ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-04-01

I recently came across this cool line of furniture by ennezero from Italy. It’s not for everyone but it’s very original. It’s from a collection called Valentina, la donna è mobilewhere from the “theories of the [Artistic] Movement called Radical Design which began in the Sixties in Tuscany (Italy) before spreading in other parts of the world”. I believe the designer is Giuseppe Canevese, an industrial designer from Italy.

source: ennezero

I would love to specify some of these pieces this in a boutique hotel. Imagine one of the black and white pieces against a bright color wall. It would definitely make a statement. Any volunteer?

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-01-18

We all know that light fixtures which use fluorescent lamp save money in the long run and that they are somewhat good for the environment (let’s not forget the mercury issue). Sadly, they don’t always look nice. Thankfully, designers are working on making them more attractive.

I recently came across this stunning pendant light fixture designed by Dominic Bromley. The fixture uses T5 fluorescent lamps. Inspired by the bait-ball phenomenon where fish gather around to create a large mass in order to protect themselves from predators, Bromley created a light fixture made of several bone china fish sculptures.

It’s called Shoal. “Shoal 1672″ is made of 1672 fishes and “Shoal 284″ is made of 284 fishes. It’s quite ingenious.

Source: Scabetti

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Tags: , LIGHTING

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-01-25

If I told you that the baroque inspired “sculptures” on the walls in the following pictures actually have a function in each of the spaces, could you guess what that function could be?

They’re radiators used to heat rooms, and they actually look good! Finally someone came up with something that is more pleasing to the eye and adds to the look of a room instead of deterring from it. They are the work of designer Joris Laarman. They come in various sizes and are modular, so you can pretty much make them as small or as big as you like.

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-03-05

I remember as a kid, how fascinated I was with our revolving fiber optic lamp in the living room. My mom would light it up on special occasions and I would find my self gazing at it for long periods of times as it was changing colors on its own. Then I grew up and it sort of went out of fashion, but I guess “what’s old is new again” because fiber optic lights are back with a twist.

I was recently shown this new product from Lumigram, a company from France who specializes in marrying fiber optic technology with fabric. The result is interesting and looks best at night or in a dark room. They currently have some products that can be used to decorate various spaces, such as pillows, table cloths, chair covers and vases, but I’m sure as their popularity increases designers will come up with new and creative ways to use them.

2009-12-02 UPDATE : This product could be fun to use at a Christmas party on a table as shown or as curtain. It could look quite dramatic in the right setting.

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-03-20

If, like me, you are fascinated by the beauty of the universe, you might fall in love with this beautiful piece of art by Living World, a small design office in Tokyo Japan.

source: Living World

Based on three-dimensional data from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, they were able to create an accurate representation of the Milky Way, our galaxy. So for the first time, we can actually see our galaxy in three dimensions. The Milky Way, suspended in a glass cube, is made of around 80,000 stars, created using laser etching techniques. Our star, the Sun, is placed directly at the center of the cube. I can’t help but wonder if the reason behind that decision is related to the fact that people used to believe Earth was at the center of the universe…This cube can be yours for 80,000 yen (one yen per star?) which is a bit over $800 CDN.

Can you imagine that out of these 80,000 stars one of them has our planet orbiting around it? Not to mention the fact that, the Milky Way, our galaxy, is only one out of billions of galaxies currently observable in the universe! It boggles my mind.

Galaxies, Photo by : NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team

Wouldn’t it be cool to also be able to get our solar system and various planets and moons suspended in a glass cube as well? Maybe that will be their next step. If so, perhaps I will have contributed by throwing the idea out there. If you see it, let me know!

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-04-23

A minimalist dog bed? Why not! If you are a minimalist, living in a minimalist home, why not match your dog’s furniture to the design of your space? WOWBOW,from the UK, came up with a clean line of dog beds for those who are looking for something more pleasing to the eye : A simple structure where form follows function.

photo: WOWBOW

These beds, called Mija, are available in a variety of colors combination. They are all handmade in the UK using Perspex™ and faux suede.

photo: WOWBOW

Here are a few human and dog furniture match I found:

Tulip chair by by Saarinen, Chromcraft chairs, Tobia chair from IKEA

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2007-03-17

source : Wikipedia

Remember Tangrams? Ever played with them when you were younger? The concept behind this game was very simple: create various silhouettes from seven basic geometric shapes (usually a square, a rhomb and five triangles). This game could occupy a kid with a big imagination for hours, creating a cat, a bunny, a person, a house, or more.

source : Lago

This concept can now be integrated in interior space, thanks to the creativity of Italian furniture designers at Lago . They created a modular wall shelving system that enable people to create various shapes on their wall while storing books, DVD, etc. This system is perfect for those who like to change things around, since it can take as many shapes as you can imagine.

source : Lago

See, shelves don’t have to be boring.

2009-10-26 UPDATE : A couple months after I first posted this, I got the opportunity to integrate a Lago inspired shelving system in the room of a teenage girl, while working for a TV makeover show for teens back when I was in Montreal. Since she liked horses a lot, I decided to design a horse shaped tangram shelving system for her. The carpenter made it out of MDF and we painted it turquoise. It turned out great as you can see below. It gave her an original space to store CDs, stuffed animals and books.