1. Respiratory Benefits: Doctors have recommended breathing steam to help with conditions, like asthma, bronchitis and sinusitis.  Steam can help clear allergens and mucus from your lungs.  Breathing passages are soothed because of increased moisture content in your lungs, throat and nose.

2. Skin Benefits:  Heavy sweating cleanses your skin more thoroughly than soap and water.  It opens your pores to flush out deep seated dirt and grime.  Steam is very beneficial in the treatment of acne.

3. Pain Relief:  Heat has been known to be effective against joint and muscular pain.  It causes your blood vessels to expand, which increases blood circulation.  The increased blood flow brings more oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissue.  By taking a 10-15 minute steam bath after exercise, you can speed up the healing of the damaged muscle tissue.

4. Stress reduction:  By adding sound, aromas and light with steam, blood pressure can be reduced and the body can experience a sense of well being.

5. Boosts the immune system:  By increasing metabolism and circulation and eliminating toxins, the body can work harder to fight off illness and disease.

Mr. Steam exposed lo-wm2

Although steam has it’s inherent benefits, there are other therapies that can do the body well.  Aromatherapy, chromatherapy, sound therapy and light therapy.  Most of these are incorporated in the steam therapy and each can beneficial effects. Aromatherapy is the use of pure essences of aromatic plants, flowers, and resins that stimulate the sense of smell and are absorbed directly through the skin, allowing the whole body to benefit therapeutically. These essences are used in concentrated form, mainly in essential oils.

The colors of the spectrum (ROY G BIV) can stimulate their own responses.  Chromatherapy is the term for a branch of holistic healing that utilizes color to achieve optimal health. Its practitioners believe that colored rays have an effect on the body: when a color is seen, it can have an emotional impact – but there may be an even more powerful physical reaction. When rays shine close to the body, they penetrate it, travel through it, causing changes in cells, blood vessels, and the nervous system.

Kohler Chromatherapy Tub

Our Friends at Bain Ultra tell us that our brain waves are broken down into 4 rhythmic stages: Beta Waves, Alpha Waves, Theta Waves and Delta Waves.  Music uses frequencies to emit sounds. These frequencies are measured in Hertz (Hz).

• Beta waves, which range from 13 Hz to 30 Hz and are associated with daily activities. – Alpha waves, which range from 8 Hz to 12 Hz and are associated with awareness, calmness and daydreaming. – Theta waves, which range from 4Hz to 7 Hz and are associated with sleep and meditation.
• Delta waves, which are up to 3 Hz and are associated with deep sleep,unconsciousness and two thirds of our sleep time.

Finally, there is light therapy and this is important as we move into the winter months. Here’s why:  the amount of light reaching your eyeball from  interior lighting is far less than the amount from the real thing.  So unless you are outside much of the day in the winter, you are relying on electric light for your photons (in summer, there is so much light, most people get enough, even if they are indoors during their work hours).  Light therapy helps to fight against winter depression.

Bain Ultra Insperience

Let’s start with ‘decorative.’   As an adjective, decorative is defined as serving to make something more attractive; ornamental.  In fact, decorative can be placed in front of a lot of words and it totally changes their perspective, decorative candles, decorative concrete, decorative shelves.  By themselves, these words are ordinary, but insert the word ‘decorative’ and suddenly, they can invoke inspiration.  We expect to see more style or a unique design or more features that give an item more pizazz.   In some cases, this notion of decorative can be window dressing, but as it applies to plumbing & hardware,  the proof is in the picture.

Sun Valley Bronze Corduroy Collection CS-1918HH 3 1/2" x 18" Corduroy Collection Entry Set

Colonial Bronze

Native Trails - Bordeaux Wall Mount

Graff Faucets - Qubic

Rocky Mountain Hardware Lago-Cove-Lago Combination Sink - SK513

Icera One Piece Toilet

Stone Forest - Veneto Pedestal Sink

These products epitomizes why decorative works.  The craftsmanship and design that goes into these products is passionate and pure.   These products are created for inspiration and those people, who seek out these products for their home will live in the comfort.

There is no question that over the last five years, every homeowner has become conscious of ways to minimize their carbon footprint.  This can happen on many levels from bolstering the energy efficiencies in old homes to building a new home with adherence to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard.  LEED is acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and it was established over ten years to provide building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

The LEED standards have been adopted by many architects and builders as a commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.  Commitment is the optimum word here, because embracing this standard requires a great deal of education and time.  It is the benchmark for energy conscious home building and can require significant upfront costs, but the net cost of owning a LEED-certified home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home thanks to cumulative energy and water savings.

Another popular concept for building is ‘Zero Net Energy’.  A Net Zero building produces as much energy or more energy and power than it consumes, with the excess power that the home produces capable of being delivered to the electric grid.  Two of our manufacturing partners,  Mitsubishi Electrics and Kohler Co. have been riding this trend and producing products that our focused on the ‘Net Zero’ energy.  Kohler Co. is a three-time recipient of EPA WaterSense awards, including the 2009 and 2008 WaterSense Manufacturing Partner of the Year.  Mitsubishi is a global leader in sustainability products from photovoltaics to their VRF(Variable Refrigerant Flow) HVAC systems.

Of course, the ‘Net Zero’ energy process works better for new homes, those of us, who live in older homes, we must work harder to reduce our carbon footprint.   Here are 9 proven methods for accomplishing this from the same people that gave the us the LEED’s certification:  http://greenhomeguide.com/know-how/article/9-ways-to-make-your-home-more-energy-efficient

Whether it new construction or remodeling an older dwelling, we must commit ourselves to seeking viable alternatives to our dependency on fossil fuels and unsustainable building practices.  It is good for the earth and good for our future.

The dilemma for baby boomers is two fold: 1) many boomers have either one or two surviving parents and 2) they themselves are starting to reach the age, where they have to make some decision about their own future.  The population of Americans age 65 and older
is expected to double in the next 25 years due to increased life expectancy and the aging of the baby boomers.  Now, it is safe to say that this generation is not going to sit by and watch the years drift by.  They are going to be as active as possible and because of this, their homes will need to be set up so that they can age in place.

The rooms that will need the most modifications when aging in place will be the kitchen and the bathroom.  To increase safety and accessibility in your master bathroom, you should consider making the following home modifications:

• Building a roll-in shower with multiple showerheads (height adjustable handheld showerhead and fixed)
• Lowering the bathroom sink and making sure there’s proper knee clearance
• Installing an elevated toilet
• Installing grab bars

Aging in Place by Kohler

The kitchen needs to be the most versatile room in the house.  This is even more important when preparing the kitchen for aging in place.  Here are a few things to consider:

• Ensuring there’s ample maneuvering space
• Varying the height of countertops
• Installing a sink with knee clearance
• Installing a raised dishwasher
• Lowering cooking surfaces
• Mounting a wall oven or microwave at reachable heights
• Making sure there’s an abundance of storage space within reach
• Providing a desk/work area with knee clearance

An example of an aging in place kitchen

Aging in place requires a great deal of thought and planning.  It is not a process that can be coordinated after one gets sick or once, people are to rooted in their home to justify the interruption of a home renovation project.  There are excellent resources available to baby boomers, here are a couple:   http://www.ageinplace.org/ ,  http://www.aginginplaceinitiative.org/ and http://www.aginginplaceinitiative.org/

One of the hardest hit industries over the past couple of years has been the housing industry.  There are parts of the country, where home prices are down as much as 40% from their peaks in 2006 & 2007.

In order to survive this difficult period , local builders have had to show a certain amount of resilience to keep their businesses afloat.  Cedar Mill Group, which is lead by President, Geoff Martin and Director of Operations, Brett Cusick have certainly felt the pains of this downturn, but their determination and attention to details has let them lived to see another day or in their case, ‘lived to build another house.’

Recently, we had the opportunity to ask Geoff his perspective on  building a house and the building industry.

1)  Through the mid 2000′s, the trend seemed to be that ‘bigger was better’, is that still the case?

Not so much.  The emphasis has been on creating family spaces that have lots of detail, with much more emphasis on features and quality as opposed to creating a lot more space.  Many of our customers have decided to stay where they are and remodel their existing homes.  They like their neighborhoods and they just want to make their homes more comfortable and up to date.

2)  As a homeowner is getting ready to start a remodeling project, what are the most important things for them to consider?

Choose your builder early in the process!  Choose someone you are totally comfortable with.  Make sure that you check their references, talk with some of their customers and take some time to check out their work.  They are going to be in your home on a daily basis for the duration of your project, so you need to be certain that you can communicate your needs.

Start a project notebook—cut out pictures of things you like, even if it’s just one little part of the picture, and make notes about what it is that appeals to you in that picture.  Prioritize the items or features that are most important—the ‘must haves’ for your project.

Determine a realistic budget for your project and share that with your builder so they can help you design to that budget instead of over-designing or under-designing.

Kitchen before renovation

Kitchen before renovation

3) How does Cedar Mill Group work with subcontractors and suppliers to keep a project on time and on budget?

We schedule a meeting to bring our subcontractors to your home during the design phase.  We do this for two main reasons: first, they often have ideas that can contribute to the design, and second, having seen the actual conditions, they provide us with a fixed price and a detailed scope of work for your project.

We also have a Production Coordinator who works together with you to visit suppliers, look at products and help make selections.  This allows us to determine lead times so we’re not waiting for product once a project starts, and pricing so we can provide a fixed-price contract.

4)  How do you think that a bath & plumbing showroom helps your project?

Seeing and touching the actual products makes all the difference in the world, and when you walk into an Ultimate Bath showroom, it’s like walking into a world of possibilities!  Faucets and sinks and bathroom vignettes, the latest in bath and shower technology, water conserving fixtures, colors, finishes, you name it—and a totally knowledgeable staff to explain all the details—this is a powerful tool to help customers choose exactly what they really want.

Kitchen after renovation

Kitchen after renovation

5)  What are some of your favorite products or brands to work with?

We love working with Kohler products—the quality and value are always consistent, and the personal service at the Granite Group is fantastic!  Pella windows and doors is another great high quality brand.  Solid surface countertops like Corian®, quartz and granite for kitchens and baths.  Radiant heat for tile floors.  There really are so many great choices out there now—you can have almost anything you want.

6) How has the green movement affected builders?

The ‘green movement’ is such a broad term and can have many implications.  At the end of the day, much of what is considered ‘green’ is really common sense.  For example, can any of the materials in a project be re-used, recycled or donated?  One of our customers updated a 20 year old kitchen and donated their old cherry cabinets to the Boys & Girls Club for their teen center renovation.

One area of ‘green’ that has had, and will continue to have, a big impact is energy conservation.  And again, much of this is common sense, like giving extra attention to air sealing around doors and windows, using the latest insulation products and technologies, or buying high efficiency appliances.  These are simple ways to use less energy, which is definitely ‘green’, and also save the customer some ‘green’.

One common misconception is that ‘green’ has to cost more.  While it is true that some products and technologies may be more expensive, at least initially, often times the pay-back period is relatively short.  We recently installed a geothermal system in a home—this home will never need any fossil fuels for heating or cooling, and with the current tax incentives and utility company rebates, will pay for itself in less than 7 years.

I believe the ‘green’ movement is here to stay, and will continue to expand and evolve.

7) What trends do you see into 2012 and beyond?

I have seen a significant trend toward bathroom and kitchen remodeling, master suite additions and remodeling, and a renewed interest in 3 and 4 season porches and outdoor living spaces like patios.

I have also seen a trend of extended families moving in together—aging parents needing more care, or a young family needing some help to establish a strong financial base, or a relative who doesn’t want to live alone.

One other trend we have seen consistently is the desire to make exteriors as maintenance free as possible—vinyl or cement siding, composite decking and railings, Azek™ trim, etc.

This concludes this edition of ‘Thoughts From the Field.”  We would like to thank Geoff Martin from Cedar Mill Group.  Go to his website to see more of his work and learn about his team:  Cedar Mill Group.