decorate

This luminous pillowcase is great, but I do not fully understand its practical purpose

Way back in the day, when I was a college student and dinosaurs roamed the earth, I "borrowed" one of those yellow, flashing construction lights from in front of my apartment.

It was all good times and high-fives 'til I realized those lights are darkness-activated. In other words, it was hard to sleep with a construction light blinking nonstop in my room. It wasn't long before I returned it to the site from which I "borrowed" it.

The only reason I bring this up is because I just stumbled upon the battery-powered LumiGram luminous pillowcase. … Read more

Move over, lawn gnomes; here comes Giant Super Mario!

If you have $3000 burning a hole in your pocket and are looking for a hot new lawn decoration that won't need to be replaced with seasonal changes (unless you're that weirdo who keeps the inflatable Santa up all year round), man, you are going to love hearing this. Someone is making these 5-foot-tall Super Mario figures, previously only sold to retailers, available to the average consumer. (Well, the average consumer with an extra $3000 on hand.) Now, you can have a Mario of your very own.

Imagine the possibilities! They could upstage your wacky neighbor's lawn … Read more

Glowy tablecloths: for seances, or uber-awesome outdoor parties

As you may recall, Mike didn't really like the LED handbag that he blogged a few weeks ago, comparing it to The Blob. I think it bears more of a resemblance to a jellyfish, but that's beside the point.

Yes, the LED handbag was pretty ugly, but illuminated cloth objects don't have to be. I just found out about LumiGram, a French site that sells fabric commodities like bags, tank tops, and yes, tablecloths that are equipped with plastic optical fibers woven alongside the regular threads. They're powered by (allegedly) discreet batteries and are hand-washable.

The … Read more

Morphing mood lighting? Sure, I'm game

If you have a mean landlord who doesn't let you paint anything in your house or apartment, this could be a solution to your lack-of-color woes. The Morpheus Ambient Lighting Modules use really, really, really, really high-end LEDs to mix a combination of red, green, and blue light. Then it projects it on white walls--sorry, I'm not sure how it would be distorted by that lovely eggshell or alabaster color you've got in your living room.

It'll cost you the Brit equivalent of $167.

Basically, it's the ultimate haute end of color-changey gadgets. Because here'… Read more

LED mirror isn't as bad as it sounds

LEDs are beginning to rival Swarovski crystals as overused (and unnecessary) accents for all manner of products--even handbags. They appear so often that we could even start a daily feature on them.

So for today's installment of Crave, The LED Edition, we be bring you into the home. The "Diamond Lite" mirror, from the UK's BC Designs, is a backlit, splash-proof accessory punctuated with small diamond-shaped LED clusters. But, unlike so the garish designs of so many other items we've seen, this one is actually done in a tasteful manner, as Gadget Candy says. Then … Read more

Do you crave more illuminated party decorations?

Imagine if you had one of these in your yard. It's a floating fountain that you can place in your decorative pond of choice (provided it has at least a foot of water in it) and it'll create an array of water that's 10 feet in diameter. Plus, it's illuminated by 42 LEDs that make it an awfully pretty sight. There's even a sensor that will make sure that the lights are only on when it's dark out. Sure, it costs $850, but that's a small price to pay for such coolness. (Right?)… Read more

Protect your valuables in living color

Why should safes always be the same boring, battleship-gray fixtures seen in the movies? After all, we've seen color applied with abandon to appliances ranging from stoves and refrigerators to red and flowered washing machines.

You can't unlock these home models with voice commands as with others we've seen recently, but they sure look a lot nicer. Japan's Nakabayashi sells these simply designed personal safes in your choice of primary colors, operated electronically with your personal numeric code.

At first we thought the bright hues might attract would-be thieves, but Tokyomango suggests the perfect place for … Read more

Dream of Vespa adventures from your cubicle

Okay, so maybe it's not as all-out of an office-roadster tribute as the Mini-Desk, but this Vespa desk clock, a favorite of ThisNext readers, is still pretty cool--and probably a lot more reasonable. The Vespa clock's vintage styling and streamlined design, modeled off the headlight of an original 1946 Vespa scooter, would make a lovely addition to the most chic of office spaces.

But therein lies the problem. It's certainly aesthetically pleasing, and quite classy, and that's kind of why I'd be hesitant to get one. It'd clash horribly with my current desk decor … Read more

All your wall are belong to Space Invaders decals

A few months ago, I had the privilege of playing a five-story-tall version of classic video game Space Invaders at Manhattan's Come Out and Play Festival. In the time since then, it appears that the trend has taken hold. Blik is selling a line of wall decals in the shapes of Space Invaders good guys and bad guys, in an array of Atari-worthy hues, which you can stick and unstick on the walls of your kitchen, living room, bedroom, or whatever-room at will.

They were featured as kiddie room decorations on Babygadget, but this grown-up (ha, ha) would totally … Read more