From its bamboo floors to its rooftop deck, Clayton Homes' new industrial-chic "i-house" is about as far removed from a mobile home as an iPod from a record player.

vinyl shower curtains are evil

Looking ahead, I see a clear opportunity for Ubuntu to be a preferred alternative to Windows notebooks, while Apple remains a higher-end choice for digital content creators.

When you bring your netbook home for the night, do you plug it in and forget it? If so, you're missing out on a host of home-netbooking possibilities. Ars shows you five ways to use your netbook at home.

A suicide technique that mixes household chemicals to produce a deadly hydrogen sulfide gas became a grisly fad in Japan last year. Now it's slowly seeping into the United States over the internet, according to emergency workers, who are alarmed at the potential for innocent causalities.

Take a load off with a toxin-free sofa By Adria Vasil Q: Where can I buy a healthy sofa? I don’t want any nasty flame retardants or polyurethane foam. A: Fine, so you’re too old to turn your couch cushions into a mighty fort, but sofas still represent a safe haven from the headaches outside your door. But where, oh where can a couch surfer loaf these days without lounging on pollutants? If you’ve been reading Ecoholic for a while, discerning sofa searcher, you know that the cushiony feel-good surface you sink into can be downright dodgy. Polyurethane foam is manufactured with carcinogenic toxins (like toluene diisocyanate) and offgasses air-polluting vapours (like volatile organic compounds).

Genkan (玄関 ?) are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house or apartment, something of a combination of a porch and a doormat. The primary function of genkan is for the removal of shoes before entering the main part of the house. Genkan are often recessed into the floor, to contain any dirt that is tracked in from the outside (as in a mud room).

Vela Creations is a documentation of our experiences and projects living off the grid. We are a young couple striving to fulfill our lifestyles through sustainable means. Our hope is that our experiences will serve as guidence to those interested in the technologies and methods illustrated on this site.