Designer Furniture With Multiple Purposes
From a shelf that transforms into a 360-degree display to a side table that comes with a light, our selection of furniture with multiple uses are a must-read especially for design junkies!
Zanotta “Joy” shelf or room partition? You decide. Image: Zanotta.
Form and function are the two most important aspects when designing furniture. So for designers to combine duality in function for a single furniture piece, the creativity gets amped up. Here are a few highly functional furniture pieces destined to make your space or corners more purposeful while also aesthetically pleasing.
Miniforms — Table and Light
Miniforms “Ozz” lamp and side table. Image: Miniforms.
The “Ozz” floor lamp (black) with a shelf was designed by Paolo Cappello & Simone Sabatti for the Italian brand Miniforms. Stocked by Xtra, the floor lamp has two elements — a light and a table that serves as a catch-all tray made of ash wood. WIth its minimalist, streamlined look and chic curves this piece has dual functions.
Miniforms “Ozz” designed by Paolo Cappello & Simone Sabatti. Image: Miniforms.
The design is inspired by the shape of a tuning fork where the two elements face each other and communicate in a well-defined purpose. When Ozz is switched off, it becomes a small coffee table; when the lamp is on, it creates a warm, welcoming space where simple illumination seems to gather around the top, creating a vibrant feeling of comfort within your home.
Woud Sentrum — Side table and Shelf
Wound “Sentrum” side table and shelf. Image: Woud.
The “Sentrum” side table designed by German designers Schmahl + Schnippering (Maximilian Schmahl and Fabian Schnippering) for Danish furniture brand Woud is a recognisable design thanks to its attractive geometric form and elements.
Woud “Sentrum” designed by Schmahl + Schnippering. Image: Woud.
Under the round tabletop is an S-shaped construction, which creates a convenient storage space where one can insert books or magazines and is ideal for open living room spaces. The sculpturally shaped Sentrum side table is made of painted metal. The designers studied at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and they share a love for small details and soft shapes, creating designs that interact with people and their everyday lives.
Zanotta Galeotta — Armchair and Lounger
Zanotta “Galeotta” convertible armchair. Image: Zanotta.
Designed in 1968 by a trifecta of designers — Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi — for renowned Italian furniture brand Zanotta, the “Galeotta” armchair has been for 2023. Distributed by Royal Interiors, it is a welcoming armchair that can be converted into a lounger. The armchair features flip-up cushions and opens up, extending into a chaise longue and a daybed.
Zanotta “Galeotta” was designed by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi in 1968 but updated for 2023. Image: Zanotta.
The unique material and construction are formed by differentiated density polyurethane foam and have no supporting frame or internal mechanisms. The unique and dynamic design consists of three geometric blocks with an irregular profile to create three different configurations, for a seated or semi-supine posture with two different inclinations of the backrest module. It remains an innovative and revolutionary design even to this day.
Zanotta Joy 712 — Shelf, Room Partition, Side Table
Zanotta “Joy” shelf was designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1989. Image: Zanotta.
Designed in 1989 by the renowned Achille Castiglioni, the “Joy” shelf can serve as a display piece, a room partition and even a side table based on the smallest model. Available at Royal Interiors, the uprights and shelves are made of medium-density fiberboard, finished with scratch-resistant embossing in white, black or burgundy. Steel articulated joints painted black for the models black or burgundy, or in the shade white for the white model. The product is available with either five or seven shelves, or opt for the two-shelf unit to serve as a coffee table or side table. When designing Joy, Castiglioni realised the idea of technological and formal annihilation. He envisioned the product as a “neutral” object with multiple roles, the possible archetype of a new category. Joy’s peculiarity lies in how some horizontal shelves rotate freely around a vertical articulated column made of steel tubes.
Kartell Trix — Ottoman, Armchair or Lounger
Zanotta “Trix” ottoman, lounger, armchair designed by Piero Lissoni. Image: Kartell.
Designed in 2006 by the renowned architect Piero Lissoni for Kartell, the “Trix” ottoman is a system of elastics and three pieces of polyurethane foam covered in removable technical fabric with a three-dimensional weave. It was originally available in white, slate, black or orange but the fabric is now offered in a multitude of patterns and hues.
Kartell “Trix” was designed in 2006. Image: Kartell.
Stocked by Space Furniture, the Trix ottoman can be converted to an armchair, sofa or chaise lounge for whatever your space desires.
