A few years ago when I was a responsible adult with a proper job and steady pay, I used to meet my clients around a very expensive “architectural” glass boardroom table. I hated that table. With a passion. In fact, I hate most glass furniture, because the anal retentive in me doesn’t like the fingerprints left behind, and the tactile freak in me dislikes that cold nature of glass surface. So why the **bleep** are we taking glass furniture today? Well… sometimes you’ve got to break your own rules and go places you don’t want to go. I’m completely pushing myself out of my comfort zone with this roundup, and in doing so I’ve discovered some incredible new (and not so new) products that take glass and translucent materials to the next level.

In his recent project ‘Art x Smart’, Korean illustrator Kim Dong-Kyu combines famous historical paintings with images of 21st century technology. I call it a fusion of the modern day with classical moments from art and history, resulting in one massive head f… I mean head spin. And I like it. The works are also a piercing comment on the way smartphones have dramatically changed today’s social interaction.

Yuko Nishimura is a Japanese artist who specialises in abstract, large-scale paper sculptures that create shifting visual effects with patterns & folds.

Next time I hear someone whinge about how hard it is to design a good-looking workspace on a budget, I’ll personally bitch-slap them across the face, tell them to stop talking shit and instantly point them towards this post. This is a promise. People, can we all please agree right now that workspaces don’t need to be ugly, predictable, corporate or boring as bat-shit? I hope we can stop producing boring or try-hard office interiors from now on. Can we please do that? Ok, that probably won’t happen any time soon, but in the meantime let’s take a look at this little gem – Joint Café & Workspace in Bangkok, Thailand designed by a local design practice 56thStudio.

Bec Brittain is a Brooklyn-based lighting designer who draws upon a varied professional and educational background of architecture, philosophy, and product design. Brittain studied industrial design at Parsons, earned a BA in philosophy from New York University, followed by an architecture degree from The Architectural Association in London. Her work experience is as varied as her education. Brittain was a Lead Designer at an architecture firm, later shifting focus to design luxury door hardware. She is currently Design Director at Lindsey Adelman Studio while also building her own practice in product design.

Colombo and Serboli Architecture have transformed a neglected and previously poorly planned interior into an attractive holiday home. The apartment is located on the sixth floor of an art nouveau building in Barcelona, Spain. The space had to be completely replanned and all existing partition were demolished. Faced with a tight budget, clever solutions were required to create an attractive, contemporary holiday atmosphere.