The 10 Best Designs of the Year

Bang and Olufsen BeoSound 5
When it comes to media servers, they have to offer two things your computer doesn't: a great interface and a great look. The BeoSound 5 delivers both, handily.

Whether it's sitting on a coffee table, on a stand or even on the wall, the 10-inch screen and aluminum scroll wheel instantly draw the eye. The "laser pointer" and speedily spinning album art keep it.

Selecting the music turns out to be almost as fun as listening to it. Full review here.

Waterfall Audio Niagara
Audiophiles often say they want their equipment to be transparent.

Waterfall takes this to a literal level with an entire line of speakers actually made of glass.

It's so rare to see a speaker design that is so different, so eye catching. Photos don't do them justice.

They are elegant and beautiful, and you haven't even heard them yet. Writeup here.

DDC Elevenfive
There's a stark beauty in DDC's entertainment center. The shelving and cabinets blend supportlessly with the back panel, all of which seem to float. Designed and built in Italy (no surprise there), the Elevenfive can be customized completely, from the number of shelves to the number of cabinets, to their size, position and finish.

And if white's not your thing, you can get it in gray, red, green, yellow, orange, anthracite and anodized aluminum.

All with a look that is both European and decidedly futuristic. Writeup here.

Ligne Roset Confluences
Think of them as LEGO sofas. The Confluences fit together like adorable, spooning stuffed animals.

Each piece tucks in or around other pieces, so you get a flowing mix of colors (if that's the look you're going for) or a monochromatic series of curvy lines.

Available in as many colors and shapes as your imagination can think of, the Confluences offer a way to create your own colorful neuvo-art piece in your living room, and then sit on it. Writeup here.

Viva Solista MkII
Amplifiers, for the most part, are rectangles. Seventeen inches wide, a few tall and black. Maybe silver. If you're lucky, they might have some glowy bits.

Leave it to the Italians to add some style. Swoopy curves and big glowing tubes are a drastic departure from regular amp design.

Hand-crafted in northern Italy, an area that knows a thing or two about designing cool looking stuff, the Solista MkII brings amplification out of the rack and puts it proudly front and center. Full review here.

Samsung 8000 Series
TVs are rarely attractive. Sure, the pictures they create are, but the TVs themselves are nearly always basic boring boxes. Of course the 8000 series is amazingly thin, but that's not the only reason why it's simply gorgeous. The double-injection molded bezel, with a subtle gradation from gray to clear, is as beautiful as it is a wonderful aesthetic overkill for something as "ordinary" as a TV. This is what a flat panel is supposed to look like, as beautiful off as it is on.

Oh, and it's a great performing, energy-efficient TV too. Full review here.

Steinway Lyngdorf Model C Music System
They did not sacrifice a piano to make these speakers, though you wouldn't know it by looking at them. Sporting a glossy black lacquer that calls to mind that other Steinway product, the Model Cs exude class and style.

The digitally amplified di-pole speakers radiate sound from both sides of the thin, ridged frame.

So while you're not playing the Rach 3, you can at least be playing rock, with style. Writeup here.

Thomas Labusga Sonic Diffuser
When one thinks of "acoustic treatment," even the most optimistic think of eyesores that make a room sound fantastic, but are best viewed with the lights off or your eyes closed.

The Sonic Diffuser could be confused with a work of art. Its rolls and folds tuck and curve while diffusing the sound that hits it at all angles.

The result: a better-sounding and a better-looking room. Writeup here.

Troy Adams Design HiddenScreen Media Cabinet
Countless products can hide that cool new flat screen that you didn't tell your spouse you bought: mirrors, tapestries, works of art, even a lift to hide it under your bed.

But the HiddenScreen goes one better, offering a chic, asymmetrical, two-tone look custom made with any color and exotic wood combination you choose.

One side even houses your Blu-rays and CDs on illuminated shelving. Writeup here.

Bass Industries Bzoo
It's not a bean bag chair. OK, maybe it wants to be a bean bag chair, but it is decidedly more "grown up" and stylish.

Evoking that ultimate in comfort from our youth—try sitting in one now—the Bzoo keeps the form but adds in the function of an actual back to lean against and a sculpted look that just says "cool." Writeup here.

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