New products help make rental homes more comfortable, convenient and fun

Thursday, May 28, 2009
By Jill Sell

There are so many products and so little time to see them all. The 64th National Hardware Show was held earlier this month in Las Vegas. About 2,800 exhibitors, representing more than 150 products categories from paint to storage and outdoor living items, displayed their new and improved products. Buyers around the world examined and chose items to sell in local stores.
We kept our eyes and ears open for products that would make living in a rental home more convenient, more comfortable or just more fun. Here are some of the most innovative:

Hang & Level
Canadian designer Liette Tousignant, founder of Under the Roof Decorating, demonstrated her own picture hanging tool. A few years ago, when Tousignant worked in clients' homes, she used a homemade tool to mark exactly where a nail should go on a wall without any measuring. Every client wanted to buy the prototype and Tousignant knew she had a winner on her hands. Hang & Level is now available at Home Depot and Ace Hardware.
Stoppy
Tousignant also showed Stoppy, about a three-inch-long door and window stop that looks like a perky rubbery comma. Carry the Stoppy in your pocket and use it to hold open a door when moving furniture in and out. It also works on those older apartment windows that never want to stay open. For more information, visit www.utrdecorating.com.

Jill Sell is a freelance writer specializing in real estate, home and garden. Jill can be reached at jillsell@en.com.