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 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.
Here is an idea – furniture inspired by puzzles. And not just any puzzles – burr puzzles, assembled without a single nail or fastener. The result – a collection of beautiful pieces, made of natural, ecological materials, with no high-tech and no harmful glues. The project belongs to the Bulgarian studio Praktrik and created by the designer Petar Zaharinov, who sees big utilitarian and environmental potential in this puzzle idea. All items are sold in pieces that can be assembled and disassembled if not exactly with ease, but definitely with a lot of fun.
This neat little thing screams good sense. Envisioned by Swedish designer Jonas Forsman for Creatables, the Old News newspaper collector allows you to store your periodicals in style while they are waiting to be recycled. The piece itself is made from recycled sport felt, which is right up the same eco street. So, instead of chaotic piling you can now engage in some environmentally conscious accumulating. This does sound better.
Source: The Designer Pad
It is the exhibition season, and no design dialogue would be complete without mentioning of Heimtextil 2011, which came to a close on January 15th in Frankfurt. Among the highlights of the fair was Karim Rashid‘s blinds collection for Velux, called Blackout. The product name seems a bit absurd to a design nerd like me. Rashid, the word’s biggest evangelist of light, is commissioned to create a blackout? ‘Daylight is essential for our well-being and ability to think positively, – the designer says, – However, to create an intimate and recreational space, light control is an absolute must – for sleeping, working or privacy… I was excited to get to work with light versus darkness. Blackout blinds are the key to maintaining a satisfying sleep cycle and ideal for bedrooms and other spaces where complete light control is a must.’ The collection consists of four patterns, each in three pallets. We can choose from Karim’s signature pink, acid green and conservative black-and-white. Inspired by digital technology, the designs have metallic accents creating an interesting texture.
Show me someone who owns enough book storage, and I will show you a liar (or a philistine). Unfortunately, traditional bookcases are heavy, permanent and expensive. You cannot easily get more of them to accomodate your latest literary shopping spree. Designer Dany Gilles came up with an unusual solution to this problem. He created DIY modular cardboard bookcases that are cheap and easily movable. The product arrives to you as a kit of parts, from which you assemble sturdy display boxes. The elements interlock to create a bookcase unit or stand alone as structurally independent pieces. Made entirely from recycled scraps of cardboard, the storage system is also eco friendly. It is not water friendly, however, but that is its only flaw.
Source: Dornob
Its name is Mons. It was created by the Spanish designer Romualdo Faura as an alternative sink for kids. Aside from its cool design, the piece boasts many child friendly features. The shape of the sink is ergonomically correct and allows a child to reach water and the soap dispenser more easily. The base is enclosed to prevent splashes; the absence of sharp edges makes Mons safe; motion sensors control (and therefore save) water. The piece is made out of Duralmond (biodegradable and recyclable crushed almond husks), an environmentally friendly and sustainable material. Duralmond also allows for any color. Hence, Mons can be tailored to your child’s taste, no matter how capricious. And who knows, maybe it fulfills the ultimate task and makes washing hands fun.
One of the greatest principles of minimalistic design lies in amplifying the function of an object, while limiting its form. There is also an inherent beauty in raw function, to which this piece is a striking example. Flip is a floor lamp designed by Alain Monnens and produced by tossB. It efficiently dispenses mood-enhancing light, easily adjustable via discrete and simple-to-use foot dimmer. The understated shape of the lamp blends into virtually any space, living you with nothing but the light. Hence, it transforms the space without stealing any attention, which is exactly what an intelligent minimalistic object would do…
Observe the following: two living room hits, fireplace and TV, come together in one clever design. Envisioned by the Dutch designer Jan Des Bouvrie and produced by Safretti, this piece brings you the best of both worlds. An eco-friendly ethanol fireplace and an LCD TV screen are incorporated into a slick, modern object. This model, logically called Double Vision, comes in two finishes – basic black and even more basic brushed stainless steel.
