Post Card/Recipe Boxes

You can never have too many boxes for holding the excess of information and correspondence we all gather about us. Boxes for postcards or recipe cards take up little room, but help keep desk and bench top under control. Plywood in the basic material for those boxes (three-ply) together with a quad surround to the base.

You may be able to get some off cuts of three-ply from a joinery shop to make the boxes. The quad can be obtained from a timber yard; you’ll need 600mm per box. You also need a handful of panel pins, glue and some varnish or paint. Then, making it requires only the basic woodworking skills.

Give the boxes quick sand and apply several coats of varnish or paint. If you are interested in craft, you could stencil some attractive motifs onto the boxes.

Source: Easy Home Projects

Wooden Beads

This wooden beads is a souvenir that my husband bought at Tasikmalaya, West Jawa, Indonesia.
The Weekend in Black and White

Window Improvement Hints

Windows play the important part in energy control. It’s estimated that they’re responsible for up to 90 per cent of heat gain in summer and more than 20 per cent of heat loss in winter.

1.Good quality, heavy curtains are an effective means of trapping heat, especially if the drapes extend from floor to ceiling and there is a pelmet. Open-weave cloth or or slatted blinds are, obviously, less efficient.

2. Double glazing, although expensive, is an effective way of locking in heat and shutting out unwanted warmth. Reflective film will also reduce the sun’s heat in summer, especially on west-facing windows, but this may not be a plus during winter in colder climes.

3. There are many types of awning on the market. Examine carefully for ease of installation; adjustability; efficient mechanism, longevity (the guarantee will give some indication). Color and pattern should team well with the style of the house.

4. Pruning or removing trees may provide an unexpected, inexpensive winter suntrap. Conversely, by planting a dense shrub or growing a vine over a screen, you can create an effective natural barrier to a too exuberant summer sun.

Source: Easy Home Projects
Image source: yourhomeimprovementco.com

Yellow Balloon

I captured it from a moving car. I guess a balloon like this could be an effective promotion tool. This one was used to inform new student acceptance period by a business institute in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A Row of Lamps

I saw these lamps in a shopping complex in my city. I guess it looks good in black and white. Have a great week end, everyone!

The Weekend in Black and White

Energy and Money Saving Improvements

There’s a simple relationship between energy and money: if you save energy, you save money. Take heating, for example. In winter, electricity, gas and timber are consumed in large quantities as we try to warm our homes and beat the winter shivers. In summer, we tend to utilize a similar amount of energy by trying to keep cool.

Depending on the extremes of the climate to which we are subjected, the energy costs can be very high. Ideally, a home should absorb and store the sun’s energy during winter and reflect and shed its surplus in summer.

If we could somehow design a home to catch the sun in winter and deflect it in summer, we’d have the best of both worlds. Is it possible?

Absorption of the sun’s heat is handled efficiently by careful deployment of glassed window areas. In winter, if we have north-facing windows that catch the full benefit of the available sun, then warming comfort is assured.

So, if you’re designing a new home, or redesigning an existing one, locate the living areas on the northern side and make sure there are plenty of windows. The roof of a north-facing room can be constructed of architectural glass, thereby creating a winter solarium. If it’s too impossible or too expensive to change walls or roofs, skylights can be let in or small windows enlarged.

In summer, if the eaves are the correct width, the sun is prevented for much of the day from shining directly on the glass. When it does, it can be ‘fielded’ with adjustable awnings, shutters or drapes. With west-facing windows-often a nuisance in the hot months- deep pergolas and low screens or dense foliage can be used to create shade.