Studio Proxy, a Germany company, has designed several bookshelves that "dissolve the archetypical shape of a shelf by duplication and displacement."

The shelves are called King of Siam (thanks to Apartment Therapy for spotting them).

On the one hand, the King of Siam shelf is fun. The two intersecting shelves are surprising, a little bit silly. The slanted shelf may not be best-suited for books, but something would look good there. And the intersection of the two shelf pieces creates unusual, oddly shaped nooks.

On the other hand, as someone who lives in earthquake country, it's a bit unsettling. Normally horizontal structures set at a slant  evoke "quake!" like nothing else.

Maybe that's why Studio Proxy has also created Keep It Like a Secret. It's a version of the intersecting, black-and-white double-shelf without the slant.

But if you prefer the off-balance King of Siam, also check out the company's Ikea Hacks. Collaborating with the company Hellograph, they take cheap Ikea furniture, chop it up and reassemble it into, well, innovatively designed furniture made up of cheap Ikea parts. Generally they respect the original function -- tables remain tables -- and add in a bit of trompe d'oeil.

Of course, they have an Ikea hacks bookshelf. It's a classic Ikea Billy bookcase, sliced diagonally in two in its midsection like an unlucky magician's assistant, attached out of alignment, akimbo. Another bookshelf that looks like it's been shaken by Northridge: the sequel.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Image: Studio Proxy