House of RoRo is a new brand by Belgian designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel featuring multifunctional and scalable children's furniture. Based in New York, Rosseel (who leads eponymous design practice Rosseel Studio, working on residential, hospitality and retail projects) started the project when a search for children's furniture revealed a plethora of 'overly cutesy furniture that could only be hidden away in children’s playrooms, taking up space an urban mother didn’t have'.
‘Interlockables’, the brand's debut collection, responds to Rosseel’s quest for furniture that is practical, playful yet modernist in spirit, as she describes the project as ‘operating at the intersection of practical and poetic’.
Scalable children’s furniture by House of RoRo
'I was looking for ways to combine toy storage with functional furniture that would look good in our home, while reducing the clutter,' says Rosseel. 'Kids grow fast and if I was going to make a product, I wanted it to be as sustainable as possible and not have it end up in landfill after two years.'
House of RoRo's pieces are gender-neutral, sustainably made and multifunctional, while also not age-specific. Rosseel looked at designs aimed at children by masters like Charles and Ray Eames and Enzo Mari, whose holistic approach to design included child-friendly objects and furniture that could live in a modern home.
The inaugural collection includes seating such as a chair, a rocker and a stool, three tables in different shapes, a box that doubles as a stool, and a 'book tower', designed to be accessed on two sides.
The furniture Rosseel designed for the launch is flat-packed and follows the same design philosophy, with natural materials and subtle colours. The 'Interlockables' are puzzle-like pieces, easy to assemble by a child with some help from a grown-up and a rubber mallet. The idea is to involve children in building their world, stimulating their imagination while playing.
'In the eyes and hands of children, any object is an opportunity for play and can become a gateway to learning,' says Rosseel. 'House of RoRo cultivates a kid’s sense of being part of the world.'
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