Sunbeam Corp. recently introduced an electric blanket with a computer chip in it, making the cuddly thing “smarter” than the person underneath. The blanket knows exactly when and where the sleeper is cold, sending a rush of electric warmth to that particular body part.
Yes, there is no stopping this technotronic world.
But more than a few manufacturers and entrepreneurs are proving it doesn’t always take whiz-bang circuitry to impress. Some of the most interesting and useful products on the home front are really quite simple.
They are about good ideas, executed well and easily. They are meant to solve common problems and make life a little (or lot) easier. Here are some of our favorites:
1. Measure for measure. When retiree Richard Davis of Southern California started volunteering in the local schools, he learned something interesting: A lot of kids cannot measure-even with a tape measure. “They have trouble understanding fractions and distances,” says the former owner of a garden tool company. “The lines (on the measure) confuse them.”
Davis went home, blew up 2 inches to the size of a sheet of paper and wrote in the fractions so the kids could easily see them. The teaching aide later caught the eye of a workman who asked for a copy of the big, easy-to-read sheet. Several of his crew, he said, could benefit from a quick lesson on fractions.
And then Davis’ girlfriend saw the sheet and asked for a copy, confessing that standard tape measures confused her, as well.
At that point, Davis knew he was onto something. He sold the idea for a foolproof tape measure to Olympia Tools. The E-Z Read tape has extra-big numbers, markings in 1/8-inch fractions and, most important, dual markings in feet and inches.
E-Z Read costs about $8 at The Home Depot, True Value Hardware, Builders Square and Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
2. A bit of help. A new bit can turn your power drill into a strong arm around the back yard and garden. Mega-size, 3-inch-diameter augers come in 12- and 24-inch lengths, fit on 3/8-inch drive power drills and can till small areas, dig holes for plant stakes or bulbs, mix fertilizer and compost faster and with a lot less sweat than muscle-power alone.
The 12-inch power auger (Product No. 21-665) costs $24; $30 for the 24-inch-long size (Product No. 21-675) from Earthmade Products catalog; call 800-843-1819.
3. Oil change. For homemakers and mothers, oilcloth was one of the greatest products of the mid-20th Century. Colorful, wipe-cleanable and inexpensive, these were the tablecloths of outdoor parties and kitchens with young children.
Back then, oilcloth was made of scrim (a cheesecloth-like material) that had been saturated in a resin-type plastic. The scrim gave the cloth a lot of body and drape.
There was one problem, though. Oilcloth had a tendency to crack and peel, which led to its demise with the advent of modern plastics.
Enter several eras of vinyl tablecloths with fuzzy backs–and a lot less panache.
In the last few years, though, interest in the old oilcloth has blossomed. At least one California entrepreneur has figured out a way to manufacture genuine oilcloth (in the old 1930s, ’40s and ’50s prints) but using the new, improved plastics.
Like the old cloth, the new oilcloth is colorful, waterproof and perfect as a tablecloth or dropcloth under babies’ highchairs, children learning to finger-paint, etc.
Find the pictured oilcloth tablecloth ($34.95 for a 48-by-84-inch size, Product No. 5227) and place mats ($4.95 apiece at the stores; $19.95 for a set of four through the catalog, Product No. 5218) at Crate & Barrel stores; call 800-323-5461 to place catalog orders.
Find other tablecloth patterns ($18 for a 48-inch square) at Nonpareil, 2300 N. Clark St., 773-477-2933.
Find oilcloth (about $10 a yard) for sewing your own table linens, shower curtains, appliance covers, etc., at Fishman’s Fabrics, 1101 S. Des Plaines Ave., 312-922-7250.
4. Board games. Kids love to scribble on walls. It’s a fact of life, and it’s something that Benjamin Moore & Co. took to heart with its new Crayola Chalkboard Paint. The interior latex brushes on like any other paint, but turns walls (or floors, floor cloths, tabletops, any surface) into a forgiving drawing board. Write on it with chalk, erase later.
Certainly, applications go beyond the kids’ room. A blackboard wall in the kitchen, laundry room or over a telephone makes a convenient message board.
The low-odor paint contains no volatile organic compounds.
Comes in black only and sells for about $13 a quart at J.C. Licht Co. stores or through authorized Benjamin Moore dealers. Or, call 800-972-4685 for the nearest dealer.
5. Light from krypton. Good looks and good engineering come together in a new candelabra light bulb from Osram Sylvania.
Diamond-cut facets give the bulb a fancy sparkle.
But it is the invisible element inside the bulb that really distinguishes these incandescents.
Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, which contain argon gas, these bulbs are filled with krypton gas, which allows the bulbs to emit a bright, white, halogen-like light. Plus, the krypton makes the 32-watt bulbs glow for 4,000 hours, which is more than twice the life span of ordinary decorative incandescents.
The candelabra bulbs are the latest addition to Sylvania’s Crystal series. Bulbs have a standard candelabra base and can be used in chandeliers, pendant fixtures, wall sconces and in enclosed outdoor lighting.
The bulbs are about $3 for a two-pack at Builders Square, Menards and Sears Hardware stores.
6. Clean sweep. With rubber bristles and a telescoping handle that makes a long reach possible, the Sweepa is designed to be an indoor/outdoor, wet or dry broom. It sweeps, squeegees, scrubs and even picks up lint and pet hair from rugs.
The all-purpose broom, from Quality Special Products, can be cleaned in the dishwasher. It costs $12 to $15 at The Container Store, Linens ‘N Things and Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
7. House to go. One normally does not think of a house as an item that lands on your doorstep, ready to be assembled and that’s that.
But then there is Dennis Davey, who does.
The Connecticut architect saw a need in the housing market “for a very petite house, very inexpensive” targeted to people with certain situations/dilemmas.
Those being: young, first-time home buyers who don’t have a lot of money; people who need to move in an elderly parent but no ready space in the house; people with a home-based business and, again, no room.
Davey’s solution is the Home4Me, a prefabricated, fully insulated, 225-square-foot house that gets delivered to your door, in boxes and loose panels on a flatbed truck.
Cost of the house is $13,500, plus shipping and handling (about $400 to Chicago).
The buyer assembles the house with standard carpenter’s tools and a couple of friends. Davey says most people hire a lead carpenter and finish construction in three to five days.
The component-based house is innovative in a number of ways:
Davey met national building codes and, in some areas, the home can be erected in a back yard or attached to an existing house.
It comes totally complete–foundation, vinyl tile floor, electric heating, bathroom fixtures, kitchen fixtures, refrigerator and electric range are included.
Easy-living is the motto. Exterior wood is meant to weather naturally. Interior walls are prefinished, so no painting is necessary.
Volume spaces (a 14-foot cathedral ceiling in some areas and a loft space over the kitchen and the one bathroom) make the 15-by-15-foot home feel bigger. In addition to the kitchen and bathroom, rooms include a sitting/dining area, bedroom with built-in shelving and storage loft with ladder.
And finally, the plan can be expanded. Davey also sells three add-on options, bringing the house up to three bedrooms and 900 square feet.
Some buyers are getting creative with the usages, says Davey. They’re buying the house, plopping it down on a piece of countryside and calling it their vacation home.
For more information, call Dennis Davey, 860-875-1426.
8. Tool time. The darn thing about most Pegboard systems for hanging tools is that the board is not portable. Forget a tool and you make another trip down to the basement.
Zag Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of plastic products, modernized the old way of organizing tools with the Hang ‘n Carry Modular Pegboard System. A gray-colored frame stays secured to the wall. But the black pegboards can be snapped out, allowing the tools on that panel to be transported wherever. A built-in handle pops up to make carrying easy.
Four boards, which accommodate more than 200 tools, cost about $30 at The Home Depot stores.
9. Clean furniture. Call it clean furniture–furniture with well-placed drawers and compartments, meant to keep you (and the house) looking neat.
There are now coffee tables with built-in shelves for all those coffee-table books, cabinets with wells for compact discs and all kinds of dual-purpose furniture.
One of the nicest “clean” pieces we have seen is the writing desk created by noted Italian designer Antonio Citterio for the Apta collection for MAXALTO, a new division of B&B Italia, a veteran Italian furniture-maker.
Like other pieces in this collection, the desk has a strong sculptural look, without the bulk.
Drawers allow for easy stashing. Hinges whisk the writing surface away, turning the piece into a credenza, sofa table or hall table.
Available in dark wenge wood or in a lighter oak. The frame is nickel-satined steel. It costs $4,272 at Luminaire, 301 W. Superior St., 312-664-9582 or 800-494-4358.
