French designer Paul Bellila found a beautiful way of bringing piece and calmness of nature into the urban home. He created a furniture collection that features integrated planters. These little islands of greenery decorate everyday items like coffee table, console, bench and others, enhancing the landscape of a city dwelling. The pieces are made from solid oak, the planters are made from elegant stoneware. They come in two colors, black and white.
Hi Bench is a clever low key object that any entryway can use. Created by the young American designer Bridget Sheehan, it brings simplicity and function into the space it occupies. The piece provides a spot to hold your keys, shoes, spare change, and umbrella. There is also a space to sit down to tie your shoes. Hi Bench is made from Loll HDPE – a durable waterproof plastic, which makes it low maintenance as well. Great idea!
LLSTOL, a heart-warming furniture success story, was born as an experiment in ergonomics in a small workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. After several prototypes the two L-shaped objects were created. These two L-s have become perfect components for making up chairs, benches, coffee tables, shelving units and much more. The versatile concept was then successfully Kickstarted and produced by a local chair factory called STOL & STOL (hence the name). Now LLSTOL is available for purchase. Great, isn’t it? Check out the video after the break to see the product in action.
The Matryoshka Bench has been developed by Canada based designers Jaewoo Chon + Antariksh Tandon as an exploration of social interaction and collective stability. Comprised of six individually unstable elements, the piece gains its many functions from rearranging these components into various configurations. No item works on its own, but each can be carried by one person and reassembled collectively as desired. The piece is made of plywood with polyurethane finish.
Jye Stool + Table is a multifunctional object created by Sydney based company Craft Design Realisation. It can be used as a stool, occasional table, night table or bench. Several Jye pieces can interlock and form longer surfaces. The item is beautifully handcrafted from assorted solid timbers and covered with natural Danish oil. And because CDR people specialize on handmade one off items, they can make it in any size or finish of your choice.
This colorful collection from DesignByThem is understated and fun. All three pieces – stool, bar stool and bench – fold flat for easy storage. And the assembly of the Butter Stool is literally a matter of seconds. The product is made from 100% post consumer recycled content, derived almost entirely from recycled milk containers. So it is eco-friendly as well as good looking. All Butter pieces are stackable, suitable for indoor and outdoor use, and come in 8 different colors. Can’t beat that!
This piece from British designer John Green is so multifunctional, I cannot say affirmatively what it is. Depending on your needs, it can be a coffee table, a magazine rack, a media storage, a laptop table, a stool, a bench, a kid’s desk, even a tray for breakfast in bed. It is called Embrace, because of the two pieces that are ’embraced’ together to form a storage space in between. The item, a proud winner of several awards (including Grand Designs Awards Product of the Year’11), was presented during this year’s New York Design Week.
Every home has awkward areas we do not quite know what to do with. Entryways, spaces beneath the windows, uncomfortable corners… A piece that would humanize those areas would be a blessing for any interior. Meet the Weigel Bench, a recent creation from Square Form, originally made as a shoe rack for the entryway of the client’s home. The understated beauty and functionality of the piece earned it a new licence to live. Made out of noble and natural materials (salvaged 5/4″ western walnut, salvaged Alder, and steel tubing), the Weigel Bench adds class, warmth and a much-needed storage to any space.
