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Weird Furniture: Where There's Smoke by Maarten Baas

casasugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:15:20 -0800

Dutch designer Maarten Baas's "Smoke" is a series of a charred furniture finished with an epoxy resin so that the pieces are preserved instead of destroyed. A 2004 exhibition called "Where There's Smoke" at Moss in New York showcased the collection of 25 one-off pieces, including iconic designs by Gaudi, Eames, Rietveld, Sottsass, and the Campana Brothers among others, which had each been burned with a blow torch and then salvaged with the translucent sealant. At the exhibit, the pieces were put in a timeline from antique to modern, grouping pieces like a grandfather clock and chaise lounge together, and a second stage of pieces like an Eames LCW chair and Noguchi coffee table from 1900-1950 together.

Three of the "Smoke" works were picked up by Marcel Wanders for reproduction by his international design company, MOOOI, and important designers and collectors like Lidewij Edelkoort and Philippe Starck have also personally acquired the pieces. Select pieces have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. What's really beautiful about the series is that the furniture retains that charred texture, it's quite haunting, and appropriate for Halloween. To see more photos and close-ups,

Weird Furniture: Chainsaw Rocker

casasugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:30:25 -0700

Artist Christopher Chiappa's Chainsaw Rocker is a to-scale reproduction of a junkyard-find Honda Accord car seat that was chiseled to form by a chainsaw sculptor. Currently on view at Moss in Los Angeles, it's lowbrow artwork for the design elite. While its brass plated legs make it a delightfully functioning rocker, it's the chair's texture that really gets me. The wood was so expertly carved, with such realistic curves, that its toughness is almost disguised. It's funny: you wouldn't normally associate the harsh cuts of a chainsaw with the upholstery of a car seat.
Source

Guess What's on This Wallpaper?

casasugar — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

While it looks rather retro, this wallpaper actually has a biological background. Can you guess what it's illustrating? (Hint: It might be better suited for a doctor's office.)

Love It or Hate It? Tour Table by Gae Aulenti

casasugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:00:10 -0700

After you've constructed your bicycle wheel pot rack, you might want to coordinate in your dining room with the Tour Table by Gae Aulenti ($6,258). Maybe Lance Armstrong's Austin home could use one. Could yours?

Love It or Hate It? Tour Table by Gae Aulenti

Love it

Hate it

Undecided

Weird Furniture: England's Dreaming

casasugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:00:26 -0700

Forgoing a shepherd's pie ottoman or a Wimbledon coffee table, London-based architecture and design practice Fat created England's Dreaming as a tribute to its native country in furniture form. The antique chaise is covered at one end by a mini English landscape, juxtaposing scales and references, prompting the lounger to "Lie back and think of England." I only wonder why Fat didn't choose a traditional English piece of furniture, such as something by Thomas Chippendale; we all know that the chaise lounge (longue) originated from the French. To see the mini landscape up close,

Would You Put Skateboard Steps in Your House?

casasugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:00:53 -0700

At one point in my life, this would be a no-brainer for me. Back when all of my boyfriends (and myself, too) hung out on skateboards and in skateboard parks, this would've been a perfect addition to our homes. Can you see any room for it in yours? Source

Would You Put Skateboard Steps in Your House?

Definitely cool and fun!

Maybe, if I had a teenage skateboarder in the house.

No way, it's too specific and odd for my home.

Other, I'll tell you in the comments.

Midday Muse: Oh '70s, How I Don't Miss Thee!

casasugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:31 -0700

I'm sure there's some modern-day equivalent of the Love Rug, which GiggleSugar recently uncovered. There must be some piece of furniture that substitutes as a furry lover, which, as the copy for this ad so eloquently states, "As you stroke, it strokes. . . . It's almost like having another lover there with the two of you." I'm sure there's probably something similar, but I'm not going out of my way to find it. Source

Love It or Hate It? MYBrain Lamp

casasugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:15:50 -0700

I can imagine giving this as a gag gift to a neurosurgeon, or maybe the head of the Mathletes team, but I shudder when I think about putting it in my home. The MYBrain lamp (inquire for price) is just a little too realistic for my taste. How about you?

Love It or Hate It? MYBrain Lamp

Love It

Hate It

Undecided

Weird Furniture: Mint Stool

casasugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:00:31 -0700

I detest halitosis as much as the next person, but since when does that mean I should have to sit on my breath freshener of choice? Just because you can turn any round product into the seat of a stool doesn't mean you should. I think I have to go separate ways with "art engineer" Lee J. Rowland and his Sweet Seats Mint Stool (inquire for price) on this one. That is, unless I were trying to furnish the corporate offices of Breathsavers. I'm sorry . . . am I being harsh? Tell me what you think of this mint-inspired stool.

Weird Furniture: 1960s Female Form Fiberglass Chair

casasugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0700

What is it with men and designing female-shaped furniture? At first, I thought it was kind of funny. But really, the sex-centric furniture is just everywhere these days; it's getting kind of ridiculous. Exhibit A is the 1960s Female Form Fiberglass Chair ($10,500), a chair that proliferates the animal-hide trend, and takes the classic Louis XV chair to a "sensual" level — kind of like a dirty version of Philippe Starck's Louis Ghost Chair. I must say I'm a little confused by the back of this chair though; this lady looks to be double-jointed. What do you think? Funny or misogynistic?