Offensive or Kind of Awesome? Bedding Inspired by the Homeless

Did you know that you can buy a little homelessness for your home to help the homeless? When you've untwisted your brain (and tongue) from that sentence, check out the Home Duvet from Dutch By Design, a UK design firm specializing in edgy modern home products. The Home Duvet combines street-chic modernism with a touch of philanthropy.

The duvet has a photographic print of cardboard boxes embedded into the 144-thread-count cotton. So the Tooth Fairy will wonder why you're sleeping under a cardboard box in such a comfy, heated bedroom.

If you're like me, you might find the idea a little offensive at first glance; sleeping happily under a "cardboard box" while thousands of less fortunate fellows are crashing under the real thing, shivering, sick and hungry. It screams of egocentric, detached fashion designers who see people as nothing more than racks for their $5,000 t-shirts. But here is the Home Duvet's saving grace, which almost totally assuaged that initial wellspring of contempt.

This concoction of cardboard comfort has a charitable side. 30 percent of the gross profits boxed up by the Home Duvet go to Centrepoint, a UK charity for homeless young people aged 16-25. You see, the Home Duvet is not just a modern design for loft dwellers and the industrial-minded; it’s an attempt to raise awareness for a good cause, not to mention keep you warm at night. According to the website, “the Home Duvet lets you sleep under a cardboard box so a homeless person doesn’t have to!”

Cardboard pillow cases are sold separately and due to the popularity of the Home Duvet, you can also buy sheets that are photo-printed to look like pavement.

I’m curious to know what you guys think about "homeless" interior design. Can they go too far? At what point does charity become caricature? Does anyone care so long as Centrepoint keeps receiving checks?

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