Minimalist wooden furniture uses curved shapes to add storage spaces

Furniture takes up space, there’s really no getting around that. Of course, you need that space to actually use the furniture, but the furniture themselves aren’t always in use. You might not sit on those chairs or couches all day, and tables might be empty at certain points in time. During those moments, they might just be wasting space, so it sometimes pays to have them perform some other purpose, even if it means just looking pretty. That’s not to say you have to stop at looks, especially if such aesthetic furniture can also function as storage spaces, like what this collection of design concepts tries to achieve using nothing but simple curved layers of plywood.

Designer: Julian Topor

Partly thanks to the popularity of flat-packed products from the likes of IKEA, minimalist wooden furniture has become a popular choice in households. Their simple designs save space not only in packaging but sometimes also on the floor. Furniture, however, can also become a space to place some of your things, from books to accessories to even shoes. The KURVE furniture collection accomplishes this without having to resort to complicated construction or mechanisms, using only curves that wrap around an empty space to create a hollow nook for your stuff.

The throne-like KURVE chair, for example, has no legs but instead has a curved backless box for its bottom half. What makes its design particularly interesting is that the seat, backrest, and arms are all made from the same single sheet of layered plywood, just bent on the back and sides to create those support structures.

The KURVE Couch stretches out this concept, quite literally, to provide sitting for two. A central console splits the couch in half and provides a small area to place cups and phones, as well as a compartment below for things like the TV remote. The bottom of the couch is an even wider space for more things, whether or not they have business being there.

The table is admittedly the simplest of them all, nothing more than a wooden trapezoid to hold things above and below it. Its lengthy shape makes it more suited to be placed against walls rather than being a center table, perhaps somewhere near the front door so your shoes and keys can easily find a home for easy access next time you step out.

Last but not least, the KURVE Night Stand is also a trapezoid, just taller and narrower. Like other nightstands, it has a drawer, but this compartment is oddly located a little below the top. This creates yet another space for your things, maybe for a phone that you don’t want to tempt you while you’re resting.

The post Minimalist wooden furniture uses curved shapes to add storage spaces first appeared on Yanko Design.

This memory safe lets you both display your digital photo reels and keep your physical memories safe!

 

Smartphones make it really easy to hold onto our memories. Built-in 4K video cameras, photo editing apps, and social media time-hop notifications all seem to work together to preserve our memories for us in designated digital spaces. Of course, keeping all of our memories and pictures in one digitized space comes with some risk. I need two hands to count the number of times I’ve lost my phone, along with more than 50,000 pictures, and backing up our devices is convenient until storage space dwindles and an upgrade must be made before backing up can resume. One’s, a safe for memories that also implements timekeeping visuals with a digital interface, was designed by Ji Ye Hong in order to merge our digital storage with our memory.

One’s, named in honor of someone’s memory, has a recognizable, circular shape reminiscent of a grandfather’s clock and swinging pendulum, further enhancing the design’s tribute to memory. By way of Bluetooth connectivity, the product’s 20-inch round display panel ticks through photographs according to your digital library’s memory of each given day, echoing the iPhone’s “On this day” feature found in your photo library. The slideshow essentially grabs photographs based on special days  – photos from a past birthday celebration will be displayed on future birthdays and as your memories are presented, the pendulum swings. Then, on the days your mom sticks around for lunch, you can filter out the memories from college for PG ones from childhood by selecting and curating photo albums from your smartphone to be displayed on One’s.

Largely in response to the memory reels that we digitize every day, the popularity in maintaining and seeking out our more physical memories like childhood photographs, iPod Nanos from 2005, or heirloom jewelry, has risen.
Near the power, brightness, and sleep-mode control panel, notches etched along One’s perimeter introduce the product’s safe function, which opens up by turning the display panel. Tucked behind the main display panel, you can find One’s physical-memory storage area. Similar to shelving units found in medicine cabinets, the inside of One’s features narrow shelves that can hold onto smaller items like stationery or textiles – whatever small memory might fit, One’s can carry.

Designer: Ji Ye Hong

Bookshelf designs as unique as you are: Part 2

I’m a bibliophile through and through! Give me a good book, and I could curl up reading it for hours on end. And with winter slowly creeping in, snuggling into bed with my favorite book and a cozy blanket has never seemed more tempting. My love for books means I own a lot of them, and any true bibliophile will agree that storing them can often be a major pain. Stuffing all your favorite novels into a single space without damaging any of them, and making sure the whole affair looks presentable as well? Now, that’s a tough task. So, we’ve rounded up some super cool, functional and not to mention aesthetically pleasing bookshelf designs for you to store your paperback companions in!

The Book Chair by Sou Fujimoto is in fact a bookshelf with a chair embedded in it! The chair can be slid in and out, due to a chair-shaped section in the bookshelf. When fitted into the shelf, the chair acts as a storage space itself. But when pulled out, you can hop onto it and read your favorite book in peace. This multifunctional piece of furniture is perfect for homes whose residents are major readers!

The LoculaMENTUM Bookshelf by Michael Schlütter is a traditional wooden bookcase with a modern ‘twist’! The twist allows you to store your favorite books, mementos, and other collectibles in an interesting and artful manner. The diagonal compartments running through the center of the bookshelf provide maximum storage space and also provide an intriguing modern element to an otherwise traditional bookshelf structure. I would deem this bookshelf simply yet saucy!

The CTline Bookshelf by Victor Vasilev consists of long shelving units placed alongside each other. However, they all have different heights and depths, creating an interesting contrasting effect, making them look a little 3D! The matte white bookshelf would look right at home in any modern and minimal living space. I wouldn’t mind this one for my bedroom!

The ABC Bookcase by REdesign is a bookcase you can actually read and write! The modular shelving units have been shaped like different alphabets, you can also rearrange the square modules to create whichever alphabet you like. The versatile piece of furniture could be an interesting addition to the room of young children, who are still learning to read and write! A bookshelf that stores books, and is also a book in itself? I would have loved this in my room as a kid!

The Pin Pres by OOO My Design is a customizable and modular shelving unit that’s perfect for storing your books! You can pull out a pin and form a shelf, or push in a pin and create space for storage. The Pin Pres is a fun and interactive bookshelf that makes storing and rearranging your books a playful experience.

The Rocking Chair Bookcase by Sofia Alexiou is one of my personal favorites! Shaped like a rocking chair, the upper half of the bookshelf is the perfect lounging spot for you to read your book in, whereas the bottom half functions as a storage space for your books. So pick your favorite book, grab a pillow, and get comfy on this Chair/Bookcase for a long reading session!

Libro by JO-A is a staircase that also doubles up as a bookshelf! The stairs also serve as a footstool or as a spot for you to sit and read your book in. The interior section of the stairs functions as a storage space wherein you can place your books, collectibles, artifacts and other miscellaneous items. Made from steel and bamboo, which create an interesting contrast, it could be a cool addition to your living space.

chuck_bookshelf_5

chuck_bookshelf_2

The Chuck, a Red Dot winning bookshelf, ticks all my boxes for innovation and design. It’s simple in its construction, easy to use, fun to interact with, can store books/media of different types and sizes, has the capacity to look strikingly different every time you make a change to it, and is very capable of being the most interesting piece of furniture in your room. With two metal members on either side holding together six strips of wooden veneer, the Chuck bends and flexes as you place books on/between the veneer sheets, creating undulating waves of wood that store your books, CDs, plaques, and objets d’art.

The Isola Bookcase by Massimo Castagna is a beautiful shelving unit built from satin silver-plated brass shelves. The brass shelves are held in place by tempered glass slabs, creating an elegant and modern piece of furniture that would look sensational in any home.

The Trap Bookcase by Kambiam is a modular storage unit that can be rearranged and customized according to your preference. You can rearrange the modules, creating various geometric shapes, that serve as intriguing bookshelves! Quirky and fun, this bookshelf can be modified into numerous sizes, depending on the number of books you have to store.

For more such interesting bookshelf designs, check out Part 1 of this post!

This Storage System Operates With Suction And Can Be Used On Any Surface!

It can be extremely difficult to optimize kitchen storage space. Whether you’re in an efficient studio’s kitchenette or a spacious, open-plan chef’s playground, sometimes the hardest thing about interior design is finding the perfectly sized cranny for a bag of coffee beans or the spice rack that overflows until organizing feels like a chore. Plus, when you live in a smaller apartment space, drilling holes into drywall for spice racks isn’t always an option. Created by Jorge Álvarez, with NOS Design, Wholeder’s storage system uses suction so that it can optimize storage space in every room. (Plus it has a pretty clever-sounding name too)

The suctioned lid allows for the easy application on any wall or flat surface, making it functional in not just the kitchen, but practically any room. Whatever might need to be stowed away for later use can be stored with Wholeder. These minuscule storage bins also work for traveling as they come in varying sizes in order to store the ideal amount of anything you like. Something to keep in mind about storage systems is that they still have to be maintained. Silverware trays easily fill up with food crumbs and mason jars should be sanitized when used to store hygienic products. Unfortunately, reaching the bottom of a mason jar is no easy feat when your knuckles can’t even cram through the jar’s tapered opening. This makes it helpful that Wholeder’s storage suction containers can be well-maintained thanks to the rounded, easy-to-reach base and uniform sizing. The suction tubs are also aesthetically pleasing with their warm, muted tertiary toned tops. I’d like to believe the sizing and color scheme is really meant to pay homage to Alvin and the Chipmunks. 

As long as we have things, we’ll need more things with which to store them, and with Wholeder’s suctioned approach to optimizing storage space, that clutter can be a thing of the past. Since each container can adhere to any horizontal or vertical, flat surface, Wholeder’s storage system can be used anywhere. I can spend days consolidating and mixing spices to make room for a new one or reorganizing and cramming my knuckles into mason jars – it’s a sigh of relief to read, that those days could be over.

Designers: Jorge Álvarez x NOS Design

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