Creative Ideas for Reading Nooks

A place for reading is an integral part of life, both for work and leisure. Here it is possible to relax, forget about vanity and disconnect yourself from external irritants. So, this means that it is necessary to choose a zone where it is most quiet and cozy.

Books create a special atmosphere in an interior. For this reason, there has to be an own quiet nook (even if it is very small) to relax in the house. Let's dream about the most convenient places for reading.

Window still

A good lighting in your place for reading, is an essential condition for spending a long time with your favorite book. It is better to give preference to an area near window. Although this place seems to be simple, it is especially popular today. The combination of natural light with the wonderful scenery behind window will perfectly remove stress and help to relax, giving positive emotions. Use decorative pillows for comfortable staying on a window sill.

Bedroom

Peace and quiet, convenient chairs with a soft back and armrests. It would be good enough to hang a picture with a beautiful landscape on a wall; it will only add the harmonious atmosphere. Add a fluffy carpet or a knitted rug and here you are on the way to the ideal reading nook.

The attic floor

It is also an excellent place for reading. Getting originality of an interior, there can be added a high floor lamp, a cache-pot, a little table or a shelf to store all books.

Sure enough, it is possible to read in a bed and on a sofa. But there is a set of the elements capable to bring any interior concept to perfection. Here you can escape the real world and calm yourself after a hard working day.

WaterNest 100 - Solar Powered Floating House Design

The "Floating Nest"

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About Giancarlo Zema

Design: Giancarlo Zema
Area: 95 sqm
Year: 2015

If you prefer to contemplate with not only green lawns but also expanses of water from the windows of your house, you will surely enjoy WaterNest 100. It is a charming eco-friendly solar powered floating mini-home. Being designed by Giancarlo Zema, this eco-house is equipped with solar panels that offer you a good chance to live in harmony with nature.

Eco-friendly features

It is made of environmentally friendly materials. According to the architect, this construction is up to 98 percent recyclable. The house can be mounted in any large and quiet water pond.

Few numbers to surprise you

The  solar powered floating house, with an area of more than 95 square meters, has a cocoon shape. The height of the ceiling is up to four meters, and its diameter is twelve meters. The curved structure of the body is made of laminated veneer lumber and recycled aluminum materials. On the rounded wooden roof an array of photovoltaic panels is mounted. It has a total area of 60 square meters being capable to produce up to 4 kW of electricity per hour. Large windows and balconies around the house allow guests to enjoy freely the views of the water.

Consider the variants for house planning

The "Floating Nest" can be a good option for becoming a family one, because the designers have taken care to provide enough building microclimate supplies. Developers have created a complex system of internal air conditioning and micro-ventilation. This allows you to categorize this floating structure as an economical ecosystem with low impact and low power consumption.

WaterNest 100 also boasts of the flexible interior design that can be easily changed according to the needs of its residents. For example, if a floating house isn’t considered to be used as a dwelling, it can be also fit for an office, a home cabinet, a lounge bar, a restaurant, a store or even for the exhibition hall.

Compare all pros and cons

Thus, we see that there are advantages and disadvantages in the construction of the  solar powered house on the water. Pros: it is an environmentally friendly home, energy consumption goes through solar panels, the house has enough space for a four member family or you can use it for any commercial purposes. The only minus is that you should build it in a quiet place - a river with a low water flow, a lake, a bay. And also you need a warm climate.

Giancarlo Zema has tried to express his vision of environmentally friendly house where everyone could find his peace of mind, living there with his family or creating there a unique atmosphere of a cozy restaurant.




Description from architects.

The eco-friendly solar powered floating house WaterNest 100, designed by Giancarlo Zema for EcoFloLife is an enveloping of 100 m2 residential unit, 12 m in diameter and 4 m high, made entirely of recycled laminated timber and a recycled aluminium hull. Balconies are conveniently located on the sides and thanks to the large windows, permit enjoyment of fascinating views over the water. Bathroom and kitchen skylights are located on the wooden roof, as well as 60sqm of amorphous photovoltaic panels capable of generating 4 kWp which are used for the internal needs of the residential unit.

The interior of WaterNest 100 can include a living room, dining area, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom or have other configurations according to the different housing or working needs. It is perfect like an ecological house, office, lounge bar, restaurant, shop or exhibition floating space. The selected furnishings in the EcoFloLife catalogue are top design, eco-friendly and elegant, and thus meet the most demanding contemporary needs. WaterNest 100 can be positioned along river courses, lakes, bays, atolls and sea areas with calm waters. The use of materials and sustainable production systems make this floating house recyclable up to as much as 98%. In addition, thanks to a sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning, it is classified as a low-consumption residential habitat.

WaterNest 100 is the ideal solution for those wishing to live independently, exclusively and in complete harmony with nature. WaterNest 100 has several possible configurations, depending on the different housing or working needs. Several habitats WaterNest can be installed with a radial or linear configuration on lakes, bays, atolls and sea areas with calm waters to create an eco-resort with floating villages. The WaterNest Village is the ideal solution for hotel groups and hospitality investors working in the field of eco-tourism who wish to make a truly innovative floating resort and environmentally friendly way to live in style independently, exclusively and in complete harmony with nature.

Beautiful Bathrooms and Showers Design Ideas

 Beautiful Bathrooms and Showers Design Ideas

City in the Sky - Future City Concept

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About Hrama

The design group Hrama has proposed an exotic project which seems to be similar to shots from the movie about the far and fantastic future. Externally, the buildings look like giant blooming flowers soaring above the tall skyscrapers. Towering over such polluted huge cities as New York and London this oasis project lets people take a break from everyday stress, problems and concerns. The building will be higher than famous in the US One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building. A lotus flower has been taken as a form for this project. The image of the lotus is borrowed from the Buddhist mythology where this flower was a symbol of all pure, which was growing up untainted including the fact that it was born out of a swamp. Thus, the giant lotus-building, staying in a noisy metropolis, go far away in the sky.

The stems will be used as a support, the leaves that are placed horizontally will be the parks, where you can escape from the omnipresent hustle and bustle and finally relax. The whole year here will blossom cherry trees and lilies will float in the shimmering waters. Grids will be decorated with creeping ivy. The light inside the mirror lotus flowers will be reflected and form a rainbow. Gardens and people who rest there will be protected from wind and bad weather with glass walls.

 There is no word yet whether it will be possible to fish in those clean ponds, enjoying the quiet atmosphere. And it is not also known whether there will be famous condescending posters, reminding visitors about proper behavior. But be 100 percent sure that those fantastic landscapes will amaze you for a long time and will not leave indifferent. And what's more, the City in the Sky will inspire everyone on creative ideas.

Smart Home - Smart Devices Make your own House Become your Friend

Let us imagine the utopian world where most of our work is done by machines and people there even dress up, wash the dishes and move from one corner of the house to another with electronic assistants. To perform any operation you will need to press only one button on your cell phone and voila – all your work is done for you! Remember the Jetsons who have illustrated us the futuristic world of the year 2060 with humanoid robots, aliens and fancy technical devices. Like it or not, the show became some kind of prophecy because, nowadays, we have got smart phones and smart watches and a lot of smart machines that help us about the house every day. Perhaps, we will have even flying cars in the nearest future? Who knows! For today, the primary goal for most companies is the invention and distribution of smart devices for people’s dream houses.

Very soon we will all live in so-called "smart homes" where everything is done to improve living conditions. Hundreds of billions US dollars are expected to be earned by the year 2019, delivering about two billion house appliances all over the world. Because of widespread popularity of smart phones and easy availability of sensor chips it will soon become possible for many devices of the future to integrate with your houses. But some drawbacks of these devices are already visible today.