Hasta La Ideas

These individually folding shelf units are making the blog rounds, but I object with how they’re being billed by other design blogs as “space-saving” units. While I like the pieces and think they’re pretty, I’m not sure how they would save you space; for one, things left on a shelf typically stay on a shelf; it’s not as if you clear all your books and magazines off it on a daily basis, and even if you did, where would you then put them? Secondly, even if you were to fold up every single shelf, it seems you’re gaining mere inches of extra room.

That being said, I find the pieces handsome. Called the Klaffi shelves, they were designed by Finnish architect/designer Eeva Lithovius, come in three different finishes, and can be purchased here.

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In 2009 Konstantin Grcic designed the Table B, launching BD Barcelona’s Extrusion line of furniture. Sporting an extruded aluminum tabletop, the Table B came with three distinct leg options: Chunky concrete, cleanly-crafted oak or a web of stainless steel rods.

In 2010 Grcic followed up with the B Chair, made from ash with a dash of aluminum. The folding chair was designed to neatly nest into a horiztonal stack.

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When we first spotted NADAAA Architects’ Bob Sidetable and Edna Desk, we thought ah, sure, we’ve seen plywood stacked to create solid forms before.

It gets a little more interesting with their Gomez Coffee Table, where the stacked sheets unexpectedly give birth to a flowing lower shelf:

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Who’s the sexier guy/gal in the furniture making process: The artsy designer furiously scribbling in their overstuffed sketchbook, or the sawdust-covered craftsperson with their array of amazing tools?

I’ll tell you who it ain’t: The finisher. You can probably name tons of designers and craftspeople, but not one famous finisher. No one brags that they own a chair that was finished by Lynn C. Doyle. The finisher is the most slept-on person in the furniture process, yet provides that crucial protective coat and determines the final texture and color of the piece.

Here’s a video of furniture finishing vet Brian Miller, an instructor at the William Ng School of Fine Woodworking, a well-regarded institution in Southern California. Miller explains how to apply a simple but effective hand-rubbed finish using stuff you can get at the local hardware store. (He also advises you on the proper way to dispose of those troublesome oily rags. I like to throw mine in the corner near a stack of old newspapers next to the furnace, but I guess Miller’s way makes sense too.)

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Think back to when you were in grade school: Did you like the furniture? The stuff filling the schools of my youth was so crappy and unremarkable that I can barely remember what it looked like.

Perhaps that will be different for the next generation. Steelcase is updating the classroom with their very cool Verb line of furniture, consisting of rollable tables, desks and chairs, a system of whiteboard panels that can be used as both slates and dividers, and an Instructor Station that even has a cupholder to hold a nice, frosty beer. Or maybe it’s for coffee, I guess all of our schools were different. In any case, behold:

The Verb line isn’t aimed purely at schools, but is also aimed at “corporate learning spaces and project team rooms.” But even in the latter spaces, the cupholder is solely installed in the Instructor Station while the regular desks are blank. I kind of like that, as it allows whomever’s in charge to lord it over their dehydrated underlings.

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