Tag Archives: Shape

Quirky wooden side tables bring delight with geometric holes like a kid’s game

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Almost all tables have tops that are flat and horizontal mostly because of the function they serve. You wouldn’t want your glass to tilt over or your phone to slide down just because of an uneven or inclined surface, right? But as long as you are able to place things down on the table without having them wobble, fall, or roll off to the side, then the tabletop can almost be open to any design or shape. That seems to be the reasoning behind these fun-looking side tables that, at first glance, don’t look reliable or functional, at least until you realize that using them is almost like playing that educational game of fitting shapes inside the right holes.

Designer: Chien Yuoning

Many parents or even kids might be familiar with that toy where you have holes in a geometric shape and you’re supposed to drop matching geometric blocks inside them. This side table collection might immediately remind people of those toys and, unfortunately, might also give them the wrong impression of the practicality of such a design. Fortunately, it isn’t just a whimsical decision as these geometric holes can actually act as helpful organization aids in addition to being quite interesting to look at.

The Designated Table collection has geometric shapes like circles, squares, rectangles, and even pills cut out from the tabletop. While they might look like a loss in terms of usable space, they act as designated containers for things like glasses, phones, books, or whatnot. These compartments let you separate different things while also providing a bit of support to some extent. It’s harder for a glass to topple over if its area is constricted.

At the same time, the shapes add a playful character to the tables, especially since the shapes have a different color from the natural finish of the rest of the wooden table. The tables themselves come in different shapes, including a hexagon and a half circle, doubling the fun factor of each side table. That, however, also determines where some of these side tables can be placed, like the hexagon-shaped side table making a poor fit for a nightstand or anywhere the table needs to be flush against a flat surface like a wall, a couch, or a bed.

Another interesting aspect of the Designated Table’s design is that the legs follow the shape and orientation of those seemingly random shapes. That makes it feel like the wooden legs flow from these geometric indentations or vice versa, giving the tables an almost whimsical flavor that doesn’t sacrifice their stability. The gaps between the legs can even become a place for magazines, taking advantage of the narrow space. The geometric design of the Designated Table feels jovial and delightful but still makes the side tables completely functional and, perhaps, even more effective in keeping your things in their proper places.

The post Quirky wooden side tables bring delight with geometric holes like a kid’s game first appeared on Yanko Design.

Conical chair gives you a majestic seat whether indoors or outdoors

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Chairs need to be stable and comfortable, but beyond these two critical requirements, everything else is pretty much fair game. From materials to forms, there is a lot of variation possible, which has given rise to a great number of chair designs, from the most minimalist to the most sophisticated. You don’t always have to go overboard, though, when trying to come up with a distinctive design for a memorable chair. This one, for example, starts out with a simple geometric shape that evolves into something with its own personality, almost resembling an exquisite yet subtle throne that you can sit on, whether relaxing in the castle that is your home or basking under the glory of the sun in your backyard.

Designer: Matias Ferrari

It’s easy to underestimate the value that simple shapes can provide, especially when there’s so much attention paid to elaborate and complex forms, contours, and colors. Even minimalist designs sometimes pile on multiple elements, straddling the fine line that divides minimalism and everything else. There is, however, an elegant beauty to simpler forms that diverge little from their base geometries, such as the Conicent Chair concept that elevates a cone into a majestic piece of furniture.

The design takes a simple cone with its front half chopped off and then makes the top drop inside, almost like caving in on itself. This creates what looks like a smaller inverted cone inside that serves as the main surface for sitting. Adding a cushion makes it a comfortable indoor chair, though leaving it bare makes it suitable for outdoor use.

The semi-circle shape of the chair’s base gives it enough stability, but a hollow trapezoidal structure can be added underneath for support. This can be made from a different material or in a different color from the chair, such as finished wood, to give a bit of chromatic contrast. A better material has to be chosen if the Conicent chair will be made for outdoor use.

The chair’s wide base that gracefully tapers toward the top helps lead the viewer’s eyes to the one sitting on it, an effect that is widely used for giving focus to prominent people, like royals on a throne. Unlike a throne, however, the Conicent Chair is made to be comfortable and ergonomic, regardless of your preferred sitting position, thanks to gentle slopes and curves in every direction. With just a cone and, optionally, a trapezoid, this chair concept offers a simple yet elegant piece of furniture that will make you look like royalty and maybe even feel like it.

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Furniture that plays with hues and shapes is sure to bring some color into your home life

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The pervasive minimalism trend in design has made many products, particularly furniture, almost too plain. Of course, there is beauty in simplicity and uniform colors, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to go. In fact, there’s almost a sort of counter-culture flowing in the undercurrents today, offering maximalism as a salve to soothe many of the mental and emotional ills of today. One doesn’t have to go overboard, of course, in spicing up everyday life, and a new collection of everyday furniture shows how mundane objects can become the literal and figurative highlight of a room, with just the right interplay of colors, materials, and shapes.

Designer: Lisa Brustolin

On their own and with their peculiar designs, these pieces of furniture would have pretty much fit the description of minimalist products. Their basic shapes and base color schemes are not that uncommon, but as with anything in life, it’s the different ways you mix these elements up that really make a difference. And in this collection, it’s exactly that interaction of elements that makes them stand out without removing their primary function as usable pieces of furniture.

The translucent epoxy resin legs and opaque shelves already give the Differ Shelf a sharply contrasting motif. It is, however, the way the light bends, reflects, and refracts through those yellowish panels that turn the shelf into an almost dazzling light show, depending on where you stand. Given its unique visual properties, this shelf is designed to stand in the center rather than against a wall so that people can walk around it and view it from different angles. It truly differs from other shelves.

In contrast, the Opticabinet is meant to be viewed from afar in a corner or an edge of the room. Made by Venetian craftsmen from wood on a brass base, the alternating patterns of blue and green make it look like the cabinet’s exterior was expertly painted with a gradient color. Upclose, however, you can clearly see it’s all just an optical illusion created by shapes and contours.

The Wrong Mirror is both the least complex but also the boldest of the collection, providing only half of the function it’s supposed to give. It puts a modernist twist on a classic arch mirror design, visually splitting a mirror in half and using the wrong scale and wrong material on the non-reflective half. Admittedly, you’ll feel a bit wrong looking into the mirror, but perhaps it could also be a thought-provoking metaphor like a glass that is half full or half empty.

Brustolin’s furniture collection displays an interesting way of giving shape to color, whether through a play of light or through optical illusions. At the same time, the quirky designs also give shape to expression at home or in your room, providing functional furniture that also stands like art pieces to complement your personal style and inclinations.

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