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Posts tagged “heat & cold”

Adorable Portable Fireplace

Before I tell you any more about Piet, let's lay it all out on the table: Sadly, this sweet little ethanol-burning fireplace is not available for sale. It's the master's thesis project of Fredrik Cava...

Look! Readying the Home for Fall with Blankets

We love getting out extra blankets for fall. We always leave a few in the living room for the season's chills, and we've found it's a way to warm up the room even when you aren't all snuggled up. Th...

Extreme DIY: Radiant Floor Heating

We swoon at the thought of heated floors. Efficient, green, and oh-so-toasty, a floor heated from beneath with a radiant hot water system is perfect for San Francisco, where it's often colder inside t...

Does the SF Fog Affect Your Color Choices?

Anh-Minh had a really interesting article in the Chronicle this week - all about the effects of fog on color choices for interiors. She spoke to three SF designers......

Oakland Home With Straw-Bale Insulation Up For Sale

click thumbnails for larger picsThe little pig of children's story fame didn't have great luck with his house built from straw, but in reality, straw has many advantages as a building material (over ...

Look! Pretty Painted Radiator

We were looking for information on painting radiators and came across this pretty decorative paint job by San Francisco's Robinson Finishes. The radiator has been refreshed with a white coat of pain...

Using Towel Warmers as Heaters

Because it's technically winter here in San Francisco, we've been looking at elegant ways to heat the house. The ugly furnace from 1994 is the only heating source we have. It is on our to-do list to r...

3 Modern Outdoor Fireplaces
California Home + Design

A pretty dreamy addition to a patio or garden, a fireplace truly turns an outdoor space into another room. It provides a focal point and extends the usability of the space into a nighttime gathering s...

Fan Blades from SkyMall

Face it, San Francisco is a city of renters. And as renters, we all know of some of the hideous things that can come with an apartment. Like those tacky brass and faux wood ceiling fans. Yuck! Tha...

Four Ways to Beat the Heat

It's hot. Too hot. And like most other San Francisco dwellers, we don't have AC. So, how are we beating this heat? Here are some tips we use in our own home to help keep us cool......

Denim Insulation in the California Academy of Sciences Building

We've heard of denim insulation before, but not on this scale. The new California Academy of Sciences Building in Golden Gate Park is insulated with 200,000 pairs of jeans donated by the Levi Strauss...

SF Good Questions: How Can I Disguise Air Conditioner Hoses?

AT:SF, My condo complex doesn't allow window A/C units. Through-the-wall units are OK but that's out of my budget for a while. So I bought this "portable" 14000 BTU cooling/heating unit unit for my up...

Before and After: Our Fireplace

before (jump below for after) This Good Question came up last week and we thought we'd share our own fireplace before and after (thus far). We're still looking for a new back leg for our ancient Wedge...

Audit Home for Energy Efficiency
SF Chronicle: 04.19.08

Holistic isn't a word we often associate with our home. Yet it makes sense that all of a home's systems -- heating, insulation, ventilation, lighting -- are related to one another. In this weekend's...

Insulating Window Film

It's cold out there. We love most of the 1930's details of our house - the built-ins, crown molding, six inch tall baseboard, even the original kitchen cabinets. One thing we don't love, especially in...

Blogging Sunset: Welcoming Winter Patios

Winter and patio aren't two words we'd necessarily associate with one another, not to mention welcoming. But Sunset magazine manages to make a compelling case that all three of these concepts cou...

Classic Hot Water Bottle at Lehman's

Cold feet seem to be a theme around here these days. With temperatures dropping (snow in the Bay Area?!) and the rain pouring down, we're trying to avoid turning up the heat to save a little energy....

SF Good Questions: Help Me Make My Heater Look Better

AT, I have this wall heater in my rental. I'd like to make it look a little more inconspicuous, and thought about surrounding it with a mantel from a salvage place -- but yesterday's trip to Whole H...

SF Good Questions: Window Treatments to Keep the Cold Out and the Warm In?

Hi Apartment Therapy. I moved into my apartment over the summer, and the place would heat up nicely throughout the day so that when I came home from work it was cozy and warm, just from the heat pr...

Psychedelic Snake Draught Excluder from Refab

An oldie but goodie. "Draught excluder" is apparently the fancy British way of saying"stuffed snake that keeps cold air from coming in under the door." If our mom didn't make them, someone's mom ce...

Balance Fireplace by Conmoto

Traditional fireplaces be gone. While, honestly, we'd be happy with any type of fireplace at all, Conmoto's Balance Fireplace has now become our fantasy fireplace. ...

Vintage Vornado Air Circulator

Is it any wonder that we've been thinking about fans this week? This year our Indian Summer is even more dramatic since this is our first real heat wave. If it keeps up, we may actually break down ...

Chimo Fireplaces

It's hard enough to find an affordable apartment in San Francisco without requiring period extras like a wood-burning fireplace. And the gas ones can be a little cheesy. So this product fascinates: a ...

Late-Breaking Contest News: Win a $50,000 Energy Efficiency Makeover

Bay Area homeowners have until Wednesday to enter their homes in a contest to win a $50,000 Energy Efficiency Makeover. In the Energy-Efficient Home Makeover, sponsored by Flex Your Power, KGO Ra...

EcoSmart Fire

We admit it. We're a little fixated on heat and warmth these days. So we were intrigued when Marin Outdoor Living wrote to us to say that they're "really excited about the EcoSmart Fire that has no ...