I recently came across this local wood shop, specializing in bike storage. You can imagine my excitement! Father and son operated business, called Urban City Bike Shelves, is located in Queens, NYC. “Originally, this idea of a bike shelf came about by living in NYC and trying to make small apartments comfortable, stylish, and creative,” – designers say. Not only these shelves display your bike as an art piece, they also serve as extra storage for your books and various entryway items. Each piece is handcrafted from either cherry or walnut wood and finished with natural wax. Dimensions are customizable.
This project has been recently completed by Polish architect Jakub Szczesny in Warsaw. More of an installation and social experiment than an actual dwelling, the object is a response to the rising problem of urban housing in Poland. The house occupies a gap between two buildings, at its widest point it is less than 5 feet wide (and only a little over 3 feet at its narrowest). The building is so slim, there isn’t even a space for a window – sunlight enters through the tiny holes in the bedroom wall. “Research shows we are approaching a social disaster because too little living space is built, – the architect said in his interview to Daily Mail. – You don’t need that much space to live in, so it is worth considering building smaller scaled, cheaper housing.” Szczesny approached Israeli writer and film director Etgar Keret to get involved in the project. Keret will live in the building for six months, on and off.
(HT to my reader Ben Vlass)
I absolutely love these elegant and simple side tables by Stuttgart based designer Simon Busse. Thanks to their clever construction, the pieces fold flat when you need to store them. And when some extra tabletop space is required – you can assemble them in minutes. Here is how designer describes his concept: “Only if all its components interact the table stands firmly. Three flat wooden legs other form the basis and are brought into position by a connective element. A hook on the top side of the connective element holds a coloured elastic band – the marionette’s string. The band runs through the wooden legs towards a tabletop and turns into a carrying handle on the upper side. In order to lock this fragile structure, the tabletop is bevelled downwards, the legs are kept in position and the entire table stands firmly.”
Rudolf bathroom cabinet by Ariane März is a beautiful space-saving piece. It is comprised of a simple frame, hidden behind a mirror, and five storage boxes of different size. The boxes can be attached to the frame in a variety of ways, creating different configurations. I especially love the combination of open and closed storage, where all intimate items can be placed behind the mirror. Thanks to its flexible design, the Rudolf cabinet can accommodate items of any size. Two towel rails complete the piece.
(via stilsucht)
– This London Heathrow airport time-lapse video reminded me of toy planes on a string.
– Just in Case – very timely and beautifully designed survival kit.
– Cool hiccups cure device.
– 382 Moleskines died in the making of this video – A Year In Full Colour.
– Colorful shades made out of recycled skateboards.
– Compelling portraits of soldiers before, during and after Afghan deployment.
– Fun idea – digital clock comprised of 24 analogue clocks.
– Bookmarker – a bookmark with incorporated sticky notes. Genius.
Have a lovely weekend, folks!
Pet furniture is luxury in a small space – it takes our valuable real estate while being often underused or even ignored by the intended user(s). That’s why I’m always grateful when I see the effort to incorporate pet lounging areas into the pieces we, human beings, can also use. The Hammock coffee table, created by Japanese designer Koichi Futatsumata for E&Y, is a great example of such synergy. Made out of glass and stainless steel, the piece is elegant and contemporary. And the rattan hammock cat bed feature is unobtrusive and beautiful. If your cat adopts it – wonderful! If not – you can still use the coffee table and simply treat the hammock as additional storage.
(via inthralld)
I’m really impressed with ingenuity of this extendable table by French designer Julien Vidame. The tabletop is comprised of small panels. When put together vertically, they create a smaller surface, and in their flat position, they double the table’s capacity. The transition between these two modes are made via a clever metal mechanism, hidden underneath the tabletop. Thanks to this mechanism, the piece grows from 31 to 62 inches. The extendable table is a concept at this point. I do hope to see the piece produced.
Mattoni (“brick” in Italian) is a modular system of cardboard storage, created by designer Giorgio Caporaso. Any fellow cardboard lover will see the value of these highly sustainable, 100% recyclable pieces. The concept should appeal to the urban folk as well, because it allows us to build various configurations of storage for any space, big or small. The combinations are endless – you can create bookshelves, room dividers, credenzas, tables… Various finishes and colors are also available. Studio Caporaso even created a special unit as part of Mattoni system that enables you to cultivate a small green corner inside this storage. A new and dynamic way to bring nature in among the bookcases and display walls…
Holidays are fun. What’s not fun is storing away holiday paraphernalia in a small apartment. Luckily, there are solutions today that allow to combine holiday spirit with urban practicality. Portable menorahs from Israel-based company Agayof are a great example of such combination. The pieces are creatively made to ease the storing process. Each menorah either disappears into another item entirely, adding off-holiday usage to its list of duties. Or it folds so compactly – every space can accomodate it. The items are made of lightweight anodized aluminum, which makes the colors permanent and the finish very durable. Cleaning is easily done by pouring boiling water over the pieces or placing them in the dishwasher. They made a great gift too. Available for purchase here. (more…)
In a small space we love to store things vertically (sometimes we don’t really have any other choice). This product allows doing so with maximum ease. Magic Wall panels, made from durable magnetic material, will hold any items in place, while taking virtually no space in the room. Perfect for a kitchen, Magic Wall allows you to store things quickly and have everything at a glance. No more going through the drawers in a desperate attempt to find something. Beautiful. And with the magnets strong enough to hold pans and skillets, you don’t have to worry about losing an item. Throw it against the wall and it will most likely stick (not recommended).
