Open Source Furniture

OpenDesk

Most famous example of open source furniture. Repository/collection of different designs, with options to get them made as well. Not all designs are free.

• Website
• Playground Repo

Current state of affairs

It seems like they’re moving away from the OS model. Wikipedia notes they stopped sharing around 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opendesk)

• Mirror of some of their designs

Social Furniture

Kitchen- & community-space-focused furniture built from yellow wood sheeting. License unclear.

• Website
• The book

Related work

This was done earlier, but not sure when it was released. Also called “Social Furniture”, and also uses those yellow boards: http://www.ufg.ac.at/Social-Furniture.11740.0.html There are no instructions or design files, unfortunately.

Articles about

http://www.whatdesigncando.com/2016/07/21/social-furniture-to-stimulate-contact-and-cooperation/

atFab

“Customizable open source furniture”. Bunch of designs, lots of them available via OpenDesk as well https://filson-rohrbacher.com/work/atfab

• Derivates
  • CNC Maker Bench: http://makezine.com/projects/make-38-cameras-and-av/cnc-maker-bench/

SketchChair

Open source software to make your own chairs. Resulted in quite a bit of open source furniture designs (not only chairs).

• Website http://www.sketchchair.cc/
  • Currently not available, but via WayBack machine: https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20161031150203/http://sketchchair.cc/
• Kickstarter, incl. video: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diatom/sketchchair-furniture-designed-by-you
• Software
  • GitHub repo: https://github.com/DiatomStudio/SketchChair
  • Downloads (also via WayBack machine): https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20161031150203/http://sketchchair.cc/download.php

Open Structures

Database of open source parts and complete designs

https://openstructures.net/

Thingiverse & YouMagine

Thingiverse and similar sites also host numerous open source furniture projects. Some examples:

• Space Frame Stools - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32861
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763605
• One Day Chair - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:338
• Ying and Yang stool - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:156585
• Mushroom Stool https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:36896
• Live hinge chair 2 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:187970
• Layer Stool https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32036
• Ping Pong Table - https://www.youmagine.com/designs/pingpong-table-diy
• https://www.youmagine.com/designs/small-table-side-table
• The Strap Chair - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:190793
• FabChair - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:994029
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:870738

3D printing

3D printing entire pieces of furniture is usually not very practical. However, a usage for 3D printing in open source furniture seem to be connectors, allowing to connect e.g. pieces of wood together to a certain design.

• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:681835
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1155502
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1598293
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:765152

Others

Other people doing their own designs

• http://www.pedroterralab.com/open-source-furniture/
• http://os-furnitures.tumblr.com/ - Mozilla Factory Open Source Furniture
  • http://nosigner.com/case/mozilla-factory/
  • https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:386084
• http://www.ningaldesign.com/fabrics - two chairs, no source files available
  • more pictures at http://design-milk.com/open-source-chairs-can-make-home/
• http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2012/cnc-workstation/ - CNC PC workstation with drawers
• http://mynell.com/open/ - Desk & meeting table
  • Offline, may need the Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20161210154254/http://mynell.com:80/open/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160306192825/http://mynell.com/open/category/downloads/
• http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Sheet-Plywood-Desk/
• http://pietroleoni.com/#toolchair
• https://github.com/CasaJasmina/furniture - Furniture for Arduino’s Casa Jasmina. Only one chair right now
  • https://pietroleoni.com/portfolio/chaiselounge/
• https://obrary.com/collections/designs-for-the-laser

Collections

Sites collecting designs, and linking to them

• http://www.opendesignfurniture.com/
• http://makingsociety.com/2013/02/20-open-source-furniture-designs/

Changelog

• 2024-03-24 - Fix some links, add the Social Furniture PDF
• 2016-12-23 - initial version