Interesting concept. Upon first thought, a city dweller like myself, would not agree with such a statement. There is nothing modern about rural but these designs and colors from furniturea work. More importantly, I like the idea that a company with rustic roots can identify and adapt a modern concept. It just goes to show you that being open minded can spark innovation.

Furniturea (fur-ni-chur-ah) is located in Portland, Maine and designs and manufactures contemporary hardwood furniture in a rural modern style. The pride they take in their work is evident as each piece is made one at a time and they take pride in their responsibility to the environment.

Rustic modern and bold colors define this furniture

From their site:

Furniturea’s adventurous designs and bold colors make a strong visual statement in Portland, Maine’s Old Port, a restored historic commercial district that hosts thousands of visitors every year. This vibrant, upscale, waterfront shopping district features a refreshing mix of commercial and recreational marine activities, diverse restaurants and bakeries, theaters, lodging, art galleries, historic architecture and unique locally-owned shops and boutiques.

creative design · Furniture

In our most recent post we talked about chair design. There is a lot of it going on…more than you can imagine…so I felt it necessary to devote this weeks, “In Beautiful Design” segment to it. Even though we poked a little fun at the constraints of chair design I find designers are constantly experimenting with form and material. We found a few more that look attractive and are a little more unique. Unfortunately, a lot of this design is coming from Europe. If you can share some local innovation that would be great because I am looking for it!

SA

Designed by Silka Barrio this chair “decomposes itself in infinite doors creating, in its seat a mazed path –  http://www.touchby.com/

Designed by Silka Barrio

Kolorz

http://www.ludovicrenson.fr/kolors.html

Designed by Ludovic Renson

Peebles

Designed by Ludovic Renson – http://www.ludovicrenson.fr/sleekpebbles.html

Designed by Ludovic Renson

chair · Furniture

Designing chairs must be difficult. Lots of companies and designers try and there seems to be a standard set of rules:

• Chair must have a bottom, for, well, your bottom…
• Chir must have a back to support your back…
• Chair must have a solid base so it is stable…

What you will normally find is a combination of the above in some sort of fashion to create a forms that are beautiful and just as important…comfortable.

Tonon offers a large range of chair designs and does a good job with designing chairs with visual interest. Herman Miller is also an industry standard and must show when it comes to chair design. Herman Miller chairs run from retro to modern and are always easy on the eyes. How about new designers offering creative options like Mats Theselius? Below are a few designs that serve as creative inspiration for chair design that is somewhat restricting:

Interior Design Upholstered Swivel Chairs For Room Décor

Beautiful And Creative Upholstered Swivel Chairs For Room Décor

Upholstered Swivel Chairs For Room Decor By Tonon

Nelson Swag Leg Chair – Herman Miller

Aeron Chairs – Herman Miller

Mats Theselius

creative design · Furniture

In the last post we took a look at some work that made me scratch my head and wonder, “what are you thinking?” On the flip side, I would like to create a routine feature on this blog that highlights beautiful, creative work. As I was browsing the blogs I came across Straight Line Designs, a Vancouver, BC company that really speaks to the essence of fun and imaginative furniture design. Judson Beaumont appears to be the lead conceptual designer for Straight Line Designs. Not only is his work full of imagination and fun, the material and craftsmanship in the furniture is also there.

It looks like Straight Line Designs will do just about anything a client requests from custom furniture design to entire custom-designed living spaces. They were responsible for the Cotsen Children’s Library (Princeton NJ) being transformed into a literary wonderland. In addition, they were also featured on HGTV’s “I Want That!”

You should check out the Straight Line Designs site  and there work. Following are a few designs that really appealed to me:

Brian Dresser - Stained MDF

"Melting" Cabinet 2003 - Clear MDF

10th Anniversary Cindy Dresser

Whitney Lou - Stained Solid Maple and Maple Veneer

creative design · Furniture