Tylo Times » Home & Garden

History Speaking through Cornices

Cindy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:02:14 +0000

One of the more uncanny experiences in any kind of historical work comes when the correspondences between past and present become closer than one could have possibly suspected. That everyday household objects have connections to a deeper past can come as no quiet shock, because there is a tendency to take what’s best from the past generation and repeat it. But when small connections between things, like window blinds and the walls of an ancient theater, become obvious, then history takes on a whole new dimension. One can often feel like walking backwards and forwards in time, and there’s no sure resting place that says this is the present.

It is these kinds of experiences that historians love, and the kind that they always hope to impart on their students, but the most significant of these can’t happen in a classroom; they have to be experienced, and then reflected on in solitude. It’s no small matter that this reflection is one of the hallmarks of a classical education, so there are historical circles within historical circles, and it can be dizzying or intoxicating.

So it can happen, then, that looking at the ancient architecture of the Greeks and the Romans can start to show through, where the layers of time melt away to reveal that not all that much has changed. The cornices around the windows of a contemporary home have an unusually pleasant effect, giving it a look that is altogether harmonious and even soothing. Moving backwards in time, it becomes more interesting, and this only helps to heighten its aesthetic appeal. The cornice is an architectural piece that has been around for a few thousand years at least, and its origins speak to the same sense of function that they have today.

The theaters of ancient Rome had cornices on the walls of the scenae frons, called the geison, which ran along the top of the aedicula. These terms all have an interesting history of their own, and refer to the time when theater was an event that was addressed to a pantheon of Goddesses and Gods, just as much as it was meant to appeal to human spectators. These cornices were originally meant for the part of a building that housed shrines to the deities, and connections to the theatre’s most obvious God, Dionysus.

Not that there’s anything obvious about Dionysus these days. However, it is remarkable that the piece that is meant to frame the window was once given a more sacred space. It isn’t far-fetched then, to imagine that the view out the window of one’s home is also meant to be elevated, where the connection between the outside and the inside is not only beautiful, but also essential for a harmonious life.

History Speaking through Cornices is a post from: Tylo Times

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Change Your Windows, Change Your Room

Cindy — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Every now and then people need a change. You may be feeling stifled in your job or simply bored with the routine of daily life. You may not be able to afford a trip to Europe or have the money to completely redecorate your home , but you can probably afford to update one element of a room. A single change, such as replacing your window treatments, can breathe new life into a room, and, as an extension, into your life.

Start by choosing just one room to change. This should be a room in which you spend a lot of time, otherwise the affect will be significantly lessened. A living room, family room or even kitchen is usually a good choice. You’ll want to take into consideration the size and shape of your windows as well as the use they get. When you are looking at new window blinds and shades make sure to look at the rest of the room to determine what colors and textures would complement your existing decor. You don’t want to get something that stands out in a bad way.

You will find plenty of options to choose from. There are simple blinds, fabric blinds, and even textured and patterned blinds. You may prefer to buy curtains, sheers, cellular shades or shutters. Depending on the room and the style of decor, a combination may work best. Many people pair sheer curtains with heavier drapes or decorative shades with a valance.

Let your imagination be your guide, remembering the points listed above, and you’ll soon have new windows and a boost of change in your life.

Change Your Windows, Change Your Room is a post from: Tylo Times

Do You Need a Safe?

Cindy — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Fear seems to be the emotion of choice in these troubled times . People are afraid of losing their jobs — or of not finding a new one. They fear terrorism, natural disasters, rising crime rates, and the destruction of the environment. The media and politicians have done such a good job of convincing society that fear is the default emotion that some people even fear global apocalypse by virus, zombies, or Mayan prophecy.

If you can get out from under all that fear you may start to wonder about how much security you actually need for your home. Not everyone needs an alarm system or bars on their windows. The question of what you do and don’t need will come down to how much security will make you feel safe — not the advice given by some random blogger.

Take for instance the question of whether or not you need to purchase a security safe . Ask yourself what you have that is valuable enough that you can’t live without it. If it is jewelry, a coin collection, stock certificates, or even a scrapbook full of five generations of family photos, then you may want to get a safe. There are safes available for digital and electronic media so that you can store a hard drive backup of your computer. If you have valuable information on your laptop, consider keeping it in the safe when it’s not in use.

The size and safety rating of the safe you get will be determined by what you want to protect and what you want to protect it from. Which are the same questions you can apply to any decision that has to do with security.

Do You Need a Safe? is a post from: Tylo Times

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The Importance of a Bedroom Sanctuary

Cindy — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:10:00 +0000

Everyone’s house should be their castle, right? Well of course, and your bedroom should be a sanctuary from the stress and chaos of the outside world. Sleep is one of the most important elements of our overall health, and it is also one of the things that is lacking the most from people’s lifestyles. So while the notion of a personal sanctuary and private retreat has been a common romantic or fantasy orientation to bedroom designs, it actually plays a much more vital role in your overall health than what most people realize. And designing your sleeping space to provide the most aesthetic pleasure and comfort will encourage our minds and bodies to relax into a deep blissful sleep.

In addition to the overall room design, there are some extremely beautiful contemporary bedding sheets, quilts, blankets and pillows that will entice even the most resistant night owl to visit dreamland. And it’s not only the attractiveness and appeal of your bedding and design that is important. Economically friendly materials are available as well as anti-allergens . Having clean, organic and healthy bedding will not only look great but will also be conducive to quality sleep respiration. This of course will promote quality rest and deep sleep. If you don’t sleep for more than a few hours or have incredible difficulty staying asleep, you might want to look into changing your room and finding new bedding.

The Importance of a Bedroom Sanctuary is a post from: Tylo Times

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James Watt, Steam Engines and Steam Showers

Cindy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:10:00 +0000

The first humans ever to notice steam rise from the surface of water probably did not realize just how useful this form of H2O would actually one day become. In fact, over the thousands of years of human development, it took a long time before the implications of steam were written down in a book in Alexandria by a man named Hero, and then was lost again, until Thomas Newcomen in 1705 invented the steam engine and James Watt (whose name became important to the light bulb, as in 60 watts) improved upon that invention in 1769. The steam engine, in fact, was the first type of engine to be widely used.

Steam engines powered all the first locomotives, steam boats, and factories, creating a base for the Industrial Revolution , which led eventually to the world around us. In a roundabout way you might say that steam is responsible for the screen on which you’re reading this information, and the keyboard which you used to arrive at this page. In the first piston steam engines, used in a steam locomotive, a valve allows high-pressure steam to act alternately on both sides of a piston. When water is taken on at a station, water is lost through the steam exhaust, creating a kind of “choo choo” sound, the sound of steam escaping under a great amount of pressure.

While steam engines for locomotives are rarely used today, it was the start of being able to apply steam in a variety of ways, including bringing it indoors to the bathroom in the form of relaxing steam showers .

James Watt, Steam Engines and Steam Showers is a post from: Tylo Times

Horizontal or Vertical Blinds?

Cindy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:22:46 +0000

When choosing new blinds for a home, there are usually two types of blinds available to consumers. These are horizontal blinds and vertical blinds. The difference can be huge in terms of style, but not in terms of use or purpose. The choice of one or the other can be the difference in a whole room from a flash of color, to making the room a little more elegant. Vertical blinds are not as common in houses as horizontal blinds and can add a little extra flair to the room, this can be a nice personal touch in a room that many people will be in often. These blinds aren’t usually very good for smaller windows like those often found in bathrooms, but are great for large view windows like in a living room or bedrooms. Horizontal blinds are not as elegant and are better for the small windows, but can be used for any window type.

Horizontal blinds are the most common blinds found in houses, and attach in a fairly standard way. There is not a lot of elegance in these blinds, but they are cheap and they do the job they are intended to do very well. They are the best window treatment option for rooms in which a lot of water is used. Easy to clean off if something spills on them, and they won’t be damaged if a little water rests on them for a while. While there is a large variety of these blinds, aluminum is the most common. They can usually be found in any color to match the standing decor of your room.

Vertical blinds come in a number of fashions, from fabrics to vinyl , these blinds can be made to custom match the decor of a room by finding just the right print that goes with the room. Often they can even be made to compliment a couch if put up in a living room. These blinds attach slightly differently, but act in much the same way. Usually vertical blinds are best for rooms that need to be made completely dark, as the overlap in vertical blinds efficiently blocks out the sun. There is a mechanism that keeps all the blinds at the same angle, and they can be adjusted by hand, or by chord. Some companies will even offer to motorize these blinds, taking away the need for a chord.

Horizontal or Vertical Blinds? is a post from: Tylo Times

Oh Historical Stove

Cindy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:57:43 +0000

Well, long ago man finally discovered how to make fire. Fire on of the single most important discoveries of mankind. Then next one could be antibiotics. But for now were talking about fire. Fire eventually became the contained in some inventions over the years. From just an open faced flame pit to a containable flame stove or fireplace. Always used for heating and cooking. A Napoleon stove is a wonderful way to heat the home but stove is not only referred to as a heating the air device. Stoves are also another name for oven. Of course to cook meals with. So let’s look at how the history of stove ovens goes.

In 1490, Alsace France was the first documentation of a stove being built. It was built of only brick and tile and it did include the flue. Think of things before with all that smoke bellowing into the home or castle all the time. Talk about always smelling like a fire pit. Anyway, the first stove built with a flue with a record was in 1490. I’m sure for another couple thousand years the design stayed rather simple but became more popular. The Germans too the stoves to their first big incarnation. They were called Five-plate also known as Jamb stoves. By 1740 the close stoves were born. They were six plate stoves also called the box stoves.

America stepped in now with Benjamin Franklin’s big improvements on the stove. He created the Pennsylvania Fireplace. With in 20 years the design morphed into the ten plated stove which had an oven and two hinged doors. This design looks like it is the design that finally incorporated the all kinds of cooking stoves. Finally in the late nineteenth century the cook stoves and ranges began to flourish. Now modern stoves and ovens have become so luxurious.

Oh Historical Stove is a post from: Tylo Times

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Benefits of Purchasing From a Specialty Store

Cindy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:51:15 +0000

If you are thinking about putting new blinds up in your house you may be considering a regular retail store for something decent yet inexpensive. However, their product may only last a few years before you will have to buy more. And so I offer another option –a specialty store. You may be thinking specialty stores are too expensive, but there are many benefits to choosing a specialty store, like Next Day Blinds for instance.

One of the primary benefits is the product. Next Day Blinds provides only blinds, shades, shutters, and cornices. Unlike many of the larger chain stores, their employees, or associates as they like to call them, are carefully selected and trained to work specifically with their product. They are experts in their field. They also manufacture their own line of window coverings called Great Windows at their production plant in Maryland. Another benefit is that all window treatments are custom made to fit your windows, so you don’t have to worry about trying to make something fit if it’s too big or too small.

Because customer service is such a high priority, Next Day Blinds complaints are extremely limited. They not only offer a free consultation during which they will professionally measure your windows but they offer warranties for the product, the installation (if they install them for you), and the at-home service. Considering our tight economy, the competitive pricing is also a big perk. They will even price match within 30 days if you find a product of similar quality.

So before you run off to buy another cheap set of blinds that only last you a short while, consider Next Day Blinds. They offer a very pleasant shopping experience, competitive pricing and a product that will last a lifetime.

Benefits of Purchasing From a Specialty Store is a post from: Tylo Times

Glad i found about portable spas!

Cindy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:34:32 +0000

I am so glad i found out about portable hot tubs, i had though the only choice in having a spa was a conventional permanently installed unit. Not so any more! After working hard and a hard work out after work I really want to be able to relax in my own private hot tub. For me a portable spas makes the best sense. I am renting a house right now. I don’t expect to be here much longer so there is no way I would want to install a hot tub permanently for the landlord. So if I get a portable spa I can take it with me or i could sell it when I move out of here. I like that there is that flexibility and choice between conventional installation or a portable spa.

Another wonderful feature of the portable is that it does not require the running of special plumbing and or run special electrical wiring. This makes it so much more convenient than I had ever imagined having a hot tub would be. With the portable spas there is a filter and motor to power the jets and a heater to heat the water. It is perfectly simple and on top of all portable! This feature appeals to me one because I don’t own the house I live in and two I can move the hot tub to a sunny location during the cold times of the year and move it to a shady spot in the yard in the summer.

Now that I have found a model under one thousand dollars and one that is small enough that I can manage moving it by my self for place to place in the yard. i have to say I can’t wait to get into the spa and have a relaxing soak in my own back yard.

Glad i found about portable spas! is a post from: Tylo Times

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Renting luxury

Cindy — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:03:50 +0000

With the economic downturn has a come a great new way for people who are only looking to rent to live the high life. With so many houses going unoccupied, it’s becoming more and more difficult to sell them due to the economy. And this has created a new way to rent called house squatting, well a form of house squatting, this kind is in no way illegal.

This form of rental is used when a home is on the market and is empty. So the home does not sit unused and unprotected, there are companies that find people to live in them and stage them with their own furniture. The result is that the renter gets to live in a luxurious home at extremely reduced rental costs.

When a person rents from one of these services they are given access to all the hot tub spas and built in gas grills the awesome property has to offer. All they have to do is keep the house in tip top shape for the owners and realtors.

The renter maintains the home just as if it were a model home. They stage the home to make it look lived in and homey, as opposed to empty. People tend to be more willing to buy a house when it has furniture in it, an empty home can really hurt the chances of selling it. This is especially true in these big homes, because without furniture they can feel hollow and lonely.

The person who is renting the home just has to keep it clean and maintain security. They have to have the house ready to be shown at all times. That main thing is keeping the outdoor sinks shiny and the inside sparkling clean.

It may sound like a lot of work for the person who is renting but it gives you a chance to live like a millionaire, even if only for a little while.

Renting luxury is a post from: Tylo Times

Glad i found about portable spas!