Meike Harde created the furniture with the motivation to explore new methods of upholstery construction, aiming to create a stiff cushion from a flat foam mat.

"Other upholstery products are trying to use fabric without wrinkles. I want to use the natural creases in a big dimension as ornamentation, and to construct stiffness," explains Meike, adding that stretching fabric over foam to create a flat finish requires a difficult construction process that takes a lot of time.

By contrast, the simple, fast construction method that Meike has invented uses just three components: foam, rubber bands and wood.

The foam mat is layered and gathered tightly to create waves that are held together at the top and bottom with elastic bands. The cushion is then compressed and fixed using longer elastic bands in the opposite direction, before the wooden stool is inserted underneath the elastic.

This design avoids permanent connections between the foam and the wood, making it easy to replace cushions when they become worn.

The small stool, which Meike says "looks like broccoli, is made from a square piece of foam while the benches are made from a rectangular piece of foam.

When asked about the comfort of the stiff benches, Meike told Dezeen "the furniture should be used as a bench, not as a very soft armchair," comparing the comfort to that of Chesterfield leather furniture.

We have also featured a series of disturbing masks designed by Meike Harde, called Too Beautiful to be True.

Other benches and stools we have featured on Dezeen include a bench that can be converted into a chaise longue, or an armchair and a side table, and a collection of stools that can be used as tables or seats.

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by Meike Harde appeared first on Dezeen.

Richard Hutten launched the Apps collection for Dutch brand Artifort at the Interieur design biennale in Kortrijk, Belgium, last month. "On the one hand, it is a very simple and therefore timeless design," says Hutten. "On the other hand, it is entirely contemporary thanks to the flowing forms and a basic shape that appears to be based on icons displayed on a smartphone."

The range includes an armchair and two-seater sofa, covered either in a single fabric or two contrasting ones. The seats are made with a wooden frame upholstered in foam and include webbing in the backrest. Prototypes of the Apps collection were first presented in Milan last April and the range is now going into production.

Artifort was founded 120 years ago as an upholstery company in Maastricht. "For me, Artifort is part of our national heritage," says Hutten. "The quality of the designs dating from the 1960s in particular is very high and my ambition is to revive that golden era."

Hutten founded his own design studio in Rotterdam in 1991 after graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven and was a leading figure in Droog Design at its inception in 1993. Past projects featured on Dezeen include traditional oriental rug patterns stretched into stripes and leaf-shaped fridge magnets. See all our stories about design by Richard Hutten.

Interieur 2012 took place from 20 to 28 October and highlights included Troika's arcade of light beams bent into gothic arches and Ross Lovegrove's car shaped by instinct rather than science. See all our stories about design at Interieur 2012.

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See all our stories about Interieur 2012 »

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for Artifort appeared first on Dezeen.

Israeli designer Ayala Serfaty's new collection of sculptural furniture and lighting includes upholstered pieces resembling lichen-covered stone.

Sixteen pieces are presented at Cristina Grajales Gallery in New York as part of Serfaty's first solo exhibition in the United States.

The furniture is covered in a textural surface incorporating layers of silk, linen and wool fibres that produces an aged look.

Organic forms resembling rocks or tree trunks offer a base for the seamless handmade fabrics.

Cloud-like lighting installations are made from glass filaments covered by a polymer membrane.

The exhibition continues at Cristina Grajales Gallery until 23 December.

Here is some more information from the gallery:

Ayala Serfaty: In Vein

November 1st – December 23rd, 2011

Cristina Grajales Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in the United States of Israeli lighting and furniture designer Ayala Serfaty, In Vein.

In Vein is a collection of 16 new lighting and furniture pieces that highlight Serfaty’s exploration of ancient materials merged with contemporary design. Beginning with her Soma light sculptures, Serfaty manipulates glass and polymer to expose the delicacy and behavioral nuances of the object while communicating her interpretation of nature’s complex structures. She continues this exploration with her Limited Edition Apaya lights, combining ancient wool felting techniques with modern lighting technology and transforming wool into a sculptural carrier of light in a uniquely aesthetic way.

In her newest work, the complexity of design is focused on the intense exploration of hand made felt used to create contemporary furniture pieces. Serfaty views the object as a canvas, where silk, linen and wools are molded into emotional expressions in seamless upholstery. The combination of the layered fibers create a dense and intricate skin that provokes the viewers sensibilities.

Serfaty studied fine art at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and Middlesex Polytechnic in London, where she completed her BFA. Alongside her artistic work, Serfaty has designed lighting and furniture for Aqua Creations Lighting & Furniture Atelier. The design firm has earned international recognition for its innovative designs, which combine craftsmanship with advanced technology. In addition to her commercial ventures, Serfaty continues to explore the boundaries of art and design through her installations and studio pieces.

Serfaty’s work is found in the collections of the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel. Her work has been exhibited at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2008-2009, in the Museum Beelden aan Zee in the Netherlands in November of 2009, and at the London Design Museum in 2010 when she was nominated for the Brit Insurance Design Award.

Cristina Grajales Gallery is pleased to produce a limited edition book with this exhibition.

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Swiss designers Big-Game launched an armchair that looks like a quilt-covered deckchair at the Villa Noailles design festival in France this weekend.

Designed for French brand Moustache, the Bold armchair joins the fabric-covered Bold chair (below), which was part of Moustache's inaugural collection when the brand launched in Milan in 2009.

The armchair (below) is upholstered in quilted fabric. Above: the Bold chair from 2009.

See all our stories about Big-Game | See all our stories about Moustache

Here's a (very) little bit of text from Big-Game:

BOLD armchair

The BOLD armchair is a one seater upholstered armchair developed for the French brand Moustache (www.moustache.fr).

The thick proportions make this comfortable seat a part of the BOLD family.

The upholstered structure is entirely covered with thick quilted fabric.

Picture by Martin Haldimann

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Cologne 2011: French design brand Ligne Roset have launched a sponge-like sofa by designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec at the imm cologne fair in Germany this week.

Ploum is upholstered in just two pieces of stretchy, foam-backed fabric and is described by the brothers as "like a ripe, voluptuous piece of fruit".

The sofa comes in three- and four-seater versions.

See all our stories about Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec »
See all our stories about Ligne Roset »

imm Cologne takes place 18-23 January 2011. See all our coverage of the event »

Once again we've teamed up with imm Cologne to hold a free series of Dezeentalks at [D3] Design Talents. More details »

Here's some text from Ligne Roset:

"We attempted to make a very comfortable contemporary settee. Ploum is a vast shape on which the whole body rests on a soft, welcoming surface. Its seat is relatively low, it seems organic. Perhaps the use of a stretchy fabric is like a symbolic parallel to a contemporary lifestyle, in which flexibility of use and comfort seem to us to be essential. We pictured it like a ripe, voluptuous piece of fruit."

Such was the intention of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, who wanted to give special consideration to those special moments during the day when we each want to relax and perhaps catch up with the other members of the household. It is therefore important that the greatest comfort afforded by the settee is the one which enables the body to relax in any position, from sitting to lying. The 4-seat settee also offers, in a very specific manner, a croissant-shape which tends to turn people towards each other around a common centre.

The Ploum settees are the fruit of a great deal of research into comfort, leading to a specific combination of two materials, used jointly: a stretchy covering fabric and an ultra-flexible foam. The combination of these two materials, when associated with the real dimensional generosity of the Ploum settees, offers an extreme level of comfort whilst offering the body the chance to adopt a number of possible postures.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, both born in Quimper, studied at the Ecole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, Paris and the Ecole nationale supérieure d’arts de Cergy-Pointoise respectively. Ronan (born 1971) and Erwan (born 1976) came together in 1999 to carry out their work within a framework of permanent dialogue and a shared requirement for greater precision and delicacy.

Today, their works are produced by Vitra, Magis, Alessi, Established & Sons, Axor Hansgrohe, Kartell, Kvadrat, Cappellini, Camper, la Galerie kreo and Ligne Roset (Outdoor folding chair – 2001, Facett seating – 2005, distribution of Clouds decorative modules in Kvadrat – 2009). Their works can be found in the collections of institutions such as the musée national d’Art moderne, the centre Georges Pompidou, the musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the Design Museum London, or even the Boijmans van Beuningen museum, Rotterdam. In autumn 2011, the Centre Pompidou Metz will stage the first great retrospective of the work of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in France.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec seek to make objects which are singular, elegant and sensual of form, and sustainable and adaptable in terms of function.They seem to have a predilection for certain themes: concepts such as elements which may combine to facilitate multiple use (Axor Bouroullec bathroom collection 2010) and half-closed spaces which serve to (re)define the concept of space (Lit Clos bed, 2000; la Cabane, 2001; Alcôve armchairs, 2007; North Tiles and Clouds textile tiles) are all part and parcel of their desire to preserve intimacy by structuring space.

The Ploum settees are the fruit of much research into comfort which led them to combine two specific materials: a stretchy covering fabric and an ultra-flexible foam.The combination of these two materials, when associated with the real dimensional generosity of the Ploum settees, offers an extremely high level of comfort whilst giving the body the chance to adopt a number of possible postures.

In effect, the quilted fabric employed, which in fact comprises a thick layer of polyester quilting sandwiched between two superimposed woven layers and held in place by points of stitching, offers a warm and comfortable visual aspect and a soft feel. Furthermore, its elasticity enables it to cover the continuous curve of the seats, high backs and arms in one single piece of fabric: a rhythmic repetition of points of stitching is what enables it to maintain its position.

Secondly, even whilst held in place by the points of stitching, this stretchy covering retains a great capacity to stretch and then regain its original shape, enabling the hyperflexible foam to ‘play’ beneath the weight of the body and to mould itself perfectly to the shape of the user, much as the sand might do so on a beach.

The hyperflexible polyurethane foam used for the comfort layer covering the entirety of the structure of the seat allies a great capacity to lose its shape in order to perfectly support the body in all positions with a lasting ability to rapidly regain its original shape, thus guaranteeing the longevity of Ploum.

The seat of the large settee, which may accommodate up to 4 persons, has a slightly closed angle perfect for encouraging sitters to move closer together, which in turn facilitates conversation between the occupants of the settee. In fact, the generous dimensions of the Ploum settees and their open, welcoming shape have been specially designed to accommodate a variety of positions, from sitting to lounging, or even fully reclined.

The great flexibility of contact associated with a freely-formed shape turn Ploum into a veritable nest: in fact, all positions are possible here, both back and head enjoy the same soft contact, no matter which part of the seat is concerned, even the arms.

Construction: Steel tubing, wire and mesh. Covered base.

Comfort: Integral seat in high resilience polyurethane Bultex foam 48 kg/m3 – 3.6 kPa and integral back in Bultex foam 26 kg/m3 – 1.4 kPa with comfort layer in hyperflexible polyurethane foam 30 kg/m3- – 1.8 kPa. Comfort is reinforced by the nature of the Mood fabric : a double-layer quilted stretchy weave, held in place by points of stitching.

Making-up: Cover made from a woven fabric generously padded with polyester quilting and quilted by points of stitching. Covers may be removed by an upholsterer.

Fabrics: Exclusively available in Mood fabric.

See also:

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Quilt by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec	Star System by Enrico Buscemi and Piergiorgio Leone	Ruché by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset

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for Ligne Roset appeared first on Dezeen.