Hasta La Ideas

It’s that most wonderful time of the year again when houses burst into a dozen twinkling colors to greet the season and bring on the holiday cheer. But while the nighttime light show may be a wonder to behold, the preparation and installation of these colorful lights isn’t as glamorous as the final result might look like. Setting up strip lights, fairy lights, and other kinds of fixtures can often be laborious, and orchestrating these separate segments can be a mind-boggling puzzle that takes the joy out of the celebration. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way now that we live in the age of smart lighting. With Govee’s selection of outdoor and indoor lights, you can upgrade your Christmas decor the smart way and look like a technology wizard in front of your family and friends as you conduct the lights to the beat of the music.

Designer: Govee

Click Here to Buy Now:

Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro: $699.99.
Christmas Strip Lights: $59.99.
Curtain Lights: $129.99.
Outdoor Lights Show Box: $39.99.

The traditional method of setting up Christmas lights has always been to string waterproof lights outside and then drape some fairy lights down curtains or across walls. While these can turn out to be quite nice, the amount of work needed to accomplish that is just too much to ask for, especially for something that might only be usable for a few months each year. And then there’s the fact that these disparate pieces of lighting don’t really work well together, leaving you with either static or random flashes of light that don’t exactly inspire or captivate. Those boring Christmas lights are now a thing of the past thanks to how Govee provides an effortless way to set up and be the conductor of your own light show, whether indoors, outdoors, or both!

Create lighting effects that bring unforgettable holiday cheer!

Want to be the envy of your entire neighborhood? Then create an outdoor light extravaganza with Govee’s finest selection of weather-ready smart lighting solutions. Just in time for the holidays, the new Govee Christmas String Lights create the perfect cheerful atmosphere with its bright lights and adjustable colors, with each bead supporting 16 million colors to let you really go to town with all the hues available for the eyes to enjoy. With Uni-IC Control technology, you don’t have to settle for fixed blinking patterns and go wild with a wide variety of lighting effects and game modes to entertain your family and your guests. That includes asking Alexa or Google Assistant to turn the Christmas lights on or off for you. And with an IP65 dust and water resistance rating for the Control Box and the String Light itself, you don’t have to worry about white or wet Christmases either.

Govee Christmas String Lights transform your space into a stunning festive scene. This set of lights has adjustable colors and brightness levels to create the most cheerful ambiance for any occasion.

Christmas may only come once a year, but the enchanting effect of bright colorful lights happens all year round. With the new Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, you can dazzle the town with your orchestrated light show not only this Christmas but on every holiday that comes after. The RGBIC technology not only delivers bright intensities but also 16 million colors you can play with like an artist with their paint. The triangular lighting effect that each light produces gives your roofs and walls a distinct character you won’t find in typical Christmas lights. With an easy installation process and IP67 waterproof rating for the lights and adapter (IP65 for the control box), you don’t have to stress over having to remove the lights once the holidays are over so that you can enjoy the beauty and security that these lights bring 365 night of the year.

Discover a stunning light show with Govee RGBIC Curtain Lights. With 520 LEDs, you can create dynamic lighting effects and customize your own DIY light show. Add a special touch to any evening with these dazzling lights.

If you want a more intimate light show indoors, the Govee Curtain Lights is the perfect solution to add an accent to any room. The 520 tear-shaped light beads deliver a dazzling array of colors that you can control to your heart’s content. Sit back and relax with hands-free voice controls and dozens of pre-made scenes for every occasion, or let loose your creative side and use the Govee Curtain Lights as your DIY art canvas to display your choice of images or even animated GIFs. With DreamView and Music Modes, you can let the beads dance to the music or have them interact with other Govee lights in your home. And because the lights are IP65-rated (IP64 for the adapter), these curtain lights can also be used for an entertaining outdoor light display, whether there’s a special occasion or not.

The Govee outdoor light show box can control up to 10 devices with accurate sound pickup. Other features include preset scene modes and music modes for the best in music synchronization.

It only takes a few taps in the Govee app’s Dreamview function to sync all the Govee lights together and create the light show. For outdoor light shows, you can use the Govee Outdoor Light Show Box, allowing you to control up to multiple devices like a skillful conductor guiding an orchestra of different instruments. A single Light Show Box can connect up to 10 Govee lights using Bluetooth and the Govee Home App, syncing them to create festive indoor and outdoor shows thanks to a library of 22 music modes and 18 scene modes. With an IP65 and a rechargeable 2500mAh battery that gives it 12 hours of use on a single charge, the Govee Outdoor Light Show Box makes it effortless to orchestrate your fancy light party out in the yard. Indoor light decoration can also be turned into a light show with Govee Dreamview. Ignite the Christmas vide with all the dazzling light show at the corner of your house.

Smart lights don’t have to be boring, static fixtures that do nothing more than just illuminate your house. With the Govee Light Show collection, not only can you light up your house, you can also bring it to life with a dazzling display of colors that seem to dance to a magical beat. Whether indoors or outdoors, Christmastime or every time, Govee’s innovative, easy-to-install, and vibrant smart lights are guaranteed to bring a smile to everyone’s faces.

Click Here to Buy Now:

Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro: $699.99.
Christmas Strip Lights: $59.99.
Curtain Lights: $129.99.
Outdoor Lights Show Box: $39.99.

The post Create your own dazzling Christmas light show the easy way with Govee Smart Lighting first appeared on Yanko Design.

If you’re hunting for a cool cabin to get away and relax in, then you’ve reached the right spot. Cabins are my favorite kind of vacation and for good reason. They allow you to unwind, rest, and get away from the hectic city life. They’re an excellent option to escape to! They’re the perfect safe haven nestled in the midst of nature, providing you a break from your everyday hectic life. And, Nokken has introduced the NKN-18 – a cutting-edge and revolutionary 18 sqm that provides versatility in the form of customizable options and accessories.

Designer: Nokken

The NKN-18 Cabin by Nokken is created for various configurations and features co-branded bespoke designs. The cabin is designed to be a plug-and-play solution that can meet the diverse needs and requirements of people. The exterior of the NKN-18 Cabin is quite functional and adaptable and meant to survive extreme climatic conditions. It is a robust and durable design that features timber cladding, insulated wall build-up, triple-glazed aluclad panels, and a smart lock keyless entry.

The minimal and good-looking Nokken cabin is available in stained larch and other finishes, which allows it to seamlessly blend with its surroundings. It boasts a harmonious Nordic styling which allows for smooth integration with the nature around it. The Nokken cabin is much like a Swiss army knife, as it not only boasts a contemporary and elegant aesthetic, while also providing essential features. The interiors of the NKN-18 cabin are seamless and modern, including the bathrooms which are sleek and timeless, reminiscent of the bathrooms you find in boutique hotels. The bathrooms function as spaces of sanctuary in the home, allowing you to relax and unwind. The NKN-18 cabin is designed to be a peaceful retreat that is ideal for both personal and business use.

The Nokken NKN-18 cabin is available in a diverse range of colorways and setups, so you can pick the setup that perfectly matches your personal taste and preference. There is a perfect fit for every user out there – one that suits the modern requirements of everyone.

The post The Nokken NKN-18 Cabin Is The Ultimate Contemporary Dwelling You’ve Been Hunting For first appeared on Yanko Design.

One of the better design trends that have made a comeback lately (and one that I wholeheartedly approve of) is the transparent device. We’re seeing things from phone cases to game controllers and devices to printers to keyboards to smart glasses sport that see-through design that we went crazy for back in the 90s. It’s pretty interesting to see the “inner workings” of these devices or at least pretending to see the insides of the gadgets. Now it looks like Chinese brand OnePlus may come out with their own transparent design device that is not a smartphone.

Designer: OnePlus

OnePlus India recently released a teaser ad that seems to hint at a new device that they will be announcing soon. With the tagline “The wonder of music meets the power of tech”, the teaser ad features what looks like a speaker system with an obviously transparent design. This is an expansion of their current product line which is mostly made up of mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and wireless earbuds. While having speakers is not really that surprising, what caught people’s attention is the supposed design of the alleged device.

The teaser shows a transparent cube that shows off components that are most likely what you can find inside speakers. Since it’s still just an initial ad and not really the official one, we have no way of knowing what are the specifications of this upcoming product, whether it’s just a portable speaker or a whole speaker system. There is also some speculation that this may be a collaboration with another tech brand, Nothing, which has also been reported to be launching new audio hardware with a transparent design as well.

There is no specific date yet for an official announcement so all we have to go on, for now, is this teaser ad from OnePlus in The Times of India. But based on the image in this ad, it will be a pretty interesting piece of audio hardware if they indeed go with the transparent or see-through design. It will also be interesting to see how the brand (or brands, if the collaboration is true) will fit into the market and go against more established speaker brands.

The post OnePlus may be hinting at a transparent speaker to be launched soon first appeared on Yanko Design.

American architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox has created a glass-clad skyscraper with an undulating facade and parapets on a sloped site in downtown Vancouver.

Located on a sloping site near Vancouver’s waterfront, 320 Granville is a 30-storey skyscraper designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) to host offices in the Canadian city’s urban core.

The building, which is clad in glass with powder-coated aluminium framing, sits among the modern and classical buildings of its surroundings. KPF wanted it to also respond to the site’s waterside location.

“The brief was to design an office building that would take best advantage of an amazing site, where Granville comes down to the Waterfront Station,” said KPF president James von Klemperer.

“Given this location, the natural inclination was to design a building that would respond to the seaside environment.”

The skyscraper’s relationship to the water was expressed formally in a series of concave and convex undulations on the facade of the building, which give it rounded edges at its three corners, where it conforms to the corner of the block.

Between each of the floor plates, the glass that bands the 10-foot-tall storeys were given additional variety up the facade, adding to the rippling effect.

“The curved form of the tower, and the waved top parapets, reflect our idea of giving the building an aqueous form,” said von Klemperer.

“The resulting light reflections and scalloped shadows have the effect of breaking down the scale of the tower.”

Because of the city’s restrictions to maintain the lines of sight for surrounding buildings, the tower’s height was capped.

Von Klemperer said that the form of the tower was designed to create a visual effect that would make it seem taller when viewed from certain angles.

“When seen from oblique angles, the volume of the tower appears to be made up of bundled turrets, accentuating the building’s vertical proportions,” he continued.

At street level, the building engages with the busy thoroughfare by having a recessed entry, with massive columns supporting the cantilevered edges of the upper floors, which reach out towards the street.

Flanking the entry program is a series of floor plates that work to shelter the area around the building from the rainy Vancouver winters.

Also on the ground floor is a cafe that is open to the public, while the lobby and other ground floor programs are open to the street via the double-height glass curtain wall.

The building’s interiors are pared back, with stone floors and wooden battens on the ceilings of the public spaces. It also houses bike storage and other amenities such as a rooftop terrace.

KPF was founded in 1976 in New York. Other recent projects by the studio include the Scalpel skyscraper in London and an upcoming supertall skyscraper in Austin, Texas.

The photography is by Ema Peter. 

The post KPF creates skyscraper with “aqueous form” in Vancouver appeared first on Dezeen.

Freelancing offers freedom and flexibility, but it can make your holidays challenging. You deserve a break as much as anyone, but you may be worried about halting your momentum or losing out on paying opportunities. However, taking the much-needed time off while managing your workload is possible.

Why You Need a Holiday

Are you feeling guilty about stepping back from work? You’re not alone — nearly 62% of Americans experience remorse for taking time off. On top of that, women are 20% more likely to feel that way.

Studies from the American Psychological Association show that taking a vacation reduces your stress levels, because you’re removing yourself from the sources of your stress. Whether you plan to travel for the holidays or simply spend quality time with family at home, taking a break can do wonders for your mental health.

Tackling Your Workload

When you work in an office, you can put work out of your mind as soon as you leave the building. You may not feel the same way as a full-time freelancer, especially if you work from home. However, you can take some of the same measures to ensure your work doesn’t creep into your time off.

• Notify your editors or clients: Let your editors or clients know about your plans. Shoot them an email with the dates you’re unreachable and when you’ll return to work. Notify them at least a week in advance about your break so you have time to wrap up anything they need before you’re away.
• Use a holiday “out of office” message: Craft an away message to send back to your clients when they send you an email. Include the dates you’re unavailable and will return in your message. However, if you still want to remain available, inform them to reach out on a separate platform.
• Pay bills before you leave: Settle all your bills before the holiday rush gets in. Update invoices, schedule your payments and pay off your contractors earlier so they can enjoy the holidays, too.
• Hire a virtual assistant: If there are tasks that can’t wait, you can hire a virtual assistant to cover for you. Administrative tasks, plotting your schedule and making phone calls are some activities you can give them.
• Finish urgent tasks before the holidays: If there are jobs you can finish before the holidays, try your best to complete them earlier than their deadline. Ask your clients or anyone you work with if there’s anything you can do to help them before you take some time off.

Be Productive

In some cases, you may not be able to stop working completely. Freelance writers, for example, may have seasonal content to work on with hard deadlines. Others may actually want to take on more work during the holidays to earn extra spending money for gifts and travel. If that sounds like you, there are still ways to manage your workload while celebrating the season.

The best thing you can do is manage your schedule and avoid working overtime. Map out your holiday schedule in advance so you can plan your work around your family gatherings, holiday events and gift shopping. Maybe you work an extra hour a few days so you can free up time other days.

Doing more tasks in less time is another way to help you plan better for the holidays. Here’s what you can do to help maximize your productivity so you don’t find yourself work on the holidays:

• Identify your most productive time of the workday: Pay attention to your energy and focus levels. Do you feel most alert when the sun’s up or when the house is quieter at night?
• Take breaks during your workdays and weekends: Allow yourself to rest after working hard so you’ll be refreshed the next day.
• Use time-management strategies and techniques: Try strategies like the Pomodoro technique or time-blocking system. If you frequently pause to scroll on your phone, use social-media-blocking applications to improve your focus.
• Work in a conducive environment: If you work from home, dedicate a quiet room or space where you can work for hours. Try working in a café or co-working space if you’re more productive outside your home.
• Listen to music: For some,it helps improve their concentration.
• Tidy up your workplace before working: An organized space helps you focus better.

Take a Breather

Detaching from work during the holidays is good for your health, providing benefits such as a lower risk of heart disease, reduced stress and better job satisfaction. They’re a perfect time to take care of your well-being. Here’s how you can squeeze in some me-time amidst the holiday hustle and bustle:

• Set aside time for yourself: You may have a full schedule this holiday, but always try to carve out time for yourself. Quality time alone is a great way to destress. Whether it’s playing an instrument, watching a TV series or journaling, some quiet time can do your mental health plenty of good.
• Exercise regularly: It’s normal to look forward to holiday food, but try to stay on top of your health. Make time for exercise — even short bursts of physical activity — to keep up your energy.
• Reflect: Take time to think about the past months. How was your freelance journey? What about your wins? Are you better at writing now?  Do you take feedback better now? It’s so easy to overlook small successes and growth milestones because of how fast paced the industry is. This holiday, take time to pat yourself on the back for doing your best every day.
• Get rid of the guilt: It’s easy to feel guilty about all the money you could earn if you didn’t take some time off. But remember, you’re human — you deserve to enjoy the holidays with your friends and family, too.

Enjoy the Holidays

Full-time freelancers deserve to enjoy time off. While looming deadlines and workloads make it seem impossible initially, these tips will help you manage your time a few days before your well-deserved rest. Happy holidays!