Gizmodo: Decor

Brando USB Pumpkin Lights are Actually Cubicle-Worthy

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:00:00 EDT

I have an allergy to all gimmicky USB things, but these USB Halloween Pumpkin LED lights are actually cubicle-worthy, especially seeing how they all look with the lights off. Unfortunately, the $13 8-pumpkin lights package has some problems.

Why not use normal electric plugs? Why waste all that energy when the lights are off and everyone is away? Or is Brando implying that we should turn the lights off at the office all day long, leaving only these creepy-yet-romantic things on? Would this open new ways to enhance inter-personal communication in the workplace? We can only hope the answer to these two last questions is YES.

[Brando]

Stimuli 3.0 Lamp Is Perfect for Home, Work, Spaceship

Mark Wilson — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Honestly, we'd have posted the Stimuli 3.0 lamp even if it did nothing special. Just look at it, sitting there all science fiction-y, like some huge alien computer's vulnerable data core. But it just so happens that the spherical shape and surrounding panels have a specific function, to constantly adjust the lamp's light levels to correspond with that coming in through the windows. By shifting around the panels with an internal 3 axis gearbox, light output can fill the light gap left by a waning sun, maintaining a constant light level through the day. Plus, it'll match your alien autopsy dinner table fabulously. [Cnatt via Yanko Design]

Dinosaur Light Scares Away the Monsters, Long-Term Girlfriends

Mark Wilson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The "T REX" dinosaur light combines some of our best memories from childhood: Puzzles, dinosaurs and interior decorating. Assembled from 16 pieces (of some mystery material), this $26 tyrannosaurus is ready to destroy any monsters still lurking in your closet. And please note, we said "monsters" not "skeletons"—that time you were reprimanded for hopping the counter at Dairy Queen and mouthing the soft serve spigot is not this poor lamp's cross to bear. [Brando]

Unlicensed Lego Lamps Give the Thrill of Lego and Eminent Subpoena

Mark Wilson — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:20:00 EDT

It's sort of cheating to use one big Lego to build a "Lego" anything, but for this lamp we'll make an exception. By 25togo from Japan, the Lego Lamp is powered by white LEDs and has snap-off caps to store stuff in the pegs. But maybe the most promising premise is to interlock multiple units and create a gigantic glowing Lego robot, castle or—and I'm just throwing this out there—a mega Lego Lamp. And at that point, the process could repeat itself on an even bigger scale. But at $15 a lamp, my Vision could get expensive quickly. [25togo via technabob]

The Beam Bed Makes Drooling on the Pillow a Divine Experience

Mark Wilson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

There's nothing particularly technologically innovative about the Beam Bed, but it uses a sunburst-shaped lighting and support system to emit a glorious glow that's perfect for wooing the ladies/thwarting the monsters. As we've long been scared of both said species, we're pleased to see that the furniture market is finally catering to our insecurities with no shortage of style. Now just to find some plastic "rainburst" sheets and all of our sleeping abnormalities will be cured at last. [Lago via CribCandy]

Torn Disguised Lighting Looks Like Slits into Parallel LED Universe

Kit Eaton — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:18:00 EDT

Designer Billy May has come up with his Torn Lighting concept as a discreet way of adding some light to your apartment. The installations conceal LED lights, and look like you've got some kind of weird space-time holes torn into your walls and leaking light into your room. Pretty neat, and a nice way of getting mood light from LEDs without the risk of you being dazzled by their exposed faces. Now if only there was a way to animate the walls to get a proper rippling effect... [Yanko Designs]

Space Intruderz Lamps Invade Our Hearts

Mark Wilson — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EDT

I know what you're thinking. These Space Intruderz lamps look a lot like they're ripping off a certain classic video game. But contrary to popular belief, there were no aliens in Pac-Man. Those were ghosts. Ghosts. So these Space Intruderz lamps by Unison Idea Studio are a completely original, lawsuit-immune creation. Each lamp will run you about $50 and you'll have to email the studio to place your order, but at least that means your neighbor shouldn't have decor. [Unison via technabob and MoCoLoco]

Fitzgerald Art Deco Fan Convinces Us to Ditch Central Air

Mark Wilson — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:20:00 EDT

It's not exactly cutting edge technology, but this "Fitzgerald" art deco fan will let you relive the best parts of the Prohibition era without abstaining from your self-medication. Featuring three speeds, oscillation and a lifetime warranty on the motor, the Fitzgerald can add a bit of class to your speakeasy for $270. You'll just have to downgrade from your premium gin to the bathtub varieties for a while. [Horchow via DVICE]

UPDATE: You can get the lamp $70 cheaper here.

GloFab Fiber Optic Lamps Look...Halfway Decent?

Mark Wilson — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:56:07 EST

When most of us think fiber optic lamps, we have visions of black plastic casing emitting rainbow effects through fiber optic tubes sticking out in pony tail fashion. GloFab challenges the ugly fiber optic stereotype by weaving together what is almost a fiber optic fabric around a single light source, and shaping it into spheres or various custom fixtures. Staring at this ceiling fan that we've meant to replace for years, we're given more ideas, but sadly, not any addition motivation.
. [product via technabob & designboom]

Tentacle Chandeliers (To Class Up the Place)

Mark Wilson — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:52:36 EST

By artist Adam Wallacavage, these "Pulsatilla" chandeliers are both a bit gorgeous and disturbing. But replace that light bulb with a vagina, and you have at least one Gizmodo writer's ultimate fantasy.

This particular model is sold out, but hit the jump to see more octopus/tentacle chandeliers.

$10,000

$8,500

Collect all three. [gallery via boingboing]

Warping Wallpaper, Grandma's House Got Trippy

Mark Wilson — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:15:00 EDT

Warping wallpaper may be the brainchild of German surrealist artist Tom Hanke, but it's a real product nonetheless. Coming in any pattern you wish, the warping wallpaper creates the illusion of bending and bulging to accommodate doors, windows and pictures. The catch? This wallpaper isn't based upon space age technology, but simple science.

Your walls are first covered in a grid. A computer (along with the artist) determine exactly how much influence your objects have on the grid. Then, this grid distortion is applied to the wallpaper pattern of your choice, which will be scanned into digital form and surrealize to your heart's content before it's printed and glued onto you walls. There is no word on pricing on the site since every job is unique, but they will give quotes to interested parties. And even if the service seems pricey, just consider the savings in LSD alone. [product via neatorama]

Rainbow Pebble, Pocket Rainbow

Mark Wilson — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:26:18 EDT

For whenever you need a pick-me-up or just an easy pot of gold, the Rainbow Pebble illuminates a room with the magic of rainbow luminescence. By reflecting the pattern of light off a convex mirror, the clamshell form allows for precision adjustment of your rainbow, allowing it to stem from stinky shoes, a scary closet or your blessed hidden porn collection.

Despite already having four walls covered in unicorns and rainbows, Gizmodo Tower just can't get enough of this timeless classic of decor. And for $38, why should we have to? (Note: We made up the whole thing about rainbow decor. Everyone who reads the site should know we've covered HQ in GI Joes and homemade booby traps. The kind without the traps, if you know what we mean.) [Product via gizmodude]

ChronoArt Wall Clock: Well, We Think It's A Clock

Gizloco — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:45:55 EST

Wow, two clocks in one day. We're truly blessed. This one, the ChronoArt II, uses LEDs that shift with the hour. Unfortunately, it's about as hard to understand as Chinese math. The picture heads supposedly reads 12:59. If you say so. I don't know about you, but I'd rather spend $200 on something that won't frustrate me to no end. That, or look at a cat playing some 360. – Nicholas Deleon

ChronoArt II - the indecipherable wall clock [The Red Ferret Journal]

Charlie Brown's Pathetic Christmas Tree

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:18:19 EST

Now here's a Christmas tree I can relate to: a 21" exact replica of Charlie Brown's pathetic tree before it was magically turned into something completely different by some energetic arm-waving.

It's yours for $24. Good grief. But I like it. And no, the psychiatrist is not in. – Charlie White

Product Page [Urban Outfitters, via OhGizmo]

LED Pillows Light Up Your Dark, Dank Bedroom

Gizloco — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:18:59 EDT

Say you've got a swingin' bachelor pad complete with copious amount of liquor and West African art hanging on the walls. What you need now are these LED-laden pillows to light up the bedroom, giving it that certain je ne sais quoi. Certain to impress dumb blondes, these pillows can either be battery-operated or you can plug them into an electrical outlet. Best not to put your head on it if your hair's wet. It's $499 per pillow.

Ok, these pillows are pretty awesome, but not $500 awesome. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Lighting For The Home via The Red Ferret Journal]

Mood Swing-Matching Morpheus Ambient Lighting Module

Gizloco — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:38:17 EDT

The Morpheus ambient lighting module promises to illuminate your room with all the colors of the rainbow. Looking no different than an ordinary lamp (well, more like an iron, actually), the Morpheus uses custom hardware and software to light up the adjacent walls with your choice of colors. In the middle of winter and want some warm colors to remind of warm sunshine? Melting in the searing heat thanks to a global warming-induced heat wave and need lots of blues to help cool you down? You get the idea.

The clever lighting of your environment doesn't come free, however: expect to pay about $160 for the module alone, then shipping from the UK, etc. But hey, I'm willing to pay for trashy art decor. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Morpheus Products via Tech Digest]

Magic Mirror: Who's the Fairest of Them All? (Hint: Not You)

Gizloco — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:55:04 EDT

Who wouldn't want to integrate a talking ("magic") mirror into their home security system? Or, what college kid wouldn't trip out when, like, that mirror is totally talking to him? Exactly. The Magic Message Mirror from Themeaddicts looks (and acts) like a normal mirror until some unwanted intruder sets it off. Then, the mighty mirror awakens from its slumber to give the ne'er-do-wells a bit of a tongue lashing. Of course, you can just set it up to let you know that the dog is digging up the roses again or that the mailman is here. Talking to it about how pretty you are vis- -vis the neighbors is entirely optional.

Whether or not the Magic Message Mirror will go into production, and how much it'd cost you, remains unknown. Let's hope that it does, indeed, see the light of day. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Themeaddicts via Shiny Shiny]

Magnetic Floating Bed: Oh. Your. God.

Gizloco — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 14:46:31 EDT

Every so often, we like to take a look at things whose functionality isn't measured in gigabytes or megabangs, but instead just look amazing. This magnetic floating bed, I submit, may be among the coolest things we've ever covered. Designed by Dutchman Janjaap Ruijssenaars, it's got enough magnets to keep 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds) floating in the air. To make sure that the bed doesn't float away should it become windy (or "interesting," wink wink), it's tethered to the walls by four cables.

Technically, the magnetic floating bed is for sale, but at a price of 1.2 million euros ($1.53 million), you're not likely to find it in your local mattress store. – Nicholas Deleon

Nederlander ontwerpt zwevend bed (in Dutch) [Revu via OhGizmo!]

CucumberLab Sound Machine Vinyl/MP3/CD Player + Wine Rack

Gizloco — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:07:12 EDT

We've all been patiently waiting for a combination record player, MP3 player, CD player and wine/liquor rack and now CucumberLab, a design firm that specializes in making avant-garde designs for all sorts of quirky things, has delivered one unto us with its Sound Machine. The speaker is clearly inspired by the old gramophone, from which 200 watts of CucumberLab sound bellow. Never mind that it looks pretty decent, too, with a high gloss Awlgrip finish.

The wine/liquor rack holds 12 bottles, ensuring your turn-of-the-century theme party goes off without a hitch, all with grade A whiskey within arm's reach. Just don't get too soused that you can't appreciate the 8" subwoofer. It's like your house has become a speakeasy seemingly overnight. Thanks, CucumberLab!

Good luck getting a hold of one, though, since it's only available in "limited production," and their phones appear to be ringing off the hook. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [CucumberLab via OhGizmo!]

Concept Sunshine Pillow Brightens Your Day

Gizloco — Thu, 25 May 2006 15:24:59 EDT

Here in the northeast the sun all but disappears during the wintertime, leaving kind-hearted citizens such as myself grasping at all sources of artificial light just to keep sane. If only this sunshine pillow were available sooner, those long winter doldrums wouldn't have been so...dull.

Designed for the Koizumi International Lighting Design Competition, this sunshine pillow emits light not too dissimilar to sunlight, creating "a warm environment" and bringing the "feeling you get from the sun into your arms," sans the fusion of hydrogen into helium, of course.

Inside the pillow are numerous egg-shaped containers that are filled with battery-powered lights. This sunshine pillow certainly looks nice, but the thought of a bunch of batteries leaking whilst I slumber is a little unnerving. – Nicholas Deleon

Pillow Design Process [All About Diana Lin via Ubergizmo]

Ahora Table Lamp: Si!

Charlie White — Wed, 17 May 2006 14:20:25 EDT

We're looking to spruce up our world headquarters, and the Ahora Table Lamp might be just the right touch. Designed by Ron Zinn, there are six layers of different-colored planes, reflecting light among its undulating waves. Available in a cool- or warm-colored version, it's $300 for the large 23-inch lamp, $250 for the 16-inch smaller one. We want one, ahora. Gracias.

Product Page [Urban Peel, via productdose]

Hipper 100, a Music-Controlled Mood Creator

Gizloco — Wed, 17 May 2006 11:54:17 EDT

Bound to be popular with unemployed youths worldwide, the Hipper 100 is an egg-shaped device that interacts with digital music players and changes color corresponding to the beat of the music. There's also a line in jack to plug in other types of audio sources, as well as a line out in case you need a little more than two watts from your speakers. That's pretty much all it does, but with the kids are today, we wouldn't be surprised to read stories of all night Hipper 100 parties. At the very least, maybe it'll become required dorm room decor, like Velvet Elvis and posters of Martin Van Buren. The Hipper 100 is available right now and can be had for about $73.

Hipper Mood Creater [PlayEngine via Tech Digest]

Homemade Tornado Machine

Gizloco — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:07:07 EDT

Have you every felt the need to have a funnel cloud swirling around in your living room? Maybe the idea of a rushing vortex of air really steams your clams? If this is indeed the case, look no further than this machine that you can build from spare parts. Highly detailed instructions on how to build a machine that generates a mini self-contained tornado are available to you at absolutely no cost from this gentleman's Web site. A trip to the local electronics junk seller (or eBay, for the never-leave-home types) is all that is needed to obtain the necessary parts. Follow the step-by-step instructions and your living room will be the envy of all others. Flying debris and cows not included, we are afraid.

How to build a tornado machine [Weather Photography] via MAKE

Manhole Cover Throw Rugs

gizmodo.com — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:56:18 EDT

There's no definite reason why sewer entrances have to be covered with round metal discs and yet they are the world over, and those of us at Gizmodo with keen interests in all things urban are endlessly fascinated by how manhole coverdesigns differ from city to city, country to country. The Japanese approach it as art, but we also appreciate the utilitarian good looks of these rugs, patterned after the manhole covers of large US cities and London. Each one is 24", nylon flocked and made of 100% recycled truck tires, guaranteed to look good indoors or out whether you live in the city or the suburbs.

Feet First - Sewer Cover Throw Rugs [Perpetual Kid, via OhGizmo!]

Seura Television Mirror

Charlie White — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:04:02 EDT

If you can't be without your TV for even a few minutes, the Seura Television Mirror gives you an LCD HDTV display magically hiding behind a bathroom mirror. Available in a variety of screen sizes from 26 to 45 inches, it's an easy retrofit with a surface mount unit, or it can be recessed. It uses a 1920x1080 Sharp flat panel, equipped with an CableCARD-enabled HDTV tuner.

When you turn off the TV, the mirror hides the display, a concept that will not only fit well in the bathroom, but in a living room or bedroom as well. The company offers lots of fancy frames that disguise that LCD so well that it will fit in anywhere. There was no word on pricing, but this can't be cheap.

Product Page [Seura via Digg]

Space Invaders on Your Wall

Charlie White — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:07:48 EST

Relive the halcyon days of your youth with these Space Invaders decals from wall graphics company Blik. Available in assorted colors, you get a pack of eight of the 13-inch diameter stick-on invaders along with the missile base that will keep you safe for $45. All you need is a couple of sixpacks to get the room spinning and some Space Invaders sound effects, and who needs an Xbox 360?

Invader [Blik via boing boing]

The Most Awesomest Lamps Ever

Gizloco — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 11:46:24 EST

Why would you ever want normal lamps again when you can have the TwistTogether Lamp from Glide? The lamps look like 1950s TV sets and illuminate your room with internal LEDs. They can be stacked upon each other, stuck in corners, and probably will cook your dinner if so asked. They re easily the best looking lamps out there, and would be a perfect way to augment your high-tech entertainment room.

TwistTogether Lamp [Cool Hunting]