apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

packaging material as decor objects? hmmm.

I'm assuming this is a joke?

slowly losing respect for the ideas on this site...

While I agree that some product's packages are better than others, if you over use this tip (more than 1 box), your home will start looking like a retail apple store.
I'm ok with the manual hack of converting the ipod nano's box into a dock but that's a different topic... i guess...

I had to check the calander again. Thought it had to be April 1st.

Hmmmm... it's a blast from the past, that being the late 19th/early 20th century, when manufacturers started using ornamental packaging because people kept the packages on the open shelving in their kitchens. People kept the tins once they were empty, as they made useful storage and were attractive.

I'm still choking on this idea, being absolutely conditioned that cardboard boxes are trash, though.

So you make your home a temple to consumerism, eh?

Ugh, between ideas like this and the ever-more-exclusive pimping of high-end wares, AT is losing its way.

I LOVE AT! Bring back the old, non-snobby, living-well-for-all AT!

Seriously?


That's pathetic.

I think that only works with packaging that is of real materials, like tin loose tea containers on a kitchen windowsill or old wood wine boxes repurposed to hold kindling.

But even there, I can't picture a display built around them. sorry

I wonder if the repurposing is part of what makes packaging-as-art work. There *is* something eerie about an empty box just... sitting there.

How many apartments have we seen on this site where the dweller has used foreign product packaging as decoration and it has been noted as charming and clever? If these boxes were from Brazil or Russia would they be given a pass? Personally I'm not fond of it, regardless of the language or design is on the box.

This cardboard boxes as home decor idea is fist ridiculous and then just sad. You would probably have to be extremely poor to resort to this or well, I can't imagine another reason why someone would do this. This is a joke right??? Yes that's it. This must be a joke.

Sorry. I meant to say "is first ridiculous"

There is something mischievously brilliant about this recycling/decorating approach. Were graduate students in need of dissertation topics to read this site, they'd find plenty to pursue with this particular proposal. That Apple products were selected for this "protoype" was an excellent choice. And that it precludes introducing knickknacks into one's environment is terrific as well.

when a real estate agent passed through my house suggesting tactics for selling my home her first bit of advice was to place Tiffany boxes about the house. and then of course to bake bread in the oven. and to plant underground a statute of st. joseph upside down. there you go.

I'm flabbergasted at the concern that this proposal is a monumnet to consumerism. Despite it's ethos (characteristic spirit of its culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations), what on earth does anyone think the AT web site is about anyway? Or at least we all do represent one phalanx of the consumerist impulse.

THIS IS A GREAT IDEA! And one I've been meaning to suggest for quite some time. See, I've been doing the exact same thing for YEARS. Except instead of using the would-be garbage of product packaging, I create charming bric-a-brac out of my old chicken bones. I love it - it really gives the place and old world charm, and on really hot days, fills the apartment with the aroma of chicken soup. Well, old chicken soup. But free is free, and beggars can't be choosers! Ha ha ha! I'm such a card!

Next week: Take a photo of yourself lighting a cigar (with a hundred, of course) while sitting on the hood of a parked Ferrari. Frame tastefully. Also, if you bought something expensive, like a plasma tv, but it's hidden in your bedroom where others won't see it, photocopy the receipt and use as wallpaper.

Now, please comment on how briliant I am.

Peter, now you've given me this horrible suspicion that Mike *is* a grad student, playing us to see how we react. If so, he has a good chance of gathering truly interesting data for a nice little paper on semiotics.

Could the comments on this site BE any more snarky?

I hope Apple is paying you for all the free advertisement your providing....

Lorraine,

I'm going to side step the logic of an upside down st. joesph for a second and ask, how would tiffany boxes sell a home? what a weird suggestion.

brilliant

love it

reminds me of tom sachs

Um, I guess we do that on some level, we keep all our tea in a repurposed British biscuit tin shaped like a double decker bus. It's cute and we like to look at it. I think this is a great idea with the right product, just maybe not so much the cardboard Apple boxes for my house.

This reminds me of the empty Speed Stick Deodorant canisters and Johnny Walker bottles that the wealthier people in the village in Madagascar where I served for the Peace Corps used to put on fancy shelves in their living rooms. How very developing country chic.

My first reaction was disgust... then curiosity.. then back to disgust. Then I remembered ANDY WARHOL and his Campbell's soup cans silkscreens and the reactions he received at first from the masses. So, I tried to figure out if my negative reaction to this new idea was unfair or small-minded or something. My conclusion: this new 'design' idea is wrong for so many reasons! Yes, the minimalistic STYLE of the packaging is to be lauded and would warrant display but not the ACTUAL ipod boxes! Nooooo!!! In the spirit of finding new design ideas we must safeguarded from selling our souls to 'them'!

oh, BROTHER.

look how much money i have!!!!!

(so much that i can't afford to buy proper knick-nacks?)

how TERRIBLY ironic.

My goodness! What angst! I agree that using packaging for decor (unless there is some terribly good aethetic reason) makes no sense. If you are like me and don't like knick knacks, the absense of them likely sends a stronger message than replacing them with apple logos.

However, I do think that reusing packaging can be helpful. There are some very pretty MOMA boxes I use to store old letters, I store my old bills in stationary boxes (a beautiful blue with gold stamped insignia - it has paid off to use the same stationary company for years), a beautiful watch box holds my earrings.

For utilitarian purposes, especially storage, this can be great. Some packaging is beautiful.

Speechless.

Is this the same guy who was selling a dirty piece of typing paper on ebay?

While I don't think I'd do this for aesthetic reasons, think of it this way. These boxes are made of cardboard, so they're biodegradable. And you've already paid for them. So why do people go places like Ikea and buy boxes made of plastic or covered with nonbiodegradable material that a.) usually cost at least $8 each, b.) just add more waste to the environment, and c.) normally have to be assembled anyway?

In the amount of time it takes to put one of those flimsy fancy boxes together, you could cover one of the sturdy Apple boxes with some pretty paper or paint you or some friends have lying around the house, and simultaneously save money and prevent another thing from going to landfill.

That said, how many people do we know who keep their fancy liquor bottles on display with no more than two drinks left in the bottom or (among the more shameless of them) completely empty? How is displaying Apple boxes any more tacky than that?

And I agree about the foreign packaging. While Apple boxes aren't really to my tastes, I used to have my whole bedroom decorated in Japanese boxes, etc. But since I began working in advertising, and packaging is now my job, I've stopped.

I use the box my Powerbook came in to store some of my tools, but I have it as hidden as possible (it's better looking than some of the other tool storage, so it sits in front of the other ones and I can see it peeking out from under something). Once I find a better toolbox solution, I won't use it for that anymore. But, I have to admit, I'm loathe to throw away Apple boxes since they're so beautiful and well designed. But I don't know what else to do with them. There should be a use for them. Maybe we could sell them to lesser developed countries as art.

I also love the little "backpack" plastic bags that Apple puts your purchases in, but I don't know what to do with these either.

While I myself think one of the problems here is that there is a bit of creativity lacking (surely Mike can find beautiful objects that do not come from packaging?), the really interesting thing is that he's clearly touched a nerve.

How many times have we seen women walking around with "shopping bags" that they've clearly saved and re-used to carry new products or even just an extra jacket? Branding and product design ASK us to treat it like art. That's why companies spend so much time and money making their packaging beautiful, and one of the main reasons that Apple is such a chic brand, as opposed to Dell, etc. The fact that Mike has simply connected the dots and actually put his products on the wall just means that he's lacked a certain skepticism about why the companies would want their products to be beautiful in the first place. We admire art because it seems to lack an agenda, to be beautiful for the sake of being beautiful, or to be radical and uncomfortable for the sake of higher social critique. Mike is an R. Mutt or a Warhol who doesn't have a sense of irony, that's all, and that lack of irony and skepticism is the disturbing part, not the fact that he admires the design sense of Apple's packaging so much that he'd like to admire it more often than many people would.

Isn't it also hypocritical to hang old Deco advertisements for absinthe on the wall (as so many people do), and then criticize Mike (as Wendy in Phoenix said)?

Anyway, just thought I'd add my two cents to this. I think we might all go a little gentler on Mike because none of us are innocent of brand fetishizing in one way or the other. I myself prefer Coke to Pepsi, and I'm sure it's the packaging. :) xx p

Apple's packaging is very superior to most any other products. I keep the boxes simply because I usually buy a new computer every two years or so and having all of the original packaing to put the old computer in goes over well with those who are buying my stuff.

I use the backpack-style bags to store a variety of things and hang the bags on hooks inside a closet door. At the moment I think I've got fabric, art supplies, and wrapping paper stashed in them.

Phoebe, unlike the art deco ads, these items are taking up physical space without cause and are current product. I think that may be the difference. (I enjoyed your post)

Maybe the needed step is to make this either "useful" or "art" as the poster wrote. Cut off the tops and store stuff in it or put them in shadow boxes or some other effect.

They just look really odd on the shelves...

First off, this idea was prefaced by Maxwell as "offbeat", so not sure why such heated responses are necessary. Sometimes the old adage "if you have nothing nice to say . . ." should be applied more liberally.

After my first trip to Europe, I brought home some posters in a triangular poster box, white with the words "Musee D'Orcy" in large letters running up the length of the box. After unpacking, I place the box on top of my bookshelves, in a corner of the room, and it had a very sculptural feel/look to it. Many people noticed and commented on it, and of course were surprised when they learned what a simple object it was.

Now that I have acquired more "real art" the poster box is long gone, but packaging is (or least can be) a wonderful art form. And although my iBook box is packed away inside a closet, I can appreciate that someone looking to decorate their space on a tight budget would find a "bit of art" in commercial packaging.

Oops, and speaking of packaging -- hit post before realizing that I failed to use my new branding: "Mid-C Frank"

- Frank

Sydney-good idea on the backpack bags - maybe I'll store something in them and hang them up.

It amazes me that this person is PAYING Apple's high prices to be their free advertizement.

people do this with fancier packages...tins, bags, bottles...how is this different? for me, i didn't like that it looks literally like an apple store shelf. i'd prefer to see the boxes re-interpreted in some way. repeated over and over on a long shelf? the images cut off and decoupaged? something to make it your own. i dont see a can of campbells in my kitchen and think "that's andy warhol's art." he still changed it to make it his own art...repeated, different colors, different medium, different size...

I think everyone has a little bit of the right idea here ... I am very brand-loyally-obsessed with Apple myself and LOVE their packaging very much. I had a hard time taking my new shuffle out of its box because it was so beautifully presented. I also have trouble throwing the boxes away, and have them all kinda stuffed away in closets (thankfully I have a lot of closet space.) I don't, however, ever see myself putting them out on display.

I'm a packaging designer and I don't even have many of my own boxes out in my home ... in fact, I have a few of my faves confined to one shelving unit in my studio more for portfolio purposes. BUT ... I have a great deal of packaging throughout my house as I also have brand names. In my kitchen, I have a collection of vintage ice cream boxes (including Bing Crosby brand!) that everyone swoons over when they come over ... and as someone else mentioned of their home, I also use packages for containers ... such as the Campbells' soup can that hold brushes next to my easel. I think the fact that Mike is suggesting new (i.e. still available) packaging to display is what's throwing most people up in arms here ... and I can see that. I do see how a collection of computer boxes on a shelf would look like you're opening your own store. However, 20, 30 years from now ... we'll see all these packages on eBay for a fortune because they'll be quaint and retro ... and therefore highly collectible, and dare I say it ... considered pop art?

I say they should push the idea even further and turn their entire home into their very own fake Apple Store. White/acrylic furniture, white floors, bright lights, the whole shebang. They could even wear the uniforms (complete with nametags). I'm totally serious. Do it, take photographs and then do an AT house tour.

In college I had a friend who loved Andy Warhol. However, knowing that she couldnt afford an original she spent 30$ at the grocery store and made a pyramid of Tomato soup cans on a white pedestal in the corner. It was brilliant. I dont think this is as good. There is a certain nostalgia associated with Warhol's work that isnt present (yet) with Apple packaging. Perhaps in 50 years we will look back at the original iPod box and say "how quaint".

And personally I think this goes contrary to Maxwell's own advice regarding clutter. If the boxes aren't functional - toss 'em! Bad mojo to have consumerism and advertising thrust in your face all day - why should it creep into your living space any more than it has to?

I think it would work if they were reused for another purpose. Like this tea tin idea from Martha Stewart:
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel191355

I think the reason why this fails (I say this at the risk of seeming snarky) is that the display is non-aesthetic.

The semiotics of these boxes are weird. The owner is telling us that he likes the product design, which is fine, but I don't see what's appealing enough about them to display.

A stack of Hermes boxes or a stack of Tiffany boxes says "I have a bunch of expensive stuff from said stores, and I also like aqua and orange". But a fridge filled with Hermes boxes or a necklace made out of a Tiffanys box would be ironic. These are neither.

And sure, I possess products because I like the receptacles. Pellegrino water, for one. Water is water, but these bottles look cool on the table.

But Apple packaging is meant to be non-ugly at point of purchase. It really doesn't cut it as decor.

Maybe in 100 years, when it's turn of the 21st Century Modern.

so how about an empty box from a fancy bakery (with the string carefully replaced) kept on the kitchen table as decor? or a pizza box placed at a jaunty angle on a coffee table (over a domino mag for irony)?

So, someone can use free paint chips (adversting a certain paint brand, by the way) and be ordained as a frugal design genius, but reuse an Apple package and you are the laughing stock of the day?

I'll admit, the execution of the idea was not great, but to be so critical of the idea iteself it hypocritical

I am not surprized that few people share Mike's sense of taste. I am, however, a bit baffled by the accusations of gross consumerism.

Mike has gone out and purchased a functional piece of technology and then subsequently has made the previously non-functional packaging serve a purpose by presenting it for aesthetic appreciation. He did not say that he wanted to show off that he owned a bunch of apple products, ... he said that he admired the aesthetic.

Not only has he stopped his packaging from going to a landfill... he has forgone the need for some other company to use resources to produce what people here might consider a 'tasteful' decoration to put on his shelves, not to mention the packaging required to sell him THAT object. He has 'consumed' appreciably less using his approach.

I'd rather have no decor than this. I fail to see the asthetic value of the box qua art, and it's not being repurposed (as a container or other object). I'm also rather disappointed to see THIS as apartment therapy's finest.

I've been tempted not to use the apple boxes which are nice, but not decoration, but the styrofoam inside, which is a nice sort of modern lattice. But I tend to not want the Apple logo or name on them, so I've resisted.

That said, I do have a piece of foam board on the wall in my living room covered in a grid of those Ralph Lauren paint chips (spray adhesive). I like how it looks and I'm fascinated with the naming of paint colours. So I do have something that is rather branded on my wall.

Somebody was thinking to himself, "Gee, I wonder if these people are so desperate for the latest trends that I could convince them to clutter their walls with shelving, for the sole purpose of displaying trash, in order to avoid 'buying more stuff' to clutter their walls with."

Hey, I have an idea. Why not skip the shelving unit--that would save some money!--and throw your trash in the garbage.

Really, if in two months someone posts a photo of their artfully displayed old carboard Apple boxes, and writes that they're not sure how they got the idea to display trash, but might've seen it someplace, I will put the Brooklyn Bridge on the market.

I think people must store up all their day's venom that they can't release elsewhere and then spray it all over a really silly topic. I think people just love to find something to latch onto and get all offended about.

Firstly, greeps, your expensive reciept wallpaper idea would definitely sell. People love that kind of thing, especially if they don't have a fancy tv hidden in their bedroom.
Secondly, if Apple products came packaged in tins or anything of that durable nature, I would certainly repurpose them around my home. However, I'm don't think I would display them exclusively for wall (or niche, or table) art.
Thirdly, I am surprised at the zealousness of these negative responses. Just so you know

Oh, but some of them DO come in nice reusable packages. My iPod shuffle came in a nice rounded-edge rectangular acrylic box that I now use to store my little office stuff like paperclips and pushpins ...

Mike has the same one up there on his middle shelf.

gosh, the point is well taken that packaging can be used successfully to great effect when its used as decoration. hermes is a case in point. their boxes add a wonderful punch of color to a room.
the problem with is not with the idea but its PRESENTATION.
this solution is outrageously bland, offensively so, and i am not at all suprised at the vitriolic response or that AT would post such crap.
keep it up.

re: tins as art

http://readymademag.com/fossil/


Fossil also has a great asthetic, I have several boxes around the house, for holding thumbtacks, rubberbands etc. I've even got one that holds my ipod.

As great as some of their designs are would I put it on a shelf as display? no.

but is art in the eye of the beholder, yes.

My opinion is that the above picture looks like a mini-apple store, we don't have to like it, but boy has it opened up a discussion.

this reminded me of a google video I saw about a spoof on the ipod package.

mircrosoft redesigns the ipod package

the link didn't show up.

Here it is:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=36099539665548298

Uhhhh, I think youse guys have been pwn3d.

wow, the breadth and depth of the responses to this has been fascinating. I think that some boxes are intrinsically appealing due to their graphics and can be displayed solo -- but most packaging will only make an impact if displayed in groups.

jessi in oregon:

wonderful!

Whatever floats yer personal decor boat, but as much as I like the Apple package design, this is still not for me. (I'm not THAT hard up for art or decor).

I think it would be better to have nothing in those three nooks or I'd even put an unusual or kitschy piece of glassware or a series of mismatched bowls there before I'd put display empty electronics boxes. But hey, to each his own, I guess.

The fossil tins are fab
The tea tins also fab
Packaging from a foreign country also kinda fab
( I have a tea tin from brazil - I love it )
The andy warhol soup can, well also fab
( anything pop art in my eyes is fab )

Apple Carton boxes - I don't think so!!!!!!!

By the way, the collectibles come first, not the other way around. If you don't have anything to display, you probably don't need shelves in the first place.

If they sold Mac boxes at West Elm in persimmon these people would be all over'em like white on rice.

This is my first visit to this site and I must say what an incredible bunch of uptight snobs.

They said this was a recommendation from a user not something the website itself was promoting and I think it looks cool anyway.

Get over yourselves.

I have the same thing at home, apple products and their boxes truly are a good lookin' thing something you'd want to show off in your home.

The packages really look great, insanelly great!!! It's a outstanding way of thinking different....

that's so dumb.

i'd imagine if it was hermes or tiffany's packaging that'd make a little more sense. but for electronics items?

loser