In the past five years the most significant changes in the furniture business have been in the entertainment and office departments. Mainly due to the changes in the electronics market with smaller flat panel TVs, and monitors as well as compact size computer hardware, don't forget the lap top. One company that has been designing modular entertainment and office for the modern consumer is Jesper of Denmark. The clean lines and beautiful wood finishes make the Jesper products a welcome and attractive addition to almost any home or office.
Continue reading "Modern Office Furniture by Jesper" »
Love teak furniture but loathe the fact that precious hardwood trees have to be cut down for it? Then consider a piece by Osisu, osisu.com. This small Thai company takes reclaimed teak (as well as discarded plywood, bottle caps and juice cartons) and fashions it into sleek furnishings that sell from its Bangkok head office and outlets in Paris and Los Angeles.
Osisu's founder, Singh Intrachooto, 39, never intended to be a furniture designer, but his environmentalist scruples made him one. About a year and half ago, the M.I.T.-trained architect was dismayed to see a fleet of trucks turn up at one of his project sites every evening to haul away tons of rubbish. "I thought to myself, 'Wow, I'm building an energy-efficient building but I'm still producing a lot of waste,'" says Singh. He discovered that the garbage--including perfectly good plywood--was being incinerated, dumped in landfills or left by the roadside. Spurred into action, he started making furniture from the unwanted wood and sneaking it into office buildings he'd designed. Clients approved, and as more people began inquiring about the pieces, Singh and business partner Veeranuch Tanchookiat set up Osisu (the word is from the Finnish sisu, meaning "to have guts").
While still relying primarily on construction sites, Singh also sources his materials from lumberyards, factories, junkyards and even juice bars (for the aforementioned bottle caps). Coming up with new ideas for furniture is tough, Singh admits, because he starts with scraps. Given the constantly changing nature of the raw materials, no more than 20 pieces can be made for each design. But this limitation is also an advantage--customers are willing to shell out top dollar for handmade designs they can be sure very few people have. "I want to celebrate life and the imperfections inherent in my raw materials," Singh says. "My designs therefore come out very edgy." He is currently preoccupied with figuring out how to turn other kinds of leftovers--such as fiberglass resin that's sprayed on plastic bathtubs--into furniture. "I keep believing that if I do this, this world would be nicer," he says. There might be a few more teak trees left standing, too.
Source: Jennifer Chen - Time
TAGS: Furniture Styles and Trends
Do you have one of those rooms that are too small for just about everything, but needs to be used for everything? You need a home office, a guest room, a craft or sewing room but the only space available is that too small room. It's time to get creative!
By efficiently using the space available - especially the walls you can make this room useful and inviting as well. The first step is to make a list of the functions and activities that will need to be accommodated. Then a list of the gadgets and equipment needed, including furniture and filing or storage needs. Measure all of the existing pieces you own that may be used in the room. Note which items could be replaced by smaller, more efficient pieces.
Now you need to measure the room and put your dimensions on graph paper. One-quarter inch is best and most universal when using furniture templates. If possible, this is the time to have your room empty. It will be easier to imagine the finished space without the clutter of misplaced items piled up. Make sure you measure and note all electrical outlets, cable boxes, light switches and windows, doors and closets. Don't forget to note which way your doors swing.
An important part of home office design is assessing your power needs. Add up the wattage of your office equipment (and related office design features such as lighting). You may be able to cut down on your power needs by "combining" some of your office equipment. For example, instead of having a separate printer, fax, copier and scanner, you could have one multifunction machine that performed all these functions.
Determine the best place for each piece of office furniture and equipment by running through a work test. Whatever you use frequently should be close to hand and easy to access. If it's not, move it.
For instance, if your work involves using the phone a lot, your phone should be in a position where you don't have to get up or reach awkwardly to use it. If your work involves handling and filing a lot of paper, your filing cabinet needs to be close enough that you can get to it with a few steps - or even better, have filing drawers within your desk that are close to hand.
Before you begin the color and decorating aesthetics of your home office design, plug in all your equipment and try to use it, as you would on a normal working day. If you experience electrical danger signs, such as breakers popping or lights dimming when various pieces of equipment are operating have an electrician check your circuitry and see if any simple rewiring can be done. In my experience, houses, especially older houses, are often wired very eccentrically and need electrical updating.
Chances are extremely high that the existing lighting in the proposed location of your small or home office is inadequate for workspace needs. Few residences have rows of fluorescent lights installed, for example, as commercial office spaces do. While you don't need to go that far, you do need to incorporate strong overhead lighting in your home office design - and in many cases, that means purchasing and installing new or additional light fixtures. Various types of track lighting are easy to find and relatively easy to install.
When choosing the lighting for your home office, sit in your proposed workspace and determining how much illumination you need to work efficiently and where the light should be placed. An office with inadequate lighting is not only useless but can lead to all kinds of health problems from headaches through neck and shoulder pain.
Determine the best place for each piece of office equipment and furniture by running through a work test. Whatever you use frequently should be close to hand and easy to access. If it's not, move it.
Continue reading "Creating an efficient home office" »
Due to today's technology, enormous amounts of people are spending most of their working hours behind a desk in an uncomfortable office chair. Because of this desk bound lifestyle, more and more individuals are becoming overweight, out of shape, and developing other health problems.
Although a sedentary lifestyle causes health problems in itself, an uncomfortable office chair causes a completely new arena of problems. Hours upon hours in an uncomfortable chair brings about back problems, neck pains, and just overall body aches from bad posture.
Below are guidelines that can help you select the right office chair, therefore reducing body aches, stiffness, and pains.
Continue reading "Qualities of a Good Office Chair" »
