Hasta La Ideas

Here’s an interesting use of an oddly-shaped interior. Tasked with renovating a house in Tokyo with a slanted roof, under which a full second storey wouldn’t fit, Murayama + Kato Architecture added a sort of elliptical catwalk around the perimeter of the main room.

There’s only enough headspace for an adult to stand on the staircase end of the catwalk, where “It feels like you are standing on a pond and looking into the deep bottom,” according to M+KA.

Beyond that area, the catwalk provides space to sit on the floor (not a problem in Japan) and, at the kitchen end, a tiny percentage of it can be used as overhead shelf space.

We could never have interiors like this in America because of, well, litigation. Any American architect attempting something like this would have probably covered the opening with a comprehensive hammock, which I think would ruin the effect.

The unseen bedrooms, by the way, are down the flight of stairs by the kitchen.

via Curbed

VDF products fair: Swedish designer Monica Förster paired organic curves with a compact design for her Panda seating, which is available as an armchair, two-seater or three-seater sofa.

Designed for British furniture manufacturer Modus, the Panda seating range by Stockholm-based designer Monica Förster is designed to suit “space-conscious” environments.

Characterised by its soft, rounded aesthetic, the Panda sofa is supported by a powder-coated steel tube frame available in various finishes including black grey, silk grey, grey blue or wine red.

The seating comes in three different forms: an armchair, a two-seater or a three-seater sofa, with an accompanying chaise longue and low table. It is available in a wide range of fabrics and leathers.

“Panda is characterised by organic curves and a compact shape; a perfectly formed soft sofa, making it ideal for space-conscious schemes,” said Modus.

“Available as an armchair, two-seater and three-seater sofa, with accompanying chaise and low table. An elegant powder-coated metal frame gently cushions Panda’s rounded form.”

Product: Panda sofa
Brand: Modus
Designer: Monica Förster

About VDF products fair: the VDF products fair offers an affordable launchpad for new products during Virtual Design Festival. For more details email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post Panda sofa and armchair by Monica Förster for Modus appeared first on Dezeen.

VDF products fair: Peony, a pattern from Superflower’s Florescence wallpaper collection, takes inspiration from traditional Japanese flower arrangements.

Superflower is a design studio based in New York founded by Niki Bergen and Andrew Zuckerman. Peony is from Florescence, the studio’s inaugural collection, and is inspired by Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging.

“Superflower is a design studio that creates patterns from precise photographic investigations of the natural world,” said the founders.

“The inaugural wallpaper collection Florescence was inspired both by Edo-period Ikebana and 19th-century Victorian patterns,” they added.

“The studio is driven to explore this rich history to fashion new forms for the future, seeking a median space that is not completely pure and not too manufactured.”

Three patterns from Florescence have been acquired for the permanent collection at The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Product: Peony
Collection: Florescence
Brand: Superflower

About VDF products fair: the VDF products fair offers an affordable launchpad for new products during Virtual Design Festival. For more details email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post Peony wallpaper from the Florescence collection by Superflower appeared first on Dezeen.

VDF products fair: designer Michael Sodeau‘s Lily Compact chair for British furniture brand Modus is inspired by the shape of a calla lily.

The chair by the British designer has a curving foam shell that dips at the centre to resemble the head of the flower, which is native to southern Africa.

The product comes in a range of colours from a deep, aubergine-purple to mustard yellow and comes in a version with four tubular steel legs or a single-column swivel base.

Intended to be a more compact version of Sodeau’s original Lily chair, this model has a replaceable cover.

“Lily Compact takes inspiration from the pure simplicity of the calla lily plant,” said Modus. “Lily Compact follows on from Michael’s original Lily chair but is specifically designed to be more compact, lightweight and sustainable.”

“With its clever removable zip cover, Lily Compact can be easily reupholstered with a replacement cover, which simply slides over the moulded foam shell.”

The Lily Compact is also available as a sofa.

Product: Lily Compact chair
Brand: Modus
Contact: sales@modusfurniture.co.uk
Designer: Michael Sodeau

About VDF products fair: the VDF products fair offers an affordable launchpad for new products during Virtual Design Festival. For more details email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post Lily Compact chair by Michael Sodeau for Modus appeared first on Dezeen.

VDF products fair: bold, graphic lines define these Giga earrings by Scottish jewellery brand Nmarra, which are made from gold-plated brass.

The Giga earrings are part of Nmarra’s statement earring collection, which comprises supersized hoops, drop dangle earrings, large geometric studs and small lobe studs, each designed to “frame the wearer’s face”.

Nmarra took design cues from ancient symbols, architectural details and typography when making the earrings, which are made from gold-plated metallic brass and finished with a wax seal to minimise oxidization.

“These lightweight brass earrings are easy to wear, with gold plated hooks or soldered gold plated stud posts and backs to keep your ears comfortable,” said the brand.

The jewellery company is based in Glasgow, Scotland, where it uses batch industrial processes to achieve the products’ distinctive sharp lines.

“All pieces are designed and hand-finished in the studio in Glasgow, using local suppliers and with component parts sourced from within the UK wherever possible,” the brand said.

Product: Giga statement earrings
Brand: Nmarra
Designer: Nmarra

About VDF products fair: the VDF products fair offers an affordable launchpad for new products during Virtual Design Festival. For more details email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post Giga statement earrings by Nmarra appeared first on Dezeen.