Tag Archives: chair furniture

Nodding Chair lets you slightly rock your seat while reading

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As someone who loves to read, and read for long periods of time, I know that wooden chairs are the least comfortable ones to sit on while finishing a good book. And I’ve also tried to read while on a regular rocking chair and that made me dizzy since the constant big movements are a bit too much for my poor eyes. But staying put in a chair can still be uncomfortable and you need some type of motion while you’re reading. This product concept seems to be the perfect one for bookworms like me.

Designer: Ilseop Yoon

While rocking chairs are good for relaxation, they’re not always good for floors and if you’re like me, for our eyes and peace of mind. The designer thought of a new way to have a chair that can be comfortable and still let your body have its range of natural motion while reading, resting, or even writing (if you’re used to that). The Nodding Chair can be tilted forward and backward, letting you make smaller movements that won’t make you too nauseous.

The way it’s designed and structured is pretty ingenious. Instead of the entire chair moving, only the seat can swing in small movements. This way, you still have motion but not too much. Also, there’s less pressure on the floor so you won’t get marks and scratches, as some owners of rocking chairs have realized eventually. The Nodding Chair allows the chair to move with you as you occasionally change positions while reading. You may even actually nod off to sleep or at least a nap.

Even better, it comes with a partner footstool. I for one love reading with my feet up that’s why I prefer doing so on a sofa or in my bed. This way, you’re sitting on a slightly moving chair and you get to put your feet up for a more comfortable position. My only quibble with this product concept is that the seat itself doesn’t seem to be that comfortable as it’s just plain wood and there’s no cushion to, well, cushion my butt.

But in any case, this is something I will definitely want to get if someday this becomes available in the market. I always want to add furniture, appliances, and devices that will give me a more enhanced reading experience.

The post Nodding Chair lets you slightly rock your seat while reading first appeared on Yanko Design.

This multifunctional side table transforms into a chair and make the most of tiny living!

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Living in tight city corners is a finicky job– you have to make the most of your space, no matter how small. Studio apartments and tiny living spaces can make it feel difficult to have control over the space because delineating different rooms without overcrowding the place can feel impossible. In designing a chair specifically built for small living spaces in the city, NG Architects created Spring, a multifunctional table that blooms into a chair with a backrest at the push of a button.

Spring comprises a cylindrical shape that increases or decreases in height according to its desired function. At its lowest height of 500mm, Spring serves as a simple side table with a natural wood top. Then, by simply pressing the table down, Spring’s built-in compression springs are activated and morph the side table into a chair with a backrest. By following the same pushing tactic, the Spring chair can reach its maximum height of 900mm, transforming into a table that can work as a centerpiece for a small studio space. While the main building material used to construct Spring is oak wood, the furniture’s compression springs are made from aluminum, while natural and white paint colors coat the sides and top of Spring.

Named after the Spring season, the chair’s transformation is reminiscent of a flower blooming. The clever use of built-in compression springs gives double credence to the chair’s name and provides the chair with multifunctionality without having to take up more space. Designed specifically for tiny living spaces, Spring uses modern building practices and classic design principles to create simple, yet multifunctional pieces of furniture that open up to meet your space where it’s already at.

Designer: NG Architects

Inspired by a flower bud, NG Architects built Spring for practical purposes in small living spaces, creating more functionality while not overcrowding the space.

Five aluminum springs hold a clamp lever that morphs Spring into its different forms when activated.

Phillipe Starck’s Broom – A sustainable chair that swept away industrial waste like magic

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Here is some food for thought – what if our leftovers could be turned to functional furniture that looked food? I mean good, that looked good! Phillipe Starck is a French designer which means he eats really good food and has managed to turn the leftovers into some really good chairs called the Broom for Emeco. Global food waste (aka leftovers) is twice as high as predicted reports CNN but leftovers don’t necessarily mean just food – it is any waste that ends up in the trash and the solution to waste management lies in creative, sustainable design. The Broom is a fine example of just that! Recycled, recyclable and designed to last – this is where rubbish becomes responsible.

The relationship between Phillipe Starck and Emeco is what turned the company from just a US Navy supplier to a coveted furniture design brand. “Working with Emeco has allowed me to use recycled material and transform it into something that never needs to be discarded – a tireless and unbreakable chair to use and enjoy for a lifetime,” says Starck who believes every creator has a duty to the society. Emeco uses recycled aluminum, recycled PET, reclaimed wood polypropylene, eco-concrete, and cork. In fact, the Broom chair is made of 90% reclaimed waste polypropylene and wood fiber that would normally be swept into the trash – hence the name!

Broom is the ingenious result of a design collaboration that both avoids and eliminates waste. It is made from a compound of industrial waste from lumber factories and industrial plastic plants – 75% waste polypropylene and 15% reclaimed wood that usually ends up in the trash. It checks all the boxes for sustainable furniture with its three-fold environmental impact – less energy, less waste, and less carbon. “With the Broom chair, it is about less and more. We chose less – less “style”, less “design”, less material, less waste, less energy. And so, the Broom chair became so much more” says Starck when talking about the design process to make a chair that does more than being a surface to sit on.

The Broom comes in 6 colors, can be stacked easily, perfect for outdoor use and very low maintenance (honestly, just clean with soapy water and wipe with a soft cloth).  The wood particles create a speckled texture that gives the surface a warmer, more natural touch, each chair will have its own unique textured pattern. Wood is good, polypropylene is not so good, but the combination made from the two gives us a material that lasts like synthetic but has the spirit of nature. This is sourced from woodshops and plastic producing worksites, it is then cleaned, compressed and transformed into a wood composite that works for the environment instead of harming it.

“Imagine”, says Philippe Starck, “a guy who takes a humble broom and starts to clean the workshop and with this dust he makes new magic” and we bet JK Rowling will agree that brooms are truly magic.

Designer: Philippe Starck for Emeco.