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, transforming 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.
Dual-purposed by design, the Summit Sofa is made up of curved cushions with integrated magnets that allow them to attach to one another to form different sofa configurations and the sofa’s main magnetic board to create a minimalist piece of wall artwork. When propped up on its magnetic base, the Summit Sofa’s sinuous cushion modules fit into one another like pieces to a puzzle. When users would like to create their own sofa, they can remove the cushions from the magnetic base and attach modules together to create countless configurations. When the modules are attached to the base, the user’s living and floor areas remain clear for plenty of space. Then, on movie nights or when guests arrive, the Summit Sofa can be detached from the magnetic base to become a sofa.
Created from a combination of wood, plastic, and metal, Sipario is a compact furniture piece that can transform into a workstation that not only offers privacy but reduces noise as well. It was created to provide a more flexible means of working, and it does exactly that! It comprises of wooden strips that are in fact bendable! When kept open, Sipario functions as an open wall-mounted work desk, that occupies minimum space, while providing you with a comfortable nook to work in. However, when the strips are bent, Sipario transforms into a more personal and private workspace. In fact, the gaps in between the bendable wooden strips contain a layer of sound-absorbing fabric, that reduces noise and creates a peaceful and quiet environment that is conducive to your daily productivity. It allows users to pick and choose between an open and a more private home office, without making the process too complex or complicated.
In the unfolded position, FLUP works like a conventional mat or rug on which we can sit or step without interrupting the movement of people through the space. It transforms from plane to volume, from floor to space while changing the function with its shape. In the folded position, it works as a piece of minimal furniture – it can be used as a pouf, an auxiliary seat, a footrest, a nightstand, etc. It is a perfect example of space-saving furniture. What makes it better is that there is no assembly required, it is a singular element that transforms with folds into another object like origami. With micro-apartments being the new trend, flexible and lightweight furniture designs like FLUP are super handy. It is minimal, multifunctional, and can be flat-packed for storage – there is no reason to not love FLUP!
This intriguing concept for a vacuum cleaner is not only multipurpose in design, it is also sustainable in construction. The storage section of the vac is made from cork, which is biodegradable and has a warm ambiance to it. The vacuum pipes and other parts are designed in a manner to be stored within the cork shell that then neatly covers using a lid. The possibility of concealing the entire appliance from sight saves valuable space at home and leaves the vacuum to still be used in the open with a different purpose.
Loop is a modular furniture system with integrated kid-friendly features designed by industrial designer Buse Kaya for parents who need to keep an eye on their kids while working from home. From a chalkboard to a bead maze and tactile puzzles, each module that makes up Loop is designed for your child to play with while you work. Considering its modular formation, Loop can be configured in countless different ways. In one space, users can stack each module on top of one another to create a partition and standing desk space, allowing you to work freely while your kid remains entertained and within eyesight.
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.
The Accordion Lamp from Gingko is the perfect example of a lighting design that doesn’t just illuminate… it interacts too! It comes with two wooden ends and a pleated Tyvek-paper shade in between, allowing for the lamp to be opened, folded, and twisted, just like a slinky… a slinky that glows on the inside, thanks to the presence of LED lights! However, that itself isn’t the only trick in the Accordion Lamp’s book. The wooden ends of the lamp come with magnets embedded inside, allowing you to snap the ends together to create a little donut of light, or connect a series of Accordion Lamps together to make a highly interactive illuminating installation that can be arranged in a whole variety of designs, or even hang it using an accompanying magnetic lanyard, letting you spark some joy with your home’s decor!
The Smile, a new apartment complex in East Harlem designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) features smart furniture systems comprised of stow-away storage units, bed frames, workspaces, and wardrobes that rise into and fall from the ceiling on command. Built around a grid that’s mounted to each unit’s ceiling, the modular furniture systems are comprised of storage cabinets and bed frames that rise and descend according to the changing needs of each resident. When a component of the system isn’t in use, it rises and disappears into the ceiling to enlargen the unit’s available living space. Then, when one is needed, the furniture system recognizes voice commands, remote controls, and programmed settings to initiate a component’s descent from the ceiling to the unit’s floor.
