The-Lefthander

Luca Gnizio is an industrial designer from Milan who firmly believes that the life of discarded products can be further extended by transforming them into beautiful and useful articles.

Luca’s BOOKFOR Armchair is constructed entirely from recycled materials including iron bars recovered from reinforced concrete, rubber tips from old walking sticks, and clothing, plastic material and paper remnants.

Photos by Serena Riccardi.

A4estudio present us with this masterpiece of concrete, glass and aluminum located in Mendoza, Argentina. The low profile home shows a combination of materials that ties to the landscape. Boulders and stone walls seems to emerge and meet the cantilevered concrete structure and the middle outdoor space, acting more like an industrial atrium and bringing sun and green to the inside through the glass panels and doors. The interior is fresh and pristine where furniture seems playful and at ease instead of rigid and subject to a grid. The mosaic pool is a nice touch and the entertainment wall with a bunch of speakers makes it seem like you’re at a concert.

Architects: A4estudio — Leonardo Codina & Juan Manuel Filice
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Area: 5,812 square feet
Materials: Glass, aluminum, steel and concrete
Photos: A4estudio

[via Plataforma Arquitectura]

Terence Conran of The Conran Shop has chosen 54 key pieces of furniture of the 20th century to be part of the Conran Classics Collection. The Conran Classics will be on display in an exhibition at The Conran Shop Chelsea and The Conran Shop, Marylebone from September 10, 2010 – November 1, 2010. In celebration of the new collection and exhibition, members of the Conran family including Terence Conran, Sophie Conran, and Jasper Conran have been captured with their favorite piece of furniture by renowned photographer Julian Broad for the accompanying Conran Classic catalog.

The top 10 design classics from the 20th century chosen by The Conran family are:

1. Eames Lounger and Ottoman (Charles and Ray Eames) chosen by Victoria Conran
2. Supporto Office Chair (Fred Scott) chosen by Sophie Conran (pictured in top photo on right)
3. Karuselli Chair and Ottoman (Yrjo Kukkapuro) chosen by Terence Conran (pictured in top photo on left)
4. Bookworm Bookcase and Bookends (Ron Arad) chosen by Tom Conran (pictured above on left)
5. Eiffel DSR Chair (Charles and Ray Eames) chosen by Ned Conran
6. ESU Storage Unit (Charles and Ray Eames) chosen by Toby Gallagher
7. Floor Lamp (Mario Fortuny) chosen by Hattie Gallagher (pictured above on right)
8. Egg Chair and Footstool (Arne Jacobson) chosen by Max Gallagher
9. Oval Table and 6 Tulip Chairs (Eero Saarinen) chosen by Jasper Conran (pictured below)
10. ES104 Lobby Chair (Charles and Ray Eames) chosen by Sebastian Conran

What would be in your top 10?

While at the NYIGF I stopped by AIAIAI’s booth to tell them how much I loved their headphones and t-shirt. I got a chance to test out the new TMA-1 headphones. A-MA-ZING. They fit over my ears like a glove and instantly the entire world melted away. I could feel the music throughout my entire body. Isn’t that exactly what you desire from headphones?

The TMA-1 are a DJ-style headphones much different from AIAIAI’s previous headphones — they are more utilitarian; the focus on this style was function. The TMA-1 was tested by some of the world’s most respected DJs: 27 leading names such as Tiga, James Murphy (one of my personal faves), A-Trak, Flying Lotus, Seth Troxler, Matthew Dear and Hot Chip, whose feedback helped shape the performance. Designed by Danish design firm KiBiSi and further developed in cooperation with Tartelet Records, Mannhandle and Thank You For Clapping, this new audio experience is one worth having.

Dedo is a furry message board by Gonçalo Campos on which you can draw your message or a picture by simply dragging your finger in the opposite direction of the (artificial) fur growth. Doubling as a decorative piece, Dedo offers a fun new way to communicate in an artistic way.

Dedo is available for purchase from Gonçalo Campos’ website or from Arcademi.

If you didn’t already know it, I spent a lot of time watching HGTV’s Design Star show this year. Emily Henderson, 30, a prop stylist originally from Portland, OR, is the season five champion, and she writes a cute blog called The Brass Petal. Her style is quirky, eclectic, and while it leans more toward bohemian chic than it does modern, I think she is refreshing, down-to-earth and speaks my language.

As much as I would love to love fine art, I’m secretly much more interested in commercial art. The fact that you have to sell something while being creative should be some sort of artistic buzz-kill. So when it’s done well, I think it can be even more masterful, more provocative than fine art. Oh, and it can pay your rent, and that never hurt anybody.

1. The Roland Bello/Robyn Glaser team
This is the duo (Roland shoots, Robyn styles) that was behind the Anthropologie catalog for years, the new re-designed West Elm catalog and a trillion Gourmet and Domino editorials that are ridiculously awesome and make me want to cut someone. They set trends in the commercial photography world that filters down into the interior design world very quickly. They create worlds where beautiful people do weird things so naturally, and so provocatively that you can’t help but project yourself into the world. I doth obsess.

2. This photo
This picture had me at ball-fringe. I don’t know who took it, who styled it or what country or year its from. Its weird and unexpected and — AH — I just want to be there. And who, for the love of god, owns of the outfit hanging on the wall? Who???? My secret lover, perhaps? Who plays me love songs on one of his three guitars, as we sit in the parlor swinging in my wicker chair, whilst running my fingers through his leather fringed pants… I dream of this space, and I kinda think it changed my life when I saw it.

3. Photographer Mikkel Vang and this spread from Vogue Living
I love the masculinity in such a “decorated” space. The strange timelessness of the space is intoxicating. It begs the question: What did you win those trophies for, huh? And what exactly are you typing on the typewriter? Have you no laptop? Did it break? Don’t you have Apple care?

4. Prop stylist Christine Rudolph
I mean, I can just stare and stare at these photographs for hours, a la double rainbow, WHAT DO THEY MEAN??? And my god, that black horse lamp is large and makes me feel funny.

I long to be as cool as Christine.

5. Prop Stylist Cindy DiPrima
Granted I worked for Cindy for years and I’m a bit biased, but I think these still life shots are some of the most beautiful ever styled. I want to look like how these photos smell. It tells a story that is at once kinda creepy and totally romantic, and plays with more than just our visual sense (these were shot by Kana Okada, and I love her too).

FORM 2010, held August 13-14, 2010 in St. Louis, MO, was the first installment of an annual contemporary furniture, functional object and architectural design show bringing together some of the best architects and designers local to the St. Louis area and beyond.

Presented by The Luminary Center for the Arts, FORM acts as a platform to encourage interaction with contemporary design, support independent designers, and increase awareness locally of cutting-edge trends in the design field. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the designers and to support a new artist equipment library at The Luminary.

Representative firms from the St. Louis area include SPACE Architecture + Design, Niche Interior Design and Furnishings, Centro Modern Furnishings, studio | durham architects, Confluence Design + Fabrication, and other local design tastemakers.

Kassen — one of the exhibitors — kindly covered the show and sent us some great shots from the event! Check out their website for more detailed coverage.

Bench by Mails Woodwork

Ceramics by JFish Designs

Chair by Kassen

Seating by David Christopher Design

Table by Flux Materia

Stool from Confluence Design + Fabrication

Add a touch of femininity to your car with CarLashes.

Sorry, couldn’t resist posting. Silly, but also kinda cute. Can someone design a better logo for them, please?

[via NOTCOT]

Spout is the latest product design concept from Melbourne-based industrial design consultancy Charlwood Design.

Spout is a minimalist bathroom basin design with an internal sensor-activated tap. The user placed hands in the sink to activate the water. The temperature can be adjusted with the simple dial. In the center of the dial is a button that can be pushed to activate continuous water flow for filling the sink.

Sensor-activated sinks are more hygienic and aesthetically more minimal. The basin concept can be constructed from a variety of material including ceramic or Corian. This design is a recent finalist in the Reece Bathroom innovation award.

Chris Ruhe has created storage cabinets from old doors and cabinets giving them a new life as one big cabinet.

He also created a bookshelf using old ladders.

Urban Butik launched an innovative new personal design by Kähler at the NYIGF. Designed by Helena Rohner, My Life is a modern take on the traditional locket. Instead of opening a necklace locket to find a photo, these necklaces are USB drives. Carry photos of loved ones and any other personal data you wish with you wherever you go.

My Life will retail for $69.95 and will be available in October.

The newest piece from TOUCH is a stool called Open, a visionary, multifunctional stool designed in Portugal and manufactured local to TOUCH in Los Angeles.

On the Open stool, TOUCH worked with designers Cláudio Cardoso and Telma Verissimo of Studio Verissimo. Open is carefully and attentively assembled at a small woodshop in Los Angeles. Manufactured using FSC-certified sugar pine, the design of Open is based on a traditional Portuguese stool, but incorporates a new vision as it can be used in a variety of ways. With a slot cut out of one side, the stool can serve a second purpose as a doorstop or even as a side table. Open was designed to incorporate functionality and mood — blending traditional style with contemporary details such as the color accent on each stool.

TOUCH collaborates with emerging designers and believes that one should not have to choose between functionality and good design. Their goal is to present design that enhances people’s lives while being environmentally responsible.

Editor’s note: Please welcome our newest contributor, Leo Lei of lvlup design. He is passionate about minimalistic furniture and architecture and will be sharing his finds weekly in a new column called Minimalicious. Learn more about Leo on our About page.

What better than to start the Minimalicious column with the simplistic, yet elegant works of Shinichi Ogawa & Associates. Ware House, located in the suburbs of Higashihiroshima-shi in Hiroshima, Japan, is one of their latest realizations.

Although seemingly simplistic, the Japan-based architecture firm has a rather idiosyncratic style when it comes to minimalistic sensibility. Their pragmatic approach to minimalism is no less a statement emphasizing the importance of emotional design in Japanese culture than the aesthetic beauty in which minimal design engenders.

Take the interior layout for example. There is a nearly inconspicuous level change from one area to the next. The kitchen, bathroom, and office are slightly lowered from the living room and bedroom spaces. As a result, the slight dip is enough to produce a subtle feeling of segregation between rooms. In addition, the wall-units that separate the rooms are manifold in their functionality. Not only do the walls provide privacy, but they have toilets, kitchen appliances, and storage units integrated into them. The greatest aspect of Ware House is the lack of dichotomy between indoor and outdoor space. Through a series of doors, the interior can be completely open to the outside courtyard. Even when closed, the doors are fully transparent to the outdoor atmosphere.

The wall-units are also merged at the ceiling to create another floor, either for private use, or as a children’s floor. The height of this second foundation aligns with the top of the doors to provide privacy.

I define minimalism as the reduction of unnecessary elements in order to allow the smaller details to surface. Within Ware House, every piece of furniture, change in color, and ray of light is accentuated against the stark white background. When I look at this house, I can’t help but think the phrase, “a simpler life is a happier life.”

Photos by Toshiyuki Yano.

[via Designboom]

HGTV has partnered with The Residences at W in downtown New York City to give away a furnished apartment designed by HGTV host and designer Vern Yip, as well as an Acura ZDX.

You can get their first on-air tour of the home during the HGTV Urban Oasis 2010 special on Monday, September 6, 2010, at 8 PM ET.

But if you can’t wait, you can get a glimpse of it now at HGTV.com/UrbanOasis — check out the slideshow tours. This is one sweet prize. You can start entering on September 1st once a day at HGTV.com and FrontDoor.com! If you’ve ever wanted to live in the heart of NYC this is your chance. The sweepstakes entry period runs September 1, 2010 October 20, 2010.

If you win, don’t forget to invite me to come visit!

The Boomerang Wok by Nikolai Carels allows you to flip omelets back onto themselves or cook without flinging food out of your pan. The pan has a strategically-designed inner lip that curves inward to keep food from flying over the edge.

From the website:

Stir-frying enables you put a delicious, varied and healthy meal on the table in no time at all. Unfortunately, when stir-frying some of the ingredients do tend to end up next to the pan. However, with the Boomerang Wok this is a thing of the past! Thanks to the unique patented cupped edge of the Boomerang Wok, the ingredients can be turned with a simple movement of the spatula. The ingredients always end up back in the pan.

The Boomerang Wok not only makes stir-frying a bit easier, but larger pieces of food, such as a fillet of fish or meat can be turned in no time at all using the unique patented cupped edge.

The Boomerang Wok means it is no longer necessary to lift up the pan; the skills of a Chinese chef are incorporated in this pan.

Stir-frying has never been as much fun and as easy, and the cooker stays clean!

Completed in 2010, this pool house by Philipp Baumhauer actually makes me want to live in a pool house. Just set me up right next to the riding mower.

The 25-square-meter pool house is located in a private garden and contains the pool filter system, a bathroom with shower, storage, and changing room. There are movable curtains so you can adjust your level of privacy.

Photos by Julien Lanoo.

This Incase collection of Apple accessories was designed for the November 2009 opening of the Apple Store, Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris, France. It features a bold graphic pattern that is inspired by the Louvre Pyramid. It is available exclusively at the Apple Store, Carrousel du Louvre and includes a Messenger Bag, 13″ MacBook Pro Sleeve and iPhone 3GS Slider Case.

The Zuiderzee Stool by Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters is a design assigned by the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands. The stool is an element of the redesign of the information center of the museum.

When Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters began working on the stool project they spent some time visiting the depots of the museum. In one of the storage units they discovered a small yellow stool most likely used for milking cattle.

The portability and ease of a stool seemed the perfect seating choice for the information center, so the design duo modernized it and thus the Zuiderzee Stool was born.

It is made of solid ash and available in yellow, dark green and natural ash. The first numbered edition of 25 has been produced by the museum and are available in the shop of the Zuiderzeemuseum. The stool has also been admitted in the collection of the museum. The Zuiderzeemuseum and Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters are still looking for a partner in production.

At last! Retailers are upping their game. Some seem to no longer be just following outdoor designers. They are starting to lead and innovate. What this means is that truly innovative outdoor designs are about to be way more widespread and accessible.

I love this example of a full outdoor kitchen, classically a very high ticket item. Leroy Merlin, a French/European version of Walmart, are offering this modular outdoor kitchen, designed on a budget and with a very new gray cement loft look.

Made of lightweight concrete, the kitchen is made up of three modules: one for cooking, one for storing and the last for cleaning up. You can arrange them as you want to suit your outdoor space. Clever removable racks provide storage during the summer season. Each module can be fitted with a little curtain.

A rack on the side can be used either to hook your towels or as a trellis to grow a plant and give a garden look to the design. The three-unit piece comes in at just over $2500 (2000 euros).

This a design you can replicate quite easily too!

It’s back to school time — are you ready? Freshen up your desktop with a great new Designer Desktops wallpaper by talented artist and designer Brooke Francesi. This month’s inspirational quote is from famous surrealist Salvador Dali: “Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.” Amen to that.

Click on the size below to download:

1024×768

1280×1024

1680×1050

1900×1200

iPhone

If you are interested in being involved in our Designer Desktop project, please email us at info@design-milk.com with more info about your design/art skillz.