Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Timeless Timekeeping: Make a Personalized Photo Clock

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST

People have found all kinds of creative ways to display the photos that they hold dear to them, but if you can make these decorative objects functional they will be doubly treasured. The photo wall clock tutorial from Photojojo gives detailed instructions to help you do just that.

Creating this beautiful piece of functional wall art takes a bit of planning, but not much hard labor. Simply pick out 12 treasured photos with frames, map out your desired layout, and assemble a clock kit from a craft store. Then hang it all on the wall for a one-of-a-kind work of art.

Figuring out which photos make the cut might be the hardest part of all. Some ideas: photos of you or a family member from every year of school from first grade to senior year; pictures of places you’ve vacationed; or nature pictures arranged by season.

This low-cost project would also be exceptionally beautiful – and personal – with a selection of your favorite small pieces of art. As long as they can be framed and coordinated with the size of the clock kit, just about any images could be used. For detailed instructions visit the project page on Photojojo.

Self-Destructing Chair Falls to Pieces After Just a Few Uses

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 04:00 PM PST

In a culture where most consumer items are considered somewhat disposable, it seems almost unthinkable to intentionally use a product that you know will only survive a few uses. The DRM Chair is a seat that self-destructs after being used eight times.

The DRM Chair was designed by a team of current and former University of Art and Design Lausanne students calling themselves Les Sugus. They were participating in the art and engineering competition known as The Deconstruction.

The team’s unique chair is both a commentary on the restrictions of digital rights management music files and an exploration of just how ridiculous our planned-obsolescence manufacturing methods have become.

First attempts at making a self-destructing chair involved the use of weak gunpowder charges, but the team quickly realized that no one would want to sit in that chair even once – much less eight times. They settled on wax joints that would melt after receiving a small electrical charge from the attached battery.

The chair contains a contact switch that counts off the number of times someone has sat on it. A small solenoid knocks on the wood of the chair following each sitting session to indicate the number of uses left. Once the eighth use is completed, the wax joints melt, causing the chair to fall to the ground in pieces, now just a jumble of parts.

Living Inspiration: 10 Modern Modular Living Room Designs

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST

The living room is the hub of most modern homes, and as such it typically houses the most impressive furniture. Italian furniture manufacturer Tumidei created these modern living rooms using their Laltrogiorno furniture system.

The layouts show exactly how versatile a modular, customized interior can be. These rooms vary in size and decor, but the one thing that remains constant is the way the Laltrogiorno components are tweaked to create fully personalized layouts.

Components in a modular interior like these can be manipulated to take on whatever size, shape and function is needed. Have an enormous book collection? Prefer to spend the weekend watching your favorite movies? Modules can be added, moved and taken away to create exactly the storage and useful space your home needs.

Possible combinations include the standard up against the wall entertainment center configuration and more creative layouts involving components suspended on the walls.

Other possibilities for this or any modular furniture system include forming partial or complete room dividers. Looking through the shelves from one room to the next gives a rather dramatic view of both your belongings and your home.

Make it Pop: Suite of 3D-Illusion Rugs Really Stands Out

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 04:00 PM PST

The traditional and familiar form of the rug takes an unexpected turn in the hands of designers Dimitri Bähler, Linn Kandel and Ismaël Studer. The suite of rugs features an illusory three dimensional appearance thanks to their fringes. The French word for “fringe” is Fanion, which also happens to be the name of the rug project.

The designers started out with regular wool felt, then cut it on a CNC machine. When laid out on the floor, the fringes create the illusion that the rugs are popping up from the surface. The rugs stop being flat pieces of décor and suddenly turn into objects of fascination that invent an entirely new space in the room.

Once your mind makes sense of the illusion and you can plainly see that the rugs are flat and not raised, the fringes become a quirky graphical element. The simple shapes of the rugs and the modern element of the fringes all add up to some surprisingly visually striking floor coverings.

Safe Haven: Australia’s Cyclone-Resistant Eco-Friendly Home

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST

In the tropical climate of Far North Queensland, Australia, cyclones regularly threaten the homes and lives of residents. Charles Wright Architects built the Stamp Home in FNQ as a safe shelter from cyclones that is also environmentally friendly.

The Stamp House is situated on a tiny island in the middle of a pond, accessed by a long walkway over the pond. The structure is made up of a mixture of new and recycled concrete, which helps to insulate the building and keep it at a comfortable temperature year-round.

During the planning and building process, the architects worked closely with local environmental groups to ensure that the building’s water system would not interfere with the surrounding wetlands.

The home features both public and private spaces on two levels. The large cantilevered chambers house a grand total of seven bedrooms. The heart of the home, in the center of the bedroom wings, contains a lounge, a dining area and a gym among other things.

One of the architects’ goals was to create a carbon-neutral home. They accomplished this in part by nearly covering the entire roof in solar panels. A solar-powered generator provides back-up power when necessary. The home has its own closed water system which harvests water from the surroundings, purifies it, and then puts it back into the system.

In addition to being eco-friendly, the home can withstand the power of a Category 5 cyclone. Those cantilevered arms prevent water from leaking into the house, making this structure one of the safest (and probably driest) places in FNQ to be in the event of a cyclone.

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