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Annals of Bad Design: Strangely Phallic Coffee Table

Although we are huge fans of using tree parts and the natural world as furnishings, we were stunned to see this wildly impractical coffee table made of what appears to be bundled branches or driftwood of some sort. Is it just us or do they have strangely phallic shapes? (Not that we don’t like phallic shapes but…er..seems a bit…

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Annals of Bad Design: COS Lightweight Backpack + Our FIX

When we looked at images of the COS Lightweight Backpack online and read the product description we thought PERFECT. Just what we’re looking for: Made from a lightweight technical fabric, this cotton-lined backpack has an all-over print and fastens using a magnet and wide drawstring. Multi-functional, it can also be worn as a tote bag…

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Annals of Bad Design: Hammock-Shaped Bathtub

After we posted about Calvin Trillin’s imagined “sling contraption” for a walk-in tub, we started hunting for images of what that might look like. Maybe there was such a thing already. Instead we found a tub that has made the rounds on design blogs: an elegant, sleekly-shaped fiberglass tub modeled after a hammock (a sling, of sort).…

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annals of bad design: mirrored credenza?

Having installed quite a few mirrors into ‘the improvised life’s’ new laboratory, we’ve witnessed first-hand how quickly they show fingerprints and smudges, along with a streaky glare acquired a week or so after being cleaned. We’ve also been experiencing how much “shows” on or white high gloss doors and walls – and they don’t come…

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annals of bad design?: sculptural bathtub

Apparently this dramatic bathtub was made out of a “giant pebble-shaped granite piece brought back from Bali and sculpted”…The pipes fixtures are cleverly hidden in the wooden chest that sits next to it and the Baroque chandelier doubles as a shower head. Hmmmm…we’re serious fans of baths and wonderful bathtubs. Could this one possibly be…

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annals of bad design: light in your eyes

At first glance, this attic bedroom seems utterly cozy and charming, until we imagined ourselves lying in bed with the light on, and the light bulb glaring in our field of vision, since we’d be looking right into the underside of the light (hot, too!)  We’re wondering if the designer was so smitten with the…

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annals of bad design: stove window

We’ve just added this image to our file called “Bad Ideas”: ideas that look great, but practically speaking, are impossible to maintain. Most seem like a good idea for about a minute, until you try imagine the harsh realities of living with the them (which is our test for anything we put in our home…)…

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