Blog of B/A Sofas

The Suita Sofa is part of a large range that includes many individual pieces of furniture. They can all be mixed and matched for use in many different spaces in numerous ways. Suita pieces can be harmoniously integrated into existing arrangements and also create a collage with other pieces in the Suita range.

Suita comes in two different basic versions – with soft or firmer seat cushions – that serve to meet customers‘ various comfort needs. For the softer version, customers can choose between classic or pointed cushions. For the firmer version, the backrest cushions all have a classic cushion shape.

Some pieces in the Suita range can be fitted with a component that lengthens the backrest, which not only serves to offer the head more support, but also creates a kind of barrier from both noise and visual stimuli.

Shelves that are mounted on the back make the Suita Sofa, when placed away from walls, the perfect place for briefly working on a laptop when combined with a chair. If placed against a wall, the shelf creates additional storage or decoration space.

The Suita platform is very tightly upholstered and comes in two sizes. As a piece that is a cross between a table and an ottoman, the platform can be used for trays, books and magazines, or for tired feet.

Vitra is a furniture company dedicated to developing healthy, intelligent, inspiring and durable solutions for the office, the home and for public spaces. Vitra’s products and concepts are developed in Switzerland by applying a diligent design process that brings together the company’s engineering excellence with the creative genius of leading international designers. It is our goal to create products with a high functional and aesthetic life expectancy.

Small apartment decorating is always a challenge. Inspiring solutions can be found in many areas: from storage to color composition and from decorating to using modern and versatile furniture with multiple use. Searching for small apartment solutions can take up a lot of time, but be prepared to stumble upon so many ideas that it will be hard to choose the right one for your home.

Start with making a list of the things you need, like storage facilities and take into account that, by using colors, light and mirrors, you can create the illusion of a bigger space. A small apartment can be just as relaxing and comfortable as an apartment with a large floor plan if you use functional furniture and unconventional space delimitations.

A personalized small apartment solution can come from the decision of using custom made furniture that will help your small apartment reach its full potential. Custom furniture can be an effective solution for maximising small spaces in apartments; creating a “wow-factor” with a statement piece; custom designer homes with specific décor requirements.

Try to use every available space and think out of the box. Use sliding doors and mirrors to hide storage space. In the bedroom, use the underside part of your bed for keeping linens or even consider a bunk bed and use the lower part as office space. There are many ideas that can help you decorate a small apartment and a good interior designer can customize the space in a way that you and your family can connect to, so don’t hesitate to ask for help.

The Tria Chair was designed by Lorenz-Kaz for Italian furniture manufacturer Cole. The two designers, Catharina Lorenz and Steffen Kaz worked together on this urban chair design that features modern twists. The hole in the middle of the chair helps the equilibrium and design to stay focused on the visual appeal as well as the comfort feature. Inspired by the impossible forms of Dutch graphic artist and engraver Maurits Escher, it defines itself in a game of twists and elusive leak. The Tria Chair features three identical elements assembled in a beautiful and contemporary shape.

This creates a unique array of colors that seem to be chasing one after another. Use it to sit on its centre or on the side, the chair still looks and feels amazing. The shell is made of plywood – natural oak or stained black oak – while the legs are available in chromed metal, solid natural or stained black oak.

The Tria Chair is a very straightforward design. The Tria Chair is a functional type of chair that can be used for any purpose whether at home or in the office. Just to give an idea, Tria Chairs would be perfect for small restaurants and coffee shops or even in a minimalist dining room if you want to add that modern feel. Also, reception area or in any consultation room in the office will give it a nice modern attitude.

2001 Steffen Kaz and Catharina Lorenz founded the design studio Lorenz * Kaz in Milan, working for clients like Antonio Lupi, Bedont, DePadova, DuPont, Omnidecor, Rossin, Present Perfekt, Zeitraum, Zoltan. Apart from working for other clients, they launched their own furniture line, which they produce and sell under the label Lorenz * Kaz.

We are glad to continue our previous discussion about role of sound in our life, especially that sound which is produced by our favourite music devices! As you remember the previous article has ended on the point which was about central speaker and its horizontal variant! So in this article we are to discover the information about sub buffers! Sub buffers are the systems of infra short frequencies stereophonic reproduction. Earlier sub buffers had been used in 3-D Phonic system with two small satellites for bass playback.  Actually sub buffers are indispensable devices in sets of small speakers in home theatres. They are perfect in sound effects transmission for floor acoustic system of very big dimensions. Sometimes it happens that for the first look modest music box can considerably “shake” your room and of course in consequence the relations with neighbors can be wounded.  Digital Dolby Digital format and DTS have given the birth to development of rear channels for sound transmission.  Firstly already existing central rear channel has divided into two stereo. This has led to more realistic sound environment during movie watching. For the completeness of perceived sound waves these rear channels produce the whole frequency diapason we hear today. The floor models of acoustics produced in the same line as frontal stereo acoustics are the best as rear acoustic systems today. But some producers turn out special acoustics for dubbing of the rear.  And as a perfect variant for business persons who possess big out-of-town mansions there are set of absolutely identical big speakers for the rear and the front. This is the most expensive but at the same time is the most zero-risk variant. Seven and multi channel formats of recording still didn’t introduced anything new in acoustics development. For the dubbing of central rear channel there is the same center as there is for dubbing of the main central channel. For additional rear channels the speakers which are used for main rear can be used. Or for example you can be used smaller speakers. Acoustics besides its purpose is also divided by its constructional features. To these features the following can be related: dimensions, the material of a frame, structure and design of loudspeakers.

Dimensions of the frame

Speakers can be divided into two parts on visual basis. Depending on frame’s dimensions acoustics can be floor and shelf installed. These are two main types of acoustics and their naming means much. The floor acoustics is always of big dimensions and it is often installed on the floor, sometimes on special stands. The chambers for sand filling up are interesting decision for frames of some floor acoustics. This way helps to improve the system’s steadiness and make the sound better. Shelves’ models are meant for their installation on book shelves, special stands or for hanging up on a wall by special blackets.  The variety of shelves’ acoustics is so called satellites. These speakers are not of big sizes. They are often produced as a complete set in one box and they are intended for not expensive systems of home theatres of the first level. In other cases it is recommended to acquire satellites by the piece in any quantity because this will let you to broaden finished system up to desired configuration. Satellites often have stylish and offbeat appearance and they are able to supplement adequately an interior of any modern house. However for these acoustic systems the use of sub buffer is necessary because their small dimensions of frames and loudspeakers are not able to make basic constituent parts of the sound. And one more very interesting design – build in acoustics. It features such advantages as absolute imperceptibility of speakers and moreover they don’t occupy much space in the room. To the negative sides of this variant can be related the following: the complication in installation of these systems.

The frame

The sound of assembled acoustic system depends on the material from which it is made and on the frame’s structure. Today the most part of speakers are made of MDF (medium-density fibreboard: a wood-substitute material used in interior decoration). In recent times aluminum is used more often in production of speakers.  This material lets to shape frames of acoustics absolutely differently. Moreover aluminum is quite durable and non-expensive material.

Two main types of acoustics design used in acoustic systems frames are closed frame and phase inverter.

Phase inverter is a passive sound emitter which presents of itself an outside pipe o which a low-frequency loudspeaker is loaded. This helps to obtain more deep bass but very often leads to worsening of expressiveness of low frequencies and their bad articulation. Another construction is a closed frame. It is deprive of such frills. The boxes of such constructions are closed tightly. Sometimes it influences on decrease of low frequencies level. In such case it is hard to give any recommendations because all depends on your desire and taste.

Dynamics and crossovers

Having looked at modern acoustic system it can be seen that it has several dynamics of different dimensions at once. It is easy to understand that each of them is responsible for giving definite sound to special sound diapason. Sometimes there are two dynamics or sometimes even more. It is accepted to consider that the more there are the number of such dynamics the better the clearness of sound reproduction of particular acoustic system. Of course this true but only in case when inexpensive dynamics’ heads are used. In Hi-End systems of many companies two dynamics are often installed and this does not prevent from excellent transmission of the whole spectrum of sound frequencies.

The diffusers are produced from contemporary low frequency dynamics which are made of such materials as compressed paper, plastic, wattled aramid fiber and aluminum. In contemporary speakers separate high-frequency dynamics – so-called tweeters are applied. Special dynamics or one low-frequency dynamic is responsible for the work of speakers in medium frequency diapason. Also sometimes it is possible to see two identical sound emitters. For the division of frequencies inside the acoustic system crossovers are responsible. Sometimes they are called dividing filters. The number of bands of acoustics depends on the crossover’s construction. The sound usually comes into the acoustic system by one pair of wires. The definite filter is to divide this signal into constituent parts of frequencies’ groups – high, medium and low in case of three band construction or into high-frequency and medium-frequency if in case of two band construction and then to direct them to corresponding dynamics. The multi wired connection of speakers to booster is not a rare case. In this case the signal passing the filter is directed to the necessary dynamics. Often this method is better than that with filter use because it excludes excess distortion of the sound. The only problem is the booster. The booster must be able to be connected. In other case you need to have two different boosters. Besides that acoustic systems can be active or passive. The active acoustic systems feature each band of frequencies (actually every dynamic) which is connected directly to boosters. Dividing filters are active and they are on the entrance of boosters but not on the exit and this provides better quality of sound. Moreover it is easier to tune up active filter than passive filter. That is why in serial production conditions it provides the better quality of filtration. Active speakers have the volume control which increases the convenience of its operation. But the main disadvantage of this type of acoustic systems is the necessity of admission the linear signal and voltage to each speaker. This makes particular complications during connection process. The passive acoustics requires the availability of external booster. In order to choose correctly the most proper acoustic system for your home theatre it is necessary to decide on some parameters:

Capacity. This point concerns such questions as diapason of capacity making for passive acoustics and the capacity of build in booster for active acoustics. The unit of power is watt. The lack of power can bring such problem as volume quality and the dynamics of reproduction. However the exit capacity of booster must not be higher than the acoustics’ capacity as it can cause the mechanical damage of dynamics.  If consider the dimensions of your living area than the acoustic system with capacity of 60-80 watt will be good enough for the room of 17 square metres at most.  If the floor space is about 20-30 square meters than the capacity should be of about 100 watt. For the larger floor space (more than 30 square metres) the acoustics with capacity of 150 watt is needed.

Sensitivity. The higher the sensitivity of the system will be the louder sound it can produce while with specified capacity. You can have not so powerful booster using the acoustics of high sensitivity and vice versa. For example the sense number of 85 decibel/watt means that the system is able to make the sound pressure of 85 decibel at 1 metre distance from the dynamic which is 1 watt capacity.  The sensitivity of ordinary acoustics is between 84-102 decibels. It is known that the sensitivity of 84-102 decibels is low, 89-92 decibels is medium and 94-102 decibels is high. In order to increase the volume 2 times it is enough to augment the sensitivity just by 1 decibel whereas the capacity should be increased in several times. Thus in general the higher the sensitivity the better it is. However you should remember that powerful booster can easily damage very sensitive loudspeakers.

The diapason of reproduced frequencies – is the spectrum of frequencies within the limits of which it has plane amplitude frequency characteristics in other words it can reliably reproduce the audio signal. It is widely known that human acoustic organs perceive the sound frequency from 20 to 20 000 hertz. However sound signal features compound structure that is to say it consists of constituent parts with different frequencies and including those which exceed limits of audible diapason. That is why for greatest precise sound reproduction the producers of boosters and of acoustic systems as well try to achieve the diapason frequencies of over 20 000 hertz. If it is planned to use sub buffer (the diapason of 2-250 hertz) than the frequency diapason of the rest of the acoustics may not include low frequency interval. Otherwise the acoustic system should reproduce the whole sound diapason (from 20 to 40 000 hertz).

The whole diversity of contemporary acoustics is of good quality. Frankly today nobody produce acoustics of low quality because it is not profitable. The main difference you should consider is the way of sounding of various acoustic systems and as consequence the compatibility with the rest of the equipment. Also it will be nice to lend an ear to common sense and to try to make the really good choice accounting for all technique characteristics of the system and conditions in which it will work while choosing the speakers.

Dressing table is an essential article of furniture in bedroom. Dressing table usually has shelves and drawers to provide enough space for its owner and a mirror used to adorn and observe self performances. A well designed dressing table reduces clutter from the room and is also used for extra storage. This furniture piece supplements refined interior of your bedroom giving it classy or modern look depending on the design and style of the chosen dresser.

The creative of Czech design studio Olgoj Chorchoj designed Princess, a dressing table with lighted mirror that is both unique and functional. A built-in lighted mirror is a rare concept for an already rare piece of furniture. The contemporary Princess table consists of a walnut top with sturdy stainless steel legs. The wooden top contains a round recessed storage located on the right side. The recessed area is divided into four pockets for storage. A built-in mirror installed underneath a round cover that conceals items, resulting in a smooth top when the table is not in use. On the left is a drawer that is used to store larger items. It is an item apt for the modern-day princess.

The Olgoj Chorchoj Studio was founded in 1990 during the Vitra Design Museum workshop. Their first projects involved design of experimental seating and interior concepts. At the beginning the Studio´s creativity took on wide range of work from light-generating ready-made objects, glass vases, porcelain-made sets and titanium jewelry to architectural projects. Its designs stressed the use of technology and natural materials. An important part of the team work is the design of interiors and reconstruction of the historical objects and industrial buildings.

This unique furniture collection by German designer Valentin Loellmann cannot really be assigned to any style. The collection got the name “M.&Mme” and is based on the idea of family of a design “dynasty” that is evocative of the contemporary Dutch school of design.

The pieces can be regarded as art installations, a post’ modern interpretation of classical wood furniture that falls just short of elegance, giving it up for naive design. Surreal, burlesque, Alice-in-wonderland-like comes to mind in regard of these very individual pieces. The beautiful old bankirai wood, reinforced and framed in a polyester skin with the appearance of white plaster looks sophisticated, playful and rustic. It is the contrast between the natural and the “technical” that sets the tone of past meets present and lends itself to an embedded narrative.

Launched with only three pieces the collection will grow and evolve over time. While their forms or characteristics change, a common element or ‘mood’ will always connect the new pieces to the original ones. Not the most practical of pieces, but would make for a unique and artistic lobby.

Loellmann, looked to forms of traditional craftsmanship when designing this collection where every piece is unique and intended to have a narrative that is both independent and interconnected to the rest of the pieces.

After the graduation in 2009 Loellmann founded his own studio and started a workplace where he creates his own projects as well as projects for clients. For him, the challenge lies in cultivating an alternative perspective on the things around and this serves as a source of inspiration for designer. This is both his task and his challenge to express the experience and impressions in his work.