Tag Archives: Furniture

Odd sustainable stool concept prioritizes minimizing materials over recycling

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The majority of sustainable designs today focus on using responsibly sourced or biodegradable materials as well as the ability to recycle components at the end of the product’s life. While these are indeed a big leap compared to common production practices, it’s still from the ideal. Even sustainable materials like wood, metal, or bioplastics produce material waste that still gets discarded at the end of the production process. And depending on the materials involved, recycling can actually consume more energy and even result in more pollution, offsetting whatever benefits it should have brought. Another approach to sustainability is to actually reduce the materials used and, therefore, the materials that need to be recycled, as what this rather unconventional “two-piece” stool design tries to propose.

Designer: Kitae Pak

The less materials you use for a product, the more products you can make out of that material. If a single 1,220mm x 2,440mm sheet of plywood would normally yield 24 circular plates with a diameter of 310mm, you could potentially squeeze 219 plates with a diameter of 120mm. That’s the kind of increase in yield that the Dots stool concept is claiming, making more efficient use of a material without compromising on quality, at least in theory.

The concept accomplishes this by completely redesigning what a stool is expected to be. Yes, it’s still a piece of furniture for seating, but there’s no hard rule that the seat has to be one large and whole piece. Instead of a single big circle, the Dots stool utilizes two smaller discs to support the body at rest, hence the name. It delivers the same function but at a significantly lower material consumption right from the start.

With this minimalist design, which consists of two wooden rods for legs and recycled plastics to connect the pieces into a stable whole, you can make 4 times more Dots stools than a regular stool using the same materials. This kind of conservation means that the production process itself would use less materials and energy to produce the same number of stools, while recycling would also use less energy and water as well. And since it’s mostly made of wood, the stool can also be repurposed for other designs or returned to the Earth one way or another.

While the design does check all the right sustainability boxes, it does raise questions on conform and stability. It’s arguable that it does serve its function well, but neither its appearance nor its ergonomics inspire complete confidence. It’s not a complete loss, however, as the experiment proved that there’s still a lot of room for improvement even for already sustainable designs.

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Sustainable office chair uses paper-like material made from wood by-products

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Sustainable furniture and designs are thankfully becoming more common, but the “sustainable” label can actually be applied to different things. They can be made from recycled materials like metal or PCR plastics, or they can be made from new but biodegradable materials like wood, cork, and paper. While both kinds are good, they don’t always address the accumulating material waste that comes from the production of these objects, even the bits and pieces of wood that get left on the cutting room floor and then thrown out. Giving a new purpose to these by-products is another sustainable practice, one that is being applied to a beautifully minimalist office chair that’s made from dozens of sheets of paper.

Designer: Arper

Of course, it’s not literally made from paper, which would be too soft for a chair no matter how many sheets you stack, especially for a sleek and slender seat based on Arper’s iconic Catifa 53. Instead, it uses PaperShell from a Swedish startup of the same name, a material that almost poetically transforms paper, which comes from wood, back to a wood-like material that offers rigidity, stability, and, more importantly, beauty. In a nutshell, it uses both wood by-products like sawdust and chips as well as waste wood like fallen branches in forests to create a new paper-like material that can be used in place of wood, plastic, or fiber composites.

That’s the case with the Catifa Carta, which compresses dozens of these sheets into a composite that’s then bent and formed into an elegant chair with a gentle slope sitting on top of thin yet sturdy metal legs. Unlike its older sibling, this more sustainable version of the chair leaves the seat in its original, unpainted glory. That means you can see the natural imperfections of the PaperShell material, giving each chair a unique character. It’s pretty much the same as the highly prized grains in wood that give designs their natural charm.

What’s even more special about the chair is that even the end of its life has a story to tell. PaperShell can be recycled to produce new and different products, but it can also be turned into biochar to nourish the Earth. The material itself sequesters carbon dioxide which can be used to enrich soil. It’s a truly circular life cycle that starts and ends with the Earth. Appropriately, Arper has made the Catifa Carta easy to disassemble to make this process even easier.

Of course, the chair isn’t just a thing of beauty inside and out, it’s also a functional piece of furniture. Though some might have concerns about the ergonomics of using such a chair for long periods at work, it’s still a well-designed seat that makes you feel good not only about sitting on it but also about the exciting journey that this wood-like material has made since its birth from a seed.

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The Typo Office Chair Is Named After The Intentional Error Or Playful Detail On Its Spine

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The most important piece of furniture in our office is our prized chair! It is where we spend hours on end. We spend the majority of our day sitting on chairs, whether we’re working in our home office or a corporate one. Hence, this piece of furniture needs to be not only comfortable but ergonomic, and aesthetic as well. For me personally, I should be able to sit on my chair all day, feeling inspired and productive, and constantly churning out good work. I know sounds like an impossible feat, doesn’t it? How could one furniture design do all this and more for us? Well, I don’t know if finding the perfect office chair is possible, but the Typo Office Chair by AMDL Circle comes pretty close. Let’s take a look!

Designer: AMDL Circle for Mara

Italian studio AMDL Circle designed this simple yet powerful office chair for the furniture brand Mara. What sets this seemingly ordinary chair apart is its playfully bent form! It is an ergonomic office chair with a light timber base and backrest, that have a gentle curve in their form. This gently curved shape sets the chair apart and serves as the ‘focal point’ of the entire furniture design.

The subtle wood is contrasted by a colored metal structure which in turn creates a distinctive and vibrant silhouette. This intriguing contrast adds a lively element to the chair, taking it from an everyday furniture design to something refreshing. Mara worked with AMDL Circle to create the design, and which is the result of “unconventional fine-tuning”.

“By bending a square-section steel tube along the diagonal, the material deforms, curling and sharply creasing,” said Mara. “This detail generates the intentional and sought-after ‘error’ that is the soul of the project.” “Typo, as a typing error, is almost an accidental mistake,” concluded the brand, explaining the product’s playful name. Much like its name, this office chair is defined by what initially seems like a mistake, but is in fact an intentional detail that adds personality and character to an otherwise somber and humble wooden furniture design.

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Stool has tree shadows printed on top to bring you closer to nature

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Before I started focusing on writing for design, I never really paid attention to how mostly functional things like chairs are designed. As long as I could sit on it comfortably on it, then i believed it did its job and I didn’t really need to choose based on how well designed it is. But there are pieces of furniture out there, or even just as a concept, that were really thought of well by the designers to bring something not necessarily new, but at least interesting, to the table. Or in this case, the chair.

Designer: Shota Uruasaki

Capture the Light is one such design for a stool. The furniture itself is not a groundbreaking stool but is made up of the usual three blocks (seat, two legs) connected together by one small block. It looks just like your typical wooden stool/bench that you might see at a park or at a museum. But what makes this different is what you’ll see on the seat itself. You might think there’s a tree nearby casting its shadow but if you’re inside, then that may be a mystery.

It’s actually the unique design that this stool brings. The shadows casted by trees that you may see at parks or public spaces are immortalized on the seats as the designs are printed on them. The designer went around photographing the patterns that these tree shadows make, carrying a white board with them. The photographs were then inkjet printed on top of the stools and so you have the illusion of trees hovering on you as you sit on them.

It’s a simple design addition to your regular stool/bench but it’s interesting, if you’re into nature and trees. Even if the stool is inside, you get the illusion of still being surrounded by trees because of the shadows. Of course it’s still best to actually be around trees but in cases where you can’t then this stool may be the next best thing.

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The Versatile Pause Bench Is The Definition Of Minimalist, Humble Yet Functional Furniture Design

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Designed by Swedish studio Broberg and Ridderstråle, this simple yet distinguished Pause bench is a versatile furniture design that would make an exceptional addition to your living space. It is designed for the furniture brand Asplund, and it was created to be a “zen-like seat” that encourages and supports users to sit and rest, thereby inspiring the name Pause.

Designer: Broberg & Ridderstråle for Asplund

Crafted from a combination of lacquered oak veneer and solid oak, the Pause bench is a beautifully designed piece that is simple and humble, and yet possesses the ability to truly uplift any space it is placed into. The Pause bench is available with or without armrests, so you can pick the option that perfectly works for you. It is available in four color finishes, which include white stain and charcoal stain. The bench is a versatile furniture design that can be placed in a variety of settings ranging from a hallway behind a sofa or even at the foot of a bed.

“We have chosen a seemingly simple but high-quality material with obvious natural details to achieve the function and tactility that we have felt was missing in the market,” said creative director Sandra Adrian Asplund. “[It is] minimalistic and distinct with classic dignity that opens up for multiple uses in any space, public or domestic.” What makes the Pause bench stand out is its sheer simplicity and attention to detail, which allows it to truly stand out without occupying too much space, or commanding too much attention.

If you’re someone who loves minimal, subtle, and yet intricately designed furniture pieces then you must look into the Pause bench. It is the kind of furniture design that can uplift any living space with its simple contours, versatile utility, and humble aesthetics. Pick the finish that works well for your interior space!

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Sustainable 3D printed chair needs no glue or screws to connect its pieces

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Flat-packed products like tables and chairs have definitely changed the furniture design landscape and altered consumers’ tastes. But while these designs do make it easy to store, transport, and sometimes assemble pieces of furniture, they often also end up being bland in the name of minimalism, not to mention tedious and cumbersome to repair or dispose of, despite the supposed ease of assembly. Thanks to new manufacturing techniques and technologies, especially 3D printing, there are now alternative methods and designs possible, including a beautiful chair that’s not only made from sustainable materials but is trivial to assemble and disassemble because it doesn’t even use screws or adhesives.

Designer: Eva Dugintseva

3D printing has definitely come a long way from the flimsy plastic materials that they started out with. We can now print objects using a variety of materials, including metal, chocolate, and soon, even wood. It’s even possible to use recycled PS (polystyrene) plastic, which helps reduce the negative impact of mass-produced plastic chairs. That alone already makes the Som Chair concept notable, but that isn’t the only trick it knows, not by a long shot.

Thanks to 3D printing, it was possible to experiment with and use shapes that would normally be costly to pull off on a mass production line. In this case, the chair is made from two separate bent shapes with ridged surfaces that make them look like dozens of plastic tubes stuck to one another. The main structure of the chair has a small gap for the smaller piece to slide into, forming the three legs of the chair. Instead of using glue or screws, this simple mechanism, along with physics, give the chair its stability.

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This means that the Som Chair isn’t just easy to assemble, it’s also easy to take apart if you need to move it or even dispose of it. It might be possible to break down and recycle the plastic to make other objects, making it a little bit more sustainable, despite being made of plastic. You can also mix and match designs or replace only parts that are broken, giving the design more longevity as well.

Granted, this design won’t be as flat as a flat-packed chair, but you can package two of these together in a single box. Being 3D printed, there’s also more leeway in possible designs, giving this asymmetrical Memphis Milano chair more personality than your common minimalist yet plain flat-packed variety.

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The Humble Origata Collection Is Inspired By The Fascinating Art Of Kimono Making

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A minimal and beautifully designed piece of furniture can truly make a room come full circle. It can be the final piece that completes a space, building a comfortable and cohesive haven, rather than a random area. Furniture pieces make or break a home, they add to the essence or soul of a home, hence one needs to be extremely picky while choosing a furniture design. The design should be a reflection of you, and what you want your home to be. When you place a piece of furniture in a room, it should instantly integrate with the space, creating a wholesome and organic environment. And, a minimal furniture collection that would be an amazing addition to your home is the Origata collection by Nao Tamura for Porro.

Designer: Nao Tamura for Porro

Designed by New York-based Japanese designer Nao Tamura, the Origata collection includes the Origata bench and console. They’re inspired by the intricate craft of Kimono making and were designed for the Italian furniture brand Porro. The furniture pieces are crafted from aluminum sheet material, which has been cut and assembled using techniques inspired by the art of kimono making, in which fabric is cut in straight lines, and then artfully sewn together.

This unique technique produces almost zero waste, which is why Tamura employed this clever process, since it maximizes material use, in turn boosting the production of his collection. Both the Origata bench and console feature the same essential shape – a sturdy geometric form that has a softness to it, owing to its cultural influences, and craft-related inspiration.

The beautiful pieces represent and showcase Porro and Tamura’s shared values which include cultural identity, internationality, and a genuine respect and admiration for materials. The various pieces make an excellent fit for entryways, waiting rooms, or even bedrooms. They are versatile furniture designs that can also be employed and placed in areas for work, writing, and meditation. Where would you want to place these pieces?

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Top 10 Sustainable Stools To Incorporate Eco-Friendly Furniture Designs In Your Home

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Stools are truly the way to go in today’s world! Stools deserve to be given way more credit than they get. Stools are often overlooked, maybe because they occupy minimum space, and aren’t overbearing. But these traits are what make stools so great in my opinion! I mean, they’re compact, and a great space-saving furniture option for our modern homes. They are also super portable, and if you make them sustainable, well they’re everything you could need. And, we’ve put together a collection of stool designs that not only provide a healthy seating experience while promoting a good and stable posture but most of them are created from sustainable materials as well. From a minimal stackable stool with slim wooden legs to a stool made from recycled bike parts – these well-designed stools are the furniture pieces you need to add to your home.

1. Drum Stool

Dubbed the Drum Stool, this stackable, minimal, and sustainable stool looks like a cute little wine cork when you first look at it. But as you dig and look deeper, you realize the stool has quite a lot to offer. The sustainable stool is made using cork and wood, creating a sturdy and durable seating design that is truly eco-friendly, and also quite aesthetic to look at.

Why is it noteworthy?

Cork and wood were selected to build the wood, rating it pretty high on sustainability. The seat was built using cork, while wood was used to build the legs, creating a sustainable and eco-friendly seating solution, that will integrate well with modern contemporary homes.

What we like

  • Equipped with a round trimmed surface that gives it a fun and playful shape
  • Functions as a cohesive and harmonious furniture piece

What we dislike

  • The trimmed cork seat doesn’t look too comfy to sit on for longer durations of time

2. The 2 Stools from 1 Bicycle

The 2 Stools from 1 Bicycle project upcycled old bikes to create new stools. They create a product that can be easily used by everyone, and won’t be easily thrown away by people. The stools feature unique and noteworthy aesthetics, that will add some personality and charm to your living space, and you won’t feel like giving them away at all.

Why is it noteworthy?

The stools feature slanted legs which offer it a usual and unique shape, which brings to mind the image of the original bike frames they were taken from. One stool is equipped with three legs, while the other has four legs. The seat is crafted from recyclable cork, which isn’t from the bike, it does maintain the stool’s sustainable personality.

What we like

  • Unusual and unique aesthetics

What we dislike

  • The stools don’t look too comfy to sit on for long periods

3. The +52 Stool

Studio Plastique conducted extensive and deep research on the current timber designs in the market and their manufacturing. They then utilized all their knowledge to build a unique and sustainable wooden step stool called the +52 Stool. The +52 stool isn’t just a typical furniture design and is created to be a scenario.

Why is it noteworthy?

The stool captures and showcases the potential of the undervalued wood types, and how they can be used as sustainable alternatives to the typically-used wood types. The stool is manufactured using non-commercial woods such as koto, willow, elm, acacia, and birch.

What we like

  • The stool is created to address the lack of awareness regarding lesser-known wood species

What we dislike

  • The look of the stool is pretty rustic and raw, which won’t be preferred by everyone

4. Superpop Tables

These colorful little stools/tables are called the Superop tables, and they have mesmerizing terrazzo-like surfaces that have been crafted from recycled plastic. The Superpop tables are designed by Paolo Cappello for Miniforms, and they function as attractive little furniture pieces, that add a much-needed pop of color and character to your living space.

Why is it noteworthy?

The Superpop tables are quite versatile, and they can be utilized as side tables, stools, or even coffee tables. They are versatile, lightweight, and sustainable furniture pieces with a pop of fun!

What we like

  • Feature versatile functionality with a universal appeal

What we dislike

  • Since they’re so colorful and eccentric, could be difficult to match them with different interior styles

5. Plastic Translation Stool

Named the Plastic Translation Stool, this interesting stool design recreates a plastic form, building a form that is familiar and yet unique. This enables the unique wooden stool to possess a character of its own, adding some wooden minimalism and subtlety to your living space.

Why is it noteworthy?

Since the wooden legs won’t offer the same stability as the plastic bits, another element – the Birch plywood buttresses is added to the stool. It evens out some of the force across the beechwood legs, allowing the buttresses to be held together. This increases architectural stability, as well as visual amplification.

What we like

  • The stool doesn’t need screws or nails to be assembled
  • Features a fun puzzle-like design

What we dislike

  • Options to customize the stool are currently missing

6. Stump Recycled Stool

Derlot designed the original Stump stool sometime ago, and now they’ve unveiled the new Stump Recycled stool which has the same structure of the OG Stump stool, but it is interesting built from 80% recycled post-industrial plastic LPDE. The Stump Recycled stool is quite colorful and visually intriguing to look at, which adds extra brownie points besides its sustainability.

Why is it noteworthy?

The new Stump stool features a different design, as the patterns form a terrazzo-like design that offers the stool a textured and colored look. You can pick stools with a kaleidoscope-like finish, which provides a fresh interpretation of how recycled materials can be used to elevate a design.

What we like

  • Offers a new and fresh take on how recycled materials can be utilized

What we dislike

  • The stool is quite small and doesn’t look too comfy to sit on for long

7. Tie Stool

Dubbed the Tie Stool, this stunning stool is made from three bent pieces of plywood that effortlessly lock into one another, creating a unique tripod form that is quite comfy to sit on. It is a simple stool made using minimal materials making the stool quite a beauty.

Why is it noteworthy?

The three plywood strips can be split into 6 total parts, forming individual parts that are built using high pressure, causing the plywood to bend and retain its shape. The cutting processes are performed on the parts allowing them to interlock into one another.

What we like

  • Flat-packed and shipped to customers
  • Features a stackable form

What we dislike

  • Its compressed design means it needs a tabletop to add more space on the stool

8. TAKEoSEAT

Meet the TAKEoSEAT – a folding stool unlike any other. Designed by KRETHO, this portable stool allows you to simply pick it up, and move around as you please. You don’t need to rearrange furniture or sweat over a particularly heavy chair. It flattens down to a large portfolio and looks like a stylish bag made of felt.

Why is noteworthy?

The TAKEoSEAT is made from PET felt, and this felt is derived from plastic bottles that we often use and throw away without giving a second thought about where they may end up. They are put through a special process, to create material that is familiar to touch, but also strong and sturdy.

What we like

  • The stool is crafted from PET-felt
  • Has an easy-to-carry and portable form

What we dislike

  • Folding designs are quite common these days, so not much to set the stool apart

9. Cork Stool Concept

Made from cork, this minimalist stool concept is designed to offer you a sustainable seating solution, that reduces waste by converting two stools into one single bench, and then back again, as and when needed. It is like an “unknown” stool design, but it features a modular nature which leaves it interestingly open to interpretation and implementation.

Why is it noteworthy?

The design has a core element of a sturdy column of cork, which functions as a single cylinder, and forms the center of the stool. However, a smaller circle connects it to the removable seat with a hole in its center. It functions as a simple system that doesn’t need any extra parts or screws.

What we like

  • The seats can be changed or replaced without throwing away the cork

What we dislike

  • The bench variant will occupy substantial space in your home

10. Vale Collection

Named the VALE collection, this range of eco-friendly chairs and stools by Layer was designed for the US furniture brand KFI Studios. The furniture is made from recycled PET bottles and was created to protest against the plastic waste that often drowns and pollutes the oceans and landfills.

Why is it noteworthy?

The innovative collection is designed to be an eco-friendly and sustainable solution to the rising issue of plastic waste. The furniture is a refreshing change and an excellent specimen of sustainable furniture, in today’s world when 9 million tons of furniture are thrown in landfills.

What we like

  • The furniture is made using a material derived from recycled PET bottles. The material is durable and eco-friendly

What we dislike

  • The looks of the chairs and stool are a bit boring, more aesthetic details could have been added

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The Vank Cube Is A Modular & Flexible Furniture System For Spaces That Require Adaptability

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Called the Vank Cube, this modular furniture system was developed by the Polish brand Vank. The furniture system includes intriguing “building blocks” which are made from flax and hemp fibers. Designed by Vank’s creative director Anna Vonhausen, the Vank Cube can be combined and merged to fulfill a bunch of purposes, such as functioning as storage, space dividers, or even as base tables and desks. It is the kind of innovative and modern furniture solution we need in our homes, one which is sustainable, and has versatile functionality.

Designer: Vank

The various blocks feature a natural color palette, which is because they’ve been crafted from flax and hemp fibers. Vank says that the material choices are perfect for clients who want a minimalist or Japandi aesthetic, something that is subtle and clean, and yet functional. The aesthetic and appeal of the collection allow it to artfully merge with any space, it has a neutral vibe that seamlessly complements different rooms. This system is designed for interior spaces that need a lot of adaptability and versatility, such as cafes, schools, event venues, and offices.

The Vank Cube system utilizes reversible connectors and fasteners which allows for easy modification in “only a few moments”, according to the company. This allows users to customize and change the furniture system as and when needed, enabling them to create a space that perfectly suits their needs and requirements.

The system also includes certain optional add-on elements which support customization. These elements include an upholstered seat cushion, side panels built from biomaterial, and lightweight tops crafted from plywood. These can be finished in oak veneer or with different color coatings. If you’re seeking a well-designed and sustainable furniture solution, then the Vank Cube is the one for you. It is a flexible and modular furniture system that is designed to meet your modern-day requirements, whether they’re in an office, venue, or even your own home.

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Modular cork stool concept offers sustainable seating by turning into a bench

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Sitting is an important part of our daily lives, so it’s not unusual to see different kinds of seating furniture around places where people stay or pass through. Unfortunately, it’s hard to predict when you’d need a single chair or a multi-person bench, so spaces tend to either put multiple chairs together or have a few benches and force people to sit together. That strategy does work, at least until the situation changes and you need to change seats, which often means buying new seats and discarding the old ones. This minimalist stool concept tries to offer a more sustainable solution that helps reduce waste by turning two stools into a single bench and back again, depending on the need.

Designers: Erika Avery, Stu Cole

The requirements for a stool, chair, or bench are pretty simple. At the very least, it needs to be stable enough to support the weight of a human person sitting on it without toppling over or collapsing. Comfort is, of course, ideal, but some designs seem to forego that in exchange for other capabilities. It’s arguable that the “unknown” stool concept is one of these designs, though its modular nature leaves that open to interpretation and implementation.

The core element of this concept is the sturdy column made of cork, a sustainable and easily acquired material. It’s a single cylinder that makes up the center of the stool, but its secret lies in a smaller circle that connects to a removable seat with a hole in its center. It’s a simple system that requires no screws, extra parts, or complex mechanisms, which means maintenance, repair, and replacement will be just as simple as well.

That seat can, in theory, be anything, though the simple shapes of a square and a circle immediately come to mind. However, that doesn’t limit it to a single symmetrical shape either, since you can have a long rectangular seat with holes on each end, forming a bench when set on top of two cork columns. In fact, the design of the actual furniture is determined by the shape of that removable seat, and it can be as simple or as complex as needed.

The concept doesn’t exactly define what the seat has to be made of, so it can use wood, metal, plastic, or any other material. It can be bare or it can have some cushioning or upholstery to add a bit of comfort. More importantly, the seats can be changed, repaired, or replaced without throwing away the cork core, or vice versa. It’s a simple yet effective design that limits the waste of fixed chairs and stools while leaving the door open for combinations that deliver what’s needed at any given time.

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