Dear ones, my youngest will be three years old in February and – ATTENTION – does not yet have his own room or his own children’s furniture. We have a guest/study room with a big bed where he sleeps (and usually one of us parents, because the little one just sleeps so restlessly), his toys are spread out in the living room and in his siblings‘ rooms. But because this is increasingly annoying for them (understandable, as half of his toys make a racket) and it’s high time he had his own room, we’re now looking for children’s furniture again.
Of course, we still have some things in the cellar or are getting them from friends/relatives, but we also need to buy some new things. It’s important to us that the design is as simple as possible so that the piece of furniture isn’t subject to some trend that we won’t like in two years‘ time. Of course, the materials and quality should be of a high standard so that it can be assembled and disassembled several times and can be passed on to someone else when the child has grown out of it.
In the course of our research, the makers of selvaro got in touch with us by chance. selvaro stands for high-quality, functional, stylish children’s furniture; there aren’t hundreds of products that are manufactured just anywhere and somehow. So far, selvaro has two beautiful shelves, a bookcase and a floor-to-ceiling toy shelf, as well as a stool – the products are durable and absolutely suitable for children. Selvaro is working on new pieces of furniture, so it’s definitely worth following the brand on Instagram.
If you are still looking for special pieces of furniture, we can highly recommend selvaro. Especially now that the Christmas season is just around the corner and many grandparents want to know what to give, this would be a great collector’s gift that you will enjoy for a long time. We have compiled all the information about selvaro in an interview with the founders here.
There is so much children’s furniture on the market – what makes selvaro different?
When we first became parents ourselves almost two years ago and started looking for suitable children’s furniture, we filtered through the abundance of products on offer with the things that were important to us, such as natural materials, child-friendly design (inspired by Montessori), durability and a timeless aesthetic that would also fit into our home. And in the end, there wasn’t that much left.</p
When searching, we quickly realised that a lot of things looked the same. The products often come from the same sources, the same wholesalers or manufacturers from overseas – just with a different logo on them. So, together with a furniture designer (himself a dad of two children), we started to design something completely unique, based on what we were missing ourselves.
What was particularly important to you?
Our furniture shouldn’t be loud or completely overloaded, but should radiate calm and clarity. It should be at children’s eye level, ideally grow with them and invite independent discovery, based on the principles of Montessori.
And we didn’t want the construction to be a nervous breakdown: We have always been fascinated by the traditional wooden joints used in carpentry. We have transferred this idea to our selvaro furniture. They can be assembled in a few simple steps without screws or tools and, if necessary, multiple times (e.g. when moving house) without losing stability.
We are aware that there are other manufacturers who offer great children’s furniture and that’s perfectly fine. We primarily appeal to parents who think like us: who want to accompany their children at eye level, value naturalness and want to create spaces in which children can discover things for themselves. We make selvaro for precisely these families.
Please explain again exactly what the Montessori furniture approach is all about. How do children benefit from it in everyday life?
Maria Montessori was a doctor and educator and recognised early on that children learn best when they are allowed to be active themselves, i.e. on their own initiative, at their own pace and with things that are within their reach. She observed that children have a natural need for order, independence and movement and that they grow if you create an environment that allows them to do just that. She is also the originator of the famous quote „Help me to do it myself“.
For us, Montessori is not a rigid method, but rather an attitude: respect for the child, trust in their abilities and the freedom to make their own experiences, even if something goes wrong. We are not pedagogues and do not live strictly „according to the textbook“, but are guided by these basic ideas in everyday life and learn from our daughter ourselves every day.
Our furniture is ultimately only a small part of this, it should help children to achieve things for themselves and encourage them to discover and become active on their own initiative, i.e. to create a suitable environment.
Sustainability keyword: Where is your furniture produced?
Our children’s furniture is made in a small workshop in Germany with a lot of manual labour and in small batches instead of mass production. This ensures short transport routes and fair, local value creation. The wood comes from sustainably managed European forests (PEFC). We deliberately avoid the use of chemical varnishes, and our furniture can be finished with natural linseed oil varnish on request.</p
What feeling should your furniture bring to a child’s room?
We want children to feel: I can and may discover, try out and understand for myself.
