The Buddy Stool 
The Problem
As homes become shared spaces for play and everyday routines, young children often interact with furniture designed for adults.
Child-sized seating is limited, inconsistent, or overlooked — leading kids to compete for adult furniture that isn’t built for their size or safety.
How might we create a child-sized stool that feels special, safe, and inviting — children naturally claim as their own?
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
Pain Points
These challenges informed the design direction and guided key decisions throughout the project.
Limited child-sized seating
Design Language
Calm, Tactile, Child-Scale Forms
Sketch Exploration
Design Refinement
Iterative sketches refining proportion, leg stance, and construction details.
Final CAD Irritations
Final Materials
Hard Maple Wood
Wood Glue
Polyurethane
In Context
supports independent reach
stable footing during movement
inviting, child-scale seating
Building the Final
Joinery, planning, lathe turning, glue-ups, chiseling, sanding, and staining
Money Shot coming soon …
The Buddy Stool Furniture
