Bedtime Stories: Playful Children’s Furniture from Italy

This year in Milan, celebrated Italian furniture manufacturer Battistella debuted Nidi, a line of modern bedroom furniture engineered to engage a child’s imagination. Designed by Edoardo Gherardi, the series consists of three collections: natural Woody, creative Graphic, and whimsical Soft, each with its own sensibility. A flexible system featuring clever and streamlined storage pieces, the three sets are designed to make the most of bedrooms large and small. And, in keeping with Battistella’s commitment to environmental sustainability, all Nidi pieces are manufactured in Italy from ecofriendly materials.

Above: Designed for the budding naturalist, the Woody collection is made from cedar and ash with colorful accents. We’re hoping a US retailer will soon carry Nidi–we’ll run an update when that happens. In the meantime, for purchasing information, contact Battistella.

Above L: The Woody bed has a padded headboard in removable fabric. Above R: The modern toy chest and bench with padded lid. 

Above: Woody’s shelving unit and desk combination provides plenty of work and storage space contained within a sleek design.

Above L and R: In the Woody collection, bright playful accents, including a tomato-colored swing-out desk drawer and bedside table, punctuate a natural palette.

Above L: For the artist, the Graphic collection features lacquered wall units with doors that open into walk-in closets and double as drawing boards. Above R: The Graphic desk and cube shelving.

Above: The more whimsical Soft collection is designed to engage a child’s sense of fantasy. 

Above: Nidi recognizes that small though they are, children require a lot of storage; combination wardrobe and wall units are a feature of all three collections.

Above The Soft desk and bed make the most of limited space while keeping things streamlined. The bed has a padded surround of removable fabric with a pocket in front.

N.B. This post is an update; the original story ran on November 12, 2013, as part of our Under the Covers issue.