Who says furniture has to be strictly utilitarian? Some furniture designers think outside the box, creating innovative, funky and sometimes strange sets that are just as eye-catching as they are functional. From tables with hidden compartments to compact dining sets that unfold like the petals of a flower, here are 15 incredibly creative sets of funky furniture.
Café Furniture with Compartments for Your Stuff
(image via: Crib Candy)
Don’t you hate it when you get to a café and have no place to put your handbag, umbrella, coat or other personal belongings? Kaman Tung designed this smart set of café furniture with compartments that hold your stuff, so you’ll never have to put it on the floor again. One chair has a compartment behind the seat, another has space for a laptop or briefcase in the arm and the third has a hook for coats. The table even has a shelf below the glass surface for items like keys and gloves.
Space-Saving Teak Bathroom Furniture
(images via: Trendir)
Anyone who has lived in tight quarters knows that space can sometimes come at a premium, making innovative space-saving solutions all the more important. This minimalist teak bathroom furniture set from Bristol and Bath may not look like it offers much in the way of storage upon first glance, but hidden within the wooden supports are pull-out drawers roomy enough to hold all of your toiletries.
‘Stay at My Home’ Sleep Set for Guests
(image via: DesignASYL)
With the ‘Stay at My Home’ sleep set, what looks like an ordinary side table with a blanket rolled up beneath it transforms into a full set of furniture for guests. The mattress, made of soft foam, unrolls into a comfortable bed and stored within the drawer of the table are bed linens, a pillow and a bedside lamp. The light weight of the objects gives the user freedom to move them around as desired.
KEWB Multi-Functional Living Room Set
(images via: PopGadget)
KEWB furniture is the perfect solution for rooms that you occasionally need to transform into bedrooms for guests. This compact little set turns from a side table and chair into a shelf unit, a bed or a dining table and floor cushions. It’s simple, multifunctional and inexpensive at about £319– ideal for dorms, as well.
Kraft Paper SoftSeating
(images via: Unica Home)
This kraft paper ‘softseating’ furniture set by Molo uses a flexible honeycomb structure made entirely of 50% recycled kraft paper to fan into stools, benches and loungers. And, when you’re not using it, it can easily be compressed flat and stored on a shelf. This unusual set of eco-friendly, fold-up furniture was recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for their permanent collection.
Livable Patio Set Livens Up Stone
(images via: Trendir)
How do you make a cold, stark stone patio feel cozy? With soft, welcoming textiles that warm up the space and make it feel inviting. This patio furniture by Paola Lenti comes in buff and beige to blend in with its surroundings, or in deep eggplant to provide a striking contrast.
Stackable Furniture for Small Spaces
(images via: The Design Blog)
With large homes getting less popular in favor of smaller, energy-efficient living spaces, stackable furniture is becoming more common – and it doesn’t have to be cheap, dorm-room quality stuff. These two sets of stacking furniture – Capsule Stacking and Golf Stacking – each transform into a set of chairs and a small table. When not in use, just stack them up again and they hardly take up any space at all.
M-cube Mobile, Modular, Multi-Functional Seating
(images via: Student Design Awards)
The M-cube is a multi-functional seating unit designed for people living in high-density housing. It adapts to irregular, narrow and small floor spaces to reduce clutter, increase spatial efficiency and furniture function. It’s super lightweight and has removable upholstery so it can be used in all different ways.
Stanislav Katz’ Brilliantly Bright Furniture Designs
(images via: Stanislav Katz)
These wild and colorful furniture designs by Stanislav Katz look like they could easily have come from a movie set with their unusual shapes and proportions. The curvy bookshelf with a built-in spot for lounging and reading is pure brilliance.
Kure Pod Dining Table & Chairs
(images via: Furniture Store Blog)
For those who lean toward extreme minimalism, the Kure table and chair set may be your ultimate dining furniture. When not in use, the Kure dining set is a giant white sphere, but when you’re ready to eat, it opens to reveal four seats, a tabletop, a lit central pillar and an umbrella-like roof with built-in lights. This design, by Fatih Can Sar?öz, is still in concept phase – but it’s an interesting one.
Wave Chaise Teenage Bedroom Set
(image via: Design Boom)
In the words of designer Roberta Rammê of Brazil, the Wave Chaise is meant to “unify beauty, comfort, and functionality” through innovative ergonomic design, intense colors and the appeal of modern technology. The chaise has built-in media storage for books and CDs, and a place to hang a flat-screen television as well as a built-in desk. Rammê says, “This concept is inspired by the values and personality of a today’s teenager and the standards generated by a global hi-tech culture of facilities, where the access to technology is cheap and easy.”
Poufman Living Room Set
(images via: Thread Mad)
The Poufman living room set by Italian company Qayot uses the retro imagery of Pac-Man video games to create seats and ottomans that fit together in various configurations. Designed as a tribute to pop culture, the Poufman set will be a favorite of nostalgic geeks.
Illuminated LED Furniture
(images via: Dvice)
The ‘Stardust’ series by Italian furniture company Meritalia uses the glow of built-in low-voltage LED lights to illuminate these sofas, pillows, armchairs and footstools. It’s extremely lightweight thanks to the packing materials-inspired design. While the set may not be most people’s cup of tea for the living room, it could be very cool for nighttime pool parties.
Furniture That Grows With Your Child
(images via: Yanko Design)
Ilo is a collection of furniture made to fit a child’s needs from infancy to the teenage years simply by rearranging its parts. Designed by Carmela Niederhauser & Nadine Grau, this bedroom set features a crib/bed as well as parts that can be transformed into desks, armoires, bookcases and more. The pieces easily snap together, making it easy to change the setup according to your child’s development.
Blooming Furniture Set
(images via: Design Launches)
The blooming flower dining table set is another concept design by Fatih Can Sar?öz. Six green chairs surrounding a simple green-and-white table gracefully open and close like the petals of a flower to unveil seating when needed and disguise it otherwise.
