apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

OMG! We need this. We NEEEEEEED it. One very creative DIYer retrofitted an old school NES controller to be a doorbell. Once any button on the controller is pressed it sends a signal to the wireless doorbell module, which then chimes in.

While Gregory's home is a bath-centric pad, our home is all about the shower. There's something about coming in from the humid New York weather that makes the power of running water shooting down your body feel oh so good. And while Gregory gets his own iPhone bath app, us shower users get the Hansgrohe RainBrain Smart Shower...

We admit it. We've seen a cockroach or two in our apartment (we live in New York after all). Being on the ground floor we've seen all kinds of insects actually. It gets worse in the winter when we have to bring all our cold hating plants in with all their squatting anthropods. We're not a big fan of chemicals, so we sometimes mix up our own batch of dish soap, water, and olive oil to spray some plants down. That only cuts down on some of the pests.

UK-based designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau think our household décor should be earning their keep in our homes by helping us with our domestic pests and in turn using those unwanted guests as fuel to power themselves up. How cool would it be if our computers, TVs, stereos, etc. were powered by bug juice? PETA would probably have something to say about that...

• Inspiration: Lego Desktop Wallpapers
  
• Beautiful Computer Desk Made from Old Door
  
• Close-Up: Glen's Ever So Tasteful Tech
  
• Use Rain Gutters to Wrangle Under-Desk Wires

While checking out Steve's great office space, which we hope to post about soon, we saw this great photo of his new son's nursery. The first thing that caught our eye was the iPod and speakers on the baby dresser. Not having children we never thought of how useful an iPod must be when you have a new baby. No more are parents stuck with whatever crappy lullabies embedded in their crib mobiles!

Just think, you can help your baby sleep with some stellar tunes from John Denver (yes, that's what we were into when we were wee ones).

Designed by Eastvold Custom, the solid walnut console features passages throughout all the shelves and partitions along with the bottom and back of the piece to route (and hide) cables and wired.

The cabinet's legs give this contemporary piece a mid-century flavor without the collector's price tag. The cabinet sells for $1833, which isn't cheap, but is pretty reasonable for a handmade piece as beautiful as this one. Two more photos and where to buy after the break...

We've replaced almost all our light bulbs with eco-friendly compact fluorescents, but there are still some lamps we still use energy hogging incandescents with -- such as the light in our office. There's just something about the pairing of CFLs and my LCD monitor that makes our eyes want to bleed. Both provide relatively harsh lighting, and since CFLs can't really be adjusted we've let this one lamp slip.

We may change our tune as soon as Sharp releases its LEDs. The bulbs come with a remote control which let you scroll through seven different intensities of white. It's similar to a dimmer...

First there was One Less Desk, now there's One Less Office! The people who designed nesting steel desks, have now come up with a solution for people who have more than just a computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse.

The One Less Office comprises of the same two nesting tables that can hold your basic workstation equipment, along with a lower deck that can hold a printer, desktop tower, modems, you name it, and then even one more cube that acts as a filing cabinet.

Everything fits together like an old school nesting doll so you can minimize your home office footprint when you're not working.

• Digi-Garden Hack: Using Broken dSLRs as Plant Pots
  
• Close-Up: Glen's Ever So Tasteful Tech
  
• How to Organize Your Computer Wires Using Cable Cubes
  
• Look! Tyra Bank's Office Makeover

We love it when people put new tech next to old tech. Suddenly you have a mini timeline of gadgetry. Take the photo above, for example, of Cristina's bedroom. She's set her iHome Audio iPod dock next to her vintage Crosley turntable and they just go together like two peas in a pod. A close-up after the jump...

A few days ago Gregory reposted a few words from Sarah Rae at Ohdeedoh on the tried and true record player. She mentioned that her old school player gets as much action as the MP3s on her hard drive. While our record player is waiting for us in our parent's basement in California, we couldn't help but think we'd start buying more LPs if this techy concept were a reality...

While taking a look at great backyard ideas, we can't forget people who don't have the luxury of having a small plot of land to call their own. For those of you stuck to using your green thumb in your apartments, here's a great concept we hope comes to fruition...

RealSimple.com came up with 21 ways to keep your home office clean and organized. While their tips are helpful – "A clear plastic desk and chair are unobtrusive in a bedroom" – their home office photos are inspirational.

We love the painted orange brick wall next to the office nook in the lower right corner. It makes that massive printer seem a little less massive and bit more fun. The wallpaper and powder blue hallway console makes for an adorable workspace, and the rolling metal desk in the kitchen just seems so convenient for those with small spaces to work in...

It may be the perfect gift for your accountant, who come tax time is practically sleeping with the numberpad on his keyboard. Designed by Simone Micheli, we think this chair is made to order.