All Banged Up

No matter what your view of firearms is, there's no denying that guns are an impactful and influential part of life. Weapon, symbol of freedom, violence and expression, the gun is iconic of human existence.

Many of our fondest childhood memories contain guns. How many of us remember playing with a Nerf blaster or a Super Soaker? The carnival game where you spray water into the mouth of a clown to pop the balloon? Cops and robbers? All of these involved some sort of gun imagery.

Now a few designers have used this image to create home accessories that sustain the relevancy of the gun, and continue to feed our fascination for a weapon that was invented in the 10th century.

Here are some of my favorites (clockwise from top right):

1. Bang! by Bitplay "is a lamp like any other at first glance.... When the user no longer needs the light, he or she can simply take the 'white weapon', point it at the lamp and shoot. This action will determine the lights to go off and the lampshade to move sideways."

2. AK Ice Cube Tray available from Think Geek "Nothing more chilling than a bullet"

3. Lounge Gun Floor Lamp designed by Philippe Starck by Flos Lighting available at Lumens.com.

4. Make killer eggs with these gun shapes available at Sumally.

5. The conceptual Bang-Bang Door Handle designed by Nikita Kovalev of Moscow is an elegant depiction of a 9mm Makarov designed in 1948.

6. A sleek interpretation of the classic chess set, these pieces are made to look like shells from different firearms then delicately engraved to denote chess positions.

7. Must I say anything? This awesome tea kettle can be found at likecool.com.

8. Target practice, anyone? A whole assortment of gun-themed wall decals are available from online retails. This will surely be a point of interest...or perhaps a warning to guests who overstay their welcome.

9. Available from Etsy, these hot pink bookends are perfect for the little girl who loves Jessie from A Toy Story.