We already wrote about Electrolux’s Design Lab Competition, that concentrates on eco-friendly solutions at home. Now the eight finalists are out, and as this blog origins in Hungary, we’re happy to announce that there’s one hungarian amongst them.

The hungarian Levente Szabó from Moholy-Nagy University of Design & Art designed eWash, a natural detergent washing machine.

The other favourite is Go Fresh, an enery-saving fridge with individual, honeycomb shaped compartments, by He Cheng Fei.

The winner will be announced on the 28th of November in Paris, an event where all the finalists have been invited to.

When we forget where we put our things we surely realise it might be a good idea to put a tag on the drawers.

Very helpful ‘Whats-Not’ chest of drawers by Wrapables.

There are important things that sometimes lessen our selfconfidence. For example, it’s not very glamorous to wear a helmet, but it’s important. Of course, you could buy a super expensive designer helmet. Or you could just go over to Vincon and order a helmet cover!

Their appeal is not only in the price (under 20 euros), but also in the fact that each day you can wear a different one, choosing in regard to the clothes you’re wearing. It might still not be hairstyle-safe, but it sure keeps you glamorous!

Shi Yuan, a chinese designer, now living and studying in England, experiments with bringing life to design in her Design With Life project.

For example here’s this calendar, whose ink is fading away as the day progresses.

It’s a very vivid portraying of time, a direct call to enjoy every moment we have.

Let’s get nostalgic with these famous russian Matryoshka dolls, made from genuine russian wood, transformed into a geek toy!

These are designed by Anton Shnaider, and are available for only 27 euros.

Beautiful canvases from the french Qora & Shai boutique.

The designer team, Nanoo Shai és Fred Qora will also make custom shades and sizes on order.

(source: trendsnow.net)

I think there’s no such thing as too much spoiling when it comes to cats.

These Tigrito bowls were designed by Miriam Mirri for Alessi, and are available in three different colours, so we can choose the one that matches with our cat.

I also think there’s no such thing as too much spoiling when it comes to dogs.

Although dogs aren’t like tourists who need an umbrella to lead the way, a little bone to show where to find the dinner wouldn’t hurt.

Brand new wall clocks from Sendhen!

They are beautiful and extremely colourful, so choosing the right one for your home is essential. The Dome Wallpaper series is seriously cute, while the Mystic Animals series is quite psychedelic. Especially the cow with its tongue in its nostril.

But does it come as a surprise for you, that that one is my favourite?

Look at this curlicued seat, named Huit Sofa by french designer, Emmanuel Laffon.

The name reflects the fact that the sofa has the shape of the number 8. Although “its main curve changes all the time, depending of your point of view.”

Laffon also calls it a ‘love seat’. Maybe for the colour or for the winding shape, we don’t know. But would be happy to try out any time.

It’s never been easier to be cool. You don’t even have to organize the party of the year anymore, you only have to pretend.

Of course, it doesn’t come cheap. The (smaller with six setting) tablecloth decorated with the silhouettes of the aftermath of a good dinner party costs 585 dollars. A great tool for the anti-social to look a bit more popular.

(source: betterlivingthroughdesign.com)

Let’s see. There’s still 3 months left til Christmas. There’s enough time to make up for anything bad I might have done. Enough time to help every elderly who wants to cross the street. Enough to give up internet during work. Maybe that will make Father Christmas or whoever is responsible for the presents to leave one of these BC ‘Wildlife Preserve’ shoes under my Christmas tree.

First I though they were mice, but now I see these are indeed bunnies. Any american can buy it for 55 dollars. I haven’t found any shop that would ship to Europe though, so I will need to find an american Christmas tree.

“Placing dead bodies is not allowed.” The weirdest sign I’ve ever seen. Bretagne, France.

(I’m sure there is an explonation, although my french friends didn’t understand either.)

Today i spent hours looking for something to post, and after i found it, i spent another few hours to choose a picture to add to the post. The winner is Ploesie Poesie and her handmade kittens.

There are various types of kittens made by the dutch Electric Luna. There are Retro cats, Deluxe cats, and Copycats, who are the (almost) exact copies of your pets, made after photos you send. The plush cats in the first two categories are all individually named, and they come with their personal behaviour guide. Of course these are all one-offs, and are available to buy for 40 euros.

While browsing the site i screamed ‘I want this!’ about 362 times, so i add the whole site to all my existing wishlists.

(source: style-files.com)

Pink Tsunamii sent me this link, and it hits the spot. There’s only one word that is used more often on this blog than ’skull’, and it is ‘retro’.
Although these purses by Marcella Foschi are available to buy, but I’m sure all of us have enough cassettes at home that would be enough to DIY one for ourselves. So let’s get out the glue and the sewing machine, and let’s get started!

It’s been at least 3 minutes since a new toaster appeared, so we couldn’t wait the next one. And here it is, designed by Sasha Tseng, and it doesn’t disappoint us.

You can forget about scraps of paper, you can forget about post-it notes on the fridge. Leave your messages on the toaster! More effectively, on the toast itself.

I hope version 2.0 will be able to receive messages via email or sms, so even after leaving the house you’ll be able to ask your other half to clean the bathroom.

(source: yankodesign.com)

So far I resisted the temptation to show anything from everyone’s favourite website of the moment, Skull-A-Day. But after many great posts, yesterday they created the bestestest of them all, and it needs to be shown.

The blog is dedicated to create a skull every day for a year, in the most various, most creative ways you can imagine. Go feed your RSS readers!

We love simplicity, we believe that less is more, and we doubt everything that is over explained or complicated. Like this last sentence. But unlike the products of B_E_F, meaning Beauty Engineered Forever.

The company is from New Zealand, and their love is not only for simplicity, but for nature and environment as well. For that, they keep the dangerous chemicals out of the ingredients, exchanging them to natural oils such as orange or palm oils, to name a few. It’s environment friendly, it’s skin friendly, and it’s user friendly.

(source: trendsnow.net)

Seriously, I don’t care what is inside these bottles. I don’t care if they smell nice, I don’t care if they’re good for me. The only thing I care about is having them in my bathroom. Yes, I’m a women, for me, it’s all about branding and packaging! Even if it’s not pink. Especially, if it’s not pink! And this entry was only written so I can post this image with it.

But I wouldn’t want to be unfair with the creator of the Juliette Has A Gun fragrance line, who is none other than Romano Ricci, the great grandchild of the famous fashion designer, Nina Ricci. Out of the five fragrances, there are two available at the moment, names Lady Vengeance and Miss Charming. Sweet.

(source: notcot.org)