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August 6, 2015

Michael Hilgers’ BalKonzept Will Turn Your Fire Escape Into an Outdoor Office

City dwellers who are lucky enough to have a balcony (or maybe just a fire escape) and who also work at home now have the perfect setup for the warmer months. German designer Michael Hilgers created a brilliant balcony desk that hooks onto the railing to hold a laptop or papers. Dubbed BalKonzept, this extremely lightweight design comes complete with an integrated flowerbox, so you can have both a perfect outdoor workstation and a garden.
Learn more about this makeshift balcony desk

August 5, 2015

Jack Craig’s Skeletal Coat Rack Turns Into a Room Divider as Clothes Populate It

Detroit-based industrial designer Jack Craig came out with a minimal wooden coat rack that doubles as a room divider. Crafted from light Ash and simply dubbed Coat rack room dividers, it gets "activated" when guests arrive and drape their clothes on its many modular units. As clothing populates the racks, the structure starts to disappear turning into a fabric landscape that also works as a space divider, which seems like the perfect prop for closet-deprived New Yorkers.
Learn more about this multifunctional piece

August 4, 2015

BedUP Saves Floor Space by Storing Your Bed on the Ceiling

BedUP is out to challenge the Murphy bed as the ultimate space-saving sleep solution in increasingly tight city apartments. Designed by French inventors Decadrages, BedUP utilizes the ceiling to house your bulky mattress and frame. The bed retracts from the ceiling when you need it and can suspend above the room as you use the space below.
More on BedUP

August 3, 2015

Visser & Meijwaard’s Brilliant Furniture Zips Open and Closed

Dutch studio Visser & Meijwaard designed a series of furniture pieces that combine a sleek wooden base topped by plastic upholstery with YKK zippers. Easy to wash, bright and bold, the True Colors collection consists of stools, benches, and wardrobes inspired by traditional camping furniture that zip and unzip with the ease of a backpack or your favorite pair of jeans.
Learn more about the minimal colorful furniture

July 31, 2015

Jack Craig Fixes a Smashed Table With a Caramelized Resin Top

Detroit-based industrial designer Jack Craig crafted a curious table and stool that are all about the process. Made from smashed and reconstituted pinewood, the Broken Board Series 2 is sealed with caramelized resin. Its clear honey-hued top leaves the broken wooden ends exposed while creating some surprising visual effects when objects are placed on it.
Learn more about the piece here

July 27, 2015

DelightFULL’s Botti Pendant Will Jazz Up Any Room

This eye-catching lighting piece is shiny, playful and loud. It takes a nod from the brass section of an orchestra and is perfect for a musician's home, a music hall, or any space in need of some elegance and flair. Crafted by DelightFULL’s skilled artisans using an array of trumpet bells, the Botti Pendant will jazz up any space.
Learn more about this loud trumpets lamp

July 27, 2015

IKEA Is Selling a Placemat with a Pocket for Your Phone

We're having a hard time deciding whether this design is brilliant or just plain depressing. These new placemats come courtesy of IKEA and are part of their upcoming SITTNING collection, a limited edition series made up of 40 pieces focused in on "the joys of sharing a meal with those you love." The new mats—which will reportedly be called "Logged Out"—will feature a convenient little pouch for you to tuck your smartphone away so you can finally enjoy a meal with your friends without checking Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, email...
More on IKEA's new design here

July 23, 2015

Michael Hilgers’s ‘Flatmate’ Desk Conveniently Unfolds When It’s Time to Work

This ultra-thin desk is just like any good roommate: mostly invisible, but around when you need them. Designed by Berlin-based architect and cabinetmaker maker Michael Hilgers, "Flatmate" is a compact workspace that won't take up much of your valuable floor space, but is just as functional as its full-sized counterpart. Thanks to its skinny profile, it can comfortably live in a narrow hallway or even behind other furniture.
Learn more about this invisible pop-up desk

July 20, 2015

Pepsodent, Camel, and Yashica: The Ads and Architecture of Old Times Square

Everyone has an opinion on the ways Times Square has changed over the decades, but the basic look has been a different variation on the same theme since the late 19th century: Classic architecture covered in gigantic advertisements. Take a trip back in time with us through some pictures ahead—you might be surprised by what kinds of things used to be displayed in this Midtown hub.
See the ads of Old Times Square this way

July 19, 2015

GROWTH Is an Origami-Based Pot That Expands with the Plant

We've taken a look at geometric planters and vases with a bit of origami flair to them before, and while they're quite lovely, they're missing one key element of the GROWTH pot–they don't expand as the plant grows. Created by London- and Istanbul-based Studio Ayaskan, GROWTH transforms in a folding pattern to accommodate the life cycle of a plant. Not only is this fun to watch, but it's sustainable, as it reduces the need for multiple pots.
Learn more about GROWTH

July 14, 2015

Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte’s Cork Helmet Blocks Noise Pollution

Do you love living in the city but find the roaring traffic, cars horns, ambulance sirens, drilling, and barking dogs impossible to deal with? Stop suffering from all that stress–block the noise and restore your sanity with a Cork Helmet. As silly as it might look, Brussels-based Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte's design will help you deal with NYC's excessive 70-decibel sound level while you use your precious quiet time to daydream about calmer pastures.
Learn more about this crazy cork headpiece

July 13, 2015

Tetra-Shed: A Portable Wooden Home Office with a Rubber Skin

As more and more people choose to work from home, there's an increased demand for rooms within a room. Some accomplish this configuration with multi-functional storage spaces, catch-all pods, and even meditation spaces. And some, like Innovation Imperative´s Tetra Shed take on the guise of a giant black rock. Its faceted, minimalistic, geometric aesthetic opts for the scant over the ostentatious; it fits an entire small office inside; it can be completely closed up, so you can relax and forget about work; and, let's be honest, it's quite the conversation piece.
Learn more about this small wooden space

July 10, 2015

Would You Eat from Plates Printed with Bacteria?

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and U.S. bioengineer Tal Danino recently joined forces to make the invisible stunningly visible. They created a hauntingly beautiful set of tableware with colorful abstract patterns for French porcelain maker Bernardaud. Fittingly named Petri Dishes, like the shallow glass dishes biologists use to culture cells, the unique plates feature exploded photographs of bacteria like paenibacillus and salmonella.
Learn more about this bizarre and beautiful tableware

July 1, 2015

Wave Cabinet by Sebastian Errazuriz Opens and Closes in One Fluid Motion

Sebastian Errazuriz is one of the most diverse designers around. Not only does he create quirky, functional furniture like this spiky-skinned chest, but he also comes up with unique public art works such as last year's giant golden cow piñata and the more recent yawning video installation in Times Square. His most recent thought-provoker is the Wave Cabinet, a furniture piece that opens and closes in one fluid motion. Made from lacquered baltic birch, steel, and glass, the "functional sculpture" can open in various movements thanks to 100 linked slats, each of which pulls on the following one like a paper fan.
Watch a video of the cabinet in action

June 26, 2015

Moooi Makes Stunning Photorealistic Carpets Using iPhone Photos

Dutch design is famous for its daring, playful, and smart solutions, and these photorealistic carpets by Moooi completely exemplify that esthetic. The furniture and lighting brand recently launched Moooi Carpets, a sister company with an advanced print-on-demand technology that allows people to design their own rug -- or choose one from its Signature Collection by the likes of Ross Lovegrove or Christian Lacroix. Featuring extreme high definition and available in immense dimensions that could cover floors, walls, and ceilings, these stunning carpets might be setting a new trend for interior decoration.
Learn more about these customizable carpets

June 24, 2015

‘Sofa So Good’ Is Finnish Designer Janne Kyttanen’s Latest 3D Printed Piece

Finnish designer and conceptual artist Janne Kyttanen first fell in love with 3D printing while studying at Amsterdam's Gerrit Rietveld Academy. After graduating, he soon started imagining a future where products would be scaled down into digital files and people could just download any design they liked. His "Sofa So Good" piece is one of his latest and most intricate 3D printed designs, which joins a wide collection of objects he's created that includes lamps, tables and packaging as well as ping-pong paddles and futuristic shoes.
Learn more about sofa so good

New Hues and Fab Collabs Update a Pair of Classic Mid-Century Lamps

The Anglepoise Giant 1227 (l); Poul Henningnsen classics from Louis Poulsen (r).

June 16, 2015

New Hues and Fab Collabs Update a Pair of Classic Mid-Century Lamps

Though the worlds of furniture and interior design, like architecture, are often focused on innovation—the future, the new, the next—the best designs rise to the top year after year. This was more evident than ever as we beheld the countless cool and innovative design offerings at last month's ICFF, many of which we’re sure we’ll be seeing everywhere soon. Among the most memorable were a pair of classics that are far from new but no less brilliant.
See more of these cool and colorful classics

June 15, 2015

Transfixing Spirulina Furniture Produces Free Heat, Light and Food

Jacob Douenias and Ethan Frier have been busy brewing up the next trend in green interior decor: spirulina-producing furniture. The cyanobacteria, commonly used for adding protein and nutrients to smoothies and other food, has made its way into the landscape of objects for the home, and here can be seen as the central feature in a spectacular series designed specifically for cultivating the living greens for practical purposes.
Learn more about this brilliant spirulina design

June 12, 2015

Laser-Engraved Rolling Pins Leave Fun Prints on Your Baked Goods

Why waste your time with sprinkles and icing when you can fancy up your cookies with nothing more than a rolling pin? These laser-engraved models from Valek are embossed with fun patterns like moustaches, deer, and swirly leaf motifs. There's even miniature versions for the kids that feature dinosaurs or robots. With just a roll of the pin, your dough instantly becomes a piece of art.
More here

June 11, 2015

Kodama Zomes: Hanging Geodesic Homes for Lazing the Summer Away

Are you ready for a relaxing summer? We've found a great piece of furniture floating around the Internet that we wouldn't mind having in our home. Meet the new Kodama Zomes, a unique hanging lounger shaped like a geodesic dome that offers the perfect space for relaxation, reading, meditating, or just snoozing your afternoons away. Designed by structural engineer Richie Duncan, the sturdy cocoon will help you unplug as it softly sways you with the summer breeze.
Learn more about these floating sofas

June 10, 2015

Camera-Equipped Intelligent Oven Knows Exactly How to Cook Your Meal

Although it may look like a run-of-the-mill toaster oven, don't let its modest appearance deceive you. This little appliance will quickly turn a poor soul who can't fry an egg into a master chef—or something close to one. Invented by Ammunition Group, a team credited with bringing the iPhone, the FitBit, the GoPro, and Lyft to market, the June Intelligent Oven is a revolutionary kitchen appliance that harnesses the power of everything we digital age junkies love: computers, a HD camera, and a Google-like image search system that can determine what we're cooking and how it should be cooked.
READ MORE

June 8, 2015

Livin Studio Designs Innovative Fungi Cutlery for Eating Their Futuristic Sustainable Food

After their successful Fungi Mutarium (aka FU), a novel fungi food product grown on plastic waste, Austrian designers Livin Studio just had to come up with a specific Fungi Cutlery as new types of foods demand new ways of eating. Developed in close collaboration with Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Katharina Unger and Julia Kaisinger created a set of four silver cutlery pieces they call Drip Dropper, Round Chops, Hollknife, and Moon Spoon. These beautiful utensils can be used for drizzling sauce, slicing, slurping, and reaching even the tiniest bit of fungi, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
Learn more about this precious cutlery of the future

June 2, 2015

Wake Up to the Smell of a Hot Croissant or Cut Grass with This Olfactory Alarm Clock

Caffeine fiends were pretty excited when we featured the Bariseur, a hybrid coffee brewer-alarm clock that wakes you up with a fresh cup of Joe. But what if you're not a coffee drinker or if some mornings you'd prefer to rise with the aroma of the seaside rather than espresso? Don't worry, we've got you covered. SensorWake is a scent-based alarm clock that wakes you up with the aroma of chocolate instead of the sound of a blaring horn. It uses interchangeable scent cartridges that include the aforementioned seaside and chocolate, coffee, of course, hot croissants, peaches, rose, peppermint, and, curiously, dollars, among others. Each cartridge is good for about 60 wake-up calls, and the company claims it will have your eyes open in two minutes. If you're still snoozing in three minutes, a traditional sound-based alarm will go off.
Watch the product video and learn more here

May 29, 2015

Fantasy Floorplans Bring to Life Your Favorite TV Show Homes from ‘Friends’ to ‘Mad Men’

Do you get distracted watching your favorite television shows because you're too busy trying to figure out Don Draper's address or how the heck Monica and Rachel afford that massive Greenwich Village apartment? If so, we've got the perfect piece of wall art for you. Fantasy Floorplans (h/t Bezar) are hand-drawn blueprints of the apartments and homes in your favorite TV shows. From "Friends" to "Mad Men" to "Sex and the City" to "The Jeffersons," tons of popular NYC-based television shows are included. And for our friends outside the big apple, the floorplans cover locations throughout the country from shows that aired as far back as the 1950s.
Find out more ahead

May 29, 2015

Living Cube: An All-in-One Storage Solution with a Bed and Hidden Room

Attention apartment dwellers! If you're looking for a practical and elegant way to store all of your belongings, and to stealthily add additional sleeping quarters to your home, look no further than the Living Cube. Envisioned by German designer Till Konneker, this multifunctional design comes complete with a top platform for chilling out or fitting an extra bed, as well as a hidden storage room inside.
Learn more about this hyper-functional design

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