We weren’t quite sure what was going on here until we saw a few different angles of Japanese design studio YOY’s latest ‘canvas,’ two-dimensional-looking hanging furniture pieces. Each piece is constructed out of wood and aluminum and then covered with screen-printed elastic fabric. The ‘canvas’ is then leaned against a wall and stretches when weight is applied to accommodate the user.

Source: Designboom

We had to do a double take when we first laid eyes on a room decorated with ixxi tiles. Though the somewhat pixelated accent creates a striking focal point in any room, we had to read on to fully understand what exactly we were looking at. Is it art? Is it a wall structure? Turns out, it’s both.

Leave it to the Dutch to design an easy system for creating customizable art. By connecting a series of squares, you can hang a piece of art, cover a wall, or create a room divider. Upload your own photos or choose from an existing collection of styles to manipulate the size of a single image, create a collage, or a pixelated abstract. The possibilities are endless, and the result is unlike any other wall art we’ve seen.

Source: Casa Sugar

Sebastian Herkner‘s Felt Clock has a message, “In the contemplation of wasting time and materials this clock is made out of 60% recycled PET”, aka plastic pop bottles. Herkner adds, “I wanted the wall clock to have a distinctive nature but with a message… The PET felt [also] allows a single-step production, offers sound dampening properties and provides a non-obtrusive aesthetic.” LEFF Amsterdam will launch Felt at Maison&Object 2012.

Source: MoCo Loco

Cyan Design creates beautiful objects for beautiful lives. Among their line of unique decorative objects is the Aurora Mirror, artfully crafted in iron and mirrored glass with a graphite finish. This vibrant accessory will bring a touch of elegance to any home!

Art scarves are the perfect mix of fashion, art and home decor! The new trend in scarves – big, bold patterns, photographic imagery, and exaggerated scale – makes amazing art for your walls as well as a chic wardrobe addition. Move it from room to room, take it down to wear for special occasions, and then hang it back up the next day!

Source: Design Sponge

These little metal wall hooks from Polish designer Oskar Zieta are made from a process that inflates sheets of steel using high-pressure air. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece that has beautiful surface variations to catch the light. Because minimal material is needed, Zieta’s pieces are much lighter than they appear. Hang bags, coats or simply let them mark the spot on a blank wall.

Source: Design Sponge

These tiles from Moving Color take a regular bathroom and make it into an ever-changing work of art. The glass tiles, made of 20-80% recycled materials, change colors in gradual steps through the color spectrum as they warm up, resulting in a spectacular hypercolor display. Create artful displays on walls or floors, or add clever elements to children’s rooms.

Source: Web Urbanist

From Tracy Kendall, a wallpaper for the outdoors made of Tyvek. ”Designed for a silver medal award winning garden at London’s Chelsea Flower show in 2011, the outdoor wallpaper puts together the most modern of materials with hand crafted workmanship producing a wallpaper which withstands the wind and rain of the British weather and beyond but still looks beautiful and serene.”

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The San Diego Blackout is officially over. The power outage shut down our entire county (6 million people) and left everyone sitting in the dark. Hold It Contemporary Home did close early yesterday due to the lack of power, but now that the power has been restore, we are open for our normal hours today (Friday, September 9). But sitting in the pitch black got us thinking about the use of “blackouts” in modern design. So after some web browsing this morning, here are some great rooms that have blackout design. Thanks to Elle Decor and Apartment Therapy for the images!

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While wandering through the Dwell on Design exhibition space, I stumbled upon some amazing wallcoverings by Astek Inc. The bright colors and interesting textures first caught my eye, but once I began speaking with the Astek team, the brilliance of these wallcoverings shone through. The Astek team does coverings for TV shows, movies and photo shoots but image what these designs could do in your modern home. Astek recently expanded their team to include graphic artists to create new and interesting designs for walls and also introduced eco-friendly options for coverings. Astek even offers magnetic options for the designs so you can easily swap them out- perfect for kids rooms or retail stores with ever changing tastes.

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