Furniture Created With Book Nerds In Mind

One Dutch D-school grad dreams up a series of chairs and tables with the book storage built in.

If you’re a mega book geek, and you live in an apartment no bigger than an Altoid box, chances are you’ve got books piled up on every last inch of real estate, from the bedside table to the bathroom tile. Hell, maybe you sleep with them, too. You would not be the first.

Which makes this table, shelf, and pair of chairs by recent D-school grad Remi Van Oers something approaching brilliant. Van Oers, whom we last covered in November, when he showcased an inflatable car jack even prissy ladies could work in their 4-inch heels, has developed a series of wood-and-fabric furniture with the book storage built in.

The chair here is especially clever. By extending the chair back all the way under the seat, Van Oers turned the space between the legs, a wasted little nether region that normally just collects dust balls, into a convenient shelf. The shelf is nice and big and totally open, so you can use it to show off your copy of Ulysses (never mind that you haven’t actually read it).

Our only complaint is the reading light. While we like that it’s knitted elegantly into the design, we don’t like that it’s inert -- people need to be able to adjust their reading lights. Here’s to hoping Van Oers can throw together a chair that's every bit as elegant, but with a goose neck.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663601/furniture-for-book-nerds