Tag Archives: Living

Uniquely Shaped Concrete Dwellings Connected Via A Concrete Ring Showcase Community Living In South Korea

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Seoul-based studio AOA architects designed ‘Hoji Gangneung’ – a series of distinctive and unique-looking concrete dwellings that are connected via a raised and circular path. Nestled in the South Korean countryside, in Gangwon-do, the Hoji Gangneung is made up of a family house for the owner, as well as three guesthouses, and a communal building. The property highlights how innovatively community living can be elevated and planned.

Designer: AOA Architects

One of the four homes is called the Round House, and it has quite an interesting semi-circular end. Another one of the houses has an octagonal shape and a central courtyard. The other two homes and the communal building feature rectangular floor plans, and have different roof shapes. The communal building is equipped with a mono-pitch roof, and one of the rectangular houses has an adorable but ordinary gable roof. The last home on the site is called the Long House, and it features a gable roof with a raised central section and a lovely skylight, which forms an elongated light well. “Every building has its own shape, size, and character, allowing guests to enjoy each space distinctly through shadow play,” said AOA Architects principal Jaewon Suh.

While designing the various buildings, AOA Architects were inspired by countryside structures like warehouses and cabins. They wanted to create a space that is influenced by its surroundings, while also creating something new and innovative “The main concept and goal of the design is to build something familiar and also unfamiliar in a rural area,” said Suh. “For some, the Octagonal House looks like a nomadic tent and feels like an octagonal pavilion, the Long House looks like a milk carton or a grain warehouse, and the Round House looks like a slender piece of wood or a face with a hat, but these associations do not matter.”

All the buildings have been built from textured concrete, and are topped by corrugated metal roofs. The communal building has an exposed concrete structure, and massive glass doors that occupy one wall, which lead to the concrete walkway and offer expansive views of the various houses.

The post Uniquely Shaped Concrete Dwellings Connected Via A Concrete Ring Showcase Community Living In South Korea first appeared on Yanko Design.

Micro-Apartment In Bangkok Is Inspired By Japanese Inns And Embodies Japanese Minimalism + Zen

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Major cities are vortexes of commotion, hustle, and bustle, and the city of Bangkok in Thailand is no exception to this. Finding peace and tranquility in such cities can often be a pain and a complete rarity. However, there is supposed to be a 90 percent increase in population in cities of developing countries, which is definitely something to note, and policymakers and citizens will have to reimagine and revamp how to live comfortably in these modern cities. In Bangkok, Thailand, city officials are increasing the amount of green space per capita, while also lowering the city’s carbon emissions. And local designer Mae Prachasilcha of La Tarta Piccola has created a sustainable and small living space in such circumstances.

Designer: Mae Prachasilcha of La Tarta Piccola

The interior designer completely transformed a 355-square-foot condo, converting it into a zen-like and peaceful haven for her brother and sister-in-law. The home was originally quite boring and cramped but is now a multifunctional minimalist space. The designer took inspiration from traditional Japanese inns that are similar to bed and breakfasts and often include traditional architectural components such as shoji (paper screen doors), and modular tatami mats. Mae utilized these elements to maximize the small condo, and to create a living space that felt calm and spacious.

“The design idea was to optimize the use of limited space by overlapping functional spaces. The design was inspired by the calm and peaceful vibes of Japanese ryokans, or hot spring inns. We wanted to use Japanese shoji doors to give the space a softer look and to also allow for flexibility. In doing so, we were able to create two multifunctional areas that expand the living area from 7 to 17 square meters (75 to 183 square feet),” said the designer. As you enter the home, you are welcomed by a space with integrated storage, and built-in cabinets floating over the floor, creating a cozy nook for storing shoes. The kitchen can be found behind a sliding door and is quite functional with loads of storage space. The main living room is adorned with a couch and a custom-made media center.

The star and focal point of the home is a set of large sliding shoji doors, which open up to living and sleeping spaces, as well as the couple’s wardrobe. The sleeping area is inspired by tatami modules and is multifunctional. You can sit, work, read, or sip on some tea there. Below the tatami, there are integrated storage cubbies to store the low table or the futon.

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Top 10 furniture designs for your living room

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A beautiful piece of furniture can complete a room. It can be the final piece that makes a space come full circle, building a comfortable and cohesive haven, rather than a random area. Furniture pieces make or break a home, they add on to the essence or soul of a home, hence one needs to be extremely picky while choosing a furniture design. The design should be a reflection of you, and what you want your home to be. When you place a piece of furniture in a room, it should instantly integrate with the space, creating a wholesome and organic environment. We’ve curated a collection of furniture designs that we believe will do this! Each of these pieces is unique, well-crafted, and made with a whole lot of love, and the love really shines through in the fine detailing and workmanship. We hope you feel the love too!

1. The Drum Stool

Designed By Teixeira Design Studio, The Drum stool is a minimal, clean, and stackable stool design that is also super sustainable. Although it looks like an adorable little wine cork, you will realize it offers so much more, once you take a closer look.

Why is it noteworthy?

Materials such as cork and wood were selected by Teixeira to build the stool, instantly making it a sustainable design. Cork was utilized to build the seat, while wood was used to create the legs.

What we like

  • The cork seat is comfortable and inviting and provides a grip while handling, so the stool is quite easy to move around and place in different positions

What we dislike

  • The wave pattern of the trimmed cork seat seems uncomfortable to sit on for long durations

2. The Cheviot Side Table

Designed by Ylisse, the Cheviot side table is built from sturdy steel featuring a long-lasting, heat-cured powder-coating finish. The finish offers resistance to everyday wear and tear. The table can be procured in two combinations – elegant walnut to match the black base, or iconic cherry to complement the white base.

Why is it noteworthy?

The Cheviot side table is a sophisticated and comfortable piece of furniture, with a simple and contrasting shape that perfectly complements modern homes. It features a mix of textures and contrasts which provide depth to our contemporary living spaces and supports a streamlined aesthetic.

What we like

  • Compact + space-saving design
  • Minimal and clean aesthetics

What we dislike

  • Colors may change over time, providing the wood with a more amber color – which may not be preferred by some

3. The Flow Single Sofa

This minimal, elegant, and chic-looking armchair is called the Flow Single Sofa and is part of SUNRUI’s FLOW Collection. It literally looks like the Queen’s Chair if you look closely enough!

Why is it noteworthy?

The armchair has a bulky, space-consuming, and yet deeply elegant form that manages to represent, as well as downplay, the stoicness of the sofa. It has been equipped with spiral armrests that provide the sofa with a sophisticated and classy air.  The spiral armrests add an interesting and artistic element to the sofa and also quite amusingly resemble the Ionic Order. The Ionic Order is one of the orders of classic architecture and is defined by twin volutes or spiral scrolls.

What we like

  • Meets the needs of humans and pets alike
  • Creates a shared space where the owner and cat can spend some quality time together

What we dislike

  • If your pet pees or poops inside the armrests, it could be challenging to clean up

4. Sushant Vohra’s Stool

Designed by Sushant Vohra, this stool design is pretty cool! It has a compact, concise, and minimal form that makes it the perfect addition to any modern living room.

Why is it noteworthy?

It features a concise circular platform that serves as a seating section, with a concrete and clear coated sheet metal volume inserted into it, functioning as a support for the seating area. The result is a visually and geometrically interesting stool with a burst of orange that counteracts the otherwise minimal and simple appearance of the stool.

What we like

  • Interesting color contrast
  • Compact + space-saving form

What we dislike

  • The partition is not changeable or removable when the entire table top is needed

5. The Venus Folding Chair

Created between 30,000 and 25,000 BCE, the Venus of Willendorf is one of the oldest and most important works of art. The Venus Fold Chair draws inspiration from this piece of art, and it functions as a cozy and comfortable seating option that can be easily folded.

Why is it noteworthy?

The Venus Folding Chair was built with great care and precise attention to detail, creating a product that perfectly marries form with functionality, as well as a bit of artistic flair. It has a unique space-saving mechanism which makes it a notable and significant design.

What we like

  • It’s an excellent seating option for people who host events or gatherings
  • Ideal for tiny flats, outdoor events, or temporary seating arrangements due to its compact and folding design, which makes storage simple

What we dislike

  • It doesn’t seem like a great seating option for longer durations of time

6. The Pentagon Stool

The Pentagon Stool is a clean and minimal low stool that was created by Designerd ™ using five identical pieces of hardwood.

Why is it noteworthy?

The hardwood pieces function as the legs of the stool, giving it its name ‘Pentagon’. The legs are woven together and held together using a star plate. The designer states that the leg element of the stool can be swiftly and efficiently produced in a one-line production.

What we like

  • Comes in a flat-pack design
  • Can be assembled with ease

What we dislike

  • The seating area is limited and may not be comfortable for all body types

7. Brottö Chair

Swedish design brand Atolmar has designed an elegant directors-style chair built from teak, that can be used both indoors and outdoors. Featuring a hand-sanded teak frame, the minimal and clean chair can be utilized for both dinner and lounge settings.

Why is it noteworthy?

The back frame of the chair is slightly angled with an acrylic fabric back and seat to provide maximum comfort to the user. The chair can be compactly and efficiently folded into itself owing to the fabric seat and back. The seat and the backrest were created using a synthetic fabric which makes it water, stain, UV, and mold resistant, allowing it to withstand a variety of different outdoor weather conditions.

What we like

  • Available in a range of different colors including sand, nougat, and anthracite

What we dislike

  • The aesthetics are a bit simple and unassuming

8. Kabinett

Conceptualized by Stockholm-based designer Alexander Lervik and manufactured by Finnish furniture manufacturer Adea, the Kabinett is a minimal and sturdy cabinet designed for modern home offices…that also doubles up as a work desk!

Why is it noteworthy?

Kabinett is a part of Adea’s Smartwork range, and it aims to function as an ergonomic set-up for home offices. While functioning as an efficient work table, Kabinett also serves as a rather stylish and elegant dresser.

What we like

  • Multifunctional + ergonomic design
  • Its minimal aesthetics are a plus point since this allows the furniture to seamlessly merge with all kinds of home offices

What we dislike

  • Bulky + space-consuming design, not ideal for small homes

9. The Fortune Cookie

The Fortune Chair is designed by Hyeyoung Han and Hanyoung Lee, and it is an interesting mix between a chair, a pod, and a beanbag, and it also happens to look like a fortune cookie!

Why is it noteworthy?

The innovative chair includes a fortune cookie-inspired wooden outer wall, which functions as a covering frame that surrounds the user. This outer wall creates a cozy, comfortable, and private space for the user to sit in. It looks and functions much like a fortune cookie!

What we like

  • The Fortune Chair functions as a little oasis for you to work in peace, much like the office pods we find today in commercial offices

What we dislike

  • Given the inwards curving design, the chair may become uncomfortable as the user cannot change their position frequently

10. Wormhole Coffee Table

Wormholes can hypothetically connect two disparate points in spacetime via a tunnel. And they’re quite commonly found in science fiction! And this mind-blowing coffee table by Olivier Gomis attempts to convert the hypothetical wormhole into a physical manifestation.

Why is it noteworthy?

The shape of a table is already quite eye-catching on its own. It’s almost like a wooden plank that has been bent so that the two ends are on top of each other and then joined together by a double cone. These are then glued together with sheets of maple veneer in between, which give the appearance of those faint light lines that form the grid.

What we like

  • A lamp was installed in the center of the hole, giving the table an eerie appearance in the dark

What we dislike

  • The inward curving section provides a risk for products that could roll inside and get stuck like a marble or a coin

The post Top 10 furniture designs for your living room first appeared on Yanko Design.

This disused grain silo that was converted into a micro-home is destined for the pages of Dr. Seuss

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Student designer Stella van Beers converted a disused grain silo into a two-story micro-home, fit for the pages of a Dr. Seuss adventure.

There are tiny homes, and then there are really tiny homes. We’re talking like Horton Hears a Who! type-tiny. Whimsical by their very nature, designing tiny homes can bring architects to the far reaches of their imaginations. In pursuit of her bachelor’s degree at Design Academy Eindhoven, student designer Stella van Beers looked to grain silos to find her whimsy.

Designer: Stella van Beers

Plotted all over the Netherlands’ countryside, grain silos are largely going out of use due to a country-wide reduction of livestock, leading to lower demand for grain. Converting the disused silos into a functional and quirky place of respite, Stella van Beers renovated the cylindrical unit into a micro home.

Using a university assignment as a jumping-off point, van Beers explains the project’s conception, “I thought, if I want to do something with a silo then I have to just buy one and see what’s possible.” With her eyes set on a seven-meter tall grain silo, which she found for sale online, the seller ended up giving van Beers the silo for free.

Considering their unique, tubular shape, turning one into a micro-home was a challenge, but a long-overdue dream of van Beers. “You always see them in rural areas,” van Beers explains, “I always really wanted to go inside one, so thought it could be a nice place for a temporary stay.”

Starting from the container’s exterior, van Beers constructed a set of double doors to create an entrance into her micro-home, which connects with a semi-wraparound deck and spiral staircase. Moving inside, van Beers lengthened the interior volume by installing two floors joined together by a short staircase and ladder.

A set of two convex windows peek into the silo’s first floor, where a dual living and workspace can be found. Ascending to the mezzanine, van Beers covered the top floor with a mattress to provide short-term sleeping accommodations. To top it all off, van Beers converted the spring-loaded top lid into a skylight.

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Top 10 furniture trends of 2022

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What truly makes or breaks a home at the end of the day is the furniture that’s placed in it. The right kind of furniture design can create the essence and soul of a home. And I do feel it’s essential that the soul of our home is a reflection of our own soul. Hence picking furniture pieces that bring out the best in our homes, while authentically representing our personality is a must. There are certain types of furniture that have gained enough popularity to be deemed as trends! These furniture trends are fun, sophisticated, and functional. They add an extra spark to your home, without compromising on utility in the least. From furniture designs that transform and save space to sustainable furniture created from cardboard – these intriguing furniture trends are definitely here to stay.

1. Transforming Furniture

Finding a spacious apartment in our urban cities is a rarity! And if you’ve managed to scrounge one up, then you’re an exception and a very lucky one that is! Because let’s be honest, our modern apartments can be pretty cramped. Space constraint is a major issue, and we often find ourselves squeezing through our own belongings. It’s the ultimate test of our maneuvering skills. However, transforming furniture designs are an ingenious solution to this issue of space restraints.

Sustainable furniture design studio Ori adds a WFH apparatus called the Cloud Bed to the mix, merging an office and desk setup with a cantilevered lofted bed that descends to the floor to really hone in the mutability of working from home. In its initial form, the Cloud Bed features a working desk and table beneath a lofted bed. Built for hospitality interiors and personal spaces, this space-saving work from home solution was designed to cover a small footprint inside the home. UL certified to ensure the bed remains lofted and close to the ceiling during working hours, the desk area folds into itself, merging with the floor as the bed descends from its raised position. While it might be tempting to hop up to the top of the bunk bed and sleep from such a high height, the Cloud Bed, Table Edition comes equipped with an internal mechanism that lowers the bed to the floor once the workday is done. With the push of a button, the mattress and wooden bed frame lower down from its elevated post in time with the desk folding inwards toward the floor.

2. Multifunctional Furniture

There’s just something about a multifunctional piece of furniture that ticks all the checkboxes for me! Imagine a product that’s been designed to work as a clothing rack and a treadmill?! Or a side table that transforms into a chair! Space-saving goals much? That’s the magic of a multifunctional furniture design. It looks like a single product, but functions as more than one! They’re a smart option for our modern urban homes, which tend to be pretty cramped, hence adding multiple bulky and cumbersome furniture designs to them isn’t really an option. But multifunctional pieces that serve a variety of purposes, and solve a bunch of unique problems can be a lifesaver in such situations.

Inspired by the blurring of work and play in WFH spaces, Juwon Kim, Jiwon Song, and Eunsang Lee framed Layout with a translucent, corrugated exterior finish that immediately catches the eye. Wrapped in sea green, the Layout desk is modular by design to incorporate a plethora of different work and entertainment features. The Layout desk is topped off with an upper cover that’s designed to conceal the workspace after the workday’s done.

3. Sustainable Furniture

In 2022, we cannot ignore the needs of our planet anymore, we need to take the environment into consideration, and what better way to start doing that than from our own homes? Sustainable furniture is taking the design industry by storm, they’re a step towards making our homes and our daily lives more eco-friendly and sustainable. They’re an attempt to cast aside toxic materials, and instead, add furniture designs to our home that won’t rot away on Earth for years once we’re done with them.

Rattan is an eco-friendly natural material that is usually used in the creation of baskets or furniture, especially chairs. It is sustainable and resilient which makes it an exceptional wood that renews in just 5-7 years. Designers love rattan for creating furniture because the manufacturing is low-tech and the production process usually involves crafting by hand or using facilities that do not negatively impact the environment. Rattan is also an easy material to mold physically and creatively to fit your idea, it accepts paints and it can be worked into many styles. Moreover, the inner core can be separated and worked into wicker – talk about reducing waste! This stool explores the malleability of rattan as a material in furniture design.

4. Smart Furniture

As pleasing as aesthetic and visually intriguing furniture designs can be, people are now shifting towards furniture designs that are more focused on function and utility (that simply put make our lives a whole lot easier) and one such interesting genre is Smart Furniture! Tech-enhanced furniture is a whole new ballgame, catering to our multiple needs, and making our daily lives more comfortable.

The Hariana Tech Smart Ultimate Bed is one such example. It was designed to have everything you will need to relax within your bed frame. It has an integrated reclining massage chair with a remote, a built-in Bluetooth speaker, a bookshelf, a reading lamp, an air cleaning system, an area to plug in and charges your devices, a foot-stool that opens up for extra storage, and a pop-up desk for the ultimate WFH setup, Netflix marathon or cozy reading hours. The sound system also features an SD card slot, an auxiliary port, and a USB port.

5. Pet-friendly Furniture

Ensuring your pet feels safe, secure, and comfortable at home is every pet owner’s priority. We want to make sure they always feel loved and truly at home! It’s important to create an environment where they feel completely safe to let their guard down, while also managing to stay active and playful. And, pet-friendly furniture designs are one way to help your pet feel completely at home! It allows them to truly integrate and feel at one with your living space.

The Playground is a doghouse that also alternates as a modular sofa! The various modules of the sofa can be arranged creating not only different sofa designs but also fun spaces wherein your doggo can hop, bounce, and play about! The wooden doghouse on one side of the furniture piece seems super comfy and adorable! A little hole on its roof, allows your dog to pop his head out of the doghouse, and connect/interact with you while you lounge about on the sofa. It’s the perfect way to spend quality time! Xiao designed Playground, especially for millennial pet owners. The designer kept in mind that the homes of millennials often have space constraints, and nor do they have much free time on their hand. Hence, Playground is extremely easy to put together, and will not occupy much space in our modern-day cramped apartments. Since Playground was created for young target customers, Xiao tried to give it a trendy and cool appearance! Bright colors, minimal woodwork, and a little plant give the furniture design a modern appeal.

6. Floating Beds

The most important and sacred space in our home is our bedroom! It’s our happy place, a space where we can simply sprawl on our bed and de-stress after a long day of adulting. I believe doing up your bedroom in the right manner is extremely essential to a peaceful mindset, and of course, the core focus on any bedroom is its bed. Floating beds have somehow crept into a lot of bedrooms these days. These beds quite literally float above the floor of the room, creating an open and airy effect, and making the bedroom seem much more spacious than it actually is.

Designed by Anna Kireeva, this bedroom in a house called ‘In The Woods’, is truly placed right in the middle of a forest! A floating bed is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, that provide access to the woods around it, creating a space that feels large and open.

7. Flat-packed Furniture

Flat-packed designs are really quite intriguing! They’re portable, easy to put together and occupy minimum space. And, this innovative technology is now being introduced to almost all kinds of product designs…including furniture! From foldable chairs to pet houses, there’s nothing that cannot be flat-packed. These designs, not only rate high on space efficiency, but also eliminate the usage of heavier space-consuming designs. They are definitely functionally and ergonomically beneficial, but they also possess minimal and clean aesthetics, that allow them to harmoniously blend with any living space. Flat-packed furniture is also a major boon when you’re moving houses. You can easily ship all your furniture from one home to another, without having to do any heavy lifting and carrying. Flat-packed furniture designs are truly the future!

In the unfolded position, FLUP works like a conventional mat or rug on which we can sit or step without interrupting the movement of people through the space. It transforms from plane to volume, from floor to space while changing the function with its shape. In the folded position, it works as a piece of minimal furniture – it can be used as a pouf, an auxiliary seat, a footrest, a nightstand, etc. It is a perfect example of space-saving furniture. What makes it better is that there is no assembly required, it is a singular element that transforms with folds into another object like origami.

8. Minimal Furniture

I absolutely love minimal furniture designs! A subtle and simple piece of furniture can truly complete a room. It can be the final piece that makes a space come full circle, building a comfortable and cohesive haven, rather than a random area. Furniture pieces make or break a home, they add to the essence or soul of a home, hence one needs to be extremely picky while choosing a furniture design. The design should be a reflection of you, and what you want your home to be. When you place a piece of furniture in a room, it should instantly integrate with the space, creating a wholesome and organic environment. And I believe minimal furniture designs do exactly that!

The Piano desk gives that traditional piano design a nod by incorporating it into your familiar wooden desk with some additional inspiration from the Standard chair by Jean Prouvé that elevates the minimal piece. The Piano desk created so the designer could experiment with a hybrid material selection and play with interesting visual contrasts. On the one hand, we have metal which is a cold material that is beautifully balanced by the warmer wood. On the other hand, the same metal which allows for a slimmer silhouette is given the sturdiness with the addition of wood. The key factor in the briefing was to design a product with a democratic approach. That is how the minimal desk without any complex production processes was born while still featuring a small design element that other minimal desks didn’t have – the dipped shelf!

9. Furniture with Hidden Details

Designed with extreme attention to detail, overflowing with love and care, and not only aesthetically but functionally pleasing, furniture designs with hidden details are an invaluable addition to your living space, making you feel truly at home. These furniture designs not only feel like pieces of art but also touch your heart. Once you settle on to them, or place your favorite book upon them, or simply brush past them, you instantly feel “Ah, I’m home!”

Designed by Casey Johnson Studio, the Billow Desk is a majestic wooden desk. Its most intriguing detail would be the shelving space, below the tabletop, which is billowed out from the front. It’s a storage unit that instantly calls for attention, and is at a distinction from the usual storage designs.

10. Cardboard Furniture

We always associate furniture with being built from traditional materials such as metal, wood, or plastic. And, although these materials create fantastic products, I do wonder if they are the most sustainable and efficient option out there. A material that furniture designers have been recently venturing into is…cardboard. Cardboard is great for building sustainable furniture, as these designs tend to leave a minimal carbon footprint, and are recyclable and biodegradable as well! Not to mention product designs crafted from cardboard tend to be light, portable, and also easy to assemble.

Every piece of furniture that Kibardin makes is one of a kind, there is no mold and he shapes them all himself. We are now moving towards a sustainable lifestyle but Kibardin has been doing this for over 25 years – he has successfully recycled 2000 pounds of cardboard which is equivalent to saving 17 trees into sustainable furniture. To put it into perspective, 17 trees absorb 250 pounds of carbon dioxide each year and we need to ramp up the materials we use in design so that they serve a functional purpose while also contributing to slowing down the climate crisis. Using sustainable construction materials like paper and turning it into furniture that is stylish, modern, and eco-conscious is the future of long-lasting interior design.

The post Top 10 furniture trends of 2022 first appeared on Yanko Design.

This minimalist furniture set can keep your stuff germ-free and charge your phones, too

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Minimalist-looking furniture doesn’t always mean they serve a single purpose only, especially if they can hide their other functions in plain sight.

There are quite a few trends in the past few years that have sent ripples through different industries, changing the ways things are traditionally made or how things usually function. For example, there has been an increase in devices that claim to sanitize your belongings at home with UVC light. The ubiquity of smartphones inside the house has also pushed even the likes of IKEA to adopt new features to accommodate these electronic devices. Another example is this furniture set that, at first glance, is both minimalist and minimal, but actually hide their smart features in an ingenious way.

Designers: Martin Poon and One Object Design Studio

We have gotten used to seeing a lot of minimalist products, especially as furniture or even appliances for the home. There is an undeniable appeal in the cleanliness and purity of these objects, and their simple or singular use also almost has this liberating feeling that frees the mind from having to think twice about what something does. That said, there’s always the possibility of incorporating more features in what looks like a simple design, like what this WITS collection on home furniture demonstrates.

ROLL, for example, looks like a simple fabric-covered stool, though the seam at the top clearly indicates that it can be opened. Rather than being a hidden container, however, it can accommodate a detachable UV light module that can clean larger objects like toys, books, or even bags. It’s something handy to have around the house, especially during these days when people tend to worry alot about indoor sanitation.

FLOAT definitely has a simple cabinet feel to it, one that’s designed to stand by your bed for easy access to your things. However, a portion of its top surface actually acts as a wireless charging area for your phone so you won’t have to worry about forgetting to plug your phone in every night. Pull the top drawer, however, and you’ll be greeted by a soft LED light that could save you a lot of pain at night.

BOX is like a smaller version of ROLL, though clearly not to be sat on. Its body is wrapped in the same soft fabric as the stool, conveying feelings of comfort and warmth for the home. The wooden cover, however, comes off to reveal plenty of room inside for keys, wallets, and even your phone. It is also compatible with the same UV light module to disinfect your things while they lie in wait for their next use.

Last but not least is the LAYER sofa table, admittedly the most complex among these minimalist pieces of furniture. Its wooden top can swivel to any position to maximize or minimize the area the side table occupies, while its foot can stand inside a basket that serves as additional storage. And like its wooden sibling, the FLOAT, the LAYER also has a wireless charging area for your phone while you take your dinner and binge on your favorite show.

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Green offices need this 360-degree rotating ergonomic stool that is recyclable by design

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In the past couple of years, the definition of the office environment has drastically changed. We are more rooted to our seats than ever before as the digital work age transports us into a new era. A good, comfortable office chair can instantly increase productivity, thanks to the comfort it guarantees. But to fill the void for a comfortable seat with a more adaptive and less space occupying option, a designer has envisioned an ergonomic stool that will adapt to the user’s body movement during long periods of sitting.

Designed to guarantee comfort and instantly increase concentration and physical fatigue, the Axis stool is, according to the designer, the first ergonomic stool created from sustainable materials. The stool is intended primarily for the demanding needs of a flexible office environment, for which, it is made lightweight and stackable – two essentials of a modern office where space comes for a premium.

Designer: Florian Blamberger and Alexander Knorr

In addition to its ergonomic design, sustainability is at the Axis’s core. The seat is made from injection molding bio thermo-polymer, which makes it a biodegradable and recyclable seating unit for the greener offices of the future. To create more impact with little mechanical intervention, the entire stool – the base and the seat – are held together using a single screw. The convenient manufacturing makes it possible that the specially engineered seat on the top can tilt in any direction so the users don’t feel the pressure while leaning from one desk to another. The base and the seat are placed inches apart from each other to allow 360-degree tilting without friction between the two components.

Axis is by virtue then, comfortable enough to let you work efficiently for long hours, albeit a backrest. The firm base of the stool keeps it sturdy on the ground, its lightweight structure permits it to be stacked up after use, while the eco-friendly construction ensures the stool can be completely recycled at the end of its life cycle.

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Sustainable, beautiful and comfy chairs that are made from stacks of factory offcut felt

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Surplus materials and offcuts are often reused to create art pieces that try to send a message. A new system, however, tries to turn what is considered waste into sustainable furniture for the living room that you can actually use and sit on.

The demand for clothing and furniture upholstery has probably gone up in the past few years, as more people become more attuned to well-designed products. That means more materials are used for production, which unfortunately also means more scraps are left on the cutting room floor, quite literally. While some of these materials are biodegradable or at least recyclable, one design firm is putting them to good use to create furniture that not only looks comfortable but artistically striking as well.

Designer: Stacklab

How many ways can you cut felt to turn it into something usable? Apparently, there are a lot of ways, especially if you let a machine decide. More than just a collection of designer furniture in the form of chairs, lounges, and benches, Stackabl is actually a new system that mixes machine precision with human creativity. In a nutshell, a specialized configurator software analyzes choices made by a user or a designer, like colors or dimensions, and selects high-quality felt offcuts that are then cut by robots for use in making furniture.

With limitations set by this configurator, six designers from Maison Gerard set out to create memorable designer furniture that looks almost wasteful if you didn’t know they were made from factory surplus and offcuts. Each designer expressed different ideas and influences, resulting in wildly different designs.

The Raki corner chair, for example, exudes a spirit of play and frivolity with its uneven form and non-uniform legs, while Dulces dining chair might remind you of the cake it’s named after, especially one with a sweet pink filling in the middle. The Madame chaise lounge’s predominantly red hue and sloping “shoulders” make it look exotic, while the Maxine bench’s mix of design influences is just as varied as its colors.

In addition to reusing materials that would normally be thrown away, Stackabl also puts the power and choice into the hands of regional manufacturers and designers. By keeping in touch with regional sources for these materials and allowing designers from that region to exercise their creativity, Stackabl tries to hit two birds with one stone in reducing carbon footprint while also enriching and empowering local economies.

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This modular wall storage concept is perfect for tiny homes

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Thanks to the power of magnets, a blank wall can become a safe haven for all your things if you’ve already run out of places to store them.

The price of housing and living spaces has gone up considerably in the past decades, resulting in people trying to make do with more cramped accommodations. Conversely, the surge of interest in tiny homes has also spurred some creative thinking in new storage solutions with minimal footprints. In both these cases, traditional products like containers and cabinets just don’t cut it. Fortunately, a few new designs have started appearing lately, including one that lets you use the wall for something more functional and less decorative but still aesthetic.

Designer: Francesco Brunetti

Typical containers store items in a messy way that potentially damages these objects, while cabinets don’t provide quick access or visibility to the things they hide inside. More importantly, these solutions often take up floor space which is already in short supply in small living quarters, even one to two-room apartments. That’s why some have considered unconventional spaces like stairs and walls as the next frontier in storage solutions, but few offer the same flexibility as shelves and drawers.

That’s where Brunetti’s Wall-it concept comes in, a storage solution that is can also be a decorative wall piece. Rather than limiting what you can hang on your wall to the manufacturer’s specifications, Wall-it lets owners decide where and how to hold different kinds of objects. This modular capability is thanks to the power of strong magnets that not only let you decide which containers to attach but also which boards to use.

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This is also where the aesthetic and decorative aspect of Wall-it comes in. The concept has room for over a dozen different accessories that can be used for different kinds of objects, like a hook for headphones and a box for smartphones. Users can mix and match not only the types of containers themselves but also the colors of the board and the accessories. You can choose to match their colors with the rest of the room or make them stand out visually with different hues.

There’s also a sustainable element to Wall-it, thanks to the materials that have been chosen for this concept. Bio-based PLA thermoplastic is significantly more recyclable than regular plastic, and the epoxy used to join the magnets with PLA can be dissolved by acidic solutions. Wall-it, therefore, presents a family of storage solutions that not only saves space but also saves the environment in the long run.

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This WFH desk concept bucks the trend to offer some peace of mind

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Sometimes, the traditional and the familiar can offer a calming refuge against a stressful storm of changes.

The past two years have forced many changes in the world, not all of them warmly welcomed. Work, in particular, has taken on a new form, one that finally proved that some work could actually be done at home. But as the world changed rapidly, so did the need for resources and tools that adapted to that new world order. This sea of changes gave way to a flood of new products in dizzying variety and numbers. One idea, however, tries to swim against the current to offer something with a familiar face that inspires confidence and offers a bit of tranquility.

Designer: Can Türker

As more and more people worked and studied at home, the venerable home desk was no longer enough to support the added demands. This gave birth to a new breed of desks and office equipment that boasted creative ways to improve productivity or maximize space, some of them bordering on the gimmicky. While a lot did lean more towards minimalist aesthetics, more offer advanced features that ironically complicated life and added to the mental burden of already stressed-out people.

The Bold Desk concept is bold in two ways. The designer’s expressed intent is to make the desk inspire boldness in facing the unknown of new work from home arrangements. Intentionally or not, the desk is also bold for eschewing complex features and gimmicks to present something immediately familiar and comfortable.

Nothing says familiar better than a wooden desk, and the Bold Desk’s choice of material scores points for both sustainability and design. It offers an immediate connection between the desk and the user, and its organic origin evokes feelings of warmth and life compared even to wood that’s been painted over with unnatural hues. The drawer and the bottom side also have a soothing effect, thanks to their curved edges. Rather than cram everything into a space-efficient area, the wide surface of the desk also gives some space to breathe.

That’s not to say that the Bold Desk is plain and unremarkable. It puts an emphasis on storage space to help hide away the clutter, even if temporarily. The inconspicuous gap on its back also offers a way for cables and power cords to snake out of sight and out of mind. The Bold Desk, despite its name, focuses on being subtle and unobtrusive, putting an equal value on people’s mental health as much as their productivity.

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