Awesome Living

Visual artist and BMXer Ooti Billeaud’s lifelong dream was to have a backyard BMX ramp. When he finally bought his first property, he made that dream come true. 5.5 years of hard work turned into this skinny New Orleans house with a large backyard ramp.

Expand Furniture’s Alzare is a coffee table that can easily be transformed into a dining table. It uses a hydraulic lift mechanism and wheels on its legs to adjust the table’s height and footprint. If you need more space, its surface can be unfolded to twice its size.

Instead of the separate heads of its wooden brethren, these tomahawks have carbon steel all the way through their handles, and glass-filled nylon grips. The Chogan has three cutting edges and a hammer back, while the Kangee is sharp on every edge and has a spiked back.

Like zippered bags, Zip Tops don’t need lids and are perfect for storing leftovers. Unlike zippered bags, Zip Tops are great for storing liquids. Made from silicone, they’re reusable, and can be put in the microwave, dishwasher, freezer, or even the oven up to 425ºF.

If you often use sandpaper, check out Izzy Swan’s guide to making a simple but clever sandpaper holder. On each shelf there’s a second plywood sheet that can be moved up and down, serving as a weight to hold the sandpaper. Get the plan for free here.

The Nopi multitool is the size of a key but is surprisingly versatile. You can use it as a box opener, a can opener, a scraper, a pry bar, a file, a hex bit driver, a hex wrench, a flathead screwdriver and a bottle opener.

Vacuum cleaner robots are great, but there are lots of places that they can’t reach. That’s where the Coral One comes in. It looks and works like a vacuum ‘bot, but its core can be detached and used as a Dustbuster-style handheld cleaner as well.

RM Sotheby’s is auctioning off a rare desk that’s covered with original Porsche 911 body panels. It was custom made by boutique furniture maker 3 GJB 17. The middle panel opens up to reveal the desktop, and drawers are found on either side.

Fiction Factory’s Wikkelhouse is a modular prefabricated house that uses cardboard and plywood as its main structural elements. Instead of rooms, the house comes in crosswise segments. Customers usually pick 4 or more segments for their house.

While the weight of a suitcase made from wood makes it a bit impractical, we still love the look of this beautiful piece of luggage that Ollari’s created from bent pieces of 8mm thick plywood. It always amazes us the kind of things you can do with just wood, glue, and some skill.

This military-spec flashlight offers a rugged nylon case, and is sealed for waterproof operation. Its head’s angle can be rotated 185º, and packs four light sources: IR, white, red, and blue LEDs. Its clip attaches to a belt loop or MOLLE, and can be mounted on either side.

The Teeny Turner is a stubby screwdriver meant for handling small screws, such as those found in multitools, phones, remote controls and eyeglasses. It comes with seven bits, six of which can be stored right in the handle.

Bike helmets are a necessity for keeping our noggins safe. But they’re not exactly stylish. Park & Diamond aims to change that with their baseball cap-inspired headgear. Not only does it look better, it rolls up to the size of a water bottle for packing without sacrificing safety.

Fenik’s Yuma is a cooler meant to store food and dairy products. You fill up its bladder with water, and it will absorb heat from the inside and direct it to the water, which gets turned into vapor. It can keep its contents 10ºF to 35ºF cooler than the ambient temperature.

The FrankOne is a small and portable coffeemaker that uses Vacuum Extraction Technology to force water through coffee grinds, reducing bitterness and enhancing flavor. It can make hot coffee in under a minute and cold brew coffee in just 4 minutes.

The Zenlight Lamp is a minimalist and versatile LED lamp. It has a wooden case with a touch-sensitive button for power and brightness. You can attach it to its stand and use it as a desk lamp, or use its adhesive and stick it to walls and other surfaces.

The Perfect Cut is a utility knife that comes with four minutely adjustable modules that let you cut sheet materials precisely and easily. There’s a 45º module, a 90º module, a variable angle module and a compass module for cutting circles.

From EDC specialist Slughaus comes the world’s smallest and lightest key organizer. The Micro lets you pack between 2 to 10 keys – more if you use an additional extender – along with a small multitool that has a bottle opener, flathead screwdriver and cutter.

We’re frankly astounded that the Proctor & Gamble owned Gillette is crowdfunding a product. But what they’re offering is intriguing. The Heated Razor warms up in just a second and stays evenly warm while you use it. It’s waterproof and has a magnetic charging stand.

Herman Miller’s chair for everyone. The Cosm is designed to provide instant comfort no matter your height and desired posture. It instantly provides support when you move and conforms to your body, no adjustments needed. Coming Fall 2018.

Bon Appétit pastry chef Claire Saffitz’s latest gourmet snack project was an attempt to replicate Twizzlers. She tried her best to avoid using processed ingredients, but it seems corn syrup is key in making the chewy candy. Here’s how real Twizzlers get made.

The Toler Union may not be the most compact of multitools, but it gives you several full-size tools and better leverage while still remaining pocketable. It has a self-adjusting wrench, a screwdriver with four bits onboard, a pair of pliers, a blade, two saws and a file.

Etsy shop AJ Wallpapers offers highly detailed wallpapers, floor murals, and more that have a convincing 3D effect. One of its products is this wallpaper featuring vintage speakers. It’s a great gift for audiophiles and music lovers. Available on stick-on vinyl or woven paper.