Dividing rooms with shelves is every shoebox dweller’s natural decorative reflex. And many designers today cater to this universal need for zoning and storage. Divider, and interesting item by Danish designer Mieke Maijer, has caught my eye. Looking a bit like a neat scaffolding, the piece is delicate and transparent. You can regulate your privacy level simply by filling the shelves. Based on a classic Lattice structural principle, the shelves are lightweight and sturdy enough to span upwards and forwards. Divider consists of thin oak slats connected by steel plates, which give it a cool industrial look. The product is modular and fully customizable. Within the Divider system variations in height, length, depth, composition, form, color and material are possible. You can also choose between open and closed shelves by adding panels and boxes.
What shoebox dweller doesn’t dream about a walk-in closet… And while real estate limitations are hard to overcome, the solution might still be found. Consider this clever wardrobe by Netherlands based young designer Hosun Ching. The innovative item opens up to create a dressing room experience. Here is how Ching describes the idea:
“The depth of a standard wardrobe is 60cm. That is simply not practical, because it means that you literally lose sight of your clothing; and what you don’t see, you don’t wear. Walk-In Closet is a smart storage unit designed to solve this problem. It opens out into a mini-fitting room, complete with mirrors to view outfits from every angle. The focus is on organisation and visibility. There are drawers for accessories and the reduced depth does away with those ‘hidden’ stacks.”
HIDEsk by Michael Hilgers of studio Noroom is an inspiring way to deal with space limitations. The foldable piece allows you to create a work area anywhere instantly. This pop-up office can change a bedroom or a hallway within seconds into a small but functional working space. The powder-coated metal back hides cables and chargers and can be individualised with flexible aluminium shelves. The frame and flap are made from durable birch plywood with white film coating. In its folded state HIDesk takes as little room as a folding chair and can be stored easily. The product will be officially premiered at the IMM Cologne in January.
Korean design studio Monocomplex created this innovative modular shelving system, called Hide and Seek. Beautiful geometry of the shelves combined with harmonious plant integration make for ideal urban storage. Choose between closed drawers and open sections, straight and tilted dividers, regular shelves and the plant friendly ones. Such an elegant idea. I especially love the clever compartment for bigger flower pots incorporated into the unit. You can have an actual tree without sacrificing any floor space. That’s hard to beat.
November Desk is a beautiful little piece created by Danish designer Louise Campbell for Nikari brand, as part of their 2012 Designs for Nature collection. The desk is made of solid maple and treated with a natural oil mixture. I love the clean and minimalist look of the piece. The asymmetrical outer shelf provides additional paper and book storage while the wide drawer can hold all your writing paraphernalia. I’m also quite moved by the poetic description submitted by designer herself: “November: my cold, dark, wet and windy enemy. How to find something good in you? I think of gentle light, maybe just a candle, a soft chair, this little desk, its drawer full of pens, its shelf full of paper, and I can almost welcome you.”
(via design-milk)
Cube 6 is a brilliant invention of designer Naho Matsuno. It allows us to solve the most common small space related problem – guest seating. This compact item, which in its folded state can serve as a stool or a side-table, unravels to reveal six stools. A perfect solution for a party situation! Made from birch plywood and maple, Cube 6 is minimal and sleek. And once you’ve mastered the puzzle, it should be effortless to put together. (more…)
If you are an avid indoor gardener whose plantation is constantly growing, you might want to consider plant-friendly modular shelving. This system by Melbourne-based designer Alex O’Connell, called Cross-It, can be just the thing. The shelf is comprised of 600h x 600w x 200d boards with circular cut-outs to accept flower pots. You can create different configurations by alternating the pot segments with the pain ones, customizing the unit to the storage needs you have. The assembly process is easy and does not require tools or adhesives. Simply slot in cross-stitch the boards together. The product ships flat.
As I have said before, I love pet-friendly furniture. Incorporating pet lounging areas into human furniture pieces is a great idea, especially in small spaces, where there isn’t enough room to separate the two. The Dog House Sofa by Korean studio min n mun, is another interesting step in that direction. The piece includes a cushioned dog house on one side, providing resting areas for you and your dog(s). The couch is made of ash wood and pet-friendly fabrics. I love how current its design is. And, again, if your dog decides not to adopt the sofa (the phenomenon has yet to be precedented), you can use the pet house as storage.
Cologne based design studio Jung | Dynamisch | Sylt created these two beautiful and useful entryway items. Both pieces are hadcrafted from solid alder wood or solid acacia wood. The wardrobe includes a shelf, hooks for handbags and clothes, one small slot for keys and another, bigger one, for large hangable things. The bike rack elevates your transport and provides a home for your books, small entryway essentials and whatnots. The pieces are minimal and slick, looking more like tripods that storage. Great idea for small (or nonexistent) entryway areas.
(via gessato)
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Donald M. Rattner.
It’s interesting to see what happens when you take a traditionally small design object and then blow it up to many times its conventional size. In the case of the classic LEGO® brick, the result is something both different and the same, as demonstrated by these new Room Copenhagen LEGO® Storage Bricks.
What’s clearly the same in the oversized versions is their interlocking capability. Like their diminutive counterparts these bricks can stack and join with each other to form larger compositions. Classic LEGO® colors, such as black, blue, yellow and white, are also recognizably consistent with their models. All this means you can build stuff that looks a lot like classic LEGO® – only much, much bigger.
But the real news is that these bricks are in fact cleverly designed storage bins. Pop off the lid, and inside is a generous amount of space for storing all sorts of stuff, including your LEGO® collection! Available for purchase in multiple sizes here. Circular storage heads add a dash of whimsy and can be found here. Hope you like it. And that you had a happy thanksgiving.
