For DesignCrave’s final post of 2009, we turn to the impressive Do hit chair by Marijn van der Poll. Taking the concept of customizable furniture to a stylish, and rather intense, new level, just grab the sledgehammer – oh yeah, it’s included! – and start bashing the metal box into whatever shape you desire. After a few minutes (or hours) of creative hammering, you now have quite an interesting piece of custom made, interactive furniture.

Built with 1.25 mm of stainless steel, the Do hit chair is not cheap; $6718 for a pre-hammered chair and $5924 for a non-hammered steel cube. Wow, that price would make anyone want to bash in a few steel chairs. Still, the Do hit chair does achieve that art-meets-design-meets-stress relief balance many of us strive for when furniture shopping. But the idea of smashing the hell out of a metal cube to achieve a personal design preference is something we’ll happily toast to as we ring in the New Year. Happy New Year! See ya in 2010. [via uncrate]

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Spanish architecture firm A-cero delivers a stunning housing project in La Romana (Dominican Republic) built entirely with the indigenous stone of Coralline that really prospers with the abundance of sunshine. The two blocks that shoot up like waves are fantastic and provide vertical covering. They also look like something Tony Hawk might dream up for his beach house.

In the middle, a big door of two sheets in wood leads to the housing. The entirety of the house has crossed ventilation, which is nice because you’re able to take advantage of those gentle, Caribbean sea breezes. Joaquin Torres directed the project, which features a private beach and pier, plus a pool which looks like a smaller beach with the graduated entrance. [via daily icon]

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Allow us to shift our gaze from swanky hotels and towering buildings to the pure beauty that is the Les Paul. The 1959 Les Paul, more specifically. Known as “Number Two,” the ’59 was purchased by rock god/Les Paul enthusiast Jimmy Page in 1973. Now, with the efforts of Gibson’s Custom Shop and Page himself, the famed “Number Two” Les Paul is available to rock n’ roll warriors like myself. Produced in limited numbers, with two levels of aging, the new limited edition ’59 captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time.

The “Number Two” Les Paul was recreated with a complete examination of Page’s original guitar. The process involved the production of a number of hand-built prototypes, each of which was checked and critiqued by Page himself. Approval of the final model was only offered after Page examined and extensively played this last prototype. Only 325 examples will be produced in total: 100 will be aged by vintage-reproduction master Tom Murphy; 25 more will be aged by Tom Murphy and signed by Jimmy Page; and 200 will be finished to Gibson’s VOS specs.y. Seriously, to play one is to fall in love, over and over again. [via Gibson]

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The goal was to somehow work in the lyrics to “Barcelona,” from Sondheims’ musical Company, what with this being a post about the beautiful new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the heart of Spain’s capital city. But most likely better to just hum it while I gush over Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola’s interior design work. Located in a renovated mid-20th century building, the hotels’ interiors are big, bold and contemporary, with Urquiola playing the creative game with space concepts throughout the hotel.

If there is centerpiece to Urquiola’s interior decor it could very well be the lobby; one feature is a towering entrance atrium to seduce passers-by from the Passeig de Gràcia, a busy shopping and business avenue in Barcelona. The linear simplicity of this particular building, which was once the headquarters of a bank, lends itself perfectly to the clean, balanced interior design by Urquiola. [via contemporist]

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Firstly, Merry Christmas! Secondly, it’s the new Twitter headquarters! The swanky, but still plenty hip interiors were designed by CEO Evan Williams’ wife, Sara Morishige Williams. I must say, any office that features a working DJ booth is tops in my book. Located in San Francisco’s SoMa district in the space once occupied by Bebo, Williams’ design goal was “…to bring the outdoors in and to make the space playful yet useful and sustainable.”

The new digs have a low-key, loft-ish vibe with lots of open space to house the 100-plus employees; features of the Twitter-ific headquarters includes WiFi connectivity everywhere, an arcade, custom concrete conference tables, an abundance of comfy couches, Lord only knows how many images of birds scattered everywhere and a nicely-placed @ symbol light hanging in the lounge. [via office design blog]

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As we roll into Christmas here is something I wouldn’t mind finding under my tree. Designed by Ryan Vanderbilt, Table&Tennis is the culmination of an idea to merge sleek design with a conference/dining table and – here’s the awesome part – build it to the official specs of a ping pong table. It even comes equipped with a discreet drawer below to store the removable net, racquets and balls.

It goes without saying the kind of pleasure which can be had with an immediate game of ping pong following an arduous business meeting. Vanderbilt’s dual table really does underscore how work and play have blended together; and with that, the more functional the better. A staff meeting, then dinner and then a game of table tennis – all on one beautifully-designed table? Yes, please. [via trends now]

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Simple and handsome, the Yves desk from London-based Pinch is a modern interpretation of the traditional writing desk. Part of a beautiful collection by designer Russell Pinch and his wife Oona Bannon, the Yves desk is all about straight lines, though softened with shapely details on the legs, top and side panels. The walnut finish is contrasted with the hot olive green inlaid leather writing surface and matching lacquered central drawer.

The minimalist desk has cable management holes in the back corners and your laptop can be pushed away under the shelf when not in use. That’s good, because with this elegant desk you’ll happily want to put aside the laptop to write someone a letter. [via crib candy]

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You wrap up a lovely dinner at home in your small, yet stylish apartment, then — boom! Flip up the table to display your favorite movie poster. It’s the Picture Table! Created in Italy by designer Verena Lang, founder by IvyDesign, the Picture Table is mounted on a side wall for the eating part, but quickly attaches to the wall with three metal supports for the art/space saver part.

Post meal, just rotate the table towards the wall, secure it in place, and now you extra room to Cha Cha. The Picture Table seats up to 5, and the posters are easily interchangeable. There is also a mirror version if you prefer to eat then stare at yourself all night. [via slippery brick]

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Do you ‘respect wood?’ It’s a question posed by Larry David in the recent season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but the query is just as relevant with this particular post. That’s because you can drape your Apple laptop in wooden style. Designed by Berlin-based Rainer Spehl, the Wooden Laptop Case features a leather lining and magnetic closing device for the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Spehl features the Laptop Cases for MacBook Pro 13, 15 and 17″, so go ahead, treat your Apple laptop to something nice this holiday season. And as always, ‘respect the wood.’ [via element-e]

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