Lego House

Given the opportunity, I know a few people who would likely move to this house in a second...

I can't wait to see the Infiniti version...

But in the meantime French car maker Renault has come up with Wind, a super-cute little underpowered convertible that solves the hard-top, but I still want space in the trunk, conundrum.



It's only for sale in a few select Euro kind of places at the moment, but it's a spiffy looking ride their Japanese siblings at Nissan could perhaps muscle up for the rest of us.

Transformer Furniture

I'm fully aware that I probably live in more space than I really need.

Then again, isn't that relative to what you want to live in?

As spaces get tighter though, adaptable furniture like Murphy Beds would seem to be due for a revisit, or a revolution.

Well thanks to the folks at Core77 here's the cramped decor of the urban lifestyle as we fit ourselves into tighter and tighter spaces.



The furniture is probably revolutionary, but I can't say I'd really want a kid of mine to have a bedroom where you only have room for either a bed or a desk. That coffee table that turns into a dining room table however...

It's a sign of the times.

Gutter Ball Dining

If I had a dining room big enough to fit a nice big table, well, this one would fit that space nicely.

The best part about this industrial-meets-natural design is the ten-pin, recycled lane connection. The wood may have seen it's share of strikes and spares rolling over it, but you'll never roll a gutter ball with these boards in your home.

Hat tip to the trendy spotters over at Uncrate for this find.

Cross Your Legs

From dsgnworld, a new twist.

I'm not sure how you actually, well, sit on this chair.

A Better Paper Plate

Disposable table-ware is a pet peeve of mine.

Don't get me wrong. It's not paper plate snobbery we're talking about here, nor a save-the-earth kind of thing. There's a time and place for Dixie-ware, and in some situations doing the dishes can simply be impractical, or downright impossible.

The problem, really, is that paper plates can be simply ugly. My never-ending tower of Costco cardboard dishes that sits somewhere in the garage might feel right at home at a picnic, but it kills me to put them out at home when every other detail has been thought through.

It's an issue of practicality over design.

In a world of ever increasing design possibilities, I have long wondered why no one has tackled this conundrum.

Except, clearly, I just wasn't looking in the right places.


This is Japanese designer Shinichiro Ogata's stunning new take on disposable table settings, by his design house Simplicity.

A fully developed line of dishes, serving trays and cups, not only is it practical, it's also biodegradable, making the need to toss it in the garbage slightly less guilt-inducing.

You can buy these over at A+R.

Sure, for the price they probably won't replace the Costco stack for every occasion. But when aesthetics matter, I can see picking some of these up.

If you're looking for modern stuff for your home, the A+R store is a dependable source for things you simply won't find at your big chain home goods store.

So you don't think you need an iPad?

Here's a reason for you...


Shame it was an April Fools day joke over at ThinkGeek.

I think there may be potential here...

You Look Good in That

Who knew clothes hangers could make you smile?

Apparently the good people over at Apartment Therapy and the Ace Hotel in New York City do.


Proof, yet again, that good design can hang in the most-unlikely of places.

Part of a Complete Breakfast

Apparently corn flakes aren't quite proprietary enough, so word has it that Kellogg's wants to personalize their wares.

Do we really want our food to look as processed as it actually is?


Yuck.

A disturbing sign of the times.

Modern Agave

Much to my family's dismay, I'm not much of a tequila drinker.

THAT SAID, if I were to down an occasional shot or two, wouldn't it be nice to get it from bottles as fun as these?


Check out the whole lot of these special edition 1800 Tequila Essential Artists bottles over at NOTCOT, where I found them.

They're pretty to look at. Just don't expect me to drink the stuff.

Diving into summer...

From over at Core77 and Make, a reminder that warmer days are ahead.


Perhaps an apropos sign of the times?

I just hope these have industrial amounts of chlorine in them. I've seen what goes into dumpsters like those...

Old School Music: Deconstructed

I think this one just speaks for itself. A neat desconstruction by Oliver Pasqual via Human Resources.

Serving Up Some Not-So-Paper Boats

From over at Form Us With Love these are the coolest serving dishes I've seen in a while.

The Paperboat collection by Sagaform is sleek, modern and would look great on my dining room table.


The only problem is I have no clue how much they cost or where you can actually find these!

Letter-Boxed

I'm not really in the market for new lettering, but I think the collage alone is fantastic:


It's a publicity graphic for a some cool fonts that I saw here.

Lighting Up Your Tunes

Simply brilliant.


Picture being able to get sound from anywhere you have an empty light socket. Suddenly the integrated home sound system industry cringes in fear of obsolescence. Your home is instantly wired for music, everywhere.

Just like other great light bulb ideas, we're not quite there yet.

It's a sign of the times though: The wireless media revolution continues.

Bamboo + Paper House

This year's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province left millions of people homeless. These people face years of reconstruction in the face of sheer destruction.

Finding opportunity in such adversity, designer Ming Tan has come up with a temporary housing solution that is both portable and reusable.



Drawing from origami inspiration, the tent-like bamboo structures fold and adapt to different topographies, allowing for an immediate shelter solution in any situation.


Thanks to David for the heads up on this beautiful, sustainable and practical example of good modern design.

Sky Ride

I think I found my dream car:


Now all I need is $194,000 and some flight school.

Nevermind that it hasn't actually gotten off the road yet, I think I would look pretty swell in that driver's seat.

Super Cute Sneakers...

...but totally impractical in the winter:


They are also a bit pricey in these tighter times.

But, just as I thought the whole retro Adidas look had been done into the ground, here's a fresh take from TST Footwear that's pretty groovy.

If you have plenty of pounds in your pocket, you can pick up a pair HERE.

I'm more partial to the Suede Top version, which is a little more autumn appropriate:

The Evolution of Hippy Solar Cells

I have a love-hate relationship with solar panels.

I love what they do (in theory). I hate what they look like (in actuality).

With oil prices falling along with the global economy, time will tell if renewable energy still draws the attention of our next president. That said, the solar energy industry is finally releasing itself from the shackles of outdated designs.

The biggest problem with old-school solar panels has always been the need to aim them precisely in order to get any of the sun's power into them. Hence their often haphazard placement of them with little-to-no aesthetic thought put into it.

Say goodbye to panels, and hello to adaptable and, FINALLY, more design-oriented thin-panel solutions.


While these solar coils are meant for commercial building roofs, it's easy to see how this design could be incorporated into modern building exoskeletons and even into residential buildings.

It's a step in the right direction. If mass-produced, they have the potential to be less of an eyesore, cheaper and easier to install. Assuming energy prices rise over the longer term, the economic arguments may finally develop to give building owners realistic incentives for retrofit old buildings.

The devil as always is in the details, so don't expect to see stuff like this on the massive scale we need anytime soon.

It does give hope that the technology is finally catching up with the times. It makes sense to integrate innovative solar solutions into the things we build, without having to completely sacrifice design.

Revved-Up and Repurposed

Ever since the new sofas showed up, I've been ogling coffee tables.

It's not that the one we have is bad: it's a modern knockoff that does its job well. But once the worn granny green fabric was replaced by comfy chocolate leather, the coffee table's job as clean distractor from the overstuffed drabness was diminished.

Here's a wishlist contender for coffee table supremacy from over at Apartment Therapy:


If that alone isn't cool enough for you, this is what it looked like originally:


Maybe once these economic doldrums settle out a bit we can find something nifty like this to put our legs on while oozing brain cells watching the sort of basic cable drivel that we don't ever really need to be watching.

Fun design is never out of the question, especially in downbeat times.

You can see more of Joel Hester's nifty steel designs HERE.