If Ikea were going to sell you cardboard furniture, instead of just furniture that feels like it's made of cardboard, this is probably what their catalog would look like.
Cardboard furniture is, of course,nothing new. In fact, it's so old we've flirted flirted with proclaiming the trend dead since 2010. Consequently, we've written about a lot of different recycleable designs over the years: from flat-pak office furniture aimed at startups, to durable, stylish recliners made out of corrugated cardboard.
To our discerning eyes, though, the furniture of Madrid-based design collective Cardboard looks a cut above. There's the Axioma, a $90 cardboard table; the Tetra, a $50 side-console; the Infinix, a Miami-hued side table for $85; the Byo, a cardboard room divider costing around $175; the Exa, a $90 cardboard, mountable shelf you can hang above your bed; and another half dozen designs.
Each of Cardboard's designs is made of re-board and D-board type cardboard, which are two of the tougher and more resilient types of corrugated cardboard. And if you find the white design of Cardboard's furniture selection a little austere, you can customize the outer layer with different colors and patterns using digital printing. Each design is packed flat, and assembled after shipping.
Cardboard markets its line of furniture as eco-friendly, which depends upon your point of view. Is spending $100 on a cardboard table that will fall apart in a few years and need to be thrown into a recycling bin more eco-friendly than spending $100 on an Ikea table, which can probably last twice or three times as long and bounce back from being doused with a spilled cup of coffee. On the other hand, something tells me cardboard furniture isn't as likely to destroy your relationship.
Check out more of Cardboard's furniture designs here.