London Design Festival 2013: this four-tier shelving unit with bulging leather shelves by Belgium designer Damien Gernay is on display at London's Mint Shop this month (+ slideshow).

The Bloated Shelf by Damien Gernay comprises an ash wood frame and four shelves made from sheets of leather filled with expanded foam. One side of the leather is glued to a wooden board to create the flat surface.

"The idea originates from the image of a prominent belly, constrained by a belt," said Gernay. "The leather inflates in a natural way, making each piece unique," he added.

The unit stands at 175 centimetres tall and is 85 centimetres wide.

The shelf forms part of the designer's range of furniture using leather and foam, which includes a stool with a black leather seat. Gernay said the collection intends to "create a dialogue between a rigid structure and a flexible skin."

The Bloated Shelf and Bloated Stool are on display at the Cabinets of Curiosity exhibition at Mint shop, 2 North Terrace, Alexander Square, London, SW3 2BA until 30 September 2013.

Other shelving featured on Dezeen recently includes wooden shelves that look like scaffolding and shelves that only stay up thanks to concrete blocks, bricks and magazine file boxes propping up one end.

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Photography is by Maxime Champion, unless otherwise stated.