The concept of living is changing and what until recently was a futuristic concept of a space-saving housecomfortable, functional, with small spaces and a wealth of intelligent solutions.
The new frontiers of furniture
The furniture and furnishings convertibles are now an international business, engaging companies in a constant search for new and ingenious solutions to meet the growing demand for furnishings adapted to the new housing needs.
Today, houses are no longer what they used to be, large, with plenty of space and many rooms; they are no longer called houses but one- and two-room flats, small flats, usually with limited space and shared by several people.
Architects and designer must therefore demonstrate their ability to design and furnish small environments, seeking intelligent solutions for a world seeking comfortable living in small, functional houses.
The world's population, especially those living within metropolitan areas, has increased dramatically since the 1980s: the increase in population density in cities has meant that large housing estates, consisting of hundreds of flats, have increasingly been built at the expense of the much more liveable residential neighbourhoods of the past, characterised by one- and two-family houses.
All this has greatly altered people's lifestyles and the conception of their homes: in the not too distant future, we will have to give up the classic concept of home, putting aside the idea of a living room with a sofa and television, or a bedroom with a bed and two bedside tables.
Today, many people find themselves living in considerably smaller spaces than before, and according to the World Health Organisation, by 2018 65% of people living in urban areas will occupy small spaces, between 30 and 50 square metres: this will inevitably lead to a conception of space within the home as less defined and more fluid; for example, the sofa will no longer be used only for socialising, but also for eating on or sleeping on, as is often the case today.
The chairs or armchairs can no longer be mere seats, the bookcase will turn into a dining room and the coffee table into a tray.
The house of the future
I convertible furniture have always existed, but now they have to be functional, modern and aesthetically pleasing, so a new challenge arises for furniture companies: recently, during an interview, Marcus Engman, head of design at the well-known Swedish brand IKEA, told of how they have noticed a sharp increase in sales of sofa beds in recent years, compared to sales of simple sofas.
Always in IKEA It is predicted that by 2020 the most important part of many homes will be the table, the hub of all domestic activity, where people can work, eat, play and socialise.
Due to the smaller space available, it will be essential that thefurniture become versatile: indeed, it is possible that in the not too distant future the stool will become one of the most important pieces of furniture in your home, because it can serve many different purposes besides being a stool. You can use it as a bedside table, as a chair, as a side support, as a stepladder, and you can easily design it to be stackable, so that you can put stool on top of stool when they are not needed.
Moreover, the homes of the past were full of objects and things stored everywhere, from cupboards to shelves, from shelves to DVD racks, but in the future things are expected to be different: there will be far fewer things to store, people will not have room in their homes for too many objects, and in any case many of these will no longer be there, such as CDs, books and films, which will only exist in less material forms and online.
Homes will therefore be less crammed with objects, but we will want to show them more, as people will always have a tendency to show things that represent them, so in the future we will have to design more museum-like shelves, showing our collections, and fewer cupboards and drawers.
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