Murfi is a space-saving furniture system for kids living in crowded housing. By including storage, a bed, and a desk, it aims to provide the essentials for a kid while also offering a sense of personalization.
The degree to which children grow up in crowded housing is a neglected but potentially important aspect of social inequality. Children are particularly dependent on and influenced by their home environments, as they use the space for socialization, skill development, and identity formation. Additionally, households are becoming increasingly exposed to crowded housing conditions, with levels higher than those prior to the Great Recession, making this a growing issue that needs to be addressed.
The user is intended to be a kid -- between the ages of 8 and 12 -- that lives in crowded housing where there is not much space to make their own.
Because the user is a younger age, safety must be a much higher priority in the design. This is ensured in one way through the Murphy bed's horizontal orientation, which offers a much safer way to access the bed compared to one that extends length-wise. Along with this, cabinetry and shelving are all secured into place using hardware and joinery, which ensures that no components fall off and injure a child.
While the age group is mainly intended toward a "tween" group, it isn't to say that older kids entering middle and early high school wouldn't find this useful as well. In fact, the product's potential price would indicate that this would be a sort of investment, a piece of furniture that would simplify actions in crowded housing as kids grow up.