Workspace dreams

When you're suposed to use most of your day sitting by your computer you start wishing you had a good chair, nice table and proper lighting. Right now I really don't. These pieces from Design Whithin Reach have been tickling my fancy lately.

Dordoni worktop table


Eames aluminium management chair

Tolomeo desk lamp

Secto Design

Birch is such a common material in finnish design furniture (for example by Alvar Aalto) but not at all that usual in lighting. I find these lamps by Seppo Koho really beautiful. Secto Design manufactures also floor, table and wall lighting but the ones I like best are these pendant lights.

Secto 4200 (left) and Octo 4240 (right)

Victo 4250

Such a big part of the magic of these lamps is the way they look when lit and the kind of shadows that they throw.

In my opinion even this picture doesn't really do them justice but I hope you can kind of see what I mean. It's from Restaurant Kastanj in Oslo.

All pictures from Secto Design.

Spring Greens

It seems that spring is finally here. Snow is practically gone, streets are dry and dusty and temperature didn't sink below zero the whole last week. Besides sunlight, here are some things that make me smile.

Left:
The cup and saucer Apila from Finnish porcelain manufacturer Arabia. It is designed by Birger Kaipiainen; the cup in 1969 and the pattern in the beginning of the 1970s.
Picture: Finnish Design Shop

Right:
Cup and saucer Berså by Swedish designer Stig Lindberg. Designed in 1960.
Picture: Nationalmuseum

Left:
Midsummer Light by the Dutch designer Tord Boontje.
Picture: the Home Port

Right:
Twiggy lamp from Moth Design, designed by Shannon Shapiro.
Picture: Moth Design

Left:
Duvet cover and pillow case Keiju (Fairy) from Finnish company Nanso. Designed by Paola Suhonen. How could you have bad dreams if your bed was filled with fairies?
Picture: Finnish Design Shop

Right:
Unikko fabric from Marimekko, designed by Maija Isola. I have a special relationship with this green Unikko pattern. In my first apartment my kitchen curtains were made from this fabric, they had been sewn by my mother in the early '70s for her first apartment.
Picture: Finnish Design Shop

Some actual news from Marimekko

I did some more digging around Marimekko and found more patterns that I loved. These are my new favourites, they have both been designed last year. On the left is "Peikonlehti" by Kristiina Isola and on the right "Onnen Apila" by Teresa Moorhouse.

Pictures from Marimekko

Spring "news" from Marimekko

I was browsing through the web page of Marimekko and there were some interesting things I hadn't seen before... These two patterns are my favourites in the spring/summer 2007 -line . The one on the left is "Oona" which is a reproduction from 1969, the one on the right is called "Lehtimaja" and it is originally from 1958. Both are by Maija Isola.

Pictures from Marimekko

Acrylic Furniture

For some reason I've been drawn to acrylic furniture lately. They are just so light and ethereal. I like the way they often have such strong contrast between the material and the form. Here are some of my favourites.

Picture from Stockhome Picture from Finnish Design Shop

Picture from Domino

Picture from Aaron R. Thomas

Above left: A small table,"Illusionbord", from a shop called Stockhome. I have no idea who has designed it. There is no information on the website.
(Edit: So the table is actually called Illusion and its from Danish company Essey. It's designed by John Bauer. This wasn't so difficult, I just took away "bord" (=table in swedish) and googled... I feel a little embarassed that it took me this long.)

Above right: The Modern Art lamp that was designed by Yki Nummi in 1955.

Middle: Of course, the Victoria Ghost chair by Philippe Starck.

Below: Lounge chair Dinette from Aaron R. Thomas.