Now that some of us are back to working in offices (at least for most of the time), it’s both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing since you get to have actual people around you. But it’s also a curse since there are a lot of distractions around you, including people who want to talk to you when you need to finish some tasks. Sometimes I wish I had a sign attached to my chair to let other people know whether or not I’m free to talk or when to leave me alone.

Designers: Markus Melcher, Rob Shudra, Andrew Ferrier

The concept for the Peacock Chair should come in handy for times like these. It tries to solve some of the issues that may arise like “privacy, distractions, noise, and the ability to maintain a work/life balance”, according to the designers. I don’t know about that last one but the other aspects can probably be solved with this concept. From the name itself, this chair has a peacock-like shroud that will give a signal to the people around you and also give you a sense of privacy and temporarily put away the noise around you.

When the shroud is in a downward position, this means you’re in a more casual situation, letting people know they can talk to you and you can talk to them. In this position, the shroud doesn’t really have any other purpose except to be sort of decorative. When the peacock’s “feathers” are up, obviously the one sitting on the chair wants to be left alone to focus and work or read or have some sense of peace. The shroud also dampens the noise around you although it’s still probably better to have noise-canceling headphones or earphones.

The chair itself is the usual wooden brown design with black metal legs and arms. The shroud is a gray color, which kind of makes the peacock name a misnomer as we usually associate it with a more colorful design. But if you like minimalist furniture and you need something to protect you from the distractions around you, then it’s a chair that you’ll probably welcome.