Anything futuristic always appeals to me. And hence I have fallen in love with the amazing Panasonic Capsule hotel which is expected to open in Japan. Designed by Masaaki Hiromura and Takaaki Nakamura, this futuristic hotel is expected to be located in Kyoto as the 9H (9 hour) facility. What sets this facility apart from other 9h facilities is its unique minimalistic design that merges cutting-edge electronics with a simple white design. The plain white capsule will be adorned with a simple, sleek black panel called the "sleeping environment system.” One look at these plain white capsule shape shaped rooms and you will feel as if you have been transported into the future. If you are claustrophobic, this capsule hotel is definitely not for you.

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This is one plate I seriously never wish to own. Created by Roni Paslah, the Orbital plate is a concept plate that measures the amount of food consumed in each meal. If you are a foodie like me who loves to eat junk food, this plate will surely leave you feeling guilty. I certainly would hate to eat food from his plate. But if you are a health freak who likes to measure and eat the right proportion of food, this plate is definitely for you.

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This is a design by Jeung Jun Jeong – don’t laugh! I can’t clearly say what this is. It says it’s a three modular cosmetic case. It looks more like some sort of a lamp though… with its bulb like thing and its spheres and conical shapes. It comes with a trendy holder as well. And some other extras which may be some sort of accessory to play around with – no clue.

[Coroflot]

This is the Peg Puzzle Player by Jongchul Kim. It is a modular stereo system which includes nine separate modules that communicate through Bluetooth. Each of the nine pieces has their own custom spot on the docking station which charges the modules to full power. This is funny as just two days ago I read about how puzzles were such a common thing amongst the rich to keep their mind off the Great Depression. This is a neat idea – it will decorate the home well, if you have a themed home though.

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Portable furniture has been made even more sleek and awesome by designers Efecem Kutuk & Ufuk Keskin. The genius designers have designed the Sheetseat, a portable chair that is made from a sheet of plywood and can be folded back to its flat form with only 3/4″ thickness. Resembling a sheet of plywood, the minimal size of the Sheetseat when folded allows easier transportation as well as storage.

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I love to see the creations and ideas of budding designers. The SmartMeasure is one such genius concept designed by Ryan Eder that has impressed me to no end. The SmartMeasure is a digital measuring cup. A great idea, it will definitely help quite a few folks. As you fill this smart cup with water, the amount or quantity will be displayed on the handle. Since my measuring cup has become old and almost all the markings have disappeared, I would definitely love to opt for this digital measuring cup. Useful, handy and simply awesome, the SmartMeasure needs to get a patent soon.

[Coroflot]

For lovers of piano who suddenly found a small fortune to get one of these massive instruments but can’t get one because your home is too cramped, then the naked piano will be a good option. That is when and if the concept works. The naked piano was an experimental project for boesendorfer. The Public Piano Box was developed, where the naked piano would be placed in to carry the sound over the walls to turn the Public Piano Box into an oversized classical analogue speaker. It allows people in unfortunate living situations to play the instrument with the vastest selection of notes from the digital library, interact with other Boxes by playing four handed or learn to play it with the help of a digital teacher. Interesting, but not very either. It’s a little weird to see the traditional piano look like some sort of modern art bench.

[Uni-ak]

Although I am a huge fan of the traditional bookshelves stuffed with hard bounds and first editions, this design is not too sour for my tastes. It is a bookcase designed very uniquely with curves and shapes. This wooden bookcase is designed by Sang Hoon Kim and is made to be the centerpiece of an interior space, warped and twisted with unique curves that look different from every possible angle. The really cool feature of this one is that it is a self-supporting structure that can go anywhere within a room with highly varied set of curved bookshelves that vary in height, width and depth to accommodate all kinds of objects.

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It’s always better to invent things that work two ways or more. Multi-usable products are much more welcoming that single use ones especially with the way inventors charge these new products. So this concept is cool. It is a ladder with a mirror. It leans on the wall and you can customize it your height and also angle it according to your preference. It also allows you to prepare your ties for work or coordinate clothes. This is designed by Japan’s MicroWorks. Made in ash and comes in natural colours.

[Designspotter]

If luxurious and sleek exercise equipment is what you seek, you must definitely have a look at the collection of exercise equipment designed by Phillipe Starck for Alias. The collection includes specific equipment for the home, gym and office. Every item of the collection has been studied down to the smallest detail to facilitate a correct posture and to encourage fast, effective exercises. The stylish and sleek equipment will meld beautifully in its specific background and offer you the chance to work out no matter where you are. Phillipe Starck has definitely created a winner with this line of luxurious exercise equipment.

[Design]

Romanian designer Vlad Icobet has designed a beautiful design kitchen concept that has got him an entry into the Electrolux DesignLab 2009 contest. His design is known as Egg which is an all in one cooking and food preparation unit that unfolds like a flower from a cylindrical starting position. The wings function as three separate platforms that provide a place to prepare food, a cooking surface and a washing facility. The egg is also equipped with an interactive holographic projector that allows the user to find information online to create recipes or get cooking instructions. What is more, when not in use, the Egg can be easily stowed allowing you to save up on space greatly.

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Designers Mike and Maaike have come up with a concept of driverless self-parking modern mobile home design. In other words, this is a concept where you don’t have to drive but sit within a comfortable interior section with a friend or friends and reach your destination without the hassle of driving through traffic, road rage or any such thing. Once you reach your place, all you need to do is get off and not worry about parking either as the automated vehicle will do that on its own.

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Designer laptops with beautiful painted surfaces are passé. Now it’s time to incorporate the art into the laptop, literally. One look at this unique concept of see-through digital art will explain to you just what I mean. A cross between digital photography and high-tech camouflage, the idea behind this unique concept from Flickr user w00kie is to create brilliant images of see-through laptop screens that will surely fool anyone at first glance. Definitely not an optical illusion, it is in fact an image of what is behind the screen applied as wallpaper. The still-life settings are photographed and then added as the background desktop image for each computer shown. The only real issue is matching light and contrast conditions before and after the photo shoot. Some people layer multiple screens behind one another, adding to the complexity of the image. Others have even opted for living things such as pets to make their art interactive.

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If there is one thing I hate about shelves, it is their fixed size. So if the contents of the shelf are any bigger than the shelf size, I have to find an alternative place. Finally there is some respite to our shelf size woes in the form of S t r e t c h shelves. Designed by Pete Oyler, these S t r e t c h shelves are unique giant, colorful rubber bands that can be stretched around aluminum pegs into any shape you want. Just imagine how useful these rubber bands shelves will be. If there is an oversized book you can just stretch the shelf a little more and your book will fit just perfectly. The designer was inspired by the potential of design to "incite playful curiosity and imaginative pause".

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If you are a golfer you will like this. It is the Buggy designed for a golf buggy design competition by Callaway Golf. It is a ‘heavily conceptual approach to create the next generation buggy’ using material advancements such as titanium nickel alloy and dielectric elastomer. The cool thing about this one is that you can dismantle it and take it around the golf course with ease. Also, it is very flexible creating advantages of better stability around the golf course by adopting the landscape and flexibility in the space in can fit. More reasons for golfer wives to sit and whine. Ha!

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