How often do you really use that dining table in your apartment? Most meals are probably consumed in front of the TV, or at a restaurant. And sure, it’s handy for the occasional dinner party or tax audit, but the rest of the time it’s just wasting space. So reclaim a good 40 square of your pad with this incredibly thin folding table by Lodovico Bernardi that practically disappears when you turn it sideways.
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There’s a perpetual shortage of space in every home. That’s why multi-functional furniture pieces like the table that Daniel Liss designed have a huge inherent demand – because they let you do more and take on more functions in a singular piece.
First of all, the table is a work desk for two. It’s got generous surface space for laptops, notebooks, lamps, pen holders, and other stuff people often have lying around on their desk when they’re working. There’s a divider in the middle to separate the two different work stations, and each side has a drawer for extra storage.
When the day is done and it’s time to call it a night, the table can be quickly and easily transformed into a dining table that can accommodate up to six people. After the dishes have been cleared, you can set it up into the dual work stations again to prepare for the next day.
It’s a clean and ingenious design that I’m sure a lot of people will find useful. The tables aren’t being commercially produced or sold yet, but hopefully they will be soon.
[via designboom via Gizmodo via Bit Rebels]
The crews of most TV shows use regular tables to have conferences and go over their work, which is fine because most shows are pretty crap. But that will never do for a quality program like Game of Thrones. What does the crew of Game of Thrones use? Why, the gates of Qarth of course.
Cat Taylor is a “Keeper of Scrolls/Behind the Scenes writer on the set of Game of Thrones.” She tweeted picture of a conference table that the crew uses to show how awesome they are and asked readers to guess what it was. Well, it turns out that this table was once the gates of Qarth.
How can you bot do great work at this table? Well, I have many complaints about the show, but still, it definitely makes everything more epic.
[via Nerd Approved]
If you’ve got a cat, you know they like to get into places they shouldn’t, and if your anipal is anything like our cat, Mr. Lucky, he wants to be where the people are all the time. Well if you’re sick of kitty stepping all over the top of your coffee table, but want to give him or her a place to hang out nearby, here’s a solution for you.
This clever coffee table incorporates a stretchy and soft woven cat hammock underneath, so kitty can rest comfortably under your feet, without being under foot.
This table was designed a couple of years ago by Koichi Futatsumata for Case-Real, and it can be ordered from E&Y for the rather princely sum of ¥199,000 (~$2118 USD). For those of us who don’t feel like spending two grand on our cats, you can always just buy them a Cat Crib.
[via Neatorama on Facebook]
If you end up doing more harm than good when tools are around, you’ll love Fraaheid’s collection of easy-assembling tables designed by a trio of Amsterdam-based architects. Cut from a single sheet of plywood, the tables use a series of strategic slots and grooves to assemble in less than three minutes without the need for a single hammer, screw driver, or roll of duct tape. More »
“Comfortable” is definitely not a word I’d use to describe airport seats. They’re fine if you only have an hour or so to go before your flight. But if your flight gets delayed, it’ll feel more like hell with the hard seats digging into your butt while you sit there for the next eight hours and try to juggle your laptop and your lunch on your knees.
And then came Kwon Jin-Seok’s Comfort Airport seating.
It’s a modular, easy-to-adjust seating system that lets weary passengers hold impromptu meetings (by converting it into a table with opposite seats), do some last-minute work (by converting it into a desk with chair), or take a nap (by converting it into an extended bench.)
Power sockets with USB hubs are also conveniently placed on junctions connecting the tables so you can charge your device while you work or play.
Comfort Airport is a convertible chair that can be easily transformed into a table on which people can use computers and mobile devices. In a grouped table configuration, it can also serve as a place to converse with friends or family. With its backrest and table folded down, it can be transformed into a daybed on which passengers can lay down for a nap
Comfort Airport is a 2012 red dot award: design concept winner. Let’s hope some airports (and other public transportation hubs) wise up and start to install something like this in the near future.
[via Yanko Design]
I always thought Q*bert was a cool game. Between the characters, funky sound effects and weird diagonal control scheme, it was definitely one of the more “out-there” video games of its time. That said, it was one of the most challenging games I ever played in the arcade. The only game that kicked my butt more was Donkey Kong. So with that in mind, I’m not sure if I should love or hate this Q*bert coffee table. Okay, I love it. That was easy.
The table was made by woodworker Gill Benzion of Ébéniste. It measures 24″(W) x 20″(D) x 20″(H) and features a marquetry detail inspired by the classic arcade game, set into a walnut veneer lid, set atop an ash base and legs. It’s definitely more elegant looking than the bright colors of the original Q*bert – and it doesn’t make weird noises when you drop things onto its isometric cubes.
You can order this one over on Etsy for $500(USD), or you can request a custom order if you’re looking for a different size. I think if I owned one of these, I’d have to go buy the old Q*bert board game and put the pieces in the empty spaces.
After seeing Aladdin whisk Jasmine off to the clouds and around the world on his magic carpet, I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to hold puffs of clouds in my hands. Not that you’d be able to really hold onto them, since they’re essentially just water vapor with particulate matter and dust, but anyway…
Designer Lubo Majer took things a little further with Cirrus, a cloud-themed set of furniture that lets you lay down not on a bed of roses, but on a bed of clouds.
It might not look like it, but a lot of effort went into making sure the clouds stayed puffy and, well, cartoonishly cloud-like. The lounges are actually stuffed with flexible polyurethane foam and propped up with a rigid OSB frame and spring system to keep them looking like clouds. And in case you were wondering, that doesn’t sacrifice any comfort at all.
You can check out the full collection of Cirrus furniture over at Dizajno.
[via Yanko Design]
Furniture that can be transformed into other pieces of furniture isn’t exactly new. I think the idea was inspired by the fact that most of us are cramped for space in our homes, and convertible furniture seems like a good solution to that. It’s not always done well, but the Sensei is one of the few that is executed almost seamlessly.
Not only is the Sensei a table, but it’s also two chairs as well. The catch is, it can’t be both at the same time; you have to choose between one or the other.
As two chairs, the Sensei features an asymetrical, futuristic design with a backrest that’s only supported on one side. If you’ve got enough stools to go around the room but not enough tables, then flip the chairs over to their sides and interlock them like so. The black and white cross at the center, forming a sort-of yin and yang right down in the middle. Once chairs are aligned, just push them together to close the gap in the middle, and voila! You now have a coffee table!
Uruguayan industrial designer Claudio Sibille, however, explains that part was accidental, since the Sensei was the product of “random geometric shapes” that he was playing around with on AutoCAD.
It’s an extremely elegant design, but unfortunately, it’s only a concept for now, with the Sensei you see here being a prototype that Sibille created of his design.
Guess it’s time to dump that lowly 60-inch flat screen and upgrade to a 100 or 150-inch screen, because you’ll want something more size appropriate if you’ve got an NES console this big sitting in your living room.
This gigantic NES console from Pixel Art Studios is actually a coffee table, and it comes with a pair of side tables that look like giant cartridges, and a pair of jumbo drink coasters that look like NES controllers.
And while it doesn’t actually come with an NES console, you could always stash one inside the hinged cartridge door and hook it up to your TV. There’s even a pair of outlets on front for you to plug your console(s) into. I suggest that you get one of those old CRT projectors that can throw a 100 inch picture and has lots of old school scan lines.
The first six sets are available for pre-order now for just $1450(USD) – including shipping – and that’s for the table, side tables, coasters, and two pieces of 18″ x 18″ gaming pixel art to finish the look. After those sells, the price will go up to $1700 with shipping. Head on over to Etsy and get your living room outfitted in 8-bit style now!
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