Ekokook

March 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Filed under Industrial Design, Interior Design

Even Rosie, the Jetson’s robot maid, might be intimidated by this kitchen of the future from Faltazi. There seem to be an awful lot of chutes and bins…your devoted blogger wonders where she would keep the cat treats. — A.M.

Don’t believe your eyes

February 15, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Filed under Architecture, Healthcare, Interior Design

“Japanese designers Nendo have completed the interior of a mental health clinic in Akasaka, Tokyo, where none of the doors open and patients and staff instead move around the building by opening sections of the walls. Called MD.net Clinic Akasaka, the project includes sliding bookcases behind which the consultation rooms can be found and a single opening door at the end of the corridor that reveals a window to the outside.

By providing alternate perspectives for viewing the world, and avoiding being trapped by pre-existing perceptions, the interior allows visitors–and staff members–to experience opening new doors in their hearts, one after the other.” — A.M.

NSFW but funny (don’t say you weren’t warned)

February 12, 2010 at 10:57 am
Filed under Architecture, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

Someone named mentaldesigner has created a series of videos on the designer-client relationship.  How can robots talking in a monotone not be funny? — A.M.

Green Screen

January 1, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Filed under Interior Design

That’s the name of the People’s Choice Award winner of the Ample Sample competition, showing that “repurposed carpet samples can become design products – both useful and beautiful.”Other winners include chairs, benches, shoe organizers, slippers, vases, lamps, and this adorable pet house. — A.M.

Leather flooring – on a budget

December 22, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Filed under Interior Design

“OK, but the price? Over…70 dollars per square foot for the floor tiles from Ting shown below. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative approach, however, local vintage clothing stores may sell a belt for a few dollars. After finding a few choice samples, it is just a matter of figuring out the best way to put them together. For the do-it-yourself craft-oriented individual, part of the fun lies in the creative process – choosing the right hues of faded black, brown, red and orange …” — A.M.

Wallpaper for boys

November 23, 2009 at 10:20 am
Filed under Interior Design

“From pre-school darlings to funky tweenies, stylish teens and beyond. Wallpaper for a boy of any age with a sense of humour and an enjoyment of the scary or an attraction to the horrid.” — A.M.

Bomb-proof wallpaper

November 17, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Filed under Interior Design, Materials

Surely, some SEGDster out there is working on a project that would benefit from wall covering that can survive attack.  If so, your devoted blogger doesn’t want to know about it.  If you tell her, you’ll have to kill her. — A.M.

Best Of What’s New 2009: Bombproof Wallpaper Test from PopSci.com on Vimeo.

POD = LUXURY

November 12, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Filed under Architecture, Interior Design

Where?  In a Japanese capsule hotel named 9h, where you’re expected to shower, rest, and whatever else you’d like to do…in nine hours.  Coming soon to Manhattan. — A.M.

Chair o’ dowels

November 10, 2009 at 11:10 am
Filed under Furniture, Interior Design

It’s a chair made of dowels.  What more is there to say? — A.M.

The Japanese bookshelf cabin

November 3, 2009 at 9:13 am
Filed under Architecture, Furniture, Interior Design

“The gold prize winner in this year’s JCD (Japanese Commercial Environment Designers Association) design awards for ‘communication design in the commercial environment’, Ben Nagaoka’s Yamakoya is a great example of creating space within a space.” — A.M.