D2S Editor Favorites

Happy Father's Day from Design2Share! As we have for past holidays, we're going to theme our favorites to appeal to the hearts and minds of dads everywhere.

And please check out our Father's Day special Q&A on So What Is This Feng Shui Stuff? to get some tips on energizing the home office . . . and even your boat!

  Favorite Dad Gizmo

MyFountain is a robotic bartending device that lets you dispense drinks lightning-fast as you press its LCD touchscreen. This countertop device connects to an undercounter refrigerator that contains about a dozen of your favorite drinks and mixers -- and a great feature sanitizes the dispenser lines with hot water so you won't have residual beer taste in your Diet Coke. Program in your own concoctions, add fizz to drinks, and even use this gizmo's memory to access scads of drink recipes. This will have you rocking your home bar/lounge scene!

  Favorite Hot Room for Dad

PC Magazine has a cool DIY plan to build The Ultimate Game Room. Awesome! And check out their updated picks for The Ultimate Gaming Devices for your Man Cave.

  Favorite Dad Recipe

Everybody Likes Sandwiches, our favorite food blogsite, has a great recipe for sour-sweet Bitter Orange Ice Cream. It's easy to whip up and doesn't require an ice cream maker, so go, Dad, go!

  Favorite New Business Idea for Dad

Thanks to Coldwell Banker Hearthside Realty's Brad Wilson for sending us information on this listing -- a great way for any Dad (or Mom) to start a business in one of the quaint Delaware River towns on the Pennsylvania side. Here's the description:

The Solomon Fulmer General Store in the village of Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania has been a community anchor since it was built in the 1890s. This Victorian frame structure features decorative eaves, large stained-glass windows, an aluminum roof, and a front deck and covered front porch for outdoor seating and entertaining. There is a large open gallery 33 x 23 feet with hardwood floors and tract lighting on the main floor, with a powder room and another room which could be converted to an office. A side entrance stairway goes up to a second-and-third-floor 2 BR apartment that boasts a cathedral ceiling, exposed beams, and hardwood floors. Lots of parking on the side and front, plus a detached Carriage Barn. Village Center zoning is flexible and presents the new buyer with lots of options.

  Favorite Dad Getaway

The 26,000-acre Sun Ranch in Cameron, Montana is a place where Dad can fish for rainbow trout or hunt free-range, organic elk during the day, then kick back and relax in five-star comfort at their eco-friendly lodge. We also like their policy of planting 10 trees in the Amazon for every guest.

  Favorite Lawn Mower for Dad

We liked the reviews for the Worx 13-Amp 16-Inch Electric Lawn Mower, a reasonably-priced, quiet-running, environmentally-minded lawn mower made for dads with smaller yards. And the mower has great features like soft-grip handles and a 13-gallon grass box with a see-through panel to let you know when it's full.

D2S Editor Favorites

  Favorite Way to Get Eye Strain

Art Basel 2008 is going on from June 4-8, the premiere global gathering around contemporary works of art. There's still time to hop a plane and get an eyeful.

  Favorite Book Everyone Should Read

Wake Up and Smell the Planet says it's the "Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Guide to Greening Your Day," and it's from the Grist.org folks who know how to be funny, fast-paced, and give you good details and practical advice.

  Favorite Reader Decor Suggestion

We've gotten several letters recently regarding the huge selection of antique Touareg mats at Nectar Imports of High Falls, NY. The mats are all hand-woven from palm fronds and camel leather in the amazing symmetrical patterns and designs of the North Saharan berber tribes. This is a very hot decor item right now -- and also check out their rugs and kilims!

  Favorite Green Decorating Ideas

Download the REGREEN guidelines from ASID and the U.S. Green Building Council. These case studies and guidelines will help brief both design professionals and homeowners on best practices for environmentally-sound home projects, from remodeling kitchens and adding on to your existing home to rehabbing and making back yard changes. You'll also get great materials and resources to help you.

For more homeowner resource information and a report card on ecolabelled products, check out Greener Choice by Consumer Reports.

  Favorite Way to Do a Wall

We're very taken with Modulararts and their sculptural walls. These cast rock panels interlock and make beautiful wall surfaces that turn walls into their own works of art.

  Favorite Old-Time Reunion

Design2Share has a Pennsylvania office in Bucks County, in the small village of Point Pleasant. We recently had two children of the former owners of our acreage, Craig and Scott Chaney, stop by to say hello and take a tour of the house and its updates. Here's the odd coincidence: Scott Chaney is a noted interior design and home products photographer! Could there be some karma at work here?