Form and function are the watchwords of a new generation of ...

Tag : living room furniture
obably with much higher price-tags than anything found at the localMothercare.

They might also want to have a flick through a new book, Designedfor Kids, by interiors author Phyllis Richardson, which is packedwith more than 450 of the most essential (and fun) items that achild, from babyhood to pre-teens, could ever need. The author hasdone the research for parents everywhere, scouring the internet anddesign catalogues for the best there is. It is immediately obviousthat both imagination and attention to practical detail are key inwhat she chooses to feature.

This book has a lot of high design, a lot of eye-catchingmasterpieces, that will have people reaching for their wallets,says Richardson. ìBut there is also a lot of design that justmakes the day-to-day work of carrying, walking, changing, evenappeasing, small children a little less trying and much moreaesthetically pleasing.î

That doesn't mean every item is complex. Just look at the cleanlines of the smart, modular furniture system by Suzanne and JamesHerbert, or the timelessness of the Sparrow birch furniture bydesign company Oeuf. Also, something like the Child/Child Highchairby Maartje Steenkamp takes a simple idea and gives it legs ñ verylong ones. Her white, beechwood high-chair is on stilts and wascreated, as Richardson explains, ìwith the idea that a small childlikes to be carried around, and observe the world on the same levelas the parent. As a child grows, the chair legs can be cut shorter,to keep junior at table height. A saw comes with the chair, so youcan trim the stilts yourself.

Like most of the designers in the book, Steenkamp was inspired tocreate this item after having her own children. Although almostevery product for adults has been re-designed a million times, thechildren's market has, thus far, been neglected in comparison.Itís only recently that companies, like Habitat (who released aVIP kids range with designs by the likes of Paco Rabanne andChristian Lacroix in 2007), have cottoned on to an emerging luxurymarket. It seems that, until they start getting pocket money,infants arenít the active consumers that manufacturers want.

Most of the products presented here have been created since 2000,says Richardson. And, of the individual inventors, most are parentsthemselves who, faced with inadequate designs for pushchairs,strollers, highchairs, cots or toys, decided to make those objectsor devices that they and their children craved.

Sisters Louise and Bolette Blaedel, from Denmark, are anotherexample of designers inspired by the small people in their lives.Their simple and colourful animal-shaped foam forms can be sat on,squashed, stacked up and see-sawed upon.

The animal motif was inspired by a trip to the zoo when Boletteísyoung son became wildly excited by the creatures that he saw, eventhough he was less than a year old, says Richardson. The design was10 years in the making and was created to appeal to the basicsenses.

In fact, most of the designs in the book appeal to children'selemental feelings. More so, one feels, than products for adults.Whereas grown-ups are expected to be interested only in smoothproducts in black, white or chrome, the kids can revel in ananarchic explosion of colour and texture. Just check out the Robot& Monster tableware by US designer Jackie Shapiro. Her retro-stylemelamine tableware for French Bull (www.frenchbull.com) isobviously inspired by her job as a designer at Mattel and theCartoon Network, as it features brightly-coloured robots andmonsters on primary-coloured, patterned backgrounds.

Other designers providing a visual treat include Inke Heiland andher Wallpaper Wildlife, Lotta Kvistís Dino & Kevin wallpaper andChristian Flensted and his cheerful Flensted Mobiles.

The Wallpaper Wildlife designer started out by hand-cutting animalsilhouettes from patterned paper to decorate her son's bedroom. In2004, she exhibited the pieces she'd created and, after a positivereception, expanded her range to include cut-outs of furniture anda beautiful floral ìwallpaper treeî created from 70s-style paper.Other wallpapers by Dino & Kevin, featuring simple line drawings ofdinosaurs and vegetation, have a similar, fantastical, feel. In avery effective one, glossy abstract shapes of helicopters are setagainst a contrasting matt background.

There are many items desirable enough to inspire your little one tobecome the next Philippe Starck. If not, then at least you canenjoy using these beautifully-crafted products, while they get onwith irreverently scribbling all over them with crayon. Still,thatís kids for you - they've usually got a healthy disrespect forlovely things.

"No-one is saying that children should be brought up to worshiphigh design, says Richardson. But if the act of caring for them canbe raised up so that fine feelings are given expression in fabricsor a well-turned handle, and we make ourselves happier parentsbeing able to hold or turn it, then design has fulfilled functionbeyond expectation. And, as parents, we can only applaud thatachievement. sm


Designed for Kids, by Phyllis Richardson, is published by Thames &Hudson, priced £18.95.