With young children in your family, perhaps part of your decor scheme has included seeing ‘the writing on the wall’ — literally in your home. Now designer Roeland Otten’s prototype series of ABChairs enables kids and adults alike to practice the power of prose via cleverly designed chairs shaped like each letter of the alphabet! Otten offers, what’s “fun about these chairs, is that you can not just buy a set of chairs, but you also need to think about what word you would like to form, what you want to communicate with the chairs in your environment.”

Image © Bas Helbers

Otten says that the concept behind his ABChairs “originated actually from a self-imposed assignment for my graduation, in 1999 from the Design Academy, for ‘communicative furniture in public space.’ He adds, “As a graphic designer it was a challenge to design this series of chairs, that also had to form a consistent font.”

ABChairs are presently made from lacquered MDF, and they are available in limited editions upon request, with a delivery time of 2 months, signed and numbered by letter. Otten’s goal is to find a producer who will manufacture the chairs industrially of plastic (LDPE or a recycled plastic), “so they can also be used in gardens and parks.” He elaborates, “I also think of applications in large interiors such as schools and libraries, and I think certainly of (the series in a) smaller size for children.”

ABChairs will be shown during the Dutch Design Week 17 – 25 October in Eindhoven, Holland

+ Roeland Otten (refer to website for sales/contact information)

Lead image © Bas Helbers