Spotted at this year’s New Designers exhibition in London, Royal Stool and 46 (table) are a series of furniture pieces inspired by the culture of recovery and reuse. Designed by Lebanese-born Niloufar Afnan, these recycled stools and tables are made from scrap materials, decontextualized objects and found furniture parts that have been assembled together in a new way. After conducting a 4-year-long photography-based research project in Beirut called Inviting Surfaces, the designer was able to express people’s everyday creativity and problem solving through new, functional objects.
Niloufar Afnan recently graduated from the furniture design program at Central St. Martin’s University in London. Her 46 table is made from 46 discarded table legs found throughout the city. The different legs were cut to size and assembled together with a welded metal structure to create a maze-shaped horizontal surface that makes playful use of void space.
Royal Stool is essentially a stuffed British Royal Mail bag placed on top of a bucket and adjusted with a plastic ring that holds it together tightly. The idea is that anyone can insert soft objects underneath the stool to create fantastic seating objects from assorted local finds.
Niloufar Afnan’s collection of works is another fantastic example of how we can find new uses for things that already exist around us. It serves as great inspiration for anyone interested in making own objects in a cheaper, more creative and definitely more fun way.
+ Niloufar Afnan
Photo © Niloufar Afnan
