Minimal furniture designs to add a calming + zen aura to your living space

Posted on 29/04/2022 by Srishti Mitra

A beautiful piece of furniture can complete a room. It can be the final piece that makes a space come full circle, building a comfortable and cohesive haven, rather than a random area. Furniture pieces make or break a home, they add on to the essence or soul of a home, hence one needs to be extremely picky while choosing a furniture design. The design should be a reflection of you, and what you want your home to be. When you place a piece of furniture in a room, it should instantly integrate with the space, creating a wholesome and organic environment. We’ve curated a collection of minimal furniture designs that we believe will do this! Each of these pieces is unique, well-crafted, and made with a whole lot of love, and the love really shines through in the fine detailing and workmanship. We hope you feel the love too!

1. The Diag Desk

The Diag Desk is a minimalist, modern desk built to optimize desk space while incorporating storage elements like removable leather compartments. When it comes to desks, the simpler the better. Desks that are rooted in simplicity, either through a minimalist approach or by embracing Scandinavian aesthetics, typically offer a lot of practicality while maintaining a stripped-down design.

Why is it noteworthy?

Considering its minimalist build, more space can be devoted to the desk’s tabletop, where most of the desk’s purpose is reserved. The Diag Desk from Polish designer Marek Błażucki is one kind of minimalist design that integrates storage systems into its build, ensuring that users have ample desk space while still keeping their necessary stationery within arm’s reach.

What we like

Integrates ample storage systems into its build
Ensures stationery doesn’t fall off

What we dislike

There are a lot of visually similar desks on the market

2. Acrobat

Acrobat is a multifunctional storage piece that combines the safekeeping components of an entryway table with the hanging function of a coatrack.

Why is it noteworthy?

As we continue to downsize our living spaces, the more multifunctional our furniture is, the better. Smaller spaces don’t necessarily have to mean less living space. Multifunctional furniture helps make more room for living while taking care of a lot of our household tasks. We usually have our own system of arranging EDC items like key rings, wallets, and phones. Entryway tables and coat racks usually take the brunt of those organizational needs, so finding multifunctionality in their design is key to keeping our homes decluttered. Acrobat, a multifunctional coat rack designed by João Teixeira, combines the storage components of an entryway table with those of a coat rack.

What we like

The metal tube tops can also be used to hang clothes or hats without the need for a hanger
The wooden hull that interlinks the beams offers a safe space to store EDC items like wallets, phones, and keyrings

What we dislike

Can occupy a substantial amount of space

3. Midea’s Smart Bedside Table

There is an attempt to put a mini-fridge in a position that doubles as a bedside table, but that’s mostly to conserve space, especially in hotels. Midea’s Smart Bedside Table admittedly doesn’t go that far, but it has thrown in everything else that it says is related to bedroom activities. Or at least the ones that will help you sleep more comfortably.

Why is it noteworthy?

The bedside table’s main functions are supposedly for air purification and humidification, something that’s not directly apparent when looking at the beautifully minimal piece of furniture. The “sub-functions,” however, are where things get a bit more out of hand. There’s a hidden wireless charging area on top of the table, but only near the front. The rear area of that surface actually flips open to reveal low-temperature storage with just enough room for a bottle or a few cans. The front area actually does open up to a UV sterilizing compartment for your gadgets or jewelry. There’s also a USB hub, aroma diffuser, and, thankfully, a bit of lighting.

What we like

Quite an attractive design with its wooden body and clean design
The front area op up to a UV sterilizing compartment for your gadgets or jewelry

What we dislike

No complaints!

4. Non Square

Introducing Non Square, the team of designers explains that, “It [pursues] the beauty of irregularity within, as opposed to regularity on the outside.” From the outside, Non Square sports a minimalist, stainless steel appearance that seems like a nondescript side table dressed as a cube. A closer look and Non Square’s larger purpose is revealed.

Why is it noteworthy?

Functionality typically stems from a product with a long shelf life and the ability to execute its primary purpose. Adding their design to the mix, Hyunjun Yu, Soojin Jung, Kyoungseo Park conceptualized Non Square, a furniture set that integrates side tables and stools within a stainless steel hexahedron structure.

What we like

Hidden storage compartments
Modular design

What we dislike

The product’s bulky + metallic aesthetics may complement only certain living spaces

5. Faucet Light

Faucet Light is a minimalist light fixture design that mimics the look of water droplets forming beneath a faucet’s spout.

Why is it noteworthy?

We’ve each suffered through the monotonous drip of a leaky faucet at some point. It’s like clockwork and we can’t do anything about it but stare and wait for the plumber. Industrial designer Jaewan Park must have found some inspiration during the waiting game as his new lamp design resembles a kitchen sink faucet and the bulbous water drop that forms beneath its spout. Aptly dubbed the Faucet Light, Park’s new light design finds practicality and an artful design through subtle details and joyful aesthetics.

What we like

Features a glossy base to emulate the look of ripples on a still pool of water
Faucet Light maintains a slim body to fit atop most tabletops, even crowded work desks

What we dislike

No complaints!

6. The Cloth Coffee Table

Characterized by its curved bookstand that works as the table’s centerpiece, the Cloth coffee table’s curvy personality is echoed throughout its build. The bookstand also finds a balance between boldness and elegance, offering a weighty centerpiece that helps ground the coffee table, without dominating the available tablespace. Featuring softly bold elements like an undulating table edge that mimics the look of a live edge, the Cloth coffee table keeps a dynamic profile without dominating the room.

Why is it noteworthy?

Doing minimalism before it was cool, Japanese and Scandinavian share a lot of common design principles, including a focus on warmth, groundedness, and a subdued color scheme for an overall calming effect. With aim of merging these principles together to design Cloth, Teixeira hoped to find a “balance between boldness and elegance, depending on the angle.”

What we like

An artful blend of Japanese and Scandinavian design philosophies
The curved bookstand is a distinguishing feature

What we dislike

Weighty/bulky design

7. Hidden

Hidden is an unconventional litter box conceptualized to be inconspicuous by design and fit into any modern home. The hardest part of owning a cat has to be taking care of the litter box. Cats mostly fend for and take care of themselves, but we’re in charge of the litter. Litter boxes aren’t designed for aesthetics, so cat owners usually have to find inconspicuous spots to keep the litter box out of sight and out of mind.

Why is it noteworthy?

It’s never a cute look to have a litter box in the bathroom or even the basement, but our cats gotta go when they gotta go. Designers with the studio YUPD took it upon themselves to conceptualize a litter box called Hidden that’s discreet by design, so it can be placed anywhere in the house.

What we like

Discreet design
Inspired by interior design elements

What we dislike

It’s still a concept!

8. Storm Lamp

The beauty of the Storm Lamp by Julia Kononenko is that there isn’t any method to its mad design. The lamp comes with a variety of laser-cut wooden panels that can be arranged/oriented in any way you like because as its name suggests, the Storm Lamp is all about beauty in chaos. Looking almost like an abstract tornado, the lamp is entirely made from flat pieces of laser-cut plywood that are either left plain or painted black.

Why is it noteworthy?

When assembled together, they create a 3D form using the Gestalt visual law of continuity. Moreover, the jagged edges themselves illuminate to look like chaotic lightning strikes, reinforcing the product’s inspiration!

What we like

The lamps are available in both hanging and floor formats
The jagged edges themselves illuminate to look like chaotic lightning strikes

What we dislike

No complaints!

9. Solar

MyZoo, a cat goods company, designs modern cat furniture that caters to your cat’s every need, while not disrupting your interior design. Solar, one of their more recent designs, is a wall-mountable floating cat bed that mounts onto any vertical surface so cats rest midair in their own designated space.

Why is it noteworthy?

Shaped like the sun, Solar is a small, but sturdy floating cat bed that’s built from pinewood. In a similar fashion to their other pieces of cat furniture, MyZoo lined Solar with a slotted resting platform for safe jumping. Ideal for small spaces, Solar provides a resting spot and jumping platform for your cat and saves space in the meantime.

What we like

Solar doesn’t take up any ground space and easily mounts to any wall where there’s room
Easy to assemble

What we dislike

There’s no cushioning on the bed, which would make it comfier

10. The Tie Stool

The Tie Stool’s beauty lies in its sheer simplicity – not just design but also materials. The stool comprises three bent plywood strips that conveniently lock into each other, creating a tripod form that you can easily sit on. The design could easily expand to accommodate more strips to create a 4-legged (or even 5-legged) stool, but the dynamic nature of having a tripod format really gives the Tie Stool its appeal. I don’t know about you, but I can’t unsee the Google Drive logo in the stool’s design!

Why is it noteworthy?

Fabricating the Tie Stool would require a few simple steps. The three plywood strips can, in fact, be split into 6 total parts (you can see the parting lines). The individual parts are formed using high pressure and temperatures that cause the plywood to bend and retain its shape, and cutting/finishing processes are performed on the parts to make them interlock into one another.

What we like

The entire stool can potentially be flat-packed and shipped to customers
It’s stackable

What we dislike

No complaints!

The post Minimal furniture designs to add a calming + zen aura to your living space first appeared on Yanko Design.

This adjustable phone stand’s Memphis-inspired design even has space for storing a charging cable

Posted on 28/04/2022 by Sarang Sheth

The Memphis 2.0 design movement was all about visualizing designs through a geometric lens. Nothing was normal, everything was simple geometry that intersected or interacted with each other. Products were fun, graphics were vibrant, and everything was eye-catching until minimalism came and took over. Hold The Phone, however, holds onto the sheer beauty of Memphis 2.0 with its blockish design language.

Created by the folks at Boem, Hold The Phone is part phone stand, part statement piece. With its simple yet bold design, Hold The Phone does exactly what it says it does, while also hiding a trick up its sleeve. The phone stand is made up of 3 elements – the stand itself, a slab-shaped piece of plastic, with a small cylindrical lip at the bottom to hoist the phone up, and a large cylindrical element at the back that props the entire structure upwards at an angle. This large rear cylinder slides upwards and downwards, adjusting the angle at which your phone rests, giving you the ability to tilt your phone at virtually any angle you need. Moreover, that large cylinder is actually hollow on the inside, allowing you to use it to store items like cables, thumb drives, SD cards, and any other tiny items you’d otherwise end up losing!

Designer: Boem

The minimalist Memphis phone dock (which looks like a percentage % sign, btw) lets you set your phone at a wide range of angles, thanks to the sliding rear cylinder. The rear cylinder sits on a simple rail and notch system, allowing it to slide up and down in a step-less manner. A friction fit ensures your cylinder stays at the angle it’s been set at, so your phone’s weight doesn’t throw it off-kilter.

If you want your own Hold Your Phone, even though it isn’t available traditionally, you can buy the 3D file for € 8.90 ($9.35) and print as many of your phone stands as you want! Feel like taking things further? How about editing the 3D file and integrating a wireless charger into the stand too?!

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Minimal Architectural designs that prove why this trend always reigns supreme in the world of architecture!

Posted on 17/12/2021 by Srishti Mitra

There’s something about Minimalism that simply never goes out of style! And, minimal architecture just has a soft spot in my heart! Minimal architectural designs will always leave you with a warm feeling in your heart, an intense admiration for the attention to detail, and the delicate touches each structure consists of. They’re simple but smartly designed spaces that radiate an aura of warmth and calmness. And we’ve curated some of our favorite minimal structures for you! From a zen minimalist cabin that keeps the worldly distractions away to a Japanese-inspired residence that features a multi-tiered sloping roof – these exquisite minimal architectural designs make for perfect living spaces that’ll put your mind, heart, and soul at ease!

1. Hara House

Hara House is built out of 5-inch square timbers set 6 feet apart. A tent-like white steel rooftop the home mixes private spaces with a semipublic, open-air living and dining area – a stiff, yet giving structure that assimilates all human behaviors. “The estate already contained an assemblage of buildings and farmland that depended on one another. Our design direction was to create a home that revitalized these on-site structures and had the potential to adapt to new functions as the need or mood changed,” explains architect Takayuki Shimada.

2. The Nook

Brimming with artisanal goods and artwork of local craftsmen and artists, The Nook was designed to bring the handcrafted touch of the old world into the modern era. Described as a “collection of stories,” Belleme designed The Nook to link his personal history to the surrounding forest and architecture of the cabin. The tiny cabin is constructed from a collection of locally felled trees that Belleme memorized during a five-year stint spent in the Appalachian woods, during which he learned primitive building skills like creating a path of hand-split logs that leads to The Nook’s front entrance.

3. The Archipelago House

Norm Architects built the Archipelago House on the coast of Sweden. This beautiful holiday home is clad in pine and is a culmination of both Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics. The minimal pine-wood home features gabled roofs, that are inspired by the boathouses that float along the nearby seashore. Norm Architects created the home in the hope that “The building should look natural to the site and put the focus on the beautiful surroundings and the life unfolding in the place rather than the building itself.” The use of natural materials within the home creates an atmosphere that is truly Scandinavian in nature.

4. Birdbox

Birdbox is actually a prefabricated shipping container-like cabin that offers one-of-a-kind escapes to lush destinations surrounded by nature. The cabins are simple, rectangular structures with huge circular and oval windows to give you a larger-than-life view of nature. Just like the exterior, the interior also has minimal decor which makes for a cozy space with a queen bed and a handful of chairs. The Birdboxes come in two sizes currently – the “Mini” at 10.5’ x 7.2’ x 7.2’ “Mini” and the “Medi” at 16.7’ x 7.87’ x 7.87’.” There’s also a separate “Birdbox Bathroom” which features a black tint one-way glass floor-to-ceiling window.

5. The Luna

The Luna is a tiny cabin from New Frontier Design that combines modern design elements with rustic appeal for a tiny cabin that’s destined for the winter. Defined by an asymmetrical roofline, The Luna embraces a geometric, angular profile to complement the natural ruggedness of snow-covered plots of land. Combining rustic energy with modern design, The Luna is clad in matte black, 100-year corrugated steel for a lived-in, yet contemporary look. New Frontier decided against filling up The Luna’s lengthier facades with windows, opting instead for a sweeping, floor-to-ceiling window wall on one end.

6. Canton House

Marc Thorpe, architect, and designer extraordinaire, recently unveiled his design for Canton House, a cluster of off-grid cabin hotels in the forest of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains that are built from locally harvested timber and inspired by the surrounding area’s vernacular architecture. In Romania, rural towers and spires of religious centers are often defined by their fully-shingled wooden construction. Inspired by the local area’s shingled roofs and facades, Thorpe clad Canton House’s trio of cabins, from top to bottom in blackened, locally sourced timber, wrapping the exterior facades in uniform wooden shingles. The triangular roof stems from Canton House’s rectangular front facade.

7. Edifice

Designed by Marc Thorpe, Edifice is a simple black off-grid cabin in Upstate New York. It’s been neatly tucked into the Catskill Mountains, situated in the little village of Fremont. The cabin features a single bedroom and occupies a total of 500 square meters. It’s nestled amongst trees, creating a quaint and quiet spot, that functions as a wonderful retreat in the midst of nature. The cabin was built as an example of “introverted architecture”, and is a self-sustaining structure that was an “exercise in reduction”. The little box is clad in stained cedar and features a simple rectangular form. The walls on the southern and western sides have thin windows, providing views of the surrounding greenery.

8. Four Leaves Villa

Four Leaves Villa designed by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS) is a form of organic architecture with a gently twisted, multi-tiered roof that mimics the sloping curve of fallen leaves and a central garden courtyard, the home’s concealed centerpiece. 150 kilometers from the buzzing city streets of Tokyo, Japan, a forested plot of land in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture of Japan, is home to a weekend retreat designed to mirror the fallen leaves that surround it. Dubbed Four Leaves Villa, the privately-owned residence is a form of organic architecture with a split-level roof designed by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS) that mimics the undulating, overlapping pattern of fallen leaves.

9. The Eibche

The Eibche by Shomali Design takes the cabin game to a new level by incorporating the best of Balinese culture, modern architecture, and cozy interiors. The elevated structure weaves concrete and bamboo into its design. The team has used locally sourced building materials – wood for the structure and a brick-stone combination for the foundation. The frame is then ‘cemented’ by concrete which brings in a hint of modern minimalist architecture. The designers chose organic materials in order to create harmony with the environment so Eibche showcases a lot of bamboo poles, woven bamboo, coconut wood, and teak wood in both the interior as well as exterior.

10. The House of Many Courtyards

Swedish architecture studio Claesson Koivisto Rune designed a Scandinavian holiday home called the House of Many Courtyards. The home basically consists of interconnected box-like structures that are surrounded by beautiful courtyards. A 40-meter long corridor artfully connects all the minimal boxes. All the boxy structures feature varied heights, hence creating a geometrically unique holiday home that serves as an intriguing spatial experience. Sliding doors allow you to seamlessly step out of the home, and into the serene courtyards. It’s the perfect integration of indoor and outdoor living!

The post Minimal Architectural designs that prove why this trend always reigns supreme in the world of architecture! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This minimalist table-light distills the idea of a lamp into its most basic elements – a light, and a shade

Posted on 25/11/2021 by Sarang Sheth

Created to explore the relationship between Changhojis (paper doors found in traditional Asian homes) and lights, the Light Kyeol Series comes with a bulb and an interchangeable card-like shade that sits in front of the light source, diffusing it. The cards use a variety of paper types, including textured, colored, and handmade, to explore the way they disperse light.

The series features different lamp styles with the same concept of having a sheet of paper propped up or suspended in front of a light source. The lamp’s relatively dim, casting an ambient glow around the room, while the choice of paper definitely gives it its own flavor, bringing a slightly rustic appeal to the lamp’s design.

It’s difficult to correctly place the lamp’s design in a particular box. It’s a combination of minimalism, traditionalism, craft, and even a bit of steampunk. The lamp’s variants explore simple designs and shapes, experimenting with intersections and overlapping elements, and the lamp series’ construction uses a limited caché of materials, from brass and acrylic for the base and frame, and Korean paper for the shades.

Designers: HyeokRoh, Jonggun Kim, Hyoin Son

The post This minimalist table-light distills the idea of a lamp into its most basic elements – a light, and a shade first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Japanese A-frame structure looks like a cozy Ghibli movie home got a modern yet minimal makeover!

Posted on 09/11/2021 by Chi Thukral

Japanese architecture is the epitome of minimalism and warmth, especially when it takes shape as an A-frame cabin. The Japanese culture and lifestyle have many deep-rooted practices about reducing waste, using only what you need, and living with essentials but not necessarily without luxury. All of these elements are seen in Hara House, an A-frame cabin that is all about minimizing your footprint, being efficient, and using as little material as possible. It was designed for a young couple who wanted a new home in a small agricultural village about four hours north of Tokyo that would restore the fading communal connection that they were witnessing.

The A-frame structure draped over a rectangular interior volume was the solution to create that semi-public space the couple desired. A set of parallel glass doors in the central living/dining room allows air to flow through the home and connect the residents with neighbors passing along the adjacent street. Instead of a traditional self-reliant building, Hara House is a space where workshops, meetings, and events can spill out onto the land and open the home to the village.

Two parallel pitches expose the central living and dining room to the outside air via sliding glass doors. The low openings give the impression of a tent that’s been propped up to reveal what’s going on inside and is reminiscent of older Japanese architecture. An open space on one side of the structure serves as an entrance and an informal gathering spot for the community while the covered, veranda-like spaces on both sides provide shady areas to sit and relax. The heart of Hara House is the large living/dining area that simple radiates warmth!

At one end of the first floor, a small bedroom and a bathroom create a private living area for the family. There is a loft area above that features a cozy workspace. The sleeping zone is on the first floor which has a spacious master bedroom. Interiors feature minimalist shelves for storage and a large pane of glass brightens the space as well as the loft above. Hara House’s high ceiling creates the traditional tent-like vibe, while the raised platform serves as seating as well as additional storage space.

“We started our design by conceptualizing the building as incomplete. The home should invite people from the village to utilize it, thus becoming part of the community. By establishing this type of architecture, with its blank canvas, a space is born that establishes itself as an attraction of interest and activity,” says Shimada. Hara House looks like a house from a Ghibli movie but with a modern makeover that doesn’t strip the magic from a wooden A-frame structure. It is reminiscent of a glowing lantern in the night that welcomes the community into a safe space.

Designer: Takeru Shoji Architects

The post This Japanese A-frame structure looks like a cozy Ghibli movie home got a modern yet minimal makeover! first appeared on Yanko Design.

From cats to birds, these minimal animal sculptures have been created from strips of coiled metal!

Posted on 30/10/2021 by Srishti Mitra

Korean artist Lee Sangsoo forges colorful and spiraled animal sculptures. Defined as ‘drawings in the air’ – his collection of animals includes cats, flamingoes, poodles, parrots, and other interesting creatures! His minimal sculptures are built from resin or stainless steel – depending upon the size of the piece. If the piece spans more than one meter, Sangsoo uses stainless steel to create it. Each angled side is delicately coated with soft gradients or a subtle and complementary palette. The three dimensional and towering sculptures have been inspired by Picasso’s little abstract animal drawings. What a wonderful contrast, no? Sangsoo even goes on to say, “Lines, planes, and colors are important elements that work in my work. The lines drawn in the two-dimensional sketchbook determine the large flow and form of the work, and it becomes three-dimensional in the three-dimensional space. The square lines are shown in various shapes and colors according to the flow and twist, and you can feel the dynamism in the still work. Also, depending on the flow, the thickness of the lines may be rhythmically thickened or thinned.”

Designer: Lee Sangsoo

My love for cats is no suprise! And this playful and agile cat has my heart. The sculpture strikes a pose in his most flexbile position, almost crouching on the floor. I wonder if the kitty is getting ready to play or hunt! The colors of the cat range from a light nude to shades of dark brown.

This colorful parrot rests peacefully on its bird stand. The sharp detailing of its body and wings, and its intricately carved beak make it look almost life-like! Green, red, blue, and yellow accents highlight the beautiful parrot.

The body of this swan is a spiral of hues of blues, teals, and violets! I can completely imagine the exquisite swan lounging peacefully on a lake. Sangsoo’s love and appreciation for animals are artfully reflected in his sculptures.

Two baby pink flamingoes in love! The tall and imposing flamingoes seem to be the complete opposite of Picasso’s abstract animal drawings, but at the same time, a sheer simplicity and elegant beauty are seen in between both.

This multicolored reindeer instantly puts me in a Christmassy mood! Although Christmas is a while away. Slender limbs, an intertwined and spiraling body, and well-crafted horns make this sculpture unique and precise.

Since Sangsoo has covered most of the animals, he had to add a doggo or two to the mix! Sangsoo chose to create a spiraling poodle who somehow manages to look fluffy as well. The color palette almost reminds me of different colored candy floss!

This clucking hen looks ready to fly away, only if it could. Sangsoo chose the colors of sunset for this sculpture, and something about it gives me a warm and rustic feeling, almost as if I were about to enter a farm.

This lightweight drip coffee maker made from heat-resistant glass comes in a portable travel case for coffee to go!

Posted on 12/09/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal