The Linz Hocker stool is being launched in a very different way.

Furniture company is attempting to track the “curb-mining” habits of the NYC residents by leaving GPS-enabled chairs scattered throughout the city.

William Stranger’s “Second Life” uses reclaimed wood from a local LA bowling alley to create a number of different works including a coffee table, a bench and a diptych.

Inspired by plant cells and a knee condition, Taiwanese industrial designer Yu-Ying Wu has won red dot’s international design award in the home furniture category with her tofu-shaped chair.

Ufuk Keskin and Efecem Kutuk’s folding chair concept design pares down the elements of a chair to their basic levels.

This simple, flexible line by Moredesign for Italian furnishing specialist Myour creates considered furniture pieces that can standalone or interact with others to transform from table to seat to sofa and back again.

Good design solves problems and can sometimes even make a statement about changing human behavior. This refrigerator concept for Samsung by Netherlands’ GRO Design attempts to do just that.
It presents itself as a piece of furniture rather than an appliance to be hidden in the kitchen. Many people simply don’t have room for a traditional refrigerator and may center food consumption around the living room coffee table. GRO also designed the fridge to be as flexible as possible allowing both vertical and horizontal setups, suiting the potential buyer’s individual needs.
Fast Company has more on how it reflects change in the [...]

The Future Perfect
From custom silk-screened wallpapers made in Brooklyn to Lazy Susan coffee tables on skateboard wheels, The Future Perfect’s offerings are quirky, artistic and carefully curated to make the store feel almost gallery-like. The space itself is a visual treat, and the staff is refreshingly gracious about window shoppers who come in simply to ogle. For more affordable options (like pig-shaped bowls or wooden staplers) head next door to A&G Merch, its sibling store for the more budget conscious.
www.thefutureperfect.com – 115 North 6th St, Williamsburg
www.aandgmerch.com – 116 North 6th St, Williamsburg
The Future Perfect is featured in our [...]

It’s not a good time for fashion retail.
So, why is it that the owners of Dear 55, a boutique in Manhattans Lower East Side have upgraded and expanded to a much bigger store on nearby Rivington Street, now called Dear Rivington+ ?
The answer is in the +. Owners and designers Moon Rhee and Heyja Do would say that the + represents the addition of menswear and antique furniture designed to complement their existing line of womenswear. Having spent a morning with them at the new store, itʼs obvious that they themselves are the + in the equation.
Dear has had [...]

The Re-vive Table Legs, created by UK design firm Cohda, offer a way to reclaim discarded materials and offer more functional flexibility than many traditional, non-sustainable solutions. The product consists of four patented, vice-like clamps that secure legs to any flat, rigid surface, converting that old piece of plywood in the garage or beautiful oak door found in the alley into a new table suitable for any use. If use dictates new needs, the legs can simply be removed—without any tools—and reattached to any other surface. It’s a wonderfully intuitive solution and a beautiful way to make new objects from [...]

The Circle Kitchen manages to cram in all the elements of a mid-sized kitchen into a tiny 1.8 square meter space. Able to rotate 180 degrees, this room within a piece of furniture  features ample storage, a sink, refrigerator, microwave and stovetop and dishwasher.
[via Curbly]

For the space-starved, well-designed objects that can serve more than one function are truly a blessing. Aïssa Logerot has created two such multi-function furniture pieces that easily transform from one function to another. The first is an ironing board that converts into a mirror. The second, a chair that also serves as a coffee table.
For more examples of multifunctional product designs check out the designer’s portfolio site: here.

[ via MocoLoco ]

Jeff Klarin and Rebecca Johnson make up BUGHOUSE design. The duo creates limited edition furniture (amongst other artistic pursuits) that subvert the traditional expectations placed on functional objects. Upcycling and remixing elements from such diverse areas as pharmacology, DJ culture and the occult, BUGHOUSE makes extremely unique furnishings that give new life to common objects.

BUGHOUSE Art + Design

Furniture company Wintercheck Factory offers designs they hope will appeal to customers who are seeking “a unique product that is sturdily made, intelligently designed and moderately priced.” Their pieces are modern to a tee; sharp, clean, minimal, and bright. What differentiates Wintercheck Factory from any other number of furniture companies that proffer high quality modern products is the effort they are exerting to reach their customers. Although their prices put them far beyond Ikea territory, they endeavor to offer both beautiful design that is reasonably economical (reasonable, that is, for a small, design-conscious furniture company) by skipping traditional retail altogether, [...]

Gus* Design has created a simple, but useful piece of furniture constructed out of surplus jute bags that were once used to transport organic coffee beans. Each Upcycle Ottoman is also custom screen-printed with logos from the different types of coffee, making every one unique.

[via bltd]