The-Lefthander

I was always a fan of those small rocks and minerals you put in a small velvet drawstring bag and purchase at souvenir shops, so when I saw these lamps by Brenda Houston, I was quite happy. The lamps are made with hand-chosen natural mineral formations and they’re part of a large collection of other works by the designer. The Cairo lamp pictured above is made of genuine black quartz and decorated with a pearl and pewter spider.

Ferm branched out from wallpaper into homegoods a few years ago, and I have to say I’m glad because they’re collection just keeps getting better and better. I’m particularly smitten with the Monroe pattern.

Monroe Pillow in Petrol and Gray Squares Pillow

Monroe Wallpaper

Monroe Tea Towel

And, just because I think they’re adorable, the kid’s Birdie pillows (small, medium, and large)

The Folded Roof House by Claesson Koivisto Rune is located in Muskö, on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden.The roofline resembles a butterfly roof, and the vertical wood exterior reinforces the large vertical windows on all sides of the home. I like how the interior is very stark white but the pops of green from the foliage and the rug are the main focus.

From the architects:

The Folded Roof House (also known as AH#002) is our second design for the prefab home manufacturer Arkitekthus, (the Plus House is the first). It is a one-storey house with a folded roof plane. The plan provides for separation between private bedrooms and a communal kitchen and living room. The bedrooms are positioned at the gable ends and the living room is between, with an open main façade. The openings are fully glazed and inset into the house volume so that roof-covered terrace spaces serve as continuations of the interior. Another important visual feature is the framing of these insets by the thin wall and roof edges. This was possible because no insulation is needed in the sections located outside of the actual house.

Everything apart from the concrete foundation, the exterior panelling and roof covering is made in a factory and then transported and erected on site. This makes for better quality (prevents moisture damage). The fact that the exterior panelling is mounted on site avoids visible joints between different wall elements (a common feature on other prefab houses).

Photography by Louise Billgert.

Introducing the new Barraco Collection by Fetiche Design (Carolina Armellini and Paulo Biacchi).

We developed the Barraco Collection looking for a contrast. The tissue is made of waste from the textile industry. Here in Brazil this kind of tissue is only used to make homeless blanket. We love this material, the gray with the colors of the waste is perfect. The design of product is quite simple, we focus on the material and in combination with the color palette.

The Barraco Collection is available now at the Micasa showroom in São Paulo.

This silver pourer by Aldo Bakker is beautifully designed and made — looks like a small basket. Perfect for oil, dressing, or gravy.

Photography by Erik and Petra Hesmerg.

DALT

UNIKEA, or Unique IKEA is a project by designer Kenyon Yeh in which he seeks to create personal identity from ubiquitous uniformity. Kenyon assembled the pieces from a standard IKEA flat pack without following the instructions (or, as he says, he threw away the instructions). Instead, he simply customized each piece to fit his own personal taste, with the addition of a few details.

Amalgamation of an old detailed English chair leg from resin casting brings a fresh new feel to the simple IKEA design. He says, “The process is liberating and brings a limitless attitude of possibility creating unique furniture instead of doing such a thing that made by forces.”

BRIA

KENN

LOPA

The collection currently consists of four pieces, BRIA, DALT, KENN, and LOPA. UNIKEA is produced and made to order.

Earlier this month, we announced our brand new site, Dog Milk, which is dedicated to Modern Dog Design. If you’re a dog owner looking for a good modern design resource, then this is it!

On Monday, we announced our newest project, Designer Desktops. View and download our March custom desktop wallpaper, featuring a quote by Charles Eames.

My house has an extension, but it’s nothing like this box extension designed by Arhitektid Muru & Pere. The box is covered with crisscrossed sticks, making it look like a highly-structured rectangular, modern and stylish bird’s nest that even glows in the dark.

[via MoCo Loco and ArchDaily]

Mid-century pottery brand Heath Ceramics is back with a new summer 2010 collection sure to bring a pop of color to your table. Following Heath’s long tradition of hand-dipped experimental and unique glazes, this collection consists of four new pieces and items from the company’s classic line. The whole collection includes a pitcher, deep serving bowl, two platters, and a set of vases.

Since this year is supposed to be the year of turquoise, Heath’s brought together the colors of the beach: aqua, yellow, and “ocean pacific,” perfect for summer. The collection will be available April 1st.

The OO is a wireless projector by David Riesenberg capable of displaying high definition (1080p) data. Utilizing either a WIFI connection or internal SSD storage, the projector can operate independently from any wire for up to 3 hours based on an internal Li-Ion battery or using a single wire connected to a power source. With the combination of WIFI and internal storage, the OO can act as both an extender/duplicator of an external display or as a wireless media projector/streamer with built in decoding capabilities. The three independently articulated legs allow the OO to be tilted for optimal positioning. Full interaction with the projector is done via the touch screen remote but the projector can be operated without it in extender/duplicator mode after pre-configuration.

Part of the GEO series, the OO’s form is inspired by the simple and elegant form of the circle – from which it also gets him name denoting the shape of the projector and the shape of the lens. The semi monocoque carbon fiber structure allows for a lightweight construction and combined with its dimensions (11in / 28cm diameter) allow the OO to be portable but without compromising image quality.

Check out the video:

This residence designed by Andrés Jaque Arquitectos in Ibiza, Spain is an environmental project aimed at preserving the beauty of its natural surroundings while the use of an aquamarine color keeps the continuity between the inside and the outside. The house consists of three parts: a main house and two huts. These three elements have distant views of the sea and their separation allows an easy division of the garden.

Photography by Miguel de Guzmán.

[via Designerblog]

I love the wood-appears-like-paper kind of look in furniture. Designer Kino Guérin shows exactly that in some of his limited edition furnishings and objects. He utilizes a vacuum press laminated process that leads him to new discoveries in the forms of his pieces, paving a way for more innovative uses of wood.

We recently posted about Kawamura-Ganjavian’s Scenter, but their newest product is the Earshell.

We use earrings as symbols of distinction since time immemorial, however they are not particularly useful items. The Earshell is a simple, efficient and elegant sound enhancing device. It can be used to improve our listening of music or opera. Its refined and sleek profile gives it a jewellery feel.

Nightshop is a new designlabel from Rotterdam founded by photographer Adriaan van der Ploeg, artist Jordan van der Ven, and designer Ward van Gemert. Nightshop exists in conjunction with their daily work, thus the name Their goal is to make fresh, well-made products.

Their Lightweight lamp is inspired by the ubiquitous Chinese paper lanterns and is shaped as a dumbbell. It is made entirely out of PVC materials. The Lightweight is 90 cm long and 35 cm high and contains two light bulbs.

You will have noticed the extravagant sophistication that has taken over the good old barbecue. Well, that is kind of old hat now. If you want to be on the edge of the social entertaining trend, your outdoor space needs a “refreshment station,” which is another way of saying offering food is cool but hosting drink parties is the new must.

I was therefore not surprised to learn about Alain Gilles’ newest design for Qui est Paul? His new “Garden Party” is such a great centerpiece to encourage informal occasional drinks to spruce up long summer evenings at home and give them a little extra oomph and a bit of a bar attitude.

Available in a variety of colors, this high table has a center piece that works as a drinks/champagne bucket or a flower pot. Ladies, note the clever little hook under the stools for your bag 

If you are already set up furniture-wise, then a true refreshment center is your next buy.

I love this creation from Metalco Home — the mobile air-conditioned outdoor wine cart. Kefren is a trolley bar that comes with an integrated dual-zone wine cooler. Its upper compartment temperature is set for white wines and the lower zone is ideal for reds.

And for beer lovers, this beer cart by Alpina is a serious commitment to backyard beverages. You can fit a whole keg underneath and more! Alpina also makes a mobile wine bar.

These are just a few examples of the new “refreshment station” — so what are you waiting for? Go get your drink on!

The Ooma Bowl, designed by Thomas Both, has endless possibilities, but all I’m thinking about right now is edamame.

[via bltd]

New from Capod’opera is Corto Maltese, designed by Manuela Pelizzon and Silvano Pierdonà. The exterior features sketches by the famous Italian illustrator Hugo Pratt, portraying the adventures of charming wanderer seaman Corto Maltese. The San Marco collection is inspired particularly by Venetian adventures of Corto with woodcuts both on doors and inside drawers and shelves: drawings and words of the original comics. The entire collection will consist of bookcases, cabinets and wardrobes, but this is a sneak peek of what will be shown at Milan in April.

HEAD Architecture takes a boring space and transforms it into a lively, fun place to work.

From the architects:

Topline’s existing factory and office in Dongguan – a rather drab Chinese industrial building with attached dormitory – were given an overhaul to give them a more modern branded feel. This was intended to last for the 18 month period while their new premises were under design and construction. A totally remodeled entrance and waiting area were created. Corporate colours and large promotional images were used to add colour and clarity to spaces. Departments were rationalized and a new boardroom with greatly increased seating capacity added. The refectory – the social centre for the staff – was given vivid graphics and lighting, along with the provision of table football and other games for recreational use.

F-White House by Takaro Yamamoto Architects located in Tokyo, Japan is a one-story, single family residence with a courtyard. The size of the site where it is built permitted the architects to build a courtyard with privacy, and it was placed in an oblique angle in the middle of the space to maintain the unified feeling of the entire house. Each space within the house has a different level of privacy and when you’re in the courtyard, you can see different scenes at every corner.

Photography by Ken’ichi Suzuki Photo Office.

RALLI Design, run by brother and sister duo Louis and Sophie Howe, aims to produce furniture and homewares that focuses on space saving and multi-functional use in response to the much greater global issue of increasing population and subsequent reduction in living space.

They will be showing their Flip Chair and Stepping Stool at Hidden Art’s SaloneSatellite Stand in Milan.

The Flip Chair was designed in response to Ralli Design’s research into the requirements of small urban living and the necessity to make objects duel-functional in order to save space. The chair has both the seating positions for a dining armchair and a lounge chair.

It is constructed from a 12mm ply core. The components were routed out and assembled by hand with joints concealed. The chair is finished with a coating of satin, white lacquer and aluminium edging is applied to the top and bottom rims where the chair comes into contact with the floor.

The Stepping Stool is designed for small domestic kitchens with storage in high places, and a lack of seating. It has a unique slide and lock mechanism that transforms the seat into a handle. Keeping the manual action at waist height means there is no bending down for the user.

It is constructed from 15mm and 18mm plywood with a high-pressure laminate finish on both sides. The side panels, brackets and steps are CNC machined out, slotted and glued together with 9mm and 30mm dowel struts. The nylon runners are turned on a lathe and the seat is post-formed plywood.