Cast Out Your Clutter with Thout Design's UtiliTILE
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.14.08
The brainchild of designer Patrick Turner, Thout Design's portfolio features a thoughtful collection of clever, space-saving, clutter-clearing designs with a sense of humor. Take "Forked Up," pictured above; part of the UtiliTILE series that frees up valuable kitchen space, it's useful tile for storing your utensils in a fun and space-efficient way. It makes setting the table is as easy as pulling out as many utensils as you need; magnets ensure that the utensils stay up there until you need them.
The rest of the UtiliTILE series is dedicated to the idea that it's nice to have shelves for all the things that otherwise clutter your space, but it's even nicer to have shelves that disappear when they aren't in use. It's a compact, modular, flexible system that offers an easy, elegant way to save space and do more with less. Hit the jump to see more. ::Thout Design
Offering a clever way to hang jackets and keep track of everything from shoes to keys, mail to wallets, phones to mp3 players, UtiliTILE has various iterations including "Hallway" -- a great place to put incoming mail, outgoing items you don't want to forget -- "Keyed" -- use your imagination to figure out what goes there -- and "Hooked" -- which, again, does what it sounds, providing space to hang your jacket or whatever.
As we mentioned at the top, UtiliTILE also includes a dining series; pictured above is "Trayed," a fun, kinda funky wall-to-table design. It clicks to the wall on magnets, and each tile is a self-contained table for your lap with a special spot for your drink. Like a TV tray, but more elegant.
And we couldn't resist HoleySTUMP, made from locally-sourced cedar with holes that look as though they could have been made by a giant worm; instead, they're the perfect size to hide a beer or two, equally at home in your living room or adjacent a fire pit.
Lots more to see at the Toronto-based designer's site. Check it out at ::Thout Design
