Some experts and industry players expressed concern about the decline in paper media like books and magazines. The abundance of digital content and the devices that can access them seems to threaten the existence of these physical objects, though these aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. There are plenty of physical and psychological benefits to reading physical books, not to mention the social aspects of the experience, especially when parents and their kids are involved. Unlike with ebooks, however, reading paper books has to be done under specific conditions, particularly with the proper lighting to comfortably read the material. Reading in front of a desk might not feel comfortable, while reading in bed might not be that ergonomic, especially with just a bedside lamp. That is where this ultra-simplistic chair comes in, providing a comfy place to read a book, especially in the dark.

Designer: UGLY.DUCKLING

A chair, lounge, or couch might be the most comfortable place to read a book for pleasure. You’re less likely to fall asleep compared to when you’re lying in bed (though that’s definitely still possible), and it’s also more relaxing than sitting in front of a desk, especially if the furniture is often associated with work. The problem, however, is that proper lighting for reading can be a bit tricky with the way most seats are positioned in a room. The best lighting position would be over your head and maybe a little to your left, which is something that’s not easily achieved in a room where lighting from the ceiling or walls is fixed.

The Hidden Light chair takes care of that problem in the simplest way by integrating its own reading light. This way, wherever you place the chair, the light will always be there as well. But rather than having the built-in lamp always there even when you don’t need it yet, the chair wisely hides the feature and gets it out of the way when all you want to do is sit back and relax and maybe watch a bit of Netflix instead.

The top “bar” of the chair’s backrest can detach from the rest of the frame on one end and then swing around through a pivot on the other. This allows the lamp hidden on the detachable end to be positioned at any angle, depending on what is most comfortable for the reader. And if there’s enough light anyway, the lamp can be hidden and won’t stick out unnecessarily.

The design of the Hidden Light chair itself is on the bare and almost brutalist side. It’s basically just a frame made of bent metal pipes with some stretchable material connecting the two sides to form the actual seat. This makes maintenance and transport extremely easy, though it’s questionable whether it’s actually comfortable to sit on, let alone be stable and safe. Regardless, it’s a neat and simple idea of how to get a proper reading light whenever you sit down on your favorite chair to spend hours on that latest novel printed nicely on paper.