This cool colorful table from KAYIWA, called Nzela, is not only a delight for the senses, it is also functional, foldable and easy to store. The base is made of two panels with slots, which makes it a child’s play to assemble (or take apart if you need to free some space). This clever slot-in construction is sturdy and allows plenty of legroom. Ingenious! The Nzela table is available in three color combinations of your choice.
Source: 2Modern Blog
This cool dishrack from Black + Blum is perfect for small kitchens, for it can be folded flat when not in use. Inspired by architectural forms, High & Dry dishrack is both beautiful and functional. It holds an amazing for its size amount of dishes. All thanks to a clever design, allowing to store plates and glassware using the same set of spikes. The draining tray has a folding spout, so you can choose whether excess water drains or not. Smart stuff!.. Available here in Europe and here in the US.
This minimalist Slope desk by Jenk is designed to eliminate clutter and distractions that come from working from home. Its angled top is ergonomically correct and allows you to finish your work faster. It also prevents things from piling up, forcing you to tidy them up right away. The built-in storage compartments allow you to put away your work when done, creating a physical (and psychological) barrier between work and play. The Slope desk comes with two wedges – one to level your drink, another to prevent your pens from rolling away. No frivolous add-ons, only the ones we cannot be without. Very disciplining!
This 22 m2 Barcelona apartment used to be a service room, where the water tanks were stored. But that was before Christian Schallert, its present owner, and architect Barbara Appolloni took on the project. Now it is a fully functional pad, smart, versatile and very stylish. Complete with the little terrace – the space can be transformed into several rooms – bedroom, kitchen, dining room, office. All thanks to clever storing solutions, hidden in walls. Christian calls it ‘an active apartment’ and claims that these daily space-transforming ‘exercises’ keep him in shape. Another hidden bonus of living small…
Here is another noteworthy Kickstarter project. Gypsy Modular is a customizable furniture line that folds flat and requires no screws or tools for its assembly. The product was inspired by lego, it allows you to create any item by isung the same set of building blocks. The only limit is your imagination (and space, of course). While initially envisioned as a solution for students, the furniture may fit into an adult interior as well. The kits come in a variety of colors you can mix and match. Clever stuff!
‘Everything is makeable, anytime, anywhere, by anyone,’ – this is the statement Droog made while launching their downloadable design initiative during the Salone del Mobile in Milan, 2011. The project allows people to design furniture by using an online interface. After finishing your unique item – you can download your design and a digital plan to produce it. Then you can either make it yourself or employ a recommended manufacturer.
This approach will have an enormous impact on the dynamic between the design industry and the consumer. “Taking design to the digital realm opens many possibilities. Not only does it have consequence on transport and storage efficiencies, it also calls for new design approaches, innovative digital design tools and online shopping experiences, and innovative business models for all actors along the distribution chain,” says co-founder and director of Droog, Renny Ramakers. And for us, tiny apartment dwellers, it will mean the unlimited power to create and customize objects for our limited spaces.
This storage system from Swedish company Zweed has it all. It is elegant, modular, functional and comes in a variety of colors. The line, called Citti, allows you to create your own shelving unit, as tall and wide as you like (or as your space allows). You can also design your item with or without doors and drawers for the compartments. Beautiful, clever piece. I want one for every room.
Source: TheDesignerPad
Apparently what’s bad for us can be good for our plants. For one – they thrive on cigarette ashes. French designer Frantz Brougere took this knowledge and put it in design use. His Cindy ashtray not only provides a free-standing place for cigarette butts, it also helps plants grow (monsieur Brougere wouldn’t be the first frenchman who defends smoking). The ashtray is easy on the eyes as well, it looks like an elegant planter. So, next time you send your guests outside with their cigs – let them grow some green.
Recession Design is a group of creative individuals who explore DIY architecture and design solutions for low-cost living. Their project My Place was shown during the recent Design Week in Milan and included modular objects and Do-It-Yourself concepts. Here is how designers define their creative credo: ‘The idea behind Recession Design is very simple but opens an interesting debate on the meaning of “DESIGNING” today: The economic crisis is fact a pretext and opportunity for critical reflection on the contemporary design world.’ There is also a book in plans – ‘Do-It-Yourself Design, Ideas Against The Crisis.’ It doesn’t hit closer to home than this, does it?..
Via Serena Confalonieri
We all have something to conceal, have we not? Valuables, personal correspondence, bad habits, embarrassing sentimentals… The Secret Stash project by Yi-Ting Cheng will show us how to conceal in style. Hiding our things in plain sight by utilizing stereotypes and visual camouflage – is the general idea behind these pieces. Here is what designer has to say about this beautiful minimalist collection: “We make judgments based mainly on our experiences and what we see. This dependency on visual information can create large blind spots. Thus, usual stereotypes of how we perceive solid, transparency and lighting are employed in this project to play with notions of ‘solid and void’, and ‘true and false’.”
HT Mocoloco
