What looks like a simple set of shelves is not only a little more complicated, but also allows for multiple uses and configurations. The bracketing nature of this parenthesis-shaped shelving creates an elegant framework for display...

Designed by the Boston firm Single Speed Design, this shelving is located within a larger project centered around multifunctional space and changing patterns of inhabitation. We feel these shelves are a nice, distilled expression of the entire project and would love to have a few in our own home, to adjust depending on what we wanted to display.

These shelves are manufactured by UM in Brooklyn but we could imagine this being a great project for more advanced DIYers — attaching drawer slides to the back of shelving to create a similar effect. The flexible concept should appeal to people with changing taste and collections. If you're feeling more controlling, push them all together; more chaotic, push them apart.