There are plenty of people guilty of winging it at work, but Reestore's Deborah desk, made from a plane's wing, gives you the perfect excuse to do just that. Made of aluminum, on stainless steel legs, the retro-style desk is topped with a slab of heavy-duty glass to stop your computer and other stuff from slipping off the aerodynamic surface.

The Deborah is one of a number of furnishings and accessories that have been cleverly transformed from abandoned objects by Reestore's designers. Other products include a shopping trolley repurposed as a chair (the Annie) and an illuminated coffee table made from a washing machine drum (the Silvana).

At around $3,000, the wing desk is a whole lot more expensive than Ikea, but at least you'll be flying the flag for eco design.

Photo: Courtesy of Reestore.com

Little-known fact: The term "Stockholm Syndrome" (referring to the psychological phenomenon in which captives feel sympathy for their captors) dates from a 1974 bank heist at Stockholm's Kreditbanken. But since there's no such thing as bad publicity&Welcome to Nobis, a design hotel opening December 1 in the former Kreditbanken building. The bank vault where it all went down? Well, that's the hotel's Acne flagship store now.

The dramatic transformation from crime scene to cool scene didn't stop there, of course. The 19th-century building is an imposing presence at the center of the city's business, shopping, and entertainment neighborhood, but inside, things take a softer, contemporary turn, with natural materials (wool, wood, stone, leather, and glass) used throughout the 201 high-ceilinged rooms. The light and airy feel is most apparent in the cathedral-like atrium topped with a modern fresco, pictured above.

Book a room now for 15 percent off the opening rate: Now that's a steal.

Photo: Courtesy of Design Hotels"

 

If your carbon footprint is keeping you awake at night, we've found just the thing you need: a cool bag made of recycled luxury-hotel bed linen.

This new British eco enterprise, called Sleeping Bags, encourages you to ditch plastic in favor of durable totes sporting original artwork by top London-based designers (including Avsh Alom Gur and Oonagh O'Hagan) as well as emerging artists. The designs will be based on an overall concept--The Secret World of Beds--and two new bags are to be released twice a year. The first set, on the theme "In My Dreams," includes Vicki Murdoch's bird bag, above.

Go on, bag one and sleep easy.

Sleeping Bags, £30/$48, available from Lost Values 

Photo: Vicki Murdoch, In My Dreams for Sleeping Bags