Design Icon: Coldspot Refrigerator By: Maxwell Tielman

Illustration by Libby VanderPloeg

Design: Coldspot Six Refrigerator

Designer: Raymond Loewy (French-American, 1893-1986)

Date: 1934

Country of Origin: United States

Manufacturer: Sears, Roebuck & Company

Background: Although early Modernist designers like Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Mies Van Der Rohe tend to receive the lion’s share of admiration from today’s design enthusiasts and historians, their direct influence and fame were, at least early-on, relegated mostly to European avant garde circles. If one is looking for the true forefather of contemporary industrial design and the creator of western consumer culture as we know it—one need look to the French-American designer, Raymond Loewy.

An absolute game-changer in the American and global design world, Raymond Loewy was one of the first designers to rise to the level of superstardom—gracing the cover of Life magazine and becoming a household name during his time. Despite their use of modern industrial materials, Loewy’s designs were a far cry from the functional, “less is more” objects of European Modernists. Imbued with a decidedly futuristic look, his objects appealed more to human emotions and senses than ergonomic or functional needs. Rising to prominence during the Great Depression, Loewy’s designs were of particular interest to industrial manufacturers, desperate for new ways to get costumers engaged, to make them purchase items that they didn’t necessarily need. Loewy’s designs were largely cosmetic, projecting ideas about modernity through streamlined casings that were reminiscent of planes, trains and rocket ships.

Even if the technology inside of his designs was slow to change, their exterior cosmetic touches gave the impression of newness, thus ushering in the modern notion of manufactured obsolescence. Sears Roebuck’s Coldspot refrigerator had in fact been in existence for six years prior to Raymond Loewy’s involvement with it. This particular iteration, however, was the first to feature an intentionally futuristic, streamlined casing, something that made it a must-have item in American households. It is one of the first household appliances to be marketed solely for its appearance, a strong selling point that has continued to be more or less uninterrupted to this day.

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1i5QaU6 From Maxwell Tielman

White Micke desk turned into Kids F1 desk By: Jules IKEAHacker

Materials: Micke desk, red Fastbo wall panel, Jules junior chair, Popptorp armchair, Jansjö desk led work lamp

I wanted a racing car themed desk for my son’s bedroom but all the ones that I could find didn’t please the eye, were either too big or not available in the UK, so I decided to come up with one myself.

1. Build the Micke desk as normal. The desk has a drawer so this is great for hiding all the clutter you kids have.

2. Centre the wall panel on the desk and check that the front edge is perfectly aligned with the desk. The panel has self-adhesive backing so you could clue it on but I used double sided tape instead in case my son decides that he will want to turn it into something else in a few years time.

3. Cut chequered self-adhesive vinyl into desired size and align with the outer edge of the desk with the other side going just over the wall panel to ensure there are no sharp corners left from the wall panel. I used two rows of 3,5cm x 3.5cm square sized vinyl on both sides. We used the reminder of the vinyl as a wall border as it is easy to apply and remove.

4. Add a self-adhesive hook to the side of the desk to allow your child to keep their school bag off the floor.

5. Complete with red jules junior chair.

We also placed a car themed cushion on the popptorp armchair with a black seat cushion to create a race car themed chair. The armchair is great for hiding toys as it offers concealed storage under the seat.

The desk lamp is jansjö work lamp.

~ Sasse

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/UepviQ From Jules IKEAHacker

A hacked chandelier By: Jules IKEAHacker

Materials:

HEMMA, SEKOND, FOTO, MELODI, LAMPAN, JARA, PLACERA

1. I planned the color coordination of the lamp when I was at the store, so that it will match the colors of the living-room.

2. I mixed and matched the wires with the chandeliers and connected them together (needs a little knowledge in electricity).

3. I drilled a 44 millimeters hole in the PLACERA bowl and the LAMPAN lamp and connected their wires too.

4. Now comes the electricity tricky part (not too complicated though) connecting all the wires together into a black tube.

5. Hanging the chandelier bit by bit to the ceiling.

~ Dana

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1obqB9N From Jules IKEAHacker

Kitchen Wall Cabinet to Modern Mini Bar By: Jules IKEAHacker

Materials

2 each Kitchen Wall Cabinet and Doors and glass shelves, 4 Stainless Capita Legs, 2 Blankett handles

After we moved to London I had two left over kitchen wall cabinets that had once hung above my step-sons bed for extra storage in his bedroom that were no longer needed. We did how ever need a mini bar for our new midcentury modern living room.

1. I put the cabinet with the door upside down on the four capita legs.

2. Then screwed in the other cabinet on top.

In the end the doors opened opposite each other with the two blankett handles next to each other.

3. I installed the glass shelf in the upper cabinet to hold glasses and put the other one on top of the cabinet to create an easily wipeable surface, while the cabinet underneath can hold bottles.

~ Marianne

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/TdJ4XK From Jules IKEAHacker

Surtex 2014: Where Patterns Rule By: Grace Bonney

Over the past few years there’s been a noticeable change in the pattern trade show world. For years I would go from booth to booth explaining who I was, what I do and handing out business cards in hopes that someone would let me feature their work on Design*Sponge. But as pattern copying, especially with larger brands, became a bigger issue, artists became more and more protective of their work. While I completely understood their stance, it was sad to stroll through rows of beautiful patterns and talented artists and not be able to showcase their work in some way. But at this year’s show there was a palpable change. Rather than 2-3 booths like most years, this year’s show offered up handfuls of great artists that were more than happy to share their work online and had found a way to keep some work private while still getting their work, name and style online to spread the word. That meant that I was able to come home and collect cards and images from some very talented designers and I’m so thrilled to share them here today. From the bright abstract work of Ashley G to the playful pattern designs of Bikini sous la Pluie, this year’s show was an absolute delight. I hope you’ll enjoy my favorites and keep an eye out for them in the coming months and next year- I have a feeling we’ll see these patterns pop up on some beautiful home and fashion designs. xo, grace

Click through for the full post after the jump!

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via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1rLvV7L From Grace Bonney