Electrolux and Park Associati have teamed up to deliver a portable restaurant that will enable diners to have gastronomic experiences at famous landmarks around the world. This idea of pop-up dining is not new but ‘The Cube’ sure is a futuristic and extremely lightweight restaurant made for the purpose of portability.

The 140 square metre Cube will be placed in the Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, and will be moved to a different European city every four to twelve weeks. Lunches start from EUR150 and dinners from EUR200. Steep, but is there really a price you can pay for such an experience? A local chef from the city in which the restaurant resides in will be picked to be the resident chef throughout the restaurant’s stay at the city. The chef will be working from a kitchen fully fitted with Electrolux products on show – a clever piece of marketing savviness from the Electrolux folks.

The tables are retracted to the ceiling once the guests have completed their meals to enable more space for mingling and networking. Very clever indeed

In 2010, it is thought that nine-tenths of the 950 natural disasters recorded were weather-related events such as storms and floods. The earthquake that decimated Haiti caused the death of 222,570 people. Russia experienced a record heat wave resulting in huge forest fires killing 50,000 people and in Pakistan, floods caused the death of over 1,760 people.

At the end of 2010, severe winter weather gripped the UK and brought the country to a standstill. In what was the coldest and longest winter ever recorded, the insurance industry recorded a massive increase in claims for both car and house insurance payouts.

Now in 2011, climate change is continuing to have a massive impact around the world. In Australia and Brazil, more floods have killed many and now it is Britain’s turn. Wales, the south-west, the midlands and the north east have all been issued flood warnings with half of January’s predicted rainfall predicted to fall over the next few days. With insurance companies still recovering from the winter weather payouts, they are now bracing themselves for even larger payouts due to flood damage.

Home Insurance

German insurers Munich Re, issued a report showing that major global catastrophes in 2010 resulted in losses of $130 billion. Of these losses only $37 billion were insured. This is the same for the average family’s home insurance policy. It is estimated that on average home-owners are underinsured by £4,650, so in the event of a disaster, they will be literally “hung out to dry”.

“At a time when people are feeling the pinch, it is easy to assume a standard home insurance policy will be enough for you – however this could be a mistake. Knowing the difference between ‘frills’ and ‘no frills’ policies is crucial; many standard policies will provide a basic level of cover, which in many cases might not safeguard your home and possessions to the necessary extent.” said Julie Owens, head of the moneysupermarket home insurance team.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), insurers have paid out £4.5 billion to customers who have had their homes or businesses ruined by floods since 2000. This has led to an increase in premiums and a change in attitude to insurance. Housing Charity, Shelter reported that 42 per cent of home owners could not afford home insurance whilst 22 per cent said they did not think it was important.

It can only get worse

With Governments around the world refusing to live up to the fact that climate change is the direct cause of extreme weather conditions, things can only get worse. According to the ABI, nearly 500,000 people are at risk of flooding and this is thought to rise to 840,000 by 2035. All we can do is to be prepared and adequately covered in the event that we lose our home and its possessions in the event of a disaster. Here are some tips to help you to be prepared for the worst.

• Stay Informed – Keep up to date with the news and weather forecasts and for more up-to-date information, check the MET Office website for information on your local area.

• Pack an Emergency Kit – If a flood was to hit your town, you may only have minutes to evacuate. Your emergency kit should include, ID, money, a change of clothing and any medication that is required.

• Stock up on sandbags – Purchase as many sandbags as required to limit the amount of water that can enter you home in the event of a flood.

• Move your possessions upstairs – All electrical items, rugs, important documents and anything of sentimental value should be moved upstairs out of harms way.

• Contact Numbers – Keep all emergency contact numbers written down and in a safe place. This should also include the number for your home insurance provider and your policy number.

Most people face this dilemma when they’ve just purchased a home or when they want to renovate or redecorate their home – they’re unsure of whether they should hire an interior decorator or do the job themselves. The answer to the above question depends on a host of factors, the most important of which are money, time and skill. In general, it pays to hire an interior designer if:

• You can afford it – designers don’t come cheap, and the changes they recommend could also be costly and the contractors they use could end up draining your bank balance, so even if you do have money, fix a budget if you don’t want your designer to assume carte blanche and go the whole hog in redecorating your home.
• You want a professional look – your home is bound to look more appealing and stylish when trusted to the hands of a professional designer. So if money is no constraint and you want your home to look the best, by all means, go ahead and hire a designer who has a good reputation and is able to understand what you want for your house and translate it into reality.
• You don’t have the time – some folks may prefer DIY projects, but if they don’t have the time, they know that going with the services of a professional designer is the best thing to do. However, if you do know what you want and are able to manage with just the help of a few workmen and a contractor, then you could reduce your overall cost and get a great looking home.
• DIY would end up costing more – I know a couple who had to shell out tons of money on undoing the damage that the husband had wrought because of his DIY passion. DIY only if you know what you’re doing, if you have the time and inclination to learn all you can about the task you’re supposed to do and if you know how to handle the tools of the trade without inflicting harm on yourself or damaging objects around the home. It’s not much of an option if you’re going to have to hire a contractor and/or a designer to undo the damage that you’ve done and redo your home all over again.
• You have absolutely zero design skills – this is actually not a problem if you don’t mind living in a practical, no-frills home with just the basic furniture and furnishings. But if you find yourself giving the homes of your friends admiring looks for a minute too long and wondering why your home looks drab in comparison, then it’s time to bring in a designer, if only to get their opinion on what you need to do to spice things up. You could choose to pay just for a consultation or go all the way and get them to take care of the job as well.

Remember, interior designers come in all kinds, so do your homework and find the one who’s just right for your budget, your home, and your temperament.

This guest post is contributed by Sharon Harlan, she writes on the topic of interior design degree online . She welcomes your comments at her email id: sharon.harlan83<@>gmail<.>com.

India is a country with the potential to inspire anyone who has even the slightest artistic streak. Architecture Schools frequently offer entire courses on India; the country’s rich cultural and historical heritage is reflected in its buildings, providing ample classic examples for study. From the world famous Taj Mahal to more recent colonial-inspired urban buildings, India’s architecture reflects many influences over hundreds of years.

When considering urban populations, India is frequently a topic of hot discussion, especially among marketing types. Nearly one-sixth of the entire world’s population (that’s over 1.1 Billion people) lives in India, with a growing percentage of these people moving to a number of large urban centers. Mumbai, for example, has nearly 14 million residents and there are over forty other cities in India boasting populations in excess of one million. The US, in comparison, has nine cities with a population of over one million. This huge market is a subject of interest in leading Advertising Schools.

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For those of you who missed the Property Show where I was interviewed by Tiffany Chew, along with another guest, Vanessa, a full time Interior Design professional from Desigva Design, FEAR NOT for BFM podcasts all its shows.

Listen to it below or download the podcast (16min, 2.8mb) directly

Key items covered in the interview

• current trends
• is going green in?
• issues homeowners face with interior design
• cost, practicality, aesthetics?
• practical home design tips

Now that I’ve heard the recording, it feels somewhat surreal to know that I’ve been presented with the honour of being a guest on BFM! In my opinion, the show went pretty well and I now finally know how I sound like on the radio. Tiffany was great at getting us to feel comfortable especially since both guests were first timers on air. What stood out was her incredible hospitality which I really appreciate and her really cool name card which read ‘Bungalows For Me (BFM)’ on the reverse.

I’ve had the good fortune of being invited to be a guest on The Property Show with Tiffany Chew on BFM (Business FM). It’s going to be my first time on the radio and I’ve got to say that I’m pretty excited.

I hope you guys will tune in this Saturday at 11am – FM frequency 89.9 and listen in on the show as the topic for the week is Interior Design. Joining Tiffany and I would be Vanessa from Desigva Design – a professional Interior Designer who plies her trade in Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai. Yikes, how will I fare against a full time professional?

For months now this has been the only radio station I tune in to daily because their concept of business talk shows coupled with ever improving music (Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, The Verve etc) is a great departure from the likes of Hitz, Fly and other more mainstream stations.

Do make sure you tune in to The Property Show this coming weekend!

Homepride.com.my approached me to do an interview which I gladly obliged. Being part of the Catcha Group, Homepride is both a print magazine as well as an online portal on all things home & living for urban dwellers. The interview mainly focuses on my thoughts and experiences with home design and living. The last question was a nice touch.

Read the full interview after the jump

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In June last year, a chap by the name of Henry approached me seeking opinions about setting up an online business selling quality fabrics to the Australian market. The key things I spoke about then were about a user-friendly site display, clear furnishing options, strong delivery capabilities, and above all, easy payment options.

The site, comfortworks.com.au was officially launched on 7 April 2010 and features interactive products and fabric customization options to allow customers to be ale to view their finished product online before making the purchase.

Here’s the story of how ComfortWorks originated:

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San Francisco has long had a history of caring about its community. For decades, the country has looked to San Francisco for guidance on how to take care of one’s fellow man and of the planet. So it’s no surprise that San Francisco is one of the leaders in environmentally friendly communities. From the Green Building Program of Marin County to the Mountain View apartments of Silicon Valley, San Francisco is again leading the way, showing some great new methods for building green communities to the world.

Marin County – Green Building Program

The Green Building Program is a Marin Country project run by Omar Pena, Marin County’s Green Building Coordinator. He is available to offer any technical assistance needed in order to build green in Marin County. The Green Building Program is part of Marin County’s Sustainability Initiative, designed to save energy and protect the environment in various ways, from promoting alternative energy use, to green building to tips on green living. The Green Building Program includes residential green building guidelines and a rating system, incentives for green building initiatives and green building technical help.

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Siller Stairs is one of Italy’s foremost stairs designers. My previous post showcased Siller’s impressive work done around the world. Here’s an interview I did with the guy behind Siller Stairs himself – Benjamin Friedl.

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Me: Tell us about the origins of Siller Stairs/Treppen

Benjamin: The company was founded in 1958 and by a traditional carpenter. Mr. Siller Senior only manufactured custom made staircases primarily using wood during the winter time. In 1990, Christian Siller (Junior) decided it was time to expand the business and concentrate on professional stairs. His aim was to create light and floating stairs to be viewed as accompaniments to living spaces, just like any other furniture. Today, the main materials used are wood, stainless steel and glass. Since 2000,  Siller Stairs has gone international and the are now sold in Germany, Austria, Spain, UK, USA and Canada.

Me: In your opinion, what differentiates Siller from its competitors? and how does Siller plan to continue to maintain the edge in an ever competitive industry?

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