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madhead's review
3.0
It's 2020 and this book is still relevant, touching the topics of: maker culture, DIY, ecology, environment protection, recycling, globalization and, of course, [tech] nomadism. It's like a time capsule bearing the spirit of 1970s: post-modern, functionalism, high-tech (or whatever was popular those days).
Everything is great about this book, but the font. That script literally sucks.
Everything is great about this book, but the font. That script literally sucks.
mrsthrift's review
3.0
This book was published in the 1970s and whoa-doggie does it show. Printed in the classical "handwriting" typeface of so many macrobiotic cook books and "build your own hot tub" books I've seen from the same era, this book manages to impart a sense of a lifestyle that, while fleeting, appears to be circling back into popular consciousness. The furniture in this book is designed to assist proper geometric alignment of the human form, to be stylish or at least to make an aesthetic statement, and to promote the life of one who is on the move, or at least someone who requires that their furniture be ready to pack up at a moment's notice. Some of the ideas are completely insane. The cardboard car seat in the section for children, for example, meets approximately 0% of modern safety requirements, and the "bubble lamp" made from "used styrofoam cups" is the sort of thing that haunts my nightmares. But some of them are quite good - the boxes with lids that can be used as packing crates, and then re-assembled into a stylish ladder-style bookshelf.
Most of the projects don't include specific instructions, tools, specifications, measurements, or anything else that would hinder the creator. They are ideas, not entirely hatched or ready to be executed, but I feel like they are a jumping off point for a better world. While I love drooling over fancy furniture, vintage and designer and whathaveyou, there is something magical in something you make with your own hands and then serve dinner on, store your records in, or sleep on. I'm not the most handy person, so I probably won't make any of these projects, but it gives me ideas as I help design and execute various custom furniture projects around the house.
Point of interest: one concept I have been long interested in is "the cube" -- a mobile piece of furniture that rotates, expands, retracts, compacts, transforms into various types of living space so that you can have cozy and multifunctional rooms in a large, otherwise unfinished space. Examples here and here). There are pages and pages dedicated to this idea in Nomadic Furniture. Entertainment cube. Children's cube. Relaxation cube, etc.
Most of the projects don't include specific instructions, tools, specifications, measurements, or anything else that would hinder the creator. They are ideas, not entirely hatched or ready to be executed, but I feel like they are a jumping off point for a better world. While I love drooling over fancy furniture, vintage and designer and whathaveyou, there is something magical in something you make with your own hands and then serve dinner on, store your records in, or sleep on. I'm not the most handy person, so I probably won't make any of these projects, but it gives me ideas as I help design and execute various custom furniture projects around the house.
Point of interest: one concept I have been long interested in is "the cube" -- a mobile piece of furniture that rotates, expands, retracts, compacts, transforms into various types of living space so that you can have cozy and multifunctional rooms in a large, otherwise unfinished space. Examples here and here). There are pages and pages dedicated to this idea in Nomadic Furniture. Entertainment cube. Children's cube. Relaxation cube, etc.
livewisdom's review
3.0
Many of the ideas in this book are dated now. That makes it even more run to flip through the pages! Need a table for your High Fidelity record and cassette player? They've got you covered.
I've had many discussions with friends about the child's car seat made entirely of cardboard, too.
So what I'm saying is that it is best read for general ideas on how to DIY furniture that is functional, greener, and portable, but not all designed should be taken literally or actually built.
Great book for brainstorming!
I've had many discussions with friends about the child's car seat made entirely of cardboard, too.
So what I'm saying is that it is best read for general ideas on how to DIY furniture that is functional, greener, and portable, but not all designed should be taken literally or actually built.
Great book for brainstorming!
katie_king's review
4.0
I adored this book when I first read it - which was shortly after it was published. Re-reading it today, it is half IKEA catalogue, and half a trip down memory lane. And very hippy-dippy in the mold of "Whole Earth Catalog".
Still, there are good ideas in this book, mostly about ergonomic and ecologic design on what we'd now talk about as reducing one's environmental foot print.
Still, there are good ideas in this book, mostly about ergonomic and ecologic design on what we'd now talk about as reducing one's environmental foot print.
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