Transformer Furniture: The Flip Table by flipfurniture
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01. 7.08
TreeHugger's affinity for transformer furniture goes beyond a simple delight with being able to play with our furnishings; transformers offer slick solutions for getting the most out of living or work space by performing multiple tasks with a simple fold or flip. If you can get one piece of furniture to do more than one thing, then that's at least one less thing you need to have. When done right, transformers present the possibility of replacing many objects with just a few, which is an idea we really like.
The Flip Table, by UK-based designers flipfurniture, does it right. The coffee/dining table combination "flips" back and forth with just a few moves, using a slick sliding mechanism to transform from sleek coffee table height to a spacious dining table. The table earns bonus points for its smart storage of the available cork dining stools -- six can be stored underneath the coffee table (above, top left) and popped out for seating at the dining table -- and for its sustainable materials; it employs cork for the stools and Forest Stewardship Council-certified European walnut or oak for the table. The combination of materials and multi-functional design makes it one of the better options we've seen for sustainable seating.
This table is the first in flip's line of forthcoming space-saving, multi-functioning designs; we'll be watching to see what comes next. Hit the jump for pictures of the coffee table, dining table, and everything in between. ::flipfurniture via ::Dwell.com
This is so cool!! Love it
This is brilliant!
How many people use their dining room tables on a regular basis?
I hate to admit it, but we eat on the sofa or at the kitchen bar, and only use our table for special occasions or when company is over. We do hope to rectify that habit when we have kids, but such is reality for many.
It's way cool. But I think it misses the point of saving space. Transformer furniture works when the same space can be used at different times for mutually exclusive things (like a murphy bed or even a futon that becomes a sofa). For this thing, the kinds of seating you have around a coffee table are so different from the kinds you have around a dinning table (and I can't see using backless stools for either) it doesn't seem to me that you'd really save much space with this.
But it's way cool.