HUSH transforms from armchair to tent-like retreat ... and back again

Designed to address our need to sometimes be alone in an increasingly interconnected world, HUSH by UK-based designer Freyja Sewell is a "womb-shaped" pod fashioned from 100-percent woolen felt designed for quiet moments of contemplation or rest.

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At least that's how Sewell sees it: HUSH "inspires very different feelings in different people," she writes. But it can also be reshaped into a beanbag-like armchair - duality that makes HUSH as viable an option for the smaller space-constrained dwelling as it is the hipster-infested open plan office.

Made from a single piece of water jet-cut 12-mm thick (0.5-in) industrial felt 1750 x 4000 mm (69 x 157 in) in size, HUSH is sewn by hand with 150 meters (490 feet) of wool yarn. A number of cushions are attached, which form a nest-like floor when HUSH is in its seed case-like tent mode, and the seat of the chair when turned inside-out into the baseball mitt-resembling chair. Continuing the ovine theme, the cushions are stuffed with recycled wool fibers, which are cast-offs from the carpet industry.

Why wool? Sewell has become something of an advocate. "I have been in contact with the Campaign for Wool, who are working to raise the profile of this wonderful, sustainable, British material," she writes. "When I started designing this piece I was told it would not be possible to create a monocoque structure using felt alone, after creating HUSH I believe this material has much more potential yet to be explored."

Among the advantages of the material, Sewell picks out its natural resistance to fire, its breathability, durability and elasticity as the particular attributes that make it suitable for HUSH.

There's promising news if you'd like one of your own. "There are big plans for HUSH, and it will certainly be available in the near future," Sewell told Gizmag.

Source: Freyja Sewell, via Design Milk