After 100 years, the Danish furniture designer, Finn Juhl’s iconic furniture, especially his chairs, is being commemorated for his contributions to the design world. The designer’s work is being celebrated in Japan, Europe, and at the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York.  Juhl’s furniture helped change design history from the 1940’s-1960’s. Take a look at how the restoration of the UN Headquarters will be an appreciatory nod to the late designer’s original chairs.

‘Juhl designed the Council Chamber as a comprehensive whole in the 1950s; everything from the colorful ceilings to the wall panels and furniture. During 2012, the Chamber will undergo a full restoration and refurbishment to be completed in January 2013. ‘… Danish Agency for Culture

The restoration of the Trusteeship Council Chamber in UN Headquarters has been considered to be a prominent and important project to be commissioned to Kasper Salto and Thomas Sigsgaard to provide new furniture for the chamber. Taking hints from the original chairs by Finn Juhl and bringing modern Danish influence has helped the designers carry on the legacy of the legendary designer. In this video, see how Salto & Sigsgaard bring this restoration into modern day fruition.

‘The task for the designers is to design a secretariat chair, a secretariat table, and a so-called delegate table that will be both innovative and a natural part of Finn Juhl’s original design. Finn Juhl created the chamber as a Gesamtkunstwerk, but the chamber has become the worse for wear after many years of use, and there is a need to perk up the interior with new furniture.’… Danish Agency for Culture

Over the course of the year, many commemorative events will be held celebrating the restoration, as well as Fin Juhl’s centennial of his influential design life.

photo credit: Danish Agency for Culture, Denmark.dk

When is the last time you experienced outdoor furniture that looked stylish but was also made from eco-friendly products? The combination doesn’t always mix. In fact, most often times the result is a stark piece of furniture with very little inspiration. Those thoughts are further from the truth with Husk Outdoor Furniture, by Patricia Urquiola. These modern and sleek pieces of outside goodness look comfortable and are ideal for the Earth.

The durable hard shell is made from Hirek® and the cushions give it a playful ‘ski-jacket’ appeal, that creates the mixture of softness and durability in an outdoor piece.

What makes these chairs fun is the choice of colors for the body and the cushions of the chair. The supports come in white, black, orange, acid green and sky blue, so there is a color to match every decorative style. While the ‘…cushions come in two versions, with larger sizes on the seat or on the backrest, and are covered by technical fabric that is available in five shades: white, beige, orange, acid green, sky blue. The water-passing padding enables water to seep through the cushions without stagnation.”… Muuz

All the components of the Husk outdoor furniture line are recyclable and are made from recycled materials. With complimenting side tables, this outdoor furniture is fun to look at, as well as durable and environmentally friendly. Once spring is officially here, it will be time to think about outdoor living. These outdoor pieces from Patricia Urquiola would be a great addition to anyone’s backyard.

All photo credits: Muuz via Mocoloco

The power of a good black and white print is boundless. If it’s checkerboard, it can call to mind a mid-century American diner or a sweet French bistro; if it’s flowered, like the chair from LA Furniture Store shown above, it can be pastoral or aggressive; if it’s abstract, it can either lend chaos or order to the room in which it stands. In matters of contrast, the devil is in the details, and the opportunities for playing with the starkest of contrasts are endless, not to mention fun.

From the naturally-occurring pattern of the cowhide ottoman by Snob Stuff below, to the tightly-controlled, Aztec-inspired diamond print couch by Wisteria underneath it, black and white prints present a nearly infinite array of exercises in line and form. With the same color combination, the former blends into the environment around it, while the latter makes its presence known the moment it comes into view, regardless of how loud the pieces around it might be.

To soften the visual blow of bold opposites competing with one another throughout a home, the easiest thing to do is add a third color. For a sophisticated palette, adding several levels of grey and taupe bring an earthy, timeless feel to an otherwise austere space, grounding it with a quietly middling effect and providing some subtlety to an already arresting room. Cote Maison does a beautiful job of that here:

Those bold enough to take the plunge into a black and white scheme rarely regret it; once a few tweaks are made and the right colors and textures are added to balance out the contrast, the overall effect can be simply stunning.

Photo credits: LA Furniture Store, Snob Stuff, Wisteria and Côté Maison.

Choosing furniture is always a challenge. Between deciding on color and type of material, design style, height, size, and a dozen other factors, choosing furniture for your small home can make the search even harder. Smaller homes have the advantage on not needing a lot of furniture, but they have the drawback of requiring that your key pieces are functional and look fabulous in the space. Here are some tips for choosing furniture colors for your small home.

• Choose furniture color by lighting sources: While it’s important to choose furniture by how much space you have, it is also important to assess how much light is in your space. Small homes that have plenty of natural light, windows, skylights, and artificial light can work with darker colored furniture, while the contrary is true for small homes with minimal light. Darker furniture will make the space feel cramped and will appear to swallow the room up. Find a happy medium and find lighter colored furniture with darker accent pillows and area rugs to solve a lighting source challenge in your small home.

Photo credit: Emily A Clark

• Make a lot of bang with color: In small homes, everything is magnified. Meaning, if you only have space for 3 pieces of furniture – make those pieces the best bang of design inspiration you can. The same holds true for color in your furniture. Pick one bold color, and two or three complimenting colors and find pieces of furniture that incorporate them together. The bolder and stronger the colors, the more neutral you can make surrounding walls, floors and textiles.

Photo credit: BHG

Choosing color for your furniture doesn’t have to be a headache; in fact, it can create a fun challenge to determine how to make your small home have its own colorful personality. Whether you have a few colorful key pieces or you have a bountiful amount of natural light, choosing furniture colors is part of enjoying your home. Adopt a few of these tips when choosing your next furniture and see how your small home will instantly feel big in character and appeal.

Photo credit top: The Lennoxx

When it comes to seating in your home, do you look for pieces that you have seen in every furniture store or do you prefer chairs that are different and a bit unusual? The Millipede chair, by Michael Samoriz of Umbra Design, is definitely for those that love funky design with a bit of whimsy. This bar chair looks something like a jellyfish, making the idea refreshing since it doesn’t look like a cookie-cutter piece of furniture.

Samoriz said, “The idea of Millipede is a symbiosis of cyberpunk and bionics. I borrowed the look of “Dron” guardians from The Matrix trilogy. The bionical part of design is related with the look of a jelly fish. That’s why the Millipede chair is something in the middle between a robot and a living being, some sort of futuristic organism.”… Behance Network.

The chair is crafted from a high gloss plastic and is molded to be comfortable for seating with its all-in-one back and arm rests. Its tentacle-like legs appear as though it wouldn’t be able to stand up, but each one is angled in just the right way to give it durability. It has a living organism feeling that is highly unique and innovative. If you’re looking for seating that is comfortable and will be the conversation piece of the party, the Millipede chair belongs in your home.

All photo credits: Behance Network

A modular system, the sideboard can be constructed in a number of different ways. The basic elements can be placed horizontally or vertically, and each compartment can be fitted with a rear panel, a door or one or more drawers.

The drawers have no handles and use a one-touch open system, and are available in a varnished or a veneer finish, or a combination of the two. The front and back of the sideboard are identical, meaning it can be used as a center-piece in the living room or as an actual room divider.

With so many differing sizes of compartments and shelves you’ll never run out of storage space, yet massive furniture pieces such as the Variare look most effective with modern ornaments placed strategically throughout.

Think of the bulky cases used to transport precious goods by air, or even a DJs record case, and you get a fair idea what the Total Flightcase is all about. A black and chrome bold design that gives the impression that something very special lies inside, something so expensive it should be well protected and locked tightly inside. This modern sideboard would look splendid in either the bedroom or living room.

We’re looking forward to showcasing more Diesel furniture products in the future, and following them on Facebook to check for any upcoming releases.

As the designer explains:

The coffee table is the center of any living room: a place for conversation, gathering, and storage. The photo album preserves memories, giving life to past events and emotions. Remembrance combines the social interaction of family gatherings with the nostalgia and enjoyment of remembering the past.

With the popularity of digital photography, and with most of us now storing our images online or on our computers, it’s refreshing to see there is still a place in the modern living room for the traditional photo album in the home with this imaginative and retro coffee table design.

Le Corbusier furniture is a dream. The materials used range from synthetic to pure leather and the feel and texture of each material is not only soothing but also worth every dollar invested. Le Corbusier range of furniture is pleasing to the eye and soothing to the sense of touch. The price range of the various furniture components vary according to the number of components within the desired set or the quality and material used in individual pieces. When it comes to furniture with attitude, there is no denying that the Le Corbusier range is fantabulous.

This collection from an Italian company, Novello combines the refinement of ceramic wash basins and capacious of traditional bathroom furniture. The washbasin cabinets in asymmetric and charming shapes are complemented with wash-basins tops made of different materials like crystal, stainless steel and corian. There are also many kinds of wall mount cabinets and creative shelves in this collection, which are in perfect harmony with the wash basins. The mirrors are offered in various finishes and can be supplied with LED lights along the frame. The most attractive of them is the violet bathroom set.

Any bathroom designs could have a great look with such a furniture set. The furniture dazzles with bright and elegant color solutions.

The units can be adjusted to minimize the gap between the two, making the whole piece closed and more minimalistic. Embedded downlights are fixed to the upper unit, so the light shines downwards onto the work surfaces and sink. With the two units fixed together the whole piece just appears as a slimline red box on the wall.

Red kitchens are unusual and being such a bold color, red is quite difficult to incorporate into a kitchen design, as traditionally kitchens are more neutral and lighter colors, but because of its sleek and simple design, MOOVE 01 would work wonders in any space-saving modern kitchen style.

“Basho” (Japanese for “tournament”), a traditional Sumo practitioner of one of the world’s oldest martial arts. Performing a ritual from the Land of the Rising Sun, Basho crouches in his mawashi (Sumo belt) in these intricate sculpts with wide stances. Our table is topped with a 3/8″”-thick, pencil-edged, round tempered glass top for views from any angle.

Add a touch of the Far East with Basho!