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.

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Is there any adult who didn’t enjoy making and watching shadow puppets as a kid? The “Bird in Hand” lamp from designer J.P. Meulendijks brings back memories of shadow birds, bunnies and all of the other creative manipulations we used to love making with nothing more than our hands and a light.

A flock of statue-still hands is situated in a circle around a hanging light in this intriguing fixture. The shadows they cast on the walls and floor closely resemble the creatures that kids all over the world create with their own shadows.

Moving around to different positions in the room and looking at the shadows from different perspectives would change the objects you see in the abstract shady shapes.

These outstretched, interlocked hands seem to resemble more than just a novel way to surround a light. Their interconnectedness is reminiscent of the way parents and children join hands when playing. Perhaps the overlapping hands also represent the many, many generations that have enjoyed making shadow puppets since long before electric lights made it easier.

The hands are made from a material created by the artist himself. ECOLOTEK is a fully compostable material made of hemp fibers, minerals and binder. The Bird in Hand lamp is available for €1066 (around $1400 US).

“This big eye-catcher is based on, and tribute to the universal art of hand shadows; making shadows on the wall using your hands to create birds, rabbits, and other figures. Playing with light and hand shadows is a centuries old past time long before electric light was invented. ‘ BIRD IN HAND’ plays with this concept: All of the hands are positioned to look like a flock of birds, flying out in circles. The shadows cast on the wall looks like birds. This results in a very expressive, dynamic and striking looking lamp , with layers of humor and poetry hidden in the design.”

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At the intersection of art and design sit the chairs of William Stone, a series of cut-and-paste chair designs that mix and match elements from existing seats with stranger parts like thick and bulky rough-hewn logs.

Existing structural elements that would normally seem ordinary are suddenly called into question, standing out as visual anomolies – their thinness and regularity seeming more impressive under the weighty misshapen objects they support.

In other cases, Stone takes only new and natural pieces to create wholes that are at once unique and somehow easy to believe. Their simplicity reflects a kind of do-it-yourself approach that makes one want to make his or her own at home.

From standard supports to wheeled bases and rocking rails, each of these chairs is different and yet made part of a similar set by virtue of how they were created and the combination of new and old, natural and man-made elements used.

In addition to the chairs shown individually above, Stone has exhibited a great many other Frankenstein-esque custom art chairs assembled from all kinds of parts – including ones composed entirely of single-function pieces like legs, backs or bottoms.

Most of his work isn’t nearly so practical as this. Check out this description from ArtForum, which should prime you to check out more on his website:

“The absurdist sculptures of William Stone confront us with an utter lack of functionality. Working with wood, brass, copper, and various domestic and industrial objects, Stone creates quirky, self-contained inventions.”

“His perfectionist sensibility gives the work an air of importance that exceeds its actual usefulness. Stone revels in a clean, forthright style. Many of the pieces seem to embody contradictions; the newness of the wood often conflicts with the outdated machine elements. Most of the works’ references exist outside specific art-world contexts.”

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Snails and turtles are so lucky, carrying their homes with them everywhere they go. You can recreate the experience with a huge mobile home, but it isn’t quite the same. This rolling Snail Shell System, designed by N55, is more like the smaller shelters borne by snails: light, tiny and infinitely portable. With just enough room inside for one person, the shelter can be rolled just about anywhere.

Walking behind the wheel as it rolls is one way to move it from here to there, but it can also be turned into a small boat for traversing soggy locales. A resident can move it hamster wheel-style by walking inside, or it can be hitched to a vehicle and towed. Several Snail Shells can be networked to form a temporary community, or a single unit can be stashed in a regular parking space. For particularly hairy situations, the tiny dwelling can even be buried in the ground with only the entrance hatch exposed.

Inside, a gear box holds essentials like water containers, plastic bags, a flashlight, alcohol burner and kettle. A second container functions as a toilet when lined with a plastic bag, though presumably one would only want to use this in an emergency. The Snail Shell emergency shelter system is obviously not meant to be a long-term housing solution, but could be invaluable in the event of a natural disaster that forces quick evacuation.

“The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM is a low cost system that enables persons to move around, change their whereabouts and live in various environments. One unit supplies space for one person. It is mobile both on land and water. One person can move it slowly, either by pushing it like a wheel, walking inside it or on top of it On water it can be rowed, moved by a kite or hooked up to a vessel, for example, a ferry. The unit rests on one flat side and can be anchored in lakes, rivers, harbours or at sea. On land, it can be placed in city spaces, fields, forests etc The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM takes up very little space and can easily be placed in a discreet way. It can be buried in the ground, exposing only the entrance. It can also function as a comfortable space inside existing buildings Several units can meet up and form temporary communities The unit can be hooked up onto existing infrastructure like telecommunication lines and electricity cables (for example, by connecting it to street lamps). “

“If special devices are added, the unit can supply its own energy The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM can also be used for transporting different items and it can provide protection for persons when they participate in situations like demonstrations.”

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Going for a dip in the pool can be a fantastically relaxing activity, but most of us have to at least traverse a few hallways to get there. The residents of this incredible five-story townhouse in Chelsea have only to go as far as their living room to enjoy the benefits of a swim.

You would never know it to look at the outside of this townhouse, but contained inside its conventional walls are some truly amazing features.

The living room contains a massive 30,000 gallon, eight-feet-deep swimming pool equipped with a swing. Today, of course, the inclusion of an indoor pool in a living room would never be approved. But since this pool was built in 1975 it has been “grandfathered in” and allowed to stay.

The rest of the home is no less magnificent. With a massive library, a beautiful atrium filled with green plants and a small garden with a second, smaller pool for turtles, it is a memorable piece of New York property, to say the least.

The townhouse has been divided into three parts: the owner’s main living space on the lower levels and two smaller apartments upstairs. The quirky architecture and decadent decorating make this residence the kind of home most of us can only dream of.

From The Wall Street Journal:

“The pool level has a brick wall and is surrounded by granite flooring and living-room furnishings. Ms. McMurray Van-Zeller said the artwork, antiques, medieval weaponry and plantings in the adjoining atrium give the space a ‘cave-like, medieval, Moroccan look.'”

“But achieving the look was no easy task. In order to hang the artwork and weaponry on the brick wall, Ms. McMurray Van-Zeller had to get a 25-foot ladder and place it in the pool; in order to reach the ladder without getting wet, she employed a small pink raft, rowed it to the ladder, and climbed up to affix the decorations to the wall.”

“‘Improvisation is very important when you have a house like this,’ she said. “The good news is that if you fall off, you fall into the pool.'”

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With a few simple steps, the Leaf Cover can bring a dull room to life and provide a ton of useful storage space. The Leaf Cover is a little plastic piece shaped like two leaves and a stem. It fits right over a nail to green up any room.

Leaf Cover-clad nails can be used to hold jackets, keys, dog leashes and any other small, lightweight object. An entire wall filled with the little green sprouts can go from plain to magical in little more than the time it takes to hammer in some nails.

Designed by Jeong Hwa Jin, the Leaf Cover is a clever new take on the practical but unsightly solution so many of us use to keep necessary objects close at hand. It would be great to see the designer introduce other types of leaves and maybe some flowers in the future to provide a splash of variety on users’ walls.

“Leaf cover which gives birth to new life in a nailed and dead space. Design which brings new vitality with leaf growing out from the wall. with the image of leaf growing out from the Ground as motif, sprout grows in the nailed space of wall which gives no sense of life.”

“We tend to concern much about driving a nail because unsightly mark might remain or it is difficult to clean up. Mindlessly nailed wall. By covering the nailed place with leaf cover, it is possible to grant the feeling of new life growing from the wall. In addition, it is possible to grant various usability such as lid of ball point pen, picture frame hanger, and etc..”

“The project mentioned above will target on the European and American market by cooperating with SUCK UK LTD, and is to be released since the second half of the year 2012 through mass production. “

Buy them at SUCK UK.

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Here, we break down three of the director’s most extraordinary film sets to prove that you too can transform your home into an Oscar-worthy environment.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

In 2015, Anderson won four Oscars (including Best Director) for his vibrant and sumptuous portrayal of art nouveau Germany in The Grand Budapest Hotel. The hotel — which looks like everything else conjured up in Wes’ wild imagination — is actually a real place called Görlitzer Warenhaus, one of the oldest and best preserved department stores in all of Germany. All of the scenes that took place indoors were in fact shot within the walls of this incredible building, though the candy pink façade was an Anderson addition.

In the film, we see vivid red interiors, art deco prints, and vibrant textured surfaces of plush velvet and marble. If you’re looking for a similar retro-inspired aesthetic, consider using a bold purple, red, or raspberry feature wall to bring your living room to life. Decorate the room with opulent gold fixtures, frames, and accents. When it comes to anything Anderson, quirky is key, so don’t be afraid to use clashing prints, multiple textures, and strange antiques to add character to your living space.

Stores like Anthropologie have lots of fixtures and furniture pieces that are both whimsical and trendy, though we understand that designer luxuries aren’t always in everyone’s budget. If that’s the case for you, try out a couple of DIY hacks! Take a stroll down to your local thrift shop, pick up some old bargain cabinets/drawers, and spray paint them metallic for a look of vintage affluence.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

With a knock-out cast consisting of Gwyneth Paltrow, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, and Bill Murray, this classic cult film about a dysfunctional American family of geniuses won eight awards for its on-screen brilliance. Iconic for its 70s aesthetic (especially the Fendi fur coat worn by Paltrow’s character Margot Tenenbaum), the set flourished in retro prints and palettes of red, brown, and beige. Consider the dark wood and the crookedness of the library, the magenta walls of the ballroom, and the abundance of framed portraits hanging from the home’s other bright walls.

Mustard-colored curtains clash with raspberry tones, and a gold rococo sofa provides the perfect contrast for that rustic yet flamboyant visual Anderson is so acclaimed for.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Like many of Anderson’s movies, The Darjeeling Limited was full of radiant brights. In this case, those hues helped capture the colourful essence of Indian culture. The spice-colored train fuses vivid orange shades with blue to form a delicious, rich backdrop for three estranged brothers to visit their mother, who herself resides in a convent on the other side of India.

Consider creating a living space inspired by the tiles, ceramic prints, and otherworldly nostalgia of The Darjeeling Limited train interior. Find old leather suitcases from secondhand stores and stack them up for cool-looking storage units, or create a coffee table from upturned wooden containers to give the room an ethereal and eclectic theme that will ignite your passion for travel.

The post How to Make Your Home Look like the Set of a Wes Anderson Film first appeared on Dornob.

“Just getting the permit was a bit of a challenge,” she says, “because [the building department] had no idea what we were talking about.”

What they were talking about, as it turns out, was a geodesic dome: a structure inspired by the creations of 20th-century architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller. Enlisting the help of an engineer, they were eventually able to gain approval from the city and start construction. It took seven years to carefully plot every detail of the design, from performing the initial calculations to handcrafting each triangular piece that makes up the dome. These pieces are lined with beautifully aged wood from a nearby warehouse that had been torn down.

The home consists of three interconnected spheres on a platform built into the hillside. One acts as the entryway, one holds bedrooms, and the third hosts all the home’s common areas, like the kitchen and living room. This third dome opens out onto a spacious balcony and features a gorgeous skylight and glass panels for better views of the dramatic landscape around it.

“With characteristics found nowhere else in the area and highlighted by its geodesic dome structure, the home presents countless architectural features to complement such unique design, including wooden interior walls made of recycled wood, large windows & skylights providing ample natural light, magnificent handmade stained glass accents, colorful cabinetry and decor, and shingled exterior siding — neatly tucked against a one-acre private hillside overlooking the Diablo Valley,” reads Pacific Union Realty’s description of the property.

“Entering from the front handcrafted wooden door you’re met with features befitting of the home’s unique architectural design namely an expansive, triangular window wall in the main living area overlooking the large deck & outdoor setting. Updated kitchen with custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances, sizable bedrooms and bathrooms, living and family rooms.”

Williamson’s children grew up and left the nest, and then last year, her husband passed away, leaving her feeling like the home was too large for just herself to live in. She put it on the market for $889,000, and a sale is currently pending. If the home is ever dismantled, Williamson hopes the people doing the demolition will take the time to carefully disassemble the triangular panels, because there are small treasures hidden in the framework. During construction, neighborhood children helped put the panels together and hid messages inside some of them.

Photos by Todd Taylor of the Taylor Photography Group.

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Kochi Architect’s Studio, a firm based in Japan, takes the ordinary grid-based home layout and subverts it by applying additional geometric shapes to the interiors in unexpected ways. Instead of surfaces that are all parallel and perpendicular to each other, this firm’s structures feature angled walls that bisect each other in surprising ways, and this effect is dramatically enhanced by the application of contrasting paint colors to them. The most recent example is “Ana House,” which was completed in 2016.

Located in Japan, Ana House was designed for a young family of four. The architects began with an unusually small plot of land, explaining that Japanese increases in both population and land prices after World War II resulted in high-density urban areas where even tiny building sites come at a premium. They knew they would have to divide the house into even smaller individual rooms, potentially resulting in a home that felt closed up and overcrowded.

To solve this problem, Kochi started by envisioning a typical grid-based layout and then “drilling” into it, intersecting it with geometric shapes that cut out sections of each room in a central area to create a faceted common space full of diagonal lines. This scheme echoes the approach taken in Kochi Architect’s previous projects, “Apartment House” (2014) and “Kame House” (2013.)

“In the case of Apartment House (2014), I painted four colors to emphasize difference between each group of rooms,” explains Kochi. “Ana House has seven colors to emphasize difference between each room. To give space density, this is the operation to increase the number of space which is a molecule. The shape of the hole appears as the set of the opening in a wall and floor. The holes in Kame House and Apartment House were polyhedron as a volume, but the hole in Ana House changes to an overlapping of the plane opening such as a square or triangle on the wall or the floor, making it difficult to recognize it as a volume.”

You can really see what the architect means when you look at photos of the interior of the Ana House. It’s hard to tell how all of these planes intersect without actually being in the three-dimensional space, where you could walk around and view it from multiple angles. The result is pleasantly disorienting, succeeding in making the home seem much larger than it really is and far more interesting than it would be with a more conventional layout.

“I started designing with a desire to discover overcrowding spatiality,” says Kochi. “In order to create ‘high-density scenery’ where you can see plenty of places, I set the formula ‘spatial density = number of rooms /volume.’ If you can see many rooms in a smaller space, the space density will rise.”

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