I hope everyone has a great 4th of July tomorrow. Let us know what you have planned in the comments below.

I love this collection of topographic tableware! The china set adds a playful twist by identifying your eating habits: each line represents a different food level i.e. modest, moderate, greedy. Who knows, it might actually help control portion sizes. All in all, Topoware is a brilliant concept!

About:
Topoware is a tableware collection that questions the landscape of dining. Taking inspiration from the recent popularity of geography as a media of communication (with Google maps) and more specifically with topographic maps, which define heights of a landscape two dimensionally, Topoware in turn, “outlines” the dining experience.

Made up of cups, plates, bowls, placemats and a tablecloth, the collection explores the visual and social landscape of dining by using outlines and descriptions to describe, question and push our eating experience, making it really feel like a journey.


Topoware china currently available from Folksy: £25 - £75.

When I was a little kid, every time my grandfather would come to visit me he would buy me a balsa wood airplane. I loved everything about them, from putting them together to getting to watch them fly, and eventually breaking them to pieces through a series of intense crash landings. As fond as my memories of those planes are, I can tell you none of them looked as good as these colorwings. These beauties are 20″ long and have a 6.5″ wingspan and under perfect conditions can fly as far as 300 yards. According to A+R “These planes are much, much more fun than anything we experienced growing up!”. We’ll see about that.

Available from A+R for $12.

Looking for a little somethin’ somethin’ to brighten your walls? Consider one of these posters from Blue Art Studio. Created by the same Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio fame, these posters would look great in any modern home. Already have all the artwork you need at home? Buy a few for your office and bring a little inspiration into the daily grind.

Modern Posters from Blue Art Studio: $35

I saw these Chikuno cubes a while back and thought that they were one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time. Amazing design for what is usually an everyday product. Each 2″ cube is made from Bamboo charcoal and has a micro honeycomb structure that gives it a surface area equivalent to four football fields. It acts as a natural deodorant sucking up nasty smells from small spaces like refrigerators or closets. I’d love to have one in my fridge just because it looks so good.

Has anyone actually bought one of these? I’d love to hear some feedback.

Available from Charles and Marie today only for $28, or from Delight for the same price.

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Chalk this one up in the trendy column. The new Tissue Box from Essey brings back the award-winning crumple of its predecessor, Bin Bin. Designed by the same John Brauer, Tissue takes its queue from the contents within. Bauer says about the object: “The idea came to me when I passed a tissue box in Japan and noticed the crumpled paper sticking out. In that particular case, the box cover did not reflect the content. I wanted to have balance between the cover and content to give the product a relevant identity.” I want to know, did this tissue box passing commence before or after the creation of Bin Bin? Just curious!

Tissue Box available from Unica Home: $30

Every once in a while I come across a furniture design that is so simple and brilliant that all I can think is “Why didn’t I think of that?”. The Urban Lounge is one of those pieces. It was designed by Scott Collins who is apparently a seamster, carpenter, musician and designer all in one. He has done some great work, but I think that this is one of his best pieces. This is his first in what will be a whole series of outdoor furniture. It doesn’t sound like anyone is producing this piece yet, but someone definitely should. via

When I first ran across Tracy Melton’s Tree Ring paintings, I was instantly drawn to their beautiful colors and, of course, unusual ‘canvases’. The wood comes from dead Elm trees which Tracy cuts down himself with a chainsaw. The pieces are then sanded and clear coated three times to accentuate the wood. Using acrylic, Tracy then paints the bold, colored rings, followed by another clear coat. Each painting is hollowed out from behind for easy hanging and signed and dated by the artist. Available in sets of 3.

Can you just imagine an entire wall covered with these?? What a conversation piece THAT would be! Definitely gives me some ideas…

Tree Ring Paintings | Set of 3: $35 - $55.

Eric Pfeiffer is one of my favorite designers. He always manages to design attractive and functional objects that aren’t exorbitantly priced. The pricing on these lamps has just gotten a little bit better. The cupstack, vee and zig zag lamps are all hand blown and have a wonderful simple geometric styling. I noticed that over at Design Public they are on sale for $79 each (regular $99). Each lamp sits approximately one foot tall and when turned on has a nice soft glow. These little lamps could be just the thing to add the finishing touch to your room.
Available at Design Public for $79.

The Wilton Pool House by Hariri & Hariri Architecture is truly something to behold. I think if I were the lucky owner, I’d take up temporary residency here for the whole summer. I’d never leave!

Project Description:
This 1200 square feet structure was designed as a minimalist sculpture in the landscape. It is part of a 3.5 acre property in Connecticut. The architecture of the pool house hovers over a 48′x20′ pool like a vessel in the water. On the North there is a spa and an outdoor/ indoor shower, and on the south there is a roofed veranda acting as an indoor/ outdoor dinning area with a large opening on the wall framing the landscape beyond. The area around the pool becomes a sunken courtyard paved in Travertine with steps and walls of stone.

The interior of this pool house contains a living/ entertainment room, kitchen and bar area, simple bathroom and variety of terraces and decks. It is enclosed by series of metal and glass sliding panels that would allow the structure to be transparent and open up towards the outside. A wall of green mosaic tiles cover the wet areas (both inside and out side showers) and becomes part of the main composition of the facade bringing color and tactility to the place. The main frame and the ceiling of the structure are in Ipe Wood and make the place warm, nautical and sculptural at the same time. The wood floors stretch out from the interior hovering over the pool and becoming a deck for reflecting or simply sitting around and putting your toes in the water.

See more at www.haririandhariri.com.

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