The Buddy Stool 
Demographic:
Problem Statement:
Design-conscious households and caregivers seeking functional furniture that supports children’s independence while fitting naturally within shared living spaces.
Many children’s stools prioritize basic function while overlooking form, ergonomics, and material expression. A stool that integrates soft geometry, stable proportions, and durable construction can create an object that is both approachable for children and visually cohesive within the home.
Furniture that lacks emotional appeal
Balancing safety and aesthetics
Unsafe use of adult furniture
The Buddy Stool is a child-scale hard maple seat designed with soft edges, chunky legs, and an inviting form that kids naturally gravitate toward. Its approachable proportions and friendly character led to an unexpected outcome: my two nephews immediately argued over who got to sit on it first — inspiring the name Buddy Stool.
Subject Furniture
Type School Project
Duration 5 weeks
Limited child-sized seating
Design Language
Calm, Tactile, Child-Scale Forms
Design Refinement
Iterative sketches refining proportion, leg stance, and construction details.
Final CAD Irritations
Final Materials
Hard Maple Wood
Wood Glue
Polyurethane
Durable construction → dowel joinery / maple
Approachable form → low height / soft corners
In Context
supports independent reach
stable footing during movement
Soft geometry → rounded seat edges
Stable proportions → wide stance legs
inviting, child-scale seating
Building the Final
Joinery, planning, lathe turning, glue-ups, chiseling, sanding, and staining
The Buddy Stool 
