Uni-tasking home design is getting the boot this spring in favor of 2-for-1 goods that combine good looks with functional and flexible design. Take for instance Nauris Kalinauskas who takes a standard shelving unit and turns it on its side to create his angled Quad shelf ($1,999).

But if the big ticket price tag has you opting for a ho-hum Billy bookcase, try Matt Carr’s multi-faceted Cabo table (pictured below/left, $399) that triples as a stool and a storage unit when you take off its top or bi-coastal designer Fiona Carswell’s Blurry Eyeglass Tray turned optical illusion (below/right). The prototype comes with an eye chart printed on the tray that appears in focus when glasses are on the tray but immediately goes blurry once the shades are removed. This illusion comes courtesy of some head scratching thermochromatic ink and a pressure sensor.

But the prize for functional eye candy has to go to Zaha Hadid for her dovetailed Niche ($168) sculpture made up of 5 black melamine pieces that can be disassembled to create unique candy trays.

And if you’re looking for a conversation starter, Kiel Mead’s wooden crucifix door knocker with a golden Christ being the actual knocker will have guests raising some eyebrows.

So why default to anything less than a multi-tasker when you can get more bang for your buck with these functional designs?

-Wendy