Even if you are a serious person there is nothing wrong with fun refreshing furniture, and Vitra is well versed in brightening up a room. Designer Philippe Starck gave his BaObab desk a very interesting look in a series of optimistic colors free of right angles and perfect for a home office or commercial use. The baobab tree is traditionally a place for meeting and communication, and the shape of BaObab desk is based on the seed of the baobab tree. The one piece design offers total privacy from the front and several storage spaces with cord accommodations for the user.
Here are two distinctly different decorative shelving / bookcase units that can add some visual pizzazz to what is often a sterile and boring item. First the "Sir" from Emmemobili offers an original design by Ferruccio Laviani that uses orthogonal planes to create storage spaces with a most unusual shape. The Sir can be paired if desired and used against a wall or free standing to act as a well decorated room divider. Available in various wood veneers or lacquer.
My second selection is Elle Decorations pick for "best new shelves" which combines "simply stunning shelves with functional sculpture". The design team of Ludovica & Roberto Palomba conspired on the Sveva from Italian based Sawaya & Moroni which can be used as a bookcase if you have a lack of decorative accessories. As with the Sir, Sveva would be perfect to dress up a wall in need of help or free standing in a room to break up adjacent living areas.
Headquartered in Michigan, U.S.A., Cumberland Furniture is a company with a high level of commitment to making a quality product. Cumberland began making tables, office, and lobby products in New York in the 1950s. They have grown since that time, but still have the same eye for modern American design.
The Fortis collection pictured, here is a classic today much like Eames and other designers introduced many years ago. The marble top table is reminiscent of design from the early 1930s. The pedestal underneath the table top brings an element of much more recent times. I find the colors of the collection in this picture to provide a light backdrop for a work area. Office areas often focus on heavy grays creating a monotone theme, whereas lighter colors speak to creating ideas instead of "pushing paper". Cumberland products are available through company sales representatives. There is a link on their website to find the nearest sales agent.
Evesham is one of the latest releases from office seating experts Keilhauer. Designer Robin Rizzini describes this chair with "a small footprint that sits big". Those comments are right on mark with what I see. The thin outer frame is a fantastic concept for an office lobby. A challenge is having enough seating for clients due to the high rental costs in many buildings. I also like that the chair is nice and boxy again helping create a line of chairs that will not waste space and look uniform in appearance. The size of the chair is important as well. People are getting bigger and this chair uses most of its width as seating area where many other chairs have overstuffed arms or other features that subtract from the true seating dimensions. White is one of the hottest decorating colors out there with examples gracing the covers of many magazines. Keilhauer furniture offers Evesham in fabric and leather models including up to ten different grades of upholstery to choose from to help control costs. I find this chair to be more transitional than just an office piece. In fact, the Evesham would look great in my home.
Dimensions: 30w x 31d x 30.5h - Fabric $2,488 - Leather $3,872
I am always so happy to see vertical take the place of horizontal especially when it gets the job done in a space saving effort. The CaseFile storage system from Case Furniture of London is the design of Matthew Hilton which makes the best of small spaces while still offering function. The flip down desk, shelf, drawer combination only uses about a square yard in its 72 x 18 inch footprint or 1840 w x 460 d x 2140 h mm for the metric readers. CaseFile is available in a number of different configurations using horizontal components from standard shelving, a 2-drawer unit, and a bureau or a media unit. Available in walnut or oak veneers.
