INTERVIEW WITH JAN PLECHÁČ
a material thing that is chic, says the designer
of the new continental bed
In the last year, the Johann Malle team co-operated with the well-known Czech designer Jan Plecháč to jointly create a bed that retains all the characteristics of a continental bed while still appearing elegant and light. The result of this collaboration is the latest addition to the Johann Malle’s product family – the Libra bed, whose elegance and design do not interfere with functionality and comfort.
It was a challenge for me. In addition, I liked that Johann Malle work only with natural materials, which I greatly appreciate. Also, that their production takes place in the Czech Republic and they produce something that improves people’s quality of life, so there were several reasons to agree with this cooperation.
A bed is practically the largest piece of furniture you have at home, and therein lies the biggest design challenge. Designing such a large item so that it still feels light and elegant is not easy at all and requires a slightly different approach than what I was used to.
A bed is usually located in the bedroom, e.g. in the quiet part of the interior. So, it shouldn’t draw too much attention to itself. But how do you design a thing that is supposed to be something new, but at the same time unobtrusive? How do you design something that is inherently massive, but should still remain elegant?
We struggled with it quite a bit. Everything was too massive. But then we came up with a beautiful principle that elegantly got us out of it.
Its balance. We managed to comply with the requirements for its comfort, but at the same time it does not appear massive in the room. Hence the name Libra – scale.
Libra is also distinguished by its usability in the interior. We designed it in such a way that it does not have to be placed against the wall, but can also stand freely in the bedroom and its rear screen can thus become a room divider. This bed is beautiful from all sides, including the back. You can place for example a desk behind the partition and thus your use of the room is more universal.
Certainly 🙂
Yes. Libra taught us a lot, so now it would be more fun.
