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youarenotthewalrus · 6 years

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this article is dumb, i shouldn’t be hate-reading and you shouldn’t either but here we are so let’s do this:

We begin with a description of a platformer doing something clever and metatextual at the end. Followed by;

What this means is that the game stands in stark contrast to an industry whose products, historically speaking, rely on hijacking the reptile brains of hormone-crazed teenaged boys. In short, the history of videogames is the history of the glorification of violence.

Ah yes, who can forget such bloodthirsty products of the military-industrial complex as Pong, Tetris, Pacman or Zork?

We can debate what constitutes the first videogame, and whether it’s fair to attribute the invention of videogames to the military,

Given the contentiousness of that assertion, I should certainly hope so!

but what’s undeniable is that military engineers—ever ready to coopt, conspire with, or commission innovation from the private sector (e.g., the splitting of the atom, the invention of I.Q.)—more or less immediately recognized that videogames could be employed as a cheap substitute for teaching soldiers how to do everything from fly a plane to take out a sniper.

Kinda reductive to reduce the history of video games to FPSes in general and America’s Army in particular, doncha think?

Anyway, then we get some more waffle about how first-person shooters video games are training us to kill, before we get to the real question: given that this platformer he just finished playing did something a little artsy, can video games be art even despite the fact that were originally works of military propaganda intended to inure potential military recruits to violence? And more importantly, given that this guy seems to think the history of video games began with first person shooters, is he really qualified to answer this question?

Then we get some pointless side chatter over the claim that games are good for your brain, followed by the charge that games are addictive--despite the explicit comparison made to gambling (at “your local Native American casino,” no less), there is no discussion of lootboxes or microtransactions whatsoever, suggesting the author is not aware of specific steps which are taken to make games addictive and is just invoking vague notions of all games being addictive. None of this ever comes up again, and we promptly move back to talking about the actual game.

More specifically, Inside is what’s known as a “2D side-scroller”—meaning that you observe your figure mostly in profile in the center of your screen while a background landscape scrolling right-to-left gives the illusion of left-to-right forward motion.

Somehow, the use of the term “2D side-scroller” in quotes does not make me feel that this fellow is sufficiently familiar with video games to assess whether or not they can be art, as does the fact that he reckons that the platformer he is playing hearkens back to a 1981 shoot-em-up he remembers from his teens, which makes his apparent conviction that video games originated as first person shooters all the more baffling.

And while the world of videogames has already become a “spectator sport,” I’m unaware of any instance of the record of a videogame player’s performance becoming intellectual property, as it has in the world of chess, and in a whole array of sports. True, gamers go “professional” by attracting followers on the internet and earning ad revenue, but their play itself is not copyrighted. Games might wind up in museums (worldwide, there are at least seventeen museums dedicated to videogames), but bracketed moments of the play of particular games have not yet become value-able as art.

I invite the author to start selling unauthorized DVDs of clips from popular Twitch streamers and gaming YouTubers and see how long their lawyers allow him to entertain the notion that Let’s Plays do not constitute intellectual property.

the 2D side-scroller and its pitbull of a cousin, the first-person shooter,

???

The rest of the section is pretty unremarkable, so we move onto him complaining about lousy movie critique, then lousy video game critique, then explaining the concept of Easter eggs, then video game puzzles:

The puzzles of Limbo and Inside are more ambitious than the puzzles of most games in that their solutions often require the player to wait, or to exhibit what in psychology and education circles is known as divergent thought—for example, a corpse is a corpse, but it is also potentially a deadweight that can be used to spring a boobytrap.

Making the player wait or use an unusual object as a weight doesn’t strike me as particularly devilishly clever.

Then we get this jewel of a paragraph:

Nevertheless, puzzles themselves stand as an obstacle blocking the path of videogames’ journey from game to art. For while I might willingly suspend my disbelief long enough to accept that a boy has been tasked with jogging exhaustedly through a factory that churns out invincible blob creatures, I will find that willingness strained when I am also confronted with confounding puzzles placed in my path for no good reason. Videogames, in other words, ignore the basic tenets of internal consistency—in order to keep playing, you must suspend your disbelief, and then suspend it again, and again, and again, which means that in order to play and enjoy videogames you must also suspend the kind of critical judgment that is normally associated with art.

You heard it here, folks, accepting weird gameplay conceits means you can’t critically analyze a game.

Similarly, Easter eggs appeal only on the level of geek fetish—which is more or less the opposite of critical appreciation—and it is for this reason that I won’t address the puzzles and Easter eggs in Inside, even though they eventually lead to what some have concluded is the game’s “hidden meaning.” And this is the problem of videogames in a nutshell, because meaning in work of art is no more hidden from its beholder than the summit of a mountain is hidden from the mountain climber.

Sounds to me more like the problem is that he’s ignoring what the game itself is telling him about its plot and themes because it’s doing it in a way he finds aesthetically displeasing. I don’t know much about critical analysis but I feel like that’s not really how you should be doing it.

We then get a description of the plots of Limbo and Inside, including a decent bit of analysis marred by a bit of “murder simulator”-ism.

This is worth noting because prior to this moment the violence the boy has inflicted, either in Limbo or Inside, has been indirect—really an act of self-defense—but now the game is threatening to creep back into the usual videogame mode of affectless murder. You are given a choice: slip backward toward the wantonly horrific likes of Grand Theft Auto (1997) and Postal 2 (2003) [3] , or pause a moment and then continue on in a macabre but not morally bankrupt pursuit narrative. In this way, the player is implicated in a wryly disjointed bit of commentary on the history of gaming itself.

I mean this entirely sincerely: someone should get this guy a copy of Undertale. I think he’d enjoy it, if he could get past the idea of having to accept JRPG conventions.

Sadly, video game still aren’t art because he can list a bunch of movies that had vaguely similar elements:

From there, it’s not hard to find antecedents for Inside in both literature and film—it’s a little bit Soylent Green, a little bit Logan’s Run, a little bit The Island of Dr. Moreau, and more than a little bit Frankenstein. The imagery starts to seem familiar, too, with milieus lifted from E.T., Alien, and The Poseidon Adventure. But all this allusive flotsam becomes a bit of a disappointment, as eventually you become hard pressed to find anything in Inside that you haven’t seen inside something else.

Ezra Pound demanded that artists “make it new,” and Marcel Proust insisted that a writer is someone who invents a voice as unique as his or her fingerprint, but Inside isn’t even really trying to tell a story that hasn’t been told before. That’s a problem. Art cannot be made up wholly of references to other art. Star Wars, for example, does not come close to art because at its core it is nothing more than a pre-fab mash-up of archetypes mail-ordered from the IKEA superstore of Joseph Campbell.

I mean... why can’t art be composed solely of references to other art? Why can the whole not be more than the sum of its parts? If I take a picture of the Mona Lisa and photoshop a photo of a can of soup over her head, the resulting work is distinct from either of the originals, even though I provided no original content except the idea of sticking the two together.

Put another way, Inside could only have been designed by someone who hasn’t read Roland Barthes’s “The Death of the Author,” and hasn’t read Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” and hasn’t read T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”—someone who hasn’t, in other words, engaged theoretically with what art is. And that, in turn, leads to the simple conclusion that on the level of its plot Inside is not trying to do what art does.

Good god this guy is snobbish.

Second, there’s still the meta-twist to consider: perhaps Inside is a game with both a text and a subtext. And perhaps a subtext can help the videogame industry evolve beyond the hyperviolence that is its womb and its crutch.

“Hyperviolent” is not exactly how I would describe Breakout or Super Mario Bros. Anyway, he then ponders the potential meaning of the evil scientists at the end of the game being stand-ins for the developers, and comes to the conclusion that...

The problem of games today is that their creators have not imagined any purpose for them greater than fun. There are exceptions to this, of course, but for the most part games equate escape with distraction—to be distracted is to be entertained, and it is good to be entertained.

Unlike the rest of popular media, of course.

The obligation of art, as Henry James described it, is to be interesting, and if you’re paying attention, that is to say, if you’re trying for more than distraction, then Inside begins to be interesting with its name, which stands in stark contrast to games like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

I too enjoy criticizing games for being superficial based on their titles.

Then we get some final analysis, a quote from a Raymond Carver short story I read in high school and remember mostly as something my friends in English class found homoerotic subtext in, and the claim that the goal of art is a feeling of transcendental bliss:

The much remarked-upon narrator of Raymond Carver’s classic short story, “Cathedral,” experiences such a moment as the story climaxes with a blind man helping him draw a church. “My eyes were still closed,” the narrator says. “I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything.”

At its most ambitious, Inside aspires to a similar feeling. Escape in art that is not transcendence is cheap, and if you can climb beyond the foolish puzzles and the Easter eggs and the hidden meanings, you can feel, for a moment, that you are not alone on your sofa with your phone, playing a game; rather, you are somewhere else—somewhere grassy, bathed in warmth by a ray of sunlight falling from above.

And that’s nice and all but it feels like he didn’t really lead up to it.

Anyway, I spent way too much time picking through this but here we go. Final rating: 2/10, the next time you want to know if video games are art yet ask someone who actually plays them.

#idle musings #long post

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crazyflyingspip · 4 years

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Shopper makes stunning DIY dining bench – using IKEA Kallax units and velvet headboard

This DIY job is super impressive, a great example of how repurposing furniture can pay off handsomely.

Medina Grillo, who describes herself as ‘an IKEA loving, Upcycling junkie, DIY passionate, home decor crazy, renter’ used three IKEA Kallax shelving units and a velvet upholstered headboard to make an alternative dining bench – and it’s stunning!

More ideas: IKEA hacks – simple updates on best-selling basics that anyone can do

Furniture hack – DIY dining bench

Image credit: Medina / Instagram @grillodesigns

Medina shares her ingenious IKEA hack on her blog Grillo Designs, where you can see exactly how she did it.

In a nutshell she says, ‘To secure the KALLAX units together and create a more sturdy seating surface I used wood planks. I placed them across the the top of the three connected units and secured each one with wood glue, and nails.’

She then brilliantly converted a headboard, meant for a bed, into a comfy bench backrest. ’I fell in love with this velvet headboard as soon as I saw it! It’s meant for a double sized.’ Instead of using it for its intended purpose Medina attached the upholstered headboard directly to the wall, at the perfect height to create a backrest for the bench.

We think you’ll agree, this dining area is worthy of a chic, trendy restaurant space! We adore the overall look.

Buy now: Kallax Shelving units, £15 each, IKEA

View this post on Instagram

Got an idea for a #DIY project?

@grillodesigns created a custom dining bench using our Quinn headboard and we LOVE the clever space she has created

Feeling inspired?

Headboard: 620-415 Lights: 846-914 Chairs: 452-762 Cushion: 312-377

A post shared by NEXT (@nextofficial) on Jul 8, 2020 at 6:37am PDT

Next shares the genius headboard hack with its Instagram followers too. Writing, ‘Got an idea for a #DIY project?

@grillodesigns created a custom dining bench using our Quinn headboard and we LOVE the clever space she has created. Feeling inspired?’.

And inspired they were indeed. The fans were quick to respond with their appreciation and amazement at the brilliant idea.

‘Such a great idea! Definitely inspired!!’ writes one. ‘Brilliant

’ says another simply.

‘What a brill idea!’. ‘Who would have thought it!!

’ exclaims another.

‘What a lovely set up

‘ says another to show their appreciation.

Buy now: Quinn Headboard, from £75, Next

Medina’s stylish dining area…

View this post on Instagram

Me wondering what my husband’s going to cook for Iftaar Dinner tonight ?

. . . . . [table , chairs and headboard gifted as previous collab with @nextofficial ) . . . . #diningroomdecor #kitchentable #mynordicroom #myhousemadehome #inspiremyinstagram #onlyinterior #homeadore #mydassie #actualinstagramhomes #velvet #simpleandstill #tablescape #diningroomgoals #diningroomtable #dslooking #interiorstyling #interiorsnapshot #suyhome #howirent #smallspacesquad #apartmenttherapy #interiorstyled #myhousethismonth #modernhomes #scandimaximalism #myrentedabode #ramadan2020 #thisisme #representationmatters

A post shared by Medina (@grillodesigns) on May 9, 2020 at 12:26am PDT

‘As we are spending so much more time at home now, I really wanted to find ways to make this dining corner in my home feel more enjoyable for us all – especially now that it is Ramadan and this is mostly where we will be gathering each night to break our fasts.’ Medina writes on one of her posts.

‘A lot of the changes I made were down to repurposing things I already had, for example, the paint (from my living room), the bench, and the plywood shelves (scraps of wood from past wood working project). I also swapped out our rectangle table for this round table from Next which has made mealtimes so much more intimate (the previous table is going to be my desk).. What do you think of the new revamped space?’

Ideal Home team answers… ‘We love it!’.

Related: Make your home look more expensive – simple hacks that won’t break the bank

Do you have an Ikea hack to share? We’d love to see it.

The post Shopper makes stunning DIY dining bench – using IKEA Kallax units and velvet headboard appeared first on Ideal Home.

from Ideal Home https://ift.tt/3hy8CtJ

#Ideal Home #https://crazyflyingspip.tumblr.com

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abangtech · 4 years

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Apple’s Future Hinges On This Tiny Company – Forbes

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Have you heard of Mirror?

It’s a startup based in the United States. It makes interactive mirrors that you can use to do boxing, Pilates, and yoga classes from home.

Mirror describes its product as “the nearly invisible interactive home gym.” Here’s what one looks like.

Source: popsugar.com

Mirror uses sensors, cameras, body recognition software, and augmented reality (AR) technology to deliver its interactive experiences.

With millions of Americans stuck inside, going to the gym isn’t an option.

And Mirror is something many might soon consider.

Now, you can’t invest in Mirror yet. It’s sill private.

But I’m sharing this story with you because it points to a massive money-making opportunity.

I’m talking about investing in companies at the forefront of the augmented reality (AR) megatrend.

AR Is Transforming the World as We Know ItAR—in a nutshell—combines the digital world with the real world.

When most people think of AR, they imagine holograms.

And it’s true. This technology used to only exist in sci-fi movies like Blade Runner and Star Wars.

But not anymore.

AR is going mainstream before our eyes.

You’ve probably even used it…

Have you ever used Facebook (FB) to video chat with your family? The bunny ears or silly mustache filters that you may have played around with are basic AR.

Mirror, the company I mentioned earlier, also uses AR to recreate the experience of a kickboxing or bootcamp class.

Of course, AR isn’t just revolutionizing how we exercise and interact with loved ones.

It’s disrupting every industry on the planet.

Consider how Porsche is using AR.

Porsche is known for its sleek, high-end sportscars.

The company has been experimenting with AR since 2017. Specifically, it’s been using specialized AR glasses to diagnose problems in vehicles.

But its use of AR tripled since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, according to Car and Driver! And this is because technicians aren’t going into dealerships right now. Instead, they’re “working on” cars remotely.

AR Is Also Revolutionizing How We ShopIt’s no secret that shopping centers, malls, and boutiques worldwide have closed their doors.

That’s a big problem for traditional retailers. But social distancing has been a blessing in disguise for online retailers, especially ones that have embraced AR.

Consider how Wayfair (W) has fared lately.

Wayfair is the world’s top online furniture store.

You might think that furniture sales have slid because of coronavirus. But Wayfair’s thriving in today’s environment.

In fact, the company just reported blow-out earnings this morning. Its sales surged 20% in the first quarter… causing its stock to pop as much as 35% last Thursday!

Wayfair has now surged more than 700% since March!

Source: Thomsom Reuters

If you’re wondering how Wayfair’s thriving, I’ll tell you.

Wayfair has reimagined the experience of buying furniture. Its app lets you see how a lamp would look on your coffee table. See for yourself.

Source: techcrunch.com

This has allowed Wayfair to steal market share, since its brick-and-mortar competitors are effectively shut down.

Of course, Wayfair isn’t the only retailer that’s embraced AR…

The Swedish furniture company IKEA has a similar AR feature in its app.

The trendy sunglass company Warby Parker utilizes AR in its shopping experience, too. Its app helps people shop for glasses without setting foot in a store. You simply scan your face and “try on” different glasses to see how they look on you.

The makeup giant L’Oréal has developed something similar. Its smart mirrors let you “try on” cosmetics by simply looking into your phone. If you aren’t happy with your look, you can simply hit “undo.” No need to apply makeup remover.

This is just the beginning…

Realtors will soon use AR to let buyers tour a home without ever setting foot in it. The “open house” as we know it will change forever.

Doctors will use AR to “see under your skin.” It will help them better diagnose injuries and illnesses.

But, like many of today’s most exciting megatrends, coronavirus has kicked this into overdrive.

Fortunes Will Be Made Off AR…According to Statista, the AR market is poised to grow nearly ten-fold!

Source: Statista

By 2025, it will be a $193 billion industry. That’s more than 30X bigger than it was in 2016… making AR one of the fastest-growing markets on the planet.

serious investors can’t ignore this opportunity…

Here Are My Top Three Ways to Play This Megatrend…1. Adobe (ADBE) pioneered photo editing with its groundbreaking Photoshop program. But the tech giant now has its sights set on AR. In fact, the company recently rolled out “Aero,” which lets anyone create and share AR experiences with the world for the first time. It’s basically photoshop for AR.

ADBE is one of my top bets to profit as AR goes mainstream. It’s one of today’s strongest stocks.

You can see that ADBE is still in a strong uptrend despite recent market turbulence. It’s also trading above its 50-day and 20-day moving averages. That tells us the stock still has momentum on its side.

Source: Thomson Reuters

2. Snap Inc. (SNAP) is another one of my top AR plays.

Snap is a social media giant, and one of maybe two or three companies that’s truly bringing AR to the masses.

Snap’s massive user base of young people is a big reason for this. See, young people are trailblazers. They’re usually first to experiment with new technologies. They were the “early adopters” who first pushed social media, video games, and online dating into the mainstream.

And they’re going to do the same for AR.

Snap understands this. Like Adobe, it’s made AR a top priority. In fact,“ augmented reality” was mentioned 12 times during its latest earnings call. Snap’s CEO also called AR the “future of computing” during that same call!

Investors have gotten behind Snap’s long-term vision. As you can see below, Snap rebounded aggressively following the recent market meltdown… surging more than 120% off its lows!

Source: Thomson Reuters

This tells us there’s a ton of demand for SNAP. I expect the stock to climb to new all-time highs in the coming months.

3. Lumentum Holdings (LITE) makes 3D sensors for Apple (AAPL). Its technology allows the new iPhones to perform facial recognition. If you own a new iPhone, you know that this feature is now “the standard.”

In other words, Lumentum should play a key role in Apple’s AR ambitions for years to come.

And like ADBE and SNAP, LITE has performed exceptionally lately. It’s still in a strong uptrend despite the recent market meltdown.

Source: Thomson Reuters

Finally, it’s worth noting that LITE is still trading above its 200-day, 50-day, and 20-day moving averages. And it never hit “oversold conditions” during the recent selloff! In other words, Lumentum never lost its upward momentum during the recent crash.

This is a sign of a true leader. Those are the only stocks you want to own in today’s environment.

Get our report “The Great Disruptors: 3 Breakthrough Stocks Set to Double Your Money”. These stocks will hand you 100% gains as they disrupt whole industries. Get your free copy here.

Source

The post Apple’s Future Hinges On This Tiny Company – Forbes appeared first on abangtech.

from abangtech https://abangtech.com/apples-future-hinges-on-this-tiny-company-forbes/

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education-news · 5 years

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How 4 P’s of Marketing Stood the Test of Time

In 1960, marketing professor Jerome McCarthy coined the term 4P’s of Marketing in his book “Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach”. Even after 60 years, they have stood the test of time and still relevant. Later, Dr. Philip Kotler categorized it under Marketing Mix.

If you wonder why? It’s because Jerome took consumer behavior into consideration and build the four elements that can be used to achieve the marketing objectives.

Product

In business, everything starts with a product. A product can be anything that serves the need or wants of a customer. It can be either a tangible object or an intangible service. Take the example of furniture from IKEA. The brand IKEA is known to bring out creative products that are simple to assemble and serves the needs and wants of their customers.

(Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash)

Meanwhile, Air bnb has an intangible product. The company is known to have become a pioneer in a shared economy wherein both the host and the guest either make money or save money.

(Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash)

Price

Price is the only P in the marketing mix that brings in cash for the company. Price just doesn’t cover the amount you need to charge from the customer but also account in how much customers are willing to pay for the product. Price brings in value with it which is further categorized into perceived value and actual value.

Consider two examples - Nike and Lamborghini. Nike serves multiple segments of the market whereas Lamborghini only serves a niche segment of the market.

Nike will always put a price tag on its product.

(Photo by REVOLT on Unsplash)

You will never see a price tag on a Lamborghini.

(Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash)

Place

In 4 P’s of marketing, Place is where your product is available to the customer. It can be a physical store or an application on a smartphone. Companies like Unilever, P&G, Kellogs, etc have their products places in hypermarkets, departmental stores, and small grocery shops whereas companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Noon, etc place their products on their eCommerce platform.

For example, a showroom of a home furnishing brand.

(Photo by Nigel Tadyanehondo on Unsplash)

Amazon’s place in its marketing mix is the eCommerce platform.

(Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash)

Promotion

The last P McCarthy coined was Promotion. The only P that has evolved a lot in the last 60 years. From just advertising to social outreach to influencer partnership; it has come a long way. In a nutshell, promotion includes anything that helps a brand reach the right target audience with the right product at the right time.

Nike came up with a creative ad after Tiger Woods won 2019 Golf Masters in a major comeback.

With this, we come to an end of the 4 Ps of marketing and how it stood the test of time with examples from famous brands. Remember to make decisions based on your target audience and, ultimately, you’ll be primed to engage your customers and increase sales.

If you want to know more about Marketing Strategies and their functions, you can join our Sales and Marketing Management Diploma Program. We provide online, onsite, part-time, evening, weekend and distance learning study options.

Post written by:

Tausif Mulla , Associate Faculty

Westford University College

Read more below…

Beautiful Homes of Instagram

When looking for a home together, it was important that it worked for our new family of five. We immediately knew we had found our home when we walked inside. We loved the bones, but it wasn’t an open floor plan, modern or updated. Between my love for interior design and my husband’s ability to do or know what ideas could be done, based on headers and such, we knew we could make it ours. The day we purchased it we opened the door with a hammer and scraper in hand and began renovating. We are still chipping away at it and appreciate each time we check one more space or project off the list.

Planter is West Elm Radius Planter (which we spray painted white to go with the white buffet).

Lighting: rh – similar here.

Decor

In our entryway we chose to use three large stainless steel pendants that are also in our kitchen, instead of one chandelier. One of the things that we loved when we saw our house for the first time was all the glass and the large window above the front door.

Sideboard: West Elm white buffet (Elizabeth replaced the hardware).

Wooden planter: Local store – similar here & here.

Paint Color

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist in satin is on all of our walls.

Sky Beads Blue dot pillows: Hable.

White linen pillow with gray circles: Erin Flett.

Similar Basket: here.

Similar Stool: here, here & here.

Similar Fiddle Tree: here.

Living Room

To give the home a modern look and to showcase our art (mostly all from family and friends), we picked a warm light gray to paint all the walls in the entire house, with the exception of the master bedroom which we chose a warm white. All of the trim and doors throughout are a bright crisp white. The house gets a lot of natural light so the warm gray walls, bright white trim, and light natural hardwood floor add to the brightness. Because of all of the natural light and the modern look we chose only to use white roller shades that blend into the window trim.

White cotton pillow: Ikea – similar here.

Art Gallery Inspiration

I love how much color and interest Elizabeth’s art brings to this space.

Comfort Roll Sofa: Pottery Barn.

Watercolor art: Memory Lane Creative – Similar Here.

Faux shearling chair: HomeGoods – similar here & here.

Gray velvet pillows: HomeGoods – similar here.

Gray faux fur pillows: HomeGoods – similar here.

Gray velvet lumbar pillow: CB2.

White Martini table: West Elm.

Pillow

White linen and gray velvet striped pillow: Erin Flett.

Chairs

Chair are Pottery Barn – similar here & here (such a comfy chair & sofa!).

Similar Tree Stump Accent Table: here.

Ceiling

A drywaller came in and smoothed out the textured ceilings and touched up any marks from the removal of the wallpaper.

Layered Rugs

Gray cowhide area rug: Cb2.

Large round gray rug custom made – similar here, here & here.

Floor lamp: CB2.

Coffee Table Decor

I love the simplicity of this vignette.

Ceramics are from CB2 and West Elm.

Kitchen

When we designed the kitchen we wanted a large island for prepping meals and gathering with family and friends. We asked that the Caesarstone countertop go as large as possible without having a seam.

Counterstools: Crate & Barrel.

Lighting: Restoration Hardware Harmon Collection pendants – similar here.

Large white wall clock was orange and we painted it white discontinued – CB2

Range

Range: Wolf – similar: here.

Backsplash

The backsplash we used was a small clear glass tile (similar here & here) we stacked for a modern look, and used stainless steel appliances, lighting and counter height chairs.

Caesarstone countertop – discontinued pattern.

Renovated complete kitchen with Aspen Leaf Kitchens.

Toaster: Generation Classic 4-slice Dualit toaster.

Refrigerator and dishwasher: Jenn-air

Hardware

The hardware that we chose throughout the house on the cabinets is a simple bar that we used on the drawers and cabinets to give it a modern and clean look.

Hardware: RH – similar here.

Cabinetry

Also tied into the kitchen renovation was removing an old bar area and replacing it with a floor to ceiling storage cabinet. We also replaced all the shelving in a walk in pantry to match the shelving in the kitchen cabinets.

Planter: here.

Wall Paint Color

Wall paint color Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist OC-27.

Breakfast Room

We also built a window bench and low cabinets on either side so we had additional space to eat or play games.

Chairs & Pillows

White Panton chairs: Design With Reach.

Pillows and window bench cushion I made using white Belgian linen tablecloth from West Elm.

View

View from kitchen island towards the family room and dining room. This is a great way to build interior columns without obscuring the spaces.

Wall

One of the best things we did to our home, a game changer, was to remove the wall between the dining room and family room. This opened up the sight line on the entire first floor. You can now enjoy the wood burning fireplace from the kitchen, family room, and dining. To give “some” definition between the rooms, we built half walls with columns.

Christmas Tree

Birch Christmas trees: Crate & Barrel.

Dining Room

Cherry wood Basic Extension Dining Table/Vermont Furniture: Circle Furniture – similar here & here.

Decor

Glass Pendants: discontinued (Simon Pearce) – Other Beautiful Glass Pendants: here, here, here & here (large).

Tree candles: Crate & Barrel.

Dishes: Crate & Barrel.

Flour sack napkins: Target.

Custom white hutch.

Dining Chairs

White dining chairs : InMod – similar here.

Cutting board accessory: West Elm.

Large white planter: West Elm.

Flooring

There was wallpaper in almost every room (which we removed) and dark wood trim in some places. On the first floor the kitchen, dining room, hallway, and powder room had stained wood floors. The living room, the office, the family room, and the stair treads all had wall to wall carpeting. We removed all the carpeting and had the stained wood floors sanded down to their natural light color, replaced the carpeting with matching natural hardwood on the floor, built new stair treads to match the floor and polyurethaned them with a colorless satin water base so they wouldn’t yellow.

Similar hardwood flooring: here & here.

Chair

White leather womb chair and ottoman: Rove Concepts – similar here.

Ski Lodge pillow: HomeGoods – similar here.

Family Room

When we moved in the fireplace was red brick from the floor all the way to the top of the vaulted ceiling. We had the top ⅔’s sheet rocked and the bottom ⅓ and hearth covered in a riverstone and my husband built a shaker style mantle that we didn’t have before. When we aren’t using the fireplace we put a panel, that we DIY’d, in the opening of the fireplace to look like stacked wood.

Faux gray fur blanket in fog: rh – similar here.

Cowhide rug- similar here, here & here.

Metal bins: similar here.

Velvet/linen pillows in the fireplace opening: West Elm.

Sofa

Gray chair, and couch discontinued: West Elm.

White linen pillow with stripes: Erin Flett.

Faux gray fur pillows in fog: rh – similar here.

Coffee Table

White Jelly Bean Goop coffee table: CB2.

Trim Paint Color

The trim is Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White.

Color

Artwork is by family and friends.

Stair Reno Ideas

Going back to the stairs. We removed the carpeted treads and my husband suggested installing a thicker stair tread to give it a more modern look. We also replaced the turned newels and spindle balusters with a simple craftsman box newels and square baluster style.

Home Office

In the office space we designed a desk and floor to ceiling cabinets as his work space and then on the other side of the room we made a sitting area for clients.

Sitting Area

We framed a large mirror in the same trim as the window to give the effect of two windows in the room.

Pottery Barn Square upholstered loveseat and chair: Pottery Barn.

Gray velvet/linen pillows: West Elm.

Coffee table and side table discontinued: Crate & Barrel – similar here.

Area rug: West Elm.

Office Chair

The same painted white shaker cabinets in the kitchen were used to rebuild my husband’s office built-ins and a desk.

Aeron Polished Black Classic desk chair: Design Within Reach.

Hardware: similar here.

Bathroom

One other space we renovated on the first floor was our bathroom. We redid the shower with a riverstone floor matching the riverstone on the fireplace, put in a seamless glass shower door, and replaced the cabinet doors to match the kitchen shaker style.

Hardware: RH – similar here.

Tiling

I am loving the neutral/timeless tile choices. This is is something that will never go out of style.

Similar Tiling: Floor Tile & Wall Tile.

Master Bedroom

Upstairs we replaced the old wall to wall carpeting throughout the hallway and bedrooms with new gray wall to wall carpeting to keep it cozy. We brought the same color scheme from downstairs upstairs and just finished painting the master bedroom a warm white. We have yet to do the master bath.

Two gray ottomans discontinued: West Elm – Other Beautiful Ottomans: here & here.

Area rug: CB2.

Paint Color

The master bedroom wall is a satin Benjamin Moore Simply White.

Framed art: Art to Frames.

Bedding

Bed linens: West Elm (highly recommended bedding!) & Brookelinen.

Faux shearling pillows: Pottery Barn.

Gray and white circle throw: Anthropologie (on sale!).

Birch Christmas tree: Crate & Barrel.

Outdoors

Near the built in window was an old slider that we removed and replaced with two glass atrium doors that open outward, to give us more room in the kitchen, onto the patio.

Patio

Our patio got a little love, too. We left the cement foundation, however, we stained it gray. Remember the atrium doors from the kitchen out to the patio… they used to open up onto one small cement step. My husband built teak stairs filling out the entire space from one side of the door frame all the way to the other with two steps down to the patio. We also removed the drop ceiling and now have a vaulted ceiling with tongue and groove pine. In addition, we framed out the stilt columns to make them large, matching the columns in the house.

We also removed all of the landscaping around the exterior of the house, which was overgrown, and have replaced it with new trees and boxwoods.

Home-Sweet-Home

I am not a trend follower unless I really love an item or style. Many things circle back around so if I am constantly chasing the latest “it” thing, my home never feels at peace. My advice is to follow your heart not the trends! Not all rules are made to follow in designing a dream home, it’s just a matter of figuring out the best path for you to get there.

Thanks for reading and being interested in our home renovation journey…more to come on my @elizabethbeardesigns as we complete other projects.

Elizabeth

Many thanks to Elizabeth for sharing all of the details above. Make sure to follow elizabethbeardesigns on Instagram for more inspiration!

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Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

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Posts of the Week:

Modern Farmhouse House Tour.

2018 Christmas Decorating Ideas.

How to Decorate your Porch for Christmas.

Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Family-friendly Home Design.

Newlyweds Home Design.

City Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: New England Home.

Family Home Renovation with Casual Interiors.

2018 Norton Children’s Hospital Raffle Home.

Transitional Custom Home Design.

Southern Farmhouse.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Canada.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Interior Design Ideas: Colorful Interiors.

Custom Home with Artisan Craftsmanship Interiors.

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Lead me in Light and Love”.

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Luciane from HomeBunch.com

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leathersfabric · 6 years

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Fake vs real leather couches - how to tell the difference - CHOICE

With no regulation on what constitutes leather, your 'leather' couch may not be what you think. Ahh, leather ... the word alone conjures up visions of luxury, sophistication and high prices, particularly if we're talking furniture. In fact, not very long ago a leather couch was likely to set the buyer back thousands of dollars, though it was also considered an investment piece that would age beautifully and last for years.

These days leather couches and chairs are advertised everywhere, and are often priced at well under $2000. But with the recent drop in cost comes the trade-off: not all leather couches are equal. In fact, some are not really leather at all.

At CHOICE we've heard from unhappy consumers who've bought 'leather' couches that turned out to be more plastic than animal, while others have found their furniture peeling and cracking in a way that genuine leather shouldn't, yet still don't know exactly what they have bought. And with no national standard for leather labelling, it's not easy to know exactly what you are buying when you see the word 'leather' on a label. What is leather, exactly? To get technical, the British Standards Institute defines leather as follows: "Hide or skin with its original fibrous structure more or less intact, tanned to be imputrescible. The hair or wool may, or may not, have been removed. Leather is also made from a hide or skin that has been split into layers or segmented either before or after tanning."

The amount of surface coating applied to the leather influences whether or not the item can be described as 'genuine' leather. "If the leather has a surface coating, the mean thickness of this surface layer, however applied, has to be 0.15mm or less."

Too complicated? In a nutshell, there are three basic types of genuine leather:

Full grain: The full hide of the animal has been used with minimal interference. It's the most durable kind of leather but also the rarest and usually the most expensive. Top grain: Top grain leather is the uppermost layer of the animal hide which has been buffed and polished. Split: Split leather is taken from the bottom of the hide; it's fairly fragile but it is the cheapest type of leather available. Corrected-grain is another common description, referring to any of the above leather that has had an artificial grain applied to its surface. Any imperfections are corrected or sanded off, and an artificial grain embossed into the surface and dressed with stain or dyes.

Not quite leather While the definitions above sound reasonably straightforward, if you go shopping for a leather couch, you might see the words 'cow hide leather', 'genuine leather', '100% leather' or made-up names like 'Lucia leather' or even 'bonded leather' instead.

None of these names really give any indication of what kind of leather is being used or if indeed it's leather at all. Bonded leather (despite the name) has more in common with synthetics and is technically not considered leather at all.

Other pieces of 'leather' furniture may have the 'contact areas' (such as the seats, arm rests, vertical seat backs and rolls) upholstered in leather, but the 'non-contact areas' (such as the outside arms and back) upholstered in a leather-like synthetic material.

Paul Simmons, project co-ordinator at the Australasian Furnishing Research and Development Institute (Furntech), runs a voluntary certification scheme for leather goods in Australia. He says it's likely in many cases that while a couch may be all 'leather', it's made of differing types of leather, which can affect the quality.

Furntech's certification scheme is used voluntarily by some manufacturers and retailers in Australia, and the furniture that's been been tested will carry a swing tag confirming the certification.

Ikea 'leather' couches Earlier this year, the Ikea website stated: "There's something special about leather sofas. It comes from their natural look and texture and the way they age so beautifully." Underneath was a range of sofas priced from $795 to $3000. Sounds good, but the devil's in the detail. It's only when you clicked on the individual pieces that it became clear leather doesn't always mean leather. One couch was described as being covered in a "durable fabric that has the same look and feel as leather" and is actually not leather at all.

Another couch was listed as being upholstered in leather in the 'contact' areas, meaning the seat and back cushions are leather but the rest of the couch is covered in a mix of coated polyester and cotton. While the information was there if you kno

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mavwrekmarketing · 7 years

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Image: JOHN MINCHILLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

UPDATE: Feb. 13, 2017, 4:19 p.m. EST: T-Mobile has announced its own T-Mobile One unlimited data plan will match Verizon Unlimited with HD video streaming and 10GB of high-speed hotspot data, starting on Feb. 18. As such, T-Mobile One will be the better deal. Click here for full details.

Hey data hogs, guess what? Unlimited data plans are back on Verizon.

Whoo-hoo! This is great news. Where do you sign up to switch, either from an individual plan that you’re probably paying way too much for and getting way too little, or from another carrier?

Relax there tiger. Before you make the leap to Verizon’s “unlimited” (with all of its fine print; more on that below) plan, you should know how it compares to the competition and whether or not you’ll actually save money.

We totally understand what a nightmare it is to look through each U.S. carrier’s confusing website to compare the plans, which is why we did all the homework for you. Here’s the breakdown.

Verizon Unlimited

This is the new guy in town. For $80 a month with auto-pay (regular price is $85) you get unlimited calling and texting, an “unlimited” amount of data up to 22GB before Verizon throttles down speeds, HD video streaming, up to 10GB of hotspot data tethering (and then throttling starts), unlimited calling and texting in Canada and Mexico and 500GB of 4G LTE data in Canada and Mexico.

Here’s the breakdown for up to four lines:

1 line: $80/mo.

2 lines: $70 per line = $140/mo.

3 lines: $54 per line = $162/mo.

4 lines: $45 per line = $180/mo.

Compared to Verizon’s individual plans, which come in “small” (2GB), “medium” (4GB) and “large” (8GB), the new unlimited plan is a steal, especially if you’re already paying for large:

Small (2GB) = $35/mo.

Medium (4GB) = $50/mo.

Large (8GB) $70/mo.

T-Mobile One

T-Mobile, the “uncarrier” offers a slightly cheaper “unlimited” T-Mobile One monthly plan that starts at $70 and gets you unlimited calling, texting and up to 28GB of 4G LTE data before you see reduced speeds. Other bundled goodies include unlimited talk, text and data in 140 countries at about 128kbps (super slow, but better than nothing!), unlimited texting and one hour of free data on Gogo-enabled flights, and unlimited talk, text and data in Mexico and Canada.

Here’s how up to four lines with T-Mobile One stack up to Verizon Unlimited:

1 line: $70/mo.

2 lines: $60 per line = $120/mo.

3 lines: $47 per line = $140/mo.

4 lines: $40 per line = $160/mo.

Like Verizon Unlimited, T-Mobile’s “unlimited” plan has other caveats besides the 28GB of 4G LTE data cap.

For one, T-Mobile One streams video at a lower 480p resolution instead of up to HD resolution on Verizon Unlimited, so if you like crispy videos, this might bug you. Second, it doesn’t include any kind of useful hotspot feature for tethering other devices; I say useful because although it does technically include unlimited hotspotting, it’s at 2G speeds, which is basically useless. To add 4G LTE hotspot, you’ll have to pay another $15 per line for 5GB, which is still less than the 10GB included in with Verizon Unlimited.

But, still, if HD video streaming and 4G LTE hotspot isn’t essential for you, T-Mobile One isn’t a bad way to go.

Sprint Unlimited Freedom

Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom Plan is the least expensive compared to Verizon or T-Mobile’s offerings. But it’s also Sprint, which means its 4G LTE network coverage and speeds aren’t nearly as strong as the others.

But in the interest of providing you a complete and fair comparison, Unlimited Freedom gives you 23GB of data at 4G LTE speed before it’s throttled down to slower speeds, video streaming that’s limited to 480p resolution (same as T-Mobile One), “optimized” gaming speeds at up to 2mbps, and music streamed at up to 500kbps. It’s far less than what you get with Verizon Unlimited or T-Mobile One, but it’s at least a little cheaper for up to three lines.

Here’s the breakdown for up to four lines of Unlimited Freedom:

1 line: $60/mo.

2 lines: $60 + $40 (second line) = $100/mo.

3 lines: $60 + $40 (second line) + $30 (third line) = $130/mo.

4 lines: $60 + $40 (second line) + $30 (third line) + $30 (fourth line) = $160/mo.

AT&T Unlimited Plan

This is probably the worst of the “unlimited” plans primarily because the only way to sign up for it is to get a DirecTV or U-Verse subscription as well. In other words:

Avoid at all costs unless you want to pay a boatload and love AT&T for some reason. You can figure out what you get and all of the ridiculous fine print and fees at your own peril. (Warning: Your eyes might bleed from trying to figure it all out.)

Good deal or not?

With the average North American smartphone user using up to 3.7GB of data per month, according to a June 2016 Ericsson Mobility Report, and that number projected to increase to 22GB by 2021, now might the perfect time to switch to an unlimited plan (before the carriers decide pull the plug again in the future).

For Verizon users, the math doesn’t lie. For an extra $10 per month, you get almost three times as much data per month before getting throttled. T-Mobile One is the only real serious “unlimited” competitor to Verizon Unlimited, and while you save a few bucks you also lose out on some useful features like 4G LTE hotspotting and higher resolution video streaming.

In a nutshell, is the Verizon unlimited data plan a good deal? For most people, hell f*cking yes it is.

BONUS: Ikea designed a refugee shelter and it lasts 6x longer than traditional emergency tents