Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Oak Tube Apartment is a Stunning Study in Natural Lighting

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

This fifth-floor Moscow apartment suffered from a dilemma common to high-rise flats: a dire lack of natural lighting. Windows at one end of the apartment were so far separated from the balcony at the other end that the middle of the home received almost no sunlight. To counteract this darkness, architect Peter Kostelov came up with a daring solution.

Kostelov removed the “dead walls” from the center of the apartment, replacing them with glass. This change allows sunlight to travel from both sides of the home and to reach the center, eliminating sizable dark spots.

The center of the apartment is also elevated, which gives the appearance of a “tube” running from one end of the living space to the other. The elevation helps capture and direct the light to the places that formerly received almost none.

The elevated tube is clad mostly in oak planks, unifying the space from floor to ceiling and, thanks to the light color, reflecting lots of light. The planks extend to form shelves, a desk, and closets in the living room and study.

In the bedroom, the concept of the oak tube was continued by forming a bed, shelves, and closets from the same oak planks as those used for the floor, walls, and ceiling. The edges of this built-in suite are finished in a dark stone, making it appear that the room was simply cut off of the tube.

Likewise, the exterior edges of the tube are finished in the same dark stone, lending the appearance that the interior was simply flown in and inserted into the existing apartment space.

The parts of the apartment not encompassed by the oak tube are the dining room, dressing room, and bathrooms. Flooring in the common areas such as the hallway, dining room, and kitchen is a sleek ceramogranite. The flooring in the study, living room, and bedroom is the familiar oak planking. The different flooring lends a slight visual separation between the public and private areas.

Nap On: Head-Hiding Ostrich Pillow Lets You Nap in Peace

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST

When the fun Ostrich Pillow from design team Kawamura Ganjavian was first introduced as a concept, it received mixed reactions. While many people thought it was a great way to nap anywhere, anytime, others through it was a little too goofy looking to take seriously.

The Ostrich Pillow is no longer a concept – it has come to life as a successful Kickstarter project. The object is a bit like a bed, pillow, blanket, and eye mask in one…but slightly different. The onion-shaped pillow slips over your head and provides a comfortably warm and dark space in which to take a refreshing power nap. A hole over the nose and mouth allows you to breathe comfortably.

Because the pillow covers both your head and your hands, it effectively isolates you from outside stimuli. This can be priceless for people who need complete darkness and silence in order to nap. Now that the Ostrich Pillow is out of the concept stage and available to purchase, expect to see people napping in all sorts of unusual locations.

The designers suggest that it can be used in places like airports and train stations, but we don’t recommend blocking out the world around you while sleeping in the midst of thousands of strangers. There’s nothing wrong with a quick nap in the office or library, though.

IRock: iPad-Charging Rocking Chair with Built-in Speakers

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

Just keep rocking and this chair will keep your iPad from going dark, no power outlet required. The iRock by Zurich-based Micasa Lab generates power from the rocking motions of the chair and even has built-in speakers, making it a self-sufficient iPad dock and sound station.

The iRock looks like an old-fashioned rocking chair, with one clear difference: the iPad dock that extends up beside the right arm, making it easily accessible to the lounger. The kinetic energy from the rocking motions is converted to electricity, with one hour of rocking charging the device up to 35%. A battery saves power for later usage.

Available in five colors, the iRock is made of oak and sells for $1300. It can also be used with iPhones and iPods, with an additional iPhone 5 adapter included.

Read and Relax in the Sculptural Bookworm Chair

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

Surround yourself with the books you love as you lounge on the ‘Bookworm’, a combination chair/bookcase with a sculptural curving design by Atelier 010. The Bookworm chair even has built-in lighting, making it a compact all-in-one reading area.

Thin layers of MDF and plywood are curved across custom-made molds to create the swooping shape. The bookcase chair is self-supporting, kept upright by a stainless steel foot extending from one wall. The outside walls are spray-painted in bright colors, while the insides are white.

This comforting, cave-like combination of seating and book storage is not entirely unique. Similar designs have included ergonomic padded lounge areas built into conventional-looking bookshelves, and benches with bookshelf supports.

Nature of Things: Norway Taken Over by Sentient Objects

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

The lush rural Norwegian landscape comes alive under the creative direction of conceptual artist Rune Guneriussen. Using lamps, books and other stacked objects, Guneriussen transforms the countryside.

Electric lamps and neatly arranged books go from inanimate objects to living herds crowding between trees and around streams.

Guneriussen creates his photographic works without any digital manipulation, actually putting these common household objects out in nature to photograph them as though he were catching wildlife in its natural habitat.

With titles like “A Capacity to Breed and Recover” and “An Upward Displacement,” the photos are indeed meant to invoke that sense of looking in on a seldom-seen corner of nature.

Replacing living beings with man-made ones in these pieces seems to suggest that Guneriussen sees the planet’s wildlife being replaced with technology.

However, the artist’s gentle and sentimental treatment of his subjects also suggests that he is able to see the merit and the beauty in these artificial objects.

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