Accordian kitchen island expands to meet needs, then collapses

Accordion style kitchen expands to meet needs, then collapses when not needed

I think this piece speaks loads for itself, but I’ll give you a bit of background anyway. This was an entry by Olga Kalugina at the International Design Award 2009 called “Accordion” (of course!). Not only does it expand and contract to meet your individual needs, but it also provides extra storage space.

Accordion style kitchen expands to meet needs, then collapses when not needed

Unfortunately, it’s not an actual purchasable piece. It’s just an idea that was pitched. Can you imagine how great this would be to expand when you’re cooking, clean it up, and push it back together to open up an area when you’re not using?

Accordion style kitchen expands to meet needs, then collapses when not needed

The original source I had for this no longer has it up, so I don’t even have something to link to for you. You’ll just have to drool over its amazingness from here.

Panda, panda, panda – Adorable panda bread

I actually find the end uncooked result just as adorable as the cooked panda bread. This has been sitting in my tabs since July because I figured I’d attempt to make my own horrible mess with it before I posted about their beautiful creation, but no such luck yet. Follow the link…and then some more links if you’re really curious….for the recipe and more pictures of other people’s pandas.

Pudding-textured ice cream – Ice cream that doesn’t melt!

I know this is old news, but maybe some of you actually got to try it out while it was available (until July 28). It’s an interesting concept: Ice cream that turns into pudding at room temperature. Jell-O and Cold Stone created this for the summer of 2009, and although it was kept cold in store, of course, I’m sure plenty of people waited until at least some of their dish was room temperature, just to try out the pudding effect. I wonder if they’ll bring it back next year.