There is a method behind the magic of a backyard tree house – and while it is not all fun and games, the construction process can be a participatory educational experience for children as well as an engaging do-it-yourself project for adults. Building a treehouse for kids is a rewarding project that can help refine your DIY skills.

Free from direct attachment to trees, this variant is simple, sustainable and versatile – a plywood-framed box and a set of wooden stilts. It can thus be built and deconstructed as needed, adding safety, too, over a tree-tied version.

Imminently practical (and replicable), Ravnikar Potokar Arhitekturni used standard-sized beams, boards and sheets as well as easy-to-pour concrete footings with off-the-shelf steel anchors for simplicity and stability.

Essential saws and basic carpentry skills make it easy enough for a few (safety-conscious) people to put the whole thing together from scratch, while these plan and section drawings show the basics required to make it all work.

The catch is in the erecting of the prefabricated-on-the-ground framework – one would assume, though, that the stilt supports could be put up first then cross-braces added once they were vertical.

The result: a cool little all-weather reading-room villa, four-season club house cottage and/or lofted play space lodge that is weatherproof, well-lit, modern in style but traditional in materials.

Something based on these specs would make a great little flexible addition to a front or back lawn, garden or forest space, complete with framed views on the front plexiglass facade and little operable hinged-plywood window boxes on all sides.

More from the architects

“The Tree House, designed by Robert Potokar of Robert Potokar Architecture Office and co-designer Janez Brežnik, is a wooden play structure that is elevated without requiring nearby trees to support its weight. The concept, originally designed in February 2008 as since been realized three times. The freestanding, self-supporting house-by-a-tree is a playhouse designed with contemporary design principles, deviating from precedents that model real houses or garden sheds. Instead, the design was guided by the goal of creating interesting and different spatial experiences for children that inspire new forms of play.”

The post Modern Magic: Building a Treehouse for Kids [Plans & Pics] first appeared on Dornob.

Stronger than glass, various military and commercial applications for this remarkable material are already being tested. What was once used in the science-fiction Star Trek movies, see-through aluminum is now something that – through test mixing with rubies, sapphires and more – is now being tried out in all kinds of ways to create transparency where strength is also required.

For now, it is used in static-free transparent aluminum wrapping for computer parts and other electronics. It is also being tested in otherwise-conventional see-through soda cans and military shielding for vehicles where windows once were. At over ten dollars per square inch, however, it is still not cheap enough for mainstream everyday use – but may be someday soon.

Here are some more details from Science Daily.

“‘What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before,’ said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper. ‘Transparent aluminum is just the start. The physical properties of the matter we are creating are relevant to the conditions inside large planets, and we also hope that by studying it we can gain a greater understanding of what is going on during the creation of ‘miniature stars’ created by high-power laser implosions, which may one day allow the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed here on Earth.’”

“The discovery was made possible with the development of a new source of radiation that is ten billion times brighter than any synchrotron in the world (such as the UK’s Diamond Light Source). The FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany, produces extremely brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city. The Oxford team, along with their international colleagues, focused all this power down into a spot with a diameter less than a twentieth of the width of a human hair. At such high intensities the aluminum turned transparent.”

The post Transparent Aluminum: A Real See-Through Metal first appeared on Dornob.

Not too long ago it would have sounded like futuristic science fiction, but here it is – the world’s most expensive luxury bed that is not suspended but, instead, is tethered to the ground so it does not simply drift up and away.

Seven years of study went into the development process of the permanent, non-degrading magnetic support system for this seven-figure sleeping platform. The bed frame itself is a simple rectilinear board, painted black, that appears to hover on invisible legs.

As the old argument goes: if you are going to spend a third of your life lying on something, you might as well make it something nice. Since it can hold up over fifteen hundred pounds, well, weight will not pose a problem for most people.

To be fair, it is worth questioning the real value in such an expensive solution. How is this floating magnetic bed so fundamentally different from a normal bed – or a hanging, water or other specialty sleeper? And what is it about that experience that makes the design worth as much as a mansion? Perhaps it is just another plaything for the rich, for now at least, but who knows … as technology evolves maybe it will be a teenage fad ten years from now, too. What the military did for flight, architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars may just do for the sleep (or entire furniture) industry. Maybe.

“The Floating Bed was designed as a pointer towards gravity. An omnipresent force that dictates our lives here on earth. It was done by making the exception, a Floating Bed that seems to fall up instead of down.”

“Essential in the long process of testing, engineering and designing was to make a piece of furniture that, visualy, is not dictated by gravity. Four thin cables that are tethered to the floor communicate hanging upside down. The direct surroundings and custom made covers form an integral part of the product. It can be used as sofa or mere art piece.”

The post $1.6 Million Dollar Magnetic Hover Bed first appeared on Dornob.

On the long, boring summer days of childhood, creativity tends to run wild. That creativity, however, doesn’t always manifest itself in the safest ways. For example, we can remember riding down the stairs in sleeping bags, laundry baskets, cardboard baskets, and trash bags. As fun as that was, it was exceptionally dangerous and often ended in pain.

Inventor Trisha Cleveland could save current and future generations of kids from bodily harm with her invention, the SlideRider. It’s more or less one very long plastic-covered foam mat that stretches over your stairs to turn them into an indoor slide. It features safety bumpers on the sides to ensure your little ones don’t go sliding off of the side and into the stair railings and a soft landing pad at the bottom.

When you and your kids are done playing with the slide, it folds up very neatly into a handy little package held together with a storage strap. The folded package even has handles on either side to help you move the SlideRider around and put it away.

Cleveland is developing the product with Quirky, the public think-tank that makes regular people’s inventions into real products. So far the development process seems to be moving along, but there is one unanswered question: how will kids get back up the stairs once they slide to the bottom?

Logistics aside, it’s easy to see there’s a demand for a fun and safe product like this. Quirky is reportedly looking for a manufacturer who can transform this concept into a real product for sale, and they’re soliciting opinions from the public about how much it should cost. Pretty cool, huh?

Are you an ordinary person with a cool idea for an invention, but just not sure how to actually bring it into existence? That’s exactly what Quirky is for, so give their website a look.

The post Kit Transforms Your Staircase Into a Slide first appeared on Dornob.

Some of IKEA’s furniture can’t even be ordered online … but a whole house? Yes, they will ship and build it all for a price that one might expect from them: $86,000.

In combination with architecture by IdeaBox, IKEA’s role is partly to provide likewise-economical furniture and furnishings for this dynamic abode. OK, dramatic might be a bit, well, dramatic – it is IKEA, after all, straight lines with little detail are to be expected throughout.

In some ways, the concept is all about simplifying your decisions – avoiding the paralysis of choice – while providing all the endless modular possibilities one comes to expect from IKEA.

From IdeaBox: “Working with IKEA Portland designers, we designed aktiv around IKEA systems. In the kitchen, IKEA offers a lot of flexibility in kitchen cabinets. We designed the layout, and our clients can select the colors. IKEA appliances offer state-of-the-art cooking, so we included an induction cooktop and convection oven. A counter depth refrigerator keeps food fresh, and cabinet faced dishwashers provide seamless functionality. Proven by millions walking on them in IKEA stores, aktiv offers IKEA flooring, a perfect match for active Northwest lifestyles.”

The post Flat-Pack IKEA House: Built & Shipped for Under $100,000 first appeared on Dornob.

At its core the Polaroid Zip is lightweight, weighing only 6.6 ounces or around the size of a small hard drive. It’s only 2.5 centimeters thick, so users should have no problem throwing it in a bag or pocket when they’re on the go. It has a gloss finish, however, which looks nice but seems like an odd choice for something that’s supposed to be mobile and could get scratched easily.

Set up was very simple; we turned it on and it connected to an app on our phone to walk us through the few steps. The exterior doesn’t have much, just a power button, micro-USB charging port, a reset button, and a spot for your photos to come out. To load the Zink paper, you only need to slide the top back and the pop the panel off. A full charge should last about 25 prints.

The Zink printing technology is really the most interesting part of this portable printer. Zink paper is a special technology that produces instant prints without ink. The paper is made up of several layers: the backing, heat-sensitive layers embedded with colorless cyan, magenta, and yellow dye crystals, and an overcoat. The paper appears white until the printer adds controlled heat that varies in pulse length and intensity, melting the crystals and causing a chemical reaction that allows them to retain color and solidify.

To get technical, the top layer is comprised of yellow colorless crystals, and responds to short high-heat pulses. Magenta makes up the middle and changes based on longer moderate-heat pulses, while cyan lies at the bottom and reacts to long low-heat pulses. They are separated by thin layers that act as heat insulation to moderate the thermal reactions. The end result is smudge-proof, instant prints that don’t need time to develop.

The print itself takes less than a minute to make (we clocked it at about 45 seconds). The printer doesn’t make a lot of noise, but it does make a whirring-type sound when it prints, so don’t use it in the middle of the bride and groom’s wedding vows. We were also impressed with the quality – while it doesn’t create the perfect photos you would expect from an Inkjet or dye-sub printer, the images were crisp and clear. If anything, they felt a little oversaturated.

Zink sheets come in packs of ten, and our Zip printer took the 3 x 2-inch size. It had the typical glossy finish and thickness of a classic developed photo. The paper has a sticky back if you want to display your photos easily. It wasn’t obviously apparent and it’s not the easiest to peel, but the coating works pretty well once you get the backing off. This makes the Zip printer ideal for things like taking and mounting quick ID photos. The adhesive didn’t have a super glue-like grip, but it also didn’t damage any of the surfaces we placed it on. It stuck well to indoor objects and surfaces, but it will fall off of something more textured or placed outdoors after a bit. This is a photo, after all, so it worked well for the items you would use it on, if you choose to use the adhesive feature at all.

Overall, this is a fun device to tote around on a day trip or at a party. Its small design is convenient, there’s no risk of an ink cartridge breaking, and the photos are perfect for playful montages or anything else you need a quick print of. The print won’t match the HD quality you see on your phone, but it gets the job done. At the time of writing, the Polaroid Zip printer hovers above $120 and Zink photo paper refills cost about 25 cents per sheet. It’s not the cheapest of options, but it’s priced far below similar transportable printers.

Zink paper provides a creative solution in an area that has seemed to stagnate after the digital boom. We’re excited to see where this technology goes in the future and how it will be repurposed in other fields.

The post Product Review: Polaroid Zink & Zip first appeared on Dornob.

We received an original LockSmart padlock and a slimmer blue LockSmart Mini to try out. Both had a very modern and sleek look with one interesting feature: no key hole. Many smart devices we’ve tried in the past have come with a contingency plan just in case the power goes out or a battery is running low. These locks, however, are supposed to last for two years in their default power modes and will ping your phone if their power starts to drain. While we weren’t able to test the full timetable for this, we tested them during three months of regular use and only saw the reported battery power drop six percent.

Original LockSmart

The original LockSmart is a weighty, sturdy lock. It boasts an 8mm-stainless steel shackle and a die-cast Zamak-3 zinc alloy body. This solid design gives the lock a high tensile and impact strength that won’t break easily. However, the red silicon ring around the front and back keep this tough lock from scuffing your surfaces. Since it doesn’t need to be charged very often, the USB recharge port next to the power button on the bottom has been capped with a silicon seal. It’s also completely weatherproof and has been tested in rain, hail, snow, and heat from -4 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

The lock weighs about 13 ounces, which is quite heavy but can be attributed to the high-quality materials used to make it and the parts it requires for digital functionality.

LockSmart Mini

This lock was perfect for quick security needs, like locking luggage or a locker. Its design is much slimmer than that of the original and is made from lighter materials. While the lock’s mechanical hardware has been downgraded, it’s still a tough construction: the Mini features a hardened steel shackle and a die-cast alloy body.

The entire exterior has a silicon cover, and while ours came in a nice light blue, the cover also comes in black and red. This lock definitely gives off a casual vibe while maintaining the high standards of its bigger cousin.

Performance

As this is a smart device, there is the danger of cyber-attacks to your lock, and we were impressed with Dog & Bone’s precautionary measures to keep your belongings safe. Every lock features 128-bit advanced encryption and a 256-bit cloud generated private key.

To actually access the lock, users go through their LockSmart app. Set up was simple for us and the locks were connected to our phones within a couple of minutes. The app has a very intuitive layout, and each lock can be personalized with images and names so you know exactly which one you’re controlling if you own more than one. We were also immediately prompted to update the lock’s firmware, which is a good indicator that the company continues to support and improve its products long after we purchase them.

As we were testing on an iPhone, we were given three options to unlock the device: tap to unlock, passcode, and through our phone’s Touch ID function. The app also features a map so you can track your lock’s location, and it will notify you if the lock is ever moved (perfect for catching a bike thief).Hands down the best feature for this lock is something you can’t easily do with

Hands down the best feature for this lock is something you can’t easily do with your everyday mechanical padlock: share access. Without needing to hand over a physical key, the app allows you to invite users through your phone contacts. You can give anyone unlimited access, restrict them to a certain schedule (like if you have gardeners or a pet walker that needs access), or assign a limited amount of unlocks. It was easy to share; once we sent an invite, the new user received a text message prompting them to download the app and join our lock. Every time they accessed the device, we were given a push notification and it was recorded on the lock’s activity page.

Unfortunately, we did encounter one issue when we were testing the share access feature. If one person was connected to the lock on their phone, everyone else would be denied access and couldn’t take over control. It’s not unusual to deny two users access to a device at the same time, but the language in the app confused us at first. It stated we weren’t connected and suggested turning the lock on, which wasn’t the issue. Not a deal breaker, but good to know if the situation ever arises again.

Actually opening the lock was pretty fun. Once we touched our Touch ID sensor, the lock sprang open so fast it startled us. The shackle moved very precisely, jolting open just enough so we could remove the lock, but not enough that the device falls off whatever it’s attached to. The shackle fits perfectly into the main body, a secure fit with none of the jiggling you might be used to from cheaper products.

Overall

Both locks worked amazingly. They were highly responsive and unlocked instantly when prompted. A lot of smart devices eventually become troublesome to use and therefore not much more convenient than their ”dumb” counterparts. However, we were pleasantly surprised with how quick and easy it was to unlock this padlock, and how we were even able to unlock it in about the same amount of time as a traditional padlock. We were also impressed with how clean, stylish, and user-friendly the app was. It stood out in all the right ways and made personalizing our lock set a fun experience.

The locks are priced higher than the quick-fix padlock you’d find at a convenience store, but when compared to ones of equal strength we saw no significant price difference (at the time of writing). Currently, their website prices the original LockSmart at $90 while the Mini is $70, but prices varied on other stores we checked.

The Dog & Bone LockSmart series is a great way to swap some of your practical items out for their smart tech counterparts. The lock’s features were useful, the company clearly paid attention to the strength of its physical design, and it was super easy to operate.

The post Product Review: Dog & Bone LockSmart first appeared on Dornob.

What happens when a pair of architects put their mind to making something creative? The Polimind papercraft kits! Spanning several designs, including a dragon head, an owl, and an alien, Polimind’s kits offer the chance to sit down and watch something real come to life, piece by piece. And this is exactly what the staff at Dornob did over the course of one afternoon.

Even though Mocho the owl is designated as a two-star project (out of five), we were initially overwhelmed when the pieces came tumbling out of our envelope. Some were much more complicated than we anticipated, with seemingly dozens of folds, big and small. Our instructions were very clear, but there was a learning curve with actually putting it into practice.

However, true to its rating, the process became easier and easier the more pieces we put together. The trick is patience. While this doesn’t mean there were no mistakes over the course of building the entire sculpture, Mocho did come out looking like an owl and that’s the goal!

If you would like your own kit, check out their official website or donate to their IndieGogo campaign until April 6. The other creatures include dragons, aliens and more.

More info from the creators

“Introducing Polimind Papercraft Designs – unique DIY Papercraft Kits made from pre-cut and pre-creased paper pieces that you get to build yourself from scratch similar to puzzles, but this time in 3D. It’s time to decorate your room like never before and have lots of fun while doing it.”

“Made from high quality durable paper (240gr-300gr), they are perfect for DIY and crafts fans as well as anyone interested in making their living area inspiring and alive. There is no age restriction, but a certain level of patience and coordination is definitely a plus. Polimind papercraft designs are intended for anyone.”

“All models are made from paper pieces that one gets to assemble similar to puzzles, but this time in 3D. There’s a couple of models to choose from: Dragon Head, World Map, Bow Tie, Owl Mocho, Dragon Body, Alien Osiris and the Statue. Extended goals would unlock additional models including Letters, Eiffel Tower, Modular Pattern, Lamp Shade.”

The post Papercraft Kits Make it Easy to Build Animal Sculptures first appeared on Dornob.

The world is changing and as people increasingly turn their backs on waste and excess, the minimalist lifestyle grows in popularity. At its core, this movement is about simplicity and necessity, bringing life back to the basics of form and function. It is easy to see why this is the case in the modern world because our lives are busier than ever and efficiency is key.

This is where Grovemade steps into the picture. This Oregon-based company designs and creates their own products in house with a distinctly minimalist aesthetic that allows quality to take center stage over extravagance. Wood and leather iPhone cases, small wood speakers with amplifiers, and even catch-alls, their products tend to be eclectic in function, but they all fall in line with the same vision: thoughtful design and superior craftsmanship. We at Dornob took a closer look at two of Grovemade’s products for a better idea of how well the company achieves this vision.

Grovemade’s bifold wallet side-steps the idea that “more is more” and presents a streamlined, unisex solution to how you carry your money. It holds four to eight of your most important cards (do you really need more than that?) and still has room for a few folded bills. Thanks to the tiered set up of the internal sleeves, your cards are easy to access, and a full wallet can even fit in the notoriously tiny front pockets of a girl’s skinny jeans (so long as the pockets aren’t fake). One of the only downsides is that there is no coin pouch; however, in the world of debit cards and Apple Pay, many people do not carry coins anyway, so whether this is truly a problem depends on the individual using it.

While Grovemade sets out a very simple look with this product, it still doesn’t lack for class. It is made with natural, vegetable-tanned leather and hand stitched by master Japanese leatherworker Yonezawa Leather, so it is soft and smooth in your hands and more than comfortable in your pocket. It’s also durable, yet flexible, and will only develop a more distinguished look with use, as many leather products do.

For all those times you want to go without a bulky wallet or a bag, whether you’re going to a club or on a rollercoaster, this simple piece has you covered.

The company chose a different route for one of their watches, opting for a modern update to the traditional look of a timepiece instead of scaling back. Where an ordinary analog watch has two hands for telling time, this one uses two large dots (one white and one orange) passing through 12 holes in the hand-sanded maple or walnut watch face to tell time. The watch functions no differently than any other, leveraging a shift in style over innovative function with its design.

However, style is something it has in spades. This watch comes with a vegetable-tanned leather strap that can fit both men and women, and Grovemade offers the design in both round and square faces, as well as stainless steel and gold-plated metal workings. From a distance, it provides an eye-catching profile that draws others in to look more closely at the craftsmanship and design, which are both quite impressive. The unique hands, however, might put off some people, as precise time is harder to read with circles than thin lines. This aspect speaks to a more relaxed approach to one’s day-to-day life, where exact time is less important, so while a businessman from a fast-paced company might want to take a pass, others may relish in the opportunity to shift their focus with this stylish piece.

Grovemade finds a niche as a company providing useful products on a large scale with the quality standards of a small town company. Both of the items we spent time with at certainly had something to bring to the table, but they too fill a very specific place in the market.

The post Grovemade Takes Life Back to Simplicity with Hand-crafted Products first appeared on Dornob.

When it comes to pillows, we’ve all heard of fillings like memory foam, polyester, and down, but what about buckwheat? Hullo pillows are stuffed with natural buckwheat hulls (actually a common filling throughout Asia) that provide firm support regardless of how you sleep. With a mission that promises both health and environmental benefits, Hullo’s popularity among users made us take a closer look at these sleep solutions.

The first thing we noticed about our Hullo pillow was the weight. Buckwheat hulls are sturdy and won’t break down easily, but this also means that they are not light when used as a filling. Our standard-sized pillow was filled with 10 pounds of hulls, but the great thing is how easy it was to customize this. If you are looking for a looser feel or want to adjust the filling in any way, you can easily open the zipper to take out a portion of the hulls until you have what you’re looking for. And everything is securely held in place by a twill case made from 100% organic cotton.

My first night with the Hullo was surprising. A card in the box suggested bunching it up before laying down on it so the hulls could contour to my head and neck. Immediately the pillow filling shifted to a comfortable position for me and—even better—stayed in place. A common problem for me in the past was pillows that started out comfortable only to slowly shift as I fell asleep, but the Hullo continuously provided the support I was looking for. The key is in the decision to use buckwheat hulls, which are sturdy and easily catch on to each other through their natural shape, but are also slightly springy so your head is gently cushioned.

I slept great that night, no adjusting needed, and felt no pain or stiffness the next morning. I tend to move around a lot when falling asleep and habitually read or check things on my phone after I’ve lain down for the night, but whenever I shifted my position, the Hullo moved in a way where I was still comfortable. And since the hulls are hollow, air moved freely throughout the pillow, keeping it cool throughout the night.

The one thing I was nervous about was the noise. From the moment I picked up the Hullo, it sounded similar to a shifting bean bag chair, and it was worrisome to have this against my ear all night as I moved around. However, that didn’t become an issue for me. Whenever I moved, the pillow only made a soft sound, but once I stopped, the hulls instantly stopped as well, seemingly locking into place.

I personally don’t suffer from any chronic back or neck problems, but we can all relate to having a bad night’s sleep because of a pillow that doesn’t suit your personal needs. While Hullo isn’t medically certified, users can create the spinal support they need by adjusting their Hullo to keep their alignment straight. Customers have reported back and neck pain relief and a decrease in insomnia, snoring, migraines, and other conditions they’ve been struggling with, so it’s worth a look if you’ve been struggling to find a pillow that gives you a restful sleep.

The hulls are extremely strong and should last for many years as they support your head and neck. However, since they are an organic material, they will eventually start to break down and need to be replaced. This isn’t something we could test obviously, but the concept isn’t new; all pillows eventually break down or deteriorate in some way. The hope is that your Hullo lasts longer than other fillings that quickly clump up or flatten, like polyester.

The company that makes Hullo, Hulltex, sources everything from the filling to the zipper from American businesses. All the hulls come from buckwheat plants that are grown, milled, and air-cleaned in North Dakota and are certified organic whenever possible. Hulltex believes in supporting American businesses and being eco-friendly with their product so their customers can (literally) rest easy when using their pillows.

The post A Test Run of the Hullo Pillow Finds a Great Alternative to Traditional Sleep Solutions first appeared on Dornob.

Here is a neat trick for creating a baseline color palette: use save-for-web in any image editing program and distill a piece of art or favorite photo into a basic set of colors. Along similar lines, one can also use drawings of rooms from the 1910s through the 1940s for inspiration.

AntiqueHomeStyle has indeed distilled a series of spaces into potentially reusable palettes, each based on a promotional image from days gone by.

From a blue Colonial-style bedroom from The Ladies Home Journal to a floral green-blue bedroom from the Armstrong Cork Company, these may not be laid out the way you want your interiors, but provide an interesting historical perspective and a place to start thinking about color approaches.

Images from antiquehome.org

The post 6 Color Palettes Based on Early 1900s Vintage Bedrooms first appeared on Dornob.

The word ‘icon’ has multiple meanings – the mark of many iconic buildings is that they recognizable in the form of simplified sketches or icons.

Thus this video, Covers, in which ordinary items are stacked, skewered and suspended to form shapes we readily associate with famous structures around the world.

From the Sears Tower to Falling Water, in many cases it is possible to take just a few books, or knives, some electronics or dinnerware, and communicate the essential outline of a building’s design.

“The concept is based on the music covers where the original is manipulated, re-represented, revisited to create something new. The list of originals covered on this work are the following: John Hancock Center (Skidmore, Owings & Merril), Guggenheim Museum New York (Frank Lloyd Wright), National Congress of Brazil (Oscar Niemeyer) Sears Tower (Skidmore, Owings & Merril), New Museum (SANAA), Marina City Towers (Bletrand Goldberg), Fallingwater House (Frank Lloyd Wright), Villa in the Forest (SANAA), Farnsworth House (Mies Van der Rohe), Wozocos (MVRDV).”

The post Iconic Architecture Rebuilt with Household Objects [Video] first appeared on Dornob.

Blink and you might miss it – squint or set it against a white tablecloth and you can see it. The effect appears at the periphery of the senses, but is powerful in its subtlety.

The series is called “Undertone” by Kristine Bjaadal, and it’s a brilliant way to bring the slightest bit of color and interest to an otherwise monochromatic table setting.

The underside of each dish is painted around the rim right up to the edge, but from above each plate, cup and saucer appears entirely simple and white.

Designer Kristine Bjaadal remarks, “the plates are coloured on the underside of the rim. This colour is not seen directly, but is reflected onto the table or onto another plate underneath, and is merely seen as a coloured shadow. You may not notice this subtle decoration at first glance; hence it may come as a surprise when you finally notice it.”

“Every plate is unique. The rims are hand painted, and small masked out butterflies are hiding in the colour to give you an extra greeting when you turn the plate to see where the coloured shadow comes from. For use in restaurants the pattern can easily be customized. The prototype of the decoration was made by Figgjo on Figgjo’s set Europa, designed by Olav Joa.”

As for the designer herself:

“Kristine Bjaadal is an Oslo-based Norwegian designer whose work combines the functional with the sculptural. In her work she focuses on everyday life; her practice is driven by the desire to turn daily routine into rituals that can be appreciated. Her works have a poetic quality where use of materials and design united give associations to sculpture as well as to their intended use.”

“Bjaadal’s work spans from product design for commercial clients to handmade small scale production of crafts objects. The latest few years she has also been working increasingly with exhibition design.”

The post Undertone: White Plates Cast Color on the Table first appeared on Dornob.

We get so used to seeing the same patterns over and over again, it becomes easy to forget how flexible the idea of a joint really is – particularly with new computer-driven cutting technologies.

This work by Ontwerp Duo is all about connections – while well-crafted and nicely-proportioned, the joints are what set it apart and strike the viewer from a distance, pushing the potential of new modes of construction to re-address old bespoke conventions.

This is a level of craftsmanship you rarely see these days, especially in modern furniture. It’s reminiscent of the kind of intricate joinery you often see in traditional Japanese woodworking.

“Wood joinery is functional. In the past the joinery was all made by hand. For this it was kept relatively simple. With the present day machines it is possible to make these joints faster and more accurate. Joinery made in this way is decorative as well as functional.”

“The result is a desk completely made with a CNC Router. With the joints as the decorative element in it. The desk is designed to show the joinery and give it prominent place, it is an example of how this idea of joinery can be implemented in many different ways.”

“Wood Joints – for example, between the table top and the legs – are functional. They used to be made by hand, the shape was determined by the manufacturability. With the introduction of new techniques and machines, there is much more possible, but it still uses the basic functional joints such as the dovetail joint. Nathan designed a small change in the shape of the joint, wereby the joints besides functional also becomes decorative.”

“Because they are now being produced by machines, it is possible to make the shapes more complex, while it doesn’t cost more effort or material during the manufacturing process.”

The post Decorative Puzzle-Piece Table first appeared on Dornob.

The vortograph, invented in the early 1900s by Alvin Coburn, was arguably the first form of abstract (or “non-objective”) photography. These contemporary shots adopt similar techniques but take them to (dizzying) new heights and spin them in (uncanny) urban dimensions.

While Coburn focused mainly on abstracted portraiture, contemporary creatives like  Japanese architect and photographer Kawahara Kazuhiko  (above four images) have zoomed out to take on urban settings and their vast structures.

Inspired by vortographic rotational repetitions, Kazuhiko, MC Escher and, yes, even Inception, these latter six photographs by Simon Gardiner take city streets, famous monuments, historic architecture and everyday settings of Paris, specifically, and set them on end in perspective-shifting ways.

“As an artist, most of my series doesn’t start with a given idea as I tend to respond to what I experience visually and emotionally,” he tells Archinect. “Music is big factor in cleansing my mind in order to get ‘in the zone.’ The creative outcome is further developed when I am back in the studio with my MacBook Pro and experimenting within Photoshop. Most of my series make it to blogs, online magazines and galleries around the world.

As abstraction increases through added twists and deformations, one starts to lose the trees in the forest – architectural elements take on new lives and show off patterns that are hard to see when our brains are so used to translating them as part of a whole building.

“I have always been drawn to the city and architecture, being seduced by complex structures for a long time, going back to my time as a Fine Art student,” Gardner says. “It wasn’t until 2010 when I visited New York City that I realized what potential I could tap into regarding my own photography. As a street photographer who fuses the street with a cinematic feel, the city and it’s architecture just blew me away.”

“Traveling has been very instrumental in the developmental process of my work, recently visiting London, Paris, New York and Berlin. I am always looking for new opportunities to engage with spaces that make me look at them with a new out look. Each location or building has its own character and I try to respond visually to my own interaction within the architectural space.”

The post Kaleidoscopic Cities: Vortograph-Inspired Images first appeared on Dornob.

Generic disposable containers take on new dimensions with a simple twist or touch of decoration. These three solutions show how a little extra time or material can go a long way.

Take the essentially two-dimensional Pimavera Vase, for instance – simply drop in your old bottle and voila, you have a neat receptacle for a single perfect flower.

Cover It does what the title suggests: a net sheath slips around the outside of the container, conforming to it but also transforming it. A do-it-yourself version of this would be oh so easy, too.

The Lace Vase extends the same principle upward, combining a flexible silicon rubber sleeve that snugly hugs the top of the container while opening the neck upward to turn an inwardly-tapered bottle into an outwardly-expanding vase.

The post 3 Lovely Ways to Upcycle Glass & Plastic Bottles into Vases first appeared on Dornob.