The TyL Chair Takes an Innovative Approach to Kid’s Furniture

Finding furniture that is affordable, attractive, and functional can be a challenge, especially when it comes to scoring the ideal furnishings for a kid’s room. The best kid's furniture often serves multiple purposes and includes storage solutions or other innovations to make the most of limited space and manage the clutter of an energetic child’s domain. These days, such imaginative pieces are much easier to come by, thanks to forward-thinking companies that endeavor to revolutionize the design of our lived spaces. One such company is RME Studio, an American design studio whose acronymic name is short for “Reimagining My Environment.” The business was co-founded by Mina and Michael Hamburg, a pair whose mission is to improve the world by enhancing people’s lives through innovative design, with a particular interest in serving the needs of the modern family.

“Together we crafted an amazing piece of children’s furniture that delivers ground-breaking design at the highest level of American workmanship,” Michael tells My Modern Met. “It seems like if you ask anyone, storage space is always an issue. And this is especially a problem for a growing part of the population living in smaller spaces throughout the urban, even suburban, landscape. These same people are interested in smaller, smarter, more efficient homes where spaces are expected to serve multiple purposes. So naturally, when it comes to interior furnishing they also gravitate towards furniture supportive of that kind of dynamic lifestyle.”

With those everyday demands in view, RME launched their pilot project, the TyL Chair—a versatile kids chair that can also serve as a table, a toy box, and even a shelf. The innovative piece of storage furniture truly rethinks what a chair can do, forcing the average consumer to reimagine their relationship to such a common, everyday object. What’s more, the chair’s modular design makes it easy to store and even reconfigure in a variety of attractive and useful ways.

“The name of the [chair] is specifically spelled TyL…because I think it graphically resembles the transformation of the actual chair itself,” Hamburg explains. “In this strange algebra equation, the slanted lowercase y is like a multiplication sign, a catalyst, essentially transforming the T into the L. Regardless of its graphic impact, TyL is also a play on the word tile, more specifically, a reference to the term prototile—the individual components that make up a tessellation array. A fan of M.C. Escher since my youth, tessellations have always fascinated me, and so I seized upon the idea of creating a furniture piece able to infinitely combine with other similar prototiles in a seamless and elegant manner.”

Designed, built, and hand-finished in the U.S., the TyL Chair is made of environmentally and kid-friendly materials that make it lightweight enough for kids to maneuver but also sturdy and durable enough for long-term use. Beneath each one is housed a convenient storage bin that comes in a variety of fun colors that are sure to brighten up any environment. And you can even stack the chairs to make their own unique storage furniture unit, similar to a cube storage shelf, when not in use.

Although the TyL Chair was designed with kids in mind, that doesn’t mean it can only work in a child’s space. In fact, with their sleek and minimal aesthetic, these chairs would fit in almost anywhere. But, for those who are wondering whether there’s a version of the TyL Chair that is geared towards a more seasoned demographic, it will hopefully be available sometime soon. RME Studio is currently working on a larger version of the chair that will offer the same form and function at an adult scale, and they’re excited and hopeful to bring it to the market in the near future.

In the meantime, the TyL Chair is currently available to purchase for $150 on RME Studio’s website. Scroll down to see more incredible configurations of the innovative kid's furniture turned creative storage solution, and follow RME Studio on Instagram to keep up with the latest about TyL Chair.