Small Space Grillin’

I love to grill. I have mentioned before that I grill constantly at our cottage in the summer. I do not have a grill at home mostly because of the space limitations on my very small patio area.

Magma Products has some amazing small space grill solutions. These grills are designed as marine products for grilling on boats. If you have ever spent time on a yacht or a ship that involves extended stays, you know that space is extremely limited. As a result of the limited space, efficiency is of vital importance.

The Catalina Grill by Magma Products is a small, versatile grill with a large 315 square inch grilling area. The grill is very well designed and made entirely of mirror-polished stainless steel. It has several intuitive features like a flare-up reducing inner safety shell that funnels grease into a front accessible tray. For an all-stainless grill, the price at $440 is quite reasonable

The best features of these grills are the variety of mounting options. They can be mounted directly to the railing on a boat or on a small balcony.

It is now possible to have that big grill cooking in very small space with these grills by Magma Products.

Small Space Wardrobe

Functional furniture can make a tremendous difference in small space living. If you have to give up space to any piece of furniture it needs to perform its intended function flawlessly. The Wardrobe by N.J. Dean is one such piece.

The Wardrobe is an efficient elegant piece designed with limited space in mind. The Wardrobe is 23.6 x 26.8 x 68.5 inches. It is not a large piece. It is designed in such a way so that when closed it looks like one solid piece — a standard stylish wardrobe. Its design is modern with a definite Art Deco flare. The Wardrobe is actually two separate pieces — the “door” section and the “back” stationary section. The door section has a telescoping rail to hang clothing, three compartments and a large bin at the bottom. The back section has adjustable shelves that allow you to take advantage of the space beneath short hanging items.

The Wardrobe is an excellent example of very space-efficient design. It’s a great wardrobe that has enough space to contain a sizeable amount of clothing in a stylish package.

Small Space Cooking: Brevill Ikon Panini Press

I love to cook. However I hate my kitchen. It’s just too small; we hope to rectify this problem soon by remodeling. In the interim, it is difficult adding new appliances that we do not have room to store.

I received my Brevill Ikon Panini Press for Christmas two years ago and I still love it. The Ikon is perfect for small kitchens its quite small at 15.5 x 12 x 6.5 inches. It is just the right size for cooking for two or one. It is heavy and well made. The outside is stainless steel and the cooking surface is cast aluminum with non-stick Teflon. The cooking is controlled with a variable temperature knob. There is a special “high sear” mode that crisps bread perfectly. Clean up is made easy by a removable drip tray, but the cooking plates are some times tricky to get clean as they are not removable.

The Ikon is perfect for grilling vegetables, chicken, fish and so much more. I can say I make an amazing Portobello on focaccia panini. The Ikon comes with a great recipe book and if you shoot over to the Williams Sonoma site or store you can get a great recipe for Peanut Butter Panini with Bananas and Honey.

If you have been thinking about getting a panini press, you can’t go wrong with the Ikon.

Small Space Laundry: LG Combo Washer Dryers

We all have dirty laundry. It’s how you get it clean that matters. I remember the days of going to a Laundromat. I remember them… I do not miss them. We have a washer and dryer that we have owned for ten years. I really have no complaints about the Kenmore units that I own. They are, however, ten years old and therefore not the most efficient options. They also live in the basement. It is my hope that we can purchase one combo unit and move it up from the basement.

LG makes several full sized washer dryer combo units. The LG units range from $1,300 to $1,900. With the space advantages aside, the LG units also have many other desirable features. These front-loading machines are generally well built and include high-end features like a stainless steel drum, a direct drive motor, steam wash and a ventless condensing drying system.

The machines also have a proprietary system called SenseClean that monitors fabric care as well as water and energy efficiency. The machines are also low decibel quite operating.

All the features and sensors make for highly energy water and space efficient machines. In fact, LG machines exceed Energy Star classifications by 39%.

Small Space Accommodations: The Pod Hotel

Traveling can be expensive. Paying a premium for spacious hotel rooms never made much sense to me. Most of the time when I’ve traveled it was to see some location other than the inside of a hotel room.

The Pod Hotel is changing the way we think about hotels in America. The Pod Hotel has been quite successful in Europe and now it’s catching on in the US. The first American Pod Hotel is located in Manhattan. It is not uncommon for a average New York hotel room to top $300 a night. The Pod Hotel has rooms as low as $89 with average prices around $180.

What’s the big deal with The Pod? The big deal is well small. If you stay in The Pod Hotel you will be staying in a room that is significantly smaller than major hotel chain’s rooms. The rooms are small, clean and well appointed. There are iPod docks and flat screen televisions. The smallest and least expensive rooms have shared bathrooms.

If you are traveling to New York this summer, check it out. If The Pod Hotel continues to be successful, there may be one coming to a city near you very soon.

Small Space Solar Solutions: Brunton Portable Solar Power

One of the origins of my small space living interest is backpacking. If you have ever gone backpacking you quickly realize the need to minimize everything. Everything you carry adds weight, weight that you have to carry.

With the prevalence of gadgets in our everyday lives, they have inedibility found their way into many hikers packs. It’s not unusual to see iPods, GPS, radios, cell phones and more in the backcountry. All that gadgetry requires quite a bit of juice — which brings us to power.

Brunton has been producing a line of solar backcountry products for some time now. The product line has been getting more and more refined. As these products become more refined, they also become more capable. Several products recently featured on bb Gadgets include the Brunton Solo 15 and the Brunton Solaris 52.

The Solaris 52 is the largest most powerful portable folding solar panel. The Solaris 52 is capable of charging most gadgets, including laptops. It is also capable of powering many devices like small televisions or an air compressor — quite an amazing feat for such a small device.

The Solo 15 is basically a portable battery. It can be charged from any of the Brunton solar panels or it can be charged from an AC power source. Once it is charged, the Solo 15 can be used to power and or charge other devices. It is not really a great choice for standard backpacking — at four pounds it is light for a high capacity battery, but I would not want to lug it.

These pieces together extend the long term off grid possibility for all sorts of off grid activities. They would be perfect for a small space off grid cabin. So whether you are trekking or just preparing for a post-apocalyptic world where just you and your iPod live Brunton has what you need to keep the juice flowing.