When designer Shay Alkalay created his first Pivot cabinet for Arco in 2008, it became an instant hit. The simplicity, paired with the space-saving qualities, earned this piece a well-deserved recognition. It even received the Dutch Design Award, 2008 in ‘best residential product’ category. Recently the Pivot family expanded. The new Pivot desk and vanity table were added to the line. The objects exhibit the same minimalistic approach to space and form. And because the drawers are hinged together, they can be opened at the same time, – a convenience most traditional cabinets cannot match.
Source: Design Milk
Have you ever been tired of neat surfaces, familiar shapes and rows upon rows of identical drawers? After all, ‘variety is the whatnot of thingamajig,’ as one of my friends likes to say… This furniture collection from Folkform, called Unique Standard, celebrates variety on several levels. Designers Chandra Ahlsell and Anna Holmquist played with shapes, and also with the use of materials. The collection shows what happens when the original material is combined with surfaces that try to imitate its appearance. For example, the piece above, the chest with 18 drawers, was made of Masonite and birch wood. Other combinations include Carrara Marble/marble laminate, granite/MDF, original leather from Danish designer Arne Jacobsen’s Swan Chair/synthetic leather imitation used in car seats. So, you can delight your visual and tactile senses with the contrast between noble and basic, exclusive and cheap, unique and standard.
Source: MoCoLoco
If you own a balcony – you are among the lucky shoebox dwellers who are able to enjoy this item. This over-the-balcony table with an integrated planter from Rephorm can function well in small spaces where there might not be enough room for both. The piece is made of weatherproof recyclable PE, the raised side surfaces offer protection from the wind. The size of this planter/table (width: 60cm / depth inside: approx 40cm) is small enough for even a very modest balcony. And if you are terrible at growing things – you can always use the planter part for additional storage.
Source: Urban Gardens
If you are a Harry Potter geek – this piece will appeal to you on several levels. There is something distinctly Potteresque about the whole concept. This unusual cabinet has no shelves, doors or drawers. To store an item you have to push it into the wooden beams, and a solid volume opens up when objects are stored within it. Designer Chung-Tang Ho envisioned the Push and Store cabinet as a sculpture, where your items are participants in the act of creation.
This unusual shelf from Fern Living, called Studio 1, beautifully doubles as a wall decoration. If displayed on a wall in several different sizes and colors, it creates a cute skyline (with the possibility of storage and/or display). You can also use it as a bedside reading nest. It can house your alarm clock, a glass of water and some other small items. The ‘roof’ can serve as a bookmark. With its size and openness, Studio 1 also promotes minimal, clutter free approach to storage.
Source: Better Living Through Design
These cute animal-shaped chalkboard stickers from Coco Boheme are not only fun, but also eco-friendly and reusable. Made from potato starch, they can be applied and reapplied many times. And once they finally lose their appeal, you can simply add them to your compost or discard them, knowing that they will biodegrade nicely after six months. These stickers come in several shapes, some can even be suitable for the grownup quarters. So, no matter who is writing on them, your children or you (or both), – it is a guiltless fun.
This piece was definitely designed with space limitations in mind. Cubox from Elemento Diseno is a horisontal string of boxes that can form several different configurations. The end cabinets can be flipped up, and the whole piece can be transformed into two vertical stacks of two, cutting the required floor area in half. The color scheme is a bit boring (black, white and two gray shades in between), but it makes Cubox even more universal.
Source: Dornob
This cool modular wine rack, called Woo Wine, was initially created by the Warsaw-based designer Sandra Laskowska as a birthday gift for a wine-lover friend. Built from individual wooden or plexiglas hoops, these racks can take as much or as little space as you wish. They can take different shapes too. The hoops can be painted in different colors, which makes them even more customizable. And if you simply run out of bottles to hive (in an infinite Universe anything can happen), the Woo Wine maze can be taken apart and stored flat. Brilliant!
Collecting things is one of the basic human conditions, and flaunting them is one of the known joys. In a small space, however, doing so could be tricky. Display furniture often costs a lot in square footage and provides little function. Unless it can perform other roles. This collector’s table from the New York-based architect John Berg is a great example. A walnut frame supports two sheets of glass; the collector’s treasures float in between. The top sheet of glass slides from side to side to allow for object placement. The shape of the piece has a slight retro flair, which makes this clever table a display-worthy item by itself.
You know what they say – all things are temporary, unless they were designed by Charles Eames. This chair was not. However, there is something unmistakably Eamesian about the shape and the use of the materials. The Shrimp Armchair, designed by Jehs+Laub for Cor, is a new twist on the universally loved classic. The piece appeals to all human senses with its elegant curves, firm support, and refined workmanship. As Design Milk pointed out, the leather looks as though it sinks directly into the plywood, which creates the effect of lightness. Truly mesmerizing piece of design. And who knows, maybe in half a century the Shrimp Armchair will be the one to emulate.
