If you think that organizing for your kids just means getting a couple of big plastic bins and trying to make Junior put his toys away, you haven't been visiting Design Public, which bills itself as having "fresh, new design."
Indeed. Looking at these designs for kids furniture is like looking through the latest Design Within Reach catalogue, only miniaturized and made for the specific needs of the younger set.
This is the first place we turned to when looking for innovative design for helping Junior corral his toys, clothing, books and all the other detritus that floats around kids.
Now, we're not saying the toybox is a useless idea; indeed, it's one of those things that can help a parent stay sane during the pre-school and early childhood years. We particularly like the Mod Mom Noah Owl Toy Box—a long name for a really cool square box. Created by a stay-at-home mom, Kiersten Hatchcock, the Owl Toy Box is eco-friendly, made with low-VOC paint. The lid is lightweight and comes off by using the Owl's eyes as finger grips.
For the kid whose style sense is museum-ready, there are the OFFI Perf Boxes, which stack on wheels, great for storing soft toys or books, but still keeping them within easy reach and within sight. And they're part of the permanent collection at SFMoMA, so they're actually, well, art.
For taking Junior's clothes off the floor and into a cabinet, we like the Oeuf Sparrow Wardrobe, which is beautifully and simply designed, but built on a smaller scale. The pull holes allow Junior to open the cabinet and drawer easily, reducing the calls of "Mom, I can't find my blue shirt," and encouraging independence for both parent and child.
And today, they come in all kinds of patterns and sizes.
To encourage Junior's interest in reading, we eally like the Oeuf Classic Mini Library, which is flexible enough to allow room for both books and other items you may want to hide away in the built-in cabinets. Kids of a certain age will delight in having their own secret cabinets, where they can keep a diary, a collection of precious figurines, or last night's broccoli.
What we at NYIAD like about these items is that while they're made with a child's safety and preferences in mind, they look terrific, and fit in with almost any décor, looking especially good with mid-century modern or contemporary design.
