We’ve all seen space-saving furniture at work in micro-miniature apartments that demand militant organization and fastidious housekeeping. We ooh and ahh at the bed that’s also a sofa that’s also a writing desk that folds up and gets tucked away into a narrow panel in the wall. But unless you have an ecclesiastical devotion to sweeping and vacuuming daily, there are very few who are capable of living like that, although many of us have apartments small enough to warrant such behavior. Still, there’s another way.
We don’t love everything in their collection, but overall Milano Smart Living has a surprisingly attractive line of quality, space-saving furniture. If you’ve been to any of the bigger design shows this year you’ve probably seen the sofa/bunk bed in action, but we’d like to call your attention to the Minuetto table, which transitions from a thin side table to a full dining table along aluminum rails that allow you to ‘stretch’ the table long enough to seat ten people comfortably.
No, this isn’t going to be your daily dining table, but for square footage-deprived city dwellers it’s a great option. As someone who jerry-rigged a dinner table for six last Christmas out of plastic crates and a large sheet of sanded and stained plywood, a transitional table like the Minuetto would have been a god send. Dinner went fine, by the way, but I was nervous during the whole meal that one errant, too-firm slice into a plate of winter squash might send the entire contraption to the floor.
Milano Smart Living’s CEO Gideon Beck touted Minuetto as an example of the company’s new line of crafty furniture for close quarters. “What’s most impressive,” he said, “is when people actually get to operate the multiple functions and realize how much time, space and headaches this furniture can save them.” You can test it out for yourself at Milano Smart Living’s new showroom in the New York Design Center, where they also have their electronically transitioning furniture and lesser known pieces, like the combination pool table/dining table.