Products – Page 26

June 26, 2012June 26, 2012

Ballerina’s Furniture Thinks Inside the Box

Designer Orla Reynolds has come up with this simple but ingenious “As if From Nowhere” furniture set. By adding just a tiny bit of volume to the shelves, she provides storage for 4 chairs and 2 tables.

Reynolds, a former ballet dancer, found her inspiration from theater. She says:

The movement from bookcase to dining is like a scene change. It transforms the space like props on a stage. The dancers can be seen in the chairs and tables. These are made of such strong material that there is an expectation that they are heavy. But they are lightweight. They are streamlined creating an elegant silhouette.

Reynolds plans to bring the set to production soon. We’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, her design nicely illustrates that space saving design need not be complicated or fussy. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of using the space we already have in a smarter way.

via Dezeen

Correction: Previous version stated, incorrectly, the name of the collection was “Out of Nowhere.”

June 25, 2012September 12, 2013

The Smartest Dumbbells You Can Get

For those of us who are iron pumpers, having a home gym is not always an appealing option. A serious (or semi-serious) weightlifter needs a good range of weights at his or her disposal as different muscle groups require different loads. Having this weight spread in one’s house necessitates a huge rack of weights. For most of us, a gym–with its ample real estate and wide range of dumbbells and barbells–is the logical way to go.

But maybe there’s no gym near you, or your lifestyle doesn’t permit you to get to one. What then?

A company called PowerBlock offers an alternative to huge personal weight sets. Their dumbbell and kettlebell systems have add-on weights that can be affixed to a base, so units can range anywhere from 2.5 lbs to 175 lbs for each dumbbell (kettlebell weights are a bit lower. Specific weights of all units vary depending on particular configuration). The dimensions of the biggest set is a scant 20.75″ L x 8.5″ W x 8.5″ H; the company claims this largest dumbbell set replaces 55 pairs of dumbbells or 10,075 lbs of free weights, not to mention a 20′ long rack. Sets start at $149 and go to $1098 for the biggest set; larger sets of individual dumbbells with racks easily run in excess of $2K.

While gyms might be a better representation of the LifeEdited ideal as they facilitate access over ownership, sometimes we need our own stuff. And if we’re going to have our own stuff, why not make it the smartest, most versatile, compact stuff we can buy?

June 15, 2012August 22, 2013

What Do You Do with All Your Digital Photos?

Assuming you took our suggestions for digitizing your old photos, the question becomes what do you do with them? Digital photos easily scarf up multiple gigs of storage while remaining indefinitely un-viewed and un-printed.

Few of us have trouble taking digital photos, but we have few ways of viewing them aside from occasional glances on photo-sharing sites like Facebook, Picassa and Flickr.

A new site called Familiar offers one way to get your photos off your hard-drive and into your line of vision, as well as providing a social forum forum for photo sharing.

What you do is sign up with a number of friends and family (guess you could do it with strangers, Chat Roulette-style). Familiar’s software allows you to share your photo albums or Facebook, Picassa, SmugMug and Flickr photostreams with people in your Familiar circle. The combined photos are then displayed as your screensaver of your computer monitor, iPad or Kindle Fire. You can even send photos instantly from your iPhone or Android.

While most computers can turn you screensaver into a slideshow, they don’t have the social aspect, which provides some novelty and a way of keeping in visual touch with you friends and family.

Of course, your computer has to be powered on, and computers don’t always make the best picture frames. That said, most of us keep our computers on standby much of the time and because Familiar is free and uses existing hardware, a zero-investment, imperfect picture frame is far better than none.

If you have other suggestions for viewing digital photos, let us know.

via Netted by the Webbys

May 16, 2012October 10, 2013

The Past-Future of Space Saving Design

Joe Cesare Columbo was a prolific Italian Designer from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s whose furniture designs were compact, modular and able to adapt to any space (versus a space adapting to them). It reminds us of the Metabolism design school, which created modular and adaptable architecture around the same time.

The “Tube Chair” (pictured above) uses the simple cylindrical form to make a highly adaptable and compactable lounge chair; each tube is attached with a U-shaped clip. Pictured below is Columbo’s Mini-Kitchen and Cabriolet Bed, both of which transform otherwise stationary and space-hogging parts of a home and turns them into light and mobile objects.

The Mini-Kitchen has recently been re-released by Italian firm Boffi Spa, making us wonder if Columbo’s prescient designs, which seem increasingly relevant to our mobile culture, will make a big return?

images from Design Boom

May 14, 2012May 30, 2013

Build Your Own Murphy Bed for $275

One of the bigger challenges to starting your edited life is reasonably priced transforming furniture. While we believe the high quality and versatile Resource Furniture used in the first LifeEdited apartment is worth every penny, many of their large pieces are several thousand dollars, putting it outside the price range for many people.

Perhaps no piece of furniture is more important to an edited home than a transforming bed. Beds are huge space hogs, whose utility is only relevant when we’re unconscious. A queen sized bed is about 35 sq feet; why wouldn’t you want to use that space for your 16 waking hours?

A “product” called the Moddi Murphy Bed is the least expensive entry point we’ve found for getting your bed out of the way. The site sells plans for $8, which instruct you how to take easy to find IKEA furniture and other hardware to make a twin or full sized murphy bed for $275 (most pre-builts start around $1500). The finished product–which can be modified depending on which IKEA finishes you purchase–looks pretty great too.

One of the aims of LifeEdited is providing the resources to make simpler, happier lives, no matter your budget. If you know of any other low-cost transforming furniture or hacks, please let us know.

via IKEAhackers

image from Apartment Therapy

May 10, 2012August 28, 2013

Could These Be A Pair of Sunglasses for Life?

Sunglasses seem to some people (like this author) like a real scam. You have to plop down at least $150 for a decent looking/quality pair. For that considerable amount of money, you get a couple ounces of molded plastic, some screws and 2 polycarbonate or glass lenses (I’m sure I’m missing some rare-earth additive that accounts for their expense). You wear them for a couple years at best until you sit on them or mangle them some other way, at which point you buy a new pair.

While they’re still well north of $100, Maui Jim sunglasses offer something for your money. For $10, you can send them in to be fixed. Perhaps because the company is located in Illinois (not Maui) and the glasses are US-made, they reportedly offer generous and quick turnarounds with those repairs. Note that this does not include scratched lenses, though the website indicates they will repair those for an additional cost.

I looked at the websites of a couple other high-end sunglass manufacturers for their repair policy. Unlike Maui Jim, who has a link to their repair policy on their main navigation bar, the other companies had theirs several clicks deep on their sites. Though I can’t say this for sure, this burying of information probably shows that replacement is a higher priority than repair for these guys.

One question that we think about a lot at LifeEdited is “if I were to choose one ______ [pair of sunglasses, computer, pair of socks], which one would I choose?” Companies like Maui Jim, who make repair and servicing easy, make that choice a lot easier.

Do you know of high quality products that offer easy and quick repairs? If so, please let us know.

Via Reactual and Maui Jim

May 9, 2012August 28, 2013

Furniture that Moves and Adapts with Your Life

According to the US Census, the average American moves almost 12 times in his or her lifetime; 1 in 6 will move each year. For the dweller on the move, large pieces of furniture that can’t adapt to different spaces often don’t make sense. Ideal furniture design should adapt and scale depending on the living situation.

One firm that is doing this is Ecosystems, whose “Snug-it” system creates highly adaptable furniture design (pictured above). The machined aluminum Snug-it pieces act as instant, tool-free joinery; should you want to scale up or down the size of your furniture, you can easily do so by replacing the piece in the middle. You can also transform a desk into a bench or any other piece of furniture should you choose. They offer an array of pre-designed and custom furniture.

Another idea comes from a new venture called TETRAN. They are launching a line of 100% recycled, modular furniture building blocks. The hollowed out boxes create tons of storage space and infinite changeability. Skins are replaceable to adjust the look; options range from glass to leather.

Tetran hasn’t started production, but will be taking pre-orders through Kickstarter beginning in June. Check out their amazing promotional video below to see its many possible incarnations.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/39655208]

For people who do not move often, high-quality, stationary furniture makes sense. But for a growing part of the population, moving has become a frequent ritual. Companies like Ecosystems and TETRAN are responding to this reality, providing high quality, durable designs that move and grow with you.

images via Ecosytems and TETRAN

TETRAN story via Treehugger

May 4, 2012August 28, 2013

Fill Your Home with Fewer, Better, Beautifuler Stuff

We dig products like these Stelton Knives (so much so we got a set for the LifeEdited apartment). At around $300 for a set of 3, the Danish designed and manufactured knives are not cheap, though the set, which includes a chef’s knife, a serrated multipurpose knife and a small chef’s knife (a more versatile paring knife) cover most tasks a gourmand can throw at them.

Their one piece forged stainless steel construction feels great in your hand, and their heat-treated matte-black finish gives great grip (we do have some questions about the durability of the finish).

Of course, they’re simply beautiful. Their finish and gorgeous shape begs to be displayed, which is easy with Stelton’s accompanying white magnetic holder. This is quite a contrast to the counter-hogging knife block filled with 2-3 knives you use and a whole bunch you don’t.

Products like these beg the question, what if you could be psyched about everything in your home? What if everything in your home were used? With that mission in mind, what would stay from your existing stuff? What would go?

Let us know what indispensable stuff you have in your home—things that marry form, function and high quality?

Image courtesy of Stelton.dk

May 3, 2012August 28, 2013

10 Mono-Function SkyMall Products for the UnEdited Life

While the world is littered with things that don’t promote living an edited life, few things are as baldly contradictory as SkyMall. The in-flight catalog presents countless ways to flip the LifeEdited credo on its head, i.e. “design your life to have less money, health and happiness with more stuff, space and energy.” Today, we are presenting 10 products that can bring confusion and clutter to even the most streamlined existence.

1. LED Blossom Tree

Love the country and energy-efficient lighting? Few things reconcile these passions–or create a bramble of wires in your crawlspace–better than this LED blossom.

2. Temple And Eye Massager

Nothing screams, “It seemed like a good idea when I was on the plane” like a remote-controlled temple and eye massager.

3. Baggy Rack

The Baggy Rack might actually be useful–about 2 or 3 times a year. And it’s one of those things you would remember to use after filling your baggies.

4. Voice Activated R2-D2

Sure, you probably have a droid, but if it’s like most, it’s pretty disobedient. According to SkyMall, this one obeys 40 voice-activated commands like “turn around,” “move forward 2 units” (most only move forward 1) and many other tasks critical to daily life. It’s also perfect for tripping over.

5. Shake N’Take Smoothie Maker

Blenders just aren’t specialized enough. Sure, they make perfectly great smoothies and shakes, but you have to pour the liquid into another container, which often takes up to 8 seconds. Nothing saves time and populates your countertop like a Shake N’Take Smoothie Maker.

6. EZ Egg Cracker

For those who like adding extra steps to the simplest of tasks, the EZ Egg Cracker is a must for your kitchen.

7. Zombie of Montclaire Moors

This thing is just weird and creepy, right?

8. Wine Glass Holder Necklace

For the multi-tasking oenophile.

9. Hovering Picture Frame

Hanging pictures has changed little since Lascaux. The Hovering Picture Frame will surely herald a new epoch in the annals of picture presentation.

10. SlumberSleeve

Do you have rock hard biceps? Do you like contorting your body to sleep on your arm? Look no further than the SlumberSleeve. Bonus: according to SkyMall’s description it acts as ankle, knee and “small neck” pillow for the double-jointed and fans of suffocation.

images from SkyMall