New Yorkers are expert at cramming large items into tiny spaces. So expect some competition to get your hands on Taiwanese designer Chishen Chiu’s FlexibleLove 16 chair ($799 at Cardboardesign, 410A W. Broadway, at Spring St.; 212-343-9700) when it hits the U.S. for the first time this month. Resembling nothing so much as a Slinky you can sit on, the chair is made of recycled wood and paper and can be expanded and contracted, shaped and reshaped into an S, a circle, a half-moon, or one long bench that can hold up to sixteen (!) people (there’s a delightful demo video at flexiblelove.com). It collapses to 25-by-22-by-9 inches for very easy storage. For more good-looking space savers, click ahead.
A cool reimagining of the folding chair named for the look of its hinges (Stitch chair, $650 at Cappellini, 152 Wooster St., nr. Houston St.; 212-620-7953).
A serious upgrade from the foldout: A twin-size mattress pops out from an ottoman (Samoa Pouffe, $3,026 at Suite New York, 625 Madison Ave., at 59th St.; 212-421-3300).
The plastic-and-steel Grasshopper Chair is lightweight, easy to clean, and portable from indoors to out ($60 at CB2, 451 Broadway, nr. Canal St.; 212-219-1454).
This plastic trolley isn’t cheap, but it’s better looking than any other version available ($974 at Kartell, 39 Greene St., at Grand St.; 212-966-6665).
One yank on the handle top, and this step stool/spare seat goes to flat ($22 at Urban Outfitters, 526 Sixth Ave., at 14th St.; 646-638-1646).
Undo one screw, and this rocking horse collapses to go under the sofa ($100 at Design Within Reach, 903 Broadway, at 20th St.; 212-477-1155).
The bright red Gregory is a rug when it’s flat, an ottoman or end table when folded ($615 at Ligne Roset, 155 Wooster St., nr. Houston St.; 212-253-5629).
A grill. That folds. Eureka ($75 at the Conran Shop, 407 E. 59th St., at First Ave.; 212-755-9079).