Posts

View in gallery While the summers in Whistler, British Columbia are truly majestic, it is the winter sporting action that attracts North Americans in droves. If you’re going to do Whistler right, the Compass Point Home is the ultimate in British Columbian luxury. This five bedroom home was designed for architect Sean Anderson with a vision to preserve the cabin-style living of southwest Canada. Of course, you won’t find a cabin quite like this in the mountain habitat of BC....

If you’ve been reading along, you know we love a good library . Naturally we’re enamored with this new work by Anagrama , the Conarte Children’s Library and Cultural Center in Monterrey, Mexico. This stunning new civic center is sure to inspire a love for literature amongst a new generation of readers. In a time where iPads and mobile phones captivate the eyes of children, a good old-fashioned playscape is certain to set itself apart....

The two most polarizing seasons are winter and summer. They are also the times of year most laden with holiday celebrations. Part of the general symmetry of the world, and indicative of human psychology , that we would choose to celebrate most heavily during the most extreme climate periods, we throw an inordinate amount of time and energy on the so-called “holiday season.” Every culture, society, religion, tribe, cult, secret society , and family has some traditions that crop up, and there’s a throng of holidays – dead, alive, and otherwise – that anyone can choose to observe....

View in gallery 5.5 Designers want you to be able to enjoy your Hennessy on the rocks without watering down your cognac. The Hennessy Eternal Ice Drop is a clear glass chiller filled with water that’ll stay ice cold when you take it out of your freezer. Its rounded teardrop shape gives it a flavor of high fashion, being as much a conversation piece as a functional element to your cognac experience....

View in gallery The House in Quinta Patino by architect Frederico Valsassina is a tranquil and modern architectural oasis located on a divine piece of land in Estoril, Portugal. Multiple windows, patios and doorways are cut out of the simple rectangular box design of the home. Minimal ornate details create a soothing and relaxing environment while a carefully manicured lawn allows for optimal outdoor recreational activity. The outdoor patio is home to a living wall that is taken over by plants....

Whether you’re going to be building your own home computer system or just looking to upgrade some parts to your existing machine, you’re going to get slapped in the face with a bunch of numbers. There’s going to be gigahertz and RPM’s and bytes flying at you, and most of them are going to tell you lies. Before you go out to buy a system, build a system, or upgrade your computer, you should know a little bit about some of these numbers and which ones to trust, which ones to ignore, and which ones are completely duplicitous....

We all know that the line between healthy and unhealthy weight loss can get a little blurry. If you’re wondering how to lose face fat specifically, your first step is to find the right information and make the best choices for your body. View in gallery Before we dive in, let’s clarify one thing first: facial fat isn’t an indicator of worth, much less attractiveness. In fact, it’s completely normal! We need body fat to survive and live our happiest, healthiest lives....

View in gallery Designers Charlotte Dieckmann and Nils Ferber have tackled a topic dear to our hearts– the problem of providing healthy food to an increasingly urbanized society. Their contribution to the trend of urban gardening is the “Parasite Farm”, a full-cycle indoor garden that raises vegetables and composts their waste into fresh soil. This indoor garden and compost system is designed to fit into your existing furniture, with a series of grow beds with grow lights and a table-mounted compost bin....

In sales, the only honor is the bottom line. Trying to do something notable or humanitarian while trying to pitch a product is a game that few play, and almost no one wins. The sociopathic land of selling has little place for ethics. Which makes it all the more surprising that a few brands have begun to step up. These companies have made a pledge to use body positive models in their advertising campaigns, and each has said it will not airbrush, photoshop , or touch up the photos they use in their marketing....

You’ve never seen New York photographed quite like this. A new series of New York aerial photography by Vincent Laforet captures the city from above, providing a breathtaking new perspective on Manhattan. It’s the city that never sleeps from thousands of feet in the air, and it’s captured with great precision and quality. Producing these aerial photographs of New York was no small feat. Vincent Laforet used the most advanced photographic gear available, plus the services of a helicopter for flyover angles....

View in gallery Looking for a wrist upgrade this fall? You never need to look much past Nixon. Sure, you could splurge on a designer brand, but Nixon can do no wrong when it comes to progressive and accessible watch design. The Nixon Fall 2009 Elite Ceramic Collection offers a line of Nixon watches in sexy ceramics, vivid black and white styling that’ll make your wrist scream style to any passer by....

Toward the end of the 19th century, the famed Petzval lens was nearly ubiquitous in the world of portrait photography. This brassy beauty captured crisp images in its center with blurry bokeh swirling around the corners, a low-fidelity effect which photographers still desire today. To connect the old world of photography with the new, the people at Lomography have re-built the Petzval lens in a new prototype. Lomography has turned to Kickstarter to fund the final stages of development and manufacture of the new Petzval Lens, one that invites Canon and Nikon photographers to take part in its development....

View in gallery Paper Cameras | If you’ve ever uttered the phrase “we can always photoshop it later”, it’s time for you to go back to basics. Long before photography was about megapixels and photo editing, it was about little more than film and light. To show you how simple (and beautiful) photography can be, we’ve compiled a list of 10 paper cameras that reflect the purity of photography. If you could use a bit of photographic inspiration, read on– and be prepared to interact....

View in gallery The Italian design firm Pininfarina is responsible for the design of some of history’s most beautiful automobiles. In the last 80 years, Pininfarina has crafted the designs of many cars for brands like Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo and more. While Pininfarina have dabbled a bit outside of the realm of the sports car, the Bovet Ottana Tourbillon is Pininfarina’s latest foray into the world of timepieces....

View in gallery “Courage is life’s only measure,” says Kierkegaard. In the 2010 film Pure by Lisa Langseth, this phrase isn’t only quoted, it is central to the story. Pure tells the tale of 20-year-old Katarina, a young and troubled soul who discovers peace and inspiration in the works of Mozart. Her story begins in a broken suburban home and ends in high culture Stockholm, where Katarina is ultimately tasked with introducing her passion of classical music to kids like herself in culture-barren ghettos....

The Salvador Dali Museum of St. Petersburg Florida has officially opened the doors of this stunning new building on the waters of Tampa Bay. The new museum has replaced another that housed a massive collection of Dali’s works for nearly 30 years but was not itself indicative of the artist’s wild imagination. View in gallery Salvador Dali Museum – St Petersbug, Florida We at TheCoolist have been patrons of The Dali for a decade, and our excitement about this new home has been long-standing....

To the shock of a saddened nation, it’s recently been revealed that comic books are not always historically and scientifically factual. Released records indicate that very few people have actually gained the ability to fight crime, banter with supervillains, and save the citizens of whatever metropolis they’re in as the result of radiation, genetically altered animals and insects , or mutations. Point of fact, radiation usually causes cancer, genetically modified creatures are typically eaten by people, and almost all of us are mutants....

When considering a home stereo system , every audiophile has an opinion on what you should consider the cornerstone speaker. Some will tell you without a clean subwoofer, you’re going to be playing too tinny. There’s adherents to the center channel who see that as the glue that binds the sides together for true immersion. Surround supporters say that without rear speakers you’re not going to get the soundstage required to capture each nuance of films or music....

View in gallery An open, contemporary penthouse has been built into a restored portion of a genuine London landmark, the St Pancras Penthouse by TG Studio . Architect Thomas Griem worked within the guidelines of English heritage to develop a space that was true to the original with a visually contemporary design. From the bedroom at its peak to the living areas below, the fully rehabbed design emphasizes open living in a multi-story space....

Over ear headphones are where serious listeners go when they want big soundstages, immersive audio experiences, and to shut out everyone and everything else. Though the clunky cans aren’t sexy, don’t pack down worth a damn, tend to fall apart when exposed to the elements , and cost enough to feed the entire Eastern Bloc for a week, they’re also the only way to get really deep sound in supreme comfort....