Script collection by Lexon

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Alarm clock by Lexon
Lexon's Script collection updates the principles of the 7 segment display - which became synonymous with electrical products during the 1970s and is still popular today - with a new digital font that has an elegant, calligraphic style.

Dominique Ansel launches Waffogato



New York-based pastry innovator Dominique Ansel has announced a new creation, the Waffogato, which reimagines the classic Italian affogato (a vanilla ice cream with espresso pour-over) with maple syrup, Belgian waffle bits, tapioca balls and a pinch of salt.

Spring/summer 2014 rugs by Bluebellgray


Bluebellgray's spring/summer 2014 rug collection, Somerset, features an array of largescale florals in striking, saturated colours, bringing a sense of fresh wildflowers in to the home.

Vintage quilts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston



Running at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA until the end of July, Quilts & Color shows vintage quilts collected by artists Paul Pilgrim and Gerald Roy over a period of five decades.

Antonio Marras interprets Segno Italiano


During the Milan Salone del Mobile, Italian fashion designer Antonio Marras interpreted Segno Italiano with Volo a Planare, a fantasy installation in which everything is offset, stretched and soaring.

Corque sofa by Lucie Koldova

Tuesday 29 April 2014



Czech designer Lucie Koldova has designed a sofa made of Portuguese cork for Belgian furniture brand Per/use.

World's 50 Best Restaurants 2014:
winners announced

Noma


The World 50's Best Restaurants announced its 2014 winners last night, with Copenhagen-based Noma returning to the top spot.

The Urban Gin Garden at Clerkenwell Design Week

Monday 28 April 2014



Portal restaurant on St John Street will be turned into an urban gin garden for Clerkenwell Design Week this year, which runs 20th to 22nd May. The garden will include a special installation by multimedia artist Lauren Baker, a grow-your-own cocktail workshop and mini garden fair hosted by Grow London, and tasting workshops by British gin brand Sipsmith.

Boffi's first outdoor kitchen

Friday 25 April 2014

Boffi launched its first outdoor kitchen at Milan Design Week this month. Designed by Piero Lissoni, the Open unit is made of stainless steel, reinforced glass and wood, chosen for their ability to sustain all types of weather conditions.

La Trésorerie: Paris' new concept store







Literally named "the place of treasures", Parisian concept store La Trésorerie just opened its doors in the 10th arrondissement. Faithful to the beliefs of its three founders, it offers "beautiful, useful and respectful" objects for the home, made with love, sold at fair prices and environmentally conscious.

The Phytophiler: observant plant pots
by Dossofiorito


Verona-based design studio Dossofiorito showed a series of terracotta plant pots called The Phytophiler at SaloneSatellite this month.

The range of pots have embedded components such as mirrors and lenses which aim to explore our relationship with plants through interactivity and observation.

Parachuting food by Jafflechutes

Thursday 24 April 2014



Melbourne-based food pop up Jafflechutes delivers its grilled cheese sandwiches to customers by attaching them to parachutes and dropping them out of the window of its fifth floor location.

Springtime food at Abigail Kirsch

Summer salad & sip by Abigail Kirsch


New York-based caterers Abigail Kirsch have announced their food innovations for spring, which include savoury breakfast kronuts, soup sips and ice cream sandwiches in shades of the rainbow.

Living breakfast tables at Republic of Fritz Hansen



Republic of Fritz Hansen used creative visual merchandising to bring its Analog dining table to life during Milan Design Week, projecting videos of a busy breakfast onto the tabletop surface to make it appear constantly in use.

Wings chair by Roberto Cavalli Home

Tuesday 22 April 2014



Roberto Cavalli launched its new Wings armchair during Milan Design Week with a special installation at its Via Montenapoleone boutique.

How to reinvent Italian pasta: Mondopasta by Subalterno1

Uncut by Lanzavecchia + Wai produces a single strand of spaghetti, in the style of Lady and the Tramp

During Milan Design Week, Subalterno1 presented Mondopasta, an exhibition curated by Stefano Maffei which tasked seven designers including Massimiliano AdamiLanzavecchia + Wai and Brian Sironi with the challenge of reinventing one of Italy's most iconic foods.

CATable by Hao Ruan

Friday 18 April 2014



This wooden table by Hao Ruan has secret nooks and crannies incorporated into it so that cats can climb inside and prowl around.

180 Chalkboard Paints by Ecos Organic

Thursday 17 April 2014


Ecos Organic Paint has launched its popular chalkboard paint in 180 shades.

Pippi & Jip launches in the UK

Kube Bench/Table by Small Design

Pippi & Jip launches in the UK this month; an online store for innovative designers from across Europe, specialising in apparel and furniture for kids' from 0-14 years.

Heal's unveils new textile collaborations


British retailer Heal's has joined forces with three emerging textiles designers to create a range of printed scatter cushions.

Boom Boom by Mathieu Lehanneur for Binauric

Tuesday 15 April 2014



Launched last week during Milan Design Week, Mathieu Lehanneur's new wireless speaker Boom Boom is inspired by a piece of fruit. Its faceted form has no top or bottom, and is sized to fit comfortably in the hand.

Lights cameras action! Milano Design Film Festival 2014 and its awards

From the boundary of the usual by Toni Meneguzzo

Sustained by last year's success, the Milano Design Film Festival has tripled the seating capacity for its second edition in Milan on October 9-12 and planned an international tour, which sees it touching down on 19 June at Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, for three dates in July at MAXXI in Rome and 24 - 30 September at Beijing Design Week.

Highlights of the festival will include From the boundary of the usual, a short film on Piero Fornasetti’s world by Toni Meneguzzo, and REM, a feature-length documentary by Tomas Koolhaas about his father Rem.

Missoni Wonderland: Milan Design Week

Monday 14 April 2014


Missoni wowed visitors at Milan Design Week this year with a spectacular display of its signature zigzag and vibrant floral patterns.

Carlo Moretti: Monolite Exhibition


Renowned Venetian glass factory Carlo Moretti revealed for the first time a spectacular private collection of glass sculptures at Monolite during Milan Design Week.

Cos x Nendo: Space Dipped Shirts


Staying in tune with Cos’ clean and sophisticated design aesthetic, Nendo transforms Cos’ essential classic white shirt into a minimalist installation at Milan Design Week 2014.

Assemblage No.4: Roly Poly
by Faye Toogood

Friday 11 April 2014



Faye Toogood's new Assemblage collection is a celebration of fertility, with softly rounded forms and oversize woven blankets marking a dramatic change from her last, industrially-inspired collection. Tables and chairs are made of fibreglass in retro-futuristic shades of cream, with their geometric forms taken from a woven tapestry created by Toogood to begin the project.

High Point Market: Trend Watch


For the third consecutive year Homebuildlife is the High Point Market official trend sponsor. Every year, exhibitors are encouraged to submit the products that they best feel represent our future seasonal macro trends through a program called Trend Watch. The focus of the project is to demonstrate how the macro trends can be interpreted into commercial products and showcase some of the pieces available throughout the market.

Live from Milan: KNP by Jean Nouvel for Arflex


French architect Jean Nouvel has created a seating system for Arflex called KNP, which questions the archetype of the sofa and comprises three main elements: a wooden structure, a two-colour reversible cover and loose polyurethane flat cushions.

Live from Milan: Moooï's new exhibition



Moooï's 2014 Milan exhibition pays tribute to works of the past while promoting its new collection. Products have been set up in room sets against large-scale photographs of palatial and historic spaces by Italian photographer Massimo Listri. The images add a sense of grandeur to the event, while highlighting the concept of heritage dear to Marcel Wanders.

Live from Milan: a new take on Memphis at Satellite

Thursday 10 April 2014

Malmö-based studio Swedish Ninja exhibited a graphic yet feminine collection at this year's edition of Salone Satellite. Maria Gustavsson's furniture mixes colour and materials in playful shapes that bring Postmodernism to mind. Marble is used alongside hand-stitched leather and lacquered wood, while neutral greys and powdered pastels are associated with brighter and deeper shades such as coral pink and smoked green.

Live from Milan: Eurocucina trends preview

Wednesday 9 April 2014

Team 7 at Eurocucina 2014
Kitchens at this year's edition of Eurocucina show that trends for warm and textured materials are still going strong in this part of the home. Veined marbles in neutral tones or bright colours are associated with rich woods or brushed metals.

The retro aesthetic from the 1950s through to the 1970s is another fruitful source of inspiration as midtone colours such as mustard yellow, faded orange and light blue are introduced on cabinet fronts and accessories.

Live from High Point Market

Cisco Brothers

The spring 2014 edition of High Point Market kicked off this weekend in North Carolina. Twice a year, High Point bursts to life with a surge of international and national exhibitors looking to display their wares to the interiors market.

Conversation Pieces: an all pink room at Milan Design Week 2014



This all pink room created by students from Head haute école d'Art et de design Genève is a dazzling highlight of Ventura Lambrate, Milan's experimental design district.

Live from Milan: Bandas Space by Patricia Urquiola for GAN

Tuesday 8 April 2014


Milan-based designer Patricia Urquiola has once again collaborated with GAN to create Bandas Space, a collection of modular indoor seating pieces that can be upholstered in a wide range of patterned fabrics which extend as floor coverings, allowing many different compositions.

Live from Milan: SU by Nendo for Emeco


Japanese design studio Nendo has created a collections of eco-friendly stools called SU for American manufacturer Emeco, which is being exhibited until April 13 at Milan's Salone del Mobile.

Rong - Silk Handmade in Hangzhou

Monday 7 April 2014

Jovana Zhang

La Triennale di Milano's exhibition Rong focuses on the use of traditional materials originating from the Chinese town of Hangzhou.

Cubanisto launches with House of Mask



New rum-flavoured beer Cubanisto is marking its UK launch with House of Mask, a series of events that involve masked figures leading visitors into a world of neon skulls and mysterious numbered boxes - once they have confessed to a secret sin and pieced together a puzzle.

Live from Milan: Smeg launches small appliances

Faithful to the style of the company, Smeg's new collection of small appliances delves back into the 50's. A kettle, slice toaster, blender and stand mixer all feature strong retro aesthetics, but coupled with high performance and the latest technology. The lines are curved and sinuous, the products warm and compact.

Live from Milan Design Week: cuckoo clocks on the Duomo's rooftop


Cucù Duomo: l'orologio di Milano is a project by Luca Trazzi and Beatrice Mosca which comprises 150 cuckoo clocks in the shape of Milan's iconic Duomo. The clocks are made of materials used to build the Cathedral, such as wood, glass and iron.

Bokja at Rossana Orlandi for Milan Design Week 2014


Beirut-based design and craft studio Bojka are launching their new Good Things Collection at Spazio Rossana Orlandi this week. For the first time, Bokja is changing direction to present a ready-to-manufacture line of furniture and accessories.

A Dream I Dreamed by Yayoi Kusama

Friday 4 April 2014



A collection of expressive and vibrant work produced by Yayoi Kusama throughout her life, A Dream I Dreamed is currently showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai.

Infinity Dock by The Refinery



Designed by Zack Cram and Thomas Wietecki of US design brand The Refinery, this mechanically-inspired iPhone dock is made from two-part machined aluminium with cork bumpers and a ridged dial, and is available in four colours: matte black, champagne, frosted silver and matte blue.

DOnG: dog accessories by Sfera

Chowtime Junior dry food caddy, design by Shigeo Mashiro, crafted by Kaikado and Shoji Morinaga


Sfera will add to its pet product collection, DOnG, at Milan Design Week next week, launching three new products designed for dogs and those who admire them.

Stephen Burks for Dedon: Milan preview

Thursday 3 April 2014


American designer Stephen Burks has collaborated with outdoor furniture brand Dedon and designed Ahnda, a lounge chair made of woven textile cords and available in two versions, with high and low back rest.

Escape Room: Melbourne's live puzzle game experience

Escape Room Melbourne


Escape Room Melbourne offers a time-critical experience design: once in the room, two people have 60 minutes to solve a series of puzzles together and escape.

Cheese Maker by Studio Makkink & Bey



Made in collaboration with craftspeople in India, Studio Makkink & Bey's totem cheese maker contains every tool needed to make cheese: a juicer, milk jug, spoon, pan, colander, cutting board, bowl, cheesecloth and press. Each component is made of a different material.

When Mac Met Cheese

Wednesday 2 April 2014



Pop-up restaurant When Mac Met Cheese - tag line "this love affair just got saucier" - has opened for three months in Bayswater, London. Offering comfort foods with a twist, the restaurant's menu serves up three varieties of classic mac'n'cheese, macancinis (mac'n'cheese balls), deep fried Oreos and a select cocktail menu.

Specials like mac'n'cheese toasties are also promised to pop up during the restaurant's run.

S.Bensimon x La Redoute: exclusive x mass-produced


Serge Bensimon, founder and owner of avant-garde design space Gallery S.Bensimon in Paris, has partnered with La Redoute to create a collection of high-end yet affordable furniture and objects.

Barbecue on the go by RS Barcelona

Mon Oncle by RS Barcelona - Photo courtesy of Fleux

Optimistic Spanish design company RS Barcelona has released a portable tabletop barbecue with a vintage feel. Named Mon Oncle, it is fitted into a briefcase so it can go unnoticed, and can be taken away and set up anywhere. This makes it a useful accessory for spontaneous picnics or for city dwellers with small outdoor spaces such as balconies.

Wallmonds Shelves Frame
by Gonçalo Campos



This folding wooden shelf by Portuguese designer Gonçalo Campos is designed to display and showcase special items. Featuring three fold-out semi-circles, the piece continues the trend for consumer curation, allowing owners to style creative compositions in the home that can be updated as the mood strikes.