Hasta La Ideas

Let’s take a minute to just soak in the creativity that’s filled in this roundup of award-winning furniture designs from last year’s A’ Design Award and Competition. Now the purpose of this roundup is twofold. If you’re a fan of furniture design (either as a design lover, or as a furniture designer yourself), go ahead and bookmark this page for inspiration, or add these images to your Pinterest by clicking the Pin button at the top left of any image. The second purpose is to spark your imagination and get those creative juices flowing so that one day, you too could design something worthy of a design award.

Now if you DO have a design that’s relatively new or just sitting patiently in your portfolio, leveraging its creative appeal to win a design award can actually do wonders for your career. You’re ]in time to send your work over to the A’ Design Awards, with the standard entry period ending on the 30th of September. The multidisciplinary design award program spans a whole variety of categories, ranging from the traditional design disciplines like furniture, interiors, architecture, lighting, consumer tech, to more niche areas like social design, differently-abled design, education design, and even jewelry design. The international award program is hosted every year, with a grand interdisciplinary jury of 218 experts from different fields for its current 2020-2021 edition! So if you’ve got yourself a great design with a whole lot of potential, go ahead and let it boost your career and brand. If not, don’t worry! This showcase should provide enough creative fodder to motivate and inspire you!

Register to participate in the A’ Design Awards now. Hurry! The regular deadline ends on September, 30th.

01. Cloud Chair by Shota Urasaki

Capturing perhaps every child’s dream, the Cloud Chair gives you the feeling of sitting on a floating cloud. Unlike traditional chairs with 3-4 legs, the Cloud Chair is elevated using multiple metal rods, not only giving the cloud its perceived lightness and airy-ness, but also resembling steady drops of rain falling from the cloud’s underbelly. The inspiration for the chair came to Shota Urasaki after she saw a moving cloud raining over a distant coastline. Inspiration immediately struck and the Cloud Chair was born. The seat comes made from clusters of polyester fibers pierce-fitted into a block of polyurethane foam to give the visual as well as the tactile appeal of a puffy cloud. The seat rests on multiple stainless steel supports, with a mirror at its base to give the rain an illusion of continuity. Clever, eh??

02. Fllipping Hanger by Marco Guariglia and Jui-Ju Lin

Isn’t it adorable how these coat hangers resemble the leaves of a Monstera plant?? Designed to cleverly add function with a touch of greenery to your interior space, these hangers let you suspend clothes, sports equipment, umbrellas, raincoats, and hats on the various hooking points on the leaves, and they look great while they’re bare too! Two birds, one stone.

03. Lift Portable and Adaptable Shelf by Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh

The Lift shelf’s entire objective is to be accommodating. Designed to work without needing to be mounted on any wall the Lift rests with its back against a wall, becoming a tall bookshelf that you can easily place wherever you need. Its light design comes with two zigzag columns and multiple wood and copper dowels that attach in between. Powder-coated steel plates help form flat surfaces for resting items on the shelf, and can easily be moved around to create the composition you’re looking for. You could, alternatively, keep portions of the shelf empty too, adding a bit of negative space to the composition to make it look more visually appealing.

04. Acorn Leisure Chair by Wei Jingye, Chen Yufan and Wang Ruilin

Designed to be a resting area both for you as well as your pet, the Acorn Leisure Chair turns the space underneath the seat into an enclosure for small animals. The chair’s organic curves come inspired from its namesake, the acorn, and its base heavy design provides the perfect resting space for your pet, while allowing you to easily (and comfortably) sit on top. The wooden parts of the chair are CNC-machined to perfection, while the wrought-iron pipes on the base give the chair its sturdiness, while allowing your pets to see your legs as they sit inside their safe-space, providing a unique connection between both occupants! Alternatively, you could use the space under the seat to store books and pillows too.

05. 37 Degrees Music Coffee Table by 37 Degree Smart Home Ltd.

This coffee table lets you rest your hot coffee-cup while it serves up some hot beats to match! The 37 Degree Music Coffee Table comes with a 360° Bluetooth speaker built into its vertical pillar. The table’s overall wooden design does more than adding a nice visual touch to your house. The wooden enclosure also provides a great resonating chamber for the audio, allowing your sound to be as rich and creamy as the coffee you’re drinking! Besides, the vertical channel helps scatter audio in all directions, filling your entire room with high-fidelity audio. Don’t worry, listening to bass-heavy music won’t spill your coffee!

06. Butterfly Hanger by Lu Li

Elegance, thy name is the Butterfly Hanger. With a beautifully minimal design that evokes the delicate form of a butterfly, this clothes hanger is as functional as it’s aesthetic. Built out of just three components, the Butterfly Hanger requires no fasteners, glue, or screws. Just slide the wooden column into the diamond-shaped slot in both the metal frames and voila! You’ve got yourself a hanger that’s stable, durable, and beautifully minimal!

07. Poufs With 1000 Arrangements by Marco Guariglia and Jui Ju Lin

These Poufs aren’t really furniture, but are more like building blocks to make the furniture you need. Designed as plush yet sturdy quarter-circular velvet cushions, these Poufs can be arranged in a variety of styles, going from the regular Ottoman stool to wave-shaped seating, or even a lining around a planter or against the corner of a room. The possibilities are as endless as the use-cases, because designers Marco Guariglia and Jui Ju Lin believe that furniture should cater to the room’s needs, not the other way around. Each Pouf is made of a piece of 3D machine cut polystyrene, reinforced with plywood, and covered with foam + fleece.

08. Arc Guitar Stand by Hung Yuan Chang

The Arc Guitar Stand has an incredible sculptural quality to it, which is unusual for a product that’s usually designed to be really functional. A guitar stand is usually quite an unassuming product that fundamentally exists as a background element to the guitar, which sits atop it. With the Arc, the stand has an aesthetic appeal that makes it look beautiful even when there isn’t a guitar resting on it. Besides, its design does a pretty good job of propping up the instrument too!

09. Haleiwa Chair by Melissa Mae Tan

Legacy meets contemporary. Grace meets strength. Sweeping curves seamlessly merge with striking lines. Rattan, a pliant material commonly used in indigenous Philippine furniture, gets a modern upgrade when paired with a solid metal frame. The Haleiwa is a traditionally rich, handcrafted answer to the iconic elegance of the Panton Chair. Looks remarkable, doesn’t it?

10. Motichair by Koma Yang, Yuxiao Dong and Jiaxin Liang

The Motichair isn’t a conventional-looking chair, because it isn’t designed for conventional spaces. Made to be placed in an area that’s often rich with decor, flashing lights, deep basslines, and good conversations, the Motichair is designed to somehow stand out against its chaotic background. Yep, the Motichair is a barstool, and its design borders on being an art installation. With a ‘matte-meets-chrome’ carbon-fiber and metal construction, the Motichair is light yet durable, and comes with a unique metallic halo that surrounds you like rings around a planet. I guess you could say this chair is ‘out of this world’!

Register to participate in the A’ Design Awards now. Hurry! The regular deadline ends on September 30th!