Finding a spacious apartment in our urban cities is a rarity! And if you’ve managed to scrounge one up, then you’re an exception and a very lucky one that is! Because let’s be honest, our modern apartments can be pretty cramped. Space constraint is a major issue, and we often find ourselves squeezing through our own belongings. It’s the ultimate test of our maneuvering skills. However, transformative furniture designs are an ingenious solution to this issue of space restraints. And, we’ve curated a collection of super functional and space-saving furniture designs that promise to not only transform themselves but your living space as well! From robotic furniture that transforms from a bed to a home office desk to a work desk that can transform into a lounger – these innovative furniture designs promise to be the best investments of 2021!
Sustainable furniture design studio Ori adds a WFH apparatus called the Cloud Bed to the mix, merging an office and desk setup with a cantilevered lofted bed that descends to the floor to really hone in the mutability of working from home. In its initial form, the Cloud Bed features a working desk and table beneath a lofted bed. Built for hospitality interiors and personal spaces, this space-saving work from home solution was designed to cover a small footprint inside the home. UL certified to ensure the bed remains lofted and close to the ceiling during working hours, the desk area folds into itself, merging with the floor as the bed descends from its raised position. While it might be tempting to hop up to the top of the bunk bed and sleep from such a high height, the Cloud Bed, Table Edition comes equipped with an internal mechanism that lowers the bed to the floor once the workday is done. With the push of a button, the mattress and wooden bed frame lower down from its elevated post in time with the desk folding inwards toward the floor.
Finland has been long a proponent of flexible working conditions for quite some time now, and proof enough is their topping the charts at the UN’s annual World Happiness Report. With time the country has evolved its remote work methodology in the form of smart interior design. This ingenious home office christened “sshhh 3” by Evävaara Design is the perfect example. The Finnish functional furniture expert has launched their mobile workstation design that keeps ergonomics and acoustic isolation at the forefront. It’s like your portable work-from-home setup that can move to any area of the home in an instant. When you want to wrap up for the day, close up the business, and it sits like a minimalistic cabinet without any visual asymmetries.
To give you the feeling of working from the office while working from home, designer Andrew Mangelsdorf created the Commute chair. The name commute chair might give you the idea that it helps you recreate the journey (maybe it’s a variation of floo powder that transports you while sitting in place), it literally helps create a barrier between your home and workspace. Designing a home office is a luxury not everyone can afford – we often convert our bedroom into the workroom and the dining table into a desk for the day. Commute lets you mentally transform yourself by pulling up the partitions of this ingenious chair. The chair also comes with multiple accessories like a swiveling tabletop and a table light – all integrated to create the perfect desk set up in the form of one simple chair. The chair also has USB ports and holds deep pockets to hold all your knick-knacks that you need during work.
Clean lines and rotating legs – these are the fundamentals on which the Mubic table performs its magic – transforming from a coffee table to a 2, 4, and even 6 people dining table without disassembling it. Transforming your furniture should not be like putting together a complicated puzzle box; rather, it should involve an intuitive process that just makes sense. The table legs have been joined with a custom-designed part, which Katalin says was the most challenging aspect in designing the table. This part allows the legs to rotate in different directions while retaining the stability of the design.
‘Chaise Renversée’ is a desk that can also transform into a long chair by the famous French architect Pierre-Louis Gerlier. The literal translation of Chaise Renversée is ‘chair overturned’, I love how simply the French put everything. Since we are all cooped up in our homes, we are constantly finding ways to optimize space. Especially if you live in a city, you are likely to have everyday objects that are modular so that you have a functional space. Our current situation and the need to be flexible within a small space is exactly what inspired Gerlier to design the Chaise Renversée. It is the perfect blend of work from home and Netflix from home into one piece of modern furniture, it provides a stable table area to work and can then transform into the ‘Chaise Lounge’ when you want to relax.
Even though they might look visually similar to the IKEA ones at first glance, these wooden chairs actually work with indoor settings too unlike the usual patio seating. They are classier and can be used in any room/interior setting. The first wooden chair has strings that form the seat and the backrest, it may make you doubtful of comfort but the strings act like fabric and contour around your body for maximum comfort. The string tension also makes sure that you are well supported. The second chair is like a classic window transformed into a chair with one swivel motion. Because it is a smooth, singular vertical plank when closed, it is easier to stack/store. Another favorite from this furniture range is the fold-out table with storage, it is ideal for small urban apartments or for a kid-friendly room to keep things tidy and packed away.
BeYou is a “transforming chair that adapts to you,” which means that whatever seated position is calling your name, BeYou will adjust accordingly. The spirit of this chair and what makes it so special is that it isn’t fixed by any means, it was designed to be ever-changing to meet your growing needs. The convertible chair is cushioned with soft and durable fabric that wraps itself over a double layer of foam for a bouncy and form-fitting seat rest. Oak veneer coats the exterior parts of BeYou so that the chair not only conforms to your body but also your room and office, or wherever you choose to position your BeYou chair. The quick-release hinges that switch the chair’s positions and presentation are user-friendly in that they operate through simple, intuitive mechanical movements.
The Transformer Couch takes a Lego/Minecraft approach to furniture. Everything is centered around a ‘couch block’ which can be extended width-wise to create a couch that seats more people, or length-wise to let you completely stretch your legs out. The couch can be split into two, going from one long unit to two smaller ones, or even multiple single-seater sofas and ottomans, or just about any arrangement you’d like. You don’t really buy the Transformer Couch as it is, you buy modular arrangements and arrange them as you see fit, adding armrests or backrests when you want, and removing them when you don’t. It’s like IKEA, except with MUCH more creative freedom.
Living up to the demand, a South Korean designer has come up with the 120 Series furniture. While we wish this one piece of furniture could be used in 120 ways, the name is a clever play on the size of the moving boxes (120cm³). Each design in this series can fit into a shipping carton (120cm³) without disassembling and then the tedious reassembly at the new place. Relocating is a tedious task; if you have moved from one locality to another or between cities, you’d know what I mean. Many urban dwellers sell off their furniture at throwaway prices because transporting bulky furniture is next to impossible. One of the solutions by the furniture industry is the introduction of transforming and space-saving designs.
Get ready to be OBSESSED with the Beatle! When you’re choosing a piece of furniture like a sofa, you have to make sure the back, arms, or chaise are on the right side to go with the flow of your layout. Beatle’s versatile construction makes it possible to easily switch things up depending on both your spatial and comfort needs. The flexible back can slide all the way around on a built-in rail system, instantly transforming it from sofa to lounge. You can adjust it in a number of comfortable positions and choose the side that works best for your space. It’s one piece you’ll be able to hold on to as it adapts to any and every space, even if you move!