The LED Table
By Peter Rojas 
posted May 16th 2005 7:00AM
posted May 16th 2005 7:00AM
The annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair is styling it up in the NYC right now, and while so far we haven't seen all that much stuff that we'd consider Engadget-worthy (you know what we're talking about), Inhabitat did spot designer Ingo Maurer's new LED Table, a glass dining room table that comes embedded with 278 white, blue, or red LEDs. The table is designed so that the LEDs don't look as if they're wired up, something which gives them the appearance of simply floating in air.
I think I just found the 3rd computer desk I need :)
Given that its embedded into a glass sheet, why stop with just a table?
Why not make a window like that? (skylight?!)
It would let normal daylight through and no unsightly wires. Then, come evening, turn it on and *bing* your own customised sky at night!
The entire central atrium of the Galeries Lafayette homeware store in Paris is done up with this. It is truly a wonder to behold - the patterns switch from a star field to words of city names written in the language of the place they are from. I remember thinking it was likely to be hideously expensive, so I'm glad to see it has now become a domestic option (although still probably ouch!). Thought it might look good for the shower cubicle in the bathroom!
not the greatest pictures, but check out this table I did 15+ years ago...http://www.creativearts.com/test/
The light source is a blacklight tube at the center, the rest is transparent fluorescent plastics.
Skylights! That's perfect! The thing I don't like about skylights (love them otherwise) is that, at night, they're a black hole in the ceiling.
Table is cool, though. Love to have it. But a skylight? Way cool.
Wow, me like. Probably costs more than my car though.
If used as a desk, a table like this might actually convince me to keep my it clutter-free... Nah...
Beautiful invention.
How do you suppose it's powered? Perhaps a thin layer of transparent conductive substance allowing power to surge through the whole layer between the 2 panes of glass? Anybody know of such a substance?
Oh fk. The most gorgeous thing I have ever seen and it's US$33,000. Doubt Santa will be that generous...
I saw two of these tables when I was N.Y at a store in SOHO across from the Boffi store if anyone wants to check them out.
I saw a whole bunch of these at the Milan Furniture Fair last year. My favorite was a frosted glass one that glowed with halos around the leds. These are really gorgeous.
The thing is truly beautiful. Only it was introduced by Ingo Maurer over a year ago! They had a couple in their SOHO store for ICFF last year already...
Check www.powerglass.de. Seem to have more of that stuff..