When designer Bolette Blædel was on maternity leave with her first son, she soon discovered the scarcity of children’s furniture that encourages play, creativity and physical exercise, while at the same time satisfying her preference for minimalistic Danish design. With her sister, the fashion designer Louise Blædel, she conceived the idea of creating a series of multifunctional furniture that children want to play with and adults want to bring into their living room.

Today, the result is a group of Tumbling animals, each with its own shape and numerous functions, for example an elephant, which one moment can be used for rocking horse and the next be turned into a boat, a table or a rocking footrest. The furniture is not only striking design objects in bright colors and geometric shapes – it also gives children a unique opportunity to develop their motor function and understanding of their own body, while playing and using their imagination.

“It is incredibly important for our learning later in life that the development of our motor skills as children is not restricted. Children’s body, emotions and learning ability benefit if they move and experiment motorically – for example by hanging over the arm of a sofa or rocking on a chair. We have called our furniture ‘Tumbling animals’, because they have been designed to challenge and develop children’s movement skills during play,” explains designer Bolette Blædel.