A Quiz on Taste

Thanks to BoingBoing for the tip on this modern furniture quiz: Donald Judd or Cheap Furniture? (by Graydon Parrish and Mikhail Simkin), which challenges one's ability to tell priceless designs created by minimalist sculptor Donald Judd as furnishing apartments that also contain famous abstract paintings from cheap flat-pack furniture from big-box establishments. I didn't get a perfect score, but I was close (I blame IKEA's "woods" for my errors). How about you?

Another awesome fixture

Love Le Soleil, a suspension lamp from Vincente Garcia Jimenez debuted by Foscarini (the makers of Ferrucio Laviani's SuperNova, another of my loves) at Euroluce last week. For more of the story, go here.

XRay Film Lamp

Thanks to Haute Nature for finding this creative, reused item! I'm seeing an IKEA hack in the future....

Sawaya Maxima

This chair has a topologically folded single-piece seat made of polyurethane. Available as a chair, a barstool, and a lounge chair among other forms from Sawaya & Moroni, it has true visual appeal, though I can't vouch for the comfort test.I'm not the only design fan captivated by Sawaya's design tastes. Both Metropolitan Home and Maison Francaise featured his Milan apartment recently (see this blogger's great photo spread!).

Wolfson's "Origami" Chair

"The Origami series looks at an abstraction of penetrating, folding, layering and juxtaposition of surfaces - static versus dynamic forces; a static moment of suspended action, frozen from a manual of folds."

Phillip Michael Wolfson, a Cornell-trained architect, is known for both his design and sculpture works, with his unique use of shape and lines. More commentary and more pictures are available at Dezeen.

The Biombo Chairs by Daniel Milchtein convert from screen to seating in a few easy slides. According to original Design Milk posting, the wood veneer chair, built over a hinged wood structure, when is not in use is a folding screen (Biombo). The surface of the seat can be engraved with a graphic image that transforms it into a decorative object when folded flat.

Windpower Outdoor Lighting

This really caught my eye (and it's only £99.95!):

"The Firewinder® Wind-Powered Outdoor Light is a sculpturally designed outdoor light, which harnesses the wind to create a beautiful upward spiralling light every time the wind blows. In the daylight and when the wind isn't blowing, the product looks unobtrusive. But at night and when the wind blows, it creates a silent wind-powered firework show, illuminating an amazing 'never-ending' and completely mesmerising twirl of light.

Tom Lawton inspired and developed this funky garden feature, the Firewinder®, in the UK, in the hope that it would help people think about the invisible beauty, awesome power and endless resource of the alternative energies that encircle us. Tom's dream is that the Firewinder® will be adopted as an international symbol of sustainability throughout the world. "

Sweet Modern Clock

Young German designer Daniel Jarr's alarm clock takes design to a sleek new level. This prototype is designed to set the alarm by pressing down on the right hand side of the clock (the main body of the clock pivots slightly on its base). Pressing down on the left side of the clock tips the clock in order to get a 10 minute snooze. Pressing down on the analogue clock’s frame illuminates the clock's dial in low light situations.

Hip in Minnesota

Gotta salute SplatGirl on the Modern loft in the cold, cold north. She's got some great IKEA hacks and a nice eye for mixing minimal modern with personalized color.
Makes me wonder how many geographical modern sites there are now....gotta search one day, or post one you know of in my comments!

A few tasty design visions

Dallas Design(*Sponge) Guide

Featured yesterday on Design*Sponge, the design guide is a pretty comprehensive categorized directory of hot spots for fashionable living in the Big D. A few of my favorite haunts made the list, a few not. Look here for some of the places I've featured over the past year.

Modern Homes on Tour

This weekend is the first annual AIA modern home tour. Eight single and multi-family residences throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area designed by Texas architects are featured. Two homes in Urban Reserve along with several infill homes in established Dallas neighborhoods make the list, and all of them have their own modern take on inhabiting an urban environment. Architecture firms represented include Mitchell Garman, Morrison Seifert Murphy, Oglesby Greene, Zero3, dsgn, Clifford Welch, Buchanan Architecture, and Cunningham Architects.


Tickets are $25. The tour runs from 10am to 5pm Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th. 200 lucky-ducks will attend the premier party scheduled for tonight ($75, by invitation only). Contact jlorenz@aiaddallas.org or call 214-742-3242.

Lighting to Love

This LED Bench (2002) by Ingo Maurer is installed in the first room of the Cooper Hewitt's exhibition, "Provoking Magic", featuring the esteemed lighting designer and artist. According to one site's (punctuationally-challenged) description, "this limited production table is a grand masterpiece by maurer. each bench is personally signed by ingo maurer. an extravagant table made of glass, 288 white internal leds that emit light on both sides. power conversion is provided by an external transformer. life span of the leds is an average of 100,000 hours (according to the manufacturer's specification)." All I can say is that the cool internal glow emanating from the glass is something fabulous, and it was a difficult piece to walk away from. The price for the privilege of unlimited seating time: approximately $24k. The rest of the exhibit (the whole second floor of the old Carnegie mansion on the Upper East Side) features installations like LED-equipped wedding costumes, maquettes for well-known designs, and some familiar works, like Lucellino lamps and MaMo Nouchies.

Beat the Storage Tub

This TakeOut MDF chest has plastic valise-like drawers, each of which slides out for easy transport. I can see filling each portable briefcase with toys or tools and materials for sewing projects, crafting, or handyman trips around the home. Or else, keep the pre-packed valises seasonally-themed, and grab the appropriate one before jumping on a plane for that last minute getaway.

White Rock Modern

A trio of Forest Hills neighbors on Eustis Avenue, off Garland Road near White Rock Lake, have a unique proposal for a new home:

"The structure at 8520 Eustis is beyond repair and will be dismantled this spring, leaving an exceptional building opportunity. We have designed a home that will take full advantage of this lot without damage to the landscape and is of a size and style in harmony with the existing neighborhood. Our goal is to build this structure with materials and techniques that are sustainable and efficient, and we look forward to working with a client as the project progresses."

Counteracting the threat of a new McNeighborly Mansion, Bruce Goode, contractor Josh Grieswell, and Harvey Phillips are taking the opportunity to influence the view from their front windows by sticking with the mod feel. The planned eustismodern.com structure will be a modernist, minimalist two-bedroom flat-roof home on one floor. The floor plan wraps around a central courtyard and is surrounded by a canopy of trees. The garage and a guest suite across the courtyard complete the compound.

Modern Deck Lounging

As the days are growing longer and the spring leaves begin to show, thoughts turn to time spent soaking up sun with an icy beverage and somewhere chic to curl up and relax.

The Alveo chaise, in synthetic wicker and stainless steel legs, is big enough to accomodate two people ($4500).
Gloster's Eclipse "relaxer" unit features a family-size platform with a sail-like covering ($4000+)


The classic Knoll metal outdoor lounger (museum, priceless) and Knoll-Schultz chaise (eBay, $999) or a Space-Age fiberglas lounger (Superieur, $1495) for more retro tastes.

Rounded-leg teak and resin lounger, ($1439, Neiman Marcus) and another way to relax and catch some rays, without breaking the bank: the Mika sling chair (World Market, $79).

Isaac Arms Benches

These benches in patinated steel and maple by Isaac Arms convey serenity and a zen-like sense of peace through their solidity.

His other work includes monolithic steel chairs, cabinetry with crank handles--like the Push-me, Pull-you dresser--and vases and other accessories.

Arms is a furniture artist who has taught at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. A fuller profile is available, along with more offerings of his work, at Guild.com.

D Home Issue Launch Party

From the D Home Blog:
"D Home is hosting a cocktail reception this Thursday, March 8, 6-8 p.m., at Bentwood Design Studio (4508 Lovers Ln.) to celebrate the latest issue–Custom Made. Enjoy fine wine, hors d’oeuvre, and a surprise party favor from Bentwood Design Studio. You will also get a copy of the issue, which is chock-full of local artisans, shopping, wit, and everything related to Dallas homes."
To attend, RSVP to rsvp2@dmagazine.com, and check out the full copy of the announcement here. I'm curious to see how modern the kitchen designs will be.

Industrial Strength Home

Joel Hester is a metal craftsman in Deep Ellum who makes some fabulous custom steel beds, perfect for an open-plan, downtown loft vibe, ready for even the most fitful toss-n-turning. He's also made end tables, side tables, rolling loft doors, and several custom pieces based on client requests.

Check out his Craigslist posting for some more examples of his work, or catch his work on Display at the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival in April.

Titanic table lamp

The hidenpeek bed designed for Viable London by Gala Wright has a steel frame and a cascading curtain of aluminum ball chain. Other pieces by Wright include a captivating set of occasional tables called Mekong. The Mekong cube table/lamp is opaque mirror when off, then reveals a glowing sphere when turned on. A companion coffee table has the same effect.



The Titanic lamp, from Charles Trevelyan, Wright's partner in the design group, is laquered wood and steel with a white cotton shade. And a ton of wit.
More pieces from Viable are collected in the Design Museum.