Categories
Furniture

ModRoomz offers a cubist approach to modular shelving

The Premise. The “build it yourself” stacker modification concept has been around for quite a while, and it’s certainly no stranger to the crowdfunding landscape. Still, products like these absolutely serve a purpose, especially for those who have  little space to work with in their homes.

The Product. ModRoomz basically works on the same principles as Legos and the pieces don’t look too dissimilar from the classic toy either. The difference here, however, is that these building blocks can be used to create practically any type of modular furniture, ranging from coffee tables to bunk beds. The cubes can be modified to create extra storage, allowing you to build drawers and cubbies to store away for your belongings, and the company offers add-ons such as shelves, drawers and cover doors. Curiously, the exact dimensions of the ModCubes is nowhere to be found.

The Pitch. Judging by the campaign video for its “magic in a cube,” ModRoomz appears to be exceptionally easy to use. Moving the cubes around and create your own custom type of furniture looks fun, and the narration-free video itself has a nice production value to it. ModRoomz doesn’t seem to be too concerned about not meeting its lofty $200,000 funding goal as the company already has a fairly complete Web site of its own to market its system.

The Perks. One challenge that the campaign may face is its rewards pricing. Early bird pricing packages offer five or 1o cubes at $50 per piece. After that, you’re in for a $2,500 configuration that takes the form of a crib or bed ModRoomz entrepreneurs Brad and Dani will hand-assemble the furniture, but you must live within 100 miles of their Boston location.

The Potential. Those who lack space and like the idea of adding their own touch to the furniture in their homes will likely enjoy this product. There are similar systems on the market such as the shelving systems from Foremost, Way Basics and The Living Cube; some of these offer more choices in the sizes of their components. Still, the snap-on construction and quality materials stand to be a differentiator and the price will surely drop once production ramps up.

Categories
Furniture

The MatrixSphere provides your own movable mancave

The Premise. Sometimes, we just want to get away from it all. Sometimes, we want to go far away, to experience distant lands, to perhaps make a spiritual journey as well as a physical one. And sometimes, argues Ryan Rammage of Aurora, CO, we would be content to sit in a circular, modern-day arcade cabinet in the middle of another room.

The Product. A little room-within-a-room, the audaciously named and potentially underlit MatrixSphere is its own self-contained space for reflection, work, gaming and whatever else you might want to do seated in your own private, stationery vessel. The size of an average round dining room table propped up on its side, it resembles a spaceship, or perhaps a time machine that can be decked out to while away the hours with your favorite game console, PC or language lab video.

The Pitch, The one-angle campaign shows a great deal of photos of the planning and design process, but offers little in terms of ideas about what it might be like to actually spend time inside of it; interior shots are relegated to photos around the campaign page that include many details of the MatrixSphere’s construction.

The Perks. If there’s one thing that makes the MatrixSphere more of a novelty item, though, it’s the price. Starting at $5,000 for a single unit, due to be delivered in March 2014. That price includes the privilege of seeing the personal fortress of solitude created although travel is on your own dime.

The Potential. For those who are looking for ways in which to take their home office to an entirely new level, the MatrixSphere might serve as a good purchase. But at its insanely high price, one could probably hire a carpenter to create something similar and more customized.