Fancy a brick modular refrigerator that adopts to your needs?

Image from Behance 

Korean industrial designer Jangho Kim came up with such a Brick modular refrigerator which can adjusted according to individual household needs and preference. 

The Brick refrigeration system have various modules of different sizes and types which perform varying functions. Aside from refrigeration, additional functions like water purifier or microwave oven can also be combined with the system - resulting in s seamless look!

My Take?

This is on top of my wish list; instead of buying a new refrigerator, you can just add on. Just like Lego bricks - stack and extend as much as you like! I hope it will soon hit the market but I figured it would be pricey though.....

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Product Review - Homemaker Under Sink Extendable Shelf

I have been looking around for a simple flexible shelving solution for my under sink cabinet. After looking around, I decided to get the under sink extendable shelf from Homemaker. 

The extendable shelf needs to be self assembled and as the under sink shelving requires it to be adaptable, certain modules can be removed.

Mr Diva took around 5 minutes to install it.

If you have noticed, I have also installed the Philips Wireless LED Motion Sensor Light on the right cabinet wall. It is pretty handy since I no longer have to grope in the dark. :)

Tada~! 

The storage volume of my puny under sink cabinet has more doubled! I have also re-purposed my shoe boxes so that its easier to access and pull out the entire shelf of stuffs.

My Verdict?

I am very satisfied with my Homemaker Under Sink Extendable Shelf. It is flexible; its shelves can be removed, the height of the shelves can also be adjusted and thus it is ideal for under sink cabinets. However, if I am to be very fussy; the make of the product could have been more sturdy.
You can also purchase the extendable shelf at Howards Storage World at around $45 bucks.

Flexibility: 4.5 out of 5

Durability: 4 out of 5

Price: 4 out of 5

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Portable car cum general purpose washer

Mr diva got himself a gigantic 14 Liters CBS portable pressure car washer (non-battery operated) equipped withair pressure gauge and footpads . Here is a short vid to demonstrate the product I am referring to.

It comes with 1 towel, 1 bear sponge, 1 brush with spary nozzle, 1 spary nozzle, 2 rubber ring, 2 brushes and 2 packs of car wash powder.

I use this car cum general purpose washer to wash the windows, window ledges, toilets and so on. The water pressure is strong enough to perform light cleaning, like clearing away the debris stuck at the hard to reach places at the window ledges (to be done during rainy days though) and washing of our corridor doors.

New home owners will find this useful when they want to perform a final wash after the chemical wash is complete. 

 Pretty handy I must say. ;)

The full blog post details can be found here. 

*Note: This is not a sponsored post *

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Solution to mouldy leather bags and stuffs

 For Home Use

 I received quite a few emails recently asking for advices on how best to design their walk-in-wardrobe for storing their luxury bags and accessories. 

However, my advice to them is to save the wardrobe space for their clothes and invest in a dry cabinet instead. My answer might have surprised a few - since most people usually associate dry cabinet with camera equipment.

Singapore climate is soooo ridiculously humid; and wardrobes always suffer from mould attacks during freaky yo-yo hot-cold-hot-cold weather. And come-on! Dehumidifiers in the wardrobe doesn't work unless you are using an insanely huge tub - placed in every darn corner of the wardrobe! And they require replacement every few months and even more frequent replacements in such rainy year-end season - like now.

Mould can't thrive in a dry environment with constant dry and cool temperature. Hence, the electronic dry cabinet is the best solution to keep the nasty mould away. 

Here is my mid sized cabinet for our leather bags, wallets, belts and accessories. I used the AD-160 model from Digi-Cabi. Some might wonder why Digi-Cabi - I chose this over Aipo since its build is of a better quality. In addition, Mr Diva and my brother has been using this brand for ages for their camera equipment and hence it is pretty reliable. The exact specifications as follows:

Dimension

W45×D38×H120 cm

Effective capacity
160L

Power consumption
8W

Comes with 1 digital hygrometer with a slide open door with 5 fully adjustable

roller metal trays

The above might be too technical...so I will try to explain with more layman terms. This model is the analogue mode - means that you turn the knob to adjust the humidity level. For people who want to be pretty precise, you should get the digital mode - DHC-160.

I decided to get the AD series since it is much cheaper and I don't really need such precise control over the humidity level. The dry cabinet sits in my study room.

There is a "handle" for me to pull out the tray easily. If  I am not wrong, the trays for DHC series don't come with this.

The trays can be fully extended and allows me to take the stuffs out easily...

There is a thick rubber gasket which runs around the parameters of the door. In fact, I had to pull hard to open the door - the suction between the mating surfaces is pretty strong.  

It comes with a digital display of the Relative Humidity (RH) and Temperature. The recommended RH for leather items is 30 to 50.

The top tray comes with a thick removable wave sponge specially designed for camera lenses. In this case, I was too lazy to take out the sponge..

The rest of the trays are lined with a removable thick grey latex.

The trays are adjustable with the tray holders evenly spaced out for you to configure the height between the trays.

Digi Cabi can be easily found at the local electronic stores such as Harvey Norman Singapore. It comes with a 5 year warranty and AD-160 retails at around $490 inc GST. :)

Dry Cabinet Tips

Use a dust bag if you are storing more than one bag for each tray.

Place frequently used items on the top few trays.

Place the dry cabinet away from the window or other heat generating sources.

Setting the RH too low will cause the item stored inside the cabinet to dry up and crack.

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Simple Human - Wall Mount Grocery Bag Dispenser

I have been looking around for a grocery bag dispenser that looks deliciously good, and is both sturdy and lasting. Finally, I decided on the Wall Mount Grocery Bag Dispenser from simplehuman since it seem to fit these  criteria. 

The Product

The Wall Mount Grocery Bag Dispenser arrived in a thick cardboard box and is bubble wrapped. Once out of the bubble wrap, the dispenser feels heavy, solid and it is evident that the product is designed with a premium finish in mind.

Product Installation

The installation process is very straight forward since you can opt to mount it using the screws provided or with the thick double sided pre-mounted masking tapes. As we are using it on one of our cabinet doors, we skipped the screws as they will protrude out from the other side of the cabinet door when used. However, Mr Diva decided to add on more double sided masking tapes to make it more secure. 

Usage

It is really tempting to just stuff the plastic grocery bags right after the installation is complete. In fact, Mr Diva is sooo carried away and the outcome looks....really messy.  -_-""

Hence I decided to step in and do something about it.

These bags have to be neatly folded before they are stuffed inside the bag dispenser. In case you are wondering how this can be achieve, the step by step technique is detailed above.

Aside from being neat, the advantage of having the grocery bags folded into little adorable triangles is that you are able to gauge the size of the bag more accurately! :)

Although the specifications state that the dispenser can accommodate up to 30-40 grocery bags, I was able to achieve 50% more room with this simple technique! See?!

My Verdict

This is yet another winning product from simplehuman. Not only does the Wall Mount Grocery Bag Dispenser looks sleek and good, it functions pretty well too without burning a big hole in your pocket.

Not convinced? Just take a look at the positive reviews from the other customers.

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iClebo - An Awesome Robotic Cleaning Assistant!

 iClebo Smart- A robotic cleaning assistant 

* This is not a sponsored post *

I blogged on iRobot around a year ago. Today, I am going to do a post on iClebo Smart. iClebo is a smart intelligent cleaning robot and is made in Korean. You can actually read the detailed product specifications from this page and here is a brochure for iClebo Smart. 

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iRobot - Auto Vacuum and Floor Washing Robot!

Auto Vacuum and Floor Washing Robot.

Roomba & Scooba

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Digital Lock Part 3

In my previous post, I mentioned that Samsung as one of the leading digital lock solutions. The another well-known digital lock solution provider is Yale.



The list of the different digital lock is listed under this link.

Digital Door Lock-YDM 3109

I would like to mention that the model that I am using is 3109 series. After over 1 year of usage, the entire family (including my mum who is very extremely resistant to anything that is remotely high-tech) loves it.

We have not experienced any glitches or any problems with this model. :)

One of the main reasons why we have chosen this model is because it has the most sturdy built.

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Digital Lock Part 2

That is right! Samsung provides an astonishingly big selection of digital locks to fulfill our needs. Their product ranges from basic entry level to the most sophisticated digital locks with biometrics fingerprint digital lock.

I have spoken to a few retailers who carry Samsung as one of their leading digital lock solutions. They argued that since Samsung is a technology giant in Asia (especially in Korea); their digital lock solutions should be one of the best. They also claimed that almost 70-80% Koreans are using Samsung digital locks (this claim has yet to be proven though - sounds like sale talk to me).

Nonetheless, here is the link to the Samsung digital lock product. http://digitaldoorlocks.com.au/Products-Home_Locks.html.

Personally, I run into quite a few problems with Samsung handphones (3 models in fact) and Samsung computer and display screens - all only within months of usage. Thus, I was quite skeptical of the quality of Samsung products and would not want to recommend any in my post here. :P

Nonetheless, I will followup with yet another leading digital lock provider in my next post. :)

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Digital Lock Part 1

Happy 2011 everyone!

I have chosen Digital Lock as my first post in this brand new year! :)

Why is that so? I noticed a trend of using digital locks even for HDB flats. Digital locks used to be a common feature for Condominiums, Apartments and Executive Condominiums. Now, HDB dwellers are increasingly using digital locks too. :)

The reasons for favoring high tech solutions over the traditional key lock systems are aplenty. They include:

1) Convenience
Does the thought of bringing the house keys make you whine when you went jogging around the neighborhood? Ever fumbled for keys in your bag while both arms are loaded with grocery? Digital lock might be the answer. Why? The digital keypad offers a quick and simple way of just pressing the correct sequence of buttons which then allows the door to be unlocked. Hence, owners need not carry physical keys around to manually unlock the door. They only need to remember the password combination to the digital lock. Therefore, there is no need to worry about loosing keys and getting locked out.

2) Ease of use (for elderly and disabled)
Digital lock also comes with tokens which allow owners to unlock the door by simply tapping the token on the digital lock panel. Therefore, its really a simple affair of "touch and go" . This is quite useful for the elderly or disabled who are poor in memorizing the password combination and struggle with physical keys when their hands coordination is very poor.

3) Ease of changing the digital password combination
Digital locks password can be easily reprogrammed. Therefore, for owners who wants added security, they can choose to change their password combination every month. Even for owners who have lost their key tokens, new password can be setup as soon as possible to prevent unauthorized entry.

4) Alarm system, yet another added security
Most digital locks have an alarm system which alerts homeowners when there is unauthorized access. Hence, this feature provides an added layer of home protection.


Nonetheless, what are the down sides of using digital locks? Here are some which I can think of...

1) Can be intimating for the less tech savvy users!
Digital locks can be arguably more complicated for the less tech savvy among us. Some die hard users may still favor traditional locks over digital ones.

2) Crashing and failing
Digital locks are just like our computers, they could crash or fail at the most unexpected times. In fact, some argue that they are more prone to crashing or failing (the more complicated a system the more there is to go wrong - particularly when it's dependent on a power source). Nonetheless, there is still manual override option available for all digital locks.

3) Costly and expensive!
Digital locks do not come cheap and the initial installation and maintenance is definitely costly. For some, additional tokens come at a price.

Nonetheless, I feel it still is worth the extra investment now for the advantages it brings. My next post will cover the digital locks that are available in the market. :)

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Rust-proof Stainless Steel Dish Racks! By Simple Human

It has been a long time since I have reviewed a product. If you are new to the kitchen like me, you might be duped into buying a "stainless steel" product, thinking that it might last and rust proof. In fact, my trusty dish-rack is rusting like crazy simply because it is "stainless steel" coated.

This made me determined to search for a perfect ideal dish-rack that will meet the following requirements:
1) RUST PROOF!!
2) Proper ergonomic design
3) Configurable to my needs
4) Affordable
I managed to narrow down our choices to the Kitchen Dish-racks by simplehuman from Home-Fix D.I.Y.


After making numerous price and function comparisons, I was sold. Home-fix has a 5 year rust free warranty for the dish-rack ranges and the price is reasonable at S$199.00 (other shops were selling at least S$178.00 for a simple 2 tier dish rack with no rust proof guarantee and no proper ergonomic design!).

simplehuman also have their own blog.

simplehuman dishracks make drying and storing dishes faster, safer and cleaner. The dishracks adjust to your household needs by allowing cup holders and other accessories to be placed in areas where they are easiest and most convenient to reach. The high grade 18/10 stainless railing and clear ABS plastic components make our dishracks durable and easy-to-clean. Innovative accessories like a knife block and removable plate holder keep items safe.

The removable plate holder and extra large utensil holder are made of a clear ABS plastic that is gentle on dishes. Place the cup holders where you want or add wine glass holders that safely store wine glasses neatly, stem-side up.

The extra-large utensil holders have wide holes that allow for quick draining.

The drip tray has feet that can tilt up to improve drainage and prevent water from accumulating.

No more chipped plates. Our removable plate holder is made of clear ABS plastic that is gentle on dishes and lifts out for easy cleaning in a dishwasher or by hand.

Our utensil holder also comes with a knife block that doubles as a shallow drying area. The knife block helps safely store knives and separates them from the other utensils. Flip the knife block over, and it doubles as a drying area for small items. If you've ever spent time trying to dig out a sippy cup filter out of a utensil holder, then you'll appreciate this detail.

The swingarm dishrack has a unique storage area that can be raised to dry wine glasses or lowered to hold larger utensils. The swingarm dishrack shares the same utensil holder and drip tray as the system dishrack, but uses a grooved wire design to hold plates in place. The metal cup holders can be placed anywhere along the railing.

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Portable Dryer

Ever thought that the Conventional Dryer is way too expensive, takes up too much space, consume a lot of electricity and lastly, makes your clothes crumbles so badly that you have to iron them?

I was given this daunting task to search for a good cheap, portable and energy saving dryer. After much reviews and research, I managed to find one!

Introducing Kawaki, made in Singapore 100% portable and cheap indoor laundry dryer. After using it for 3 months, I found that the following claims are true:

Cost Saving:
Saves up to 35% energy; I checked the electricity bill, no significent difference (usage rate: 2-3 hr weekly). A lot less ironing since the clothes are dryed on hangers.

Multi-purpose:
We have tried drying clothes, bedsheets and thick towels. So far so good...will try pillows,comforters, soft toys, shoes and bags.

Cheap and Portable: Its less then S$200 and saves space! It is very light and can easily be lifted up with only one hand..

Lastly, its great for delicate fabric like silk.

However the following could be improved.

Capacity: I doubt it can dry up to 50 pieces of items in one go...I have tried 20 items (dresses, pants, tops, towels) and finds it very compact. maybe the rest of 30 pieces goes to panties, socks?

Quality: The dryer seems too light and maybe a little bit flimsy? However, others pointed out that that is why its so light and portable.

Tips: After spinning dry your clothes, leave them overnight before using the Portable Dryer to save more electricity.

Enviro http://blog.fashionfanatics.com.sg/?tag=beauty-and-health offers very similar functions too.

[Update: 05/07/2012]

Kawaki is no longer in operation.

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