Thinking big

Q: How did the collection start?
A: It got started when I realized how much I dislike the conventional coffee table; it takes up space and does little except collect dust and a lot of household mess. Generally made at 16 to 18 inches high, coffee tables aren't comfortable relative to the conventional sofa or chair because you have to stretch and reach down to place or retrieve objects.
   
So the first small spaces furniture that I designed addressed this problem by using a nifty mechanism that elevated the coffee table from its conventional height by bringing the top surface both up and toward the user where it rests securely before the sitting user with a relationship that's similar to that when one is sitting at a table or desk in a dining or desk chair.

So the coffee table enables eating, working with pencil and pad or laptop computer and lots of other things too; jigsaw puzzles, crafts, and so on, all while seated comfortably in chair or on sofa. The inside of the coffee table is also set up to accommodate those tasks having a number of configurations to store papers, pens and pencils, the laptop and even a few hanging files for the work in progress, as well as games, puzzles, wrapping paper and all of the gadgets and booklets related to a quiet evening in front of the TV. Imagining some of the things that that coffee table didn't do, led me to think about ways in which other pieces of furniture might give service to the user and how that could be done.

Q: What's in the works?
A: We've been playing around for a couple of years with armoires that provide surprises. One example: traditional storage on shelves or a hanging rod with specific functional twists like a slide-out baby changing table, a second glide at keyboard height, and deep drawers in the bottom section for diaper pail and other storage, all useable later for a TV or monitor, full-width desk and places to accommodate a printer/fax/copier, paper, books and files.

We continue to muse on all the ways that the traditional armoire, chest of drawers, coffee table, end table, sofa table, dining table, desk, bed and so on can serve the user so that we wring the greatest utility out of the space the furniture occupies. The uses go beyond the home to the cottage, office and school. We're presently working on furniture for schools, offices, tiny buildings and other tiny spaces.

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