Karim Rashid’s Metal Tiles for Alloy

I have always been obsessed with patterns. Working with ALLOY has given me a great opportunity to play with the idea of pattern, grid, and repetition. A pattern is a way of giving richness and depth to our Cartesian landscape. The more diversity of line, shape, and composition, the more interesting a single cell is. The undulating, curvilinear forms give a 2-dimensional surface a sense of 3-dimensions. These elements repeat in a predictable manner but they are designed to contradict the square tile. This collection for ALLOY is organic in shape because I believe that the world needs a softening and a more fluid human spirit.

Personally I think the collection rocks. The patterns are great and the way each tile takes on a different shade of the metal color depending on how and what angle the light touches it provides a drama in itself. This is great for accent walls. Too much though and the pattern could make the room tiring.

Balls of every color

I saw these at the flower section of the department store at SM Megamall. I just found them oh so fuzzy and pretty. There were balls for every color combination you can think of for the arrangement that you want.

The Split Personality Sofa

Here’s what the designer have to say about the furniture:

A new piece of furniture is based on the differences in a relationship. He enjoys coffee, she enjoys tea. He reads biographies, she reads thrillers. He is gray, she is colorful. She wants change, he does not…

Split Personality is developed from from a view of two opposite personalities who – because of their differences – supplement each other and enables many different uses. The shape and the textile expression is developed in unity, and it is exactly in the meeting of textile and furniture that Split Personality comes into character.

The furniture is padded in lanes which could be used to create a customizable coloring on the back by allowing the lanes to be changed by the end user. The furniture is meant to be used in the middle of the room to allow both sides to be experienced and can thereby also function as a room divider.

The Split Personality Sofa was designed by Danish designer Ditte Maigaard. The design looks good and the flaired backseat definitely adds character to the design. The thing is I would have liked the colored and textured part to be in front instead of the back. That way the sofa would have more visual impact in a room and it wouldn’t have to be placed in the center of the room so that you can enjoy the back. It’s better that way don’t you think?

A Designer working from Home

One of the perks of working from home is getting to set up your own office space. That's what I have at home. I had a custom-made desk tailored to my designing and storage needs. It's a pretty sweet setup I tell you. The only problem now is getting the perfect office chairs to go with it. The chair is pretty important because you’re going to be spending hours sitting on it so it really has to be comfortable.

This is where I made a mistake the first time. I settled for one of the ordinary chairs, the cheapest one that I could find without any consideration for comfort. I didn’t even bother with choosing the color. It was the generic type – black, without arms, not comfortable and cheap. Now I have a problem. I can’t work for more than 2 hours without my back hurting. I know I need to replace this chair soon and go “chair hunting”.

This time I’d be more careful. I’m not going to break the bank if that’s what you’re thinking. I do want to be practical and consider comfort as my number one priority, then affordability the next. Who knows I might even find one of them executive chairs that’s the right fit for me. Hmmm. Wouldn’t that be nice? With that in mind I would probably working for longer hours but at least I’d enjoy doing it without worrying about back pains at the end of the day.

So if you’re planning on making your own home office setup. Don’t skimp on comfort. Don’t make the mistake I did. For one, you’ll be the one enjoying this new home office and you should be able to work in it without feeling that what you’re doing is work. Get it? Happy designing and happy chair hunting. I know I’m excited to pick out the perfect chair for me.

Occasional Chair Picks from Oz design

From top left: Opera, Eclipse, Harris, Melba

Check out other furniture options at the OZ Design Website.

The Wave Hammock

This certainly caught my eye. Designers Erik Nyberg and Gustav Strom did right by this design.

Two sections of light, perforated fabric create both a gently curved seating area and an extra-wide canopy to shelter you from the sun's rays. Looked at in profile, the Wave hammock resembles an oversized jungle leaf curving up from the ground to shelter the smaller, gently curved seating area. A single, pivoting base allows you to sway gently with the breeze or remain stationary. The upper “leaf” and seating area are joined by elegant curves of stainless steel. You'll love the sensation of being cocooned in comfort while enjoying a breeze.

Available in white, cappuccino, black or turquoise

The Wave Hammock is a great addition to your patio. If you plan to get one, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ll hang out there for most of the time.

Design with a Cause

Not only are these cute but they also send a powerful message about global warming and the possible polar bear extinction. These were designed by Chaiyut Plypetch for Propaganda.

The Polar Bear Drain Stopper

  Polar Bear Cup Lid

Fancy leather in your tub?

This would be perfect for a bachelor’s pad. It’s very creative to incorporate leather into a ceramic tub. This Haute Couture bathtub was from Condor-Paris.

A look at the Cullen’s home

Table R Collection

Fabric Table R (Fabric Table Radiolaria)

Coffee table with toughened glass top (Glass thickness 8mm)
Material: GRP (Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic)
Colour: Available in any colour (Black, Ivory, Dark Blue, Dark Red, etc) with either satin or high gloss finish
Size:L125cm x W70cm x H47cm
Limited Edition of 25
Price on request
Fabric Table R can also be specially commissioned with a one-off with unique pattern either in GRP, Aluminium Alloy or Bronze
(Fabric Table R will be manufactured by a British company in UK with fire resistant materials)

Designer developed fabric stretching design techniques to generate furniture’s geometries, replicating building processes found in nature.
To generate these organic forms, the designer stretched a single piece of fabric by hand into a three-dimensional form, which was then hardened to transform into the design.

The resulting shapes were not set by the designer. Rather, he allowed the fabrics to deform to generate the final shapes, replicating building processes found in nature.

This design is about appreciating nature’s simple, yet advanced design process.

This table would be perfect for a retro themed bachelor’s pad.

The Elephant Chair

German designers Eva Paster and Michael Geldmacher of Neuland Industriedesign have come up with a chair design for the Italian furniture manufacturer Kristalia.

The Elephant chair is:

A steel pipe construction winds through luscious leather gracefully imitating the backbone of an elephant, creates the comfortable seating pod in one flowing move which comes to its conclusion in the elegant swing of the arm rests.

The Elephant chair impresses by its unusual details. Shape, material and fabrication produce a graceful melody – reduced to simple notes without losing the beauty of the sound. This harmonious play of construction, aesthetics and pure quality which appears to come together without effort allows this chair to have rightful ambitions to become a must-have item. A well executed marriage between functionality and comfort – and moreover a wholly sensual experience.