Lifestyle

A beautiful pristine bathtub shower combo is the highlight of many bathrooms today. Fortunately, there are virtually thousands of decent looking bathtub for sale that you can comfortably choose from. Nonetheless, if you are new to the various aspects of purchasing a bathtub, selecting the best from a multitude of options is challenging.  Below are five key things to consider when choosing a bathtub shower faucet.

• The Bathtub Shower Combo Power

Long gone are the days when bathtub shower were just free-standing containers that broke down after a few uses. With developing technology, bathtubs are now in use for much more than washing the dirt away. Additional features of new tubs include the ability to adjust water pressure; choose a specific temperature point as some have temperature gauges ad determine water flow. When selecting, deciding on how basic or powerful you want your showers to be before settling on one option.

• The Area You Will Install Your Bathtub Shower Combo

The area of installation plays a significant role in the kind of standard bathtub you will choose for your home. Often, people who have a cement floor can get away with installing any shower as a cement floor is extremely durable. The installation of a bath in a wood house requires more finesse and steps; hence, factors such as drainage of a tub will dictate if it’s a good fit. As expected, is care should be taken when choosing a bathtub for houses made with corrugated metal as any mistake in installation cause severe rusting and rotting.

• Environment for install of Bathtub Shower Combo

The environs or home area in which you stay is often the most overlooked aspect when choosing a bathtub. Often, tubs tend to get moldy and need more thorough intense cleaning in a humid environment than in a drier one. For this reason, consider your natural day to day weather before making a choice. Ideally, ceramics tend to be a sturdy choice as they can withstand constant scrubbing, and they are quick to clean. Additionally, glass bathtubs also are an excellent choice but often require investing in glass cleaner to keep it clear. For this reason, consider your specific weather environment before choosing as it dictates the cleaning pattern.

• Bathtub Shower Combo Type

Ideally, there are two kinds of bathtubs you can choose from, that is the free-standing and encased bathtub. Mainly, there are numerous both cons and pros associated with both choices. If you have a large bathroom and move to room aside, it makes sense to consider astronomical free-standing bathtub sizes you can invest in. However, if you have limited space, selecting an enclosed bathtub to stop it from moving makes better sense.

• Control Feature Of The Bathtub Shower Combo

With added features in every new and upcoming bathtub designs, it’s no wonder that bathtubs now come with a user manual.  However, one aspect to consider is ease of use. If it takes time to set up and get the showers going, analyze der if the feature is worth the wait. Additionally, with more features and a sophisticated control feature, the process of the bathroom shower combo is bound to increase. As you deliberate on various choices, decide whether the additions are worth the extra higher bathtub prices.

 Conclusion

The capabilities and the extra features of a bathtub shower combo differ from one brand to another. To ensure that you choose the best option from a multitude of bathtubs for sale, consider what you need it to do. Additionally, as the extra features come at an added expense and some of them extremely complicated, decide whether you need the extras.

Immediately a child starts to learn how to write, he/she will never stop until the end of time. However, the frequency of writing might change when the child is through with school. But, can you imagine the strain your child will go through if he uses the wrong type of pen?

Even as an adult; writing for a long time does tires your arm. It is therefore essential to invest in a pencil grip for your kids. In connection to that, check Firesara for the best pencil grip. The company has a wide range of pencil grips bearing different colors and shape you can choose.

Pencil grips assistive technology has given many children a chance to hold their pencils in the right way, thus improving their handwriting and maintaining their arm’s healthy. Here are tips to consider while buying pencil grips for kids.

• Comfort

The primary reason for using pencil grips for kids is to protect them from pain and discomfort while using their pencils to the right. It’s therefore essential to choose a pencil grip that is cushiony and large. Reason being, while writing, only the fingers should move. However, if your child uses a pencil without a grip, they will be forced to move their whole arm, leading to pain and fatigue. So, the same way you tire while writing, your child tires more. 

So, if you want to keep your child interested in reading and writing, buy a pencil grip that is cushiony and large. The advantage of a large pencil grip is its ability to prevent direct contact between the pencil and fingers. Also, a cushiony grip prevents fingers from becoming sore. Therefore, when you’re buying best pencil grips for handwriting ensure that it’s large and cushiony.

• Thumb Web Space

While holding a pen, there is the standard space that should remain between your thumb and fingers. Therefore, choose a pencil finger holder that maintains the thumb space.

• Types Of Pencil Grips

There is a wide range of pencil grips. The popular model is the claw pencil grip. It has four openings whereby the center part is where you put the pencil. The other three openings should fit the index, middle, and thumb finger. This type of pencil grip hold the fingers in the right position allowing the kid to write comfortably and beautiful handwriting.

Another type of grip is the tripod pencil grip. Tripod grip is an ideal option for kids’ already experiencing finger and joint pains because it helps relieve the pain. Also, the grip comes in three sizes, which means if one is significant, the other is ideal. Another advantage of tripod pencil grip is its silicone material that helps the fingers to be comfortable for hypermobile joints.

Nonetheless, don’t restrict yourself to the two types of pencil grips. Instead, look for pencil grip manufacturer and find out other types of grips you can choose.

• Color

Kids love things that are in different colors such as red, blue, and yellow. So, identify the color your child loves most and buy pencil grips for kids with the color that your child loves. Additionally, the color that your kid loves will as well improve their love for writing.

Take Away

Using a pencil grip allows your kid to manipulate the movement of the pencil. This ensures that your kids enjoy writing and prevents them from finger and lower arm pain. Therefore, use the factors above when choosing the best pencil grip for kids.

In our latest post, Copenhagen Cycle Chic founder Mikael Colville Andersen talks to us about a few places that are Cycle Chic.

“Even after having taken over 10,000 photos of Citizen Cyclists in Copenhagen and around the world, I still remember the moment I took each shot. I may not recall the month or the year, but each moment is registered.

Rio de Janeiro is a surprisingly bicycle-friendly city. The cycle tracks along the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are, in particular, filled with cycling citizens heading to work or to the beach. You’ll see more cyclists carrying surfboards in one day in Rio than in the rest of the world combined.

Japan is the world’s third great bicycle nation, after Denmark and the Netherlands. This chap was heading home from school in Fukushima, before that name became associated with tragic events. Note the umbrella along the back wheel. Ready in case of rain.

This shot was taken by one of my friends in The Cycle Chic Republic, Gál Zoltán, for Hungarian Cycle Chic in Budapest. The Hungarian capital is a poster child for promoting cycling positively, and the rapid rise in the city’s bicycle culture over the past five years is an inspiration to other cities around the world.

In mainstream bicycle cultures, the wheels roll all year round. Not least in Vienna, as illustrated in this shot by Paul Rasper, from Vienna Cycle Chic. Nothing like a 40 metre long scarf to keep you warm.”

Mikael Colville Andersen is the author of Cycle Chic, available now from our website and all good bookshops, priced at £14.95

See below for an interview with Mikael from inframe.tv

As more readers put down their books in favour of the more convenient eReaders, Alex Johnson, author of Bookshelf (and the blog it is based on) and founder of the hit blog Shedworking, explores the continued relevance and evolution of the bookshelf, and shows us his three favourite designs.

Over the last 20 years we have experienced a revolution in the way we store our knowledge. Yet while we can now shrink an entire personal library to an electronic device the size and weight of a single paperback, there has also been an explosion in the creativity behind the design of that most basic household item, the bookshelf. Bookshelves today are no longer just somewhere to store books. They are modern art, engineering experiments and, of course, status symbols.

For many readers, their bookshelves are nearly as important to them as their books. I remember the size and shape and smell of my childhood bookcases with as much fondness as I recall the Mumfie, Jennings, Tintin and pocket-sized Observer’s books that sat on them.

What bookcases and bookshelves provide – whether they are shaped like Mexican snakes, made of felt or hold books upside down (all of which can be found in the Bookshelf book) – is a welcoming habitat. Alberto Manguel’s portrayal of reading at home in The Library at Night (2007) is one of the most evocative descriptions of how a collection of books becomes more than a pile of papers, how even the very smell of his wooden shelves relaxes him. This is the library as emotional sanctuary.

Maybe this new renaissance in bookcase design is a last hurrah before books vanish into computers as music has done. Or could the increasingly impressive sales of e-books herald a new chapter in home decoration? With fewer books to be housed, perhaps readers will look for more exciting ways of storing their home libraries than a mere shelf, with the bookcase becoming closer to a trophy cabinet. The determination to save the book may also see people move towards treasuring their volumes in fitting surroundings. Although e-books are seen as a convenient alternative, the desire to own printed books remains strong for many, even among younger readers. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Penguin Group CEO John Mankinson made the distinction between the ‘book reader’ (who is as happy to read digital books as paper ones) and the ‘book owner’, who ‘wants to give, share and shelve books. They love the experience.’ It’s an experience that writer Nathan Schneider believes is central to his existence. In his 2010 article ‘The New Memory Theater’, Schneider’s concern is chiefly for what might happen if bookshelves disappear. Schneider regards his shelves as extensions of his body, and finds simply browsing them stimulates his mind and brings back memories.

In 1901, John Willis Clark wrote about the ‘ever-present need for more space to hold the invading hordes of books that represent the literature of to-day’ in his fascinating and groundbreaking study of library fixtures and fittings, The Care of Books. Over a century later we are still faced with the same, happy, problem. The bookshelf is in rude health.

Three of the best:

1. Bibliochaise. This was the bookcase that made me think about starting the Bookshelf blog which inspired the book. It seemed so elegant and ingenious that it made me start searching for other unusual designs. Designed by Giovanni Gennari and Alisée Matta it contains 5m of shelf space.

2. Ed Lewis’s ropebridge shelf. There are some incredibly complex and philosophical designs in the book but sometimes the simplest ones are just as appealing. Ed Lewis customised an Ekby Ståtlig shelf from Ikea and then put up instructions on how to do it.

3. Joe the Polar Bear. The book features bookshelves in the shape of many animals including cows, dogs, porcupines, elephants and humpback whales. But if I had the room in my house, Joe would be the first on my list.

Bookshelf is out now and priced at £14.95

Win a copy of this book and a mention on the author’s blog with our ‘Best Bookshelf’ competition! Open until 31st March, 2012.

Try the online Rubik’s Cube simulator! Set up a random scramble then try to figure out the solution!