Designer Christopher Douglas, the visionary behind Material Furniture [www.materialfurniture.com], is a smart guy. Tired of frequent packing, moving, and unpacking, he ingeniously devised a line of furniture that suited his nomadic lifestyle and quick-changing circumstances and appropriately named it Knock-Down, Drag-Out. Why? Because you can do just that.

Designed to construct and de-construct in mere seconds (really! As little as 15 seconds, in fact), and pack flat, it’s an invention of necessity whose functionality follows close behind. In addition to the table pictured above, there’s a bed, coffee table, bench, chair, end table, and some junior versions as well…enough to fill a room or two, for sure. But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Like all of Material Furniture’s imaginative furniture, the AutoPilot Desk is built with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified woods, sourced locally, with easy assembly/disassembly instructions for maximum modular usability. This modern, unique desk comes with either a maple or walnut finish and can be splashed with one of four colors: ice blue, citron, tangerine and white. Using it might just inspire you to get more work done…

Perhaps the most artful of the pieces, we also like the Flipper Screen, whose nine circular openings are hinged and lockable, allowing for a nice shelf/screen flexibility — lock a few of ‘em open for a creative shelf, or close ‘em up when you need a room divider or screen. Available in both walnut and birch veneer, it follows Material Furniture’s commitment to local, sustainable, modular furniture with a modern twist; all of this adds up to one TreeHugging company. Learn more about them from their website [www.materialfurniture.com]; the furniture is available from Vivavi [www.vivavi.com], Design Public [www.designpublic.com] and re:modern [www.re-modern.com].

When it comes to furniture and interiors, one of TreeHugger’s favorite design techniques involves furniture that can serve more than one function. Green sofas are great, for sure, but even better when, with the flip of a switch or rotation of a piece, it can become a coffee table or bench. It sounds a little wacky, but Brooklyn designer Akemi Tanaka has achieved stunning, super-functional results doing just that.

In Japanese, “Futaba” roughly translates as one seed sprouting two leaves, so it’s a fitting name for the above piece. Designed for folks who live in smaller spaces, but still like to entertain, the piece is meant to be used as a coffee table on an everyday basis. When guests come over and additional seating is required, up comes the top and the furniture converts from table into love seat at the drop of a hat. Tanaka hasn’t just stopped there, though; Futaba is constructed from plyboo (shorthand for bamboo [www.sundancechannel.com] plywood), and regular readers know how much we love that stuff.

Equally interesting is “Tagei”, which, true to the designer’s form, translates in Japanese as “versatility”. Again, this one word nearly perfectly describes what this table/bench combination achieves. Also constructed from plyboo, Tagei slides effortlessly between comfy seat and compact table, creating more space when needed and offering two totally functional pieces in one. These two are but the tip of the iceberg of Tanaka’s work; click on over to the designer’s site [www.akemitanaka.com] to see more thoughtful designs with a green twist.