Stylish flat pack furniture - how this home design staple has suddenly got cool
Thought flat pack furniture was cheap and cheerful? FUZL Studio is proving otherwise with its new collection
Flat pack furniture with its short term reputation, gets a bad rap, particularly now the importance of sustainability and longevity is at the fore. Yet that doesn't mean that fans of modern interior design need to ditch clean lines and simplicity for fusty antiques or spend a fortune on designer furniture (even if it is likely to hold its value). There is an alternative - and FUZL Studio is providing it.
Founded by Oliver Theobold, FUZL Studio offers stylish, well-made, self-assembly furniture, using 100% sustainably-sourced materials, made solely in the UK by expert craftspeople.
When it comes to assembling the FUZL Studio flat pack furniture, there's no tools, no glue, no fuss, just durable, contemporary designs for the home that can be put together and dismantled in a matter of minutes - and at the end of its long life, it's fully recyclable.
FUZL Original modern furniture designs are the first pieces in the UK to incorporate QIK-Clips™ - a strong steel fixing device, used originally in the commercial packaging industry, meaning no tools are needed to build any designs.
The pieces are available in six colour finishes using natural VOC free food safe oils and pigments, including red, green, yellow and black:
Necessity is the mother of invention and that's what happened with FUZL Studio's founder Oliver Theobald. "A few years ago, I moved into an apartment in London and I found it virtually impossible to source well-crafted, self-assembly furniture for smaller spaces," he says.
"I had a decent budget but I found many brands equated small spaces with being at the cheaper, lower quality end of the market. Along with that, many of the designs I tried were needlessly complicated and time-consuming to build, made using unsustainable production methods and fast materials that favoured aesthetics over longevity."
Be The First To Know
The Livingetc newsletter is your shortcut to the now and the next in home design. Subscribe today to receive a stunning free 200-page book of the best homes from around the world.
Theobald canvassed opinion amongst his friends and discovered he wasn't alone, with many perceiving flat pack furniture as short-lived and ultimately destined for landfill, rather than being cherished and moved from home to home.
He saw an opportunity to re-imagine self-assembly design - using expert craftsmanship and sustainable materials to create desirable modern furniture - simple to build (thanks to clever engineering) and designed to be easily repaired rather than replaced.
"Sustainable design is a term that's thrown around a lot at the moment within interiors, and it's a topic we are passionate about" says Theobald. "As design engineers we have a responsibility to reduce our environmental impact where we can."
"We've kept our designs 'tool free', so no more of those plastic bags with fixings, or synthetic glues and varnishes. We've also developed recyclable packaging, so there's no bubble-wrap or plastics when it arrives."
FUZL Studio was established after a successful crowd-funding campaign, and has launched its first furniture collection consisting modular storage: cabinets and shelving, tables, benches and chairs.
Made from birch plywood, a strong, durable and sustainable timber, the pieces are crafted in FUZL Studio's workshop in Nottingham and are 'made to order' and available online.
For those keen to see the furniture 'in the flesh', FUZL Studio will also be opening its first showroom, within Folk's flagship store at Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross, London, N1C, in Spring 2021.
Jacky Parker is a London-based freelance journalist and content creator, specialising in interiors, travel and food. From buying guides and real home case studies to shopping and news pages, she produces a wide range of features for national magazines and SEO content for websites
A long-time contributor to Livingetc, as a member of the team, she regularly reports on the latest trends, speaking to experts and discovering the latest tips. Jacky has also written for other publications such as Homes and Gardens, Ideal Home, Red, Grand Designs, Sunday Times Style and AD, Country Homes and Interiors and ELLE Decoration.
-
How to Clean a Table Runner — Even if Yours Isn't Fabric, There's Always a Way
If your decorative furnishing happens to find itself in stains, this guide is exactly what you need to bring it back to its pristine appearance
By Amiya Baratan Published
-
I've Just Found the Coolest Iron Garlands From Anthropologie — They'll Not Just Work for Christmas, but Year-Round
Whether styled inside or out, these unique garlands might just be the coolest way to decorate these holidays
By Olivia Wolfe Published
-
The simple way to a more sustainable and stylish life with Fisher & Paykel
This incredible new tech saves time, energy and has become the washing machine you need to know about
By Sponsored Published
-
Forget Cottagecore - Flora Fantasia by House of Hackney is Cottage hardcore
House of Hackney's Flora Fantasia collection blends the romanticised rural aesthetic with riotous punk elements
By Jacky Parker Published
-
Bert & May's new hexagon tiles collection is tapping into one of this year's biggest micro trends
Tap into the microtrend for hexagon tiles and make myriad patterns with this new collection from Bert & May
By Jacky Parker Published
-
Matthew Williamson’s tip for renovating a house on a budget is so simple, but incredibly effective
Renovating a house on a budget? See the savvy ways to control costs when managing an interior redesign
By Jacky Parker Published
-
The fabulous new Matthew Williamson furniture collection is a cocktail of color and print
This decorative Matthew Williamson furniture is the beautiful result of collaboration with Roome London
By Jacky Parker Published
-
Out & Out's new furniture collection is full of stylish storage solutions
This stylish storage will have your home organised in a jiffy - whatever its size
By Jacky Parker Published
-
Explore Sandra Bullock’s former coastal chic home in Georgia
Sandra Bullock has just sold her beautiful island beach house, giving us a glimpse at her coastal-inspired interior style.
By Lotte Brouwer Published
-
The Modern House is going old school with new offshoot agency Inigo, specialising in historic homes
Welcome to a new estate agency for beautiful historic homes from the team behind The Modern House
By Jacky Parker Published