Fair Companies never disappoint. One of the recent home tours they have posted simply made me gasp, that’s how brilliant it is. The 40 square meter (430 square foot) apartment is comprised of a bedroom, living room, fully equipped kitchen (even the wine cooler is there), dining room, dressing room and a shower. Inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, the author of the project, Miguel Angel, used sliding doors to divide the place into zones and create privacy when it’s needed. These doors move in multiple directions, allowing for softer closings of one large space. How clever. But my favorite detail of the apartment is the indoor/outdoor shower. Located in the center of the apartment, it features a hole in the ceiling. From above the hole appears to be a simple planter on the roof deck with the ivy plants disguising the depth of the descent (though the wood of the planter is the same wood of the shower). From inside, the hole turns an otherwise windowless bathroom into a magical place. During a storm it allows showering in the rain, provides cool air during summer and creates an illusion of a tropical retreat during chilly winter days… Check out the video to see the comprehensive tour of this rare urban gem.
Higher Ground is a name of the cool multifunctional bookcase by Karen King. A rather traditional piece at first glance, it has a hidden convenience – a pull-out ladder. The bookcase is tall enough to make the top shelf a stretch, so the ladder features just three steps – all that is needed to reach it. While closed, the ladder sits flush and rungs align seamlessly with the lower shelves. The handholds and custom sliding brackets make the ladder easy to open and close, while felt under the feet protects your floor. What a clever idea!
– Shelter “byGG” – a cool experimental housing concept combines sculpture and architecture to create a cocoon style habitation space.
– Sixty Eight competitive designs of the Great Tower for London, which was never built.
– I’m obsessed with this electronic magazine lately – Llamas’ Valley. Inspiring, tasteful and full of great original content.
– The rebirth of the pocket watch – a fun and multifunctional watch by Mathieu Lehanneur.
– Hysterical – Avocado Bathtub by glorious David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
– Cool aerial nude photography by John Crawford.
– Dante’s nine circles of hell recreated in LEGO.
– Probably the most satisfying trash can ever made.
– Finally! Chameleon bandage.
– I feel that I should introduce you to such a thing as Russian sarcasm. This pseudo guide to Norilsk would be a place to start.
Have a nice weekend, guys!
Kane Chan, the owner of this sleek NY loft, moved to Big Apple from London in 2009. He found this 520 square feed one bedroom apartment in an old industrial building in East Village. The 1929 landmark has been converted to co-ops in the seventies. What in real estate agents’ jargon sounded like “charming prewar details” (pardon the bitterness – I’m apartment hunting) in reality amounted to scary-looking dingy surfaces, narrow rooms and an unlivable loft, occupied by the AC system. Only his photos (see the thumbnails after the break) can speak to the level of transformation.
But the apartment had good bones, not to mention – great light coming from a huge window. With the help of the designer Sergio Mercado, the full benefit of these qualities emerged. “The space was bisected by the bedroom wall,” Mercado says. Once that came down, the full beauty and light from the windows was revealed. The mezzanine loft is now a bedroom. Though only 227 square feet, it is elegant and efficient, with storage area for books in the oak shelf. Thoughtful color accents throughout the apartment, expertly played against shades of gray, break the monochrome scheme, diving the sense of completeness to the space.
(via hvhinteriors and nymag)
This product makes so much sense – it’s hard to believe no one came up with it earlier. Culla Belly by Manuela Busetti is a baby bassinet that can serve as a regular crib during a day, and as an attachement to a grownup bed at night. One side of the bassinet can be opened via two zips to allow the fall of the barrier between the child and the mother, creating a single space in which the mother can move easily in case the little one needs her. The wooden attachement, in which the baby crib rests, is secured under the bed’s mattress. The weight of the mattress and of the mother guarantee the stability of the structure.
Danish manufacturer Montana Møbler created this collection of modular storage. Comprised of 42 basic units, each available in 49 colors and special sufraces, the system allows you to customize the size, the look and the transparency of your storage. The number of accessories featured in this line is also quite impressive. You can add drawers, doors, partitions, lighting and many other elements to your design. In description of the product, Montana referes to the notion – system design. Here is how they explain it: “Montana is a system design that is based upon the cardinal number 5.7 cm. 1/12 of a shelving unit corresponds to 5.7 cm and is the distance between two shelf positions. 5.7 cm is the measurement linking Montana to the universal DIN paper formats, including the A4 format.” The vibrancy of colors is, however, my favorite part of this collection. Allied with many customizable details, it makes storage beautiful.
Here is another amazing Kickstarter project – RoboChair by Brad Benke of Stahl Architects. This cool foldable chair doubles as wall art. We’ve seen a similar chair/art idea before, but you can’t beat the fun of this robot one. Here is how designer describes it: “RoboChair was designed for three purposes: to be entertaining, to be displayable, and to be awesome. It all started with a simple robot sketch, and then the question came: How cool would it be if that folded into a chair?! After weeks of designing and building protoypes, RoboChair 1.0 is finally here. He’s made out of Baltic Birch plywood and comes completely assembled. Just lower his legs until they lock into place and you’re good to go!” Lovely concept. We can pledge in the next 23 days to see it produced.
(via swissmiss)
Cork surfaces are as addictive as bubble wrap – we can’t help but pinning things to them. And pieces made out of cork inevitably double as improvised bulletin boards. Just like this lamp, called Post, created by Brazilian design studio Ninho. This simple and multifunctional product is comprised of recycled cork sheet, pine wood, lamp, socket, and a power cord. The pins (included) attach the cork sheet to the wooden base and suggest attaching whatever you wish to post to the sheet. The assembly process is intuitive and requires zero tools, glue or knowledge of industrial engineering. Watch the video to see how effortless it is… Only sustainable materials are used in creation of this lamp. And clever compact packaging optimizes storage and distribution.
(via designboom)
– Stunning salad farming installation.
– Cool and hilarious OMG Eye Chart cocktail shaker.
– Don’t Make-Up and Drive, a compelling and unsettling Volkswagen ad – just won gold in Cannes.
– How clever is this? Spray juice directly from a citrus fruit! Wishlisted.
– Gorgeous hand-cut minimalist maps.
– Ant-free elevated picnic platters – make all those al fresco efforts more civilized.
– This is currently the wallet of my dreams.
– Mrs. Doubtfire recut as a horror movie – chilling.
– An iPhone case that keeps glare from ruining your pictures – pledge on Kickstarter to get yours.
– And don’t forget – tomorrow a leap second will make the day one second longer! Watch it happen here. (via @zomgmouse)
Have a fantastic weekend folks!
This beautiful and flexible work table is a creation of Spanish designer Tomás Alonso. The piece is built to host a set of accessories – different lamps and dividers – that can be customized by the user. Here is how Alonso describes it: “The project explores the idea of the work table as a microsystem with separate elements that can be combined into an array of possibilities. An object of common use, the table is broken down into its basic components to which a series of functional accessories can then be added. The configuration of all these elements is left to the user who can arrive to their own solution in response to their own functional and aesthetic needs.” The frame itself can be individualized – the design of the aluminium profile used to secure the legs to the table allows for both aluminium and wooden legs, or a combination of both. Various colors and wooden finishes are also available.
(via fastcodesign)
