Architects Rosa and Robert Garneau of Studio Garneau have built a home in this 650 sq. f. loft in prewar high-rise building in Chelsea, Manhattan. The couple created a clever and adaptable space by making all functional sections of the apartment perform many roles at once. Thus, the bedroom serves as an entertainment area (when the bed is tucked away), the kitchen counter works as a dining table or a desk, a sitting area doubles as storage… I am very impressed with built-in cabinetry and custom made furniture pieces, capable to hide away papers, linens, and personal things. Not an inch of the apartment is wasted, everything has a purpose. Even the clothing rod in the closet doubles as a light. Another cool feature as a sliding divider that separates the room and creates privacy in the bedroom area. The white painted side of the divider, turned towards the living area, is used as a screen for the home theater system. Fabulous!.. Watch the video for a detailed tour of the apartment.
The Clark desk is an unusual creation of German studio Llot Llov. Unlike traditional desks, that often try to conceal storage, this one displays it for you to see at all times. The idea is to provide a comfortable nest for stacking things rather then filing them away. “Everything stays within reach and does not disappear in drawers or cupboards,” – designers explain, – The desk picks up on the most common way of keeping objects on your desk and enables to do this in a variety of ways.” This storage concept could be useful for us, visual types, who need a full view of their “work-in-progress” piles to stay focused and inspired. The piece is made of natural pine wood and comes in two finishes.
Houseplants, as much as we love them, are major space eaters. Especially the ones that exhibit signs of life. Luckily, this clever and beautiful design by Kawamura Ganjavian allows us to tame our homegrown jungle and organize it into a series of neat vertical structures. Called Parramyd, the system is comprised of modular pyramidal elements that connect to each other intuitively. By weaving branches through these links, we can create a structure that guides the way a plant grows. Parramyd will work with the hanging plants too. Ingenious!.. The elements come in two different sizes to accommodate a large variety of plants.
These minimalist and storage-rich side tables, aptly called Stack, were created by Singapore-based designer Nathan Yong for Living Divani. The set is composed of three differently-colored natural wood tables of various depth. You can stack them together or scatter them around, depending on your space requirements. I love the combination of the subtle colors of the tops and light wooden legs, it looks very refreshing. And even though the access to the items, stored in the bottom tray, seems a bit awkward, the impressing capacity wins many space-saving points. The Stack collection will be shown during the Milan Design Week later this month.
(via Dailytonic and Minimalissimo)
Having a lounge chair is a rare space-consuming luxury in a small space. Unless something has been done to make it more compact and multifunctional. Like the beautiful piece here. The GVAL chair by Vanesa Moreno Serna of OOO My Design is a wonder of compactness. An elegantly curved chair-shaped frame houses two smaller items inside. Each of them may serve as an ottoman, a side-table or both. “The shape of the chair and the texture of alternating sheets of plywood is inspired by pattern of tree rings, which in a way represent tree’s memory: each ring usually marks the of one year in the life of the tree,” – says the designer.
The Cosma sleeper sofa, created by Thomas Müller and Jörg Wulff for COR, is one of my long time design loves. The minute I saw it in 2007, I’ve made a vow that as soon as I taste financial freedom – I’ll own this brilliant thing. It hasn’t happened for me yet, but for some of you it might – the sofa is on sale at Fab for the next 6 days via Domus Design Collection. Sleek and elegant, Cosma looks nothing like a convertible sofa. All you can see is a modern and attractive 3-seater. The piece features customizable armrests, that slide freely along the slot on the back. An innovative mechanism, hidden on the bottom of the seat, transforms Cosma into a comfortable bed.
iLean Shelf is an incredible invention of designers Michael Suman and Lynn Smith. It is portable, sturdy (can support up to 100lbs), easy to assemble and unbelievably versatile. It is ideal for home offices, dorms, apartments, bedrooms, bathrooms, decks, it can even be used on a camping trip. And when not in use – iLean folds completely flat. It’s quite a looker too… The shelf is made of maple wood, laminated MDF, and steel support wires. Check out the videos to see how many different things this smart little item can do. Available at the MoMA store.
This project has been completed by New York based architectural bureau Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture. They took a typical cramped elongated studio in East Village and expanded the space vertically. This allowed them to add many full-sized amenities, including bedroom, home office, entertainment area, walk-in closet, and lots of storage.
Designers explain: “Economy, functionality and privacy were the primary drivers in the design of this sixth floor home office studio. Meticulously detailed millwork provides ample storage, making this small-footprint apartment extremely efficient. A bedroom loft creates space for a roomy walk-in closet below, while stair risers conceal a series of built-in drawers. Every inch of the space has been effectively exploited.”
This clever piece by much acclaimed Japanese designer Naoki Hirakoso has been recently revealed at the Tokyo Designers Week. The Yata Stool, a seemingly simple three-legged item, can do so much more than providing a place to sit. Thanks to the special grooves on the bottom of each leg, Yata can be stacked to create sturdy and elegant storage. It can also be arranged into a bench or a coffee table. And thanks to its star-like shape the stool fits into any corner beautifully. You can also stack these stools by crisscrossing and store them away without using too much space.
As the days get warmer, many of us, urban folks, exhibit renewed faith in indoor gardening. I certainly do. And as I was searching for small space friendly options, I have found this brilliant thing – Woolly Pockets. These modular gardening containers are handmade in the USA from an industrial felt made of 100% recycled plastic bottles. This material makes the pockets breathable, allowing soil to refresh its oxygen supply. The indoor/outdoor version is lined with a moisture barrier to protect wall finishes. And being a modular system, you can not only grow your plants but you can grow the plant wall itself by simply adding on more pockets at the sides or top and bottom. Vertically, without cluttering any precious surfaces. When empty, Woolly Pockets fold flat for easy storage. Available at Module R.
