Italian designer Matteo Bianchi’s “Muffin Pouffe” looks good enough to eat. Or is it just that I am caught up in this crazy wonderful cupcake trend?

Muffin Pouffe by Matteo Bianchi - source: designboom.com

Presented at Tent London 2011 – one of the trade shows during London’s September Design Festival, this handcrafted piece can be customized vanilla, strawberry … with your choice of sprinkles! Muffin Pouffe is actually very functional despite its decorative exterior. Offering storage, seating, rest for aching feet … this muffin would be a welcomed addition to any space needing a little sweetening up.

I get that this ottoman might be a little too sweet for some spaces, and a little too wacky for others. There are some more savory occasional storage pieces and ottoman options out there. A personal favorite is the Bovist Floor Cushion by the ever amazing Hella Jongerius:

Bovist Floor Cushion by Hella Jongerius for Vitra

Box Storage Unit by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (yes, I found a way to fit R&E into this post!) for Vitra:

Box Storage Unit by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra

Box Storage Unit by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra

The Capelli Stool by Carol Catalano for Herman Miller:

Capelli Stool by Carol Catalano for Herman Miller

Capelli Stool by Carol Catalano for Herman Miller

Or Philippe Starck’s adorable Gnomes Table/Stool which circle us right back to sweet as soon as you gaze into those sparkly gnome eyes and rosy cheeks.

Gnome Tables/Stools by Philippe Starck for Kartell

Gnome Tables/Stools by Philippe Starck for Kartell, gold finish

These little characters also serve a double, well triple, function: he is a table surface, a stool (foot or sitting), and chock a block full of personality. Gnome or cupcake, a bit of frivolity in a room just can’t be all wrong.

Read Designboom’s aricle on Matteo Bianchi’s Muffin Pouffe, here.
Visit gabrielross.com to view the Bovist cusion, Box Storage Unit, Capelli Stool, and/or Gnome Table/Stools, here.

Pebble table by Demacker Designs for Bonaldo

Bonaldo’s new Pebble table by Matthias Demacker has been nominated for Interior Design Best of Year award. This unique table was inspired by something that is, here in Victoria, close to home: beach stones polished smooth by the sea.

This design is not only modern and unique, it’s also practical. The open body of the table makes this piece look light and open, and can also serve as valuable storage space for books, magazines, etc…  Although, you wouldn’t want to put your “Auto Mechanics for Dummies” manual inside this table – this space is reserved for your most treasured art books and design mags.

Constructed of plastic, Bonaldo boasts that this table is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. It’s also available to order in all one colour or two colour options – one exterior, one interior.

Pebble is a simple, fun, and functional design that would work in a variety of applications. Designer, Matthias Demacker, will find out if Pebble takes the Accessories Design Best of Year award tonight – Dec. 2nd in NY. Also in the running for an award is Emeco’s 111 Navy Chair in the Seating: Residential/Accent category and Vitra’s new Suita Sofa in the Seating: Residential/Lounge group (contact us for details).

contact us for pricing and details on the Pebble table.
Visit Bonaldo’s website via gabrielross.com, here.
Visit Demacker Design’s website here.

“Where’s the teapot dear?”
“It’s in the cabinet behind the nipples”

Likely conversation in a home adorned with a Valentina cabinet by Guiseppe Canevese for Ennezero.

Cabinet Valentina nel metrò with 4 doors

Fusing art and design, Canevese wraps furniture in Italian pop-artist Guido Crepax’s erotic comic strip “Valentina” in this unique and boundary stretching collection. Crepax’s strip, created in 1965, features an often scantily clad/sans clad Valentina in various erotic, dream-like environments – public and private.  The strip, part of Italy’s 1960′s/1970′s  ”Radical Design” period, also makes reference to the work of notable 20th century artists: Magritte, Duchamp, Man Ray, Mondrian, and Warhol.

“Objects and products were no longer designed in view of their mere function, but were transformed in actual “emotional media” in which to encapsulate ideas, thoughts and yearnings that were, in particular, those of an entire generation.”

Ennezero’s website

Cabinet Il Falso Kandinsky with 2 drawers and 4 doors

Content aside, these Ennezero pieces pop in any environment with lacquered black and white graphic surfaces and clean structural lines.

Cabinet Pietro Giacomo Rogeri with 5 drawers

The collection is mostly comprised of storage pieces in various configurations: vertical chests and horizontal credenzas, enclosed bookshelves and wardrobe style cabinets, but also features two statement four poster beds, one with a life size image of Crepax’s Valentina seductively stretched across the headboard.

Tester Bed Vita Privata

Western Living magazine featured Canavese’s work in “The Goods – Homes and Design” section of the October 2010 issue, noting Gabriel Ross as the source. If you’re in Victoria and are interested in seeing one of the cabinets in person, drop by our showroom M-F 9-5:30, S 10-5, 250-384-2554.

Contact us for details and pricing here.
Visit Ennezero’s website here.
View more of Guido Crepax’s art work here.

Designed by George Nelson in 1946, the Herman Miller Basic Cabinet Series is a reintroduction of a classic casework collection. Building on the Nelson Platform Bench, the Basic Cabinet Series works with the bench or as standalone furniture. Various combination’s fit multiple room applications and provide ample storage for living and working spaces.

Straightforward honesty in construction and clean profiles with functional elements make each piece a model of efficiency in this collection. A wide array of individual pieces, all readily interchangeable for complementing any room, the Basic Cabinet Series is known for its practical storage areas and handsomely designed exteriors.

The Details:

• Flexibility for vertical or horizontal arrangements to achieve custom-made, built-in look
• Two veneer options available: light brown walnut (2U) and natural oak (OK)
• 5.5″ black wooden leg option for stand-alone application also available
• Custom aluminum alloy pulls
• Warranty: one year

Product Launches October 15, 2010

“Form is a mystery that defies description but brings people pleasure.”
- Alvar Aalto

Artek is different from most companies in that they have a huge product portfolio from the Aalto’s, which was created in the 1930′s. His designs, their ideology, are still the backbone of what Artek does. Artek can’t compete with the big companies that push out lots of products, so they don’t do a new design if there isn’t an innovation in the materials or manufacturing. That’s why Artek often works with architects.

Everyone needs a coat hanger right? Why not 4….. in a row? The Eames Hang It All by Herman Miller

It may not be the most durable coat hanger on the market, but it’s definitely the most colourul! An eye catching piece that your guests will be sure to comment on.

4 Hang It Alls in a row