Cradle Chair: Big Basket Seat Rocks Adults Gently to Sleep There is no escaping those innate and early-learned associations – for some, it means sleeping to gentle noises on planes, and for others, the act of rocking tilts us softly into a deep slumber. Richard Clarkson and company wanted to create a kind of low-tech, sensory-deprivation, sofa-style seat where one can curl up and forget the workaday worries of ordinary life … and perhaps even doze over before you notice you are slowly falling asleep. While there is art and craft in this object, there is science that went into its design as well. Specifically, research into autistic children and those who suffer from RMD (rhythmic moving disorder) played a crucial role in the shape and structure of the result. For all its theoretical complexity, the final form looks quite simple (and extremely comfortable).
8 Unbelievable Homes You Have to See to Believe A home office that's less than eight feet wide but four stories high, an apartment with 24 rooms in just 344 square feet, a secret room hidden under the stairs, a real-life wardrobe with a secret passage way, elaborate homes built in storm drains underneath Las Vegas ... you definitely have to see these eccentric homes to believe them. Check out the 8 Unbelievable Homes we found, and tell us which one you find most amazing. Shown above: 1. Raddest Skinny House Architects Silvia Metens and Pieter Peerlings built a four-story home/office building with a transparent front wall. 2. Steven Sauer, engineer for Boeing, managed to fit two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and dining room, as well as closets and space for his bicycle, in a 182-square-foot apartment. 3. Seattle home owner Michelle de la Vega turned her the 250-square-foot garage into an incredibly stylish abode. 4. Check out this under-the-staircase hidden room. 5. 6. 7. 8. Which unbelievable home do you want to live in?
9 Cool Things to Do With Old Books » Written Word Bibliophiles and bookworms, English majors and lovers of literature: is it possible to have too many books? They accumulate so quickly! Every member of your family getting you the same three books you requested for Christmas. Seeing Don DeLillo marked half-off, knowing you dumped a half-caff latte on your copy of Underworld, and – even though only the first three pages are illegible – justifying its purchase. 15+ years of required reading lists stored in boxes in your basement, even though you can bet your bippy you will never willingly read the poetry of Robert Burns again. We are up to our waists in books, some of which we hate (really Master Burns? Update: Do to the overwhelming support (HA!) 1. It brings a whole new meaning to “audio book.” Use your old books to showcase your artistic side. Good for hiding passwords and codes, the key to your safe, and family jewels. 2. Your choice of ribbon can transform this wreath so it is suitable for every holiday – or every day! 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Lost & Found: Comfy Chair Cushioned with Built-In Storage Lighters, keys, coins … cushioned chairs and couches are notorious for nomming all kinds of things that slip out of our pockets or otherwise get left behind and slide into the cracks. This design simply celebrates that existing phenomena, like a giant-sized pin cushion. It may come as no surprised that this clever-but-boxy furniture piece was developed by architectural designers (of Daisuke Motogi Architecture), who have a knack for exposing and expanding uses for classic furnishing types. Pixel-like pads cover the entire surface of the seat both inside and out, forming slots in which one can accidentally drop a small item or intentionally stick a book, magazine, remote and more. Cleaning this piece would not be trivial, but for those who enjoy the occasional boredom-induced, couch-cushion treasure hunt, who knows what you might find that you or someone else left behind.
The Infinity Room With this immersive installation, French artist Serge Salat invites visitors to take a journey through endless layers of space, decked out with cubic shapes, panels of mirrors, shifting lights and music. “Beyond Infinity” is a multi-sensory, multimedia experience that blends Eastern Chinese with Western Renaissance. Inspired by the Suzhou Gardens, a masterpiece of Chinese landscape, the three-lined trigram of I Ching is the main pattern that organizes the space of the work. Salat uses mirrors as optical illusions, exploding a single room into spatial infinity. via [Architizer] Views: 422998 Tags: Serge Salat, The Infinity Room, architecture, design
Ceramic Pig Planter Vintage Design in Orange by fruitflypie 10 Scrap Refabs: Vintage Reupholstery with Colorful Fabric Forget fabric stores – some antiques are just too boring to bother re-covering with traditional patterns. These hodgepodge pieces use patchwork scraps to create fresh new themes within stodgy old frameworks. (Re)fabric(ation) can be fun. Design by Leftovers takes old and often overly-ornate furnishings that would hardly fit in a modern home, and remakes them to look creative, contemporary and strangely more timeless. If you are at a loss for how to reupholster some household items, look no further for inspiration. While there seems to be much mixing going on, there is a clear set of methods within the madness – each found piece of fabric is stitched into a new whole in a way that is clearly conscious of what appears around it in terms of colors and patterns. Each of this series has a core zone of tonal focus – cool purples and relaxing blues to bright reds, bizarre pinks and earth browns.
What's the Square Root of Sustainability? This Coke Bottle It's pretty ballsy to redesign one of the planet's most iconic shapes and completely blow it out of the water. Last we checked, Coke's bottles were some of the most recognizable objects on earth, and so powerful when it came to branding that in 2008, Coke transformed the capsule-like two-liter bottle into the same sexy curves. But dare we say design student Andrew Kim has created a concept that's equally powerful, all in the name of sustainability. Kim has taken inspiration from companies like Fiji, whose squared-off bottles use shipping space more efficiently, but he also creates the ability for these bottles to be nested, saving space both horizontally and vertically. Although we probably won't ever say goodbye to Coke's cute little waist-and-hips of its traditional package design, this isn't a bad idea for any of Coke's other brands, especially something like its bottled water. [Andrew Kim]
Space Saving ‘Tulip’ Shower Blooms into a Luxury Bathtub Some apartment bathrooms are just not big enough to fit a full- or even half-size tub, unless one considers the extra space already required for standing and walking. This clever flip-down solution makes room for lying down in the bath, but retracts when not in use. The (Tulip) name was derived by Piotr Pyrtek from the way in which the unit seems to blossom open, as well as the tulip’s versatility in the world of plants. Luxuries are not lost despite the small footprint of this pod within the larger layout – high-powered massagers, underwater jets and other digitally-controlled bathing bonuses are all part of the experience.
Hanging Furniture: Modular Wall Sofa, Shelving & Storage Inspired by mountains – and perhaps the hanging lodgings of mountain climbing campers – this modular wall couch-and-bed idea is designed to be a flexible, modular and custom seating solution that allows users to create and construct their own conceptual interior ‘landscapes’ for sitting on or laying down in. Wall-suspended polygons are at the structural core of this sofa design by Nicole Losos, layered with cloth to provide essential support and with added pillows and cushions to create comfortable zones and areas. Impromptu storage areas and shelving units also emerge in the eccentric intersections of this example. The additive nature of the idea is perhaps the most engaging: it invites people to interact with and expand this strange suspended wall furniture over time, installing lamps, audio equipment and other amenities over time – a kind of living, growing and evolving interior design object.
Top 10: Shelves And Shelving I recall an infomercial a few years back for a little plastic triangle that stuck in a corner, between two walls, to make a small corner shelf. I don’t remember the exact name of the product, but I do remember that the commercial exhausted all the obvious self/shelf puns: “shelf esteem,” “shelf confidence,” “shelf defense,” “shelf-employed,” etc., etc. So I’ll forgo the obvious opportunities this topic offers for shelf-referential humor and just get down to business. How-To: Turn Shelf Fungi Into Actual Shelves Bookshelf From Old Books How-To: Make Tetris Shelves How-To: Make an Invisible Bookshelf How-To: Build Your Own Secret Bookshelf Door Shelf Made From Back Issues of National Geographic Circular Bookshelf Perfect for Storing Philosophy Texts Ikea Hack Bookshelf Bench Sad Bookshelf is Sad… Shelf Pod is Both Bibliophile’s and Cat’s Dream House Did I miss a good one? Related