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“Room dividers” as a furniture type seem a little strange, right?  Like, that category can basically include any vertical-ish group of craps.  So there are no rules.  And since there are no rules they’re hard to judge, which makes us uncomfortable because arbitrarily judging things is really what we do best.  It’s like how the “no rules” nature of other people’s dreams makes them not interesting to hear about unless you’re in them.  Or maybe I’m overthinking this.  In any case, WHAPOW, look at this new thing by Mike and Maaike!

(See also: our 2010 ICFF coverage)

Trend Report: Piles of Chairs

I’ve started blogging for Metropolis magazine, y’all!  My first trend report was just published.  It is called: Piles of Chairs.

Those of you who went to Milan this year had a lot on your plates. You navigated the ever-expanding array of booths. You deduced which satellite events were skippable. You managed to get some interviews amid exhibitor-buyer talks that increasingly resembled Hungry Hungry Hippos. You even found your way back to the hotel, despite the trains shutting down before you finished your prosecco! And this was all before some volcano erupted!

With all of the distraction, you could be forgiven for overlooking a trend or two. Particularly this one. It’s the latest example of an obscure-but-intriguing furniture-design trope that I would hereby like to dub Piles of Chairs...

Metropolis is one of my favorite magazines and I’m delighted to contribute to their blog.  You can read the whole piece here.

Today, in Smooshed-Together Furniture

My apartment is pretty small, which is probably why I’m a sucker for any furniture with multi functions.  Jon O’Conner’s apartment also small, which inspired him to design this fantastic two-for-one Table Chair.  Most of the time this piece pretends it’s just a regular coffee table, holding your fish tank, storing your magazines, books and small radios.  But on special occasions – BAM! it turns into a chair. Best yet, it’s RTA, making it extra perfect for nomadic youngsters with small living spaces.

Someday, maybe I’ll have a table chair in my apartment . . . someday – Mike

See Also: O’Conner plays, ridiculously, with stool
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Chair bold or chair bold italic?

When I imagine furniture inspired by typography, I imagine a lot of lower case h’s.  Apparently, James Lavine is smarter than I am.

James made these chairs as part of his degree project, where he tried to connect the disciplines of furniture design and the art of crafting type.  He says, “I want to design furniture while in a typographic state of mind.” I think these chairs look damn nice, and you can tell they’re inspired by type because he italicized one of them – classic.

I think you’re on to something James. – Mike

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Attractive stick furniture: It IS possible!

Where I come from there’s something of a hysteria for crafty furniture made out of other things.  You know, like things made out of antlers, or barrels, or logs.  I say hysteria because owning these things normally makes you look like a crazy person.

HOWEVER.  Greg Hatton might be proving me wrong here, because there is a 100% chance that I would buy this chandelier-thing he made.  What’s next, world, attractive barrel furniture??

Oh wait, yes.

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Gerrit Rietveld and the state penitentiary have a baby

One day, when I get put into design prison for robbing Moss or something, I think there is a 100% chance that the cafeteria will be filled with these new chairs by Joris Spiertz, and I’m going to be totally okay with that.

More pics after the jump.

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I’m having acrylic chairs and you can’t stop me

Okay, I know we just spent some time talking about how we should really make more of an effort to get away from “slick” things and their “edges” and “angles” and “lazerz” but IT’S MY BIRTHDAY SO HOLY BALLS LOOK AT THESE CHAIRS.

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Sorry neck, that scarf is for butts now

Normally speaking, hammock chairs don’t turn my crank.  This is because usually they look like this and fit somewhere between papasans and tuna helper on the things-that-remind-me-of-janky-first-apartments scale.  Right? Right.

Be that as it may, it is still possible to create some pretty baller minihammocks.  I know it’s true because of this thing Patricia Urquiola did for Moroso a while back.  And now, presented for your consideration: this thing!  Which is called the Hammock’s Hammock and is by Argentinian-American designer Maria Figueira.  Now, it’s obviously got this nice cloth-vs.-angles thing going on, but what’s interesting here is that she whipped it up in seconds* with only the materials every designer-maker has lying around the house: some steel rod, some oxy-acetylene tanks, and a stolen pashmina.  It’s like the furniture equivalent of a thanksgiving sandwich.  Only without the bacteria.  What what!

More pics after the jump!

*maybe, or days

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We’re all such lame-o sitters

Love this nonsensical video of Jon O’Conner playing with a stool.  Your instructions are to mute the audio and put on the Benny Hill theme when you watch it.

See also:  Shrimp running on a treadmill

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If the cube fits

I hope by the time I have kids I’ll be able to convince them that babies are made in these gold-lamé-and-black-fiberglass cube eggs from the future and then are dropped down our chimney by Devendra Banhart and Gwyneth Paltrow or whatever, and aren’t they glad we got to keep the chaise?

S.O.S. – Sofa of Solitude, by Fabio Novembre.  More after the jump!

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