Have you ever heard about furniture fully made of cardboard? The first time I have heard of it, I thought how on earth someone would ever build furniture made of paper? I mean, it is most definitely not strong enough to serve its purpose, an adult cannot just sit on a chair made of cardboard. Or a cardboard wardrobe cannot possibly hold all the heavy winter clothes in it. Right? Wrong! Cardboard furniture is apparently made of a super-strong corrugated fiberboard, heavy paperboard or fibre tubes, which makes the furniture pieces durable and strong.
First cardboard furniture was introduced to the design world by Frank Gehry in the series Easy Edges between 1969-72. His cardboard design line, in which you can find a Wiggle Stool and a Wiggle Side Chair, is still sold by Vitra. The stool and chair are not only very comfortable but are also robust. The Wiggle Side Chair contains 60 layers of corrugated cardboard held together by hidden screws and fibreboard edging and are said to hold thousands of pounds.
At the beginning of the 80s cardboard furniture becomes popular in France thanks to Eric Guiomar and his new technique. The furniture in the technique of Guiomar is made with corrugated cardboard, simple, double and triple groove. First, he created a support frame of the piece, just like it would be the case for a ship. Then, the frame is covered with cardboard that will be rolled on its forms to a perfect fit. This technique allows for great freedom in the choice of shapes and materials.
Nowadays, cardboard furniture is becoming increasingly popular due to the sustainable aspect of it. Green marketing started to pick it up to promote eco-friendly living.
We have stumbled upon a wonderful German shop called Stange Design Pappmöbel, which is fully dedicated to cardboard furniture since 1985. Stange Design has a big history itself. In 1979 Hans-Peter Stange developed the first cardboard stool at the faculty of Industrial Design at Hochschule der Künste, Berlin for his diploma. The first steps of entrepreneurship were done with his wife, Mechtild Kotzurek-Stange, all on their own.
Their products are easy to assemble. It’s light-weighted and recyclable, but also very solid, durable and would fit ideally for a mobile lifestyle, sustainable living and low budget.
Have a look at this amazing multifunctional Bed DREAM, which is Stange Design’s absolute bestseller! Its dimensions are 200 x 150 x 33cm. It comes with 2 packages: the first supports the legs and weights 12,6kg, the second has plugin profiles and weights 9,9kg.
Another incredible piece, that would perfectly compliment the bed is Bedside Table KRUEMEL. 38cm high and only weights 4kg.
Another one of our favourite pieces is a Shelving Unit WOLF. With only one extra connecting part you can put two shelves WOLF on top of each other for even more heavy book or folders.
And finally, Stange Design does not only cardboard furniture but home décor as well. We could not skip mentioning this cute Sheep WOLLY.
You can buy these and other products on the official website of Stange Design Pappmöbel. Please, support their amazing work and contribute to sustainable living practices.
Photo credits:
VITRA INTERNATIONAL AG | vitra.com
STANGE DESIGN GMBH | pappmoebelshop.de