Space-Saving Ideas from NYCxDesign Week

By

Finding contemporary design for small spaces was easy during NYCxDesign week.

Finding contemporary design for small spaces was easy during NYCxDesign week, like on these yummy cupcakes at the Fitz Hansen party. Photo: Meredith Craig de Pietro

NYCxDesign Week is a must for anyone obsessed with furniture and design. With parties, design fairs, and open showrooms, it is a chance for NYC to celebrate all disciplines of design spanning throughout Manhattan and and Brooklyn, and the iconic designers who live here. It would be impossible for one person to hit all of the events, but I gave it a go with attendance at design fairs like Wanted NYC (in Manhattan and Brooklyn), Sight Unseen, Design Junction and the high-end furniture behemoth, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).

As I raced past all of the gorgeous furniture, I absorbed all the new microtrends of interior design. We can expect to see Brooklyn restaurants decked out in plum furniture, shiny brass hardware and bent wood tables by next year. Additionally, I saw incredible wallpaper, jewelry for the home, and an entire wall made out of a garden that never needs to be watered. Seeing such craftsmanship and design is inspiring, but the trend I was really drawn to were all the ingenious new space-saving ideas in children’s furniture. No matter how luxuriously your apartment is decorated, having kids in this city means always coveting more space.

This Murphy bunk bed folds down into a couch or a desk, giving tons of options for a small room. Photo: Resource Furniture

This Murphy bunk bed folds down into a couch or a desk, giving tons of options for a small room. Photo: Resource Furniture

Kali Duo Sofa (2) Kali Duo Sofa (3)

Resource Furniture

Resource Furniture wants to answer the question, “How can 300sf function like 600sf?” They claim that their furniture line will virtually add an entire room (without having to hire contractors.) Nowhere would this be more appreciated than a kid’s room, where a child may have to share small spaces with a sibling, leaving no room on the floor to play. Most families dream of a house in the suburbs simply to be able to add a playroom. The Kali Duo bed is the realization of that dream without an added commute. This is a Murphy bunk bed that actually folds down into a couch or a desk. Your kids can go from playing, to homework, to sleepovers in just moments, opening up all of the possibilities of a small room. Resource Furniture Showroom, 969 Third Avenue at 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Call for pricing at 212.753.2039 info@resourcefurniture.com.

This coffee table stores additional seating underneath. Photo: Iglooplay

This coffee table stores additional seating underneath. Photo: Iglooplay

MJC_6887

Iglooplay by Lisa Albin Design

If you’ve ever visted the Kingsbridge branch of the NY Public Library in the Bronx, you might recognize Iglooplay’s brightly colored pebble stone cushions from their children’s room. The company’s infectious designs all work double duty in its use, allowing movement, stacking and rearranging depending on the situation. I’m in love with the Tortoise Table, which is a coffee table that kids can climb on, hide under, or pull out the custom colored seat cushions. To me this is a dream table for arts and crafts, homework, and imaginary play. The Interlock Chair + Tray Set is a perfect tiny table for a kid’s room that can be unfolded into two children’s seats for entertaining, and then puzzled back together into a side table. Iglooplay by Lisa Albin Call for pricing or to place an order at 718 622 0047 info@iglooplay.com

Great walls make great neighbors...or siblings. Photo: Molo

Great walls make great neighbors…or siblings. Photo: Molo

Molo

Sharing small spaces with the family can require very creative uses of space. I’ve seen a dining room being used as a bedroom, siblings who divide a room with a sheet, and a temporary wall built into a loft. Molo’s Softwall is an alternative for any of these arrangements. A honeycomb structure made out of paper expands and contracts depending on the needed function, making a temporary wall. The pieces are connected via magnets and make a uniquely seamless divider wherever you might need one, and folds away if you would rather have the open space. The walls come in a multitude of colors, and the material is completely fire retardant, in case you are worried about potential fire hazards with the idea of a paper wall. Molo can be found at ABC Carpet & Home or purchase online at molostore.com. Contact the molo studio directly at info@molodesign.com for more information. Pricing starts at $1200.

These transformable children's chairs come with a moral. "There's always room for one more." Photo:  Noviembre Estudio

These transformable children’s chairs come with a moral. “There’s always room for one more.” Photo: Noviembre Estudio

Noviembre Estudio

As part of Wanted Design’s showings from Spain, Madrid’s Noviembre Estudio showed the most adorable child’s seating, which they called the Little Friend. Two children’s chairs, brightly painted out of beech lacquered wood can be reassembled, by removing alternate slats and transforming them into a bench that seats three. The designers say that this is furniture with a moral: there is always room for one more. The best part is that the transformation is so easy and fun, that even the smallest kids would be able to participate in the construction. Don’t be surprised if this product alone births a new generation of furniture designers. Contact Noviembre Estudio for more information at info@noviembreestudio.com. Pricing starts at $93.

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)