College dorm life can be rather trying. Here is some advice to share on how to handle life in these tight living quarters.

We agree that it is difficult to keep the small dorm rooms organized and in an uncluttered state. Here are some tips and products to help achieve the nearly impossible task:

• One of the worst things about dorm life is taking a shower. You have to gather up all of your things and take the walk down the hall to the shower facility. Make sure you have all your products in a basket that you can carry with you. You don’t want to forget anything and have to make that walk again.
• Next on the list is doing your laundry. Again, you must walk somewhere to do your laundry and you have to make sure you have everything you need to clean your clothes. A tall, plastic laundry basket will hold all your dirty clothes without taking up much floor space and you can easily disinfect it between loads with sanitizing wipes. Use a small basket to carry your laundry soap, fabric softener and the sanitizing wipes.
• Closet space is at a premium and you can’t really install anything into your space, so go for the hanging organizer that adds six shelves to your tiny closet. Also, try and put normally unused space to use. An overdoor shoe rack with hanging hooks can do the trick behind your door.
• Under bed storage bags can come in handy. Put them to use by storing out-of-season clothing, extra blankets, and school supplies.
• Dairy crates are great for storing and stacking books, media, and whatever else you can think of. They also come in handy when you are moving to and from school.
• Try and pack the bare minimum when you first move into your dorm room. The less you have the better. If you find that you need something, go ahead and have the parents bring it when they come and visit or pick them up when you’re home for a break.

I hope these tips help out. Now let’s just hope your roommate lives an uncluttered lifestyle. Good luck on that one.

This post was originally published in July 2007.

Post written by Matt

Large expanses of glazing contrast heavy masonry portions of this residence on California‘s Central Coast, designed by US firm Studio Schicketanz.

The Tehama One house is located in Carmel, a scenic beach town about two hours south of San Francisco. The residence is situated within the exclusive Tehama development owned by actor Clint Eastwood, featuring a golf course and private estates. A mix of modern and agrarian references, the home rests on a knoll that is dotted with scraggly trees and looks toward mountains in the distance.

The single-storey residence consists of a main dwelling and a guest house, which are positioned around a rectangular courtyard with a large stone fireplace. Studio Schicketanz, a local architecture firm, put an emphasis providing ample outdoor space and a strong connection to the landscape, which resulted into a “deep exploration into the ways in which a structure can merge with and arise from a very specific ecological language”.

Exterior walls are made of textured stone and reflective glass, and are shaded by deep overhangs. While minimising heat gain from the California sun was a guiding concern, so was incorporating natural light.

“Light is at play everywhere, from the dappled light that hits the stone wall to the reflection of the majestic neighbouring tree in the house’s expansive glass facade,” the studio said.

The front door is accessed via concrete stairs that ascend the gently sloping site. The home’s entryway is enclosed in floor-to-ceiling glass.

A wide hallway leads to an open-plan dining and living area, with high ceilings lending a sense of grandeur to the public spaces.

The ceilings are sheathed in warm-hued fir, which provides a contrast to the structural metal beams that traverse the space. Reclaimed teak was used for the flooring.

“Pops of luxurious detail, like an antique dresser and a smooth round tub, offer a consistent feeling of an evocatively natural aesthetic,” Studio Schicketanz said.

Throughout the home, the architects used a neutral colour palette to create a feeling of calmness and connection to the earth. Furthermore, the team sought to eliminate visual boundaries between inside and out.

“Indoor and outdoor spaces flow seamlessly together through the barest hint of doorways and enclosure,” said the studio. “Everywhere is permeated by sun and sky.”

Photography is by Joe Fletcher Photography.

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Let’s recap what happened in the video above. The hoodie was dragged mercilessly through gravel for over an hour, then battered by the ocean by being tied to the back of a motorboat, and to dry it off, a blow-torch was involved. Now I can’t think of anything that could withstand such treatment (no, not even the Nokia 3310)… but Vollebak’s 100 Year Hoodie can, and will continuously brave the elements and survive.

The 100 Year Hoodie was named that way for a reason. Built with a Kevlar weave, the jacket will literally be with you all your life, and probably all your child’s life too. Made with space and military grade materials, found in space suits and war-armor, the jacket can withstand temperatures on Mars, 2000 washes, and over a 100 accidents (life safely, the jacket doesn’t guarantee to protect you!)

Oh, and it’s probably one of the only clothes that ages gracefully with time, like a brass ornament, or a leather wearable, looking slightly aged after years of wearing, but with absolutely no sign of damaging, or giving up!

Designer: Vollebak

We receive a lot of questions about how to reduce the cost of 3D printing. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure your model fits on a smaller build bed to ensure the fastest build time on the cheapest machine available to produce your part.

In this article we’ll show you how to cut your STL file for printing using NetFabb basic, a free STL editor, and how to lay out the maximum dimensions based on material to minimize your part cost.

Lets dive in!

Build Bed Dimensions by Material

To optimize your part cost, print in neutral and make sure your model fits in its unique bounding box, which varies by material.

Here are the dimensions for each material’s bounding box:

– PLA: 285 x 153 x 155 mm
– ABS: 203 x 203 x 152 mm (more cost effective), 406 x 355 x 406 mm max
– VeroWhite and Transparent: 290 x 190 x 140 mm
– Rubber-like, ABS-Like: 342 x 342 x 200 mm
– Nylon: 340 x 340 x 600 mm
– VisiClear: 295 x 180 x 200 mm

How to Slice Your Part with NetFabb Basic

There are lots of ways to cut your file to optimize for cost. Some people prefer to do it natively in their CAD program, while others choose to do it after they have exported the part as an STL.

If you have already exported your file as an STL, follow the instructions below for how to cut your file:

1. Download Netfabb Basic here

2. Import your STL file into Netfabb

3. On the right hand side, there is a section called “cuts”. Choose which axis you’d like to cut you file in by dragging the slider bar.

4. Press ‘execute cut’ and choose the axis to cut in and press ‘cut’ one more time

5. You will now have 2 separate STL files. Right click on each file and save them as STL

6. From there, just upload your files to Fictiv and we’ll take care of the rest!

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This post is provided by Fictiv, the most efficient manufacturing platform for fabricating parts. Powered by a distributed network of highly vetted vendors, the online interface makes it easy for customers to get instant quotes, review manufacturing feedback, and manage orders—all through a single service.

Guests staying in the minimal rooms at this small hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico, can also dine from on-site food carts, sample local booze and shop products by Mexican designers.

The Drift San Jose hotel sits in the historic centre of San José del Cabo, a resort town at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Once a yellow block of six one-bedroom apartments, the building was acquired by new owner Stu Waddell in 2012 with the aim of creating an option between an upscale hostel and a budget boutique hotel. It is marketed as “for independent travellers who value adventure and culture over all-inclusive package holidays and expensive luxury resorts”.

Waddell worked with architect Pablo Torrestrueba to renovate the 600-square-metre property, in phases and on a tight budget. First to complete were its eight guest rooms, followed by a concrete plunge pool, an outdoor bar and a courtyard for food carts, each in consecutive years.

The building was painted white, windows were enlarged, and brown aluminium frames were replaced with industrial-style rolling panels.

Split over two storeys, the rooms are minimally decorated and furnished. Concrete is used for flooring, bed platforms and bathtubs, while steel forms frames for glass doors, mirrors, shelving and furniture. Walls and ceilings are painted white.

“Inspired by modern Baja ranch life, guest rooms are utilitarian with rustic poured concrete, and custom handmade steel finishes,” said Waddell.

The rooms open onto a series of outdoor spaces on both levels. The main palm-filled courtyard features seating around the pool and a fire pit, around the corner from the bar serving artisanal varieties of mezcal – a local alcohol produced from the agave plant.

Also on the patio, food carts serve Mexican snacks twice a week for both guests and the public, while the indoors Cowboy Grill prepares meals with seasonal ingredients and offers cooking classes.

For relaxing in more privacy, a roof terrace has space for yoga and boasts vistas across the town and surrounding landscape. A recently added hammock tower offers an even better view for languid guests.

Gifts and souvenirs can be purchased from the hotel’s store, which stocks contemporary products by designers across the country.

Mexico’s warm climate and sandy beaches make both of its coasts popular with tourists. As well as Cabo on the west Pacific side, Tulum on the Caribbean coast has become a trendy getaway destination.

Accommodation options there include a treehouse that peeps above the tropical canopy and an art-filled boutique hotel in a mansion formerly owned by Pablo Escobar.

Photography is by Mike Arce, unless stated otherwise.

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