Good day mydeco followers! It’s Friday 13th, but I have decided to disregard this mother of all ridiculous superstitions and look on the bright side of life. Friday may not have the best track record in terms of unfortunate events – stock market crashes, crucifixion (though not necessarily in that order), but it is also the end of the working week. So banish your fears, sit back and allow us to ease you into the weekend with today’s best design news..

mydeco’s pick of the top three news stories:

1. dornob: Ikea gone insane

Image credit: dornob

We are greatly indebted to Picasso. Nowadays should you end up with a bizarre haircut or accidentally spill paint all over your coffee table, it doesnt matter – you can just claim that it’s ‘abstract’. This seems to have been what furniture designer Wiyono Sujipto had in mind with his latest project, UNIKEA. Following the great manly tradition of refusing to use the instructions, Sujipto assembled these Ikea flat-packs with nothing for guidance except his own aesthetic taste. Shockingly, the results are pretty good.

2. Inhabitat: Circular Hakka Houses create self-sustaining communities

Image credit: Inhabitat

If you thought your neighbours were bad, then prepare to gain some perspective. In the Fujian province, China, the Hakka people have been dealing with armed warfare over local resources since the 17th century. These giant circular structures provided a solution however, functioning as a fortress against unwelcome intruders and creating self-sustaining micro-communities in the process. Known as Tulou, these tiny towns have space for temples, livestock and armories. You’d have to be on your best behaviour though, as I’d imagine gossip would spread quite quickly…

3. Cool Hunting: Design for Obama

Image credit: Cool Hunting

Periods of political upheaval have produced some of the most famous poster images in history. However, propaganda is not as visually inspiring as it used to be, so it was lucky that graphic design student Aaron Perry Zucker created Designforobama.org during last years U.S. presidential elections. The website encouraged visual communicators at all levels to submit poster designs supporting the Democratic candidate, and unsurprisingly received a phenomenal response. What was surprising however, was Spike Lee’s proposal to turn the best crop of submitted images into a book, which finally came into fruition last week. Now available to buy from Amazon, Design for Obama features 200 poster designs, along with a short bio on each artist. Follow the link for a taster.

The best of the rest:

Cool Hunting: Thrifty conversations on design

Cool Hunting: Open Studios

Moco Loco: A tap for the times

Moco Loco: Paper shoes

The Telegraph: Design notebook: share in a chair

The Telegraph: Repossession numbers lower than feared

The Times: Why can’t I sell my home?

The Times: The new ideal home is a combination of old and new

The Times: Switzerland’s big tax savings are attracting wealthy Britons

The Times: Ashwell Court, Buckinghamshire is an £2.25 million Gothic fantasy

And so we reach the end of another week., and another segment of daily news. Before you put your brains to bed for a well-deserved rest over the weekend, why not leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on our stories?

AUNTIE KATIE WANTS YOU.

Have a good weekend!