IKEA and Xbox’s YXSTABY furniture collection makes gaming feel more at home

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Gaming furniture often announces its purpose a little too loudly with oversized chairs and brightly colored accents. This can make a living room feel more like a dedicated gaming den if you are not someone who wants one. IKEA and Xbox take a different approach with YXSTABY, a nine-piece collection designed to make gaming fit more naturally into everyday spaces.

Unveiled at Gamescom in Cologne on August 26, the collection resonates with how practical gaming actually happens at home. It can span across living rooms, bedrooms, dining tables, and shared spaces rather than in a dedicated room. IKEA and Xbox developed every piece together, pairing IKEA’s experience in home furnishings with Xbox’s understanding of how people actually play. The teams also visited homes to understand the practical challenges of fitting gaming into everyday routines.

Designer: IKEA and Xbox

The result is furniture that addresses the less glamorous parts of gaming, particularly where to put controllers, cables, screens, and other hardware when they are not being used. The mobile TV stand, for example, can be rolled to wherever gaming is happening and includes storage at the back. Once the session is over, it can simply be moved aside. A toolbox provides another compact solution for homes without a permanent gaming setup. It keeps controllers, cables, and hardware together, while its lid doubles as a laptop stand. That means a dining table can transition from a gaming surface back into an everyday workspace without leaving equipment scattered across it.

The rolling side table similarly provides a dedicated place for controllers, with charging space hidden behind sliding doors. Some of YXSTABY’s most interesting ideas come directly from the Xbox controller. The collection includes a D-pad-inspired cushion and a stainless-steel platter, while a mirrored display box turns controllers, figurines, and other collectibles into objects worth displaying.

The most playful interpretation is the thumbstick stool. Developed using the original 3D design files from Xbox’s device designers, the stool translates the familiar controller thumbstick into a piece of furniture. Its rounded base allows it to tilt and move with the user, while its textured surface echoes the grip pattern of the original controller. Despite these references, YXSTABY avoids looking like conventional gaming merchandise. Muted white, black, and beige tones give the collection a Scandinavian character, while green is used selectively around storage pockets, compartments, and other functional details. The intention is for the furniture to sit comfortably alongside existing interiors rather than dominate them.

There are also subtler details for Xbox fans to discover. The name YXSTABY itself references the controller’s X, Y, A, and B buttons, while symbols, puzzles, and game-related elements are incorporated into various pieces. YXSTABY will be available through IKEA stores and online from October 1, although availability may vary by market.

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Your Child’s First Lambo Could Be This $3,995 Yellow Stroller – And It’s Rarer Than Most Supercars

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Your kid will own a Lamborghini roughly forty years before you do, and it will cost you $3,995 to make that happen. Silver Cross and Automobili Lamborghini just launched the Reef AL Giallo, a limited-run stroller finished in the yellow that made the Miura famous. Only 500 exist worldwide. Each one carries a numbered plaque in the footplate, the way limited-run supercars carry chassis numbers. It launched today, August 27, and it closes out a partnership that started with an orange version back in 2025.

Silver Cross has been building prams in Yorkshire since 1877, which makes it eleven years older than the internal combustion car business it just partnered with. The company was known for decades as the Rolls-Royce of prams, supplying George VI and the Queen Mother. Lamborghini was founded in 1963 by a tractor manufacturer with a grudge. Putting those two lineages on the same chassis should feel absurd. The odd thing is how carefully it has been done, right down to a debossed Y-pattern lifted from Lamborghini’s actual car interiors.

Designers: Silver Cross, Automobili Lamborghini

The carrycot is a high-gloss polycarbonate shell with integrated airflow, angled to echo the folded bonnet line of a supercar, and lined inside with automotive-grade suede. The pushchair seat pairs that suede with bamboo fibre and a multi-peak faceted hood. A genuine leather bumper bar wraps the front with embossed Lamborghini badging. The handlebar casting is finished by hand, and the brake pedal uses a step-on, step-off action designed not to scuff your shoes, which is the single most useful idea in the whole package. Even the storage basket gets origami-style folding so it holds its shape against the frame’s angles.

The hexagon and the Y have been Lamborghini’s structural grammar since Marcello Gandini started folding cars into wedges in the late sixties, and both show up in carbon weave, air intakes and seat stitching across the modern range. Silver Cross debossed the pattern rather than printing it. The colour strategy is similarly disciplined. Giallo (Italian for ‘yellow’) appears as piping, stitching, a harness liner and a wheel hub, while the body stays almost entirely black.

Now the maths. The Reef AL Giallo is built on the Reef 2, a Silver Cross stroller that normally sells between $999.99 and $1,299.99, so the $2,700 price bump accounts for the leather and suede, and that licensed logo. It also weighs 13.6kg, or about 30 lbs, which is double what a lot of parents lift into a car boot. A brand built on the pursuit of lightness has produced its heaviest possible interpretation of a pram. Folded, it measures L71 x W61 x H30.5cm, so boot space matters. Set against the Bentley Trike or Lamborghini’s licensed e-scooters, though, this is a far more serious object.

Silver Cross has announced this as the final edition, which is a scarcity mechanic as much as an editorial decision, and the resale market will treat it accordingly. Pair it with the orange Arancio we covered last year, and you have a matched set that some collector will absolutely chase. What sticks with me is the suspension. William Wilson’s 1877 breakthrough was spring suspension on a pram, and here those springs sit exposed on the chassis, sold as performance engineering. A 149-year-old British invention, wearing an Italian costume, and still doing its original job.

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Someone Built a Compostable 8GB Hard Drive From Mushrooms and Hemp And 5 More Ways Hemp Is Redesigning Your Home

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The year 2026 marks a turning point toward carbon-positive luxury in the built environment. Industrial hemp emerges as a material of substance, redefining authenticity and permanence. Architecture evolves beyond efficiency, allowing buildings to participate in carbon sequestration and environmental restoration.

Applied across multiple layers of the home, hemp delivers value through longevity and resilience. The result is the biophilic cocoon, an architecture that feels inseparable from the landscape, shaped by a philosophy of quiet endurance and responsibility.

1. Hempcrete Homes

The residential envelope is evolving through hempcrete’s exceptional thermal efficiency. This monolithic bio-composite creates a breathable skin that naturally regulates humidity and temperature, reducing reliance on energy-intensive mechanical systems. The material is rooted in honesty, which is non-toxic, fire-resistant, and designed to age with quiet grace rather than decay.

The true return on investment lies in hempcrete’s ability to sequester carbon, locking CO₂ into the walls for generations. It forms a biophilic cocoon that supports physical comfort and mental well-being. In doing so, the built form engages seamlessly with the landscape, creating homes that endure as sustainable legacies instead of disposable structures.

Hemp is taking centre stage in a new generation of low-carbon housing through a collaboration between Irish social enterprise Common Knowledge and Tigín Tiny Homes. Designed as compact yet liveable micro homes, these dwellings demonstrate how hemp-based construction can offer a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials. The twenty-square-foot homes feature façades made from corrugated hemp panels, paired with cork insulation and natural rubber flooring. Lightweight yet robust, the hemp panels help reduce structural load and significantly lower the homes’ overall carbon footprint.

Inside, the homes are arranged across two levels to maximise space efficiency. The lower floor includes a multifunctional window seat that doubles as a bed, alongside a kitchenette, bathroom, and flexible storage or work area, while a mezzanine level above adds visual openness. Structurally, the hemp panels are produced using plant-waste-derived sugar resin combined with UK-grown hemp fibres, which function as a scalable material for environmentally responsible housing.

2. Bio-Resin Lightscapes

In 2026, hemp-based bio-resins are reshaping the phenomenology of lighting design. These translucent materials enable you to create sculptural fixtures that hold light gently, capturing its ephemeral glow while softening the hard lines of contemporary interiors. The result is a sanctuary of diffused illumination, where light feels organic, and the fixture reads as a living, luminous artifact woven into the spatial narrative.

Among leading designers, these “smart” resins are valued for their elevated aesthetic presence over conventional plastics. One experiences a warmer haptic quality and visual depth. By choosing biodegradable membranes, lighting supports a healthier indoor ecosystem while sustaining a refined, high-performance environment rooted in nature.

Norwegian studio Snøhetta and Swedish lighting brand Ateljé Lyktan have designed a contemporary office lamp that redefines low-impact lighting. Rooted in collaborative thinking, the project reflects a shared commitment to regenerative design, combining architectural insight with lighting expertise to address today’s environmental challenges through thoughtful material choices and efficient production methods.

The Superdupertube reimagines Ateljé Lyktan’s 1970s Supertube using a composite of hemp fibres and sugarcane-derived PLA bioplastic. Hemp was selected for its strength, renewability, and ability to cut CO₂ emissions by over 50 percent compared to aluminium. Extruded into the lamp’s main body and paired with energy-efficient LEDs, the design is lightweight, durable, and fully recyclable or compostable. Each lamp features natural tonal variations, subtle texture, and modular construction, ensuring reduced waste, easy maintenance, and long-term sustainability.

3. Hemp Furniture Design

Furniture design is entering an era of tectonic precision through high-pressure hemp fiber composites. These advanced bio-polymers enable radical, skeletal forms—delivering steel-like strength at a fraction of the weight. Each piece becomes a journey through built form, with curves calibrated for ergonomic comfort while expressing structural confidence and restraint.

The return on investment lies in durability, longevity, and timeless presence. Hemp furniture does not off-gas, preserving the purity of the biophilic interior. By leaving the fiber structure visible, material truth is honoured, allowing the raw beauty of the plant to create a layered, textural dialogue within refined, contemporary interiors.

The hemp chair from Normann Copenhagen’s Mat collection is a clear example of how bio-based materials can be applied to modern furniture design without compromising performance or aesthetics. The shell of the chair is made primarily from hemp fibres, replacing traditional injection-moulded plastic with a plant-based alternative. Using hemp stems rather than leaves, the material offers strength, texture, and structural stability while maintaining a clean, contemporary finish. The shell is paired with powder-coated steel legs, ensuring durability and suitability for everyday residential and commercial use.

Technically, the hemp fibres are milled and formed into sheet material using a specially developed compression process. A recyclable bico binder holds the fibres together, allowing the chair to remain fully recyclable at the end of its life cycle. The result is a lightweight yet robust seating solution that demonstrates hemp’s potential as a sustainable, high-performance furniture material.

4. Hemp Spatial Dividers

Spatial sequencing is choreographed through room dividers made from hemp-based textiles and woven fibers. These semi-permeable membranes define zones while preserving the flow of diffused light, allowing space to breathe. Each divider becomes a living partition, guiding movement through the home as the biophilic cocoon expands or contracts in response to daily rituals.

Hemp fibers introduce acoustic warmth, enriching the interior’s phenomenological experience. Acting as a soft tectonic element, these dividers bridge architecture and furniture with quiet precision. By prioritizing biodegradable solutions, the approach delivers flexibility and high aesthetic value, balancing privacy with open, fluid spatial volumes.

The Breeze Divider stands out primarily for its thoughtful use of hemp, a material that instantly sets it apart in the world of contemporary interiors. Made from natural hat-making hemp fabric, the divider embraces a translucent, tactile quality that feels both grounded and refined. Light filters gently through the layered, fan-shaped panels, creating shifting shadows and visual depth that change throughout the day. Rather than acting as a solid barrier, the hemp fabric softens boundaries, allowing spaces to feel connected yet clearly defined, while its organic texture adds warmth and character.

Beyond aesthetics, hemp gives the divider practical and environmental credibility. The material is durable, renewable, and lightweight, making the entire structure easy to dismantle, reconfigure, and transport. This flexibility reduces waste and extends the divider’s lifespan, while its breathable quality keeps interiors open and airy. It’s a modern reinterpretation of an age-old material, used with intelligence and purpose.

5. Carbon-Neutral Bio-Hardware

The era of bio-electronics has arrived, where even digital infrastructure aligns with carbon accountability. Sustainable design now extends to data itself, exemplified by biodegradable storage devices. Within a circular economy, technology is no longer permanent waste but a material capable of responsibly returning to the earth.

This shift expands the definition of a healthy home to include the devices used daily. Material honesty protects sensitive components while offering a tactile richness far superior to synthetic plastics.

A USB drive made from fungi sounds improbable, yet the idea feels strangely logical. The Soft Drive is built using mycelium – the underground root network of mushrooms – turning data storage into something tactile and materially expressive. Rather than hiding behind glossy plastic, this device makes its construction visible, inviting you to reconsider how personal data is stored and valued. It challenges the invisibility of cloud systems by grounding digital memory in a physical, locally held object.

Designed by Sree Krishna Pillarisetti, the Soft Drive features a translucent shell made from mycelium combined with hemp fibres and bioplastic derived from waste materials. The fibrous structure naturally absorbs impact, offering protection for the electronics inside while remaining biodegradable. With an intentionally modest 8GB capacity, the device prioritises conscious storage over excess. Its organic texture, visible layers, and compostable design transform a familiar tech object into a statement on sustainability, material honesty, and regenerative digital futures.

The rise of hemp in 2026 marks a shift from disposable sustainability to material truth. By integrating bio-based elements across the home, you create spaces that balance luxury with responsibility.

The post Someone Built a Compostable 8GB Hard Drive From Mushrooms and Hemp And 5 More Ways Hemp Is Redesigning Your Home first appeared on Yanko Design.