It’s November already, and before we know it holiday season is gonna hit us in the face! And, if you’re one of those late and tardy gift planners/buyers like me, then it’s probably not a bad idea, to start thinking up of some cool Christmas presents already! People always appreciate presents for their home, since personal gifts have a higher rate of failure than success. I mean everybody has different tastes, and the likelihood of you buying a present that perfectly matches your friend’s personal style is very low! Hence, we’ve curated a collection of unique and innovative gifts for homes that go beyond your ordinary scented candles, and traditional vases. This collection of products ranges from an automated kitchen appliance that let’s you grow your own mushrooms to a home security camera inspired by the viral Netflix series Squid Games! These exciting products are a far cry from the boring holiday presents we are so accustomed to giving and receiving. Brighten up the holidays for your loved ones with these inventive yet super functional designs!
Mella, an innovative new kitchen appliance from FirstBuild, a co-creation community backed by GE appliances, uses smart technology to grow and harvest your own mushrooms at home. Smart technology has made mealtime simpler than ever. With smart technology, we can program our appliances to do the hard parts for us. Mella’s automated programming brings just the right amount of fresh air and humidity into the fruiting chamber to allow mushrooms to mature at the right time and speed, growing into full-size, edible mushrooms. With automated technology running the show, seasoned mycelium harvesters and recreational growers can sit back and enjoy the show.
Tenement H is a modular cubby storage system that reflects the exhibition’s ‘domestic’ theme. Inspired by the multifaceted facades of Bangkok shophouses, Tenement H features customizable barriers that range from scissor gates to accordion doors, shutters, and railings. Constructed from aluminum, Tenement H is modular and versatile by design, allowing access to the storage units from all sides and multifunctional as a semi-partition for your room as well. Coated in glossy optic white, scarlet red, and light blue, the modules of Tenement H mimic the color scheme of Bangkok’s city storefronts. Each unit can be configured according to what your space allows–for smaller spaces, Tenement H can be built up vertically while larger spaces would allow for a wider base.
Built around a grid that’s mounted to each unit’s ceiling, these modular furniture systems are comprised of storage cabinets and bed frames that rise and descend according to the changing needs of each resident. When a component of the system isn’t in use, it rises and disappears into the ceiling to enlargen the unit’s available living space. Then, when one is needed, the furniture system recognizes voice commands, remote controls, and programmed settings to initiate a component’s descent from the ceiling to the unit’s floor. Crafted from wood, the furniture system brings a touch of comfort to each unit, giving the apartment’s industrial backdrop some organic warmth. Like a robotic housekeeper, Bumblebee’s furniture system also remembers where residents left certain pieces of furniture or smaller belongings so looking for your keys won’t keep you from getting a move on.
The ruthless workers in the viral series, Squid Games, will now adorn the secure corners of our homes, as the security camera keeps us safe – well, a cliche of sorts. The rotating lens positioned right where the eyes of the character would provide a 180-degree view of the surroundings for complete security. The movement is actuated by motion and an audio sensor that sets the camera into action, tracking the movement. Since most security cameras attached to the servers can have access to all the inside activities when not intended by the user, the creators of this concept add a useful feature. To make sure there are no hacking attempts or unauthorized access to the footage, there is a privacy mask that physically blocks the FOV when the camera is not in use.
Modeled as a WALL-E-ish robot with dog-like proportions, the Astro can follow you around the house, respond to your voice commands, allow you to video-chat with friends and family, and even monitor your house while you’re asleep or away, tying in with their Ring video doorbell’s alert services. The robot sports a large screen for a face (with ring-shaped emotive eyes), runs on wheels (so it can’t climb stairs for now), and even comes with two nifty little cup-holders built into its rear so it can carry your water, coffee, soda, or beer around, being an attentive little butler-dog-sentinel that’s designed to be cute and approachable… unless you’re an intruder, of course.
The TechnoGym Bench is your perfect alibi towards the goal of a healthy lifestyle without any unnecessary frills. This sleek and versatile bench holds all your workout tools and doubles as a workout leverage point for many different exercises. Thus, satisfying your need for a complete workout from the confines of your home if you are skeptical about heading to the gym amidst the ongoing pandemic. The functional training kit includes a myriad of over 200 body workouts. There are tools such as elastic bands, hexagon dumbbells, weighted knuckles and a training mat – in a compact footprint to cater to all your workout needs. Perfect for small apartments or urban spaces where space is at a premium.
Reminiscent of a Dyson fan, Stelae is a portable home speaker designed to deliver quality audio through a technical build that could be mistaken for a piece of sculptural artwork on your coffee table. While Stelae’s physical build is reminiscent of a Dyson fan’s, the inspiration for Stelae’s distinct form stems from sculpture work. Standing out from other home entertainment systems, Stelae’s speaker plumes from its circular base into the shape of a feather for a slim design that doesn’t take up too much room on the coffee table. The long tube-like portion of Stelae is also lined with four woofers.
Cosie is a siphon coffee maker designed to bring the emotional experience of watching your coffee brew at a cafe into the comfort of your own kitchen. Going to the coffee shop is not only a prerequisite for starting the day, it’s an emotional experience. We look forward to few things like we look forward to our first cup of coffee in the morning. In an attempt to capture that emotional experience and incorporate it into an at-home coffee brewer, the team behind Cosie built their machine with double-layered glass canisters that allow users to watch as their coffee is extracted and brewed. Since Cosie is a siphon machine, the coffee inside the canisters is extracted through steam pressure generated by boiling water, a process that users can watch while brewing their own coffee. The integrated siphon also makes the general upkeep and management of Cosie much easier to keep up with. After spooning in their desired amount of coffee grinds into the machine’s top compartment, users need only fill the main cartridge with water and turn its handle clockwise to kickstart the brewing process.
Designed to look like a slick lucite photo frame, Twelve South’s PowerPic mod has a way of being useful at all times – either as tabletop or bedside decor, or as a gadget that charges your smartphone… because under the photo and the lucite frame sits a Qi-compatible 10W wireless charging module. The concept of a photo-frame wireless charger isn’t entirely new. In fact, the original PowerPic was just that… although it came with a much thicker frame (or bezel if that’s what you want to call it). Although just like tech companies strive to make bezels smaller each year, the PowerPic mod focuses on going absolutely bezel-less, with a clean, minimalist design that still lets you mount photos and charge your phone.
While Riders Gonna Ride is a lifestyle brand whose roots come from mountain biking, Bike Box is a storage solution designed for bikers everywhere– from the mountains to the city streets. Bike Box is modular by design and built from black CDF and beech wood to ensure a versatile, yet durable storage unit. Constructed like a storage unit for a professional locker room, Bike Box’s frame is built from CDF, or Compact Density Fibreboards, a highly compressed material often chosen for its water-resistant and long-lasting nature. The storage found on each Bike Box is made available through a peg and socket system of wooden pegs and accompanying sockets. When customized to hang your bike or orient shelving units, the pegs can be positioned however each bike owner sees fit.
