A folding treadmill desk is just the beginning for a home automation business, and the startup behind it is using the trend to help solve a problem that hasn’t gone away.
Matt Smith, cofounder of Bespoke Home Automation, is using his company’s smart desk folding technology to help homes keep more of their homes’ furniture under control.
The startup is a division of the same company that has built several home automation products, including the popular Bespokes and Bespoked Home automation, which uses a circular table to fold chairs.
The idea is that the folding chair can fold down when you need it to to save space, Smith said.
The idea for folding a desk into the folding stool is similar, he said, and it was inspired by a different company’s design, which he said could be used in other homes.
“I don’t know what the right term is for this, but we can make a tabletop that folds up and down to make a chair or a couch, but it also folds back to make the desk,” Smith said, adding that Bespoking is working with other companies to figure out how to use the technology to build the technology into the furniture.
The company plans to start selling its folding chairs and desk later this year, and Smith said the folding chairs will be designed for folding on a wall, and there will be a range of sizes, with the smallest folding stool being a compact 30-inch chair.
The folding stool has a small opening in the center to allow the user to fold the chair, and on the back of the stool, there is a slot to store a smartphone.
The company said it’s able to customize the folding functionality based on the size of the chair.
Bespoke said its foldable furniture will be available in both the office and on its home-based network, but Smith said it is not currently in business for its home network.
The folding stool was the first item the company made for its customers, Smith added.
The startup said it will offer a range or a limited edition for $350.
Bespoker has raised $1.5 million in venture capital from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates.