Every bibliophile's probably made the joke that they had so many books, they could make furniture out of them. Now on Kickstarter, Bookniture makes building furniture out of a book as easy as opening one.
Designed by Hong Kong-based designer Mike Mak, Bookniture is furniture that is actually bound into a large hardcover volume. Between the two covers, each volume contains a honeycomb structure of stiff cardboard sheets. When unfolded, this structure can support up to 375 pounds of weight, making it perfect as a stool, a side table, or with two Booknitures and a piece of wood, even as a coffee table.
According to designer Mak, the idea for Bookniture came from loving to have guests over, but never having enough seats for everyone. One or two guests would always end up strayed on the floor. "I really wanted a kind of seat that doesn't take up any floor space when I don't need it," Mak writes on the Kickstarter page.
The problem with most folding furniture is storage: a collapsible stool or table is so ugly and so non-utilitarian that it just ends up in the basement or crammed in a closet at best. Bookniture, though, allows you to stash your stool or table away among your art books on the bookshelf when it's not in use.
The volumes look lovely, too. Available in journal-like bindings of field brown and black leather, each volume is embossed with the Bookniture brand name in bold Futura. To help protect the honeycomb structure when it's unfolded, Bookniture also comes with a laser-engraved felt top, which can be used as a cushion or as a tabletop.
Bookniture is now available on Kickstarter for pre-order, starting at just $63, and units will ship out starting in May.