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

Saw these chairs and HAD to share.  Weaving Wood is part of the Nest furniture series from designer Rush Pleansuk of Thailand. Made from a combination of Teak and Ash, these chairs employ the talents of skilled craftsmen in a small workshop in Bangkok. Truly something to behold. Can you imagine the funky marks this must leave behind after a while, though? A small price to pay, really.

Check out the rest of Rush’s impressive portfolio here.

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Moduture is an up-and-coming furniture design line headed by the talented husband and wife duo Brady and Charlotte Wilkinson. Charlotte will be unveiling her new collection at this week’s CA Boom Design Show, June 26 - 28. Though the collection is small (only three pieces so far), it is loaded with options: a bookcase with movable slats, a coffee table that transforms into a puzzle table, and a stackable cabinet with interchangeable covers! All her pieces are beautiful and have a certain timelessness that I think will appeal to a lot of different modern design lovers. If you’re in California this weekend, be sure to stop by and check out Moduture in person. As an added bonus, Charlotte is offering a discount code for CA Boom tickets: enter code “MOD” to receive $4 off your ticket price.
All photos by Jessica Peterson

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Muji is one of my favorite brands out there. This table is a good example of why I love them so much. It’s a very simple design, and made out of one of the most inexpensive woods there is, pine. It’s a handsome little pine folding table but looking at it you wouldn’t expect it to cost very much. Of course that is the case with so many pieces of modern furniture which normally turn out to be very expensive. In this case it actually does cost about as much as you would expect it to. $64 to be exact. Not bad for a 14h x 32.5w x 20″d table from one of my favorite brands.

Available from the MoMa Store for $64

If you love Muji make sure you check out their US online store that opened in April.

DWR is relaunching the Eames Molded Plastic Chairs with Wood Dowel Bases! Both the Armchair (DAW - $499) and Sidechair (DSW- $399) will be available exclusively from DWR starting Sept 1st. They will be fully licensed productions from Herman Miller. It will be available in the 5 colors that the “eiffel base” molded plastic chairs are available in, plus new colors debuting before the end of the year. They are accepting preorders for the first shipment that will be coming in August. You may have to call to preorder as they are not yet listed on their website.

Available Sept 1st from DWR.

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The Madrid-based company Nine to Nine offers a wonderful collection of modern furniture and design for babies and kids. Among the standout items is the Zebra crib, a more playful version of the standard crib with its slightly off-set bars (or stripes). I also love the Caterpillar stool, which is incredibly versatile. Alone it’s a stool, linked together it forms a bench - a great example of form and function! Check out the rest of their collection here.

For purchasing information, contact Nine to Nine directly.

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As my lovely wife and I have recently welcomed a beautiful second child into our family we have been amazed at how much more modern kids stuff is available now compared to two years ago. Point in case - rocking chairs. When we got our storytime chair from nursery works it was far from affordable, but there wasn’t really a whole lot of choices at the time. Enter 2009 and now Ikea has released a rocking version of their wonderful (and dare I say iconic) POÄNG chair. We saw it Saturday at our local Ikea, and it looks pretty sharp. It’s just as comfortable as the original iteration and starting at $129 just as affordable. Best of all you can use all the regular POÄNG covers to tailor it to your individual tastes.

Available from Ikea starting at $129.

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I was browsing around Ol’ Etsyland when I spotted this lovely handmade, MCM-Style table from seller Bald Man Mod. It struck me as something wonderful, so I thought I’d share. Here’s what Baldy himself has to say about the table:

The bald man releases the beast! This is a freshly built mid century modern style table- it ain’t 50 years old, but has the same swank feel.

Here are the details:
27.5 inches long, with the table top tapering from 14 inches to 11.5 in width. Table itself is 11 inches tall plus the leg height. The inner cabinet is 9.5 inches deep, and the door is 11.5 inches long by 9.5 inches tall. The inner space is also 9.5 inches tall.

Made of 3/4 inch birch ply, with a nice dose of semigloss water based polycrylic. The door and inner wall are veneered with walnut and a hot racing stripe of maple. Used biscuit joinery to keep it together, and veneered with a vacuum press.

Custom, handmade MCM-style table from Bald Man Mod - $350

Every now and again IKEA hosts a “Seize the Days” event, where for one or two or three days only, some popular item is on sale for a ridiculously low price. This weekend, the ever popular POÄNG chair is on sale for a mere $40, over 50% off the original (and already scant) price tag. Not bad at all. Other highlights includeEXPEDIT bookcases for $50, RITVA curtains for $10, and free breakfast all weekend long. Sale starts Saturday, May 23rd and goes through Monday, May 25th. [The POÄNG chair deal is only good on Saturday, the 23rd]

Click here for more info!

…from the personal collection of Matte Stephens! He has quite a lovely grouping, including the original 1955/56 Herman Miller Catalog. Check out the rest of his design collection on his Flickr page.

Check out Matte’s work at www.matteart.net.

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