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Just one ‘CityTree’ unit purifies air at the same rate as 275 trees

Photo courtesy of Green City Solution’s Instagram

June 30, 2017

Just one ‘CityTree’ unit purifies air at the same rate as 275 trees

Nearly 90 percent of residents in cities around the world breathe polluted air, which is the single largest environmental health risk, according to the World Health Organization. To address this global problem, Green City Solutions created a mobile installation of specific moss culture that has large surface leaf areas and that can remove pollutants from the air. As Curbed NY reported, this new mossy air filter has been installed in Oslo, Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong. According to the team, CityTree has the same effect as up to 275 trees but requires 99 percent less space and just five percent of the cost.
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June 14, 2017

New York City’s iconic architecture comes to life on this skyline chess board

A new chess set lets you checkmate with New York City’s skyline. Developed by Skyline Chess, a company founded by two London-based architects, the game pieces capture the city’s early 1900s construction boom and the expansion of skyscraper architecture, along with more contemporary and recognizable structures. As contemporist discovered, the pieces are silhouettes of buildings like One World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Flatiron Building, Guggenheim Museum, and traditional brownstones.
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June 5, 2017

Set up a vacation home anywhere with these pop-up smartdomes

As a way to escape the stress of urban life, a dome construction company has created a mobile geodesic dome for do-it-yourself nature lovers. The Slovenia-based firm smartdome construction created a dome that users set up and dismantle themselves. The elevated dome can be set up almost anywhere, is built on a set of adjustable steel legs, and is made of prefabricated modules engineered for energy efficiency.
See the DIY smartdomes

May 11, 2017

Arckit’s new modeling sets make it easy to build professional models without cutting or gluing

Arckit, an architectural model kit manufacturer, has recently added to its family of offerings a series of playful yet professional three-dimensional modeling sets designed to satisfy the needs of building professionals, as well as aspiring designers. Traditional methods of model building include "cut and glue" techniques or 3D drawings, but these kits, called Arckit Cityscape and Arckit Masterplan, provide the same tactile experience with no special skills required.
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May 8, 2017

Where to buy affordable art in Brooklyn

Our ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week, Art Nerd New York founder Lori Zimmer shares her top spots for scoring affordable art in Brooklyn. Brooklyn has become the place to be for creatives, especially as artists have migrated from Soho and the East Village to Williamsburg, Bushwick, and beyond. Now, blue-chip galleries are sprouting up Brooklyn locations, art fairs have Brooklyn outposts, and artists studios are thriving in neighborhoods all over the borough. Despite the rise of Brooklyn arts (and rents), there are still places to procure affordable art, all while supporting the artists struggling to survive in a very competitive market.
our list here

May 5, 2017

Flavor Paper and UM Project’s ‘Conduct’ wallpaper doubles as a power source

Design, art, and technology are intertwined in this new product co-developed by wallcovering company Flavor Paper and design firm UM Project. Conduct, an interactive installation at Collective Design, which is part of New York’s design festival NYCXDesign, is a wallpaper that doubles as a power source. As Fast Co.Design reported, the installation is composed of five motorized or electrical objects. If a person touches one of the copper dots on the wall, which is covered with paper that’s printed with conductive ink, they complete an electrical circuit and turn on the object.
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April 27, 2017

Tiny MUJI Hut offers a stylish and inexpensive option for homeowners who want another room

It's been about a year and a half since MUJI first announced their MUJI Hut, a modern prefab take on the micro-home. Costing $27,000, it's a well-priced housing option for those with land—and it's finally hit the market. Although the price tag may still be out of reach for most New Yorkers, those blessed with a backyard and some extra cash can easily turn this hut into a stylish extra room or office. That's right, at just 97 square feet this little guy appears to skirt the need for a building permit, keeping well below the 121 square feet that would require plans, approval, and tedious visits to the Department of Buildings.
more details on the design

April 24, 2017

The LeGrow modular ‘smart garden’ is a LEGO-like system that makes indoor planting easy

Spring has us thinking about greenery, with roots and shoots popping everywhere we turn–but most city dwellers don't have a garden to grow. Enter the smart planter from LeGrow. These snappy planters fit together like LEGO blocks for plants, making our design sensibilities happy by adding a cool modular element while allowing us to add living greenery to our indoor surroundings.
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April 19, 2017

Noocity’s all-inclusive ‘Growkit’ is perfect for urban green thumb wannabes

Thanks to Growkit, a farming kit for beginners developed by Portugal-based startup Noocity, city dwellers short on time and space can still take a stab at gardening and harvest their own organic food (h/t Gearminded). The kit includes an entire gardening system--a Growbag irrigated planter, a Growpack with seasonal plants, potting soil, fertilizer, and step-by-step audio instructions--all delivered right to your doorstep.
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April 12, 2017

Burrow’s new modular couch is designed for millennials’ nomadic lifestyle

With moving frequently an assumed part of being a young adult today, furniture startup Burrow has released a new line of modular sofas that are easily assembled, affordable (prices range from $550 for a single chair to $1,150 for a four-seat couch), and can adapt to new spaces with pieces that can be tacked on or removed. The company also mixed the principals of two millennial-loved companies--Ikea's flatpack approach to shipping and Casper matresses' one-week free shipping and 100-day free return policy.
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April 7, 2017

Wouter Scheublin’s spider-inspired table will walk right into your home

When describing furniture as nomadic, it usually denotes lightweight, modular pieces that can easily be taken apart to move with you. But Dutch designer Wouter Scheublin created a table that needs no dismantling, as it can quite literally walk to your next home. Inspired by eight-legged creatures, the Walking Table is still graceful enough not to leave scuffing marks on your floor.
Learn more about this crawling table

March 30, 2017

The Living Table: A self-regulated planter-table perfect for small spaces

Two of the smartest things you can do when decorating your city-dwelling are to make use of indoor plants and to invest in multi-functional pieces of furniture. This brilliant new table, aptly named The Living Table, brings these two concepts together seamlessly. The innovative table design from Habitat Horticulture mimics how plants naturally absorb water from the ground, providing you with the perfect plant-ready furniture to house all of your favorite low-growing greenery.
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March 24, 2017

Stackable furniture line from Debra Folz Design makes storage stylish

There are all types of stackable furniture out there, and while many of them function perfectly well, they're not always the most design-friendly items in the room. Enter Stack. This new product line from the Providence-based design firm Debra Folz Design is a sleek, stylish and stackable addition to your home decor. The units are constructed as rectangular-shaped boxes that fit together through a series of grooves, each cut to accommodate metal rods.
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March 17, 2017

Nimuno tape transforms any surface into LEGO-friendly territory

This fun product from the innovative design studio Nimuno takes our childhood LEGO obsession to a whole new level. Nimuno Loops are a flexible and cuttable plastic equipped with a block-friendly top surface and a reusable adhesive backing, allowing you to make any surface LEGO compatible.
find out more here

March 16, 2017

Self-watering, transparent ‘Cube’ planter is perfect for bad plant parents

As busy New Yorkers, we always welcome new products that help fill our interiors with lovely greenery while also making it easier for us to care for our leafy friends. Boskke, a design company known for their innovative planting products, recently introduced to the market Cube, a self-watering plastic planter that's perfect for the plant-loving urbanite. Not only is this compact pot self-watering, it's also fully transparent, integrating the look of earthy soil into your home decor.
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March 14, 2017

MODOS streamlines modular block furniture with modern design and efficiency

Lego-inspired furniture systems are huge right now, and MODOS may have taken the most modern and minimal approach to the trend. Other modular systems, like Muebloc and EverBlock, are made of "blocks" that easily fit together and mimic the childhood toy in both form and function, but MODOS uses only two components--the small brushed metal connector and streamlined slabs of wood--in its tool-free assembly of desks, shelves, stools, and more.
Find out more

March 10, 2017

Centrifugal forces shape these colorful stools by Maor Aharon

Israeli designer Maor Aharon says his work examines the boundaries between craft and industry, functional and decorative, and high- versus low-tech. This thought process is on view in his colorful "Matter of Motion" stools, which were designed through experiments in centrifugal forces and how they can be displayed through material and shape.
See how it all works

February 27, 2017

9 artsy and inexpensive DIY ideas for decorating a rental

6sqft’s series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week we've got some artistic ways you can update your rental without spending a lot of money. No matter how ephemeral a rental unit may feel, refusing to put any love into your space will ensure a feeling that your lease is taking forever to end. But it doesn't take a professional or a full-scale renovation to make a shoebox of an apartment go from a depressing Craigslist find to a lively and stylish pad. Ahead are some creative DIY ways to decorate your space that can be done inexpensively—and without putting your security deposit at risk.
Smashing a mirror can be good for decoration

February 24, 2017

RAH:DESIGN employed modern home-building techniques to design this cool dog house

While there are many doggie-abodes on the market, the designers at RAH:DESIGN found themselves struggling to find something that fit with their carefully curated home decor. Instead of continuing their search, they decided to take matters into their own hands and launched MDK9 Dog Haus. Not only was it constructed using modern home-building materials, but it includes human-level amenities such as an overhang for shading, metal mesh siding for ventilation, wheels for easy mobility, and a built-in feeder.
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February 23, 2017

Transformable Ollie chair unfurls with the pull of a string

If you've ever wished an ergonomic, well-designed comfortable chair would materialize when you need it, the Ollie Chair has your back. Ollie is a transformable seat that unfurls and retracts with no more than the pull of a string. Created by Brooklyn Navy Yard-based kinetic furniture company RockPaperRobot, the chair offers a portable, elegant and comfortable solution for today's office-anywhere work style–and its customizable cool design makes it a welcome addition to your decor.
So where can I get one?

February 13, 2017

Tips and storage ideas for couples living in small apartments

6sqft’s series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week we offer up some tips for couples living together in a tiny pad. When New York City couples move in together, it often means searching for, or being absorbed into, a modest one-bedroom apartment. For many, taking this plunge will be both exciting (think of all that saved rent!) and excruciating, as sharing a space will mean compromises, fights over housework, and the paring down of personal items so everyone's stuff can fit. So for those about to take the plunge—and those who could benefit from a bit more squabble-proofing at home—we've culled a list of our favorite self-preservation and storage tips for shacking up in small apartments.
our top tips here

February 8, 2017

Awesome bookmarks shrink four famous NYC buildings to 1:5000 in scale

Hopefully, you're one of the many who plan on taking part in New York's citywide book club. But even if you aren't, what better way to show your love for books and this fantastic city than getting your hands on these beautifully designed bookmarks from Another Studio? Laser-cut from stainless steel, "City Clips" is a fun series that immortalizes four of the Big Apples's most famous skyscrapers in a lilliputian scale 5,000 times smaller than the real thing.
more details

January 31, 2017

12 unique wallpaper ideas for renters and homeowners at every budget

6sqft’s series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week we get tips from historic interiors expert Elizabeth Finkelstein, founder of CIRCA, a curated historic house marketplace showcasing the most beautiful old homes for sale all across the country, and columnist at Country Living Magazine. She's rounded up some fun, beautiful, and modern wall treatments for renters and homeowners at every budget. If comparing paint samples makes you blue in the face (yes, there are indeed over fifty shades of grey), why not opt for wallpaper instead? It's fun, it's an instant conversation-starter, and we promise it'll look the same in every light. Grandma's favorite decorating staple is undergoing a fresh, modern renaissance–and thanks to some innovative artists designing with the renter in mind, it's easier than ever to install. From peel-and-stick options to those you can roll on with a brush, we've rounded up our favorite wall treatments for every budget!
See our top 12 picks here

January 25, 2017

7 easy ways to feng shui your apartment

As intangible a concept as feng shui may seem, it all comes down to the basic idea of having a space you're happy to come home to because its energy is positive. "Feng shui is an ancient philosophy about how you can improve your life and create a space that supports and nurtures you," explained Anjie Cho, a New York-based architect, author, and founder of online mindfulness design blog and shop Holistic Spaces. Indeed, adjusting your apartment in just a few small and informed ways can make all the difference in the look and feel of your unit and, resultantly, your own wellbeing. Ahead are some ideas you can apply to your space, straight from a pro.
First off, take that mattress off the floor

January 24, 2017

Slow cooking evolves with a sleek new design, better food and an app called Oliver

If you don't have your nonna cooking for you, good news is here. Slow cooking, which first appeared kitchens in the 1950s, has been redesigned for a new generation of chefs. The updated crock pot, or "Oliver" as it's been named, uses a new setup that releases ingredients slowly and churns out better results than the brown mush we've all come to expect from the gadgets.
Read more about Oliver

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