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Clutter Trend Turns Storage Facilities Into Second Homes

Filed under: Estates


I've written about the deluxe "car condos" before but I found this recent article on storage condos fascinating. More and more people are using storage condos not just as a place to stores a few things but to actually uses as a sort of second home, a place to actually spend time with your stuff. GarageTown sells units that come with cable television, high-speed Internet, individual thermostats, and clubhouses where the owners can hang out together. At 2,000 square feet the largest spaces are as large as some homes. All states have self-storage units but most are the rather chilly and drab cement and metal spaces you can rent out. The storage units as condos are for the most part, clustered in resort areas and places with long winters. But that is changing. Even rental units are getting more and more deluxe marking a shift from when people would just plunk their things in a storage facility and promptly forget about them. The prices for condo garages and storage condo units vary but GarageTown's units in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho cost about $57,000 to $85,950 (for comparison sake, one-bedroom condos in the area under 500 square feet start around $100,000). For those who simply don't have enough room, the storage condo becomes your garage or basement away from home, not just a place to store things but also a hideout from everything going on in your home.

LaCie Golden Disk

Filed under: Gadgets


Cover a gadget in a coat of gold and you've got my attention. Our friends at Engadget recently covered this beauty, the latest hard drive from LaCie. The alluringly named Golden Disk is an external hard drive with 500GB of storage, a USB 2.0 interface, PC/Mac compatibility and LaCie's 1-Click backup software. The look is from French designer Ora-Ïto and does contain a bit of real gold. That gorgeous rippling surface makes it hard to stack with other peripherals but why would you want to cover up that shine anyway. It sells for $189 and will be available in October.

Oooms Wooden Memory Sticks

Filed under: Gadgets


Some things, cool or creative as they may be, just strike me as hilarious. And these Wooden Memory Sticks by Oooms had me laughing out loud when I first saw them. Maybe it's because they're so life-like that it brought to mind visions of shoving a stick into my computer and expecting it to store my data for me. And they look so realistic because they are real -- they're handpicked branches from the woods that are professionally handcrafted into USB storage discs.

Available in 256 mb, 512 mb, 1 Gb, and 2 Gb memory sizes and measuring about 2cm x 2cm x 10cm, they cost between 45 and 80 euros each. All laughter aside, it's a really neat idea.

Rubber Tubs From Recycled Tires

Filed under: Decor

These rubber tubs from The Conran Shop might not be the prettiest things we've ever seen but they could be the workhorse of your summer. The tubs, made from recycled car and truck tires and based on early Middle Eastern leather designs are incredibly tough and long lasting. Use them to hold beach towels, pack them full of ice and use them as a drinks cooler, use them to tote your barbecue supplies to the cookout or any other of dozens of storage options. The tubs sell for $74 to $135 depending on size.

Ultimate Swivel Room Divider

Filed under: Decor

Wall dividers are ideal for separating large spaces into smaller, more manageable areas that are easier to put to use, as well as to decorate. The Ultimate Swivel Room Divider is an amazing piece of furniture that not only allows for a stylish division of space, but also provides something that is more than just decorative. The wall has space for a flat panel TV to be attached on one side or a rotating panel and a shelf/drawer storage system on the other. At the touch of a button, a pneumatic cylinder is activated to rotate the panel. It is made of engineered wood with Java Matte and high-gloss white lacquer finishes. The entire unit measures 96" W x 24" D x 84.5" H. Price: $3,600.

[via born rich]

Optic Storage Cubes

Filed under: Decor

Similar in look to the container baskets they introduced a few months ago, Kartell's new Optic Storage Cubes are designed by Patick Jouin, made of a type of transparent plastic and come in a variety of colors. The jewel-like colors are further enhanced by the pyramidal relief pattern on the outside of the boxes. The interior of the boxes is smooth. The modular units, which can be stacked up to four high, are available with or without doors and can be arranged in any number of ways, whether you only need a single stack or want to fill up a wall. Each cube measures 41cm per side. Price: £119 without door, or £140 with door).

Stokke Keep Storage System

Filed under: Decor

The Stokke Keep storage system is designed to provide stylish and versatile organization to a child's room. All of the shelves, doors and baskets, are easy for small hands to use, with an extremely strong and stable base, as well as rounded corners, to add to parents' peace of mind. The unit is surprisingly elegant, especially since it is geared towards children, and provides a more than welcome alternative for parents who would prefer to use high-quality furnishings in their kids' rooms. The system is available in white, natural and walnut and it measures 59.3"H x 70.8"L x 23.6"D. Price; $1,450.

Soprano Trunk

Filed under: Decor, Gadgets

The Soprano Trunk from Pinel & Pinel is the ultimate music lounge accessory, especially if you'd rather have all your equipment in one unit than scattered about. It comes equipped with Beosound 3000 CD/Audio and 2 Beolab 3 speakers(250 watts) by Bang & Olufsen. The unit also has 24 small drawers that can contain up to 480 CDs. A front door swings open to either reveal or conceal the interior of the trunk and the leather-covered wood is available in 51 different colors, so there is definitely one that will look perfect of your home. It measures 71"H x 57"W x 17"D when closed.

[via notcot]

BB2 Toy Caddy

Filed under: Decor

The NY Times personal shopper pointed out that a toy caddy of some kind would be a good addition to a kids' room after Christmas so that there will be someplace to keep all of their holiday goodies. Shelves seem a little too functional to inspire kids to use them on their own, but the BB2 Toy Caddy they recommended nicely bridges the gap between toy and storage unit. Made of natural, finished wood and measuring 23" high x 15" wide, the caddy can be used as a chair or toy cart, which just might be enough to motivate child to use it for storage, rather than just leaving everything for you to put away. But if that's a little too optimistic, at least you're getting a cute, multi-tasking piece of furniture in the bargain. Price: $250.

Random Shelving

Filed under: Decor

Words are almost not enough to express how much I like the design of this Random Shelving. The bookcase, which is made from white lacquered fiberboard, has shelves of varying widths and heights that give a display a busy, yet organized, feel. The unusual shelf layout is a more efficient use of the space than on a standard case, so you should be able to fit 50% more books on it without a problem. Each unit is only 32-inches wide (full dimensions: W32 x D10 x H85 in), but grouping the bookcases will allow you to fill a whole wall. Price: $2,250.

[via BLTD]

Blend Wardrobe

Filed under: Decor

A wardrobe is just a place to keep your clothes, but by calling the cabinet a "vertical storage space," it suddenly sounds much more purposeful and versatile, which is probably why that descriptor is applied to Karim Rashid's Blend. Made of lacquered wood, the piece has a tremendous visual appeal to it and is certainly unique - no matter what you decide to call it. It is available in one and two-door versions Price: $2,600.

[via cribcandy]

The Crate

Filed under: Decor

How much are you willing to pay for a crate? The answer is probably dependent on how nice of a crate we're talking about. I recently found a reasonably nice (free) one in a neighbor's garage, for example, but it must not be nearly as high quality as The Crate. This particular crate was "designed" by Jasper Morrison and is made out of Douglas Fir. The primary advantage of this crate over, say, one found at the back of a garage, is that this one is in pristine condition and has not been marred by use. That said, is it really worth $175?

Rakku Shoe Wheel

Filed under: Apparel, Shoes

The Rakku Shoe Wheel is a completely new take on shoe storage that minimizes the space needed to fit all your footwear while presenting it in an attractive way. The wheel has a tough polymer frame and clear panels on either side that make sure the shoes stay in place, but allow you to see all your options. The bands around the outside are elastic, so everything can be slid in and out easily. The only question is will the rack still look good if you don't own 20 pairs of rainbow-colored pumps, and if not, would it be worth buying a few pairs to improve the overall presentation? Price: $65.

[via nyt]

Cherry Wood Filing Cabinets

Filed under: Decor

Filing cabinets do not usually fall into the category of furniture that can be described as classy. Usually made of grey, beige or black metal, the cabinets are tucked away in some back room and are only accessed when a file or record is needed. It's not that the need to be hidden, just that they don't really match anything. Far classier than any standard metal filing cabinets are these Cherry Wood Filing Cabinets from Hammacher Schlemmer, handmade from hardwood harvested in the Adirondack Mountains. The stackable cabinets also have an anti-tip mechanism and can be attached directly to the walls for additional support, if necessary. Price: $1,629.

64-GB Flash Drive for Your Keychain

Filed under: Gadgets

The problem with getting a nice external hard drive for your computer is that even the smaller ones are too big to fit in your pocket, not to mention that they need to be plugged in to a wall outlet to be useful. This tiny, keychain-sized USB drive from Buslink has 64-GB of storage, which might be enough to carry around the entire contents of your computer's main hard drive, if necessary, and more than enough room for photo albums and videos to share with relatives when you're traveling around during the holidays. You will have to pay for the convenience of its size, though. This little gadget is $5,740.

[via SciFi Tech]



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