A finalist at the Green Furniture Awards 2012, the ‘A-Board’ by Argentine-born Italy-based Tomas Schön’s is a bookshelf that consists simply of an eco-labeled plywood board and one strong orange ribbon. Using an innovative way to bend wood with the use of a laser cutter, this flat-pack, no-glue, no-screw shelving unit transforms from a single sheet into a shelf with just the pull of its ribbon. Exhibited at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair, this elegant piece of design is self-supporting and will rest elegantly against any wall.

Via Furnifurnish

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Post tags: "flat pack", "green furniture", argentine design, eco labeled wood, Green Design Events, green furniture awards 2012, green materials, laser cutting, no glue no screws, plywood, self assembly furniture, Stockholm Furniture Fair, Transforming Furniture

With a bevy of hidden compartments that you can stash your stuff in, the Kai table is an urban apartment dweller’s dream. Built by Naoki Hirakoso and Takamitsu Kitahara, the coffee table is made of wood and has a deceptively smooth surface that those in the know can nudge, lift or slide to access the treasures (or mundane items) stored within.

+ Kai Table

Via Make via Dornob

Photos: Takumi Ota

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Post tags: "sustainable furniture", double duty furniture, eco design, eco furniture, green design, hidden compartment table, kai, kai table, naoki hirakoso, sustainable design, Takamitsu Kitahara, Transforming Furniture, transforming table

Reinier de Jong’s new REK coffee table adapts to any apartment size or social situation with ease. The wooden surfaces slide and transform to create an array of usable surfaces, or fold up compactly into a solid coffee table. The REK table is perfect for entertaining guests, creating an extra spot for snacks (Super Bowl party, anyone?), or even storing your favorite reading materials for curling up on the couch.

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Post tags: "green furniture", coffee table, eco design, folding tables, green coffee table, green design, green interiors, green products, modular coffee table, modular furniture, Reinier de jong, REK table, super bowl table, sustainable design, Transforming Furniture

There’s nothing quite like settling into a comfy seat to read a good book, and it’s even better when your bookshelf doubles as a rocking chair! Designed by Hyunjin Seo from the Seoul-based design group KamKam, ‘The Motion’ is a curvaceous multi-tasking bookcase that also serves as a literary lounge chair. We love how Seo’s clever rocking design saves space and materials that would otherwise be used for two separate pieces of furniture – and it seems a lot more stable than the rolling bookshelves that we’ve seen in the past.

+ KamKam

Via The Blog On The Bookshelf

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Post tags: "green furniture", bookcase chair, books, bookshelf chair, bookshelf rocking chair, green bookshelf, green chair, green design, green library, Hyunjin Seo, kamkam, library, multi use furniture, space-saving design, sustainable design, the motion, Transforming Furniture, two in one design

Read the rest of Transforming Crates Unfold to Reveal Incredible Furniture Sets and Foosball Table

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Post tags: "green furniture", crates, furniture design, industrial crate furniture, minimalist furniture, modern design, naihan li, Transforming Furniture

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Post tags: Decorative Objects, DIY, emotional values, Green Design Events, Green Home deco, green interiors, green lighting, green products, hackney, london design festival 2011, recycled art, recycled furniture, Recycled Materials, Transforming Furniture

Read the rest of Home Less Home: Shipping Container House Questions the Necessities of Modern Living

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Post tags: "green furniture", bicycles, copenhagen design week 2011, DIY, Green Design Events, green home decor, green interiors, green materials, ikea furniture, Prefab Housing, recycled shipping containers, Sustainable Building, Transforming Furniture

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Post tags: "green furniture", Art, biodegradable materials, british design, degree show, DIY, Eco-Inspiration, fish scales recycling, gallery, Green Appliances, Green Design Events, green materials, green products, green resources, green technology, Interactive Objects, London, New Materials, orange peels recycling, Recycled Materials, recycling / compost, renewable energy, ron arad, Royal College of Art, Solar Power, Sustainable Materials, Transforming Furniture, water issues

Multifunctional objects can sometimes be unnecessarily difficult to use. But French designer Matali Crasset has designed a simple, yet stylish eco-friendly piece that requires little thought, while still providing a whole lot of convenience. Dubbed ‘Double Side’, Crasset’s latest creation for Italian firm Danese Milano is a chair and desk in-one!

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Post tags: "green furniture", felt material, Matali Crasset, multifunctional furniture, plywood, Sustainable Materials, Transforming Furniture

The Hybrid Chair is a versatile piece of transforming furniture that can be used as a dining chair, a stool/ottoman or a bench. It consists of 2 components – a base and a back – plus stainless steel hardware pieces to hold it together. With the back in place, the piece is in dining chair mode. By easily removing the back, the chair base becomes a stool or ottoman. Multiple chair bases can also be locked together to form a bench of any desired length. In addition to being a multi-purpose piece of furniture, the Hybrid Chair has a long lifespan and is made from sustainably harvested and recycled timber.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: chair that turns into ottoman, eco chair, eco design, green bench, green chair, green design, hybrid chair, multi purpose chair, sustainable chair, transforming chair, Transforming Furniture

Inspired by the benches and picnic tables we would normally see at an outdoor park, this practical piece designed by Legato Studio gracefully transforms from eating surface to seating with less effort than would be needed to fold a futon flat. Debuting this year at ICFF for New York Design Week, the table/bench is made from plyboo (100% renewable laminated bamboo) and finished with a water-based lacquer. Designed to fill a void in urban furniture it’s perfect for city dwellers, and depending on your needs, it can provide either seating and space for three people or seating and surface room for up to six!

Read the rest of Legato Studio’s Transforming Bench Goes from Dining Table to Seating in a Snap

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Post tags: "green furniture", Ashlee Conner, bamboo bench, bamboo dining room table, bamboo furniture, Bret Sorkness, contemporary furniture, eco-friendly design, Furniture Fair, green design, green dining room table, icff 2011, icff 2011 nyc, icff new york city, inhabitat icff, inhabitat icff reporting, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, legato, legato transforming table, Matt Lee, new york city furniture fair, nyc furniture fair, Transforming Furniture

It’s a step stool! It’s an ironing board! No, it’s a chair! Actually the humorously named Bachelor Chair is all three. Conceived in the 18th century, the wooden, nearly all-purpose piece of furniture was designed to help single men who couldn’t land a wife to maintain a proper home. Some believe the chair was one of Thomas Jefferson’s many inventions, dubbing it the “Jefferson Chair,” but it’s better known as the Bachelor Chair. Whatever ya call it, anyone who’s lived in a NY apartment will agree that this multi-use piece is a space saving godsend.

Read the rest of The Bachelor Chair is a Step Stool, Seat and Ironing Board All in One

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Post tags: "green furniture", Bachelor's chair, Design, eco design, green design, jefferson chair, multi purpose furniture, new york city, Transforming Furniture

Designer Benoit Lienart is the master-mind behind the Sweetch18 – a clever transforming armchair/coffee table that was recently recognized by L’Observeur du Design 2011. We love seeing innovative examples of multifunctional furniture, and Lienart has done a great job of making Sweet18′s transformation from table to chair intuitive and easy to execute. Made from melamine and steel, the armchair/coffee table is meant to be used outside.

+ Benoit Lienart

Via Cubeme

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Post tags: Benoit Lienart, L’Observeur du Design 2011, Sweetch18, Transforming Furniture

These days, many of us do double or even triple duty as professionals, parents and students – shouldn’t our furniture do the same? Well that’s what industrial designer Davide Tonizzo was thinking when he came up with Gig, smart piece of transforming furniture that can be set up as a chair and ottomon, two ottomans, a chaise lounge or even a bed. “As the world becomes more urbanized and energy-efficient, spaces will become compact. As interiors get smaller, furniture has to get smarter. Gig allows a small room to be used in different ways,” explains Tonizzo of his design, and we couldn’t agree more. Check out the (slightly wacky) video of Gig in action here.

+ DesignD

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Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable furniture", 4 in 1 furniture, davide tonizzo, design d, designd, eco design, gig, gig furniture, green design, green products, multi use furniture, Transforming Furniture

We’ve seen our fair share of transforming furniture, but nothing quite as imaginative (or downright bizarre) as this oven that transforms into a lounge chair. Created by the designer behind the WayOutHere Etsy shop, the comfy chair looks like a regular, unassuming oven until you open the oven door and flip down the stovetop to reveal a sitting area fit for a… chef? We’re not sure, but we do know that this would make one heck of a conversation piece in your living room.

+ Oven Lounge

Via Recyclart

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Post tags: eco design, green design, green products, oven, oven lounge, oven that turns into a couch, oven that turns into a sofa, recycled furniture, Transforming Furniture, transforming oven, wayouthere

One of our favorite finds from this year’s BKLYN Designs is the U.M.O., a playful piece of multitasking furniture that transitions from a coffee table to a bench to a desk with a simple flick of the wrist. Designed by UM Project, the “Unidentified Magical Object” is crafted almost entirely from renewable cork and even features slots for additional storage, making it a fantastically fun and versatile addition to any room.

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

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Post tags: BKLYN Designs, green design, green furnishings, new york design week, sustainable design, Transforming Furniture, u.m.o, um project, unidentified magical object

Have you ever gotten stuck in a crowded room and had to uncomfortably share half of your seat with someone else?  Drawing inspiration from these awkward experiences, Pratt student Charlotte Kreitmann came up with an ingenious transforming chair design that won Inhabitat’s Best Student Design award last weekend at BKLYN Designs. Her design, dubbed Schair, is made of reclaimed wood turns from a chair into a loveseat and is the perfect solution for one person or two!

Read the rest of Schair is a Chair that Two Can Share

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Post tags: BKLYN Designs, Brooklyn, Charlotte Kreitmann, Inhabitat’s Best Student Design, new york city, Pratt Institute, reclaimed wood, Schair, Transforming Furniture

There’s no reason to let your couch kick your butt into an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle. Designed for Italian furniture manufacturer Campeggi, Tobias Fraenzel’s “Champ” lets you show your sofa who’s boss. This multi-faceted chair which made its debut at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair not only affords a comfy cushion to park your tired glutes, but also features a neat modern design that provides a discreet outlet for you to get your daily workout!

Read the rest of Champ: A Sofa that Helps You Get into Shape!

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Post tags: campeggi, champ chair, Design for Health, exercise furniture, health furniture, healthy lifestyles, Milan, Milan Furniture Fair, tobias fraenzel, Transforming Furniture

Odds & Ends, Bits & Pieces is a beautiful four-piece furniture set made entirely out of re-purposed materials. Designed by Inhabitat favorite Jo Meesters, the spring-colored furniture was crafted using a variation of upholstering and weaving techniques and is an amazing transformation of 34 discarded wooden beams and 16 leftover blankets.

Read the rest of Odds & Ends Recycled Furniture Changes the Value of Trash

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Post tags: Dutch Design Week, green design, green furniture, recy, recycled, repurposed materials, Studio Joe Meesters, sustainable design, TESTLAB, Transforming Furniture

Imagine inviting a dinner party of six into a formal dining room with only 3 chairs. The horror! Well, it’s really no problem with the Guarda Inside-Out Chair by Zanic Design. At first glance it’s a sleek, modern piece that is so slim, it can’t possibly have room to hide a box of chocolates, let alone a whole other chair. That is unless the other chair is molded right around the first chair like a second skin – hidden in plain sight. When you slide the white outer chair off, it “gives birth” to the inner one nesting doll-style. What a great way to psych your dinner guests out!

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Post tags: 2 in 1 furniture, alberto villareal, guarda inside out chairs, silla guarda, Transforming Furniture