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!).

10,000 Visits

What started in 2006 as a way to catalog design finds that caught my eye has gotten a few eyeballs! Thanks for stopping by and sharing my little list of nifty things!

sustainable modern architecture

The Chestnut Residence in Newport Beach, California (architect Dan Heinfeld's personal residence) incorporates low VOC paints and no-paint plasters, recycled terazzo floors, and a cool roof/solar array system to provide power with the aim of being a sophisticated modern sustainable home.


Inhabit has a full write-up on the property and its integration of green building strategies.

Cedars Open Studio Tour, 11/22

Save the date for this artsy weekend event: the Sixth Annual Cedars Open Studios tour. The weekend event in the Cedars neighborhood south of Downtown features open house opportunities to see artists and their works.

The day is planned to conclude with a sunset performance art piece titled “Decorating the Tree” by glass blower Jim Bowman.

A review of the 2005 tour is posted at the DallasArtsRevue site.

Event Details:

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 11/22/2008

Where: The Cedars

Cost: Free

http://cedarsopenstudios.blogspot.com/

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. "