Now here is an idea generated by someone who knows what cats love. The Krabhuis (Dutch for scratch house) combines in itself several major hits – cardboard, scratchy surfaces, peek-a-boo holes, and privacy. All this makes the Krabhuis an universal cat furniture for play and rest. And from the human perspective – it is quite an attractive object that while delighting your cat won’t compromise the overall style of the house. The piece is made from environmentally friendly 90% recycled material that consists of 48 layers of duofold cardboard.
This small New York apartment has been designed by Margarita McGrath and Scott Oliver of Noroof Architects. The 640-square-foot pad in Manhattan’s East Village was a somewhat limited canvas for creativity. Compact space, narrow rooms, illogical layout – typical New York issues were present here in all their glory. So, in order to built a comfortable home for a family of three, designers had to create multifunctional solutions for each room. Here is how they describe their process: “Remodeling a tiny fifth-floor walk-up for a family of three is like building a small boat for a long voyage. We resolved these challenges the way shipwrights do—by building in flexibility. Each part of the vessel is crafted to serve multiple functions: a desk becomes a bed, a wall surface becomes a table, and hatches keep personal items neatly below decks.” These clever ideas recover plenty of space and light for people to function and find delight in this home. It is amazing what proper storage can do…
Photography by Chuck Choi
With the holiday season coming up it’s time to cultivate some gift ideas. This cute minimalist desktop organizer just went into my list. Called Desktructure (nice!), the collection has been created by famed designer Héctor Serrano for Italian brand Seletti. It consists of porcelain containers shaped to look like a post-industrial urban neighborhood of warehouses and factories, along with a high-rise condo or two. You can line them up for a neat streetscape, or scatter them around as need dictates. Available for purchase here.
– A stunning shot of a meteor shower.
– This telekinetic prank is absolutely epic.
– Very cool. Minimalistic visualizations explain differences in Eastern and Western cultures.
– If I had a time machine – this is exactly what I would do. Doctor Who fans or not – enjoy!
– Fascinating photographic series – Adventures of a Serial Trespasser.
– Beautiful airplane dinnerware by Eugeni Guitllet.
– Mesmerizing conceptual photography my Kylli Sparre.
– A spoon full of sensors to help Parkinson’s patients feed themselves.
– Beautiful video of giant bubble explosions.
Have a fantastic weekend, folks!
French designer Paul Menand, whose impressive work I featured in some of my previous posts, created this beautiful collection of mirrors called Parker. The line consists of three mirrors of different size and shape, which can adapt to any type of support. Thanks to the adjustable mount, you can attach them to different objects. The mirrors look particularly lovely as a grouping, but you can use them separately just as well. Love the nomadic versatility of this design. Wishlisted.
The tiny DIY Seattle home occupies a storage unit in the basement of a pre-war coop building. Steve Sauer, the owner and creator of this incredible dwelling, used his expertise as a designer of airplane interiors (at Boeing) to transform the 182 square foot unit into a cool living quarters. He’s managed to fit about 8 different useful spaces into the micro apartment by stacking functions. A cafe area is stacked on top of a video lounge . One floor up on the adjacent wall, a bed is built above a walk-in closet/ office. The main floor space fits a transforming table and a 3-foot-deep Japanese-style soaking tub hidden below the entryway. There is even space for a guest bed and bike storage! Watch the video by Fair Companies to see the tour of this amazing space.
Tom Villa of Superorganism came up with this idea of a strong but lightweight structure that creates a private retreat within an existing space. The piece has wheels for easy positioning in the apartment, it is hinged to open in two halves. The interior is easily reconfigurable to serve a variety of functions – lounge, workspace, reading nook… The use shown here is one of the luxuries we rarely have in a small space – walk-in closet. Thanks to the modularity of the design – you can adapt it to the storage needs you have. The structure is built from plywood and can be covered with different materials.
Saw this hook at the Container Store today and it reminded of the Piano Hanger I featured some time ago. It’s more compact, but the principle is the same. Flat when not in use, it spikes when you need to hang something. Clever space-saving idea! The piece has been designed by David Quan for Umbra. It comes in two colors – black and white. Available for purchase here.
This cool minimalist pad has been designed by Madrid based studio MYCC. The challenge was to create a livable home within the strict limitations of a tiny footprint. Without the room to expand horizontally, designers made the most of the vertical space by building several levels and creating a non-linear path. All functional zones are connected and open to view, even the bathroom is within sight. This openness contributes to the illusion of a much more generous size. Each zone serves multiple functions, for example – the bed slides beneath the living room platform, transforming the bedroom into a open space. The office above turns into a lounge, thanks to added seating. In spite of its smallness, the apartment looks quite luxurious, it even has such rare features as hamman bath. Watch the animation to see how the place functions in different social situations.
(via minimalissimo)
– Can You Tell The Difference Between Modern Art And Paintings By Toddlers? Take a quiz (I got them all wrong).
– The Gold iPhone 5S presentation parody – brilliant.
– Nerds claim that the newfound Van Gogh painting has the TARDIS in it.
– This video made my week – a sheep teaches a young bull to head butt.
– Absolutely amazing old world machine – The Writer.
– Hilarious photo series – Dancers Doing Real Life Stuff.
– They nailed this one – honest trailer for World War Z.
– This pet food advertising is absolutely adorable.
Have a nice weekend, guys!
