A few days ago I was at an open house for a local MCM Furniture store called The Green Ant. They've been around for years, but just recently expanded the store (congrats Ron!) and now have an entire half dedicated to more high end design. Sitting in the middle of the space was this Reale table from Zanotta. I loved the look of it, but I was a little confused as to why it was in the space, as it looked to be a new design and not truly mid century. You can imagine my surprise to find out that it was really designed in 1946 by Carlo Mollino. It's a pleasant feeling to continue to be surprised at just how timeless good design can be.
Reale Table
Carlo Mollino
The Green Ant
More pics from Zanotta's website
Having made my fair share of furniture I can really appreciate when something not only looks good, but is extremely hard to execute. The Monarch coffee table is all about the base. It assembles with zero fasteners or glue, simply interlocking the 4 legs that make up the base. Simple, (at least to look at, probably not to make) effective, and beautiful.
Monarch Coffee Table
Ok, maybe not new as much as new to me.
I was clicking through page after page of uninspiring stools at More Bar Stools dot Com looking for something cheap and decent today. While I was largely unsuccessful except for perhaps this and this, I did stumble across an Offi stool, which reminded me to check in with one of my old favorite companies. Seems like they have been busy, and have some new to me pieces that they released earlier this spring. The Big Rib, the Trundle Desk, and the Nester Boxes are all designed by Eric Pfeiffer and are available online at your favorite retailer.
Proving you just can't get too much of a good thing, I've got another great round of furniture that has that wonderful combination of powder coated steel and wood. This time it is coming at you from Los Angeles based firm Knibb Design. Founder Sean Knibb is one of those amazing guys that does a little of everything from landscape design to furniture design and he has an impressive portfolio to back it up.
SK1 furniture from Knibb Design
The Eat Play Grow table by Ruth Vatcher is designed to educate children on how to grow produce.
The concept of the table is that the trough at the back of the table allows the children to grow food in a water tight container. They can then use the watering pot as a tool to sustain the produce. Additionally, the felt provides storage of necessary tools beneath the table.
Honestly, after reading that and looking at the table, I still have no idea how it works. But I am pretty sure that I want one for my kids so I can educate them that felt, oak and white ceramics are three winning ingredients to one drop dead sexy table.
Eat Play Grow table.
via
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In case you didn't already hear, Bludot absolutely killed it at ICFF this year, taking home the editors award for best body of work. They had a lot of new stuff that was all good, but my two personal favorites were the Dang Media Cabinet, and the Branch table shown above. They both touch on two different trends that I continue to see emerging in the modern world, a throwback to the mid century days, and a move towards more raw or "rustic" modern forms. Which do you like the best?
Bludot
Studio Gorm has done a fantastic job taking the common peg to a whole new level in a simple but interesting way.
Peg is a family of furniture with diverse parentage. the shaker peg rail, the korean wall hung table and the lowly shop broom. a flexible furniture system made up of simple components, which can be assembled in a variety of ways to accommodate a multitude of scenarios. it can be just as easily disassembled, using no tools or fasteners. all components can be hung from a peg rail on the wall creating pleasing abstract compositions.
Studio Gorm
Periphere is a Montreal based brother and sister design team that is focused on designing and making custom hand made furniture. They have a straight forward clean design aesthetic, and an attitude I really appreciate. This is my favorite snippet from their bio page that explains why they do what they do;
The freedom to do our own thing on our own terms precedes all. We don not care much about the financial returns. The excitement for design solely justifies our work. In the end furniture is still furniture. We do not pretend to create art, nor change the world. We put forth suggestions that hopefully contribute to inspire, elevate and bring all of us to a better and more interesting place.
Periphere
Misewell is another emerging furniture manufacture that is following in the wonderful trend of US based modern design with a strong focus on craftsmanship. The team of brothers based out of Milwaukee have strong portfolio of tables, chairs and accessories that have a nice balance of wood and metal. Design Public recently started carrying some of their stuff like the Lockwood chair shown above. Pricing isn't Ikea low, but for a boutique sized company it's definitely fair.
Lockwood chair $365 on Design Public.
Misewell
More photo's after the jump!
I'm loving the resurgence of hand made furniture using traditional woodworking techniques, especially when it has a simple modern aesthetic. Eternal Furniture fits the bill perfectly.
Eternal Furniture & Design, a one man shop located just outside of Boston, MA, specializes in custom, one of a kind furniture with hand made craftsmanship. Furniture is designed with clean minimalist lines and quality materials. Each piece is made with traditional joinery and high attention to detail, building furniture that will stand the test of time.
While the end product is beautiful, don't expect Ikea prices. The wall cabinets range from $500-$1000. The hall and coffee tables from $900-$1500. Yeah, I get it, it's not cheap. Just skip a couple Ikea trips and save your pennies.
Here are some great colorful sturdy little tables for a kids play room. Made out of steel covered in fabric, these nesting tables could make great play things in a kids room. Available in a variety of colors the 17" and 13" cubes combo will set you back $159 shipped to your door.
Kids Round Cube Tables $159 from Evinco
I've never really felt the need to have a folding "card" table until now. The hairpin legs and orange top on this beauty are tempting enough, but when you consider the $66 price tag it's almost a no brainer.
Orange folding table $66 from Kikkerland
So I got this email tip the other day. All it said was "These guys deserve some action..." and had a link to doublebutter.com. All it took was one quick glance at the website and all I could think was yes. Yes they do.
Based out of Denver the creative minds behind Double Butter are kicking out some amazing scandinavian inspired modern pieces. Don't expect to get them at Ikea prices, but do expect amazing hand built pieces that you can be proud of for years to come.
See the rest of the line at Double Butter
Thanks Jacob for the tip.
Here's a super simple DIY project to get those cogs turning on a Monday morning! I spotted this IKEA hack a little bit ago and was pretty impressed by the pure simplicity of it. I imagine the whole thing would take maybe 5 minutes? It's a great jumping off point, too, if you want to go crazy with drilling holes in things. Click here for more pics and to read all the instructions.
[via IKEA Hacker]
Simple concept, perfect price point - what's not to love?
About:
Named after the triangle (V) shaped leg, V.STAND is a multi-purpose side table that holds small objects such as plants, books, clock, phone, speakers etc. It features a sturdy and stable design that can be used indoors and outdoors as a side table, adding a colorful accent with a friendly character to the environment.
Constructed with corrugated plastic using a folding technique, it weights less than one pound and can hold up to 75lbs without damaging the tips of the legs. When V.STANDS are not in use, it can stack vertically to save space.
V.STAND by J1 Studio: $28
What happens when you grow up with a father who is an architectural photographer in the 50's. You become an architect and design beautiful furniture. Such is the story of Stoller Works.
Influenced by the works of Le Corbusier and Breuer as a child Evan Stoller makes beautifully crafted tables and benches in addition to designing buildings. Based out of New York, Stoller Works is making some beautiful furniture. Check out their website and flickr page for more photos.
Stoller Works
Have I mentioned my obsession with the contrast between 
I love a side table with a little personality. The 
The more I delve into the world of modern design, the more I am drawn to the classic scandinavian design. It's clean, functional and manages to be organic and warm at the same time. These 
If you live in SLC here is a nice little collection of