French designer Matali Crasset has done it again. His new creation, the Double Side chair, is a fine attempt to make our lives a little easier. The piece holds a double function, with one easy movement it can be transformed into a small desk, that can hold your laptop, writing paraphernalia, lunch etc. ‘At home today the structures are fixed, like a paused video with a paused picture, life is changing and it’s in movement and it reactivates the video so to speak. My projects work in the interstices of the activities, in passages between one paused picture to another in order to reattach them to one another and to renew the movement and the action in between the spaces,’ – Crasset says. The Double Side chair will be presented as a part of Danese exposition during the Salone del Mobile 2011 in Milan. 
If you want to see something truly efficient and ergonomically aligned – lend your attention to office furniture manufacturers. They know their stuff! Office furniture has different exploitation standards, and it rarely gets changed on a whim, so – designers have to really know if their idea will still be relevant in a few years’ time, both functionally and aesthetically. For us, shoebox dwellers, it is also important. We have our own limitations and need well thought out design. Which brings me to this piece from German company TopdeQ. The Ciconia lamp, designed by Rainer Bachschmid, is a striking example of dual function done right. When folded, it can serve as a delicate ambient light sculpture, that spreads soft light around itself. But if you take the two symmetrical components apart – you get a powerful desk lamp with 30 LEDs. The reflective stainless steal, the body of the lamp is made from, empowers the light source. And with the lifespan of the LED 100,000 hours, you can forget about changing bulbs for over a decade.
Rocking chairs are beautiful and universally loved, but how often do we actually use them? Honestly. We sit in them on a rare whim, and watch how they gather dust for the rest of their existence. But what if we could turn any chair into a rocking one when we need it and back when we don’t? This is the idea behind the Skis de Chaise from French designer Marie Thurnauer. These ‘skis’ can be applied to any four-legged chair. The wooden attachments snap into place, transforming your sitting into rocking! Made from wood, the Skis de Chaise has a slightly vintage feel to it, which adds one more complement to your existing furniture.
