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.