Oh! Gizmo

By Evan Ackerman

This is a little bit humiliating to admit… But… I move around so much that I actually own less furniture than fits in the little 31″ x 47″ box in the above picture. What’s in the box? Oh, just an armoire, a desk, a height-adjustable stool, two more stools, a six-shelf bookcase, and a bed with a mattress, all of which can be moved in and assembled by 2 people in 10 minutes without tools:

Don’t believe it’s possible? I didn’t, until I saw the video (after the jump). Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

Let me first assure any Aston Martin fans reading this that no DB6s were harmed in the making of this couch. However, it is an exact replica of the DB6 rear-end so if you do happen to be a big fan of the car, maybe it’s finally time to ditch that futon you have in the living room?

The couch is a limited edition made by Aston Martin Heritage Designs, and can be custom ordered in whatever color scheme you prefer. It also comes with an engraved number plate so you always know just how special it is. Of course limited editions and custom order color schemes don’t come cheap, and the DB6 couch will set you back over $7,300. And that price doesn’t even include the matching headrests.

[ Winding Road - Aston Martin DB6 Couch ] VIA [ Autoblog ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m a firm believer of organization through the use of chaos. For some reason my parents never really bought into that (and neither does my wife). I swear by it, as every single time I clean there’s a transition period of about two weeks where I can’t find anything. That said, my office is generally something of a mess (but I know where everything is, for the most part). It also goes without saying that my wife would never let me get a WARDROM.

This crazy thing appears a bit menacing at first glance, what with the spikes and all. I’m sure that they are quite harmless, though I wouldn’t exactly want to throw myself into them. The idea is that you can keep your clothes organized by just throwing them at the wall. They will stay where they land on the spikes for the most part, and you can simply walk over and grab them as needed.

If this weren’t still a concept, I’d probably try and get one. Sadly, there’s no word on whether or not it will actually be mass-produced.

VIA [ Yanko Design ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Created by Moritz Waldemeyer, this unique set of chairs makes anyone who sits in them feel extra special, since the glowing aura projected behind them on the wall will actually change color to match their clothing.

This new creation is a piece of furniture that interacts with what you wear changing the atmosphere and space around it. A sensor in the back of the chair reads the colour of the clothing and projects it on to the surface behind using LED lighting. This gives the individual sitting on it their own halo of light, evoking images of religious icons and kings.

The shape of his new chair evokes the design of medieval thrones. Whomever sits in the chair becomes the focus of attention, as they are surrounded by a projection of light, as if it was emulating their personal aura. The holes in the chair gradually increase in size, paradoxically making the design seem solid while also insubstantial, as though it might dissolve into the air.

Now it’s no secret that I actually hate the Ambilight technology that Philips includes on a lot of their TVs, but I’ve realized it’s only because they’re not marketing it properly. If their commercials emphasized the fact that I would feel even more like a king or an icon, I would put one in every room!

[ By Royal Appointment ] VIA [ Pixelsumo ]

By Evan Ackerman

There was literally no info on this besides the name, but it’s more or less self explanatory. I really liked the look, and it was somehow relaxing to stand there and look at the calm artwork in the midst of CES. The four displays are interlinked, but they’re not exactly skinny or light, and it makes the screen itself somewhat questionable when it comes to practicality as a piece of furniture. Hmm, if only someone would come up with some really skinny displays…

[ Hyundai Electronics ]

By Luke Anderson

Watching TV in bed seems like such a natural thing to do. I tend to turn on something rather random and set the sleep timer before I conk out, when I don’t read before bed that is. Since most people who watch TV in their bedroom do so from their bed, wouldn’t it make sense to have a TV built right into the bed frame? As long as it’s done right, I think it would be an excellent idea.

The Chicago bed from Mayflower Designs shows exactly how it should be done. Have a small LCD TV set in a rising stand at the foot of the bed. When not in use, it just retracts into the frame where it is out of sight. You can customize almost every detail of these beds from the upholstery to free standing ottomans and cabinets. This bit of luxury will no doubt set you back a hefty sum, though there’s no information currently regarding pricing.

[ Mayflower Designs ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The thought of ‘recycled furniture’ probably conjures up images of repurposed car seats, or couches made from mouse pads. But Michigan based Bike Furniture Design manages to turn discarded bicycles into some pretty slick looking chairs and tables.

While bike rims and tires seem to make up most of the structure, the furniture also borrows pieces from cars and trains including glass windows used for table tops and seatbelt webbing used as upholstery. If you’ve got an old bike you’d like to get rid of, you can even donate it to the cause, but I doubt most people would be willing to ship it off to northern Michigan.

Since the furniture is all made to order, there’s no pricing info on the Bike Furniture Design website. So just make sure you’re ready to open your pocketbook up wide if you’re interested.

[ Bike Furniture Design ] VIA [ Home Improvement Ideas ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re into the whole massage thing this chair is probably the next best thing to having a professional masseuse on staff. The OSIM uSpace provides a full body heated massage using 7 different techniques including rolling, kneading, rhythmic acupressure, tapping, vibration and more. When you sit down in the chair you can use the included remote to choose a pre-programmed massage routine, or let the ‘advanced sensors’ detect your personal acupressure points for a customized experience.

You can even connect a CD or MP3 player to the chair (which has built-in speakers) and the massage will then match the tempo, rhythm and intensity of your music. If that’s still not enough you can power-recline the chair to 170° and flip up the cocoon which will surround you with music from your player as well as one of three different mood-lighting sequences.

But if it’s your financial situation that’s got you stressed, the chair’s $4,995 price tag from Brookstone is probably not going to make you feel any better.

[ OSIM uSpace Massage Chair ] VIA [ The Green Head ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Allow me to break the news gently here. This ‘Flying Carpet Chair’ is neither a carpet, nor can it fly. But if you prefer style over functionality and comfort when it comes to furniture, there’s no doubt this would look cool in any living room. It was designed by Simon Desanta and here’s what he has to say about his cantilevered chair sculpture:

“Its swinging form stimulates playfully changing sitting positions between upright and relaxed. Flying Carpet impresses as a single piece, but can also be grouped to an ensemble.”

I particularly like that he encourages you to buy more than one to create an ‘ensemble.’ Unfortunately though while the chair does appear to be produced by Rosenthal Einrichtung, I have no idea what kind of outrageous price tag it carries.

[ Flying Carpet Chair ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While the choice of seat might seem more appropriate for a racing sim rather than a flight sim, I don’t think any hardcore gamers would complain if they found this under the tree Christmas morning. The HotSeats 723 not only includes all the accessories you’d need for a half-decent flight sim like flight controls, pedals and a Dolby 5.1 surround sound system, but it also includes a Shuttle micro PC and a 23 inch widescreen monitor.

The PC is a Pentium Duo 1.8 GHz dual core processor machine with 2Gb of RAM, a 512Mb Nvidia graphics card and Microsoft Flight Simulator X pre-installed. The rig itself is made with a welded steel and aluminum frame and is completely adjustable to accommodate a wannabe pilot of any size or age.

The HotSeats 723 normally sells for $8,049 according to GameChairs.com, but it can be yours for just $5,635. At that price you’d be stupid not to pick one up for you co-pilot as well.

[ HotSeat 723 ] VIA [ Born Rich ]