In a similar (or not so?) similar fashion, you could have your very own park bench – in as little as ten minutes, in fact, if you’re super strong and have a couple of people helping you out while you set it up.

These Tree Benches are a part of Utrecht-based spatial designer Rogier Martens‘ ”Aandeboom” series, which translates to something like “attached to trees.” Martens came up with these benches after the Dutch city of Amersfoort invited him to design a temporary bench for a local park.

All you need to set up the benches is a strong and sturdy tree trunk. The suspension system makes it quick and easy to “fasten” the bench onto the tree, so to speak.

These Tree Benches would be great to add additional seating to parks and other public areas during huge events or concerts. You should contact Rogier if you want to inquire about the pricing on his benches, in case you want one for yourself.

[via Pop Up City]

My niece has since outgrown the cradle, so it’s just sitting in my sister’s garage, collecting dust and taking up a huge amount of space. This is usually what happens with cribs and bassinets that babies eventually outgrow, so why not construct them to eventually serve as something that’s still functional when that time comes? Take Martin Price’s Rocking Cradle, for example.

At first glance, it looks like a typical cradle with a clean and simplistic structure. However, once the babies are all grown up, the cradle can be sawn right down the middle to convert it into two rocking chairs.

The structure of the cradle was already meant to incorporate two fully-functional, load-bearing rocking chairs, which can seat the average-sized adult. Now that’s value for your money, not to mention resourceful.

[via Apartment Therapy via Inhabitots via Chair Blog]

This over-the-top looking setup gives you a comfy ergonomic leather seating unit with touch-screen controls, and a view to kill with three computer displays positioned just right for you to lean back and enjoy. The whole thing is motorized too, so you can adjust the angle of your environment without getting up out of your chair. It’s also got a work surface for a keyboard and mouse, and the monitors can be positioned at a flat eye-level if you want to get some work done.

They system wraps you entirely in its scorpion like design, ensuring an immersive experience equaled only by strapping on a super high-def head-mounted display (which doesn’t exist today.) Each LED-backlit LCD screen is a full 24″ display, with HD resolution, and they all connect up to your computer via a set of three HDMI cables. It’s also got built-in LED lighting both above and below the seating area, and a THX surround sound system. Each one is hand-built to your exact requirements, and even has an air filtration system on board.

MWE offers the Emperor 200 in other colors, so if white isn’t your thing, you can go with something a little bolder like red or black – which makes the whole scorpion thing much more effective. Priced at a whopping $44,750 (USD), this thing is definitely the Porsche of computer workstations. Though for that price, they should throw in a computer with the proper display cards an Xbox 360 and a PS3. The chair should have a massager too. Really, how much would that eat into their profit margins to throw those in?

If $45k is too rich for your blood, you might want to check out MWE’s “bargain priced” Emporer 1510, which does away with the fancy finishes and touchscreen remote, (plus you need to BYO displays), but is considerably more accessible with prices starting at “just” $6,200.

That’s where the Salangbang comes in. This piece of furniture is like a chair version of a cocoon. In fact, it looks cushy and comfortable enough to serve as a bed.

You can easily fold it open if you’ve got company so you can share the space. And when you’re alone or if you need some space, just fold it back shut and swing the doors closed.

The Salangbang was designed by Seung Yong Song, who drew inspiration from the cottage he used to live in, saying: “Opening the doors, the cottage became one altogether with the yard, streams and nature. That cottage of the time is gone, but good memories from that place create another illusion. The same type of two objects may face each other, stand side by side, or stand alone. By opening and closing the door, space is connected or divided. Even within an extensive space, It is possible to create a cozy space of (your) own.”

[via Chair Blog]

But you can be the king (or queen) of your very own throne, albeit the octopus kind.

Maximo Riera’s handmade leather Octopus Chair is sort of creepy, but it does have a certain look and feel to it that reminds me of thrones – or a chair for an evil supervillain.

But keep in mind though: having this piece of furniture won’t bring you any prestige, though you might gain some fame as being the loony person who bought a chair with an upholstered octopus for about $53,550 (USD).

And if you can afford such a thing, then I doubt you’re after the “riches” part of being royal.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

Technically, the bOne isn’t even DIY because it already comes with a metal frame and pre-formed upholstery blocks that come in a bright green color. Instead of hammering out your own chair, all you’ve got to do with the bOne is bend the legs and back into position, squish the upholstery into the holes, and sit.

Sounds easy, but I think stuffing those cylindrical pieces of upholstery in might be a little harder than you think.

The bOne Chair was designed by JDF Raum und Kunst, and according to the firm, the bOne is “a chair with a playful air for people with a sense of humor. Its support structure mimics our bone structure, its upholstery our skin cells, and just like these cells the seat, too, conforms – like the rhytm of inhaling and exhaling – to the individual’s unique ergonomics.”

It’s pretty clever. I certainly never thought of a chair like that. No word on if the bOne chair will ever become a product you can buy, or if it’s just a design concept though.

[via Beautiful Life via Gadgets Matrix]

The Oturakast Cabinet was designed by Rianne Koens. The cabinet is made up of separate drawer units that are meant to be stacked up, one upon the other. What makes the design even more unique is that each separate drawer has foldable legs underneath.

So if you happen to have some people over at the apartment but don’t have enough chairs and stools to go around, just unstack your drawers, pull out the legs, and gather every around in a circle.

[via The Design Home]

While it’s not exactly beach weather around here in Chicago, I could see hanging out in one of these for a tailgating party – as long as you don’t mind being ridiculed by your football buddies.

The R2-D2 folding armchair is available now over at ThinkGeek for $39.99 (USD).

Well, it gets lonely no more because you can actually rock with a friend, a relative, or your significant other in the Sway rocking chair. The Sway, designed by Markus Krauss, is comprised of a padded shell of a seat supported by a steel frame.

It looks like a geometrically-shaped chair that’s been stretched out at weird angles, but it’s a rocking chair that can seat two. No more lonely memories or lone afternoons because you’ll have enough room to share that seat with a friend (or a lover.)

But if you happen to all by your lonesome, then there’s still no worries because now you’ll have more space for yourself to stretch your legs out. Unfortunately, the Sway chair isn’t available for sale at this point, but if you’re skilled enough, you could actually make one yourself.

[via psfk via Oh Gizmo! ]

The chair was designed by Alejandro Cerón and was featured at the Moscow Design Week 2011 as a work of art-slash-piece of furniture that showcased organic architecture. It’s described as representing the “symbiosis between technology and nature,” and all I can say is, I had no idea how messy the relationship is between those two.

From a certain angle, the chair looks like a horse on its hind legs. From another, it’s like a lobster caught up and tangled in a bunch of weeds. And yet from another angle, the Beautiful Mess chair looks like a dinosaur nursing its young. The designer himself describes the work as something that “explores and blurs the boundaries between art and design,” although both seem pretty related to me in the first place.

And the only time the Beautiful Mess chair looks like a chair is when someone’s actually sitting on it. Looks mighty uncomfortable, though I can’t deny that it would make an attractive addition to anyone’s den.

[via Yanko Design]

For his Anrealage fashion line, Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga took inspiration from the squared-off pixel block to create his F/W 2011 collection, which includes shoes with pixel heels, pixelated prints on on jackets, sweaters and slacks.

But my favorite part of the collection isn’t the clothing. It’s the pixel furniture, which includes a pair of awesome blocky armchairs, a matching café table, a pixel-patterned Oriental rug, and some awesome pixel light bulb fixtures.

I would live in a house filled with this stuff if I could. But I can’t. So for now, the only way to experience this is to head to the Anrealage showroom in Harajuku, Tokyo.

[KoiKoiKoi via Fancy]

This handmade Chain Chomp bean bag is made by Liyo of LiyoLabs (when she isn’t busy working on her PhD in Nanotechnology – seriously) and measures in at about 70cm (~28 inches) tall when filled with beans (or polystyrene beads to be more accurate). In order to keep shipping charges reasonable, Chomp doesn’t actually ship with any beads inside, so I suppose you could fill him up with dry navy or pinto beans, if you’re really feel the need to be literal. Green beans, on the other hand – not so good. Liyo is also quick to point out that Chain Chomp does not include the Guitar Hero guitar. It’s not like he could play it without hands anyhow, so it’s no big loss.

Since each bean bag is made to order, there’s about a 4 week lead time on these, but if you’re really into Mario, I’m sure you can wait for it to show up on your doorstep. You can order one over at Etsy for $120 (USD). Chain sold seperately.

The first is when you decide to go with your typical folding chair and separate beach umbrella. The second is if you’ve purchased one of these Super-Brella Chairs and are now laughing at the shmucks who still haven’t gotten one for themselves.

As you can see, this chair has got everything: an umbrella to shield you from the sun or protect you from the rain, comfortable armrests, and a holder where you can put your drinks in. It’s also extremely portable, so you can just fold everything up and carry it around in the shoulder bag that it comes with.

Perfect to take along with you to the beach, to concerts and other outdoor events, to fishing, for lounging around in your backyard, and perhaps any other activity that’s done outdoors. You can get one in Europe from the Pro Idee Concept Store for £49.95 (~$82 USD). In the U.S., for a extra few dollars ($99.99), Hammacher Schlemmer sells a version which includes a foot-rest too.

[via Gadgets Matrix]

You might remember those Binary Chairs by BRC, which looked extremely cool but pretty darned uncomfortable. That’s where Tabisso’s Typographic Lounge Furniture and Lamps gets a leg up, because although the design is relatively simple, the things that you can do with them are endless.

These would definitely be chairs that will turn heads. Aside from looking like giant alphabet marshmallows, these lounge chairs look so comfortable at the same time.

The best part is that you can spell out anything you please with them, which is kind of the whole point of this line of furniture. Do you own a yoga place? No problemo.

Each of these pieces are made in France and prices are subject to individual quotes. Only one font face is available, although you can customize each of these aspects for your own chairs: the type of upholstery, the wooden shell, and the footing. If you’re interested, you can check out Tabisso’s website for more information.

[via Design Blog via Oh Gizmo!]

Disney is working on a system that will be able to be integrated into your computer chair for gaming and seats at the movie theater. Created by Ali Israr and Ivan Poupyrev at Disney Research Pittsburgh, the system is called the “Tactile Brush” and it has a series of 12 vibrating motors inside. The motors are able to trick the body into thinking it feels certain things like a touch or G-forces.

The team says that the system will even be able to make the person feel like water or rain is running down their back. Talk about bringing some realism to games, let me feel the Gs in a racing game along with a force-feedback system and motion control and I will be a happy camper.

[via New Scientist via Gizmodo]

From this chair, you can be the Space Invaders king! It’s too bad that these are just prototypes of a chair that only some day be made by the design collective Dorothy. 

I hope that these guys decide to manufacture this chair, although I have trouble seeing where you’d rest your arms. I guess like the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones on HBO, not all thrones are comfortable.

[via GeekAlerts]

I wonder if the chair is as easy on your butt as it is on the eyes. When all of the chairs are nested together, they form one wooden seat you can actually sit on. When you view it from the front, it’s an eye bending sight to see.

The designer is Vivian Chiu and she made the chair for a school project. It uses pegs and groves ranging from half an inch to an eighth of an inch wide to nest the seats. When all the chairs are removed there are ten total. I want one of these.

[via Colossal Art + Design]

Of course, I grew bigger as I got older and after a certain age, I could no longer fit into the tiny little seat. But that doesn’t mean my days of lounging about on a shopping cart are over. Mike Bouchet’s Shopping Cart Lounger makes sure of that.

We see shopping carts every day so it’s a little surprising why it took this long for an artist to decide that he wanted to dismantle one and turn it into a lounger. Mike took great care in altering the frame and remounting the child seats to make a headrest, while reinforcing the piece at major stress points to retain its structural integrity.

A collection of various versions of these cart loungers will be unveiled by Cumulus Studios at the 2011 DesignMiami 2011 show.

[via OhGizmo! via DesignBoom]

You can access the power via the built-in USB ports. The power can be used to light-up the inside of the chair, to give you light while you are reading or browsing when the sun goes down. Created by architecture professor Sheila Kennedy and a team of students at MIT, the SOFT Rocker can also capture the kinetic energy from your rocking motions, to add even more power to the chair.

The SOFT Rockers can be found at Killian Court, at MIT until the end of the week if you want to try them out.

[Arts at MIT via DVice]

The subwoofer chair was developed by John Greg Ball from SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, Alberta. He initially designed the chair for teenagers, who usually enjoy playing music and video games very loud. His design is still in the prototype face, but has two 16-inch JL Audio subwoofers which will emit a strong and thundering bass tone under your rear end. The chair will connect to iPods, iPhones, and MP3 players, as well as video game consoles and HDTVs.

Personally, I tend to use headphones a lot, since playing music very loud isn’t an option when your partner or children are sleeping, so I’m guessing this isn’t for me.

[via Designboom]