Tag Archives: Furniture

Top 5 Must-Have Wooden Furniture Designs That Deserve To Be In Your Home

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Wood is one of the most preferred materials of choice for furniture designers for ages galore. Wood is a sturdy, functional, and minimal material that adds a sense of zen and style to any living space. It instantly elevates a space, while adding some warm to it. It’s a minimal material that holds a strong personality without any additional frills and tassels. I truly believe a well-crafted piece of wooden furniture can add a magical touch to even the simplest of living spaces. Minimal, clean, and almost always soothing, beautifully designed wooden furniture helps add the ultimate finishing touch to a room, and we’ve curated a few of our favorites for you!

1. Tokyo

Dubbed Tokyo, this ingenious multifunctional design doubles up as a shoe rack and a bench. It combines two furniture pieces into one individual furniture design.

Why is it noteworthy?

What makes Tokyo unique and special is its side leg, which gently and seamlessly curves, subtly embracing the cushion to create a top tray for daily essentials. This functions as a neat spot to store your souvenirs and other knick knacks.

What we like

  • Features a bottom shelf which also serves as a nifty storage space
  • Multifunctional furniture design

What we dislike

  • It’s a conceptual design, so we’re not sure how functional it will be in reality

2. Snowhouse Sofa

Named the Snowhouse Sofa, this intriguing furniture design is for pets and humans alike, and it is what a wooden sofa would look like if it experienced some snowfall, and was coated with it.

Why is it noteworthy?

The wood is covered with cushy white cushions to give the idyllic impression of fallen snow. The edges are rounded, adding a depth of softness to the furniture piece. The ends of the sofa are hollow, with nifty little spaces to store books, magazines, and other miscellaneous items.

What we like

  • The area on top serves as a passage for your cats
  • Integrated with smart storage space

What we dislike

  • The Snowhouse Sofa is currently a concept, so we don’t know how the actual product will turn out to be

3. The Soul Sculpture Bench

Designed by Madrid-based designer Verónica Mar for Les Ateliers Courbet, the Soul Sculpture Bench is a minimalist bench that has a spiritual sensitivity, and is designed to balance and ground the energy of the space it is placed into.

Why is it noteworthy?

Inspired by the recurring spiral patterns that are often seen and found in the universe, in the various galaxies, in the intricate DNA chains, and in the dynamic water currents.

What we like

  • Creates a cohesive connection between nature and design

What we dislike

  • Bulky and space-consuming design

4. Kainchee

Named Kainchee, this innovative chair design looks like a pair of scissors and does full justice to its name.

Why is it noteworthy?

The chair does look like two pairs of scissors, from the bottom half at least. The star feature of the chair is its intertwining and geometrically intriguing form. A band of walnut wood forms the seat of the chair, while subtly interlocking with the ash wood to form the legs of the chair.

What we like

  • It has a unique form and design philosophy which allows it to stand apart from other furniture pieces

What we dislike

  • There are no options for customization

5. The Rook Stool

Named the Rook Stool, this interesting stool design is inspired by pieces of chess and has a lot of similarities to them as well.

Why is it noteworthy?

The designer drew references from the shapes of decorative wooden chess pieces for the Rook Stool. The stool utilizes simple elements that have been placed at unusual but intriguing angles and intersections to create a sculptural appeal.

What we like

  • Inspired and influenced by chess pieces
  • Available in three types of solid wood

What we dislike

  • It doesn’t seem like a comfortable seating option to sit for hours on end

The post Top 5 Must-Have Wooden Furniture Designs That Deserve To Be In Your Home first appeared on Yanko Design.

This aluminum lounge chair is built for easy repairs, not so much for comfort

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Chairs are designed to be comfortable to sit on unless they’re meant to be art or statement pieces rather than usable furniture. Of course, not all designs hit the mark, and some tend to value other traits like aesthetics or features over comfort. That isn’t always intentional, though, especially for chairs that are meant to be sold commercially. This lounge chair, for example, seems to check off boxes like minimalism, repairability, and sustainability, but its rather imposing industrial aesthetic might make some think twice about parking their bodies on its thin body, even if there’s a comfy cushion on the seat.

Designer: Haus Otto

Truth be told, the AL13 lounge chair doesn’t inspire much confidence because of its super thin construction. Each component is made from laser-cut aluminum sheets that seem to be too thin to support heavy objects, like your body for example. Of course, looks can be deceiving, and this chair was designed to be really stable and safe, at least enough to be sold and used both for indoor as well as outdoor use.

The chair’s extra-wide seat is flanked by extra-wide armrests that might seem too high for actually placing your arms on them. Instead, they function better as small side tables to hold your phone, book, or drink, though you have to be careful with the latter that you don’t accidentally knock it over with your arm. It can also hold your laptop, but it might not be comfortable much less ergonomic to use it in that position.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect of the AL13 lounge chair is its somewhat modular construction so that parts can be easily disassembled. This makes it easy to repair, replace, or recycle parts, which are just bent sheets of aluminum. Its distinctive shape and the added function of the armrests make the chair suitable for any spatial environment, whether indoors or outdoors.

That said, the rather hard and cold appearance of the chair might feel a little intimidating, especially if you’re a fan of softer and cozier chairs. There’s an option for upholstered seat cushions, but that still leaves out the back and armrests, not to mention making it unsuitable for outdoor use. It’s still an interesting brutalist design, though, and could be an inspiration for other variations that add a bit more comfort to the equation.

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Turn your sleeping area into your office with this rotating furniture

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If you’re living in a small space, you’d want to have furniture that can serve multiple purposes. Modular and multi-functional designs have been dominating the scene the past few years especially during the pandemic when the line between work and private life blurred all the more. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and start working from my bed, thinking maybe I should have a desk built in there or have my desk nearer to my bed for a smooth transition.

Designer: Expand Furniture

This wish comes true with the Compatto Rotating Office Murphy Bed with Desk which is literally a bed that can be turned into a working area and even a multimedia space. And when you’re ready to pack it all up at the end of the day (or the middle), you just have to fold it away, turn it all around (literally) and rest in your Murphy bed with the Queen Italian memory foam mattress.

Of course the highlight of this piece of furniture is the fact that you can quickly turn it into a workspace with a few rotations and push and pulls. The wide desk can fit in things like dual monitors, a TV screen, all-in-one iMacs, and small computers. There is also space for file storage, decorations, books, and other knick knacks. There is also adequate places and openings for all kinds of power cords and wires to power your devices.

You will have to assemble everything yourself though as this is a DIY install. But this seems to be a pretty interesting piece of furniture to have if you can manage to put everything together. I will probably have some anxious moments thinking that I will be displacing my office stuff when I’m sleeping but at least I will have a really cool bed and work station in one.

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Recycled Swedish rugs get transformed into furniture that honors the textile’s legacy

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The timeless craft of Swedish rag rugs, a cherished tradition spanning over 150 years, finds a contemporary reinterpretation in the hands of Stockholm-based designer Lars Hofsjö. Rooted in a rich cultural heritage, these rugs have been woven by generations of women using worn-out clothes, curtains, sheets, and upholstery. The process transforms leftover fabrics into intricately patterned, durable rugs, celebrated for their strength and firm structure, a testament to the adaptive re-use of materials.

Designer: Lars Hofsjö

Lars Hofsjö, the creative force behind the Swedish furniture brand Rumbler, has skillfully reimagined these traditional rag rugs into a unique collection of furniture pieces. His approach involved scouring markets, antique shops, and the countryside to handpick rag rugs, chosen specifically for their thinness, tightness, and color. These selected fabrics are then meticulously wrapped around aluminum shapes, crafting plush side tables that blend the rustic charm of the rugs with modern design sensibilities.

The ‘Torp’ series, characterized by its rectangular shape, is a limited numbered edition, with each piece distinct in quality, palette, and characteristics. Contrasting this, the ‘Dunker’ collection features hexagonal units, accentuated with diverse materials like leather, stone, and wood, harmonizing with the texture of the rag rugs. This blend of materials not only adds a tactile dimension to the pieces but also pays homage to the multifaceted nature of Swedish design, where tradition and innovation coexist harmoniously.

Through his innovative approach, Hofsjö offers a fresh perspective on sustainable design. By repurposing these historical textiles, he not only preserves a vital part of Swedish heritage but also provides a contemporary relevance to the rag rugs, demonstrating their versatility beyond their original, utilitarian purpose. The tables stand as a testament to the enduring beauty of Swedish crafts, bridging the gap between historical craftsmanship and modern living spaces.

Hofsjö’s work is a remarkable example of how design can be both a custodian of tradition and a catalyst for innovation. It highlights the potential of traditional crafts to inspire contemporary design solutions, underscoring the importance of sustainability in design. By breathing new life into these age-old textiles, Hofsjö not only honors the legacy of the countless unnamed weavers who have kept this tradition alive but also points the way forward for future generations of designers to explore and reinvent.

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The Vitra ACX Is The Sustainable + Sleek Office Chair Of The Future With Essentially No Physical Controls

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One of the most important pieces of furniture in an office is an office chair. We spend the majority of our day sitting on chairs, whether we’re working in our home office or a corporate one. Hence, this piece of furniture needs to be not only comfortable but ergonomic, and aesthetic as well. It needs to be back to support our backs and butts through a long day of dealing with tasks and completing important assignments. And, an exceptional office chair that would make a great addition to your office is the Vitra ACX.

Designer: Antonio Citterio and Vitra

Designed as a collaboration between Antonio Citterio and Vitra, the Vitra ACX is the tenth task chair created by the collaborators. The Vitra ACX is an evolution and culmination of the long-lasting partnership, and it is a neat fit for your home office or corporate office. The goal of the chair is to have a “long service life with the smallest possible carbon footprint”.

Vitra is dubbed as ACX’s most sustainable task chair available, and this claim is backed up by the fact that the chair has a 100% recyclable construction. It is built with a limited number of components to ensure that service and maintenance are simple and efficient. Citterio explains, “The use of up to 100% recyclable materials was the single most important factor in the design process.”

The Vitra ACX features a three-dimensional form-fitted knit that covers the backrest pretty minimally, without causing any intrusions of the seam. The fabric has a tactile imprint design which provides supportive softness. The mesh fabric design is quite airy, and an excellent option for those who want a lightweight fabric rather than a heavily padded traditional support. Also, the Vitra ACX doesn’t feature too many controls. Physical controls have been eliminated resulting in reduced weight, and the eradication of any confusion or doubt when it comes to operating the chair. Instead, ACX is equipped with a mechanism that automatically adjusts itself to the different kinds of users and their body weights. The seat’s height is still manually adjustable though.

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The +52 Stool Explores Lesser-Known Wood Types As Sustainable Alternatives To Commercial Wood Species

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Have you joined team stools over chairs yet? Well, if you haven’t then it is high time that you should! I truly believe stools deserve to be given way more credit than they get. Stools are often overlooked, maybe because they occupy minimum space, and aren’t really overbearing. But these traits are what make stools so great in my opinion! I mean, they’re compact, and a great space-saving furniture option for our modern homes. They are also super portable. And, a great stool design to add to your home would be the +52 stool!

Designer: Studio Plastique

Based in Brussels, Studio Plastique conducted extensive research on current timber designs and manufacturing and transformed that knowledge into a wooden step stool. Dubbed +52 stool, the furniture piece isn’t simply considered as furniture, the studio sees it as a ‘scenario’, via which the scope and potential of undervalued wood types as sustainable alternatives to the typical wood types can be explored and looked deeper into.

The +52 stool is produced using a variety of non-commercial woods such as elm, koto, willow, acacia, and birch which changes the weight, color, and texture of the stool. The stool was created by Studio Plastique as a solution to the overexploitation of forests that occurs currently in the wood production industry. The stool aims to tackle the complete lack of awareness surrounding lesser-known wood species that aren’t used in the design world.

“With +52 we would like to contribute to an alternative perspective on wood scenarios,” said the studio. “Through our collaborations with stakeholders in the field, we aim to highlight these problematics on the one hand, and on the other propose diversified scenarios.”

The +52 stool is manufactured in varying thicknesses to provide it with structural stability irrespective of the kind of wood it is made from, in turn, offering strength and functionality no matter what. The stool makes for an excellent fit for both casual spaces, as well as more formal spaces since it is a versatile and durable furniture piece that can merge harmoniously with contemporary spaces. The aesthetic of the stool is modern and minimal, and it would complement other furniture pieces well, without creating a stark contrast.

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This Minimal & Multifunctional Furniture Piece Serves As A Bench & A Shoe Rack

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Wood has been the material of choice for furniture designers for ages galore. And no wonder! There’s something about wood that instantly adds a sense of zen and calm to any living space it is placed into. It puts your mind at ease while managing to radiate a feeling of warmth and tranquility. It’s a minimal material that holds a strong personality without any additional frills and tassels. I truly believe a well-crafted piece of wooden furniture can add a magical touch to even the simplest of living spaces. Minimal, clean, and almost always soothing, beautifully designed wooden furniture helps add the ultimate finishing touch to a room. And, one such furniture design is ‘Tokyo’ by Teixeira Design Studio.

Designer: Teixeira Design Studio

I’m sure you’ve come across Teixeira’s designs on Instagram. They’re always minimal, well-designed, and highly functional. They instantly catch your eye with their sheer simplicity yet excellent utility. And Tokyo is no exception. Tokyo is an ingenious multifunctional design that merges a shoe rack and a bench. It artfully combines two furniture pieces into one individual furniture piece, providing dual functionality while occupying less space.

What makes Tokyo unique and special is its side leg, which gently and seamlessly curves, subtly embracing the cushion to create a top tray for daily essentials. This functions as a neat spot to store your souvenirs and other knick knacks. The furniture piece also features a bottom shelf which also serves as a nifty storage space. You can display and store whichever items you please. There is sufficient space to hold all your shoes and serve as a full shoe rack as well, or as a hybrid solution that accommodates your shoes as well as your books and bags.

While designing and creating Tokyo, the designer felt that the form and geometry of the furniture piece reminded him of Japanese architecture, and hence he named it Tokyo. All in all, Tokyo is a minimal and well-designed furniture piece with dual functionality that makes it a great addition to modern homes and contemporary living spaces.

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Circular desk concept has an interesting way of measuring the time you spend on it

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A lot of people feel that there aren’t enough hours in a day without realizing how much time they might be spending or even wasting on unimportant activities. Keeping track of how you spend your time is often one of the first pieces of advice that productivity gurus give because they often reveal how much free time we actually have if we schedule our actions wisely. There is no shortage of time-tracking and logging apps today, but these digital tools are sometimes easily dismissed or ignored because they’re too convenient. This rather unusual table, however, makes the passage of time a bit more visible and tangible, allowing people to have a more personal relationship with the time they invest in work, projects, and other activities.

Designer: Yunseo Jung

Right off the bat, the Time Table already strikes an interesting visual. Unlike the majority of desks and tables, it’s made almost completely out of circles, from the tabletop to the built-in lamp to the rods that make for its legs and structure. One side of the table shows that leg, but the other side has an arc that functions like a privacy shield. There is also a matching circular tool to complete the set, though such a design isn’t actually novel to this kind of furniture.

While a circular table isn’t exactly rare, the attached “sub table” is. It’s a smaller circular tray affixed to the exposed leg of the table, but that’s not what makes it unique. This sub-table actually moves up and down, changing its elevation as time passes before returning to its base state at the lowest point. Think of it as a time, like a reverse hourglass, that slowly demonstrates the movement of time in a very visual manner.

The basic idea of the Time Table is to let the person sitting in front of it measure, log, and be aware of how much time they’re spending there. You might place some tools related to your work there or anything else that you’ll be able to notice in the corner of your eye. It offers a visual and tangible experience in counting down time without being monotonous like watching seconds tick by. Admittedly, it might also be a bit distracting, which could also be the point of instilling awareness of your time.

Novel as the concept might be, there are also a few issues with the Time Table’s design. The position of the elements, for example, might not be ergonomic or comfortable, with the lamp at a fixed spot and the privacy shield at the side potentially blocking leg movement. Given its design, there seems to also be little room for changing the height of the table, which could be too low or too high for some people. The moving sub-table as a time tracker is definitely an interesting idea, but it could probably be implemented in a different way that doesn’t negatively affect the rest of the table’s functionality.

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Space-saving perching seat encourages you to linger but not stay for long

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We all need to catch our breaths sometimes, whether to pause after a long walk or to give our arms a rest after carrying a lot of stuff. Sometimes, we might also want to sit a bit while waiting for someone or for some event but the area doesn’t have chairs or even enough space for such furniture. In these scenarios, sitting down might bring a bit of relief, but getting back up again can turn out to be more trouble than it’s worth. The ideal solution would be something that lets you rest your body just a little bit without actually going into a deeper resting state, something that perching seats are made for. This particular design, however, takes that idea even further by offering the bare minimum in style and comfort without taking up too much space and effort to use.

Designer: Addi

Chairs are designed to provide stability and comfort, taking you into their embrace so that you might not even want to get up anymore. That’s great if you’re at home or in a lounge and have plenty of time to really relax, not so much if you’re waiting for an appointment or taking a brief reprieve from a meeting. This specific need calls for a seat that encourages both rest and movement at the same time, a dichotomy that Lumber fully embraces in its similarly contrasting design elements, like a fallen tree trunk in a forest that you briefly sit on before the next leg of your journey.

At first glance, you might not even think that Lumber would be something you should sit on, much less comfortable to use. It is, however, truly designed for comfort and convenience, especially with its flame-proof wool upholstery that can be easily removed for cleaning, replacing, or exchanging. Each Lumber perching seat is color-matched, with powder-coated metal legs in deep burgundy, latte, forest green, dusty blue, and black. A side table rises from one leg on one side, a place for your stuff, vases, drinkware, and more.

Despite its comfortable materials and stable structure, Lumber’s form suggests movement and activity. That’s no surprise, really, considering its design is inspired by a woodworker’s sawhorse, which is also the reason behind its name. Just like that piece of work furniture, Lumber is pretty barebones, which makes it take up less space. You can try fitting quite a number of these in a room and still have plenty of space to move around. Or you can opt for the Lumber Wall design that can be mounted on a wall to free up even more floor space.

Lumber was designed for lingering and loitering, encouraging you to sit for a while without committing to resting completely. It also makes for an interesting artsy piece that inspires both conversation as well as playful interactions. All these while minimizing not just its physical footprint but also material and packaging, thanks to a design that is inherently both restful yet also dynamic, embracing a spirit of journey even in its manufacturing and product lifecycle.

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Unique chair design mimics how you sit comfortably (if that’s how you sit)

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If you have a favorite chair or seat at home, you find a certain sense of comfort when you’re sitting there and doing your thing whether it’s reading, browsing your phone, or even sleeping. You always gravitate to that space because it feels familiar and comfortable. There are even chairs that eventually conform to your shape and it becomes even more a part of you. But most likely this chair or bean bag has the typical shape and design that we’re used to seeing. What if there’s something that looks uncomfortable but may in fact be that kind of chair that you’re looking for?

Designer: Dohui Kim

At first glance, the Dohui Chair looks like a piece of art installation shaped like a kind of pretzel. But it is a concept for a chair that is based on a sitting position that apparently a lot of people find comfortable. It is a floor chair so usually people who sit there take on different positions, particularly one that is most pleasant or enjoyable for them. The designer says that we are drawn to things that may be similar to ourselves and the chair is something that she based on a “friendly and affectionate” feeling that is similar to herself.

The chair has a circular base design and then an elongated, pretzel-like body where you can place your body according to the shape it is presenting. Your legs will be curved over the lower part of the chair while your back rests on the top part and your butt fits right into the circle. The product render shows off three different colors: blue, orange, and green. The description says that you can take on different positions while resting on the Dohui Chair, although it’s hard to see how you can do so and there are images showing these different positions.

It seems to be a design that has been well thought of even if it doesn’t look that comfortable to me because of the shape. As someone who prefers my legs to be flat on the floor, I don’t know how the shape can actually help me sit better. But if you’re the type who sits that way or how it conforms to the chair, then this is an interesting piece of furniture that you’ll eventually want to try out.

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