Inhabitots

Enchanted Tree Stand by Cocoon Couture

“Enchanted” is right! This multifunctional hanging rack, shaped like a three-foot-tall tree, looks like it sprang straight out of a storybook. Made from Forestry Stewardship Council-certified plywood from managed forests and finished with non-toxic inks and varnishes, the Enchanted Tree Stand by Cocoon Couture includes silkscreened wooden leaves, screw-in acorn pegs, and two feathered friends nesting …

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1,2,3 Soleil Convertible Baby Bed by Castor & Chouca

Talk about a triple threat! The 1,2,3 Soleil Convertible Baby Bed by Cator & Chouca only looks like a regular crib. With a couple of tweaks here and there, however, you can convert it into a reclining cradle (good for reflux babies) or a toddler desk once your bambino graduates to a big-kid bed.

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Kids Dream Up ‘Animal Table,’ Designer Quentin de Coster Brings it to Life

When Belgian designer Quentin de Coster set out to create a table for children, he cleverly collaborated with a team of 5 year olds to determine the aesthetic that would be most appealing and relatable. He asked each of the children to draw tables and dogs, and he used their interpretations as the basis for …

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SUMICA: Multifunctional Furniture for Green Kids

When he’s not designing furniture modeled after pizzly bears, Masahiro Minami, finds the time to teach a design seminar at the University of Shiga Prefecture. A byproduct of his latest seminar, which just wrapped up last month, was SUMICA, designed by 22-year old Michiko Eguchi. Eguchi designed SUMICA to teach children the value of personal belongings, as well as the significance of the furniture that houses our treasured possessions.

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‘Lack Dog’ by Alexis Liu: IKEA Table Converts into a Canine

Although IKEA’s Lack Table is the foundation of designer Alexis Liu’s ‘Lack Dog,’ her transforming canine furniture creation lacks nothing in way of ingenuity, originality and fun. Created as an entry piece for a recent designboom contest, Liu converted IKEA’s unassuming table into a replica of her beloved pet, Noodle. “Like the real thing, this version can sit, stand, …

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Bednest MK2 Co-Sleeping Crib & Travel Cot Keeps Baby Close at Hand

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to catch up on more ZZZs, come hell or colicky baby, you’re in luck. Bednest has unveiled the latest iteration of its co-sleeping crib for 2010. Available on February 19, the MK2 is a sleek, modern co-sleeper for parents who prefer a little personal wriggle room in the family bed but still want their bambino at arm’s reach.

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ROCCO: A Rocking Horse That Harvests Kinetic Energy

Children seem to be filled with boundless amounts of energy (which can sometimes be a little tiring for us adults who have to look after them). Wouldn’t it be great if you could turn that natural effervescence into power for your home? That’s exactly what Rocco, one of our favorite entries into this year’s Greener Gadgets design competition, does. It’s a rocking horse that transforms the kinetic energy from your child’s play into electricity that lights up its ears. Then the ears can be removed to light up any room in your house!

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Eco-Friendly, Space Saving, Convertible Studio Crib from Nurseryworks

The modern Studio Crib from Nurseryworks boasts multifunctional design that helps stretch parents’ furniture budget while enabling families to save space in smaller homes. The Studio Crib is a combined crib and changing table in one, and it expands to meet the evolving needs of a child as he grows into a toddler, by easily converting into a toddler daybed and desk.

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Eco-Friendly Bamboo Potty Seat from Growing Up Green

Growing Up Green’s bamboo potty seat for pint-size tushies takes care of business (so to speak) without a lick of plastic. Made to fit most standard toilets, the sustainably crafted seat is composed of 100% pesticide-free bamboo and can be washed with mild soap. Pair it with the matching step stool ($24.99) for a complete, eco-friendly toilet-training set.

+ Bamboo Potty Seat $15.99

+ …

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Nature Next Bamboo Baby Gate by Safety 1st

My much-beleaguered cat can now breathe a sigh of relief: My one-year-old, who could have given Houdini a run for his money, will no longer be able to toddle over to his water dish in the kitchen and treat it like her personal water park. Safety 1st’s Nature Next Bamboo Gate, which we purchased at Babies …

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Eco-friendly ‘Oops’ Crib by Structured Green

The Oops Crib by Structured Green features a bold new aesthetic in baby furniture. The “Drop” detailing of the crib, comprised of variegated strips of reclaimed woods, results in a wonderfully unique and modern nursery look. Structured Green’s mission is to use quality materials that are sustainably produced, certified or reclaimed, recycled or recyclable, to create …

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‘Dusty’ the Recycled Wood Chalkboard

Kids have lots of ideas. So many ideas that sometimes a few slip their memory and are lost forever. With the newly designed Dusty chalkboard, they can jot all those important thoughts down to remember them later. From the witty mind of Josh Jakus, the boy or girl shaped boards are made from a non-formaldehyde, …

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Xylophone Coffee Table by Jellio Design

Remember those adorable, yummy Jellio LED Gummi Bear Lamps we previously highlighted? The designers behind Manhattan based Jellio have dreamed up yet another uber-cool, kid-friendly home decor piece: a coffee table that doubles as a rainbow colored, working xylophone that is just begging to played by tots and adults alike! Jellio’s Music Table is a much larger version of the …

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2.1 Million Stork Craft Drop-side Cribs Recalled Due to Infant Suffocations & Injuries

Stork Craft, a juvenile furniture manufacturing company based in British Columbia, and the CPSC have issued the largest voluntary recall of cribs in North American history. 2.1 million cribs made by Stork Craft, some also bearing the Fisher Price logo, have been recalled after 110 reported incidents of the drop-side breaking off — resulting in 15 entrapments (12 in the US, 3 in Canada, 4 of which caused the suffocation death of four infants). Also included in these incidents were injuries ranging from concussions to bumps and bruises which afflicted 20 infants who fell from the cribs.

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Paper Mache & Cardboard Children’s Furniture from Mirakadi

Mirakadi offers unique, whimsical and functional children’s furniture which is sustainably crafted with recyclable paper mache and cardboard. The colorful Ed shelf system (shown above) will enchant a little one and light up his room, while serving as a handy place to store books and toys.

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Little Twin Cub Eco-Friendly Storage Bench by SWIGG

When it comes to form and function, the Little Twin Cub bench by SWIGG does it all. Two doors, made from sustainable bamboo plywood and paper-based fibers, slide open to reveal ample storage space for books, toys, and other kid-related paraphernalia. Topside, a pair of squishy cushions, upholstered with Eco-Intelligent Polyester and stuffed …

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Sibis Suiko Convertible Baby Bed and Cradle by Sirch

The Sibis Suiko Baby Bed and Cradle by Sirch is a juxtaposition in Japanese minimalist design: austere in appearance yet highly accommodating in function. A cradle for babies that converts to a cot for kids up to age 4, this sleeping haven is made of white laminated birch plywood and its sides are covered in faux leather. The slatted frame is …

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Toy Store by Oeuf, Chic & Eco-Friendly Storage for Kids

Oeuf’s Toy Store storage system is an organizational piece of furniture that will grow with your child in function and style, seamlessly adapting to their changing tastes and storage needs. The Toy Store features removable bin dividers that allow kids to showcase toys of varying sizes in an orderly fashion — from small building blocks, to larger stuffed …

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Recycled Flatpak Cardboard Toys, Furniture by Krooom

Oh cardboard, is there anything you can’t do? Krooom’s flatpak cardboard constructions, which require no tools to assemble, are surprisingly sturdy—a single bench is said to hold up to 242 pounds!—and utilitarian without being staid. Based in Israel, the three-year-old company sustainably engineers its wares from 60% post-consumer recycled cardboard, which it prints with cheery graphics and then laminates to protect against accidental spills and splashes.

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Leander Convertible Crib is Five Beds in One

Think of the Leander Bed as the Optimus Prime of baby cribs. The oft-coveted yet incredibly elusive Scandinavian import isn’t your typical crib-to-toddler-bed twofer: Leander’s molded European beech bed can be configured in five different ways, growing as your own baby grows — and then some.

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NEW! Seed Organic POD: Eco-Friendly Moses Basket and Cradle

The Seed Organic POD is a brilliant new eco-friendly Moses Basket and cradle  from Australian company Babybaby Nursery Products. Recently making its grand debut in the U.S., the POD follows on the heels of the wildly popular Seed Organic Cradle, and it is actually two baby products in one — a ‘Pod’ cradle with stand that will keep baby close to you during the night, and a removable Moses Basket that allows you to move your little one with ease, even when he’s sleeping.

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NEW! MasonGray Eco-Friendly Modern Children’s Furniture

From the founders of ducduc comes a burgeoning sustainable furniture company that is updating familiar silhouettes for a new generation of design-savvy parents and their brood. “It’s all about the journey,” David Harris of MasonGray tells Inhabitots. “These pieces will remind you of places and people, like a lake house or your family vacation from the past.”

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Hiromatsu Children’s Furniture by Designer Yu Watanabe

Hiromatsu Furniture recently teamed up with designer Yu Watanabe to create the WF series of kids furniture. As if designed by a child, the free-form yet simplistic pieces are sure to inspire creativity in the young and old. Yu Watanabe  is an 80-year old retired professor of design who agreed to emerge from retirement to create these beautiful pieces for future generations. Made-to-order and fashioned out of all-natural pine, each piece in the collection is unique. We can’t get enough of those adorable bunny chairs!

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‘Baby in Table’ – Evolving Children’s Furniture by Oji Masanori

In the realm of furniture, we believe that good design is design that adapts to an ever evolving family. How wasteful is it (both in terms of money and resources) to buy new sets of furniture for every stage of your young child’s development? That’s why we were so excited to discover ‘Baby in Table‘ by Japanese designer Oji Masanori. The two pieces of Japanese Beech furniture that comprise Baby in Table evolve with a child from infancy to elementary school via a smart, multifunctional design scheme.

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Risom Rocker: Danish Modernism Meets Sustainability

An appreciation for Danish modern design is probably the last thing on your mind when you’re coaxing a fussy baby back to sleep at 3 a.m., but the understated elegance of Jens Risoms’ upholstered rocking chair for DWR might make those wakeful hours slightly more bearable. Made in the United States, the Risom Rocker is available in an array of custom colors and features …

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NEW! Eco Modern ‘Roh’ Crib from Spot on Square

Spot on Square’s new, eco-friendly Roh crib is “every modernist’s dream.” With nursery furniture this design savvy, it’s no longer difficult to find a crib that will perfectly suit your taste and comfortably cradle your babe. Made in the USA from locally sourced Walnut, the Roh crib gives baby a “room with a view” by employing durable, half-inch, clear acrylic …

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Pizzly Bears on Melting Ice by Masahiro Minami

Polar Bears live in the Arctic and Grizzly bears live in Canada and never the twain shall meet… or should they? That’s what was on everyone’s mind when a Pizzly Bear (or if you prefer, a Grolar Bear) turned up in ’06 in the Canadian Arctic. Apparently, the melting snow caps caused these bears’ habitats to overlap, and consequently resulted in their unlikely offspring. Although this incident would typically be perceived as a sad state of environmental affairs, one person saw it differently. Masahiro Minami, a designer working out of Shiga Prefecture in Japan, was inspired by this beautiful love story and decided to create ‘Bears on Melting Ice’ (2008) for his daughter.

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EcoSystems’ mini-Bamba Schools Kids on Sustainable Design

At only 4.25″ tall, the mini-Bamba by EcoSystems isn’t meant for sitting. The doll-sized collectible, a 1/6th-scale replica of the original Bamba armchair, arrives as a flat sheet of laser-cut bamboo plywood, with individual components that snap together with rare-earth magnets for tool-free assembly. The mini-Bamba even includes etched pictograms designed to teach children the …

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NEW! Eco-friendly, Minimalist Eicho Crib from Spot On Square

This autumn marks the debut of the minimalist Eicho crib, part of the new Eicho collection from Spot On Square. Earlier this week we wrote about Spot on Square’s new Eicho and Roh furniture collections, and now we’re giving you more details and putting the spotlight on the Eicho crib! Made in the USA, the Eicho crib’s slick …

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NEW! Minui HandySitt Chair Base

Originally featured in one of our blog roundups in March, Minui’s HandySitt portable high chair makes toddler dining on the go or in cramped quarters hassle-free. Made from Forestry Stewardship Council-certified birch, the trayless, ultracompact design—it’s only 5 pounds!—can be strapped onto any appropriate-size chair for instant table-side seating, then flattened and stowed away in the trunk of your car, suitcase, or closet. Click below the fold to watch a video of how the space-saving chair works, and learn about a new product the Danish furniture maker is unveiling to extend its functionality.

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Spot On Square Launches Eco Modern Eicho, Roh Kids’ Furniture

As we look forward to brisker weather and the crunch of red and gold leaves beneath our boots, Spot On Square is debuting two furniture collections for fall. Eicho, constructed from recycled MDF, brings stark minimalism to the fore with crisp, no-frills outlines in bright white. In contrast, the Eames era–inspired Roh is unabashedly modern, presenting the warm hues of locally sourced walnut with panels of bisphenol A- and phthalate-free acrylic.

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