Category Archives: XNews

The Advent of Contemporary Furniture

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Contemporary furniture was a break away from previous designs in that it provided a more accessible form of quality design, with its unique styling and use of cheaper materials. Prior to the contemporary furniture movement, items tended to be sought for their grandeur and as a result of this, furniture was crafted to such extremes that the more desirable pieces were far beyond the reach of the average consumer.

With the advent of contemporary furniture came a new opportunity to bring beautifully designed, simple, yet functional pieces into the mainstream – although for original or iconic pieces, you can still expect to pay a fairly hefty sum. Fortunately, because there seems to be no end to the popularity of some of the earliest and most iconic pieces of contemporary furniture, it’s easy to find amazing reproductions that are almost as good as the real thing.

Contemporary furniture broke away from the traditional form, shunning the historical influence that had been relied upon for so many years. Instead, designers looked to inject a feeling of freshness, creating items that were almost futuristic in their conception. The clean and simplistic lines of contemporary furniture were not the only things that changed. During the late 19th century and early 20th century the West were finally welcomed to trade with the Japanese, and the country’s striking designs were embraced by famous contemporary designers such as Eileen Gray and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Furniture started to become more clever, with care and attention being given to its function, form and features, the blend of which made items far more appealing and versatile. The Eileen Gray side table is a classic example of this, created at the request of her sister, for a table that could adjust to fit on the bed, thereby providing a ‘breakfast in bed’ option. It is also probably no surprise that many contemporary furniture designers of the time were also architects – the form of this furniture definitely takes on advanced, almost engineering-type qualities, often resulting in contemporary chairs and tables that seem to defy the laws of gravity and the expected conventions of furniture as a whole. It is certain that this was largely achieved by the creator’s understanding of design on a wider scale, as well as the many different types of materials that were being adopted.

Prior to contemporary furniture design, items were hand-crafted, predominately from wood, which meant that pieces were vast, heavy and expensive. Cheaper woods, such as plywood, and other materials including stainless steel and plastic went a long way to bringing conceptually creative furniture to the masses – and its enduring popularity proves that they designers got the formula just right.

Floor Mats – Now With More Rubber

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OEM floor mats are not always made to strict quality standards. They can often get worn out in a matter of months, fraying at the edges and sporting deep wear spots under your heel. The good news is that they are easy to replace. The even better news is that there are many quality manufacturers out there who know how to make a floor mat out of high quality nylon that can withstand the abuse.

Available options include OEM replacements, custom logo floor mats, super plush carpeted floor mats and even some high quality rubber floor mats. OEM replacements are usually the entry level, mid-grade floor mat. They are a no-frills, get the job done floor mat. Logo mats are usually made from higher quality fabrics than your OEM mats, providing you with a more durable mat that adds a customized touch to your interior. Vehicle logo emblems, NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA and military logo floor mats are the most common types, however it is possible to find custom logo floor mats available for special order. Plush carpeted floor mats are the top-of-the-line; up to 48 ounces in weight and made from premium nylons, these mats will last forever and can even reduce the amount of road noise in your cabin. Most carpeted mats are available in various colors, the most common of which are black, grey and tan.

Rubber floor mats, on the other hand, are a whole different animal. These mats, also commonly referred to as All Weather floor mats, are often quite thick and they will have some sort of a tread on them. This tread gives your feet traction and allows dirt, grime, snow and water to run off your feet, but stay out of your carpets. If you live in a climate that sees a lot of snow, a high-walled rubber floor mat will do the best job protecting your auto carpet from mildew-inducing moisture. Rubber mats can often work as a complete floor liner, giving you 100% coverage on the carpet that really sees foot traffic. These rubber floor liners are usually a 1-piece custom molded mat, however it is not uncommon to find them in a 3-piece overlapping design. The more versatile 3-piece design is used to accommodate irregularities in the floor, like having a center hump under the carpet or to help make provisions for stick shifts and center consoles.

Buying a Wooden Garden Storage

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Do you have a compact garden with nowhere to store anything? Do your outdoor living items have to live indoors? Well now there is a versatile solution to your storage problems – the wooden storage box.

There are many types of wooden storage box designed specifically to fit in small gardens and house all your outdoor items such as lawnmowers, tools and hosepipes. In this article we explain a few of the different types and explain what sort of items they can store.

First is the wooden wheelie bin store. This is essentially a ‘as it says on the tin’ item – as it stores your wheelie bin. It has been especially designed with the UK wheelie bin in mind and is a great way to stop your rubbish bins blowing around in the wind or making your garden look unattractive. Usually a wooden wheelie bin store is a three sided wooden box with a fixed roof that has doors on the fourth side, allowing easy access for removing and replacing your bin. As most households in the UK have a bin for refuge and one for recycling, wheelie bin stores come in single or double width depending on the number of wheelie bins you have to store.

The second type of wooden storage for your garden is a traditional wooden chest. These are also referred to as ‘deck stores’ or ‘patio boxes’. These typically take the form of a rectangular box with a hinged lid. In additional, some come with a removable front panel for easy access to everything inside. These garden chests come in a variety of different sizes and are ideal for small gardens as they can be placed on a patio or decked area. They are designed to hide away smaller garden items such as garden tools and the hose pipe, however they are also perfect for storing children’s outdoor toys. The hinged lid often comes with supports so your hands are free to add or remove items easily.

Log stores are another great item. Similar to a wooden chest or deck store. Log stores come in various shapes and sizes. Some enclosed with a hinged lid, others with an open front and hinged lid. These are a beautifully rustic solution for your garden space. Personally I think these can be a great feature and with braziers getting more and more popular, people tend to use these to store there brazier logs.

The next type of wooden storage designed for the smaller garden is the wall store. This is typically a small version of a garden shed and can sometimes be referred to as a tool store. Tool stores are shorter than the traditional shed and aren’t designed to be walked in, they are instead designed to house larger garden items such as lawnmowers, rakes and spades. They can either have slanted, flat or apex roofs so you can choose one to suit your garden style. Again wall stores come in a range of sizes and one can be found to fit any outside space, even a balcony!

Now that we’ve discussed the variety of wooden storage solutions available to buy in the UK, we’re going to address the advantage of wooden storage over metal or plastic varieties.

Metal garden storage solutions are available to buy and although they offer lots in the way of security, they don’t offer much in maneuverability or style. Generally metal storage boxes are very heavy and cannot be easily moved to other locations in the garden. Although often treated with weather resistant paint, this can peel or chip away to leave the metal store exposed to moisture and ultimately rust which can be unsightly.

Plastic storage solutions are also available to buy and although they come in a range of different colours and styles, they are not very durable. Plastic stores are generally light when empty or only partially full which means that although they can be easily moved to different locations in the garden, they can also be moved by strong winds. Another disadvantage to plastic storage boxes is that they aren’t as secure as metal or wooden storage solutions and can be more easily broken into.

The great thing about Wooden storage solutions is that they are pre treated to be weather resistant and as the treatment soaks into the wood. However most of these treatments are a pre treatment and we would recommend treating with a high quality preserver before you fill with your outdoor garden essentials. Depending on the size of the wooden storage box, it may still be easily maneuverable when empty to allow it to be moved around the garden. One of the main advantages of a wooden storage box is a variety of sizes and styles available. There is not doubt there is one for you to blend in with the style of your house or garden.

Log stores are another great item. Similar to a wooden chest or deck store. Log stores come in various shapes and sizes. Some enclosed with a hinged lid, others with an open front and hinged lid. These are a beautifully rustic solution for your garden space. Personally I think these can be a great feature and with braziers getting more and more popular, people tend to use these to store there brazier logs.

Free Energy From Static Electricity

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Would you like to generate electricity for your home month after month, without paying hefty electricity bills? If so, free energy systems have the perfect answer for you. There are a range of free energy products that can be used to generate electricity for your home from free resources. These devices are based on a wide variety of principles. In fact, there are numerous devices invented by energy enthusiasts around the world. Some of these techniques have been refined and modified for maximum efficiency and consistency.

One of the devices uses static electricity around us to produce usable electricity for your home. Our atmosphere always contains electrostatic charges. With proper equipment, these static charges can be harnessed to produce electric current.

The following is a device that you can construct yourself to illustrate the concept of free energy from static electricity. A long wire acts as the main absorber of electrostatic charges in the atmosphere. This wire must be laid out without touching any other conductor, either vertically, or in an S shape if space is a constraint. You can use nylon thread to insulate ends of the wire to ensure that the wire does not touch any other conducting material. The longer the wire is, the more the charge collected; and similarly, the higher the wire is placed, the more the charge gathered.

Once the wire has been installed correctly, you must use additional components to convert the static electricity into current electricity. The wire is connected to a spark plug, a condenser, an ignition coil, a diode, and a battery, with some of the components grounded. These elements allow the static charges to be stored in the battery, which can be connected to your household circuit to generate electricity for your home. You can improve the efficiency of this device by several tweaks, such as using a rectifier instead of a diode, and so on.

The amount of electricity produced depends a lot on weather conditions, as the amount of electrostatic charges on the atmosphere depends on the weather. A lot of wind increases the efficiency of the devices, but humidity in the atmosphere makes the device less efficient. The device serves to demonstrate the proof of concept of free energy systems that generate electricity for your home using static electricity as the energy source.