Hasta La Ideas

Milan 2014: Finnish design brand Iittala is showing a collection of boxy shelves, plywood furniture and glass lamps in Milan this week (+ slideshow).

The homeware collection includes a series of metal storage units by Danish designer Cecilie Manz. Called Aitio – meaning theatre box in Finnish – these can be wall-mounted to hold small objects.

These shelves are made from powder-coated steel and come in a variety of whites and greys, as well as yellow. There are also plastic hooks that clip over the edges. “My focus with Aitio was functionality, simplicity and aesthetics,” said Cecilie Manz.

The Kerros shelf by Swedish designer Matti Klenell is a side table made of plywood, which can also be used as a tray. Klenell described the shelf as “a new kind of object that sits somewhere between furniture and a household product”.

Additions to Iittala’s lighting collection include a new grey version of the Leimu lamp by Norwegian designer Magnus Pettersen, the Kuukuna lamp by Oiva Toikka and the Nappula Candelabra by Matti Klenell.

The Kuukuna, a mouth-blown glass light, was originally designed in 1986 by Toikka and has been resurrected in a slightly larger version.

Klenell’s six-candled candelabra comes in white and has evolved from the single candleholders designed by Klenell in 2012. These are now available in red and yellow. All are made from powder-coated steel.

The designs are on show at in hall 16, place D30, at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile from 8 to 13 April.

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feature in Iittala’s latest collection appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2014: a patchwork of panels on Doshi Levien‘s Shanty cabinet for Spanish furniture company BD Barcelona references the temporary housing found in cities across Africa, Asia and South America (+ slideshow).

The Shanty cabinet hides a rational storage system behind a seemingly random series of panels that is inspired by the design variation found in informal settlements, where corrugated iron is used to create unique dwellings and colour combinations that change as they fade over time.

“A lot of people think that these improvised structures are ugly, that they have negative connotations,” Nipa Doshi told Dezeen. “We really like the beauty of the improvised.”

Corrugated iron is often seen as a cheap material in the west, but takes on a new value to residents in these homes said the designers. “To [the people who build these homes] this is a prestigious material,” explained Doshi.

The lacquered MDF cabinet features extruded aluminium legs and is set to be the first piece from a bigger collection that BD Barcelona will produce in the next year.

It is available in two different configurations – one with three shallow drawers on the right hand side which can be finished in multiple colours or shade of grey. The other has a concertina-opening cabinet.

The collection is a continuation of Doshi Levien‘s aesthetic, which seeks to combine a European approach to industrial design with a strong interest in handcraft and a “way of looking at the world that is not so pure,” said Doshi.

“It’s not a one-sided European design approach,” she explained. “There’s another world out there and there are many other ingredients we can use in design that are beautiful. It’s finding beauty in everything.”

The Shanty will launch at Salone Internazionale del Mobile fair in Milan next week.

The post Shanty towns inspire panelled storage
cabinet by Doshi Levien appeared first on Dezeen.

This coat rack by German designers Christine Herold and Katharina Ganz is designed to look like birds perched along a power line.

The Birds in a Row coat rack features pointed peg-like birch hooks that clasp onto a coated aluminium rail.

The designers told Dezeen that they modelled the coat rack on “an abstract picture of a group of birds, sitting in a row, lifting up their beaks”.

The hooks can be twisted around the rail and positioned so they point up at a 45-degree angle to each side. They rest on a ridge that runs along the underside of the pole that prevents them pivoting too far.

The removable and adjusable hooks allow the coat rack to be used from both sides and the large beak-like shapes can also be used to store hats, umbrellas and bags.

Christine Herold and Katharina Ganz created two versions of the storage rack: one that hangs from the ceiling and another that is supported by wooden legs.

When suspended from the ceiling, the rail sits inside teardrop-shaped hangers made from CNC-milled birch to match the pegs.

The white aluminium rail slots onto A-frame birch legs to create the freestanding version, so it resembles electricity pylons.

The post Hooks resembling resting birds perch along coat
rack by Christine Herold and Katharina Ganz appeared first on Dezeen.

Residents climb over an integrated desk, storage space and shelving to reach the suspended upper section of this staircase by Dutch design studio Mieke Meijer.

The Object élevé is an oak and black steel installation commissioned by designer Just Haasnoot for his home in Wassenaar, an affluent suburb in The Hague.

It combines storage and access to the upper floor via a series of open frame boxes.

Handmade in Mieke Meijer‘s Eindhoven workshop, the industrial nature of the piece sits in deliberate contrast to the pale blue walls and muted tones of the residence that was built in the 1930s.

“The construction, built from both standing and suspended parts, largely consists of open frames allowing the design’s transparent character to be maintained,” explained Meijer.

The staircase is based on the samba system of alternating steps to allow the staircase to rise at a steep angle, while still remaining comfortable to walk up and down.

The lower half of the steps features wide pieces of oak integrated into the shelving and storage unit. These also serve as spaces for plants and ornaments and form part of a desk.

Halfway up the steps however, the design and purpose of the stairs changes. The steps become smaller, and form part of a suspended structure.

It features a large flat piece of oak that acts as a shelf and display, and space for a makeshift bookcase.

Beside the desk sits a cupboard with three shelves slotted into the lower structure to complete the piece.

“We were inspired by the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher,” said Meijer. “The Bechers’ black and white photography is renowned for the systematic photo series of industrial buildings that closely resemble each other in function and design. We reconstructed these buildings into functional installations.”

The Dutch design studio also took inspiration from the German photographers’ work in one of their earlier pieces, the Winding Tower 01 table.

The post Suspended staircase combined with desk
and storage space by Mieke Meijer appeared first on Dezeen.

Rather than label themselves as a design studio or designer duo, Alexis Lautier and Pierre Talagrand of Montpellier, France-based Mr & Mr prefer to call themselves “maison d’édition indépendante” or an independent editing house. “We are…

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