Posted by
Elana Safronsky, Managing Editor
Friday, October 8, 2010 3:59 PM EDT
Wood is in. It hit us last spring with a vengeance, with natural, sunbleached, beachy floors, furniture and accessories, and continues to be the material of choice to shake up conventional looks.
In fact, wood these days is everything but conventional. One of the oldest natural materials in use by humans, it's actually remarkable when you think about how steadily designers churn out new ideas and uses for wood.You'd think we'd run out of ideas by now...
Today, my top five finds showing how wood as a material, is showing up in unexpected designs and decor. Have you gotten on the bandwagon?
Wood Rugs
Photo of Seletti Wood Rug (right) via ArtatHeart.
I asked you all last week if a wood rug defeats the purpose of a soft reprieve for your feet, and most of you didn't think it a thing. Well I tend to agree, and think these two ideas are ingenious. The wood rug by Elisa Strozyk (above left) is created using laser or hand-cut pieces of wood veneer which are then attached to fabric to give it flexibility. The mobile "Persian Wood Rug" by Seletti is made up of paulownia wood squares with a monochromatic superimposed pattern of a traditional Persian rug.
Wood Bathroom Fixtures
Whaddaya know! Wood can get wet without rotting or bowing or the world ending. Here, all wood bathroom fixtures by Italian company Plavis Design: "Ant" sink, "Middle" shower column and "Nextstep" bathtub, all in teak.
Wooden Tableware
Cara dessert cup and Kami cups, both available at Mjolk.
Not wholly unprecedented but what I find interesting is that they're completely reusable/durable and the designer chose wood for vessels that have traditionally been preferred in glass -- like a dessert cup and drinking glass -- and the look is just as beautiful!
Wood Radiators
"Leaf" and "Wood" photos via ModecoDesign.com
Wood and heat? Apparently so. Using "low-H20 core" the Jaga "Knockonwood" radiator (lower right corner) is efficient, safe and energy-saving. I-Radium has also run with the idea, making "Leaf" and "Wood" among other models, entirely of wood.
The Statement
Photos of desk via Scrapbook.
And then there is Marlie Sromberg's "Dear Diary 1.0" wood computer desk (Netherlands). It is art, you're right, but I bet you'd never guess that it's entirely functional. Yep, you can hook your computer brain of choice to the functional monitor, set within its laser-cut frame, and type away on the precision, laser-cut wooden keyboard, using the double-click mouse. There's a port discretely concealed just below the table top, and Bob's your uncle! Made in response to the harrowing amount of landfill plastic computer casings create, Marlie's wooden computer desk proves that a material so antithetical to computers, has something surprisingly useful to say on the subject.
