New portable fireplace

New portable fireplace

You can warm up in style, indoors or out, with the EcoSmart Fire Tower.

The contemporary fireplace was designed by Milanese architect and designer Celeste Dell-Anna and Simona Righi from Italian design studio Intentions. It burns denatured ethanol, a form of alcohol that creates no harmful emissions and doesn’t require ventilation. Because it burns with 90 percent efficiency, the fireplace qualifies for the federal government’s 30 percent energy-efficiency tax credit for biomass stoves.

The portable fireplace stands about 4 feet high, with an elevated flame set atop a base of black or white powder-coated steel.

Its suggested retail price starts at $3,700. Retailers nationwide can be found at www.ecosmartfire.com.

Outdoor living focus of book

Sean Conway takes the concept of outdoor living literally. The book he’s written with Lee Alan Buttala, “Sean Conway’s Cultivating Life,” is dedicated to turning the backyard into a place for cooking, eating, playing, entertaining — in short, carrying out a day-to-day existence.

“Cultivating Life” covers a broad range of rural-chic topics related to gardening, food and woodworking or craft projects. Readers will get guidance on creating an outdoor kitchen, recipes for enjoying a backyard bounty and instructions for making everything from a moss-covered flowerpot to a porch swing.

The book is based on Conway’s TV show, also called “Cultivating Life,” on WGN America. It’s published by Artisan Books ($22.95 paperback, $35 hardcover).

Writing is on the wall

Writing on walls is fun.

Just ask a toddler, or try it yourself with IdeaPaint.

The single-coat roller-applied paint turns smooth surfaces (walls, fridges countertops, and more) into dry-erase boards, where you can write, draw or doodle.

Compatible with standard dry-erase products, the paint is formaldehyde-free and uses limited packaging, energy and materials.

Remove it from surfaces by coating them with regular paint.

Cost is about $4 per square foot. For more information, visit Ideapaint.com.

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