Transformer Furniture: Dror Benshetrit
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.23.07
The Shakers used to have a rail with pegs mounted on the wall, so that when they were finished using their chairs, they could hang them up and get them out of the way. Designer Dror Benshetrit designed this cantilevered chair that you just lift up and it goes flat, hangs on the wall with a simplicity and elegance that the Shakers would have admired. It is made by BBB Emmebonacina in Italy, so it won't be cheap, but it truly is "an inspiring take on the maximization of space and the transformation of an object from 2D to 3D."
We discovered Benshetrit while doing our post on Skin Shoes; this guy understands that less is more. We love furniture that folds up and gets out of the way, or transforms into different functions and uses, and this table is one of the best we have seen. If your desk has to do double duty as a dining room table, it can be a real pain to clear it away. This table transforms from desk to dining room through a completely spectacular rotating motion that has to be seen, but of course the designer's website is in flash with no hyperlinks, so you should go to ::Studio Dror,, and follow the link to folding table, and click on image 2 to watch the animation.
The concept is nice, but I was wondering about the materials they use. Does that furniture contain a lot of metal to make it stronger or is it combined so that looks nice? I guess that this type of furniture addresses to small houses or to people that want to transform their room instantly into another one, isn't it so?