Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Versatile Surfaces: Two Cool Transforming Kitchen Tables

Posted: 20 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST

Two of the most commonly combined spaces in smaller condos and apartments are the kitchen and dining room, but here some creative ideas from Florida to take up less space and create more modular options for these core areas.

In the first of these expanding-kitchen examples, a table slides back and forth between adjacent cooking and eating areas, taking up less total space than a table in each area would.

In the second, a table pushes out into the kitchen zone itself to make way for more food preparation or a set of bar stools for eating or drinking as well. These are good reminders that space use is periodic, and you can create a lot of flexibility by maximizing usage when you need it rather than continuously.

Mobile Office Pods to Create Instant Co-Working Spaces

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST

Few spaces need as much flexibility as offices, where scaling is crucial and change is frequent. Thus future-thinking creations like the BEEBOX, an all-in-one system for turning empty rooms into instant work areas.

Fold it open to reveal a desk and cupboards for storage, but also acoustic panels to help keep the noise down from your office neighbors. Plug it in at a single point to supply electricity for your devices and for the built-in lights – no further integration or interface needed to make it fit anywhere.

And if security is an issue, with various pods of workers in the same warehouse, for instance, they can be closed and locked as easily as they are opened and deployed at the end and beginning of each day.

Port-a-Bach: Mobile Fold-Out Shipping Container Home

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:00 AM PST

In this case, the sum is more than the parts – and the building footprint tells only half of the story. Push a button and things begin to unfold, revealing not just a deck but a lofted sleeping area and other pop-out amenities all hiding in the shell of a conventional cargo shipping container.

While it has evolved through various concepts and prototypes, the primary features of the Port-a-Bach cargo container home include “a fully enclosed exterior steel shell (when folded up), appointed with large internal storage cupboards and shelves / stainless steel kitchen and fittings / bathroom with open shower, sink, composting toilet. Fabric screen system gives the versatility of creating rooms within the large open living space: includes bunk beds, double bed room, dressing room, kitchen and bathroom.”

Outside, an “exterior canvas screen system allows to shelter the deck area for comfortable indoor/outdoor flow and living. 6 concrete footings form a stable, non-invasive ‘foundation’, allowing you to situate the unit on a wide range of ground conditions.”

Its mobility and significant flexibility of use are perhaps its key selling points, as well as its durability: close it down and lock it up when not in use and it can withstand the elements, as cargo containers were made to do.

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