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Available in either unfinished steel or black, this modern kitchen system is designed to be just as functional as it is beautiful. The hard-wearing surface is a thin, embossed stainless steel sheet on top of an MFC board framed with extruded profiles of anodized aluminum. The handles of the drawers and cabinets are integrated within those profiles to eliminate the need for hardware, placing all the visual emphasis on the metal.

REFLECT marks an unusually minimalist project for Nouvel, whose works are typically complex and highly ornamental. But like his architecture, the thoughtfully designed kitchen system has a way of adapting itself to its environment, changing throughout the day as its reflective surfaces softly mimic the various colors and shapes found throughout the space.

One could also say that REFLECT is a new high point for Reform, a brand first founded in 2014 to offer upgraded cabinet fronts designed for IKEA base cabinets. Aiming to bring quality design to all, regardless of budget, Reform collaborates with architects and designers to create modern kitchen spaces that are stylish, accessible, and able to stand up to everyday use by everyday people.

It’s Nouvel’s “gift for conceptualizing light” that makes REFLECT stand out. The renowned Pritzker Prize-winning French architect has demonstrated a love for shimmering surfaces throughout his career, as seen in such projects as the Philarmonie de Paris, Gasometer A in Vienna, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Torre Agbar in Barcelona. In fact, while most of his works are strikingly different from each other, the continuous threads that run through his entire repertoire might be the way the building facades play with light and shadow, and the sensitivity and responsiveness with which the structures interact with their surroundings.

About architect Jean Nouvel, via Reform:

“Jean Nouvel is one of the most important architects of the modern era. His strong stances and somewhat provocative opinions on contemporary architecture in the urban context together with his ability to inject originality into all the projects he undertakes have formed the decorated architect’s international image. Jean Nouvel’s work does not result from considerations of style or ideology, but from a quest to create a unique concept for a singular combination of people, place, and time. His contextual approach and ability to infuse a genuine uniqueness into all the projects he undertakes have consistently yielded buildings that transform their environments and indelibly mark the cities in which they are built.”

The REFLECT kitchen system is now available to order in the U.S., and integrates with Reform’s own base cabinetry system as a series of fronts, cover panels, and plinths.

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If you’ve been following our posts about designing small spaces over the years, you probably already know the answer to this problem. A combination of built-in cabinetry and hideaway furniture that’s easy to access and put away can make even the most challenging tiny spaces livable, and that’s exactly what K-Thengono Design Studio did for their “3-in-1 Living” apartment design.

The designers gave the couple the master bedroom of their dreams, clean and simple with plenty of storage, closets, display spaces and room to walk around the queen bed. The bathroom is a standard size, as well, so they didn’t have to sacrifice any functionality there. They also managed to fit a small bedroom for guests or future children. But as you can see in the original floor plan, that didn’t leave much room for anything else.

K-Thengono’s alteration incorporated additional built-in storage into every room and created a streamlined cabinet system that takes up an entire wall of the remaining space. Hidden behind the minimalist white cabinet doors is everything you’d find in a bigger apartment, including a fold-down dining table and two fold-down benches, a couch hidden in its own little nook, and tons of room for all the couple’s stuff. Some of those cabinets even become displays when various components are in use, like the dining set. Others remain closed to hide things the couple doesn’t necessarily want to show off.

“When all the panels are closed, the clutter is hidden inside, the living space allows some extra activities like yoga and home workout to take place,” the designers say. “Both the master bedroom and bathroom are connected with a translucent pivot metal door to maximize the daylight penetration. Sliding panels are used to hide unorganized closet space in the rooms or allow the veneered wooden rack for displays. Functionality is key to the various design strategies, making every piece of furniture as efficient as possible for multiple uses.”

The wall opposite the cabinet is almost entirely mirrored, including the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom, to create the illusion of additional space. With a sliding glass door and balcony on the end and all that white, there’s plenty of daylight to go around, and the view becomes the focal point. It seems like the couple isn’t much into cooking, either, since the kitchen remained the same size before and after, located just inside the front door.

Another thing to note: there’s no loft involved in this small-space renovation. Lofts are often a great way to make use of vertical height, which often just ends up being wasted space. Sometimes, when ceiling height allows, they’re placed on top of new built-in cabinetry units like this one to free up even more floor room. It’s a smart tactic, but not everyone wants or is able to climb up into a loft to go to bed. But this design demonstrates that you really can make a tiny apartment work even if you treasure your bedroom as a spacious, private sanctuary.

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In Barcelona’s Eixample district, architects Anna and Eugeni Bach turned a beautiful but highly challenging apartment into a cozy live/work residence where everything has its place. The corner flat has an unusual floor plan featuring four diagonally angled rooms, including a trapezoidal kitchen. There’s minimal square footage to work with, but the historic building features some absolutely stunning architectural details, like tray ceilings, a marble fireplace, and ornate wooden doors.

The owners want to use the apartment as a study for the next 15 years, at which point they’ll retire and live there. That means it has to be both multifunctional and comfortable to live in, while also offering the possibility of hosting their future grandchildren. The living room, entryway, and bedroom extend from the back wall at a 45-degree angle that’s known as “chamfered,” a layout that’s not uncommon in Barcelona’s older neighborhoods.

The biggest and most successful intervention is the plywood built-in cabinetry extending along the flat’s one straight exterior wall, from the kitchen into the living room. The architects envisioned it as a home for all of the apartment’s “services,” including the kitchen cabinets and appliances, bookcases, closets, bathroom, and even a set of built-in stairs leading up to the uppermost level of storage space. Made of smooth, pale plywood and devoid of most visible hardware, this cabinet brings a contemporary feel to the home and unifies its two main rooms.

At the same time, dynamic new flooring subtly separates each space from the next while maintaining a cohesive look. In the kitchen, marble tiles follow the angle of the built-in cabinet, butting up against the straight line of the patterned hallway flooring. The living room, bedroom, and entryway all have their own unique colors and patterns, too, contrasting the clean feeling of the white walls and wooden accents.

“The rest of the house is left practically intact,” say the architects. “The floors, ceilings, and carpentry that were kept in good condition are recovered to establish a careful contrast with the service furniture. A contrast that brings together both the two directions of the chamfer, and the two times of intervention in the history of the house.”

Even if the stairs of the cabinet don’t exactly lead anywhere, since there’s no loft, they still add an interesting graphic element to the design, as does their minimalist ceiling-mounted railing. The cabinet doesn’t just disguise all the little things that would otherwise create too much visual clutter, it anchors the whole apartment. Little design details like the leather pull on the bathroom door and ornate brackets on the mirror above the fireplace are just icing on the cake.

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“Through our design projects, we had opportunities working with some interesting material manufactures in Japan,” explains Masa Kaneko, the firm’s Founder and Head Interior Designer. The IPPIN Project is just one of their most recent endeavors, giving Japanese makers of furniture and home decor an outlet to sell their products abroad.

“Their products were very high quality and looked very attractive to us, and they also intended to introduce [them] internationally, but they couldn’t find any reps who [understood] their products and interior design,” Kaneko recalls. “Thinking about our background and what we can contribute to our origin, based in [the] USA, we believe that IPPIN Project is one of the ways to [contribute] to our own culture and the next generation.”

That contribution is facilitated by the appreciation for Japanese design that has grown in the West over the last several decades. As interest in Japanese design has increased, Japan has also gained an appreciation for styles outside of their country. “Japanese culture is very much influenced by Western culture,” says Kaneko, “but they still have their own way to live with and it makes Japanese design [that much] more interesting.” What he says is true, too — at the turn of the 20th century, it was fairly easy to distinguish between different styles of design and architecture. Today, globalization has blurred the lines a little, leading to influences between some cultures in everything from food to fashion.

“The sense of beauty for Japanese people or Japanese culture itself is basically to be very minimal and modern, less decorative,” Kaneko describes. This was on full display in May 2019 at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York. A repeat visitor at the event, IPPIN Project presents “Japanese Design for Fine Living” for design consultants and members of the public interested in sourcing products for their upcoming projects. There, they get a sense of the needs of the global design market. Even better, the IPPIN Project booth was the first one that made us stop at the ICFF, just after glancing the intricacy of its Kumiko Ramma Screen.

“The products we carry from Japan are not mass products,” explains Kaneko. “The fabrication is limited and only able to be made by skilled artisans.” Through IPPIN Project, CRAFITS uses their understanding of the American interior design market to act as the liaison between manufacturers in Japan and U.S. designers or clients. “There is a lot of alternation of ideas and design materials in the world, so we [hope] we can be one-of-a-kind Japanese Materials and Product Library for non-Japanese customers.”

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But will it blend (or work, for that matter)? This futuristic fold-out kitchen design is undoubtedly creative, cool, fun and futuristic, but whether it is a functional all-in-one design or exercise in aesthetic experimentation remains to be seen.

Segmented metal bench-style stools/chairs roll up from the floor, wall surfaces slide to reveal secret cabinets and hidden cooking appliances in this space-saving kitchen concept. LED displays and a dishwasher face sit flush with the wall as well, while adjustable-height eating, cooking and preparing surfaces slide out, up and down as needed.

As part of another interesting Electrolux design competition, Ciprian Frunzeanu thought of a lot of things while working on this project, but there are definitely questions of plumbing and electrical connections to be addressed (not to mention extra wall space to support all of the behind-the-scenes aspects).

One can even change the lighting colors to set the mood, with recessed lights that line the perimeter and apparently are designed to shift between shades of bright neon, disco-flavored colors. As a layout concept or preliminary plan it is convincing, but a lot of technical and structural issues would need to be solved yet before it would work as a real-life kitchen space.

From Yanko Design:

“With the InFold Kitchen Concept you can no longer use “lack of space” as an excuse to cram in more appliances or whipping up a gourmet meal. What it’s really about is this, a modular wall-mounted kitchen but with everything fold-able. The appliances, sink, cooking platform, chairs, cooking range, all fold up vertically into the length of the wall. This ways, all you ever need is a good sized empty wall and adequate floor space to move around in.”

The way we are making advances in modular kitchen layouts, this concept doesn’t seem too farfetched. Only a few tweaks required!

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Continuing his longtime “Mechanical Cabinet” series, Errazuriz offers modular furniture that doubles as interactive art. Currently based in New York, the Chilean-born, London-raised artist blends traditional woodworking and technological components with unexpected forms to produce fascinating transforming pieces.

At first glance, many of these cabinets and credenzas just seem like beautiful things to look at; the functionality they have to offer is hidden beneath the complexities at the surface. But once you peel back the layers to reveal what’s underneath, you learn that they are just as usable as any piece that overtly prioritizes function over form.

Seeing the pieces in action is fascinating. Just when you think the object can’t transform any more than it already has, Errazuriz demonstrates yet another way in which it can blossom like an alien flower. The Magistral Chest looks inhospitably spiked when closed up, protecting drawers full of mysteries at its heart. The Fan Cabinet unfurls like a tropical bird concealing row after row of dazzling feathers beneath an unremarkable exterior. The Grand Complication Cabinet is especially deserving of its name, starting out small and unfolding one component after another. Other cabinets in the collection spin, twist, and even reveal beautiful kaleidoscopic displays.

“Breaking the Box” is a solo presentation of Errazuriz’s new work, currently on display at New York City’s R & Company gallery. The curators note the mechanical brilliance of the pieces, each of which requires a high level of technical precision to be used to its fullest potential. Other pieces on display at the show include works from Errazuriz’s “Metamorphosis” series, which feature taxidermy birds from the artist’s native Chilean landscape.

The R & Company website reads: “’Breaking the Box’ presents a curated selection of Errazuriz’s newest functional sculptures, [which] exemplify his multifaceted practice and evolution as a contemporary artist and designer. The diverse work on view challenges the boundaries between art, design, and technology while inviting the viewer to question their purpose and function. His experimental approach to this new series is seen through the varying materials and stylistic methods he employs. Unified together thematically through their ongoing exploration of nature, humor, life, and death, Errazuriz encourages viewers to engage and discover the new works in the exhibition.”

Speaking on the project himself, Errazuriz says: “We tend to understand reality by constraining meaning into closed and simplified boxes defined by previous cultural convention. We live within these pre-established cognitive borders, where we only tend to see, recognize, and accept as true that which has been previously ordered and defined. In ‘Breaking the Box,’ I use art, design, and craft to break open our relationship to objects, function, beauty, and time in order to reconsider conventions.”

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Once considered undesirable, the uppermost levels of Paris’ beautiful Haussmann buildings were divided into tiny rooms for maids, where aesthetics were sacrificed for efficiency. Typically devoid of the historic details that give the buildings so much character, these rooms were largely relegated to storage spaces as the decades wore on, but high housing prices in the city have renewed interest in their possibilities.

Kitoko Studio architects have transformed one 8-square-meter maid’s room into a very compact yet highly livable studio apartment with the addition of a large built-in cabinet that conceals a bed, stairs, storage, a closet and a dining table with chairs.

A stepped bookcase pulls out to offer access to the lofted bed that’s cozily tucked into one corner of the room. A small tiled wet room takes up the other end, with everything else in between. The architects took inspiration from the concept of a Swiss Army knife, which contains a multitude of tools in a small package.

“Therefore, the new maid’s room is a modular transcription of such an object with elements of storage, a bed, a table, a wardrobe, a staircase, a kitchenette and a bathroom, all fully integrated within a large closet that can be unfold according to the needs and changes the perception of space.”

“Once all the elements are folded and stored in this ‘large closet,’ it frees half of the area of the room.”

The post Tiny Maid’s Apartment in Paris Transformed with Built-Ins first appeared on Dornob.

There aren’t many of us who would welcome an enormous bug into our homes, but this amazing hand-carved wooden armoire from Latvian designer Janis Straupe is a definite exception. The beautiful cabinet takes the shape of a huge beetle that opens into a plethora of cubbies, drawers, and storage spaces.

The magnificent scarab-shaped closet is a one-of-a-kind original that was inspired by an actual beetle the designer encountered while out on a walk. The bug’s rounded shell and elaborately shaped legs are recreated in the warm wood, making the piece of furniture an incredible work of nature-inspired art.

When closed, the armoire looks almost seamless, like its natural counterpart. But its wings open to reveal a huge storage area with seemingly endless storage spots. The bug’s head lifts up to reveal even more storage cubbies.

The ample storage is enough to tuck away mountains of home and office supplies, but the armoire also holds some secrets: two built-in hidden compartments nestled within the myriad alcoves, nooks, niches, and pigeonholes.

The incredible object is more than a piece of furniture; it is a functional work of art that pays homage to the magnificent beauty of nature in all its forms. From the wind-swept sand to the tiny beetle crawling upon it, the Bug Armoire brings a reverence of nature into an indoor setting.

About Janis Straupe

“I’m working with wood for more than 35 years – making sculptural objects, design pieces, decorative objects and also fully functional pieces of custom made furniture. I used to own a small furniture making workshop employing up to 8 people, but since a few years back we are just but a few colleagues and friends – working together, focusing  on artistic creation of unique design pieces made of wood.”

“I like to play with optical illusions and gravity force. Some people say my custom furniture is more like a sculpture. It is true, though, that in the early years of my work I was indeed making also sculptural objects from wood. I’ve participated in 50 art exhibitions since 1983 out of which 12 were solo exhibitions. I am a member of Latvian Artist’s Union since 1990 and of Designer’s Union of Latvia since 2009.”

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Solving two classic kitchen storage issues in a single design, this minimal wood box unfolds to reveal all the dishware, kitchenware, spices and accessories you need to access while cooking.

When closed, this all-in-one kitchen cabinet takes up a minimum of space thanks in part to the layered approach to the door. This extra layer is also the key to keeping things handy – accessible from both sides, while also leaving space to reach into the main volume or pull something from the inside of the door when the object is opened.

The manufacturer, Bulthaup, explains what makes this space-saving all in one kitchen unit so useful and unusual.

“Everything you need in full view. The bulthaup b2 kitchen tool cabinet follows precisely this organizational principle of a craftsman’s tool cabinet. To determine what a kitchen’s essential ‘tools’ are, a design group emptied a conventional kitchen, then selected and reassembled the most necessary tools to determine the perfect storage space required of the b2 cabinet to store everything you use regularly: pots, pans, and kitchen utensils, as well as crockery. All of the cabinet’s contents are in clear view, at hand, and in exactly their intended place. “

“The kitchen tool cabinet is also available with a single design. The narrow kitchen tool cabinet – just like the double version – can be optionally equipped with an additional aluminum frame. This can be loaded with spice jars, food containers, and a shelf for storing vinegar and oil.”

“The smart compaction of the storage space makes pull-outs and drawers superfluous. Slatted shelves made from solid maple wood and insertable aluminum shelves give the cabinet structure and order. The result is visual finesse, both inside and out.”

“Just as tools, equipment, and materials can be stored in the craftsman’s cabinet,  the b2 cabinet accommodates all things culinary. The doors offer the perfect depth for storing glasses and other gastronomic utensils. “

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Through many generations, grandma’s sewing box has held a kind of magical appeal for kids all over the world. This project from Kiki van Eijk takes that sewing box magic and amplifies it, turning it into something that is truly larger than life.

Despite its huge size, this cabinet opens easily with a simple pull on one side. The function is distinctly reminiscent of the classic multi-level sewing box design, right down to the sturdy legs on the bottom of the main volume.

The Dutch designer spent four years perfecting this massive cabinet, getting it to function in exactly the right way. She was sure that she did not want the cabinet to require more than one person to open – that, according to Kiki, would not mesh with the idea of the project.

The project was taken from design to finished product by a carpenter in Arnhem. It is made of solid elm and features beautiful brass knobs. Its slightly whimsical nature is balanced by its decidedly elegant silhouette and impressively smooth functionality.

“A cabinet made of elms wood. This cabinet is inspired by the mechanism of a wooden sewing box. It evokes the cheerful feeling of needlework, yet it has a very technical mechanism inside. The beauty of both the movement of the sewing box and the idea of textile craftwork is reflected in the handcrafted brass elements and wooden construction.”

“Kiki grew up in Tegelen, a small city in the Netherlands. She spent her youth immersed in nature, daydreaming and drawing. She is now one of the most accomplished names of Dutch design. She studied at the Design Academy of Eindhoven where she met her future partner, Joost van Bleiswijk. Inspired by a childlike sense of wonder and the smallest details of the everyday, Kiki’s world is whimsical and colorful, lyrical and personal, yet refined by a rigorous attention and skillful craftsmanship.  Since establishing her studio in 2000, following her graduation Cum Laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven, van Eijk has produced a unique body of work that spans from furniture design to textiles to experimental art installations and works on paper.”

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Although most of us can agree that a home is a static assortment of rooms with a semi-permanent arrangement of furniture and fixtures, there is no reason this definition has to be unflinchingly strict. What about those of us who live in impossibly tiny spaces? Shouldn’t we all be allowed to make our homes conform to our own needs and wants?

The Unfolding Apartment project from MKCA takes a tiny 450-square-foot apartment and turns it into a series of highly functional rooms. It accomplishes this seemingly impossible task with the use of a huge customized cabinet that can be folded, manipulated, changed and revised over and over to give the resident unprecedented living space freedom.

The apartment’s distinguishing feature, the huge folding/unfolding cabinet, takes on a different shape for every function the host wants the space to serve. It goes from a cozy sleeping area to a sophisticated party space to a dedicated office area. The unusual apartment even manages to squeeze a guest bedding area into the almost-impossibly tiny space.

This inspiring project deals not only with the intelligent utilization of a very small space; it explores the possibilities of maximization through minimization. By taking away all of the traditional rooms and clutter of a larger apartment, do the designers give the resident of this tiny abode the freedom to truly use his space in the most efficient way possible?

No matter how big or how small your own living space, it would be nearly impossible to examine this project without feeling inspired to explore more efficient uses of your own home. A dual-purpose piece of furniture here, a cleverly hidden functionality there…the hidden possibilities sitting right in our own homes are nearly infinite.

“The client is a young single man who entertains frequently, has house guests, and works occasionally from home. The challenge was to incorporate all of the aspects of a larger space for work and entertaining within a compact studio apartment. Rather than the typical Manhattan approach of dividing a small space into even smaller individual rooms and spaces, a strategy of extreme density and flexibility is employed. A single oversized custom cabinetry piece is inserted along one wall.”

“The cabinet is packed with all of the functional components of a larger apartment including a bed, a night stand, a closet, a home office,a library, kitchen storage, and most of the lighting for the room. When these elements are packed away, the open space of the apartment is airy and loft-like. The domestic spaces of the apartment can be expanded progressively and adjusted via a reconfigurable series of doors and panels that can slide and pivot open and closed creating all of the individual spaces of the apartment and to transform it for various uses. Spaces can be calibrated to be private or more porous with via reflective secondary panels that open to reveal perforated lacquered metal screens. Lighting is consolidated within the top of the cabinet, providing an even illumination without any visible fixtures.”

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Combining German hand-crafting expertise and curved ship hull construction methods, these patterned wooden bathtubs bring drama to the bathroom to satisfy the eye and to soothe any aching back.

Alegna specializes in exotic woods like wenge and mahogany that show off grain patterns with stark contrasts or work for lightweight-requiring (e.g. nautical) applications.

Some of their tubs form monolithic built-in masses while others are free-standing and come with stone-filled surrounds. All are made to be equipped with jacuzzi features on demand. Nothing too avante garde, to be sure, but attractive all around.

Beyond baths, their custom bathroom fixtures and furnishings include sinks and cabinets featuring the same attention to wood grain patterns and craft details, inward-flowing blocks of attractive woods.

ALEGNA calls its wooden bathtubs and washbasins “jewelry for the bathroom,” but that’s an understatement. These highly unusual bathing vessels are the center of attention, bringing the natural warmth of wood to a room that can often feel cold and impersonal.

“As trained carpenters and yacht builders, we know fine woods and what we can expect them to do. We have been manufacturing wooden bathtubs and furniture for our customers for over 10 years. Each part is 100% handcrafted in a small village in the canton of Thurgau. In a complex process, unique items are created here for special bathrooms and precious moments.”

“Selected wood veneers are pressed together under high pressure and completely saturated with resin. Chipping, soaking the wood with water or other, unsightly signs of wear and tear are therefore excluded. The extremely resistant coating guarantees optimal protection and a very long service life for the products. The noble wooden surfaces are not only visually impressive. They are also very easy to care for.”

“Our products can be made from all imaginable types of wood. For example, many bathtubs are made of oak. A rather light wood, with an interesting wood structure. Walnut products are also a favorite. Walnut also has a very exciting wood structure, but is darker. These are just two of the favorites. “

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Innovation often spreads like wildfire – it is a wonder, really, that this 50-year-old design idea has not fully dowsed the flames of frustration in kitchens around the world. Instead of dedicating surface or sink area to drying dishes, it makes shelves serve a secondary purpose and lets you skip a step entirely.

Still found mainly in Northern Europe, the idea is simple: dishes are placed into a bottomless cupboard where each shelf drains down to the next level, and ultimately to waiting sinks and drains below. The effect? A marked decrease in the 30 thousand odd hours spent by Finnish housewives doing dishes daily (but don’t quote us on that statistic). This hidden dish draining closet eliminates a big chunk of the work.

Plastic-coated steel wire, of the kind usually found in baskets sitting inside or alongside sinks, frames each shelving layer rather than an impermeable surface, though other variants exist as well (both covered and uncovered). This hidden dish drainer closet may be the most clever and overlooked solution for cramped kitchens where full-sized dishwasher appliances simply won’t fit, but it’s far from the only option.

We are all familiar with drying mats, collapsible wood, plastic or metal dish racks and other solutions, but hanging dish racks exist on the shelves of stores like IKEA, though few allow the user to bypass the interstitial step of drying then putting away dishes.

Unlike many non-appliance amenities, this (loosely translated) ‘dish drying closet’ design and many subsequent variations can be traced back to a single inventor: Maiju Gebhard, who created it as part of the Finnish Association for Work Efficiency in the mid-1940s. Since then, though, it remains an elusive fixture in many modern kitchens outside its home continent. Making these kinds of space-saving dish racks more of a standard feature in compact kitchens would be a nice step toward universally user-friendly design.

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Quite possibly the least-addressed interior (but most in need of careful organization), laundry rooms have to meet many needs in often-small, secondary and sometimes-awkward areas of a home.

Laundry activities can, by necessity, be relegated to thin hallways, tiny landings or the extra square footage along one side of an attached (or detached) garage.

Meanwhile, washers and dryers (except some stackable ones) hardly lend themselves to space-saving strategies and compounding the problem.

Valcucine tries to approach the problem holistically, with custom ironing boards, fitted cupboards, integrated drawers, shelves and sliding panels that work with and around necessary appliances (including optional mobile laundry baskets located conveniently below each machine).

This series of general plans and layout ideas illustrating how one can maximize use of all available vertical wall surfaces from floor to ceiling.

The broad material palette used includes everything from painted steel and glass to unrolled wood, aluminum and acrylic resins.

And while their laundry-specific systems might win any awards, their similarly modern, minimalist and elegant dining room, kitchen and office accessories could.

From Style Park:

“Valcucine applies all its indisputable know-how to plan a “home laundry”: it designs a contemporary washtub that blends the features of bygone days with present-day shapes and materials: it invents new units to house appliances, ironing boards, customizable jumbo drawers and cupboards with a well-constructed set of accessories.”

“These systems have pure volumes and minimal structures in which painted steel, glass, unrolled wood, aluminium and acrylic resins are spontaneously used together.”

“The addition of the Protex washing machine and dryer of the Neue KolleKtion by AEG, the latest generation of appliances that guarantee perfect washing and superlative care of even the most delicate fabrics, completes the picture.”

“The concept of ergonomics and of transformability is the common denominator at the basis of all the Valcucine Laundry concepts. From the raised, vibration-dampening washing machine and dryer niches to the mobile laundry baskets below them; from the tops that can be pulled out when necessary to the fold-away, heated, ironing boards with a vacuum that are adjustable in height and to the boards that cover the washtub transforming it into a practical worktop.”

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