A little bit of B&W

This a.m. - before I headed out to give a talk to design students at Humber College (thx again Jo!) - I discovered the snap below of an Ikea dining table that had been tricked out in a black and white checkerboard. I have to say, I like the look. The hi-contrast combo of b&w seems to be one of those trends that's on the rise again (or did it really ever go away?), so it's kinda fitting that recently I got to play around with the clean and minimally styled Olympus XZ-1 that just happens to come in a lovely white-lacquered body with black detailing. Gorgeous? Yes. And for all you photography wonks out there - It comes fitted with a super-bright built-in 4x Olympus iZUIKO lens, the first ever built-in Zuiko lens on a digital camera. Oh, and just in case white isn't your thing, the XZ-1 is also available in matte black. [Image 1: Ikea/Livet Hemma]

 

A little sketchy

In a case of oh, that reminds me of... here's a recycled cardboard play house by Magis (btw, since I'm a Brit I'd call it a Wendy house) and a slipcovered sofa by Established & Sons. The Villa Julia play house, designed by Javier Mariscal, is made for your little sprogs to have a go at with markers and crayons; though it does look awfully nice in pristine black and white. That sofa, aptly named Brick & Mortar by designers Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong, looks fab in a high-contrast b&w brick pattern, though for purists it's also available in red brick too (though I am a fan of white painted brick, lol). What do you think - Will we be seeing more products that have a sketchy black-lined colouring book feel?