Wallpaper* Design Awards 2026: Life-enhancer of the year shortlist

'Continent of Play' by 21st Europe and Spacon

'Continent of Play' is a blueprint published by 21st Europe, a new think tank founded by Copenhagen-based entrepreneur Kaave Pour (who previously headed Ikea's Space10). The plan calls for significant investment in playgrounds, elevating them to the level of civic infrastructure – every bit as essential as transport networks, cultural venues or energy grids. At its core is the argument that playgrounds are vital social spaces, where families gather, strangers become neighbours and trust takes root.

To create the blueprint, 21st Europe worked with Copenhagen-based architects Spacon, alongside experts in play, infrastructure, and policy, to ensure 'Continent of Play' is a practical framework rather than just a vision.

21st-europe.com

Zeal Mobility Walker

The humble mobility walker has just had a minimalist makeover courtesy of Zeal Lifestyle. After four years of collaboration with users, the young British brand has come up with the distinctive ‘Zeal’ walker, a smart mobility aid ‘designed to promote independence, enhance confidence and provide style’ for the elderly and disabled.

Far from bland and utilitarian, the rollator is not only compact and foldable but also available in a choice of colours ranging from black to pastel shades, with matching accessories such as pared-back bags and backrests.

zeal-lifestyle.com

Tala x Heatherwick

Three years in the making, ‘Wake’ is Thomas Heatherwick's response to pre-bedtime screen consumption. Part bedside lamp, part circadian-aware sleep aid, created with British lighting brand Tala, it pairs hand-glazed ceramic and pressed glass with programmable light and sound sequences designed to help users wind down at night and wake gently in the morning – no harsh blue-light-emitting screens required.

The brief to Heatherwick Studio was deceptively simple: design something tactile and beautiful that helps people reclaim bedtime from their phones. The final design feels simple but hides a surprising amount of engineering. A weighted ceramic base, hand-glazed so each one is subtly different, is topped with a softly rippled glass ‘sun’. Rotate the base to adjust brightness; press once to start a wind-down or wake-up sequence. The display hides behind the glass, glowing only when needed.

tala.co.uk

Ottagono Wellness Gym, by Cassina, Technogym and Giulia Foscar

Cassina Custom Interiors partnered with Technogym and Italian architect Giulia Foscari of studio Una/Unless to create a compact 'room within a room', a space that could be multifunctional and be adapted to several uses. The top of the 1.9 metres column is characterised by a series of recessed LEDs, while the interior of the object also features dimmable and remote controlled lights.

For the object's debut, Foscari and Cassina involved Technogym, the octagonal cabinet-like volume being a natural solution for a compact home gym. When closed, the Ottagono Gym looks like a bold but unassuming element in the room. Once open, it reveals its functionality with a series of elements essential to a complete training session, as its shelves and hooks are fitted with Technogym classics.

cassina.com

PuuSauna by Jaakko Torvinen

This project, created for a private client on Finland's Kaunissaari island by architect Jaakko Torvinen, is an alluring balance of poetry-meets-functionality, immersed in the enchanting Finnish countryside. Puusauna, which means wood or tree sauna in English, is a traditional log cabin with intricate dovetail joints and a contemporary twist thanks to an overhanging handmade zinc roof, large windows, sophisticated wood detailing and treatments, and the use of real trees.

The tree trunks — replete with branches and knobbly bits — act as columns. It is something that had already been explored to great effect by the architect in his project Pikku-Finlandia, but Torvinen (who is also doing a PhD in the topic of naturally shaped wood in architecture and design) has taken things one step further here by using even more of the tree. Bespoke furniture and detailing by contributors such as Helsinki-based COMPANY, manufacturers Nikari and designer Teppo Lakaniemi, complete this gem of a design nicely.

jaakkotorvinen.com

reMarkable Paper Pro Move

Of all the tech that has crossed my desk in 2025, nothing was more anticipated and appreciated than the compact Paper Pro Move from reMarkable. In the space of just a few years, the Norwegian digital paper company has steamed to the top of the ream, making tablets that capture the gritty analogue feel of writing on paper coupled with a robust, ultra-simple operating system.

Refined hardware and straightforward software are the Paper Pro Move's strong points. Combining handwriting recognition with a variety of pen and brush types, easy cutting, pasting and resizing and a small but handy suite of geometric shape tools, reMarkables are a dream to use. Your docs live in the cloud and can be instantly accessed across tablet, mobile and desktop. New for 2025 is a browser plug-in that snips websites and sends them to your device for reading, stripped of ads and cruft.

Although the 2024 reMarkable Paper Pro increased capabilities – including colour, a backlit screen and improved storage – it was developed alongside this half-sized version. Small enough to slip in a pocket but losing none of the functionality (save for the Paper Pro’s foldaway keyboard), the Paper Pro Move is always to hand.

reMarkable Paper Pro Move, from £399, reMarkable.com