Back to the drawing board: Woody Chalkboard Table by Eric Pfeiffer
27th December 2007
One of the many things that young children love to do is to scribble or to draw. Let them get their hands on crayons, pencils, markers, pens, or whatever else and they will use them, whether or not they have paper or other suitable materials on which to draw. Lacking that, any surface will do – walls or tables even. Crayon scribblings or drawings on the walls in houses of friends with young children are not an uncommon sight.
In a restaurant that caters to families, therefore, I think the Woody Chalkboard Table by Eric Pfeiffer would be a perfect piece of furniture. I saw this over at Bonluxat and was immediately struck by how useful it would be in a commercial setting as well as at home. Children tend to become restless while they are waiting for food to be served, and not all parents have the foresight to bring along something to keep their children entertained or busy. What better way to keep them occupied than to allow them to do something that all of them seem somehow programmed to do at that young age, which is to draw? They can scribble or draw to their heart’s content on the table’s surface itself; no more need to worry about toddlers running about getting in other people’s way or doing other undesirable things because they are bored.
Manufactured by Offi, the Woody Chalkboard Table is 18 inches high and 30 inches in diameter. It is made of birch ply while the table top has a chalkboard surface. There’s even a built-in receptacle at the center of the table where chalk and erasers can be stored or put away, clearing the surface for eating once the children’s food arrives.
I wish they would also come up with something as entertaining and not so high-tech for adults: maybe café tables that double as video game consoles?
