The Thing: Lago bookshelves from Suite 22 that get kinetic
Bookcases are not supposed to be fun. The good people at IKEA have been reinforcing that idea for years, mass-producing mind-numbing quantities of the humble Billy, which does one thing—holds books—reasonably well. The Tangram bookcase from the Italian furniture maker Lago gives this way of thinking a giant kick in the pants. The shelves, modelled after the ancient Chinese tangram puzzle, come in seven pieces (five triangles, a square and a rhombus) that can be configured in more than 6,500 ways—a cat, a stork, a fish blowing bubbles or a baseball player in mid-slide, to name just a few. And they’re available in 23 colours, from staid taupe to flashy tangerine. They’re brazenly decorative, borderline silly and undeniably awesome. They also hold books. From $2,100. Suite 22, 160 Bullock Dr., Markham, 905-554-6084.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/shopping/the-thing-case-study/&title=The Thing: Lago bookshelves from Suite 22 that get kinetic&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sept12TheThing-624x470.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_160901" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: courtesy of Lago Design)[/caption]
Bookcases are not supposed to be fun. The good people at IKEA have been reinforcing that idea for years, mass-producing mind-numbing quantities of the humble Billy, which does one thing—holds books—reasonably well. The Tangram bookcase from the Italian furniture maker Lago gives this way of thinking a giant kick in the pants. The shelves, modelled after the ancient Chinese tangram puzzle, come in seven pieces (five triangles, a square and a rhombus) that can be configured in more than 6,500 ways—a cat, a stork, a fish blowing bubbles or a baseball player in mid-slide, to name just a few. And they’re available in 23 colours, from staid taupe to flashy tangerine. They’re brazenly decorative, borderline silly and undeniably awesome. They also hold books. From $2,100. Suite 22, 160 Bullock Dr., Markham, 905-554-6084.){kind=link}