furniture
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Glide's Twist-Together decorative LED light cubes
We've seen instances of in-house LED lighting and decorative blocks before, but Glide Inc. is melding both worlds into a single glowing building block project with its Twist-Together devices. The blocks are LED-based to keep energy costs at a minimum, but the real fun begins when adults realize that they're really buying a set of useful LEGOs on steroids. Glide insinuates that these fixtures can be arranged in just about any combination that your brain can fathom, and can even be used as props in furniture if your mischievous kids have taken a toll on bar stool legs and bookshelf dividers. The modular lighting solution was showcased this past weekend at BKLYN Designs' annual show in New York, and while we're not sure how much these things will end up running you when they hit niche shops in the future, returning to a state of childhood innocence is simply priceless.
Front Design's Changing Cupboard displays pixelated art
While we've seen hordes of clever marketing gimmicks in the past, a few involving those flipping signs that rotate through various spots, Front Design is taking the billboard approach to a cupboard in an attempt to showcase a new form of art. The aptly-dubbed Changing Cupboard rocks a bevy of turnable panels on an everyday piece of furniture, but due to special effects that aren't entirely disclosed, it can flip squares over to constantly evolve into a new piece of design. Of course, the pixel morphing unit makes a whole lot more sense when you see it motion, so go on, click through for a peek of your own.[Via CubeMe]
Tetris furniture
Ordinarily when shopping from a kids' catalogue, one has the children in mind. But when it comes to Play+Soft's seemingly Tetris-inspired furniture, we suspect the order might be diverted to dad's "office."[Via Wonderland]
Herman Miller planning "desk of the future"
High-end furniture maker Herman Miller looks to be doing its best to cut down on the ever-increasing nuisance of gadget clutter, with Reuters reporting that the company has licensed Fulton Innovation's eCoupled technology to let you recharge various electronic devices simply plopping them down on your (presumably pricey) desk. The technology (shown here in decidedly Herman Miller-form) works by transferring power through a magnetic field that'll charge anything that comes in contact with it; we assume it also involves some sort of adapter for your respective devices. Of course, cordless charging isn't an entirely new concept, with HP recently showing off some of its own ideas for juiced-up furniture, and Splashpower talking up its charge-on-contact system for a few years now. We guess we'll just have to wait and see if this new power-happy desk becomes the same status symbol for the Web 2.0 crowd that Herman Miller's Aeron chair was back in Web 1.0 days -- assuming we haven't moved on to Web 3.0 by the time the desk actually comes out, that is.[Via textually.org]
Bell'O latest TV/Plasma mounts unveiled at CES including one for dummies
Sure, Bell'O may not be your conventional consumer electronic company found at CES but you must have something to put your consumer electronic device on and that's why Bell'O is around. They produce some of the best looking entertainment furniture and they have just unveiled their latest designs at this years CES show. Our fav is the the Large Tilting TV Wall Mounting Kit for Dummies that includes one of their mounts and instructions that even a dummy would understand. The last thing you want is your $2000+ flat panel falling off the wall cause your dumb friend "knew" how to install 'em. The rest of their furniture lineup looks like, well, furniture.Large pic after the jump.
Swiss designers create LED-based assembly instructions
Sure, step-by-step instructions by some of the best modders we've ever seen can help you turn your Jaguar into a portable or stuff a Linux box inside an Apple monitor, but what if that newfangled computer desk just magically assembled itself as soon as you got it home? While we're not quite there just yet, a group of Swiss gurus have devised a prototype system that utilizes multiple series of LEDs that glow and fade based on user input, direction, and tasks remaining. Designed to be used on typical flat packed tables, chairs, and other forms of IKEA-derived furniture, the diodes act in "proactive fashion" and "adapt to each movement the user makes" in order to guide the assembler to screwing the right bolt in the correct location and in the appropriate order. While there are far too many specifics to get into here, be sure to hit the read leads for the full skinny, including a comparison to the often used "paper and frustration" method. [Warning: PDF links]Read - LED furniture assembly explainedRead - LED furniture design details[Via infosthetics]
Design student crafts "Illume" LED display shelf
Need a way to spruce up the house, but don't quite have the coin for your very own talking mirror? Chris Owens, a design student at North Carolina State University, has crafted the perfect conversation piece using a common household item and LED lighting. While this was engineered for an assignment, the Illume LED display shelf has all the makings of a retail hit. The wall-mounted shelf has three platters which seem fairly typical -- until you place an object on them. Then each section illuminates as LED lights below are triggered by weight on the touch-sensitive panels, which makes putting things away -- especially glass or semi-transparent objects -- a bit more entertaining than usual. While an estimated price and release date is unknown, it seems safe to say that Chris has a bright future ahead of him (ahem), and if LED-infused furniture suits your fancy be sure to check out the Illume in action. [Via TechEBlog]
E3: Free furniture for fastest reader [update 1]
Thanks to the folks at the Microsoft blogger bus, we've an unusual E3 swag giveaway. The first reader to come to the bus -- parked outside the West Hall -- can take away this collection of garden furniture. Simply come along and mention Joystiq to get your very own beige chair, table, or the entire lot; good luck fitting that in your suitcase.Note: the bus will only be here for a few hours, so get here quick!
The Computer Bed: making telecommuting even easier
We're not sure if The Computer Bed could support the weight (or even footprints, for that matter) of our three monitors, desktop tower, photo printer, speakers + sub, flatbed scanner, and plethora of input devices, but if you've got a sparser setup and not a lot of space at your pad, this convertible desk/bed may be just what you've been looking for. Described as a "modern Murphy Bed," the multifunction product features gas pistons so your gear doesn't tumble around during the twice-daily conversion process, and also serves as a low-cost space heater at night by positioning you directly above your toasty equipment. At almost $2,500, The Computer Bed seems a bit pricey for a few pieces of unfinished wood and a twin-sized mattress that is most likely not Tempurpedic, but considering that you probably don't have the proper tools in your cramped little apartment to build your own, this may be the only solution.[Via Real Tech News]
Been furniture shopping lately?
Plasmas are everywhere: restaurants, schools, diners, and furniture stores. Not real ones but rather those plastic look-alikes. I recently went shopping for some furniture for the theater I'm putting in my house (more on that to come later) and noticed that they were all over the place. This wasn't just at low end stores, but even Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel style stores. Is this important? Heck yeah it is. A lot of people don't care what TV they have but rather how it looks. If the furniture was designed to hold a flat screen, those people will buy a flat screen. And you know what? I didn't see one fake tube TV in any of the stores.
Onkyo TV stand with center and front speakers built in
Want better audio but just cannot stand to put speakers next to your beautiful flat panel? Onkyo has a stand for you that includes the center and front speakers right in the stand. This is the second generation of this product and Onkyo is a quality audio company so you can be sure this stand is worth almost $700.The Asian market gets this stand first and since it looks a heck of a lot better then the one in our market, lets hope we get this one soon.
