This inspired piece of design offers you a reality check – how many books in your home you have actually read and how many are only gathering dust? The Read-unread bookshelf by Niko Economidis will let you see (and display) this ratio. When I say ‘bookshelf’… All we have here are three wall-mounted metal rods, a belt-like leather strap and a few buckles. The books are suspended in the air, giving you the visual indication of your progress. Thus, the Read-unread bookshelf can serve as a flexible storage, a conversation starter, and a guilt factor that reminds you to finish those novels you have been passing by.
Source: Dornob
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
It seems the world became obsessed with folding metal furniture. Or maybe it’s just me. Here is another beautiful example of this efficient eco concept – Recto Verso collection from Krizalid Studio. The line includes a coffee table and a bookshelf, both of which are constructed of 2 mm perforated sheet of steel. The items arrive to you flat, and you assemble them following the simple diagram. There is virtually no dounside to this design – the items are sturdy, minimalist looking, flexible (the shelf can be folded in two different ways, which allows for the tilt to the right or left), the material itself is recyclable. Recto Verso shelf received an honorable mention at the Reddot Design 2011. Both pieces are available for purchase at the SitOnDesign.
How difficult it is to throw away magazines after you’ve read them? For many of us the answer is – very. They are shiny, they smell of print, and we like to think that we will need them one day for some uber important reference. And that is why magazine clutter is virtually impossible to conquer. But maybe we don’t have to? What if instead of throwing away our precious Vogues and ADs, we could turn them into a design inspiration? Designer Rush Pleansuk did just that. His Full-filled coffee table embraces magazines and uses them as a structural element. By filling this metal folding with your periodics – you create a table surface and, at the same time, turn your clatter into storage.
This is just lovely – a stop motion film by architect Guillermo Cameron Mac Lean from Argentina, in which he creates a Tetris bookshelf. The world is clearly not ready to let go of Tetris-inspired projects. And judging by this piece here – it is rather a good thing. If you want to get your own Tetris bookcase, it is available online at Brave Space Design.
Elements is the name if the modular DIY shelving system from the Parisian studio NOCC. The beauty of this concept is in its simplicity. These aluminium sheets are lazer-cut to be folded and assembled into a variety of shapes. In its disassembled state the Elements shelving takes very little space, which is not only comfortable for the user, but also makes for environmentally conscious manufacturing process and packaging. The product is currently displayed at the Nouvelle Vague exhibition, held at the Centre Culturel Français in Milan.
Bookworms – rejoice. There is a new way of storing and displaying your favorite tomes. Dutch designer Remi Van Oers created an entire furniture line, dedicated to reading. Made from wood and fabric, these pieces are not only modern and elegant, they also include a much needed book storage (the chair is equipped with the light to complete the experience). All pieces allow very generous space for books, making them a subject of showcase and a proud part of the design. A room full of book just got the whole lot cooler…
Source: Co.Design
Here is a pretty straight-forward idea for a simple and functional storage – Cosmos Wall Cubes. Made from MDF, these multi-colored modular units come in three sizes and can be combined into many different configurations. You can stack them on top of each other, hang them on your walls, integrate them into other furniture pieces, – variations are endless. The Cosmos Wall Cubes can be purchased online from the Smart Furniture website.
This modular furniture collection by designer Sanjin Halilovic can play several roles – from a shelving unit to a table, chair, even chaise-lounge. The set consists of four elements that are constructed of wooden plaques fixed together with drvofix adhesive and finished in acrylic mat paint. Rearranging them is easy, and by doing so one can build different objects. Don’t we just love when one pice of furniture doubles, triples (and in this case – quadruples) in function?
Is it a couch, lounger, or sectional? The Fossa sofa from COR is all of the above. Created by French designer Aurélien Barbry, this unusual piece of furniture functions according to the principle of change. Not only Fossa can be used as a building block for creating different configurations, the very structure of it is also adjustable. The cushions are placed in recesses. They are inserted, moved or removed, which makes Fossa even more dynamic. These recesses, when not filled with cushions, can be used to store books, magazines and other small items. And with plentiful color combinations available, the Fossa sofa can be customized to fit any design whim.
