Design Intervention - Modern/Contemporary Design and Architecture

Here are two very interesting furniture pieces:

The form of the Tian02 Table is so simple and logical, it is a wonder it has not been done before. The table-legs are made of four cuts trough the table top which are bent downwards. Its silhouette looks calming and unpretentious, not exciting and spectacular. With very manageable dimensions, the tian02 is perfectly suitable for living spaces of all sizes and shapes. Besides the pictured dark stained walnut surface several other wooden surfaces of tian02 are available from Andacht INTERIEUR -

(from Andacht INTERIEUR)

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The discovery Cabinets are produced as a door or drawer unit system, both of which use the intriguing laminated peeled corner detail as an aesthetic and functional feature. The drawer system uses the peel detail to reveal a splash of the colored internal drawer carcass.

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(from Richard Shed)

This lounge chair, seen at men.style.com looks like a cross between a chair, a grill spatula, and a radiator. Apparently you can hook it up to your hot water system and it’s a heated lounger. Just don’t sit too long - you don’t look good with those grill lines.

Designer: Sabine Müller and Andreas Quednau of SMAQ, New York

I subscribe to a lot of design and architecture related news feeds. I also get a lot of electronic newsletter and weekly sales pitches in my email every week. Lately I’ve started playing a game when I get the email from Design Within Reach. Their email shows a featured product, talks a bit about it and its designer, and offers a link to go “shop for it.”

The game I play is this: Try to guess the retail price before the web page loads.

For example, this week the featured product is the Cross Credenza. Here is some descriptive text from the web site: Solid natural oak frame and body; birch plywood drawer inserts; oak veneer top and fronts over particleboard; Blum soft-closing hardware.

So take a guess, based on the materials described above. My guess was $1500.

Retail price was $3600. Surprisingly, it’s in stock and ready to ship.

This piece would have been so much more wonderful if it were teak, or maple, or some other SOLID wood… The look is decidedly mid-century, but I don’t think oak was the right choice, certainly not as veneer.

This always makes me laugh. I’ve come to understand a thing or two about Design Within Reach - they aren’t meaning to be “financially” within reach, but they do mean that great original designs (not knock-offs) are within reach, all in one place. And THAT’S something they are VERY good at. There are lots of great original designs there to ogle.

(Design Within Reach)

Below are some nice photos of bedroom designs by Italian furniture maker Tomasella. Some very nice interior design choices, and some very nice materials choices in the (albeit likely fake) surrounding areas as well. I’m a fan of varied surface materials choices, and there are some nice ones here: concrete, brick, whitewash drywall/plaster, warm woods mixed with cool colors, etc. See if you agree.

From their website: Tomasella Industria Mobili is a company that spreads out over 100,0000 m2. Always staying at the forefront of technological and creative innovation, and perfectly in tune with the tastes of our times, Tomasella has led Italian furniture, both classic and modern, for the daytime or night-time area, to write an important chapter in its history.

(from Tomasella Compas via freshome)

The Panta Rhei is triangular seating for two by Florian Gypser that can also be configured into a public seating island by putting three together.

Many design and architecture schools use furniture in general, and chairs specifically, to hone students’ sensitivity toward ergonomics, visual appeal, utility, and personal style. There are lots of very famous architects who designed the furniture for the homes they designed. Most notable among those is likely Frank Lloyd Wright.
(via gypser.com )