Trending: Multi-tasking furniture & accessories

As times continue to be tough we all want more bang for our buck and furniture and accessory makers have cottoned on to this …

As times continue to be tough we all want more bang for our buck and furniture and accessory makers have cottoned on to this fact. At Salone Satellite, an offshoot of the annual furniture fair in Milan, the prototype Motion stool flattens its Eiffel-tower-style wire frame base legs to become a modernist flower that can hang on the wall and double as a piece of art when not in use.

Solar by Jean Marie Massaud for Foscarini is a multi-tasking side table (right) that serves as a surface for remote controls or drink as well as a light; its base emits a diffused fluorescent light from is hemispherical shape. It comes in indoor and outdoor options. The indoor option comes in white, €599.75 and a black wood finish, €762.39. The outdoor option is available in brown only and costs €792.89. They are available to order through Willie Duggan Lighting, (056 7764308

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Roche Bobois' (01-6531650 roche-bobois.com) Flap (left) is a free-standing item that comes with moveable flaps; flap one way and it becomes a bookcase. Flap them closed and it operates as a room divider.

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Price starts from €4,050 for a two metre long design. The brand’s Correspondence coffee table opens up to reveal a cocktail cabinet space underneath with room for wine or spirits. It comes with a serving tray and costs €2,496.

Alanna Gallagher

Alanna Gallagher

Alanna Gallagher is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in property and interiors