Who knew birds were religious? The Holy Homes designed  by Fredrik Roijé for Tuttobene, are tranquil birdhouses made of fine porcelain that resemble quiet houses of worship. You can choose between a christian church or a Muslim mosque to provide respite for your fine feathered friends. We bet these Holy Homes have one hell of a choir.

Check out the mosque.

There is no mistaking these deranged trolls for a boring old Chia pet! The Rocker Trolls from online store Perpetual Kid sport grassy Mohawks and bad atitudes. Each are named for their offensive behavior but in case you forget, their names are tattooed on their little behinds! They even come with a hat or acorn leaf to cover their heads between growth spurts.

We’re digging this design concept by Tokyo based designer Ross McBride. His Grooveware, which was submitted to the online store Generate, gives your utensils a cozy resting place. We really like the ashtray with it’s matchbox placeholder. The Pipeline encourages designers to submit their concepts for new product designs and if chosen Generate will produce and sell them. A fantastic opportunity for young designers. Have a product idea you would like to submit? Click here to register and submit your design.

After our post on this chandelier, we hesitated posting this doorknob by British artist James R Ford. People might begin to think we are the go-to blog for “member” products.However, we pride ourselves on not being prudish here at MUL and we try to post what we find interesting regardless if some might find it offensive. So we decided the Door Appendage X gets it’s 15 minutes of MUL fame! Again we have to wonder who would have the cojones (no pun intended) to actually own one of these handles? The description on the Kith Kin website where this product can be found gives a long spiel on the loss of innocence and nostalgic pubs-blah, blah,blah but c’mon guys…it’s a wiener!

Whether or not decanters can improve the taste of wine is controversial amongst wine experts however none can debate the aesthetic value of presenting wine in an elegantly designed vessel. Most carafes have a bulbous bottom and a slender top but French artist Etienne Menueau’s Strange Decanters challenge that notion taking inspiration from the roots of the grape vine. Some of the decanters look as if they just sprouted legs and are about to run away, while other’s resemble a model of the circulatory system.

Interesting, since wine is often allegorically associated with blood.

Designed by Hans Bleken Rud for Norwegian company Northern Lighting, this large pendant lamp looks like an exploding incandescent bulb but it’s not. Rather, the Scheisse pendant lamp is a tribute to the one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. Environmental concerns have made the old stand by ineffective and quite soon unprocurable. So as a final salute to the bulb’s warm tones and good color reflection, Mr. Rud  thought it only fitting the bulb go out with a bang.

Remember the paint-by-number kits you used to do as a kid? A little watercolor and the ability to stay within the lines and you were miraculously transformed into a pre-teen Pablo Picasso. Designer Jenny Wilkinson applies the same concept to her Wallpaper-By-Numbers. The interactive wallpaper can be colored or painted to reflect the owners personal taste. Color in as little or as much as you want. The paper is hung like ordinary wallpaper and comes with it’s own set of coloring suggestions. However, we think  you should toss those out straight away and let creativity be your guide!

Keep the kids entertained on a rainy day. Let them paint on the walls!

 If The King weren’t munchin’ on fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches up on that big stage in the sky, he’d probably be holding court on this bad boy. The Throne melds classic furniture design with urban street art to create a hard edged chair fit for rock-n-roll royalty. The rolled steel piece features customizable graffiti by NYC street artist BLKINK and hand-tooled leather pads. We’re sure The King would have rather been sitting on this throne rather than the one he was reportedly on when he made his final exit. Thank you, thank you very much.

While perusing greenUPGRADER  today we found this super colorful ottoman by DWR. It’s unique, fun and would you believe made out of recycled flip-flops?! The Miss Rio Ottoman designed by Karin Wittman uses industrial leftovers from flip-flop factories (try saying that 10 times) to make this fanciful footrest. The design is manufactured by social organizations that provide work for unemployed craftspeople from local communities. Keeping production local instead of using cheap foreign labor. It’s as durable as the flip flops you may be wearing, making it waterproof, perfect for use outdoors on the deck.  We think it looks more like a flip-flop bean bag than an ottoman though. And why do they call it the Miss Rio? Perhaps it’s because it resembles a Brazilian carnivale.  One thing’s for sure, it’s hot, hot, hot!

Modern Urban Living’s editor Tracy Fay is featured as a guest blogger this week on Green Air. Check out her helpful hints for making composting in the city simple and rewarding. Read all about it here.