Sky Factory creates vision of sky on ceilings

Sky Factory creates vision of sky on ceilings

Even if you can’t have a skylight, you can still see the sky.

Sky Factory, an Iowa company, makes virtual skylights called SkyCeilings that mimic the look of the real thing.

A SkyCeiling is an illuminated panel with an image of the sky, which uses such elements as full-spectrum light, proper perspective and accurate color and cloud patterns to fool the eye and trigger the same relaxation response as a view of the real sky.

SkyCeilings are designed for the grid ceilings often used in commercial and institutional settings, but they can be custom-made for homes.

A rectangular 6-by-8-foot SkyCeiling for a grid ceiling costs about $5,000; a customized project will cost more.

SkyCeilings can be ordered directly from the company.

For more information visit www.theskyfactory.com or call (866) 759-3228.

Three brothers help to detoxify house and earth

The co-founders of Method, the environmentally friendly and ever-so-cool line of cleaning products, have expanded their focus to teaching us how to detoxify our homes.

In “Squeaky Green,” Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry lead their readers through a room-by-room evaluation, pointing out ways to make homes healthier for their occupants and for the Earth. They offer advice in such areas as cleaning, saving energy and choosing items such as flooring and furniture.

For the most part Ryan and Lowry present good information that’s easy and even fun to read. And it’s done in a way that doesn’t seem daunting.

“Squeaky Green” is due out soon from Chronicle Books. The price of the spiral-bound book is $16.95.

NAHB aids in changing real estate market

The days are long gone when the hardest part of buying a home was choosing one.

In today’s real estate market, homeowners are faced with multiple financing options, increasing property taxes and environmental and community growth issues before buying the home. Then there’s the usual remodeling, decorating and maintaining concerns after the purchase.

The consumer section of the National Association of Home Builders site, NAHB.org, is a resource on home buying, financing, building, maintaining and remodeling.

The section offers detailed information on the different stages of home ownership from having a home built, to selling and new trends in the industry such as systems-built construction.

Other links provide information on topics such as popular floor plans, green innovation and natural-disaster preparation.

Users can search for their local builders association and builders or remodelers.

Family finishes second ‘Dummy’ book series

Not knowing how to paint doesn’t make you a dummy. But it sure can make you feel like one. If that’s the case, “Do-It-Yourself Painting for Dummies” (Wiley Publishing; $16.99; paperback) is written in your language.

Co-written by interior decorator and former magazine editor Patricia Hart McMillan and her daughter, Katharine Kaye McMillan, design consultant and expert on the psychology of design, the book is the McMillans’ second Dummies Series contribution.

The book’s five sections are organized to help readers take on a range of painting projects using the tools, techniques and finishes the pros use. A cheat sheet along with a detailed table of contents make it easy for readers to find the project they’re looking for and get started.

Combined dispatches