Infinite Possibilities: Multi-Purpose NOOK Fits a Whole Room into a Twin Bed
The modular room-within-a-room concept has really taken off over the last few years, with lots of furniture designers and manufacturers realizing that easy-to-assemble, customizable furniture is a great fit for the modern lifestyle. Many of us move around a lot, and our needs for our living spaces evolve over time. That’s especially true for kids and teenagers. A set of furniture that works for you when you’re six probably won’t still work at sixteen—or will it?
With NOOK, a collaboration between designer Carlos Tíscar and furniture manufacturer JJP, there are virtually endless possibilities; it is a fully customizable bed that can transform into something new whenever you want. The base is a twin canopy bed with a simple metal frame enabling the attachment of various accessories with no more than a basic Allen wrench.
“Nook, with its essential structure, available in black or white, is very robust and can be accessorized with several furniture elements without wall mounting,” says Tíscar. “This converts it into a special space to sleep, study, play, or relax with friends.”
These “singular beds” work for everyone from toddlers to young adults, with decorative options to match each stage of life and a wide range of aesthetic tastes. Essentially, the frame is a scaffolding for the mattress itself as well as privacy panels, shelves, cabinets, bike racks, clothes rails, headboards, fold-out desks, television mounts, and other practical objects.
“Ceiling” panels can be added to the top to close the bed off for darkness and privacy or just to serve as an additional storage platform, and shelves at the ends or one the sides can be either left open for display or closed for a minimalist, clutter-free look. For younger children, protective bumpers can be purchased to cover the railings on all sides of the bed to keep them from tumbling out.
Even entertaining guests becomes easier with NOOK. There’s space under the frame for oversized storage drawers to make space in the room or for pull-out mattresses to accommodate sleepover guests. The bed can also function as a couch, with snap-on side tables.
This all in one room-within-a-room for kids grows with your child over time, as all of the components are easy to swap out. Change the functionality, the colors, or the materials to suit your kids’ whims instead of buying a whole new set of furniture when they outgrow the earlier phase. It’s a money-saver over time, and NOOK can even go off to the college dorms, providing a little “nook” of seclusion, security, and comfort in an unfamiliar environment.
As anyone who’s ever shopped for kids’ furniture knows, it’s hard to find stuff that isn’t cartoonish or limited to primary and pastel color palettes. NOOK’s available components are as stylish as anything you’d find in the adult bedroom section of a modern furniture boutique, but there are plenty of kid-friendly options.
Overall, it’s highly functional and nice to look at, too—so why does it only come in twin bed format? Setups like this are hard to find in adult sizes, and that’s a shame! With small space living being a prominent housing trend these days, plenty of people would agree that the modularity is attractive, and it would be fun to play around with a configuration that’s just right for your particular needs. Maybe it’s time for some people to start thinking a little bigger.
