Explore Fjords -- Traditional Craftsmanship + Modern Style

Hjellegjerde was that "other" Norwegian furniture company that made incredibly well-crafted leather recliners with a variety of wood bases. Over the last couple years, the company has tried on new names, experimented with off-shore production and embraced high fashion. The results are exciting. That hard to pronounce name is now simply: Fjords -- which is to remind you that these pieces are hand-made in the mother country.

Baloo has the familiarity of a 1960’s classic. Renowned Norwegian designer Olav Eldoy’s Baloo dazzles with its split personality. As a showpiece, the chair makes a sophisticated retro statement. But with a 360 degree swivel and  rocker functions, it is a very sprite chair. Available in leather or microfiber with chrome legs. Matching ottoman, with coordinating chrome legs are also available.

And look at Contura. Award-winning designer Svein Asbjornsen conceived a new kind of first-class airline seating that is elegant, and so comfortable you could sit for hours and still feel relaxed. The secret is "zero gravity" technology, just like they use in the space shuttle. The locking handle allows the chair to seamlessly glide and lock into any position, suspending you in air. Both chairs are handmade in Norway.

Fjords is leading, not following, with leathers. The ever supple Elmo leathers are hand-painted, embossed, embroidered and even quilted. And color (although not evident in this striking embroidered pattern by Tord Boontje above) is not to be denied.

Technorati Tags: Fjords Furniture , Norwegian Furniture, Svein Asbjornsen, Modern Design

A table with depth

How much fun is this coffee table from Unalboler? Form + function for the office... or filled with books and sitting comfortably in a den or living room!

Thanks for the find ohmygooshness

Chill Out

After a long day there is nothing better than chilling out... with Teys' appropriately named Chill Out sofa.

Designed by Vicente Soto, the sofa's pull-out seats add almost 20 inces of depth while the back has four settings for adjustable positioning. The covers are removable for easy cleaning and maintenance -- making it even easier to kick back and relax!

Technorati Tags: Chill Out sofa, Vicente Soto, Teys, modern sofa, adjustable sofa

Modern Furniture, Modern Cure

I love it when great design and a great cause come together, although I doubt it happens so perfectly all that often. Still, imagine my surprise when I discovered this gorgeous TENDO Mushroom stool being auctioned off with a cache of other outsanding pieces in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Called 20th Century, the 3rd annual modern design and decorative arts auction gives a portion of proceeds to help promote educational materials on cancer prevention, and emotional support programs through all phases of illness for patients and their families.

Interested? The auction is open worldwide, but you better get clicking. It ends this evening. See the catalogue, and get bidding while the bidding's good at modernlovedesign.com.

Wright Sad

Call me a casual Wright admirer-- I had no idea about the brutal murders of his staff, mistress and her children. Here's a brief story from World of Wonder.net. But no info on why the killer did it, or what happened to him...

New York’s Guggenheim Museum is Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous ‘public’ building and he, like it, has become an American icon. The Guggenheim opened in 1959, just a few months after Wright’s death. He had, by then, achieved legendary status and the title he claimed for himself – the world’s greatest architect – has remained largely unchallenged since. But Wright’s reputation at the end of his life and his own mischievous myth making, has obscured less dignified details of his earlier career – bitter rivalries, financial chaos and personal tragedy. Wright preferred not to discuss these in his later years and, as a result, most casual admirers know nothing of them.

On 15 August 1914, Frank Lloyd Wright was at his office in Chicago. 140 miles away, at their home in Wisconsin, his mistress, Mamah Borthwick-Cheney, sat down to lunch with her two children. In another room were six of Wright’s staff – tradesmen and studio workers. After serving the meals, Wright’s servant, Julian Carleton, quietly bolted the doors and windows, poured gasoline around the outside of the house, and set it alight. As the house began to burn, he took a hatchet and attacked and murdered Mamah and her children – she was killed where she sat. He then went after the workmen. Herbert Fritz and Billy Weston escaped by smashing through a window. They were the only survivors that day. At his office, Wright received a phone call telling him only that there had been a fire but when he arrived at the train station he learned the full story from waiting reporters.

The brutal murders were the final tragic act in a story of adultery and intrigue that had scandalised polite society for the previous five years. Wright was grief-stricken but refused to be defeated – he vowed to rebuild Taliesin. This is the story of how Wright rebuilt his life and reputation on the site of his greatest tragedy, the house that he called ‘Taliesin’. Wright’s own account of his life is notoriously unreliable, but he revealed himself most clearly in the houses he built, and most of all in Taliesin. If the Guggenheim is his epitaph, this is his biography. For half a century, Taliesin’s changing fortunes followed Wright’s own and it ultimately inspired the act of creative genius that justified Frank Lloyd Wright’s assessment of himself as “the world’s greatest architect”.

Technorati Tags: frank lloyd wright.

Bathroom Aquarium

I keep an enormous fish tank in my office. I love it, except when it's time for monthly cleanings, I always wish it were a little closer to the bathroom. It would be nice to just bring the fresh water a few steps rather than lugging buckets around the whole house, but would I trade it for the Fish n Flush? Not sure about that.

The Fish n Flush is a toilet with a two piece tank. The front 2.2 gallon section is a fully functioning aquarium, the back, your standard tank. It’s an interesting idea reminiscent of goldfish shoes for its cheesy excess, but still, I kind of like it.

The tank could be fresh or salt water, though live coral is a no-no. Not into fish? It could be a terrarium or habitat for just about anything, including frogs, snakes or lizards. The kitschy seat and lid definitely have to go, but it might be possible to turn this thing into a modern, zen-inspired focal point for a quiet, relaxing bathroom. Maybe?

A safer bet is that it would help with potty training.

Find out more and order your own for $299 at Fish n Flush.

Technorati Tags: aquariums, fish tanks, Fish+N+Flush, Potty Training

Plasma or LCD TV?

With Plasma & LCD televisions finally coming down from the stratosphere in price (here's a 42" Sylvania plasma monitor for under $800), which technology will prevail?

The plasma folks think it should be them (shocking) and commissioned a study to "prove it." Two factoids they proffer: the lifespan of a plasma is the same as an LCD -- and the plasma does not distort the image even when viewing at less than a 45 degree angle.

The best news is, whenever two technologies square off, the consumer usually wins.

AVS Forum!

Technorati Tags: Plasma vs. LCD, Plasma Technology, LCD Technology, Home Theater

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