In case you get sick and tired of lounging in the sun this long weekend

The good folks at Home Depot want to make sure you’re not bored over the long weekend, so they’ve come up with a few projects  to keep you busy. Here’s one:

Photo Feature Shelf (one day)

This weekend, create a gallery wall by installing a picture rail and lining it with an LED light rope. Here's how it's done:

Create the shelf and shelf top by cutting wood planks to the desired length.

Fasten together at a 90º angle, using a combination of glue and screws.

Once secured, sand, prime and paint. TIP:Paint the underside of the shelf white to reflect the LED lights.

Or you can cheat and use Ikea’s Ribba picture rail. (My idea, not Home Depot's, natch!)

Using the clips and attachment accessories that come with the light set, secure the LED rope lights to the underside of the shelf.

Attach to the wall. Try to place shelf near an outlet so the plug can be hidden.

Click here for step-by-step instructions:  

Most eco-friendly ways to stay cool are pretty much no-brainers. But they bear repeating, because Canadians use a lot of energy on AC cooling. Here are a few tips:

Close drapes on south-facing windows before the suns begins to hit them. Any kind of covering will help, but some are made specifically to boost the effect, such as Levolor’s Energy Shield models (blinds shown above are from Levolor). Awnings can help too. The Sunbrella site cites a study by the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers that says an awning can reduce heat gain by 55 to 65 per cent on southern-facing windows and 72 to 77 per cent on western exposures.

I love ceiling fans, and have one in almost every room. They help immensely, either by creating a breeze or, on the few times when I do turn the AC on, allowing me to keep it at sane setting.

A reader suggested putting in a pergola, or "celestory doors" to fasten onto the house to create an entry to a green and shady garden. Don’t forget that a tall shade tree on the south-facing side will help.

If you do install central AC, position the unit on a north wall and plant a shrub no less than 24 inches from the unit. That can save up to 10 per cent on your energy bill. (Just don’t let shrubs or weeds grow up around the unit.)

A well-insulated attic will keep your house cooler, so consider adding extra before it gets super hot.  I recently used Owens Corning blow-in insulation with an AttiCat  machine rented from Home Depot. Super-easy and WAY faster than I expected. 

Lastly, why not just enjoy the heat?  After all, it will be December before you know it!

Not so cool

If the AC in your car or your home seems slow and inefficient, you might be tempted to pick up one of the DIY refrigerant replacement kits now being sold. But the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) wants you think twice before you do. The national association, which represents some 1,300 heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturers, wholesalers and contractors, has just launched an awareness campaign that questions the safety and environmental friendliness of  DIY kits that contain flammable hydrocarbon refrigerants.  

According to HRAI, the hydrocarbon refrigerants used are made up of a mixture of propane and isobutene, and can, they suggest, cause fires if vapors came into contact with combustion flames or spark igniters.

Further, the association says that manufacturers of air conditioning systems don’t use hydrocarbon refrigerants in existing air conditioning systems because they’re not approved for this use, and that using them could void the manufacturer’s warranty.

Then there’s the question of leakage and disposal.The makers of one of these kits, Red Tek, sold at Canadian Tire, instructs users that older systems must have refrigerants removed by a qualified professional before the kit can be used. But what about the DIY’er who skips that step, and inadvertently leaks the fluid? You do not want to breathe this stuff, touch it or send it into the sewer system. It’s worth noting that on Canadian Tire’s site, four out of five consumer reviews of Red Tek’s 22A replacement and retrofit kit complained of leaks.

Look for more on this story coming up. In the meantime, if you’re at all unsure about how to safely use these products, get a qualified pro to do it for you. Or do as we’ve done – commit to an AC-free summer in the car this year. (Check back with me on August to see how I’ve done on this one!)

 

 

Pretty pics

Hhhhm. Just found these lovely pics in my Inbox (see above) from Decolav, a company I’ve not yet heard of. But the shots make me want to check it out. Pretty.

The Story of Oi

Here’s a Canadian design/manufacturing venture worth watching. Oi Furniture  is environmentally friendly, modular furniture that has garnered attention from cool kids at New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), Treehugger, Core77, NotCot, Design-Milk, and  Apartment Therapy. Its clever flat packaging was also recognized by packaging website TheDieline.com  as one of the top 100 package designs in the world for 2010, and the line was on display at the 2010 WIRED Store in New York.  Recently, the Winnipeg-based team was in Chicago at NeoCon 2011.  If you missed them in the Windy City, you can catch them on Facebook or follow their tweets.

Good news if you love westelm and Pottery Barn

Heard this week that you can now shop online in Canada at potterybarn.com, potterybarnkids.com and westelm.com and have it delivered.  Prices reflect duty, and shipping rates are comparable to the U.S. Here’s what I’d buy online right this minute. Shane Powers' hanging glass vases (see above - also love his ceramics, also shown above) or terracotta “Hive” vases that have – you guessed it – a pentagonal pattern. This because I’m running out of vessels for the peonies from my garden, with which the house is now dripping. Naturally, I need more vases - because after the peonies come the poppies.

 

You can never have too much Moxie

Had an interesting conversation with Marissa McTasney this week. She’s the brainy business babe (I think she’d be okay with that description!) who founded Moxie Trades, which makes construction gear for women (including the cool glasses at left and boots below).

BTW - Moxie Trades' latest venture  is a Canada-wide contest to find the country's Moxiest Work Woman. The prize is $1,000, a $500 Stanley tool kit, a full set of Moxie gear and a spot in the next Moxie catalogue. Check the website for details. 

While interviewing her for a Hot Home Products column about safety gear, we talked about how men and women approach the issue. “Women think of safety differently than men,” insists McTasney. “They are logical, but they’re also emotional, so they think ‘well, I’ve got to be safe because I gotta pick up the kids at three’. You don’t usually have to tell a woman twice to put her safety gear on.”

Her biggest tips for getting through reno and maintenance work without a trip to Emerg? Keep your eyes, ears, hand and feet protected. And keep your workplace clear. “It’s the one thing people forget. I’ve seen my husband do it — they think that they don’t need to bother, because they’re only doing one quick cut. But the space has to be clear to be safe. And take your time — remember that every job will take twice as long as you think. If you go slow, you’re less likely to have a problem, either with your project or in terms of safety.”

Venice Biennale welcomes Canadian artists via video

Italy is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its unification by opening the doors to what is arguably its most prestigious cultural event ­— the Venice Biennale, which for the first time ever will include Italian artists living outside the country. Just don't get too excited - those works will be displayed on video.

Still, Canada will be represented by three artists, including Tony Calzetta (works shown above) who has been for the last 30 years working mainly on canvas and paper, but who occasionally wanders off into sculpture and printmaking. He's collaborated on three books, including How God Talks In His Sleep and Other Fabulous Fictions with Leon Rooke.

Vincenzo Pietropaolo is a Toronto-based independent documentary photographer known for photo essays on immigration, work, and the labour movement. He has published eight books of photography, including Making Home in Havana, Not Paved with Gold and Harvest Pilgrims. His latest documentary project, Invisible No More deals with Canadians with intellectual disabilities.

Francesca Vivenza graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan. Vivenza has been living and working in Toronto since1970. Her mixed media practice includes books, collages and recently, a site-specific installation,Tentative Itineraries, that explores distance and disorientation.

Retrospectives of the work of these artists can be seen until November 27 at the Italian Cultural Institute. The exhibition, a video of which will be screened at the Padiglione Italia, was curated by Corrado De Luca of De Luca Fine Art Gallery.

 

 

 

Easy being green? Not really. But there is help.

With apologies to Kermit ­— and headline writers around the world  — I’ve never actually thought it was that easy being green. Living a low eco-impact lifestyle is full of challenges, questions and sometimes compromises. So I’m delighted to see that there’s a new website called Practically Green that offers information and inspiration for living more lightly on the planet. You can go there to do a survey that will tell you how green you currently are, and get  tips for amping up your eco quotient. Good greenies are rewarded with fun “badges”. There’s also a blog section, where you’ll find world-famous writers (like me, for example) offering suggestions on how to be eco-sensible in every area of the home. Do check it out.

 

Why buy close to home? Just ask the folks at ELocal

One of the best and clearest explanations of why it’s good to buy local I’ve ever seen is on the website of ELocal, an online directory of U.S. city guides. Click here to see it. And while you’re there, check out the Blog-Off section, where a variety of experts weigh in on topics of interest to homeowners. Blog-Off-ers include everyone from roofers to electricians to architects to small-space and green living specialists. Clearly, they have a Very High Skilled roster of contributors, as the ever-growing list now includes, ahem, me — and a certain Jennifer Wilson .