Kids' furniture, Italian-style. We were recently recommended to check out Nume, a Milan-based furniture company dedicated to making attractive products for children.
The website is a candyland for modern design aficionados. The company says it was founded on the idea that "by letting children live in a beautiful environment, rich in stimulation for play, they are better able to grow and become independent, creative, curious, enthusiastic adults."
All of the forms are simple, with clean lines and without a lot of clutter. Each piece can be used in multiple ways, and everything is designed for a child—so that they can use the pieces without help from adults. Materials are tactile and feel good to little hands, from wool to cotton to felt.
But what attracts us most of all is the overall look of the line, with its beguiling appearance to both children and adults, without being overly grown up or slick.
The only problem, as we see it, is that such beauty doesn't come cheap. There are no price tags listed on the website (which in itself makes us wary), and we've yet to see good design out of Italy at bargain prices. But we did come across the couch at Modern Kid on sale for $472.50, which while steep, is in line with American competitors. So perhaps if you hunt hard enough, there are deals to be had.
Regardless, it's worth taking a look at their website, if only for inspiration.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
We have the couch from them, which we bought the last day of one of the DWR warehouse sales and although we might not even pay modern kids' sale price for it, it has turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of furniture. it's comfy, easy to move around, and when the neighborhood kids come, they pull it apart and build forts with it. it's just a really wonderfully designed piece of furniture.
I believe the bassinet is sold at pommenyc.com and runs around $900. Beautiful but crazy expensive