Hasta La Ideas

Milan design studio Skrivo has combined a steam-bent wooden frame with woven rattan material to create this angular chair.

Designed for Italian brand Miniforms, the Colony armchair by Skrivo has a seat and backrest formed from woven strips of dried vine using the traditional process called caning.

“Caning has always caught our eye,” said the designers. “It is functional, sustainable, resistant, lightweight and most importantly it reminds us of furnishings from the past.”

Sections of beech wood were steam-bent to create the rounded frame. Curved elements are joined to make a hexagonal shape around the outside of the chair.

More poles connected to the corners support the cane material, often referred to as rattan after the Southeast Asian plant it is sourced from.

A pair of bars is bent in two places and run from the front to the back of the seat, forming four legs.

The chairs are available in both natural finishes or painted bright colours. Cushions can be added to the seat for extra comfort.

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steam-bent wood and rattan appeared first on Dezeen.

Stockholm 2014: Swedish designer Gunilla Allard’s Cajal sofas and armchairs feature slender tubular steel frames that support chunky upholstered seats (+ slideshow).

Allard designed the collection for Swedish furniture brand Lammhults, and said the line of steel that forms the frame was influenced by a cosmetic called kajal (or kohl) which is often used as an eyeliner.

“My process began with the small sofa,” said Allard. “A petite sofa with a visible tube frame that wraps around the back like the stroke of a pen, or why not a kajal pencil?”

Lammhults asked Allard to design a collection that was “slender, contemporary and restful”, and particularly suited to use in offices, restaurants or waiting rooms.

The resulting pieces are developed around the minimal steel frame, which follows the shape of the armrests and back and can be specified in colours that complement or contrast with the upholstery.

Its slim profile provides a visually lightweight base for the seat, which seems to balance on slanting rods that connect the back legs to a bar running along the front of the frame.

The shell of the seat is made from glass-fibre reinforced polyurethane covered in foam that can be upholstered in fabric or leather.

The range comprises an easy chair and a sofa in large and small variations. The armchair and large sofa feature a deeper seat cushion than the less imposing small sofa.

Lammhults launched the Cajal collection at the Stockholm Furniture Fair earlier this month.

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balance seats on thin metal frames appeared first on Dezeen.

Stockholm 2014: Italian designer Luca Nichetto and Portuguese furniture brand De La Espada have launched a lounge chair as the first product from a new collection.

The Elysia chair is the debut piece from Luca Nichetto‘s 50/50 range for De La Espada.

The frame of the chair consists of two parallel wooden legs that are joined by a wooden crib-like structure. This crib holds the padded upholstery and meets in two triangular points at the arms.

“The skeleton, traditionally hidden inside the upholstery, is deliberately exposed to showcase the craftsmanship and premium timber,” said Nichetto.

The Danish-oiled frame is made of either American black walnut or European ash and the upholstery is available in a range of fabrics, covering the harder outer shell and soft padded cushions inside.

“The project takes its name both from the concept of balancing skilfully hand-crafted wood with complementary materials at a ratio of 50/50,” said Nichetto. “From the idea of designing a collection that creates a whole environment in the spirit of the great architects of the 1950s.

The collection was launched during Stockholm Design Week, which took place last week.

Nichetto also revealed ceiling-mounted office dividers for Offecct and a lamp shaped like a cheese fondue pot at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair and Northern Light Fair.

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with a chair by Luca Nichetto appeared first on Dezeen.

This alarm clock created by Adrian and Jeremy Wright for French design brand Lexon is turned on and off by flipping it over (+ slideshow).

The FLIP clock by DesignWright for Lexon is a small rectangular case, with “ON” written on one of the larger surfaces and “OFF” written on the opposite side.

When ON is visible, the clock’s alarm has been activated and a smaller clock symbol appears in the right-hand corner of the display to indicate what time the alarm is set for.

When the alarm rings, the user simply turns the clock upside-down to reveal the OFF side.

The numbers on the LCD display automatically rotate when it tips over 90 degrees so the time is still displayed the correct way up.

“The concept came from a simple observation that the seven segment display is symmetrical, which allows you to display numbers both ways up,” explained Adrian Wright. “We thought instead of trying to find a small button in the dark to turn the alarm on/off, you just turn it over and the time flips as well.”

Both sides of the clock are touch-sensitive, acting as both a snooze button and also a way of illuminating the LCD display.

The FLIP comes in ten colours and is made from ABS plastic with a rubberised finish. “We didn’t really design the product for anyone in particular, but when we heard that people were also buying it for their children, we realised we must have got it right,” said Wright.

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by turning it over appeared first on Dezeen.

Stockholm 2014: Swedish studio Front presents spherical glass lamps that appear to be steamed up at the Stockholm Furniture Fair and Northern Light Fair, which opens today.

Front‘s Fog pendant lamps for Swedish lighting brand Zero consist of a glass ball that is frosted on the bottom and gradates to transparent at the top. “With no apparent light source, Fog looks like a flaming planet, a mystical hovering globe,” said the designers.

The spheres were sand-blasted on the inside to create the foggy effect and at first glance the light seems to shine from this cloudy base. “The light appears to shoot up from the bottom of the globe, emitting an ambient glow that rises like a magically fiery fog,” the studio said.

In fact an LED light source is hidden in the socket, which illuminates the frosted glass so it glows. The effect is intensified in the dark, when the contrast between the top and bottom is amplified.

Metal fixtures are available in copper or powder-coated in black or white, and also with a black or white cord. The lamps are currently on display at the Stockholm Furniture Fair and Northern Light Fair, which continues until Saturday.

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Fog lamps for Zero appeared first on Dezeen.