It's almost time for Design Showcase 2012, so to get you excited, we're doing a series of posts highlighting winning designs from past years. Here, the best of 2011.
2011 Design Showcase Winner (Reader's Choice): Block Desk and Quartet Chair by Shawn Sowers. Shawn, who says 'good is never having to buy the same thing twice', set out to create a collection of furniture that is the perfect balance of simplicity, familiarity, and goodness.
Read on for the judges' choice winner:
The Prop by Nicholas Pajerski & Justin Brouillette. The Prop is a well designed, affordable and portable laptop stand. Functionally, the Prop slightly lifts your laptop off any surface, creating better airflow and improved ergonomics. It disassembles quickly and can be stored compactly in your desk drawer or bag.
Submissions for this year's showcase are still open until September 14th! So if you have a design you'd like to share with the world, what are you waiting for? Fill out our submission form here.
Using Luxury Rooms to Keep Teens Home
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
Yuck: A Fourth Grader Reveals What School Lunches Really Look Like
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
Design Showcase 2011 was a great experience for Commonhouse. We got lots of exposure and followed through by debuting our Block Desk at ICFF 2012. It was great to go to our first show and have people comment that they'd already seen the desk on Apartment Therapy. Great experience for those of you interested in taking your idea or company to that next step.