These decorative hooks have been designed by my fellow New Yorkers Luez Design and Play, and they are adorable. Made from powder coated steel, they can provide a sturdy and attractive home for your belongings. The hooks come in blue, coral pink and mint. Available for purchase through designers’ website.
I find this item to be absolutely delightful (and not only because of my book fetish). Ideal for small and dynamic urban dwellings, Lumio by Max Gunawan is a portable, rechargeable, and powerful little light. Disguised as a book, it unfolds to reveal a warm high-performing LED lamp. You can take it with you to bed, outside of your apartment, use it as an alternative light source for dark areas, as a desk lamp, as a pendant… The possibilities are endless. And to recharge the battery, simply attach it to your computer or an outlet via USB charger. Available in three colors, Lumio is big enough to light a dinner party and compact enough to fit a small bag. Brilliant. Watch the video after the break to see the product in action.
Here is another glowing proof that living small is not always a necessity, but can also be a conscious lifestyle choice. Take for example this tiny house, belonging to Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser. A 580-square-foot cabin, which Kartheiser shares with his fiancée, actress Alexis Bledel, was initially divided into several minuscular rooms. Eventually the actor involved designer and builder Funn Roberts, and the layout has been opened up to include pretty much everything into a single big room. The particularly bold moves include a shower in the middle of the living area and a massive suspended bed controlled via a pulley system. I especially love the headboard that flips down to serve as a double desk when the bed is in the air. Kartheiser calls the eclectic style of the place “Japanese-industrial.” Here side-sliding screens coexist with metal fixtures, delicate lighting and Japanese garden contrast the provocative aesthetic of the living room. Check out more photos after the break to see this amazing home in more detail.
(via dwell)
If you hate cable clutter as much as I do – I will love this product! CableBin by Bluelounge is a smart and elegant way to manage unruly cordage. The piece resembles a slick dust bin, only instead of paper trash it holds all your bulky surge protectors. It uses adhesive components inside so you can latch hubs to the sidewalls of the bin and let the cables drop down the middle. The lid provides an opening for chargers and connectors to be at the ready when you need them. Brilliant! Watch the video after the break to see CableBin in action.
– An amazing synthesis of old and new – a modern house inserted inside a historic 18-century shell.
– If you haven’t read Laurie Anderson’s farewell to Lou Reed – you should.
– Possibly the most beautiful murmuration video I’ve seen – A Bird Ballet.
– What a cool idea – temporary plastic bubble house.
– AR Ware – this product should definitely exist.
– Did you know that Chinese takeout containers fold out into plates? I didn’t.
– Yes, there is a tumblr blog for that too – hot men vs. cats in similar poses.
– Stunning space footage – Canyon of Fire on the Sun.
Have a pleasant weekend, everybody!
I love it when designers take an inherently cheap and banal material and just by virtue of an idea turn it into something exquisite. This is the case with Fly – a stunning pendant lamp, created by Finnish designer Susan Elo. The lightweight polypropylene structure of the piece shows delicate, origami-like simplicity. The lamp is designed to work with low-impact halogen bulbs. It is a part of a permanent collection of the Finnish Design Museum. A beauty…
This small house in Oregon has been inspired by traditional Japanese minka homes. The owner and builder, Brian Schulz, wanted to see “how small of a house I could make feel big”. And the achievement is remarkable. This 14-by-16-foot dwelling looks airy, serene and spacious. The salvaged wood, collected by Brian during his kayaking trips, has a strong presence in this project. It envelopes the exterior, makes a statement in the interior, works as structural support and creates an aesthetic identity of the house. Watch the video by Fair Companies for the full tour of this amazing built.
Arranging sound devices in a small apartment can be a challenge, because they take valuable shelf space we always need for other things. But what if a sounds system is a shelf? This is exactly the concept behind the aShelf by Danish design studio Kreafunk. The piece is a speaker, amplifier, iPhone dock and an attractive shelf in one. Thanks to the bluetooth functionality, it can be completely discrete and blend into the room. No more cables, no more bulky docks. Just a simple minimalist object, which can also provide extra space for storage. I really love this idea.
This cool desk organizer by famed design studio Lexon, called Minitotem, is a brilliant personal and/or office gift. Slick and attractive, the item can add class and square inches to a busy workspace. Minitotem stacks a USB hub, LCD display clock, stationery kit, storage container and tape dispenser. You can keep the components in a tidy tower when you need your desk to look neat, or spread them around when the coast is clear. The piece is made of strong ABS plastic, it comes in black, lime green, red and white. Available for purchase here.
– Recently Kickstarted – a modular kit to transform empty storefronts into pop-up shops. Very cool idea!
– Ten of the tiniest apartments for sale in NY.
– Geeky meets cutesy – Thomas Kinkade incorporated Star Wars characters into his pictures.
– Funny anti-communist propaganda posters (especially funny for me, for I grew up seeing the anti-capitalist ones in Russia; they were almost the same).
– Adorable. Fleeting glimpses of love on the NY subway.
– Great science animation! Stephen Hawking’s big ideas made simple.
– This foam clouds installation is stunning!
– Beautiful short film about calligraphy – Forging the Future with the Tip of the Pen.
Forgive the delay, folks, I’m in the process of moving to a new apartment. Enjoy your weekend!
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