At first glance, the Bright Blind sounds like a cheesy frat-house wall hanging but think about the opportunities such a device would provide if you were decorating a basement or interior room.

Designed by Makoto Hirahara and Hisakazu Nabeshima for Studio Mongoose, a Japanese design collective, the Bright Blind hangs on a wall and relies on electroluminescent sheets to provide backlighting that simulates daylight. The light is controlled (dimmed or brightened) by twisting the hanging rod just as you would to open or close normal blinds.

No word yet on whether this prototype will ever see the light of day (sorry, I couldn’t resist). You can create a low-tech version by hanging a mirror on the wall then covering it with blinds and surrounding the whole thing with curtains. The mirror will reflect the light in the room and if tilted properly the blinds will really create the effect of filtering sunlight.

– Jeff