Multifunctional Furniture has become an increasingly important trend as people look to maximize the use of space within their homes.

Overview

Multifunctional furniture has the ability to enhance our homes. The ‘winds are changing’ and more and more people are mindful of their living space and choosing functionality over size. With increased property prices and cities being overpopulated, optimizing your space seems to be the best solution for those who are conscious of their budget and space, and want the furniture to last longer. It is also part of the current surge in downsizing that is the driving force behind a range of creative and elegant furniture solutions.

Multifunctional Furniture is particularly useful when you need to decorate smaller apartments and living spaces or simply adapt a trendy and interesting solution to your space. It is also a good way to make a bold statement about your personality and enable your lifestyle with furniture that adapts to your way of life.

Multifunctional Furniture

What is Multifunctional Furniture and what are its advantages? The right piece of Furniture can:

• Help keep your belongings tidy;
• Optimize living space;
• Make the best use of small apartment; and
• Feature interesting and trendy design.

Multifunctional Furniture can be a part of any room’s interior, including the kitchen, bedroom, study, kids bedroom, Living room and even terrace or balcony.

Below are a couple of ideas for different living zones and spaces.

1. Furniture for Kids’ Room

Having their ‘own corner’ is extremely important for children of all ages. And regardless of how big or small the room is, everyone realizes that a child should have as much space as possible to play in, learn and discover. Below are some great solutions for Children of all ages.

• Childbed with storage unit;
  Drawers under the bed and wall shelves can help to organize clothes, toys and books. This design will grow together with a child and will be a great fit in the room of a toddler right through to a teenager.

• Childbed with slide and playground;
  Nothing presents a better example of combining functionality and fun when it comes to young children. The bed can be combined with a slide, ladder, exercise wall or even treehouse.

• Craft paper folding bench
  This unique and sustainable collapsible design allows up to 10 people to be seated. When folded together, it can be stored under the table or used as a side table. A perfect piece of furniture for an unexpected children party. And it is also available as a stool option.

• Nesting Children’s Furniture
  The nesting children’s furniture looks like a gradient side table when stacked together neatly. When pulled apart, they form two sets of desks for different age groups. Each desk component is equipped with storage compartments as well.

2. Space-saving Pet Furniture

Over the past year, lots of office workers spent significantly more time at home due to the Pandemic with extended lockdowns and working hours’ adjustments. For many of them, this meant spending more time with their pets. Below are some of the solutions that allow furniture to be shared with your pets:

• Rocking-2-gether chair
  This chair is a combination of a rocking chair and a pet house. A great spot for relaxing on the chair along with a furry friend absorbing some afternoon sun.

• Cat litter box/planter
  Some litter boxes are designed to look like a house plant to cleverly become part of the home décor. With a two-piece bottom and a cut-out, a cat can easily take care of its business. The Litter box can also be hidden inside the side table or storage unit.

• Cat hammock
  It is easy to share a table for a morning coffee or late evening snack together with your cat by fixing a cozy hammock right under the coffee table. It can also be placed on any chair or even inside the ottoman to get an extra secure spot for your pet.

• Bookshelf Window Perch
  For those small pets, a Bookshelf with step pads and perch will easily blend into the study or living room’s décor. Storage units can be used to declutter your home, and give a pet some exercise as well as help with fighting anxiety and boredom by giving free access to the window when an owner is not around.

3. Table solutions

• Table-mirror transformer
  A table is an essential part of any space, that allows you to dine, do some office work, practice a hobby or to just read the paper. A table that serves as a mirror when on the wall, and as a dining table or work surface when down is a great example of Multifunctional Furniture.

• Foldable dining table
  From a slim side table to a full dining table in a couple of minutes – these multi-use furniture pieces can seat up the whole family when fully unfolded.

• Extendable kitchen trolley
  Handy for storing extra dishes, using as a breakfast bar or adding a bit more workspace when preparing meals. This trolley can be easily moved away when not required allowing more mobility in the kitchen.

• Stacking table
  Stacking units come apart easily to be used as separate coffee tables. When put back together it can be used as a book/storage shelf.

Multifunctional Furniture – Develop Your Concept

We at ET2C work with a range of factories from China, Vietnam, India and Turkey in order to support and develop new Multifunctional Furniture concepts. Aluminium, steel, wood and even cardboard can be a material for inspiration. Reach out if you are looking for some unique pieces of furniture that can help to optimize home space and organically fit into all kinds of homes. For more information, please contact us at contact@et2cint.com.

Natural materials are a popular choice for furniture and other interior decoration within the home due to their range of physical and aesthetic properties.

Natural materials fit in with the sustainability movement. We are at a place in time where the environment and the planet’s future existence sits in the crosshairs of numerous stakeholders from the ‘consumer’ to charities, companies, financiers, and even future kings. And in a month’s time, the great and good of global leaders and politicians will meet in Glasgow for CO26 (a conference dedicated to Climate Change). Nobody, therefore, needs to be reminded how vulnerable our planet has become.

Fortunately, more and more professionals and homeowners are opting for ‘greener’ lifestyles to lessen their carbon footprint, which includes the use of more natural materials in the products that they have been using at their homes. There are many reasons to use natural products in your home from reducing environmental impacts to decreasing potential health hazards – natural materials present an array of positive benefits.

The Benefits of ‘Natural’

There has been a wide array of research done on the benefits of natural materials and our interaction with them in the home. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Longer Lasting

Natural materials not only have the ability to last a long time but in some cases will look even better with age. Just think of that old oak table that has stood the test of time!

• Creating Calm and Energy

Almost half of the homeowners (49%) believe having natural materials in their homes makes them feel discernibly happier than when surrounded by artificial materials, according to research from the Wood Window Alliance. Especially whilst the world is suffering from this pandemic, the self-quarantine and stay-at-home orders have exposed the complex relationships we have with our homes, underscoring how important it is to have a healthy space in which to live and work.

• Design & Style

Natural materials can be adapted to a range of different styles. If you prefer rustic chic, wood and natural stone are the way to go; alternatively, to achieve a minimalist look, consider bamboo and canvas.

Natural Materials for the Home

The natural materials trend focuses on the use of tactile materials like rattan, bamboo, seagrass, and cork. These materials all have an honest authenticity that we as human beings find naturally seductive. It is probably something to do with our primal need to feel connected to nature.
We often hear the phrase “Bring the Outdoor Inside”. The expansion of the urban environment, lack of outdoor space, technological advances and global pandemic have led to us spending more and more time indoors. As a result, we are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature. However, according to the latest research from the Wood Window Alliance, 82% of people feel happier when surrounded by greenery.

Rattan

Rattan manages an enduringly modern look. This is especially true among the wide selection of home decor and furniture pieces made today like mid-century modern seating and ’70s-inspired looped rattan bed frames. It is a material that suits almost every interior aesthetic, design, and style– from traditional to modern and coastal to contemporary. Rattan’s properties allow it to be bent every which way for more solid, sculptural furnishings while woven raffias and jutes bring an earthy texture to everyday home objects like area rugs and pendant lamps.

Seagrass

Seagrass is exactly as the name implies, a grass that grows in the sea or in areas that have saltwater. Seagrass is a popular material in the North of Vietnam, particularly Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces. A lot of the seagrass used for manufacturing home decor products is farmed to be cut and processed specifically for seagrass weaving. This seagrass is cut, dried, spun, dyed, and then woven into many different items, including baskets, lampshades, furniture, and area rugs.

The application of this raw material includes:

Water Hyacinth

Water hyacinth is a fast-growing aquatic plant, widely found in the tropical regions (i.e. Vietnam, Philippines, South part of China) that has been recognised as one of the top 10 worst weeds in the world. Nowadays, people make use of what is so called “natural waste” or “nuisance” and turn them into marketable goods which could benefit the environment as well as yield the income for the local people. Once dried, water hyacinth still has spongy stems with a warm honey yellow colour, which gives a delicate, soft texture and adds earthy tones to woven products such as baskets, trays, planters, etc.

Wood

Wood is the mainstay natural material that is used in your home; it can be furniture, kitchenware, home décor, etc. Also, there is such a diverse range of different woods that can be used, i.e. pine, paulownia, acacia, oak to name a few. Each of these will give your interior design a different feel or a different flavour. Oak is perhaps the most popular choice for interior design due to its natural beauty and hard-wearing nature. But, there are also over 600 different species of oak, so no one oak table will look exactly the same as another. Cedarwood and walnut wood are also typically used for flooring and furniture, with the former boasting a distinct grain that makes it particularly attractive.

Wood is a renewable material that can be regrown naturally through replanting. The processing of wood also has far fewer environmental implications than concrete or steel. Not only that but because of its natural structure, wood is more energy-efficient and will help to hold heat into a home and even regulate humidity to a small degree.

Summary

At ET2C, we have been working across South East Asia for the past decade where a lot of these natural materials can be found, and have experience incorporating them into products for the home. Whether it is FSC accreditation, finding the right material supplier or the best product for your customer, please contact us at contact@et2cint.com.

Transforming Product Development Market Overview

In the past, Asian factories have been over-reliant on their customers for design and development. There was always a greater onus on transactional outsource manufacturing rather than design and innovation. As the sector has evolved, particularly in China, design, and innovation have come to the forefront. This is the culmination of a natural progression of suppliers’ own internal capabilities on the back of investment in R&D and other factors such as competition and external drivers (for example, the recent US Trade War) that have ushered this transformation further forward.

A good illustration, at one end of the product spectrum, of how prominent innovation is now within the Chinese manufacturing base is that “Ninety percent of the world’s headphones are produced in China, 90% of China’s headphones are produced in Guangdong, and 90% of Guangdong’s headphones are made in Dongguan” as stated by SIVGA co-founder and product chief Zhou Jian (Bloomberg).

The likes of Amazon and other e-commerce platforms are actually taking this one step further. They are now working and collaborating with manufacturers on pricing strategy, ranging, logistics, warehousing, and delivery in foreign markets. Ultimately, they are affecting the cannibalization of manufacturing capacity whilst also potentially competing in the same markets as their clients. Certainly, something to keep in mind when identifying new suppliers.

The key to any product development company

The key therefore for any product development company is to leverage this expertise and innovation and develop an ‘upstream’ design/development capability. This means investing time and resources to work side by side with your partners in their sample rooms or developing mold. Where companies have Sourcing Offices then it is ensuring a local design/innovation capability to work closely with the manufacturers. Alternatively, and this is happening with some large brands, having the design teams spend months on-site at the factories.

To build on this, we have pulled together some tips so you can shorten your development cycle, access R&D, and take advantage of the many other resources available to you.

Tip #1: Save Time-Transforming Product Development

Companies are always looking to shorten lead times and it is often the development cycle that is the longest and least efficient part of the entire critical path from concept through to delivery. Here are a few ways that as a product development company you can do just that by being on-site with your supplier:

• Be present: Collaborate in real-time and in-person
• Remove Waste: Samples made, adjusted and approved on-site
• Innovation: Identify potential options, tests, and feedback immediately
• Sustainability: Remove carbon footprint and waste

Tip #2: Use Tech-Transforming Product Development

There will, of course, be times when designers and engineers are not able to be at the factory. It is important too, therefore, to think through the application of technology to minimize cost and increase efficiency. Here are just some of the ways you can cut time and money.

• Additive/3D Printing: 3D printing used for sampling, functional testing and mold confirmation pre-investment
• Photography/Imaging: Use photography, scanning, and imaging as much as possible to avoid multiple iterations being shipped. Rely on the final sample for sign off.
• Software: Use of specialist software to make the development cycle more efficient. For example, design software that shows final garments on models prior to development, which aids the design process.

Tip #3: Pick the Right Partners-Transforming Product Development

Whatever your sourcing strategy, as a product development company, picking the right partner is integral to being able to develop your products. If you are working with a manufacturer direct, then being able to collaborate with them closely and is a necessity. Alternatively, choosing the correct sourcing partner can make all the difference where there is a need to work upstream on development and you do not have sufficient resources to do so yourself.

• Understanding: Your partner needs to know what your needs are and how to address them.
• Capability: Your partner needs to have the upstream design/development capability.
• Language/Cultural Barriers: It is essential that the communication channels are effective and there are no unnecessary misunderstandings that may lead to delays and additional costs.
• Trust: In addition to standard contracts etc, you need to be sure that your partner is accountable and trustworthy. You do not want them competing with you in your market with similar designs (remember the ‘Amazon effect’!).

Transforming Product Development Summary – Transforming Product Development

The world has become smaller whether through the availability of travel or technology. It is important that as a product development company you are leveraging what is possible in today’s age. This should drive down costs, increase efficiency and the ability to enhance the design/development process.
At ET2C, we have in-house capability across a range of products whilst also working with design partners in certain instances. For all inquiries, please contact us at contact@et2cint.com.