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Casa Beta: Thomas O'Brien Small Crackle Glass Lamp

casasugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:45:47 -0800

Target recently sent me the Thomas O'Brien Small Crackle Glass Lamp ($29.99), which is part of O'Brien's "Vintage Modern" line for Target's 2008 Fall Home Collection. When it comes to luminaries, I don't take things lightly. I have a mild obsession with light fixtures, and I like to have an eclectic mix of lamps, sconces, pendants, chandeliers, and candles in my home. So lampies, to make it past my front door, you've got to be pretty spiffy. Did this Crackle Glass Lamp pass my test? Find out when you

Casa Beta: Diptyque's Feu de Bois Room Spray

casasugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0800

"What is this stuff? Perfume?" my husband asked me when I brought home a bottle of Diptyque's Feu de Bois Room Spray ($60). French for “wood fire,” the promo materials for this room spray promised that "Diptyque’s Feu de Bois candle is the perfect substitution for a crackling fireplace. The earthy-but-refined spray is infused with a complex scent that is evocative of fir trees, firewood, and autumn woodlands."

So, did the hype live up to the actual effect? Find out when you

Casa Beta: Yumi & Lauri blanQuette

casasugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:45:22 -0800

Interested in a throw that's a step above the ordinary? Then try the Y&L blanQuette, a lightweight blanket resembling an oversize plush Turkish towel. Made of 50 percent organic cotton and 50 percent bamboo, the blanQuette measures in at a generous six-and-a-half by almost five feet wide. It's available in five different collections: The St. Moritz, Nevis, Laguna, Milan, and Furano, which each feature varying colors and patterns. Each blanQuette sells for $195 to $235.

Yumi & Lauri was founded by mother and entrepreneur Laurie Suzuki, who was inspired to turn Turkish towels into something more luxurious and versatile — which led to the birth of the blanQuette. Her commitment to eco-friendly practices also contributed to the organic content of the blanQuette.

I recently had the opportunity to test out a blanQuette from the Laguna collection. To hear my thoughts on it,

Casa Beta: Sumo Omni

casasugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:00:04 -0700

Recently, I got to test the Sumo Omni ($149). While it's technically a bean bag, it's a lot cooler than the bean bags I grew up with. The Omni is close to indestructible, made from rip-proof nylon and filled with Sumo Beads (aka tiny white foam balls). It's big, too, measuring in at 4.5 by 5.5 feet.

To hear what I thought of the Omni, as well as the opinions of some of my fellow Sugar friends,

Casa Beta: Graham & Brown Paste the Wall Wallpaper

casasugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:15:12 -0700

Even if you know how to hang wallpaper like a pro, it's still a bit of an intimidating task. And removing it — be it by the soak-and-scrape method or with a steamer — is always a big ole, time-intensive pain in the butt. Or, it was, until the Graham & Brown Paste the Wall wallpaper came around.I came across this novel wallpaper technology, which claimed to make "wallpapering simple, clean, and quick for even the novice decorator," because it peels off in full sheets, requiring no steaming or scraping, and because you paste the wall itself rather than the paper when hanging. Could this be love? I was a little skeptical, so I asked Graham & Brown to send me a roll, so I could try it out myself. To hear my analysis,

Casa Beta: A Tale of Two Towels

casasugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:15:56 -0700

Christy, a top UK towel manufacturer, has recently brought its bath and beach towels to the US market, and I was lucky enough to test a couple of them.

The first towel I tried, which is shown above, was from the Embrace collection ($38 for one bath towel). Made from micro modal, silk, and cotton, this is, I can honestly say, the softest towel I've ever used. It feels incredibly good on your skin and is a treat to blot your face with after you've given it a good wash. I was pleased with this towel in nearly every way; however, it seemed to snag rather easily, perhaps because the silk and modal isn't as durable as cotton.

I also tried a towel from Christy's Organic line. To see how I liked this one,

Casa Beta: Flip & Tumble Bags

casasugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:30:51 -0700

Designed to go from a full size bag to a small ball in seconds, Flip & Tumble is for those of us without the foresight to predict spontaneous shopping sprees (a.k.a. non-superheros). I've arrived at the grocery store checkout countless times about to buy a week's worth of grub, only to discover I've forgotten one of the slew reusable bags I have at home. A week of carrying around my teeny, weeny, light-as-a-feather Flip & Tumble in my purse, and I've realized how bulky a canvas bag is, regardless of how quickly Anya Hindmarch's trendy "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" flew off the shelves. In the suburbs, where it's more common to drive from shop to shop, perhaps a bigger reusable bag would work because you can keep it in your car. But in the city, where I spend $15 every time I walk down the street, it's both convenient and environmentally responsible to have a reusable bag small enough to carry with me at all times.

To see more of the Flip & Tumble's features, including what it looks like when it's rolled, up

Casa Beta: Dyson DC24

casasugar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:04:40 -0800

The nice people over at Dyson recently gave me the exclusive opportunity to test out their new Dyson DC24 vacuum ($399.99). As a disclaimer, I've never enjoyed vacuuming, and try to pawn off the responsibility whenever possible. But, after a few sessions with the Dyson DC24, I was singing in the rain. To begin, I unloaded the box, expecting a dozen parts to put together along with a confusing manual. On the contrary, there were only four (!) pieces to put together, and no manual was required — easy, breezy, beautiful. Then came the vacuuming part.

Casa Beta: Ordering Furniture Online

casasugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:00:25 -0800

Way back in early September, I ordered a sofa and chair from Macy's. I'd been looking for a new sofa for several months, and with the killer deals at Macy's annual Columbus Day Sale, I took advantage of the reduced prices on furniture and grabbed the Corona sofa and chair, whose modern lines and dark color appealed to both my design sensibilities and my dog ownership. Unfortunately, as is often the case with ordering furniture online, the pieces I wanted were on backorder, and they wouldn't arrive in the warehouse until November.

To find out the rest of the story, just

Casa Beta: Clorox's Green Works Line

casasugar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:15:47 -0800

I was recently sent a variety of products from Clorox's new green cleaning line, Green Works.
To hear what I thought about this new line of green cleaning products, just

Casa Beta: Bemz Cover

casasugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:34:40 -0800

While I have been a big fan of the Bemz slipcovers in theory, I hadn't had a chance to check one out for myself. Luckily though, Bemz was kind enough to send me a cover for an Ikea Lillberg rocking chair.

Now, this rocking chair is incredibly comfy. I love it. It's big and wide and the cushions are firm and supportive. However, it looks like this:

It is so boring. The cover isn't even white, it's a weird oatmeal color which just looks dirty. Before the Bemz cover showed up I'd been covering it with yards of fabric and hiding it away in our office.

To see the radical transformation and to hear about the rest of my Bemz experience, just

Casa Beta: Izola Faile Shower Curtain

casasugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:01:50 -0800

Welcome to Casa Beta, where we test out all sorts of home products before recommending them to you!

My friend Richard started a company called Izola, which prints whimsical patterns, photographs of international destinations, and limited edition artwork onto shower curtains. The curtains have been on my radar for some time now, but I wasn't convinced of their coolness until he sent me a curtain printed with artwork by Faile, an international artist collective known for their contemporary stencil graffiti. According to my pal, "Faile has recently in the past six months become an unusually hot commodity in the art world, with works selling at Sotheby's starting at $48K and hanging in the same galleries as Basquiat and Warhol. The last Faile show sold out entirely, selling well over $1 million in works."

I was very thorough in reading the directions which came with the curtain, which said to rinse before installing. Good thing, because the vinyl was very potent at first. The smell subsided within a day and now I'm just excited to have a serving of art-pop culture with my evening showers. Also very important: it does a darn good job of keeping the water off of my tile floors. I'm just hoping one day they'll commission Banksy to bring his stenciling graffiti to my tub. My assessment: 4/5 stars.