Flexible Design Approaches in Children's Furniture

Childhood is a sensitive period in which human life is shaped and the environment in which the child interacts is of great importance. Since the child has a constantly evolving and changing structure, its furniture needs to be changed in terms of both function and size over time. For this reason, flexibility is an important criterion which can be defined as the use of furniture for different actions in the design of children's furniture. In addition to allowing the furniture to be used for a longer period of time, it is also important for the child to offer an environment in which he or she can explore. Themed furniture, which is often found on the market today, is made up of themed furniture and classic furniture that reflects the fashion of the sector. Therefore, in this study, flexibility in the design of children's furniture; sustainability approaches. Within the scope of the study, 30 multi unit furniture for children aged 0-12 years were analyzed according to the flexible design criteria in the literature. Sustainable design criteria have also been utilized in order to ensure sustainable use of furniture while determining the flexibility criteria. Flexibility in children's furniture design; In order to ensure sustainability throughout the product use, different aspects have been tried to be determined. It has been found that flexibility is achieved with density, multifunctionality, portability and convertibility. With the new design concept designed in this way, it can be concluded that the furniture can be used as a play tool because it can be used in different age periods of the child and can be used as a game tool.