Seating and storage are the things any home needs more of. So Sweden based designers Kyuhyung Cho and Hironori Tsukue obliged and created the Oneness collection, consisting of two chairs and a low table that can be flipped, stacked and turned into a shelving unit. Designers explain their vision: “The multifunctional purpose and extendable system can enrich a variety of spaces from office to home, through its simple, combinable and modern form inspired by the fusion of East Asian and Scandinavian design.” The assembly is easy and intuitive – the structure is fixed by connecting each element with a clip inserted into small holes on the corners of the chair or table. This way you can build your storage as high and wide as you like by adding more chairs and tables. When the chair is turned upside down to make a shelf, it reveals a hidden space on the bottom of the back for books and other small objects. Oneness is made from Finnish natural birch plywood.
LLSTOL, a heart-warming furniture success story, was born as an experiment in ergonomics in a small workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. After several prototypes the two L-shaped objects were created. These two L-s have become perfect components for making up chairs, benches, coffee tables, shelving units and much more. The versatile concept was then successfully Kickstarted and produced by a local chair factory called STOL & STOL (hence the name). Now LLSTOL is available for purchase. Great, isn’t it? Check out the video after the break to see the product in action.
The Netherlander Dirk Ploos van Amstel designed this clever hybrid between a baby crib and a rocking chair, called Moep. Both pieces are morphed into a singular rocking unit, allowing a parent to accommodate the child with ease. “MOEP symbolizes the strong bond between parents and their new-born,” – says the designer. When the little one overgrows the crib – the side unit changes into a magazine rack, so Moep gets a new life as an adult piece of furniture. I like the laconic shape and neutral design of the piece – cute enough for the baby and quite elegant for everyone else.
If you think rocking chairs are a space-consuming luxury in a limited urban setting, you’re in for a sweet surprise. The Cleat chair by Vancouver based designer Tom Chung is a clever piece that folds flat for storage and moving purposes. Here is how the designer describes it:
“‘Cleat‘ is a knockdown rocking chair inspired by the harbours surrounding both Vancouver, Canada and Stockholm, Sweden. The first prototype was designed and built while studying abroad in Stockholm with the intention to bring it home to Vancouver in my carry on luggage. The chair is constructed from massive birch and is held together with zero stretch climbing rope.”
A prototype at this point, the chair is a beautifully minimal, well-thought-out object. I really hope it sees the light of production.
Here is another amazing Kickstarter project – RoboChair by Brad Benke of Stahl Architects. This cool foldable chair doubles as wall art. We’ve seen a similar chair/art idea before, but you can’t beat the fun of this robot one. Here is how designer describes it: “RoboChair was designed for three purposes: to be entertaining, to be displayable, and to be awesome. It all started with a simple robot sketch, and then the question came: How cool would it be if that folded into a chair?! After weeks of designing and building protoypes, RoboChair 1.0 is finally here. He’s made out of Baltic Birch plywood and comes completely assembled. Just lower his legs until they lock into place and you’re good to go!” Lovely concept. We can pledge in the next 23 days to see it produced.
(via swissmiss)
This piece, generically titled Folding Chair, was created by Monstrans design studio. And unlike its name – it demonstrates a lot of character and originality. The structure of the piece is comprised of thee wooden parts, and it folds completely flat when not in use. The components are held together in the closed position by the eight rare earth magnets. Paired with strategically positioned handles, this makes the Folding Chair incredibly easy to lift, hold and transport. Two quater inch thick wool felt pads make the chair comfortable. The piece is made from eco-friendly rapidly renewable bamboo.
Cleaning the floor is tedious enough, but what makes it worse is having to fiddle with chairs. Trying to find a temporary place for them is tricky in a small space and turning them upside down over the table is unhygienic. But what are other options?.. Malaysia-based designer Poh Liang Hock came up with an answer. His Hold Chair has a seat and back that slide up the backrest frame. This separates the seat from the frame below it. The chair can then be slid onto the table. Genius! I especially like the fact that at no point of this operation you have to handle the chair’s feet. This concept piece is a winner of the prestigious Red Dot Design Award. Can’t wait to see it produced.
Having a lounge chair is a rare space-consuming luxury in a small space. Unless something has been done to make it more compact and multifunctional. Like the beautiful piece here. The GVAL chair by Vanesa Moreno Serna of OOO My Design is a wonder of compactness. An elegantly curved chair-shaped frame houses two smaller items inside. Each of them may serve as an ottoman, a side-table or both. “The shape of the chair and the texture of alternating sheets of plywood is inspired by pattern of tree rings, which in a way represent tree’s memory: each ring usually marks the of one year in the life of the tree,” – says the designer.
We’ve seen many modular pieces, comprised of boxes and shelving structures. This next project is different. It uses a humble chair as a module. Korean designer Seung-Yong Song created a collection, called 8-Objects, in which 8 chairs are put together to form a bed. Each chair can be used as a stand-alone piece, of course. And even when taken as separate pieces of furniture, they can do much more than providing bumrest. One doubles as a clothing rack, another serves as a small desk, while others add step ladder, bookshelf and bedroll to their functions.
Some of you might remember My Writing Desk by Vilnius based design studio etc.etc, I featured some time ago. Here is another cool item they have come up with – My Reading Chair. It is an armchair, comprised of two parts: frame and slipcover. The slipcover has pockets for books, kindles, nooks, glasses, and other small items and personal things. Without the slipcover, the piece looks elegant and graceful too. But when you put it on, its function doubles as storage. And if you like to read while you eat (one of my vices) – you can even use it as a dining chair.
