Zen Wardrobes for the Modern Bedroom
By the
definition of Zen, one finds enlightening as a sudden understanding. Zen in
design typically means that there is understanding and clarity where the core of the room is revealed for the first time. Pictured here are the Solaio
wardrobes in a
modern bedroom setting. From my perspective the
wardrobes belong there, neither dominating the room nor being diminished in the
design of the room. I like this
simple style as it speaks of Zen clarity and moves away from the clutter prone perspective that we as humans gravitate towards. Product information: here.
Continue reading "Zen Wardrobes for the Modern Bedroom" »
Interview with Mehdi Mojtabavi - The Love Mattress Designer
In December 2007 we presented on Freshome an interesting product that a lot of
people liked. That poduct is called the Love Mattress. I also liked this product so much that I’ve decided to
contact Mehdi Mojtabavi, the
designer of this innovative matress for an interview, and here it is, plus
pictures at a higher
quality, just in time …for Valentines Day …the Love Mattress.
Freshome : Tell us a few things about Mehdi Mojtabavi (example: where you live, how old are you, education, and a brief introduction for our readers).
Mehdi Mojtabavi : I was born in 1974 in Mashhad a city in north east of Iran. I graduated in BA with a degree from the
industrial design course at the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Tehran. Now I live in Tehran and run my own
design office, Gooya
design.
Freshome : We love the Love Mattress. Tell us a few words about this prject and how did you come up with this smart idea.
Mehdi Mojtabavi : It was a
problem for me and had made busy my mind for awhile. I believe that lovely embracing specially between partners is one of the most calmative and continues situations. Embracing and body connection after love
making is very important for strengthening relationships. It causes feeling safe and shows a real love especially to females. (Ref. to sexual abuse in psychology) Nevertheless, what usually stops this pleasant state is not mental tiredness; it is physical weakness. Considering
different body forms and sizes and sleeping
styles, it seemed impossible to find a solution for this historical
problem at the beginning. Developing some raw ideas and
correcting them step by step made this concept. This is what usually happens when I
design something.
Freshome : We know that The Love Mattress is just a
design concept right now, any chances to see the product in
stores, or available somewhere?
Mehdi Mojtabavi : As you know there is a long way from conception to mass production. When a
designer introduces a concept, it means there is no any similar product in the market. So you are not able to use other producer’s experiences. Mass Production itself has several steps from research to development and final engineering. Although Marketing planning can be done simultaneously, the whole process takes time any way. So be patient if you wish to have one.
Freshome : How did you get into
furniture/product
design? How you came to be a
designer?
Mehdi Mojtabavi : From childhood I discovered my ability in art, and used to do
painting, sketching, cartoon, music, and what ever I could do in that area. I even used to make some musical instruments for awhile and used to spend my weekends and summers working in a
decoration workshop for 3 years. All of these were before my eighteen years old. During those years I was in love with architecture and I was waiting impatiently for entrance to the architecture academy. When I get familiar with
industrial design, I found it more practical and suitable for me. Today, although I still like architecture and other arts, I love and focus on product
design. I believe that product
design is the most complicated field of
design. In fact, more complication causes more enjoy.
Freshome : Tell us a few things about your
design philosophy and process.
Mehdi Mojtabavi : I gave a hint to complication of product
design. I have to mention that this complication is an internal and
hidden character for a product. I believe that what
should appear in form and function is only simplicity. This simplicity is based on complication. Look at our body, extreme external simplicity comparing with extreme internal complication. Even in a single part well
designed product, a professional can find numerous complicated details which an ordinary user doesn’t and
shouldn’t feel them.This is my main philosophy in
design.But what I
design usually? Apart from clients’ projects, most of my
designs are about our forgotten
simple daily
problems which I believe, changing the world can start
easily from this point. Eslimi T-shirt hanger and Easy Tape dispenser are two other my award
winning concepts which show my attitude.
Freshome : Where do you find your
inspiration for
design?
Mehdi Mojtabavi : Nature
Freshome : Any
advice for others who want to work in this domain?
Mehdi Mojtabavi : Innovation will happen exactly when you come to a dead-end in your
design. When you feel you have found the solution and your mind doesn’t work any more, this is when exactly you are passing whatever you have seen or experienced before. Here is the beginning of
innovation.
Freshome : How is a day in Mehdi Mojtabavi life ?
Mehdi Mojtabavi : Well, I spend most of my time on
design even weekends. Of course all of my activities are not necessarily financial. I go through the
design books and websites to see good
designs every day. This keeps my
design sense up to date. I
review design article titles and read one or two most interesting of them every week. Recently I spend a few hours a week on organizing our new society called ISPID (Iran Society of professional
industrial designers) which aims pure
design from professional
designers’ point of view, not doctor-professor-theoreticians.
Freshome : Can you share a piece of wisdom with Freshome readers? Something of value that life thought you.
Mehdi Mojtabavi : The only thing in the world which I can trust to is “Science”.
Freshome : Tell us about other projects you are working on right now.
Mehdi Mojtabavi : At the moment I am working on a competition-project for an international
company. They have invited some award
winning designers to participate this project.
sectiontags: miscellanea
NO SPELUNKING with these tubular-shaped units envisioned by Derek Chan–Section only measures 16″ in width–although the hollow space does make for an excellent place to stash books, clothing and just about anything else you want. Multi
functional in nature,
pieces can be stacked or strong along to
create your own
furniture ranging from shelving to
seating. The latter is made tolerable with wool felt padding; in wood it serves more as an interesting
coffee d furniture
Popularity: 4% [?]
Bedside Table Light, The NOD Light
The NOD Light is a bedside table light or wall mounted light, that can be used to store a few small personal items, and of course keep you a little more organized. As you can see from the
picture attached, the
manufacturer suggest, that this bedside table light can be used to organize and store a book that you read before going to sleep, your glasses and his dentures in a sleek bedside unit. Of course that you can use it for your personal stuff, I’d suggest …a
magazine, your watch, and finally your cellphone. This bedside table light can be yours for $220.00 from here.
Donate Furniture - 30 Charity Ideas for Your Old Furniture
When you need to donate
furniture there are many charitable organizations out there that need your support. As a writer for Furniture Fashion, we always talk about new products and
create excitement about updating the look of your home. When you decide to get new
furniture, what do you do with the old stuff? One of the primary answers is to find a place that accepts
furniture donations.
I set out in this article to provide a list of potential charities for you to choose from. You may be able to find one that meets a
Beverly Hills: Passion / Leather Bedrooms area such as pets, kids, conservation, the homeless, etc. Depending on your city each charity may not operate in that town. It may take a bit of searching on your part, but I am sure that there is a need out there for your ol
d furniture.
Continue reading "Donate Furniture - 30 Charity Ideas for Your Old Furniture" »
Furniture Inspired by Scrabble Game
Today I’ve received a piece of
furniture that is worth publishing in this blog, sent to me by an anonymous visitor via Send Us Tips form. If you also have something interesting related to home
inspiration,
furniture, architecture … I encourage you to send to me. I’ll read every email.
But let’s come back to this submission. In my email I didn’t had any details about this interesting piece of
furniture inspired by Scrabble, just some
pictures. So I’ve searched for more information and I’ve found that these
pieces of
furniture inspired by Scrabble are made by Stephen Reed for employees in the London offices of Bloomberg financial services. Users can make words and leave messages with the screen printed letter
cushions, a nice form to personalize this piece of
furniture.
Inflatable Japanese Teahouse
Japanese Tea Houses are among the most beautiful and serene structures on the
planet, and are usually
minimalist in
design and modest in size. This inflatable Japanese teahouse,
designed by Kengo Kuma, was
created for an exhibit at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt. At a first glance you don’t even know that is a house I thought that is a inflatable balloon, and maybe discotheque, but not a
japanese tea house. Normally this type of structure does not make it past the drawing board, but the Japanese have more guts then we do when it comes to architecture. I don’t know why they wanted to build this house because is just a waste or material, time and money.
The teahouse does not rise up from the ground as a fixed
wooden construction, but unfolds as an airborne form. When a ventilation
system is activated, the teahouse swells into shape like a white high-tech textile blossom. In its
interior, comprising a surface of approximately twenty
square metres, are nine tatami mats, an electric stove for the water kettle, a tokonoma niche and a preparation room. Integrated LED technology allows the use of the teahouse at night; the
interior can be heated by way of the membrane. Finnaly ..one questions for my readers ..when you saw this house what did you think it was ? - Via - Dvice & Slipperybrick
Wood Table/Stool by Albero
If you love nature, and if you would like to feel like in the middle of nature, these
simple pieces of
furniture made from fallen trees can make your home look that way. They’re made from fallen trees, so they are environmentally
friendly, and, since they are put
together by hand, the
natural characteristics are preserved. Legs are made from solid wood branches of various trees. The price for this piece of
furniture is $1025 - $1200, because they are put
together by hand. I think that is quite
expensive.
Prefabricated House - Upcher by Bates Masi
The
desing of the Upcher House by Bates Masi is a project for a writer and was a study in adaptability and re-use. The house was
designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary
spaces that feed off it. The structure is an
adjustable cantilevering rock
system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns.
From these appendoges
cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany book
shelves walkway around the perimeter of the library. Pre
fabricated concrete foundation walls,
formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn akoume wood, aluminium windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens,
cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come
together to form the house. The
houses’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a mutiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the
design.
Flip Flap Daybed by Dune Furniture
If you are
looking for bright
colors with a
modern look the Flip Flap daybed may be just the piece for your
Living Room. My favorite feature on Flip Flap is the super magnet that holds the cushion. The cushion can be adjusted into any position while the super magnet is strong enough to hold it in place. This is wonderful since you can see that the daybed can become a n
Calligaris: Ice Chair / Dining Chairs or a longer chaise type chair depending on which side you sit on. Flip Flap was
designed by Ana Mir and is constructed of polyurethane foam over a
wooden frame with
stainless steel legs. Information: Dune Furniture.
