot Teapot, the default setting of one’s inclination
towards coffee over tea will be changed for ever. The teapot that we
are talking about is astunning littlearchitectural piecemade of
stainless steel and pyrex, and is accompanied by a matching teacup.
The design is gorgeously modern because it comprises of a 304
stainless steel arch that houses a Pyrex (borosilicate) tube so that you
can see the tea leaves unfurl and ripple around to create the perfect
tea. In other words, for once the quiet beauty of tea is brought into
focus.
A cool addition that will add value to your army of kitchen gadgets
. Then the rectangular base and the short spout make it easy
to store. Since, Sorapot can easily handle two cups of tea, you can actually take the tea-making
business out of the kitchen and on to your desk. Then again, the
brewing is not affected by the componenets of the teapot.
However, there might be a little glitch. Traditional tea drinkers
might find the Sorapot fiddly and too small. But you know something, it
is worth a try, especially if you want to convert folks to being
tea-drinkers! The price is low at $200.
Via sorapot
Ultra Modern Baby Bassinet Hammock via [ModernNursery]
|
Hushamok Experience Modern Bassinet Hammock
& Stand in Green
Manufacturer: Hushamok
$379.00 USD
The next generation in baby furniture!
hushamokTM
is the ideal sleeping environment for your baby, providing you with the
safety your baby requires without sacrificing style.
The
versatility of hushamokTM not only provides a sturdy anchor
for the safety of your baby, but is also a fashionable design addition
that complements any style decor. hushamokTM is durable,
lightweight and portable, making it ideal for around the home or packed
for travel.
hushamokTM also guards against
potentially serious health concerns that can arise during baby’s sleep.
The innovative design of hushamokTM enables baby to sleep
soundly on their backs, which is a key recommendation in the prevention
of SIDs. hushamokTM creates a restful and nurturing sleep
environment, and is designed to reduce the incidence of flat head
syndrome.
Features
- Baby hammock made with the highest quality, preshrunk 100% cotton
- Machine washable and available in an array of bright colors
- Stylish stand will complement any room, and its lightweight steel
construction means you can use it anywhere - Patented leaf spring guarantees a gentle, natural motion that will
soothe any baby into a restful sleep - Soft and comfortable poly-filled, hypoallergenic mattress fits
snugly in the baby hammock and is machine washable for easy care - includes two custom fitted sheets made of 400-count cotton which are
available in the same vivid colors as the hammock (additional sheets
sold separately) - Includes convenient cotton travel bag which makes your Hushamok
Experience portable so your baby can enjoy a restful sleep anywhere
Dimensions
- 40w x 53h x 40d inches overall (101.6 cm x 134.6 cm x 101.6 cm)
- Baby hammock with sheet and leaf spring weighs 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg)
- Stand weighs 18 pounds (8.2 kg)
- in the US, Hushamok baby hammock is recommended for children up to
22 pounds
The Coolest New Way to Play Music
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OPULUXE Lounge Grooves™ PlayList
rhea jeong: ‘void’ LP player
‘void’ LP player by rhea jeong
korean
designer rhea jeong
has sent in images of her ‘void’ LP player.
the record player uses a
carrier and dock outfitted with a magnetic and auto-calibrating control
system
which carries the LP into thin air as it is playing music. a
self-running record player shaped
in the form of a red sphere,
contains a needle, amplifier and speaker, spins around the record,
bringing
the music to life. the sphere that plays the vinyl was technically
influenced by the ‘vinyl killer’,
currently the world’s smallest LP
player that has a built-in motor, amplifier and speaker.
simple
colors and shapes express a kind of astronomical movement between the
object and space.
the levitation is managed electronically. once
turning the player on, you can manage the elevation
levels through
the touch sensors on the front side of the base unit.
‘void’ LP player
‘void’ while playing music…
‘void’ while playing music…
a self-running record player shaped in the
form of a red sphere
structure of the ‘void’ LP player
NEW Space Age Bath Cocoons and Home Spas via [MSN]
Bathrooms of the future
By Marilyn Lewis of MSN Real Estate
Watching trends in the real-estate market is crucial for homeowners who are interested in remodeling, because a smart upgrade lets you also boost or sustain your home’s value. Spa baths are hot now, and the trend appears to have lasting appeal. It got started 30 years ago, when futurist Faith Popcorn predicted a movement she called “cocooning.” American consumers would desire to protect themselves “from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world,” she predicted. Today, more than ever, we are seeking sanctuary in improvements such as home spas. Plumbing manufacturers are watching the trends — working from home, the demand for high-tech advances and green products, and the yearning for individual expression — and they’re responding with products that profoundly change the humble bath.
Space-age steam shower
While the future is mysterious, one thing’s a given: There will be stress. The newest bath products emphasize in-home spa features, making it possible to relieve stress thoroughly and in privacy. LineaAqua’s Apollo steam shower looks like a personal space capsule: The built-in reclined seat could be an astronaut’s anti-gravity chair. The blue-tinted safety glass and teak accents add to the futuristic look. You set the unit’s controls to manage the electronic temperature and steam generator or just lean back and use a remote to direct six adjustable massaging body sprays and a foot massage feature. Dim the unit’s mood lighting and crank up the audio speaker (the shower has a built-in FM radio and AUX connections for integrating your own sound system).
Cost: $24,400
Tan while you shower
When is a shower more than just a shower? In this case, when it gives you a tan and improves your complexion while you’re washing up. ProSun’s SunShower unit lets you incorporate a tanning unit, including five 400-watt lamps, reflectors and a double UV filter, into a shower. The 8-inch-thick unit can be added to a pre-existing shower enclosure or installed during new construction. Crave more? You can add high-intensity LED infrared light, said to stimulate the skin’s production of collagen and elastin. Units are framed in aluminum, brass or chrome — or in oil-rubbed bronze, to match your skin.
Cost: $10,900 to $17,995.
Touch-sensitive controls
Bathroom basin, tub and shower faucets designed by architect Jean Nouvel for Jado and American Standard use touch-sensitive electronic controls that let users program — and save — their favorite volume and temperature settings. This shower’s elegant profile emphasizes function and clean lines.
Cost: Jean Nouvel Thermostatic Shower Curtain, $3,130.
Mix up the shower
Did you ever suspect you’d see a digital, menu-based navigation system for a shower in your lifetime? Check it out: The Kohler DTV II performance shower (in satin nickel, satin chrome or satin bronze) lets you mix up a custom shower experience. You use the digital controls to preset the four in-shower audio speakers, six shower heads (with 22 or 54 nozzles, for a rain-forest experience), steam and two hand-held shower wands. For example, choose the steam temperature and time, cue up your favorite tunes from your MP3 player, find the light display to suit your mood (color sequences evoke a sunrise, sunset, clouds and reflective water) and choose settings for the Ambient Rain Watertile shower head.
Cost: $2,000 to $10,000.
High-tech performance
The Ondus bath system by German plumbing company Grohe blends organic form with high-tech performance and puts digital control of faucets, tub and shower in the user’s hands. Bathers can preset water temperature and flow rate. Engineering attention has been spent to mimic the flow of natural phenomena like waterfalls and falling rain. Here is the Ondus digital sink faucet (left), the AquaFountain shower system with both wall-mounted and hand-held showers (center) and, in the background, a floor-mounted bath filler, each with customizable, precision controls.
Cost: faucet, $4,199; AquaFountain shower system, $7,999; floor-mounted tub filler, $6,300
Waterproof media center
Some people retreat to their home spas to shut out the world. Others want to bring it in. Make the bath your operations center with the visiPad media station, which gives you access to e-mail, SMS, Internet, telephone, radio, CDs and DVDs. Control the unit with a remote or use the splash-protected touch-screen. Made by Visiomatic, the German maker of integrated electronic home control and entertainment systems, the visiPad is offered in a range of screen sizes, from 10 inches to 46 inches across.
Cost: The complete system about $4,225
Kitchen tech warms bath towels
It’s a rough, cold world out there, which is why your towels must be soft and warm. Dacor, a manufacturer of kitchen appliances, adapted its indoor/outdoor oven warming drawer — the electronic components tolerate moisture — to bathroom use. The 24-inch drawer can be faced with a custom panel to match cabinets or you can use a stainless steel panel. The drawer has four temperature levels and four timer settings so towels will be done to perfection at the moment you need them.
Cost: $1,327 with stainless drawer panel
Waterproof TV
See that picture on the bathroom mirror? It’s a waterproof, 17-inch wide-screen TV by the British company Aquavision. With the television turned on, the screen is visible from nearly 180 degrees, meaning that you can see it from just about everywhere in the room. The television can be installed above a bathtub or inside a shower or sauna, remaining clear and dry — not foggy, says Aquavision. HDTV is an option, and six screen sizes range from 10 inches to 40 inches.
Cost: about $4,250
TV and warm towels
The Aquavision Towel Rail TV combines two essentials of the bath of the future: warm towels and entertainment. When you’re not watching the waterproof 17-inch LCD television, it is a mirror.
Cost: $4,000 and up.
High-style bath furniture
Another bath trend is to bring the look of furniture into the bath for a clean, uncluttered atmosphere. Lacava’s Aquaplane vanities exemplify the trend with a two-drawer cabinet with a Wenge finish beneath a broad basin.
Cost: Cabinet $990 to $1,190; basin $490; medicine cabinet $835 to $980.
Washing and drying automated
Toto makes several hands-free bath fixtures, including this WI-Touch Hands-Free wireless remote control that lets you operate a faucet without touching it. An electronic valve controller is installed beneath the sink and activated when you touch a remote-controlled sensor or foot pedal. The remote can be placed on the floor or the countertop or installed at knee or elbow level within three feet of the control box. The aim is to minimize the spread of cold and flu viruses and bacteria and also reduce the work of cleaning the sink. The unit (cost: roughly $550) can be installed by a homeowner and used with any standard manual faucet. Toto also makes a recessed Clean Dry Hand Dryer,which the company says is extremely quiet, performs in less than 12 seconds and consumes a quarter of the energy of similar products. Its washable filter helps freshen room air.
Cost: roughly $1,200.
Intelligent toilet
Toto’s “intelligent design” toilet seat uses a microcomputer to unite two traditional bathroom appliances, the toilet and bidet. After using the toilet, you stay seated on the heated digital Washlet seat, which is made of anti-bacterial plastic. Use the remote control unit to direct streams of warm, aerated water onto your body, eliminating the need for paper and reducing the spread of bathroom germs. (Guys use the remote control to lift the seat.) To use the drying cycle, choose one of three temperatures, sending a flow of warm air to dry your skin. The unit automatically self-cleans before and after each use. Most Washlet models have a remote control and docking station and work with any toilet. The premier Washlet S400 is compatible only with select Toto toilets: It flushes the toilet automatically three seconds after the user stands up and its “intuitive” lid closes on its own.
Cost: $800 to $1,400.
Hidden tank
Toto was emphasizing water and energy conservation in its plumbing products long before “green” was cool. The newly released Aquia high-efficiency toilet has its tank hidden in the wall for a sleek, minimalist look that the Japanese plumbing manufacturer says was inspired by the lines in nature. The bowl is glazed with a material that helps keep grime from building up. The dual flushing system lets the user choose to use a smaller or larger amount of water used: 1.6 gallons per flush for full flush or 0.9 gallons for the light flush.
Cost: roughly $350 for the toilet and $660 for the concealed tank carrier.
Glowing basins
Translucent scratch- and heat-resistant epoxy resin is used in a new line of Toto Luminist sinks and tubs that can be lit from beneath to give bathrooms an otherworldy glow. Water temperature is digitally controlled by a knob on the surface of the sink or tub. A light indicator panel uses color to read water temperature: blue is cold; light purple indicates 93.2 degrees F; dark purple is 100.4 degrees and red is very hot — 107.6 degrees.
Cost: Neorest II Luminist lavatory with integrated sensor faucet $6,200; Neorest II Luminist soaking tub with integrated sensor bath faucet, $17,500.
Massage with sound
Kohler’s VibrAcoustic Bath mixes up the bath experience, adding music and sound vibration to an ergonomic tub to sooth the weary mind and body. A digital control panel lets you select tub level, water temperature and one of four instrumental compositions (Awakening, Solitude, Letting Go and Transcendence). Music is piped underwater through one stereo system and played into the atmosphere through a second. Or choose other massage presets and add your own music by operating your MP3 player through the system. Colored “chromatherapy” lights are choreographed to the music.
Cost: $10,000 to $13,000, including electronic controls
Take off the chill
In the quest to make the bath into a cozy haven, homeowners are installing small, direct-vent natural gas or propane fireplaces. For example, Canadian manufacturer Napoleon reports that any of its direct-vent gas fireplaces can be used in a bathroom. This model, the Torch, measures just 12 inches across and has a shallow firebox that fits nicely between 2-by-6-inch wall studs. It puts out about 6,000 BTUs.
Cost: Suggested retail price starts at $1,608
Japanese influence
Diamond Spas‘ Bennett reports a trend toward individual expression in bathrooms. “The shift I see is in aquatic personalization. People are looking for something unique, handcrafted quality and beauty, a bath made by artisans rather than mass-produced, a bath that was made exclusively for them.” City apartment and loft dwellers often choose small, deep Japanese soaking baths that provide a space-saving vertical soak rather than horizontal, she says. This circular, one-person tub, 42 inches around by 35 inches deep, has a bench seat.
Cost: $15,284.
Luxury tubs
“Soaking tub” is a term used a lot for luxury tubs. “Designs vary from a smaller bath with a deeper depth, such as a Japanese soaker, to a large rectangular bath with a body forming contoured bottom,” says Stephanie Bennett of Diamond Spas, a Colorado company that crafts custom stainless steel and copper tubs to buyers’ specifications. The tub pictured here is a contemporary, oval, full-skirted soaking bath designed for two: 42 inches wide by 72 inches long by 24 inches deep. It has a midcontoured bottom with a sloping reclined area at each end for relaxing face-to-face conversation.
Cost: $16,982.
The Priciest Automobile on the Planet.-The Citroen GT
OPULUXE Lounge Grooves™ PlayList
World’s Most Expensive Car – Citroen
The GT by Citroën (sometimes spelled GTbyCitroën) is a sports car
that debuted as a concept car on October 2 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
The car is a collaboration between the French automaker Citroën and the
Japanese racing simulation developer Polyphony Digital. An extremely
limited edition, only 6 cars
are to be built.
World’s Most Expensive Car – Citroen
Polyphony Digital’s Citroën GT is set to become one of the most
expensive “production cars”
(if you can really call it that…) sold today, coming in at £1.1
million pounds or approximately $1.8 million U.S. dollars. AutoCar got
the scoop from “senior inside sources”, who revealed that only six of
the cars will be
made — all of which will be powered by either a “Ford or GM V8?. That’s
considerably less than the 20 production models that were hinted at
before, but according to AutoCar, “most of the concept’s features should
make the final production version, including the carbon-fibre
construction and eccentric interior details such as the copper trim.”
Sweet! The final production version of the car is expected to be
launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September.
While you’re saving up, check out this video showing the GT’s recent
tour around London.
via [YouTube]
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