The scene is a realistic take on the company’s vision for superior outdoor products that mimic the look of nature’s finest materials, and provide years of durability with little maintenance. “Our wood alternative was created for those who want products with the look of real wood, yet without the headache of wood ownership,” says John Quarmley, President / CEO.

In 2003, Highwood USA started producing the material exclusively in North America. Within a few years, the company became the top manufacturer of hot tub cabinets. It did not take long for company leaders to create a second niche; this involved selling their advanced synthetic wood in the form of dimensional lumber for amusement park benches, towel bins and trash cans. Then, in late 2010, Highwood USA launched a line of outdoor furniture and accessories which were nominated as “Best of Show” contenders at the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market (www.casualmarket.com).

While Highwood USA’s total product offering has grown quickly, many customers know them for their Adirondack Collection. “The collection’s synthetic wood chairs combine elegance and strength,” says Quarmley. “These all-season chairs offer curved backs, optional cushions, 3-stage reclining, and easy folding for transport and storage.” With flexibility in mind, Highwood USA makes the chairs available in child, adult and king sizes.

Ottomans and tables complete the collection, which complement other options like “The Lehigh” bench, “The Lynnport” rocker, and “The Pocono” deep seating collection. Other featured items made from Highwood USA’s specialized material include lamp posts, birdhouses, flowerboxes, trellises, arbors, and decorative fences.

Customers can purchase the products from participating home or lawn and garden stores, several online retailers (www.highwood-usa.com/wherebuy.html), or from Highwood USA’s own Web Store (https://shop.highwood-usa.com).

One e-retailer partner is Amazon (www.amazon.com) which has already sold many products from Highwood USA. “By searching ‘Highwood Adirondack’ on Amazon, numerous positive customer reviews are a tell-tale of our product quality and customer service,” says Quarmley.

Behind their success and growth, Highwood USA’s ownership team places great trust in its employees and stands firm on its core values. This involves manufacturing sustainable products that replace multiple purchases of wood; using recycled plastics and eco-friendly practices; and creating products and jobs in America. “We believe in the importance of adhering to high standards for ourselves and our partners alike,” says Quarmley. With these standards in place, he feels confident Highwood USA is poised for more growth and new product releases in 2012.

Ever wonder how designers make the rooms you see in magazines or on decorating shows look so good? It doesn’t always depend on paint colors or fabric choices. From fresh and airy, to intimate and cozy — and everything in between — lighting sets the tone of a room and should be an integral part of its design and layout. And you can make dramatic changes by doing something as easy as switching out a light bulb.

So if you want to give a room a makeover, or just freshen it up a bit, use these tips from the lighting pros at SYLVANIA to brighten things up.

Types of Lighting
Not only does a good lighting plan make a room more inviting, it also makes it more functional. To create a good lighting plan, you’ll need different kinds of light:

• Ambient – Provides overall illumination and a comfortable level of brightness, allowing people to see and move around safely and easily.
• Task – Helps you perform a specific activity, such as reading or playing games, by concentrating light in a particular place.
• Accent – Sets the mood and highlights certain areas and objects, such as paintings, walls and collectibles.
• Decorative – Fixtures become an element of the space themselves, such as chandeliers or pendants.

The type of light bulbs you use matter as well. Due to the EISA Act of 2007, traditional incandescent light bulbs will eventually be phased out; however there are several energy-efficient options, ranging from CFLs to halogen or LED light bulbs. No matter what room you’re looking to improve, there is an energy-efficient light option that will be a perfect fit.

Dining Room

• Using dimmers and layering with light gives you flexibility for different occasions.
• For an elegant look, blend low levels of light sources throughout the room.
• When installing light over the dining room table, be careful not to create shadows on the faces of your guests. Placing additional light sources elsewhere in the room helps to balance the light.
• Use adjustable accent lamps with SYLVANIA halogen bulbs to highlight plants, artwork, or special furniture pieces. These bulbs are fully dimmable and use between 22 and 33 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs.

Living Room

• For general lighting, use fixtures with a dimmer. The light source is concealed, and with dimming capabilities you can change the lighting of the room for various activities from reading to movie watching. A good choice for these fixtures would be the SYLVANIA Ultra A-Line 12-watt LED bulbs. They’re the brightest replacement for the typical 60-watt incandescent bulbs, while using 80 percent less energy. They also last 25 times longer.
• Wall sconces and floor lamps are good sources of task lighting for reading or playing games, while track fixtures can be used to highlight art work or unique wall treatments such as wall washing or glazing.
• Place light sources at various heights within the room to add visual interest.
• Use translucent shades on table lamps to contribute to the ambient light level.

Bedrooms

• General lighting can be provided by ceiling fixtures, chandeliers, fan lights, recessed downlights or wall sconces that use halogen or LED bulbs.
• Use a floor-mounted directional fixture to project light through plants from the floor to soften a room with interesting shadows. Place the light behind a large plant or indoor tree and aim it through the leaves towards the ceiling.
• Use a low wattage energy efficient bulb to brighten up the closet. These bulbs have a long life and offer energy-efficiency and quality color.
• Provide light for reading by choosing swing-arm or flexible bedside lamps.

For more lighting tips and information about energy-efficient bulbs, visit www.SYLVANIA.com or www.youtube.com/sylvanialight.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in keeping with the USDA endorsement of American hardwoods as a sustainable material, directed the heads of all USDA agencies to begin increasing use of locally milled lumber in all new agency buildings and facilities. Also, the U.S. Forest Service will examine ways to enhance research and development being done around green building materials. The Facts are Undeniable American forests continue to be a trusted source for sustainable and legally harvested timber. Imported wood and wood substitute products are not regulated like domestic products, and their quality control standards are inconsistent. In addition, local availability and manufacturing significantly minimizes the environmental impact of transporting hardwood products.

Hardwood forests naturally regenerate themselves and do not need to be replanted like softwood forests. For this reason, their harvesting methods differ. The preferred method of harvesting hardwoods is single-tree selection. A professional forester evaluates a forest and determines which trees are ready to harvest. This responsible forest management practice not only provides a sustaining supply of hardwood, but it also ensures the overall health of a thriving forest – including water quality, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities – and has allowed the volume of our hardwood forests to more than double since the 1950′s.

Wood is Carbon Neutral

Thanks to the work of our foresters, wood is a carbon neutral material. Healthy forests are net producers of oxygen through photosynthesis. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and separate the carbon and oxygen atoms. The oxygen is released back into the atmosphere, while the carbon is used to grow roots, trunk, branches and leaves. The carbon is then stored in the wood for the life of the tree and the products made from it. In addition, natural wood products are among the most energy-efficient to produce, while making products from steel, aluminum, glass, concrete, and brick can require up to 126 times more energy to manufacture. With hardwood, the manufacturing process is limited to running a saw blade and kiln drying. In comparison, the steel and concrete manufacturing processes consist of numerous procedures that are extremely energy intensive. And for both, unfavorable environmental consequences result from open pit mining and from the substantial fossil fuels expended and emissions generated in the processing of the raw materials. Furthermore, advanced technology and manufacturing assures the least wood waste and efficient use of wood by-products. For example, tree bark becomes mulch and soil conditioners, sawdust is used for animal bedding or as fuel for boilers to operate dry kilns, and trimmings can be used for wood components and paper. No other material can compare.

Hardwoods for the Home – Beyond Sustainable

In our homes, hardwood products are some of the healthiest and cost-effective ones we could choose. They do not collect dust or allergens – which can be trapped in other materials – and environmentally friendly paints and stains can be used to complement any design scheme. In addition, hardwood products can be refinished and can last a lifetime. A solid hardwood floor, for instance, can last in excess of 100 years, while carpet would need to be replaced numerous times during that span. At the end of their useful lives, hardwood products can be repurposed, used as a combustible fuel, or returned to the Earth, whereas synthetic and heavily-glued products like bamboo, will remain in a landfill almost indefinitely. It’s clear. There really is no better or natural choice for green building and healthy home environments than American hardwoods. And now, with the endorsement of the federal government, eco-conscious homeowners can confidently choose American hardwood flooring, cabinetry, and millwork for their homes.

“As a versatile building material made from abundant natural resources, brick delivers on all fronts,” said Brick Industry Association (BIA) President and CEO Gregg Borchelt, P.E. “Brick’s flexibility and inherent green benefits help builders and architects achieve maximum sustainability and greater homeowner value with reduced environmental impact,” he said.

The latest options for greater sustainability and savings through brick include:

• Buying local: like farm to table, brick is made from local resources that reduce the use of fossil fuels; at least two brick plants are located within 500 miles of 49 of the country’s top 50 metropolitan areas
• Brick exteriors for energy efficiency/savings on fuel bills: brick’s exceptional thermal mass allows it to absorb and store heat to release at a later time, reducing the load on the home’s heating and cooling system
• Interior brick walls as part of passive solar design/energy harvesting: frequently used in net-zero energy homes, brick walls soak up excess solar energy during the day to retain heat and naturally regulate interior temperatures; integrating structural brick walls and flooring throughout the home
• Using salvaged brick: a growing trend among builders, brick is one of the few materials that building codes actually allow to be reused in a building application and keeps materials out of landfill
• Brick landscaping that integrates into natural surroundings: brick patios, archways, garden walls, fountains, pathways, planters and driveways add durable value with low maintenance; light colored pavers can reflect a significant amount of solar energy, reducing the heat island effect
• Brick paver for efficient water management/drainage: permeable brick walkways and pathways help reduce storm water runoff, puddles and filter pollutants/eliminate contaminates
• Low-emitting materials: using brick throughout the house provides wall and floor surfaces that do not require paint or coatings
• No maintenance: no power washing, no repainting, brick’s beauty endures without added materials or labor

To some trend-watchers, the down-scaling of the American home comes as good news. Architects, designers, and social observers say our willingness to resize our floor space means Americans are rethinking the way we really live and how we use whatever space we do have. Home, they say, has become less about impressing others and more about making ourselves happy. And since we are mostly baby boomers – that tidal wave of Americans born between 1946 and 1964 – who have long been accustomed to getting what we want, happiness is often defined in terms of luxuries and personal amenities.

“Natural materials like American Hardwoods are redefining the word ‘luxury,’” says Linda Jovanovich of the American Hardwood Information Center. “Hardwoods bring richness and warmth to even small rooms, whether it’s used on the floors and walls, or crafted into built-ins. Custom hardwood furnishings like bookcases and cabinets make a home personal, yours alone, and isn’t that the ultimate luxury!”

This new definition of luxury – top quality, mostly natural materials, careful attention to architectural details like natural wood window frames and mouldings – is one that architect and author Sarah Susanka agrees with. And what Susanka thinks, matters.

In 1998, her professional hunch launched what has become the “build-better-not-bigger” movement, when she published the first in her best-selling series of “The Not So Big House” books.

Her mantra is indeed, think smaller, and she also believes that, “luxury comes from the materials we surround ourselves with. Beauty comes from natural materials. You can see where they come from – in the grain, the veining. The more natural the materials, like real hardwoods and granite, the more content you are. There’s a quality you can’t name, but you can feel it.”

Gale Steves, author, editor and design industry consultant sums up a similar concept in her book about “Right-Sizing Your Home.” According to Steves, “Right-sizing is about making the best use of the spaces you have for the way you live.” She suggests these ways to best enjoy the shrinking and changing American home.

“Create a room within a room,” Steves advises. Her ideas begin at floor-level. Install hardwood flooring throughout to unify the spaces and make them look larger, then use area rugs to define separate areas. Lay hardwood on the diagonal to set off special architectural features, like a dining ell. Create a “rug” under a dining table with an inset frame of contrasting hardwood. Or outline an entire room with two courses of contrasting hardwood.

More ideas: Use a sectional sofa to delineate an intimate seating area within an open floor plan. And – of special interest to the many boomers who are eschewing retirement – find a standing wood-panel screen to create privacy or isolate a work space, say, in a bedroom office area.

And don’t forget to make it sustainable. Living green is a high priority for the anti-McMansion generation. As Susanka sees it, we should think of the 21st-century house as “a well-tailored suit: you use less material, but it fits you perfectly.”

So while the size of the “average” U.S. home may be shrinking, remember that it’s more about space that works and that satisfies the psyche in the process that defines the ultimate in luxury. Think custom kitchens with pro-quality appliances, posh home-spa baths, stone countertops and the beauty and warmth that only come with hardwood flooring, cabinetry and millwork.

For more information on American Hardwoods, visit www.HardwoodInfo.com. 

Parents are moving in with their adult children. College grads are coming home to Mom and Dad. Siblings are moving in with one another after a home foreclosure. Across America, the need for home design that supports multi-generational living is on the rise.

In 2008, an estimated 49 million Americans, or about 16 percent of the total U.S. population, lived in a family household that contained at least two adult generations or a grandparent and at least one other generation, according to the Pew Research Center. And, trends show this will continue.

“Factors such as job losses, home foreclosures and a changing attitude toward multi-generational living have all contributed to the rise,” said Sarah Reep, director of designer relations and education at KraftMaid Cabinetry. “Now families are finding relatives at both ends of the age spectrum living together under one roof.”

As the number of multi-generational homes grows, homeowners will need to adapt to the changing landscape. Reep recommends the following kitchen design elements to create a home designed for all ages:

Get creative with lighting. Different tasks and generations require various levels of lighting. A combination of recessed, pendant, and under-cabinet lighting provides both aesthetics and functionality. Adding dimmer switches is a way to add even more flexibility.

Add a splash of color. While monochromatic color schemes have been popular in recent years, older generations may prefer contrast between countertops and cabinets in order to maximize visual acuity.

Vary countertop heights. Lowered counters will create a workspace for small children, wheelchair users and those who prefer to sit while preparing meals. Homeowners can also use the varied heights for different tasks, such as lower counters for kneading dough and higher counters for cutting vegetables.

Install the right hardware. Older or smaller hands may have trouble grasping or pulling certain types of cabinetry hardware. Consider larger drawer and cabinet pulls that are easier to grasp and more ergonomically friendly, such as the Tapered Bow Collection from KraftMaid Cabinetry.

Keep counters clutter-free. There’s a common theme when it comes to kitchen cabinetry accessories—more storage in a clean design style. Creative storage solutions like a wall appliance garage and pull-out cabinets keep must-have items always within reach.

“Living in a multi-generational home can be a great experience, but it can also be very challenging,” said Reep. “It’s important to take each generation’s ideas and needs into consideration, especially when it comes to home design.”

For more information on how multi-generational living will impact kitchen design, visit www.genshiftkitchen.com to read the GenShift™ 2011 study, commissioned by Masco Cabinetry, home of the KraftMaid, Merillat, QualityCabinets and DeNova brands. For more design tips from Sarah Reep, visit www.kraftmaidbydesign.com.

The average American spends over $1,000 on holiday entertaining, gifting and travel, a number that multiplies with the expense of preparing a home for the festivities. “Before the first guest arrives, make a few simple, strategic upgrades around your home,” says Tom Kraeutler, home improvement expert and syndicated radio show host of The Money Pit. “You’ll not only impress and pamper your guests, but also save money, energy and time long after the holidays.”

Ike H. Sutton, SavWatt’s CEO, commented, “Saving 88% energy costs should be a motivating factor to purchase our LED Beamer, coupled with the maintenance saving, as reported in the Wall Street Journal on November 30, 2011, makes the ROI (return on investment) even brighter. With our 4 year replacement warranty and soon to be applied exclusive P2I technology (www.p2i.com), which makes our LEDs lights water and dirt resistant, SavWatt LED Beamer will stand out of the crowd.”

Wall Street Journal Article : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577031912827196558.html?KEYWORDS=led+lights

About SavWatt
Fast becoming the market leader in LED lighting, SavWatt focuses on developing innovative, energy-efficient and cost-effective LED lighting solutions. By delivering value added, application-specific LED lighting systems, we can significantly reduce energy costs and minimize our carbon footprint worldwide. SavWatt is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb. SavWatt’s product families include LED fixtures, bulbs, street lights, and parking lights. For additional product and company information, please refer to www.savwatt.com. To hear audio updates on the company, text SAVW to 46800.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping-up production of our new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render SavWatt’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in SavWatt’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and subsequent filings.

SavWatt, Eco-Pole and LED Beamer are registered trademarks of SavWatt USA, Inc.