The WoodenWood Project explores what can be created when unused wood waste and robotic printing come together. With millions of tons of wood waste created annually, it’s a case study and proof of circular solutions for wood products and processes. Developed by architect Avraham Cohen, Yuval Berger, Alon Nisan, Yoav Dabas, and D.DLAB director architect Shany Barath, the project incorporates traditional modular woodworking with robotic printing that uses an all-natural wood paste to create prototypes of seating elements. In this case, a low-slung chair and a counter height stool.

Although there’s so much potential for reuse, renewal, and biodegradability, today’s wood chain is far from circular. The hope of the WoodenWood Project is to create a continuous lifecycle for the material by introducing a fresh approach to designing with waste materials that combines traditional and advanced fabrication methods to reach zero waste design.

The wood paste used for printing is derived from Daika, sawdust with cellulose-based natural binders to enable 100% biodegradability. A parametric model and manufacturing workflow were developed to correlate between the chair geometry, robotic toolpath, and material properties. The results are examined in relation to strength, elongation, visual expression, and geometrical compatibility to customize human comfort.

Using this process, there are a lot of possibilities to create a unique chair within mass production workflow. While the solid raw wood supports the structure of the chair, the printed sawdust completes the woven back and seat. The printing toolpath creates a new wood textile that resembles a rattan texture while using sawdust. The raw wood structure serves as the mold for the printing process, avoiding additional waste by-products.

The WoodenWood Project was exhibited in Milan Design Week 2023, earning a mention as one of 12 projects in the sustainability category by Fuorisalone. Furthermore, the Design Educates Awards 2023 jury selected the project for a gold prize in universal design, and the team as the emerging designers of the competition.

To learn more about the WoodenWood Project, visit ddlab.net.technion.ac.il.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

If the eyes are considered the windows into our soul, could the front door of our homes be considered the residential equivalent from which one can divulge the spirit of the household past its threshold? That may be a bit of a stretch, but noting painting the front door a rich or even bold color has become commonplace, why not upgrade door hardware beyond the primarily conservative metallic and monochromatic options normally guarding our doors too? This chromaphile perspective is what makes the Yale Assure Lock 2 a maximalist exception.

Outlined across its key-free touchscreen face with a bold border of 18-1750 Viva Magenta, aka Pantone’s Color of the Year 2023, the Yale x Pantone Assure Lock 2 Limited Edition is the antithesis of traditional front door security. Beyond the colorful embellishment the Assure Lock 2 offers the same deadbolt features as its standard Black Suede, Nickel, or Bronze options: smart Bluetooth lock/unlock connectivity, auto-unlocking using a smartphone or Apple Watch, Apple Homekit support, biometric verification, two-factor authentication, and access options in the instance you’ve lost your phone. The fully wi-fi edition allows locking and unlocking from mobile devices, alongside the option for real-time notifications even while away from home (a great feature for parents).

The temperature of residential design has veered toward more colorful, if not fully maximalist, in details. It seems a glaring missed opportunity for Yale to offer a matching door handle set sharing the same Pantone hued detailing to complete the vibrant front door flair.

Assure Lock 2 allows users to control and monitor their front door right from their smartphone using the Yale Access app or directly through the lock’s keypad, providing seamless and convenient access for household members and their guests.

The Assure Lock family of smart locks is offered in various sizes and finishes, with the Yale x Pantone Assure Lock 2 Limited Edition most notably the most conspicuous.

The limited edition Yale Assure Lock 2 Limited Edition in PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta is available as a touchscreen, key-free model with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth onboard for $259.99 over at ShopYaleHome.com while supplies last.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

If you haven’t heard the news, MENU has united with The Audo and by Lassen to form Audo Copenhagen, a brand bringing together a century of Danish design tradition and collaborative spirit. With an outlook that’s continuously evolving, the furniture, lighting, and accessories brand focuses on purposeful details, high-quality materials, and everyday needs. The timely garden collection reflects classic minimalism, clean lines, earth tones, and natural materials that are adaptable for residential and commercial use. Let’s dig in – pun intended.

Pallarès x Audo Copenhagen Garden Tools

Five hand-forged, carbon steel gardening tools are the result of a collaboration with renowned Spanish toolmakers, Pallarès. The brand brings their longstanding expertise to the designs of a trowel, fork, hoe, shears, and pruners that are ready to take on weeding, planting, raking, and pruning with ease. Lightweight and ergonomic, the set features excellent strength and sharpness, and each tool is rust repellent with a beechwood handle and vegetable-tanned leather straps.

Pallares Plant Set

Pallares Plant Pruner

Plantas Planters

Plantas Planters

Irregular curves and a textured surface characterize the Plantas Planters, which are made from matte ivory stoneware. Each one is finished by hand, making it entirely unique. The Plantas Planter comes in four sizes and is made for indoor use, but can be used outdoors using the included guidelines.

Plantas Planter

Plantas Planters

Plantas Planters + Hydrous Watering Stick

Daiza Planters

The Daiza Planter

The design of the Daiza Planter is centered about the belief that everyday objects should add to their space. A powder-coated metal stand cradles a large, glossy, reactive glazed earthenware pot that gives off the feel of an ancient vessel. Subtle changes in form, surface finishes, and firing temperature make each planter entirely unique. Available in four sizes of varying heights, the Daiza Planter is made for indoor use, but can be used outside when proper care instructions are followed.

Daiza Planter

Daiza Planter

Hana Vases

Hana Vase

The Hana Vase found its inspiration in the ancient Japanese art of ikebana flower arranging. Designed in Copenhagen by Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, it’s a multifunctional vessel that’s available in three forms of stoneware, each with its own unique color and finish. A removable ceramic flower frog – or kenzan – sits inside the vase, holding stems in place vertically and horizontally to create the art’s principles of balance, harmony, and movement.

Hana Vase

Hana Vase

Hana Vase

Hydrous Planter

The Hydrous Collection

Consisting of four elegant pieces, the Hydrous Collection is a must-have for plant care. A brushed stainless steel watering can with Anacacia wood handle, watering sticks, plant mister, and easy to water planters will help your plants thrive and look great doing it.

Hydrous Planter + Hydrous Watering Can

Hydrous Planters + Hydrous Watering Can

Meira Oil Lanterns

Meira Oil Lantern

Inspired by the earliest torches, the Meira Oil Lantern was designed by Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen and is offered in four shapes of varying heights. The powder-coated steel design features a refillable oil chamber, a rust resistant finish, and wick lid to protect the lantern from the elements when not in use. Clean burning and mood-setting, Meira creates an ideal ambiance.

Meira Oil Lanterns

To learn more about Audo Copenhagen’s garden collection, visit us.audocph.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Nestled in the picturesque location of Kamshet, Maharashtra, India, the mesmerizing House by the Lake (HBTL) invites visitors to enjoy views and to reconnect with nature. Designed by architecture and interior design firm, kaviar.collaborative, this vacation home embraces a seamless integration of architecture and nature, centered around a series of spaces with direct views of the lake and surrounding natural environment.

At just over 10,000 square feet, the villa is large in size but designed with deliberate architectural choices. The front facade is designed to conceal the visitor’s view of the lake upon arrival, granting only small peeks of the water on the other side. However, once inside, you are immediately captivated by the views of the lake and the green landscape that surrounds it. Each of the villa’s six bedrooms, along with the living, dining, and recreational spaces, open directly onto the sprawling lawn or to decks that overlook the picturesque lake. With full-height openings spanning an impressive 10 meters, the boundaries between the house and the lake blur, creating a seamless connection and a truly immersive experience.

Just a few steps outside is an elongated swimming pool with a blue mosaic tile pattern that rivals the blue skies.

A key design element that enhances the homeowner’s connection with nature is the sloping ceiling design, which gradually guides their vision towards the water.

The home’s interior boasts a muted palette of earthy colors to ensure that the lake and the surrounding nature remain the focal point. Shades of grey, beige, white, and black adorn the house, replacing glossy marble surfaces with textures of kota, local stone, concrete, and wood. These tactile elements provide a sense of closeness to the outside world, emphasizing the harmony between the interior and the exterior.

The home’s library is just above the living room on an elevated wooden platform. A black net is suspended offering a playful spot to enjoy the house and views from a different perspective.

Stone walls flank the central glass structure, extending outside to frame the views, as well as the floating wood staircase.

Photography by Suryan//Dang – Saurabh Suryan and Lokesh Dang.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

When I happened upon SLAS Architects’ Activity Zone in Chorzów, I wondered whether this was yet another fanciful project conjured by AI using Midjourney prompts for “create an urban park with activities divided into geometric and colorful shapes.” I came to realize the section of Chorzów City in Poland was once dedicated to military activity (thus the “activity zone” moniker) that has been transformed into a colorful construct of concrete, landscaping, and a myriad of recreational features accessible to all ages, the disabled, and everyone within the surrounding community. It’s like a playful cousin to Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario sculpture garden, especially when viewed from overhead, and now I’m obsessed with visiting it IRL one day.

I still get all the feels when I see a brand new green grid cutting mat. Numerous thick self-healing mats followed me from high school through college, used daily with an X-Acto blade in hand while cutting frisket film for airbrushing, collaging, or assembling product model mock-ups. Those mats followed me well into my career as an art director before everything went fully digital. While I still have and use two, currently stored to the left of me under my desk, I don’t rely upon them like I once did while working as a book, packaging, or toy designer. Yet I’d still welcome the opportunity to tread upon the buoyant fond memories of those days donning these socks designed by Nik Bentel for Boolean Brands (fans of Sakura Micron pens should also check out their Pen Hat). Green and grids are forever.

Of all the brands I’ve tried, I often recommend Rose to the cannabis curious friends who want to feel a touch of “oh, that’s nice” without the desire to fly too high, sort of like the cannabis equivalent of a glass of rosé. The brand distinguishes itself from other cannabis purveyors with an ingredient-driven approach to their CBD-only and THC-infused offerings, and their team regularly collaborates with distinguished California chefs and farmers to produce enticing flavored delights infused with ingredients. Think Nashi pear and gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes), tangelos with fresh chrysanthemum greens and a honey-sweetened Hallabong vinegar, or Gravenstein apple cider with ume plum syrup. That said, if you like your plant material in flower form, their new 1/8 ounce box and glass jar packaging is a truly gift-worthy effort, with a captivating organic-sculptural adorned box that might convince the recipient a luxury skincare product is contained within.

There’s a bit of the impossible made possible communicated in the works of Kyoto-based artist, Toru Kurokawa. When I imagine theoretical astronomers and physicists postulating the possibility of folding time and space, I imagine those abstractions similarly to the tense, complex, and seemingly alive sculptural forms formed by Kurokawa. Other works seem like the remnants of the interior of seashells, the intricacy of diatoms blown up to scale, or the latticework of fungi. His Instagram profile bio says it all: “Art is Physics.”

There’s a funny thing about living in Southern California’s Mediterranean climate during the summer. While it can get blistering hot during the day, once the sun sets, the temperature can take a considerable, double-digit dip. While a propane powered heat lamp does the job, they’re fugly (I know, because I have one I bought during lockdown when we weren’t going anywhere beyond the confines of our backyard). Which is why I’m holding out hopes of adding one of these propane tank fire tables in time to safely and stylishly add an element of warm illumination that can do double duty as a table. The sculptural rounded design and inclusions of lava rocks will be a natural fit for our mid-century era abode.

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Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Originally designed in 1958 by Finnish interior architect Olof Ottelin, the distinctive Jumbo lounge chair has been reissued by Fasetti. Released as a “backrest chair” and named after Ottelin’s eldest son – well, his nickname – it was a trendy addition to open fireplaces and low brick terraced homes of the time. The updated Jumbo lounge chair respects the designer’s choices of materials and colors, while subtly adapting them to contemporary standards. The seat height has been raised, while maintaining the proportions of the original chair, and redwood has been replaced by native birch.

Jumbo’s frame is made up of curved wooden sections that lead into the legs of the chair. Fasetti’s craftsmen chose pine for the wood-toned version, honoring Ottelin’s extensive pine furniture production and his love of traditional leisure home furnishings.

“Olof Ottelin’s design combines many aspects that we value, like an understanding of carpentry and refined detailing and functionality,” shared Fasetti craftsman, Esa Niiranen. “The addition of Jumbo to the new production is a logical extension of our series of domestic design treasures ranging from the 1940s to the 1970s.”

The Jumbo lounge chair’s frame is available in natural pine, opaque red, dove gray, or charcoal black. Upholstery options include Makalu, a soft Lauritzon’s teddy fabric in pine, Hallingdal, a Kvadrat classic wool fabric in red, and Coda, a soft three-dimensional, two-tone woven fabric by Kvadrat in dove gray and black. All versions feature armrests in vegetable-tanned and un-dyed Sörensen leather.

To learn more about the Jumbo lounge chair, visit gestaltnewyork.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Driving conditions were far from ideal across sections of the Route Napoléon last month. The normally achingly bucolic stretch of winding backroads commencing from the glistening coastline of the Côte d’Azur  retracing the footsteps of the French Emperor’s 1815 flight from Elba to Grenoble was being rudely doused across sections of the carefully curated route plotted to acquaint us with the most recent iteration of an automotive icon with few peers. Downspouts of rain descended from the mountainside at times with such severity it seemed like I was driving through a carwash (albeit at speeds no carwash would ever permit) rather than the storied route often considered one of the best drives across France. But behind the wheel of the newly unveiled Aston Martin DB12, the trying conditions seemed to play out as an opportunity rather than any real reason for concern.

A confident expression of British engineering and styling celebrated as the “the world’s first super tourer,” Aston’s latest version wearing the iconic DB moniker is a glorious head turner – the sort of vehicle that elicits envy without the baggage of judgment that sometimes comes keychained to a vehicle priced securely in the six figure category (perhaps a pass attributed to its historical association with the world’s famous actor of espionage). While appreciatively dashing in all of its various hues, garbed in a lustrous hue of green – Iridescent Emerald – the vehicle mesmerizes like a shimmering river rock just plucked from the water, before drawing a studied appreciation of its entire taut musculature expressed at every angle.

Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Gregory Han

The vehicle’s wide haunched stance borrows heavily from its predecessor, the DB11, with most of the notable changes found under the hood (a new 671 horsepower twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8) or behind the GT’s low slung doors. But according to Aston Martin director of design Miles Nurnberger, the sum of the DB12’s exterior changes – the enlarged grille, the addition of matrix-LED headlights, an even more pronounced hindquarter, and wider stance – result in a distinct culmination of 75 years of the DB heritage. The width of the car seems especially pronounced, instilling a degree of confidence this car should have gravity’s aid in keeping it stuck onto the road as intended.

Photo: Gregory Han

Aston Martin director of design Miles Nurnberger presenting before our drive about the brand’s intent to deliver a vehicle satisfyingly luxurious while also more than capable of aggressive performance. Photo: Gregory Han

Those 21-inch tires are impressive at a standstill, but even more whilst driving, thanks to the noise-canceling foam lining inside the new Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tires developed specifically to deliver confident grip while hushing the hum of tire noise by 20 percent. Photo: Gregory Han

Aston Martin reports the DB12 can burst from a standstill to 60mph in just 3.6 seconds, 0.4 second faster than the DB11. We can attest the power is always ready at beck and call, supposedly available to whip heads back into seats at a top speed of 202 mph for those capable and daring enough to summon the V8’s full guttural might. Noting the aforementioned rain conditions, we never quite threatened that degree of sustained speed, but we did push the car enough to acquaint ourselves with the DB12’s four drive modes, most appreciatively the vehicle’s Wet setting. The drive mode may have politely corrected for a passing moment of overly aggressive steering at one point as this driver cascaded out from a sweeping turn.

Whether considered evolutionary or revolutionary, the resulting silhouette is a convincing welterweight fighter in tailored suit, complete with a brand new tie: a new winged Aston Martin badge.

Outside the brief escapade, the super tourer’s electronic stability control system proved unobtrusive to the thrill of driving through French switchbacks and on straightaways past peloton racers at speeds in wet, dry, or in-between conditions.

Much was made about the DB12’s redesigned interior, one expressed in a thoughtful layout of physical buttons and switches complementing a pair of digital screens, all encompassed with a lavish amount of stitched leather that gave the impression of sitting in the loose grip of an oversized catcher’s mitt – albeit the most luxuriously appointed mitt you might imagine.

For purists perhaps any addition of even a single screen is one too many, but Aston Martin’s interior team has tread lightly to update the interior to modern standards while retaining a pleasing degree of the tactile dedicated to adjusting temperature, volume, and other creature comforts, alongside access to drive modes. The intuitive layout reduces the chances of risking injury via split-second touchscreen menu windowshopping that a fully touchscreen infotainment system tempts. And we could imagine in a matter of days muscle memory would kick in if you are fortunate (and fortuned) enough to call a DB12 your daily driver.

Both the 10.25” TFT Touch Screen Central Display and the complementing 10.25” TFT driver information display Aston Martin have added into the DB12 are approvingly bright and colorful, with clear and concise graphics realized at 1970×720 resolution. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are thankfully both supported, and the GT’s 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system won’t leave you wanting when desiring an enlivening soundtrack en route.

The only qualms noted during our daytrip with the DB12 were attached to the preproduction vehicle’s definitely work-in-progress navigation system; the map routing had a highly suspect tendency to want to redirect several of us into greener pastures and admittedly picturesque dirt roads leading to parts unknown. Aston Martin assuaged concerns with promises the built-in navigation system was already planned to see several more updates before being released into the wild.

Before releasing us onto the road the morning of our drive, Aston Martin reps would spend a good amount of time to emphasize how the DB12 is intended to inhabit and rule the pinnacle between ultimate luxury and exhilarating performance. Behind the wheel of the new DB12 for an entire day, we concur it does a memorably fine job in delivering on both accounts, and everywhere in-between, making it a model deserving of the newly refreshed Aston Martin badge celebrating the brand’s 110th anniversary alongside 75 years of the iconic DB model line. Or as Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin notes, “a new category of performance-design driving experience.”

Disclaimer: Travel and accommodations were provided by Aston Martin for this review.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Designer Mateusz Jóźwiak, of Photon Studio, became his own client when designing the Box in the Box Apartment for himself and partner in Poznań, Poland. The finished apartment showcases a perfect blend of spaciousness, functionality, and natural materials, all centered around a clever, light-colored birch plywood structure.

From the start of the project, Jóźwiak’s vision was to create a utilitarian yet visually striking space that began by removing most of the original walls. Light-colored birch plywood now forms individual rooms and brings the “box in a box” concept to life. Cleverly hidden storage cabinets leave the bedroom and office area uncluttered, helping to exude the feeling of spaciousness and tranquility.

The open living room benefits from the box with peg shelves that display their books, and lower cabinets that hold their electronic devices. In contrast, the private area of the apartment is housed within the monolithic and inverted structure for privacy.

The combined dining area and living room, with its understated elegance, features a round wooden table and chairs that create an inviting place to dine, while a comfortable sofa encourages relaxation. A reinforced concrete ceiling, holding up black track lighting, mirrors the polished concrete floors for a touch of an industrial modern aesthetic.

A mostly subdued and monochromatic palette, from sand greys in the concrete to the natural tones of the wood, infuse a timeless feel. The occasional burst of color shows up in the accessories, books, and plants.

Designer Mateusz Jóźwiak

Photography by Hanna Połczyńska Kroniki Studio.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

“Each design is built for those not just interested in how things look, but how they work, wear, and feel every day that you live with it,” said Todd Hewitt, founder and designer, Last Ditch Design, of the brand’s debut collection. After years spent working behind the scenes in design, engineering, production, and operations for luxury brands such as Henrybuilt and Lawson-Fenning, Hewitt is proud to launch this collection. He’s designed, engineered, and fabricated each piece himself, thanks to a boatload of knowledge earned over more than 27 years in the furniture design and production industries.

Bringing together the trifecta of mid-century, Scandinavian, and contemporary design, the collection features tailor-made products that go above trends to stand the test of time through exquisite craftsmanship carried out at Last Ditch Design’s Los Angeles workshop. Functionality, clean lines, sculpted forms are seamlessly blended using traditional hand-craftsmanship.

The collection features beds, seating, storage options, tables, desks, and mirrors that incorporate mixed materials and textures, all with the flexibility to suit individual project needs. These warm designs have a simplistic, natural beauty that’s ideal for use in luxury commercial, hospitality, and residential design.

Hewitt is also conscious of the brand’s relationship with lumber and the forests that provide it, using only FSC certified wood that’s sourced responsibly and sustainably. Each product is made with the lowest minimum tolerances for waste, with an ongoing search for new ways to reduce further still and dispose of unavoidable waste responsibly.

Last Ditch Design has partnered with One Tree Planted to reduce the carbon footprint and plant more trees. When you place an order, 25 trees will be planted in your name and in the location of your choice.

Todd Hewitt

To learn more about Last Ditch Design’s new collection, visit lastditchdesign.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

There are certain elements of a home we often have to resign to sacrifice in regards to aesthetics in exchange for the services and conveniences they provide: hot water heaters, water softening/filtration systems, sprinkler systems, and solar panels to name a few. That last category dedicated to providing energy powered by sunlight has grown into a robust industry catering to homeowners looking to ease growing energy costs, with supplemental battery storage systems shaping to be a necessary component of the home energy equation.

But as anyone researching residential energy storage systems quickly discovers, most battery systems are more desirable hidden away from view. Because nothing says eyesore more than big blocks of batteries with visible cables and wires required to connect the system to the energy pathways of your home. Lunar Energy’s Head of Design Matt Jones set out to find a way to balance functionality and aesthetics in a category within residential emphasizing the former rather than the latter.

Because Lunar’s hardware is intended to sit outside and be exposed to the elements, changes in humidity, not to mention curious wildlife outside the home for 20+ years, the company identified an opportunity to set themselves apart in a way that would naturally appeal to homeowners. In a video dedicated to the design of the system, both Jones and Lunar’s Mechanical Engineering Manager Erica Lewis emphasize decisions such as specifying higher grade aluminum, choosing aesthetic contemporary colors, and designing an exterior catering to a simplified and compact presence will all help adoption rate since it allows customers to better determine where they want to install a traditionally physical imposing presence.

The system is designed as a modular unit system, which means you can start with just enough for power outages, and in time add more battery capacity as needs/requirements grow. The Lunar System’s modular design allows for 10kWh to 30kWh of capacity in a single unit, with pouch cells of Nickel Manganese Cobalt allowing for increments of 5kWh between.

Lunar Energy is making a clear stab at stealing away potential Tesla Powerwall customers with their own battery storage system created with a design closer to a large home appliance rather than a residential infrastructure component you’d want to hide away. Pair that with their user-friendly smart home app integration for controlling and monitoring power storage+consumption, and the daunting responsibility of managing electricity at home seems as simplified as any other smart home app.

Lunar System owners can set their home power consumption to draw entirely from the battery for a specified time rather than the grid.

Lunar’s attention to design extends even into its non-visible internals. The system was designed in relation to the 95th percentile of male hand sizes to ensure internal components are easily manageable for electricians, a demographic represented by the larger handed. Lunar Energy’s efforts earned the company an iF Design Award 2023 award.

As a new homeowner scheduled to install a solar system this autumn, my own interest about residential energy storage has grown from mere curiosity to longterm hope of adding such a simplified, automated – and aesthetic – solution delivering energy resiliency in a future shaping to be defined by rising costs and energy instability. Time will tell if Lunar Energy becomes a viable player or defining standard of good design in service of software-forward home power as the new landscape of Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0) implores more homeowners to invest in energy storage to supplement the grid.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.